SEC Preseason Power Rankings

[rabidsnowman]

The season is just a few short days away, and everyone is excited about the inaugural season of SFA! Every single team in college football is a mystery, every coach has a clean slate, and your guess is as good as mine as to who will win the national championship, Heisman, coach of the year, and rivalry bragging rights. However, we can look at the talent on each team, as well as the coaching reputations of at least some of our head coaches, and put together a preseason power rankings for the SEC. So let's get started, and we'll start from the back.

 

 

#14: Florida Gators

The Gators are interesting, a team without any major strengths or weaknesses. This is a team that seems built to lose a lot of close games. Their offense seems steady and productive, led by WR Mike Rowland-Smith, a big, reliable, sure-handed target for QB Kameron Burks, who needs all the help he can get. Fortunately, Burks can really move with the football, which makes up for his subpar arm. Defensively, the Gators play a capable zone that should limit passing offenses somewhat, and will keep them in games. The right coach could move them up this list in a big way.

 

#13: South Carolina

Led by junior QB Kemoko Allard, South Carolina looks to make some noise with their high octane passing attack. RB David Ni is one of the best pass-catching RBs in the nation, and this team has no problem putting points on the board. However, they don't really stop anybody else from putting points on the board, either. Keep an eye on DE Lorenzo Massie, though, he's one of the better defensive linemen in the conference.

 

#12: Vanderbilt

A truly uninspiring team, expect boring football from the Commodores this year. They have one of the best pass defenses in the country, but that's all they do well. Their pedestrian offense will struggle to put a respectable baseball score on the board most games. QB Gehrig Crecilius is not a SEC-caliber starter, and it shows. Combined with a running back by committee approach to the ground game, this team is easily the worst offense in the SEC. On the bright side, Vandy has three of the better defensive backs in the SEC, with CB John Robinson being a likely first round draft pick. FS Josh Westerman is a hard hitting safety with a bright future as well.

 

#11: Ole Miss

Completely the opposite of Vanderbilt is the big-play offense of Ole Miss, led by the electrifying WR duo of Genesis Pelham and Jordan Smith. Their defense is stout as well, anchored by one of the best run-stuffers in the SEC, ILB Anthony Williams. However, the coaching of the Rebels leaves a lot to be desired, and they have weaknesses on both sides of the ball, most glaringly being at the quarterback position. Stephon Noesi is a poor game manager, advertised as a mobile QB but barely can even escape the pocket, much less move the ball downfield with his legs. Were it not for his WRs, this team would be the worst in the conference.

 

#10: Auburn

War Eagle is clearly being taken literally these days, as coach Hagan's Tigers are one of the more consistent, albeit conservative, air offenses in the conference. QB Andrew Leiter has a big arm, and he uses it to spread the ball around the field to a very deep group of WRs, as well as TE Eric Hannemann. This team was clearly built with the West Coast offense in mind, and runs the 2 minute drill like it's standard procedure. Like with Florida, the right coach makes this team instantly relevant. As is, the lack of a reliable ground game and porous defense make Auburn a middle of the pack team.

 

#9: Missouri

Coach Nittany Boiler's Tigers are a shoe-leather-tough grinder of a football team. Their ground attack is formidable, led by RB Vyncint Brooks, and their defensive line is the best in the SEC. DT's Brian Ford and Caleb Suarez are a nightmare for any offensive line, and one or both end up in the backfield nearly every down. This team could easily be rated higher, but questions about their explosiveness offensively as well as an average pass defense hold them back. Still, it was difficult to place them this low.

 

#8: Mississippi State

A tried-and-true formula for success in football is to get great offensive linemen and put them in front of a great RB. Mississippi State is a textbook example of this. OT Fernando Pineda, OG Quincy Wile, and RB Adam Valdez, an absolute unit of a power back, lead this highly traditional offense. Expect to see a lot of power I formation and a little play action out of QB Alec Bullard, who is just good enough to make this team competitive. They won't impress anyone defensively, but it should be adequate to keep them in games. A big weakness is coaching, hopefully the Bulldogs get that sorted so this season can be something special for their fans.

 

#7: LSU

Coach cmcgill brings a healthy reputation for success, but he is saddled with a pretty mediocre offense. This team is young and deep, with a lot of potential, but this isn't their year. Defensively they are very solid, which should keep this team from falling toward the back of the SEC standings. ILB Nathan Burke is the clear leader of this team, and possibly the best all-around linebacker in the conference. However, a 3 way quarterback battle really puts a lot of question marks on the offense.

