In 2016, Alabama was a second away from a dream season. The Crimson Tide were undefeated and on the verge of yet another national championship.

But then Deshaun Watson hit Hunter Renfrow in the end zone with one tick left in regulation. Clemson finally slayed ‘Bama on its 99th offensive play. Just like that, the Tide’s visions of back-to-back titles were vaporized.

As for the rest of the SEC, last season was a bit of a nightmare. In the West, nobody could keep up with coach Nick Saban and Co. in Tuscaloosa. And then over in the East, preseason favorite Tennessee failed to live up to the hype. With the exception of Big Al, every team in the conference lost at least four times, even Sugar Bowl-representative Auburn.

With the calendar flipped to 2017, the league is fighting a nationwide perception that it’s not as strong as it once was. Although the Big 12 and Pac-12 still lag behind, the ACC and Big Ten appear to have closed the gap considerably.

Here are five dream scenarios in the SEC for the upcoming campaign, as well as five disaster sequences that keep commissioner Greg Sankey up at night.

Life would be a dream

1. Media finally correct in East

Print, radio and TV personalities haven’t picked the East winner right since 2012. From 2013-16, Georgia has come up short twice, while South Carolina and Tennessee did the same once each. The division has been far too unpredictable.

If UGA actually lives up to the hype, then quarterback Jacob Eason took a gigantic leap forward as a sophomore. Running backs Nick Chubb and Sony Michel were rewarded for coming back as seniors. Most important, the Dawgs might actually be legit.

2. Guice runs past Fournette

We were somewhat robbed last year when it came to LSU running back Leonard Fournette, who seemed to be everyone’s preseason favorite for the Heisman Trophy. Instead, he was hampered by a bum ankle and left for the NFL with us still wanting more.

Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

Fortunately, Fournette’s replacement in Baton Rouge, Derrius Guice (above), might be even better. He led the SEC in rushing a season ago despite only starting half a dozen games. If he can take the week-to-week punishment, he’s a candidate for 2,000 yards.

3. ACC shut up once and for all

Rivalry Week wasn’t pretty for the conference in 2016. Florida State manhandled Florida. Clemson humiliated South Carolina. Georgia Tech edged Georgia. Had Kentucky not upset Louisville, the chirping from ACC types might have been unbearable.

Seminoles coach Jimbo Fisher went so far as to proclaim two weeks ago at Media Days that the ACC is the best league in America. Laugh if you will, but it’s not unthinkable. The ACC is 19-13 against the SEC since 2014. It’s time for that script to flip.

4. Iron Bowl determines West winner

The Auburn-Alabama game is supposed to be not only the biggest rivalry in college football, but one of the premier clashes in sports. In order for it to be all it can be, then there needs to be more on the line than state bragging rights.

Chances are, the Crimson Tide will be the class of the conference again, but the Tigers could be in position to knock ‘Bama off its throne if they successfully navigate the early part of their 2017 schedule. What a post-Thanksgiving treat that would be.

5. East gets competitive in Atlanta

The West has won eight consecutive SEC Championship Games, and seven of them have been blowouts. Only Alabama’s 32-28 victory over Georgia in 2012 was a one-score affair. The average final tally of the others was 45-18.

This might hurt ratings for the league’s most high-profile matchup, plus the winner of such a battle should never be borderline predetermined. If the SEC champion is essentially crowned in November, then December is woefully short on intrigue.

Nightmare on Elm Street

1. Alabama as dominant as ever

No question about it, a healthy ‘Bama is good for all. The conference didn’t separate itself from the other ones until Saban resurrected the sleeping beast in T-Town about a decade ago. The rising of the Tide has lifted every boat in the SEC.

That being said, it can’t continue to be the Crimson Tide and everybody else. They played nine league foes this past year and ran the table by an aggregate score of 358-134. Legitimate threats are required. More than one, too.

2. Carousel of QBs at Texas A&M

Aggies coach Kevin Sumlin still isn’t sure who will succeed departed graduate transfer Trevor Knight at quarterback. Neither Jake Hubenak (below), Nick Starkel nor Kellen Mond has taken the gig and run with it, like Knight did the previous spring.

Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Sumlin is sitting on the hottest seat in the SEC. More than likely, if he can’t improve upon last year’s 8-5 mark, he’ll be out of a job. He won’t get anywhere near nine wins if he’s yanking Hubenak, Starkel and Mond in and out of the lineup.

3. East remains three-team race

Along with two-time defending champ Florida, Georgia and Tennessee are considered the blue bloods from the East. More often that not, they figure to finish first, second and third in the division since they typically have the most talent.

But Kentucky just went to its first bowl game under Mark Stoops. So did Vanderbilt with Derek Mason. Will Muschamp was more successful than anticipated in Year 1 at South Carolina. In order for the East to catch up with the West, those teams have to keep rising.

4. More mediocre quarterback play

Chad Kelly was supposed to be the No. 1 signal caller in the SEC last season. Instead, he helped Ole Miss blow a couple of big games in the second half before blowing out his knee. Joshua Dobbs couldn’t get Tennessee over the hump, either.

Kelly and Dobbs are both gone, so new stars are needed at the game’s most important position. The projected starters on the whole are more experienced than a year ago, but that doesn’t mean they’ll play well. The SEC needs them to desperately.

5. NCAA tears Ole Miss to shreds

Just like now-former coach Hugh Freeze, we’re still waiting to see what the NCAA does to the Rebels. The situation in Oxford got a lot stickier last week, as Houston Nutt’s lawsuit directly led to Freeze’s sudden and shocking departure.

Mississippi tried to build a wall around Freeze since he’d been a better recruiter and more of a winner than that program tends to employ, but remember: His necessary resignation had nothing to do with the NCAA case. Whether this makes the eventual punishment handed down harsher or more lenient remains to be seen.