In what might be the craziest of college football seasons, how good are all of the teams? Here are the CFN SEC Preseason Rankings of every team.
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This is NOT a ranking of where the teams are going to end up. This is only based on how good we think the SEC teams are going into whatever the 2020 season is going to be.
– CFN Preview 2020: All 130 Team Previews
14. Arkansas Razorbacks
Be Excited About … the parts that return for new head coach Sam Pittman aren’t all that bad. It’s been a rough ride for Arkansas football over the last few years, but the offensive backfield of QB Feleipe Franks and RB Rakeem Boyd is a great place to start a new era.
Be Concerned About … the D line isn’t up to SEC snuff. The offensive skill parts and linebacking corps are solid, but it’s going to be tough to make a big push if the defensive front – and the run defense that was last in the conference and 124th in the nation – isn’t more active.
The Season Will Be Successful If … there’s a big upset on the way to a push for five wins. That might be asking for the world – especially if the schedule takes away some or all of the non-conference games – but 2016 was the last time the Hogs won more than four games.
13. Vanderbilt Commodores
Be Excited About … the defense is about to be a thing. Vanderbilt will never be able to keep up with the better offenses in shootouts, but the defense might not let that happen with the fantastic linebackers and safeties to keep games close.
Be Concerned About … the offense that was dead last in the SEC – averaging 299 yards and 16.5 points per game – needs to find a whole lot more pop. The passing game that couldn’t do much to make things happen down the field has to be a whole lot stronger.
The Season Will Be Successful If … the Commodores flirt with bowl eligibility. That’s going to be tough considering the schedule, but the defense should be nasty enough to pull off an upset or three to come up with a decent run.
12. Ole Miss Rebels
Be Excited About … the Lane Train is about to enter the station. New head man Lane Kiffin brings the star power, the attention, and the coaching chops – he did a whale of a job at Florida Atlantic – to make Ole Miss the annoying fly that buzzes around the big boys. He’s got the passing game to make things fun right away.
Be Concerned About … the secondary has to be a whole lot stronger. Even though the pass rush was impressive – it finished second in the SEC – the Rebels allowed the most passing yards in the conference. The offensive front has to be better, too, after giving up way too many plays behind the line.
The Season Will Be Successful If … Ole Miss goes bowling again. It’s been four years since the program has enjoyed a swag-bag game – going 10-3 with a Sugar Bowl win over Oklahoma State in 2015 – but even in a strong SEC West, the Rebels should be decent under the new coaching staff.
11. Missouri Tigers
Be Excited About … the Eliah Drinkwitz era should kick off with a whole lot of energy. Former head man Barry Odom caught a raw deal, but Drinkwitz is at least a change for the Tigers after a few mediocre seasons. It’s a good all-around team without a whole lot of major concerns, but …
Be Concerned About … a pass rush that didn’t show up. Getting to the quarterback has been one of the calling cards of Mizzou football since if joined the SEC, and finishing last in the conference in sacks last season wasn’t okay. The line is good, but it has to make more big things happen.
The Season Will Be Successful If … the Tigers go bowling. They missed out on a bowl game – not their fault last year – in three of the last five seasons, and getting off to a big start would be huge for Drinkwitz. He only had one year as the Appalachian State head man, so there’s still a bit of a prove it factor.
NEXT: SEC Preseason Rankings Top Ten
10. South Carolina Gamecocks
South Carolina CFN 2020 Preview
Be Excited About … a defense that has the talent and experience to be among the SEC’s best. The line and secondary are as strong as any in the conference, and the linebacking corps isn’t bad. There should be a huge jump up in overall production.
Be Concerned About … a passing game that sputtered and couldn’t push the ball down the field. The receivers are just okay around Shi Smith, and there’s a whole lot of work to do after finishing last in the SEC completing fewer than ten yards per pass.
The Season Will Be Successful If … the Gamecocks go bowling. No one’s asking for an SEC championship or even a division title. Just don’t win just four games again and reverse the downward spiral. This team is good enough to pull off another Georgia-like win of last year.
9. Tennessee Volunteers
Be Excited About … the lines are good enough to win with. Jeremy Pruitt has had a few years to build things up, and most importantly, he’s got the guys in the trenches to at least hang with most SEC teams. The defense should be his best yet.
Be Concerned About … the offense has to find more pop. Yeah, the D should be good, but the Vols won’t make a whole lot of noise if they average just 366 yards and 24 points per game again. Again, start with the good line and hope everything fills in from there.
The Season Will Be Successful If … there’s a win over someone important on the way to a bowl game. There has to be some step forward to make the base think an East title is coming in the near-future. Tennessee has lost three in a row to both Florida and Georgia, and 13 straight to Alabama. Beating one of those three would be a big deal.
8. Kentucky Wildcats
Be Excited About … the defense is going to be terrific, especially in the secondary. There might not be a whole slew of brand name stars, but the offensive line is terrific, and as we’ve seen over the last few years, the coaching staff will figure it out on the fly.
Be Concerned About … the passing game that has to get up and rolling again. The Wildcats did what they had to do to get by last season with Lynn Bowden filling in at quarterback – leading to the nation’s fourth-best running game – but the air attack was the fourth-worst in college football. A healthy Terry Wilson has to make UK more efficient.
The Season Will Be Successful If … 1) UK goes to another good bowl, 2) it beats Florida for the second time in three years – stop the new streak now – and/or 3) beats Georgia for the first time since 2009.
7. Mississippi State Bulldogs
Mississippi State CFN 2020 Preview
Be Excited About … Mike Leach, the passing game, and all that comes with both of them. If Stanford transfer KJ Costello can get up to speed instantly, the offense will be in place to light up anyone in the SEC. The defensive front seven won’t be bad, either.
