SEC Football Preview: Final Season Predictions

by:John Reecer•08/24/19

© Kim Klement | USATSI

For the last few weeks leading to the start of the College Football season, I have been previewing different teams, players, and more from the SEC. With the season starting tonight, I give my final predictions for the season. Will most of these be wrong? Probably. But fortune favors the bold.

SEC East Predicted Records and Order of Finish

1. Georgia, 11-1 (7-1)

2. Florida, 10-2 (6-2)

3. Missouri, 10-2 (6-2)

4. Tennessee, 7-5 (3-5)

5. Kentucky, 6-6 (2-6)

6. South Carolina, 5-7 (2-6)

7. Vanderbilt, 4-8 (1-7)

First things first: No one is touching Georgia in the East this season. This may seem false considering that I’m projecting two other teams to win double-digit games, but I think there is still a significant gap between Georgia and everyone else. In fact, I would not be surprised if the Bulldogs defeat Florida and Missouri handily.

I see Florida staying pretty steady in 2019. While most of the defense returns, most of the offense leaves and the Gators have a pretty hard schedule. They will not be taking a leap this season. Missouri is the opposite. They have a very easy schedule, and their offense is absolutely loaded. I don’t really think the Tigers are THAT good, but there are too many positive indicators pointing upwards for them.

I went back and forth with Tennessee and Kentucky. You could flip-flop their records and order of finish because I think it will come down to their matchup on November 9th. I’m picking the Volunteers over the Wildcats here due to the Volunteers returning almost their entire offense and Kentucky losing most of their defense from last season. But don’t come after me too hard, because Mark Stoops has this program on the rise. No way Kentucky misses out on a bowl game.

As for South Carolina and Vanderbilt, I see losing seasons on the way. No offense to the Gamecocks or Will Muschamp, but that schedule is just absolutely brutal for what is a decent football team. I feel the same for Derek Mason’s Commodores. Vanderbilt has bowl-game talent, but I really don’t like their schedule. Overall, this division will be much improved in 2019 with Missouri and Tennessee taking steps forward.

SEC West Predicted Records and Order of Finish

1. Alabama, 12-0 (8-0)

2. LSU, 11-1 (7-1)

3. Texas A&M, 8-4 (5-3)

4. Auburn, 7-5 (4-4)

5. Arkansas, 6-6 (2-6)

6. Mississippi State, 6-6 (2-6)

7. Ole Miss, 5-7 (1-7)

The West is a bit more simple than the East this year. To little surprise, I’m going all chalk with the Crimson Tide. Alabama will be on the warpath in 2019 after getting embarrassed in the National Championship Game against Clemson. Combine that with the fact that they play what is arguably the easiest schedule in the conference and you have a recipe for an undefeated regular season.

I’m very high on LSU this season. While their nonconference matchup against Texas will be an amazing game, I think the Tigers are simply the better team. The only other game on their schedule that will be really tough for them is Alabama. Win or lose, I see a potentially strong case emerging for LSU to make the playoff even if they lose that game (more on that later).

Jimbo Fisher has something really special cooking in College Station. The bad news is that the Aggies are still at least a season away from taking that big leap. Excluding South Carolina, Texas A&M plays the toughest schedule in the nation in 2019. I feel the same way about Auburn. There seems to be a promising future with Bo Nix at quarterback, but the right pieces aren’t in play for them this year as they get Oregon, Texas A&M, Florida, and LSU all away from home (they also play Georgia and Alabama).

The bottom half of the division features my biggest longshot prediction of the year with Arkansas making a bowl game. I may be a bit optimistic with the Razorbacks, but I feel like Head Coach Chad Morris has the program going in the right direction with strong recruiting. Miss. State will take a step back after losing so many good defensive players to the NFL, and Ole Miss is pressing the restart button on their entire offense. Overall, the West will be dominated by Alabama and LSU while everyone else is prepping to take the next step in the coming years.

Heisman Prediction

1. Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson

2. Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Alabama

3. Justin Herbert, QB, Oregon

4. Shea Patterson, QB, Michigan

5. JK Dobbins, RB, Ohio State

I expect the 2019 Heisman trophy race to be dominated by the best quarterbacks in the nation. Stranger things may happen, but this race is viewed as being between Lawrence and Tagovailoa. This decision is essentially a coin flip as both of their offenses are loaded, and both teams have easy schedules. I’m going with Lawrence simply because I don’t think he gets pulled as soon as Tagovailoa will in blowouts.

Herbert will have a massive year for the Ducks in a relatively easy Pac-12 as long as he can stay healthy. He has a strong chance at being the first quarterback taken in the 2020 NFL Draft, and his talent will show this season. I’m on the Michigan bandwagon this year because of the play of Patterson in a new up-tempo system that will better fit his talents. Also, I think Dobbins will be the best running back in the nation. With the departure of Dwayne Haskins, the Buckeyes will run the ball a lot more which means Dobbins will put up some gawdy numbers in 2019.

Playoff Prediction

1. Clemson

2. Alabama

3. Michigan

4. Oregon

(First two out)

5. LSU

6. Texas

To no surprise, I’m picking both Clemson and Alabama to make the playoff. Their schedules are too easy, and they have way too much talent. They should win both the SEC and ACC, respectively. I went with a one loss Michigan team out of the Big Ten. I think this is the year the Wolverines beat Ohio State and win their conference championship game. That will be good enough to make the playoff.

This is where things get dicey. I think this will be a season which will have an all-out brawl for the last spot. Here is who I think the committee will have to chose from: One loss Pac-12 Champion Oregon, and one loss LSU who missed out on their conference championship game. Yupp…this will be controversial no matter who the committee picks. I think they will pick the Ducks. Oregon actually plays Auburn in their nonconference slate and they play Stanford, Washington, USC, and Arizona State all on the road. Just one loss out of that gauntlet and a conference championship will net them a playoff berth.

And yes, that September 7th matchup between LSU and Texas will have MASSIVE playoff implications.

In case you were wondering about Georgia, I think the Bulldogs will lose a tough road game against Auburn as the Tigers came off a bye week beforehand. I don’t think that the Bulldogs will beat Alabama in the championship game which puts Georgia with two losses and out of the playoff picture.

That wraps up my season preview! Will most of this be wrong? More than likely, yes. But the unpredictability of college football is what makes the sport so awesome.

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