Goodbye, Nick Saban. Hello, Oklahoma and Texas.
For the first time in 17 years, Alabama’s iconic football coach won’t be prowling the sidelines in the Southeastern Conference. With one longtime juggernaut headed to an ESPN gig and semiretirement, though, two others enter the fray.
The Sooners and Longhorns join the powerhouse league three years after announcing their impending departure from the Big 12, and they will not have to face Saban, who won six of his major-college-record seven national championships while leading the Crimson Tide from 2007 to 2023. He won the other during the 2003 season at another SEC program: LSU, where he spent five years (2000-04) before a detour to the NFL.
“I think it’s a partnership of elite with elite,” Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said of his Sooners and Steve Sarkisian’s Longhorns joining the SEC to make it a 16-team league for the first time. “And, again, two programs that in the history of college football take a back seat to nobody. The SEC doesn’t take a back seat to anybody.”
A league that had captured four straight national titles — including two straight from Georgia — before the Big Ten’s Michigan Wolverines won it all last season is now beefed up even more.
For all that, some things haven’t changed: Georgia coach Kirby Smart’s top-ranked Bulldogs are loaded with talent and regarded as the team to beat, with preseason rankings of No. 1 in the AP Top 25 that was revealed Monday and the previously released coaches’ poll.
Sarkisian and the Longhorns bring another current force into the mix after reaching the College Football Playoff last season.
Kalen DeBoer takes over as coach in Tuscaloosa after leading Washington to the national championship game. Saban is gone, but the talent in Tuscaloosa sure isn’t.
Missouri and Ole Miss are also coming off 11-win seasons in which both finished in the top 10 of the final rankings. They return veteran quarterbacks — Brady Cook for the Tigers and Jaxson Dart for the Rebels — and enviable playmakers at receiver.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Carson Beck, quarterback, Georgia: Widely regarded as the Heisman Trophy front-runner going into the season, Beck led the SEC and ranked third nationally with 3,941 passing yards while completing 72.4% of his passes last season. Some of his top targets are gone, but the Bulldogs are loaded, as usual under Smart.
Luther Burden III, receiver, Missouri: One of college football’s top targets, he was an AP All-America second-team selection after ranking in the top 10 nationally with 1,212 receiving yards, along with nine touchdowns and 86 catches.
Will Campbell, offensive lineman, LSU: The tackle has started 26 games in his first two seasons for the Tigers and allowed only three sacks — all in his freshman year — in 1,687 snaps. The 6-foot-6, 320-pounder anchors a line that was among three finalists for the Joe Moore Award.
Quinn Ewers, quarterback, Texas: Ewers gives the league another experienced, talented passer and a potential Heisman candidate. He has 22 starts under his belt with 5,656 passing yards and 37 passing touchdowns.
Jalen Milroe, quarterback, Alabama: A big-play threat running and passing, Milroe overcame a rocky start to emerge as one of the SEC’s top quarterbacks, finishing sixth in Heisman voting.
James Pearce Jr., linebacker, Tennessee: He emerged as a pass-rushing force last season despite starting only three games. The 6-5, 243-pounder tied for the SEC lead with 10 sacks, and his 14.5 tackles for loss ranked second.
Harold Perkins Jr., linebacker, LSU: The 2022 All-SEC first-team pick has 26 tackles for loss and 13 sacks in 27 games.
Malaki Starks, defensive back, Georgia: A star on the Bulldogs’ loaded defense, Starks was an AP All-America first-team selection last season. He was also a finalist for two national awards.
Danny Stutsman, linebacker, Oklahoma: The two-year starter returns for his senior season with 267 career tackles, including 28 for a loss.
NEW FACES
There’s no more compelling new face in college football than DeBoer, who has a gaudy 104-12 record in nine seasons as a head coach at various levels.
Mike Elko takes over at Texas A&M after a stint at Duke. Jeff Lebby, a former Oklahoma and Ole Miss offensive coordinator, is the new head man at Mississippi State.
New coordinators abound across the league, but none are more intriguing than Bobby Petrino. He takes over Sam Pittman’s offense at Arkansas, where he once reigned as head coach before getting fired in 2012 amid an off-field scandal.
ON THE HOT SEAT
Pittman’s Razorbacks managed only one league win and went 4-8 last season, his fourth in Fayetteville.
Florida coach Billy Napier also may need to make significant strides after going 11-14 in his first two seasons. He faces a closing stretch against Georgia, Texas, LSU, Ole Miss and Florida State, but he did sign five-star quarterback DJ Lagway.
Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea is taking over as his own defensive coordinator after going 0-8 in SEC games last season. He held that role at Notre Dame before being hired as head coach at his alma mater ahead of the 2021 season.
GAMES TO WATCH
Aug. 31 — Georgia vs. Clemson at Atlanta; Sept. 7 — Texas at Michigan; Sept. 21 — Tennessee at Oklahoma; Sept. 28 — Georgia at Alabama; Oct. 12 — Texas vs. Oklahoma at Dallas; Oct. 19 — Georgia at Texas; Oct. 28 — Missouri at Alabama; Nov. 9 — Georgia at Ole Miss; Nov. 23 — Alabama at Oklahoma; Nov. 30 — Texas at Texas A&M, Auburn at Alabama, Florida at Florida State.