Be Concerned About … getting that offense going. It will work – eventually. Joe Moorhead is a brilliant offensive mind – he’s the new OC at Oregon – and his attack only averaged 28 points per game last year. Without a normal offseason, doing what Leach wants to do could take a little bit.
The Season Will Be Successful If … the passing game starts to look the part. It might not be the Leach O right away, but in this weirdest of all years, if Miss State starts to look the part of that team you don’t want to face.
6. Texas A&M Aggies
Be Excited About … being one of the few teams in the SEC West with a returning starting quarterback. Kellen Mond is one of the nation’s most experienced passers, and in this season, time logged in will matter. The defensive back seven is as good as it has been in the Jimbo Fisher era.
Be Concerned About … the offensive line that couldn’t keep Mond from getting popped. The O line was good in keeping defenses out of the backfield – in general – but it was dead last in the SEC in sacks allowed. Be concerned about that, and turnover margin – A&M was last in the SEC in that, too.
The Season Will Be Successful If … it makes a push to win the West. It’s time to finally make a move under Fisher and start to look like the superpower it should be. There isn’t anything keeping A&M as a program from getting to the Alabama and LSU level – it’s bound by nothing.
NEXT: SEC Preseason Rankings Top Five
5. Auburn Tigers
Be Excited About … the infrastructure of another good-looking team. The lines are strong, the linebacking corps is great, and the offense got through the growing pains of a true freshman quarterback. Bo Nix has been through the wars now, and he has a great group around him to crank up the passing attack.
Be Concerned About … Nix throwing down the field more. Having a receiver as good as Seth Williams should make things easier, but he has to prove he can consistently hit his deep shots. The Tigers averaged fewer than 12 yards per completion and Nix only connected on 58% of his passes.
The Season Will Be Successful If … the Tigers push for another big year with a win over Alabama or LSU. They might not have quite enough to win the West – having to go to Georgia and Bama doesn’t help – but they get LSU in Jordan-Hare. Last year’s version only lost to teams that won 11 games or more – LSU, Georgia, Florida and Minnesota. At least win all of the winnable games.
4. Florida Gators
Be Excited About … a defense that’s going to be dead-serious good. It finished ninth in the nation and second in the SEC behind Georgia, and now it comes back just as good if not stronger across the board. A steady pass rush has to emerge, but this group will carry the team when needed.
Be Concerned About … the running game that has be a bit stronger overall. The offensive line is going to be just okay – at least compared to the rest of the team’s key parts – and the ground attack that was the second-worst in the SEC has to do more than 130 yards per game.
The Season Will Be Successful If … Florida is playing for the SEC Championship. Dan Mullen has been fantastic at turning the program back around, and it’s been close to being special, but now it’s time for that next step up by getting past Georgia and taking the East for the first time since 2016.
3. LSU Tigers
Be Excited About … LSU still being really, really, really good. Great programs replace awesome players with more awesome players, and while there’s going to be a drop-off in some areas – the Joe Burrow thing isn’t happening again – but the receiving corps is still special, the secondary is still a killer, and the team is still strong enough to make a push for another SEC title.
Be Concerned About … Joe Burrow, K’Lavon Chaisson, Justin Jefferson, Patrick Queen, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Grant Delpit, and the 14 Tigers who were drafted by the NFL. Yeah, LSU will still be really, really good, but you don’t lose that many pro talents without having a few issues. Oh yeah, and losing passing game coordinator Joe Brady (Carolina Panthers) and defensive coordinator Dave Aranda (Baylor) isn’t fun, either.
The Season Will Be Successful If … LSU goes back to the SEC Championship. Ohio State, Alabama, Clemson and Oklahoma lose tons of talent year after year, and year after year they’re all back in the conference title mix. 2019 might have been an all-timer, but now it’s about staying power.
2. Georgia Bulldogs
Be Excited About … a defense that’s going to be the best in the SEC, and probably the country – again. The nation’s No. 1 D of 2019 comes back with more than enough talent to be every bit as good, and now it should have more help from an offense that should be more dangerous.
Be Concerned About … an offense that has to prove it can consistently score more. It didn’t have to put up 55 a game with a brick wall of a defense doing the heavy lifting – the Dawgs allowed 17 points or fewer in the 12 wins, and more in the two losses – but a team this good and this talented should put up more than 27 points on a regular basis. Georgia did that just twice in the final 11 games.
The Season Will Be Successful If … Georgia wins the SEC Championship and goes to the College Football Playoff. Check that – the season will be a success if Georgia goes to the College Football Playoff, no matter how it gets there. It’s time for the program to win the national title again, but getting into the four-team fun would make the season great no matter what.
1. Alabama Crimson Tide
Be Excited About … oh-dear-heavens talent and depth, even for Alabama. The running backs are way too deep, the receiving corps is still among the best in the country despite losing Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs, and the O line is fantastic. The defensive front seven is going to be dominant, but …
Be Concerned About … a secondary that’s the one area that’s not all that deep or experienced. Boo hoo, but the defensive backs could be a problem if injuries strike. Coming up with a high-end starting quarterback shouldn’t be hard with Bryce Young and Mac Jones, but there’s still a drop from nine games of Tua Tagovailoa.
The Season Will Be Successful If … Bama gets back to the national championship. Not getting to the College Football Playoff for a second straight season would feel disastrous, and getting there and not getting to the title game would sting. Get into the top two for the fifth time in six seasons, and there’s no reasonable complaint – even if the expectations for Bama are never reasonable.
