Looking back, the 2014 season wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be.

The SEC failed to produce another national champion, nor did it produce the Heisman Trophy winner and more and more people started to debate the conference’s status as the nation’s best.

We at Saturday Down South don’t agree with that sentiment, and feel like the 2015 season will help change it nationally.

Here are 10 reasons why this season will be even better:

1. NO ONE KNOWS WHAT WILL HAPPEN

SEC media picked Auburn to win the conference championship despite choosing Alabama to win the West. When the impossibility of that scenario sinks in, consider that there really isn’t a strong favorite in the SEC.

Georgia has a great chance to challenge the West winner in the Georgia Dome, but the Bulldogs first must get by darkhorse picks Tennessee and Missouri, who oh by the way are your two-time defending SEC East champions.

Some national analysts picked LSU to make the College Football Playoff. Combine this with the assumption that Mississippi State, who reached the No. 1 ranking last season, will fall to the bottom of the West Division, and you have one of the most interesting SEC races in years.

2. RUNNING BACK CENTRAL

Sure, last season boasted a healthy corps of solid running backs. But the most exciting part about last year’s ground game was getting a glimpse of what’s in store for 2015.

Georgia’s Nick Chubb and LSU’s Leonard Fournette had breakout seasons as freshmen. Alabama’s Derick Henry could quietly eclipse their rushing totals this season. And there are plenty of exciting backs for lower-ranked SEC teams, including Missouri’s Russell Hansbrough and Vanderbilt’s Ralph Webb.

3. FRESHMEN QBs READ TO MAKE THEIR MARK

We knew freshman Kyler Murray would challenge Kyle Allen as QB1 in College Station, but it was a bit shocking seeing another freshman phenom, Drew Lock, earned the backup job at Missouri.

Both Murray and Lock look to be the future of their respective programs, but their rapid ascent this early in their careers is already creating a buzz. Look for both to see game action this season, while possibly earning themselves bigger roles than previously expected.

4. EARLY-SEASON INTRIGUE

SEC teams aren’t always known for having the greatest non-conference schedules.

This is totally understandable when considering the gauntlet that is SEC conference play. Yet this season bucks that trend a bit, with Texas A&M playing Arizona State and Alabama playing Wisconsin at neutral sites. Louisville and Auburn should be a great Week 1 game as well.

5. FAMILIAR COACHES, NEW ROLES

SEC fans are already familiar with the likes of Jim McElwain, Will Muschamp and John Chavis. But the fact that those coaches ended up where they did – Chavis and Muschamp as defensive coordinators at former division rivals, McElwain taking over head coaching duties at the school that were the most recent SEC dynasty before his former Alabama – speaks volumes as to how much of a mercenary culture college coaching can be.

6. BOTTOM DWELLERS READY FOR BREAKTHROUGHS

For too long, the likes of Arkansas and Kentucky have been buried in the standings of their respective divisions.

But given the strong personnel Bret Bielema has built at Arkansas, and the instability of Kentucky’s SEC East rivals, this seems like a perfect year for those programs to raise from the doldrums.

7. FORMER BACKUPS WILL MAKE HUGE IMPACTS

Auburn fans finally get to see Jeremy Johnson at QB. Alex Collins will get the majority of carries at running back at Arkansas. Charles Harris looks to become Mizzou’s new sack master, and Lorenzo Carter is going to terrorize opposing offenses for Georgia.

It’s time for the new guys.

8. IMPROVED VIEWING OPTIONS

The SEC Network’s launch last season eclipsed most measurables. But the programs we’ve grown to love, including SEC Nation, should be even better in Year Two. Couple that with CBS announcing it would stream all of it’s SEC content for free, and you have a paradise for SEC fans.

9. RIVALRY RETURN LEGS

Last year’s SEC schedule is what you’re going to see for a long time.

The conference finally settled on its rotation for 12 years, combining regular Round Robin division matchups with a cross-division rival. Now newcomers Missouri and Texas A&M, previously cross-division rivals, have new matchups with Arkansas and South Carolina, respectively.

Those matchups were epic last season, with the Mizzou-Arkansas resulting in the Tigers’ return to the SEC Championship and Texas A&M-South Carolina providing us with the introduction of ‘Kenny Trill.’ Now these rivalries move to Fayetteville and College Station for what should be two heated games.

10. TWO OR NONE, NOT ONE

Like ESPN’s Lee Corso, more and more national analysts are open to the idea that the SEC could place two teams in the College Football Playoff.

Problem is, some of those same analysts think the conference could fail to produce a single representative for the playoff depending on how this season shakes out.