 

#6: Georgia

Coach sarge has a lot of talent to work with, led by RB Aaron Lengel and WR Jonah Abreu. This team is deep at virtually every position, but a lack of playmakers on defense is their biggest flaw. Like LSU, this team has a very bright future, but is a year or two away from being elite. Still, this offense will be consistently good, and Georgia should expect to see a bowl game this year.

 

#5: Tennessee

The first of the really "good" teams in the SEC is coach tsweezy's Volunteers. The WR duo of Ray-Ray Thompson and Alex Henderson, combined with TE Tyler Locastro, give QB Cedric Marsh plenty of weapons, while ILB Joe Jones and CB Danilo Shakir provide excellent balance defensively. A notable weakness is special teams, the Volunteers have the worst punting unit in the SEC. Let's hope they don't have to punt often.

 

#4: Texas A&M

Coach Gigemags doesn't have too many problems this year, but his biggest is at quarterback...a three way battle for the position, specifically. Whoever inherits the job will have an excellent WR duo to throw the ball to in Quentin Pineda and DJ Womac, as well as a very good O-line opening holes for shifty RB Brandon Bullock. This team is very balanced, doing just about everything well. The Aggies are a dark horse to win the SEC, but there are other teams that are more explosive, so we have them at #4.

 

#3: Arkansas

A surprise to be sure, coach Weeze's Razorbacks are a formidable team. QB Brandon Ramirez and RB Diego Good highlight this elite offense, while the defense is among the best in the SEC. CBs Nick Beltre, Ramon Newton, and SS Matt Bass are all well known for physical play, a hallmark of this defense. If this team has any weakness at all, it's the WR corps, who are average at best. Arkansas should expect to be a top 10 team in the country all year.

 

#2: Kentucky

Coach rabidsnowman's Wildcats are a team built for speed. Led by one of the best QBs in the country, Rashaan Lyons, the Wildcats are defined by a high octane offense and a swarming defense. Preseason All American OT Rubby Stewart anchors the line, while senior captain DT Clinton Gregerson anchors the defense. Everybody knows the Wildcats are throwing the ball, the only question is, can they do anything about it?

 

#1: Alabama

The runaway favorite in the SEC, and likely the nation, is coach CadeRich's Crimson Tide. QB Ricky Lacey has an absolute arsenal at his disposal, with easily the best WR corps in the country: Pedro Ekeler, Oswaldo Urrutia, and Paul Canha; and star RB Jhan Peters, supported by the best offensive line in the SEC. Defensively, the Tide have playmakers at all three levels: DT Marcus Sirles, DE Erik Machado, ILB Marcus Poutasi, and CBs Mike Hamilton, Stephen Mahtook, and Deshaun Ceciliani. The lone bright spot for the rest of the SEC is the cupboard is fairly bare for Alabama, they lose most of this star power to graduation this year.

Edited June 13, 2021 by rabidsnowman

[tsweezy]

This makes me feel better about my rankings, I'm higher on LSU than you are and lower on Georgia and Tennessee though

[rabidsnowman]

I looked at more than just the total talent, I looked at skill position players for raw talent, looked for weaknesses both in depth and in the starters, and considered how the team was likely to be played and whether there were players that fit the likely offense poorly. Georgia and Tennessee both have more complete rosters, in my opinion, than LSU. That said, what cmcgill has going for him is versatility, so he can be unpredicatable switching from a pass first offense to a run heavy spread option with a mobile QB without any significant falloff. To be fair, it's probably better to look at the conference in tiers of very close teams, with wider gaps between each tier:

Tier SSSS: Alabama

Tier A: UK, Arkansas, TAMU

Tier B: Tennessee, Georgia, LSU

Tier C: Miss. State, Missouri, Auburn, Ole Miss

Tier D: Vandy

Tier F: South Carolina,Florida

[BabaYaga]

Great writeup man! Lots of really interesting teams in the SEC.

[Sarge]

Thanks for taking the time to write this all up @rabidsnowman . Would UK and Alabama be your picks to meet in the SEC CCG?

[rabidsnowman]

Too early to make a prediction like that, TBH. Also, other than Alabama, there's not a dramatic difference in talent for a lot of these teams. UK is very beatable, moreso than, say, TAMU. But UK is more explosive, so I guess the best way of explaining it is we have the best shot of anybody at beating Alabama, but half the teams in the SEC can beat us on a given Saturday. If I had to make a prediction right now it'd be UK and Alabama, but Tennessee and Georgia are both very real threats to play in that game. No matter what, though, everything goes through Alabama. They have two rosters worth of talent.