Joel Klatt names SEC favorites, contenders, and teams remaining in the mix

Week 5 of the College Football season boasts two massive Top 25 clashes within the SEC.

No. 4 LSU travels to No. 13 Ole Miss for an afternoon matchup on ABC, while No. 5 Georgia hosts No. 17 Alabama in Athens for the first time since 2015 to cap off a glorious day of college football. While Auburn fell out of the rankings following its loss to Oklahoma, the Tigers travel to College Station for an as-important game against No. 9 Texas A&M.

Ahead of another big weekend in the conference, FOX Sports‘ Joel Klatt took to ‘The Joel Klatt Show‘ to name his SEC favorites. Klatt also grouped his contenders and teams remaining in the mix.

Favorite: No. 5 Georgia

Joel Klatt has Georgia as the current favorite to win the SEC for the fourth time since 2017. The Bulldogs have opened the season 3-0 and went on the road and knocked off No. 15 Tennessee 44-41 in overtime prior to last week’s bye-week. This weekend however will show Georgia‘s true colors, as it has lost nine consecutive regular season games to Alabama. If it can get past the Tide on Saturday, Kirby Smart‘s team should be smooth sailing to the College Football Playoff.

Georgia‘s offense and defense currently sits in the middle of the pack in the Southeastern Conference, so a strong showing on both sides of the ball this weekend would be extremely encouraging. With a win on Saturday, the Bulldogs would open SEC play 2-0 for the eighth time under Kirby Smart.

Contenders: No. 4 LSU, No. 9 Texas A&M, No. 15 Tennessee, and No. 17 Alabama

While Georgia is Klatt’s clear-favorite in the conference, No. 4 LSU, No. 9 Texas A&M, No. 15 Tennessee, and No. 17 Alabama are knocking on the door. The Tigers and Aggies are undefeated through four weeks, while Tennessee (Georgia) and Alabama (Florida State) both suffered an early-season loss. Both losses are however against teams currently ranked in the top-10 of the AP Poll, meaning that a route to the College Football Playoff is still very much alive.

LSU boasts two ‘sexy’ wins over Clemson and Florida (going strictly off names/brand/tradition), but they have been two of the most disappointing programs in the sport this season. The Tigers didn’t even look all that great in those two wins. It has a chance to really cement itself as an SEC contender with a win over No. 13 Ole Miss this weekend, just as No. 9 Texas A&M (Auburn), No. 15 Tennessee (Mississippi State) and No. 17 Alabama (No. 5 Georgia) do.

In The Mix: No. 7 Oklahoma, No. 10 Texas, and No. 20 Missouri

Finally, No. 7 Oklahoma, No. 10 Texas, and No. 20 Missouri are currently ‘in the mix’ according to Klatt. Oklahoma would likely be on the ‘contender tier’, had early-season Heisman Trophy favorite quarterback John Mateer not suffered a hand injury that should keep him out 3-4 weeks. Texas and Missouri however do have healthy quarterbacks in Arch Manning and Beau Pribula. Manning has been disappointing early this year, while Pribula has exceeded expectations following Sam Horn‘s unfortunate injury.

Both Oklahoma and Texas are on a bye this week, while Missouri hosts UMass. The Tigers will presumably go to 5-0, which would set up a monstrous home game against No. 17 Alabama on Oct. 11. Missouri is 0-3 all-time at home against the Crimson Tide and has lost those games by an average of 23 points per game.