The 2016 season isn’t over yet, as the national champion will be crowned tonight in Tampa, but the Sporting News has already come up with a way-too-early top 25 for 2017. Six SEC teams make the cut, with Alabama leading the pack both in the conference and nationally.

  1. Alabama
  2. USC
  3. Clemson
  4. Ohio State
  5. Florida State
  6. Oklahoma
  7. Penn State
  8. Michigan
  9. Washington
  10. Georgia
  11. LSU
  12. Louisville
  13. Wisconsin
  14. Florida
  15. Oklahoma State
  16. Stanford
  17. Virginia Tech
  18. West Virginia
  19. Auburn
  20. Kansas State
  21. Miami
  22. Colorado
  23. Texas
  24. Tennessee
  25. South Florida

Alabama at No. 1 overall is no surprise as the Crimson Tide have dominated recruiting in recent years under Nick Saban and have been consistent contenders. In many polls, the most interesting storyline will be which SEC team gets ranked next after the Crimson Tide.

Bill Bender here goes with Georgia, with LSU and Florida not far behind. Here’s why Bender picked the Bulldogs as the conference’s No. 2 team in 2017:

Here’s the team that will be talked about than anybody else in the offseason. Running backs Nick Chubb and Sony Michel stayed in school, and Jacob Eason should make a big jump as a sophomore. At least, that’s what we’re counting on. Kirby Smart should be excited about Year 2. Bulldogs fans will be.

For his thoughts on all 25 teams, including the other SEC teams, the full article is available here.