During the offseason, fans and media members alike like to try to answer the big questions for the fall: Who will win the SEC? Who will be the top performers? Which coach’s seat will get hot?

ESPN college football writer Mark Schlabach has taken on those questions and others with his “crystal ball” predictions for all the Power 5 conferences.

Here’s how he sees the conference playing out this fall:

  • Champion: Alabama
  • Offensive player of the year: Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU
  • Defensive player of the year: Myles Garrett, DE, Texas A&M
  • Coach of the year: Nick Saban, Alabama
  • Freshman of the year: Jacob Eason, QB, Georgia
  • Comeback player of the year: Nick Chubb, RB, Georgia
  • Coach on the hot seat: Gus Malzahn, Auburn
  • Coordinator on the rise: Dave Aranda, defensive coordinator, LSU
  • Team most likely to rise: Tennessee
  • Team most likely to fall: Mississippi State
  • Nonconference game of the year: USC vs. Alabama (Arlington, Texas), Sept. 3
  • Conference game of the year: Alabama at LSU, Nov. 5
  • Biggest potential upset: Texas A&M over LSU, Nov. 24

While Schlabach has Alabama as the conference champion, he doesn’t think that will be the end of Les Miles at LSU:

Once again, the Tigers will roll through September and October before meeting a familiar stumbling block in November: Alabama. The Tigers will fall to the Crimson Tide, 21-20, at Tiger Stadium on Nov. 5, which will be their sixth straight loss in the series. This season, though, LSU will recover to win its last three games and will finish 11-1. Alabama will win the SEC West, but the Tigers will be the second-highest ranked SEC team and will be invited to the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

For more of Schlabach’s predictions, including division standings, the full article can be viewed here.