No matter the result of Monday’s game, Alabama will enter the 2016 season as the prohibitive favorite in the SEC.

Which teams have a legitimate chance to unseat the Crimson Tide will be among the most interesting storylines of the offseason. Adjusting to NFL departures and multiple assistant coaches leaving for other jobs, Alabama will be tested early not only against Southern Cal in its opener, but at Ole Miss on Sept. 17.

If recruiting rankings hold any value in prognostication, Alabama is eighth in the country, but fifth in the SEC for the 2016 signing class. LSU, Georgia, Florida and Ole Miss are all ranked ahead, according to the 247Sports Composite Team Rankings.

Tennessee, which will garner a lot attention as an SEC East favorite, has to be among the teams considered. After all, the Volunteers had a fourth-quarter lead against Alabama on the road in 2015. Might Big Orange have the kind of play in its favor that Alabama had in 2009 with Terrence Cody? The Vols could potentially return 17 starters from 2015, their first nine-win season since 2007, and likely are better-prepared to handle soaring expectations for a second straight summer.

In division play, Alabama will likely have to bottle up RB Leonard Fournette and LSU for a second straight season. The winner of that game has played for the SEC Championship in 10 of the last 11 years. It didn’t happen in 2010. Les Miles, of course, has more wins (five) against Alabama than any other LSU coach.

Ole Miss, even without its NFL departures, will have as much confidence as any team, looking for its third straight win over the Crimson Tide. Georgia coach Kirby Smart could do his best Jim McElwain impression and reach the SEC Championship in his first season. Georgia will obviously need more offensive firepower than the 2015 Gators, but that’s a reasonable expectation.

For Alabama to win another league title, the Tide will have to endure road games at Ole Miss, Tennessee, Arkansas and LSU. At least, Texas A&M is the only team with a bye before it plays Alabama while the Crimson Tide get a bye before LSU.