EXPECTATIONS
Judging by the vote at SEC Media Days last month, this could be one of the most predictable seasons in league history. Alabama and Georgia were the overwhelming picks to win their divisions, and the tally for the league's overall crown had Nick Saban's Crimson Tide with 84 votes, Kirby Smart's Bulldogs with 45 and no other team with multiple votes. Texas A&M and Florida represent the chief challengers to Alabama and Georgia in the West and East, respectively, with Jimbo Fisher's Aggies having just missed out on the College Football Playoff last season and with Dan Mullen's Gators having prevailed a year ago against Georgia. LSU is expected to rebound from a 5-5 collapse - but how significantly? - while Kentucky and Missouri have the potential to make noise in the East. New Auburn coach Bryan Harsin is expected to win big right away, but isn't that always the case on the Plains?
CONCERNS
LSU was dealt the biggest offensive blow of the preseason when starting quarterback Myles Brennan broke his left arm before practices even started, leaving the job to Max Johnson, who did guide the Tigers to their upset win late last season at Florida. The Gators suffered the biggest defensive setback when junior cornerback Jaydon Hill tore his ACL. Florida is already having to rebuild offensively after the losses of quarterback Kyle Trask, tight end Kyle Pitts and receiver Kadarius Toney. Auburn has experience at key spots with quarterback Bo Nix and running back Tank Bigsby but must navigate a schedule containing Penn State, LSU, Georgia, Texas A&M and Alabama. Ole Miss must be improved defensively and Mississippi State offensively to advance in the second seasons of Lane Kiffin and Mike Leach, while simply going .500 is a realistic goal for Arkansas and Tennessee and a sizable stretch for South Carolina and Vanderbilt.
WHAT'S NEW
A lot of quarterbacks, as only three veterans at that position - Auburn's Nix, Georgia's JT Daniels and Matt Corral of Ole Miss - represented their teams at SEC Media Days. Alabama's Bryce Young and Florida's Emory Jones take over the two programs who met for last season's conference championship, while Texas A&M will have a starter not named Kellen Mond for the first time since 2016. There are four new coaches with Auburn's Harsin, Tennessee's Josh Heupel, South Carolina's Shane Beamer and Vanderbilt's Clark Lea. Harsin is taking over a program that went to the Citrus Bowl last season and beat Alabama in 2019, but the other three are assuming the reins at programs that went a combined 5-24. This is the second straight year the SEC has introduced four new coaches, only adding to the consistency gap Alabama and Georgia have created compared to most of the league.
OUTLOOK
This SEC season will conclude with the 30th league championship game, with Alabama and Georgia having met just twice before in the first 29 encounters. The Crimson Tide aren't always a given, losing out to Auburn in the West in 2017 and to LSU two years ago, and their biggest threat this season appears to be Texas A&M, with each of those teams returning nine defensive starters. Of course, Alabama has won eight straight series meetings, including last year's 52-24 rout. It may be easier for Georgia to win the East if Florida continues to struggle defensively under Todd Grantham, but the top teams in this league have never seemed further apart from those at the bottom. Perhaps Alabama-Georgia in early December is inevitable, but Texas A&M could have a say, while Auburn, Florida, LSU and Ole Miss each has the potential for anything from 6-6 to 10-2 depending on how things fall into place.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.