SEC Preseason Power Rankings entering Week 1
College football is officially back! Week 0 was a delight, with Georgia Tech pulling off an upset of No. 10 Florida State in Ireland. All in all, the 4 underdogs in Week 0 all covered the spread.
That bodes well for an exciting, topsy-turvy season across all of college football. Will we see chaos hit the SEC, too? Or will Georgia and Texas take care of business as expected?
With Arkansas and Mizzou hosting games on Thursday to kick off the SEC season, excitement is building across the southeast.
So with no further ado, here’s a look at our SEC power rankings entering Week 1:
16. Vanderbilt
Look, no one enjoys having to put Vanderbilt in last place in their power rankings every year, but that’s where the Commodores are going to hang out until they prove they’re ready to compete once again. The first goal is just to simply win an SEC game. They’re 2-22 in league play under coach Clark Lea through 3 seasons.
15. Mississippi State
I like the Jeff Lebby hire. He should be a good fit for the Bulldogs and should turn the program around. I didn’t like the Zach Arnett hire and was proven right with that, so hopefully my instincts remain correct regarding Lebby. I do believe it’ll take a couple of years for him to right the ship. Be patient, Mississippi State fans.
14. South Carolina
There are some good pieces on this South Carolina roster, but I’m not sold on the team overall. I like Nyck Harbor. I like Raheim Sanders. LaNorris Sellers should be… fine. I just don’t know if there’s enough depth on either side of the ball for this team to succeed at a high level in the SEC this fall.
13. Arkansas
This is a make-or-break year for Sam Pittman at Arkansas. If things don’t go well, there’s a chance he gets fired before the season finale against rival Mizzou. And this schedule… well, it’s brutal. The Hogs have 4 SEC home games, and they’re against No. 15 Tennessee, No. 13 LSU, No. 6 Ole Miss and No. 4 Texas. Yikes.
12. Florida
Speaking of brutal schedules, no one has a tougher end to the season than the Gators. Their last 5 games after their second off week are: vs. No. 1 Georgia, at No. 4 Texas, vs. No. 13 LSU, vs. No. 6 Ole Miss and at No. 10 Florida State. At least the Florida State game looks a little more manageable after the Seminoles lost in Week 0 to Georgia Tech, I guess?
11. Kentucky
Much like South Carolina, the Wildcats have several pieces I like, but not many I love. Barion Brown should be one of the most dynamic receivers in the league, though. Defensively, they have a ton of experience. The veteran defense will be what keeps Kentucky competitive this year.
10. Auburn
Year 2 under Hugh Freeze should be better than Year 1. QB Payton Thorne should improve. RB Jarquez Hunter is one of the best in the league. WR Cam Coleman should be a big addition even as a freshman. There’s reason for hope on The Plains. The Tigers will be a dangerous team for anyone to face in 2024.
9. Oklahoma
I think the Sooners are a year away from being competitive in the SEC. The receiving corps has a ton of talent, but I predict it will take a year for QB Jackson Arnold to find his footing and take a step toward becoming a star. The road schedule is tough for the Sooners. In SEC play, they visit Auburn, No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 11 Mizzou and No. 13 LSU.
8. Texas A&M
It’s Year 1 under Mike Elko. Are the Aggies going to be elite? Probably not. Most of that elite recruiting class from a couple of years ago has moved on. But QB Conner Weigman is still there. If he can stay healthy in 2024, he should be a top-half QB in the SEC. Elko will have his defense competitive on a weekly basis. If the Aggies can put up enough points, they have a chance to finish in the top half of the league standings.
7. Tennessee
It’s Nico Iamaleava time on Rocky Top! The Vols look to once again have a dynamic offense, and I’m high on Dylan Sampson as potentially one of the best running backs in the SEC. I am hoping Bru McCoy can come back from last year’s injury to complement a receiving corps led by Squirrel White. The offense has talent. It’ll be up to the defense to decide how far the Vols can go. Edge rusher James Pearce is a potential top-10 NFL Draft pick, but other guys need to step up around him.
RELATED: Can Nico Iamaleava finish his career as an all-time Vol great? Check out our list of the top 25 players in Tennessee football history.
6. LSU
Garrett Nussmeier is a rising star. He looks poised to have a big season. Kyren Lacy, Chris Hilton Jr. and CJ Daniels form a nice receiving trio. Mason Taylor could be a breakout candidate at tight end. The Tigers have Harold Perkins on defense and have a competent defensive coordinator after poaching Blake Baker from Mizzou. (As a Missouri grad, I might be a little bit bitter about that.) I expect the Tigers to be firmly in the mix for a Playoff spot this season, led by the dynamic offense. The defense won’t let them down like it did in 2023.
5. Mizzou
Brady Cook. Luther Burden III. Theo Wease Jr. Marcus Carroll. This offense is absolutely loaded, and the offensive line is experienced, as well. Sure, there are question marks defensively, but the offense might be so good that it can mask any defensive deficiencies. This is a big season for coach Eli Drinkwitz and company. The Tigers likely won’t have a schedule this easy again for a long time, so it’s 10 wins or bust in CoMo.
4. Alabama
Jalen Milroe is a legitimate Heisman Trophy contender. There are question marks across the rest of the offense, but there’s no denying the talent and pedigree of the players. What will Year 1 of the Kalen DeBoer era look like? I think we’re going to see the best version of Milroe. Is that enough to get the Tide to the SEC title game? I would bet not, but I could see Alabama making the 12-team Playoff field.
3. Ole Miss
This is the year for Ole Miss. Jaxson Dart returns to lead a dynamic offense that once again received reinforcements from the transfer portal. But the defensive line is the real reason to be excited. Walter Nolen is in the mix after transferring from Texas A&M. Princely Umanmielen came over from Florida. JJ Pegues is returning to school. This Rebel squad should be great on both sides of the ball. A Playoff spot is a real possibility. And Ole Miss will be ready to pounce on an SEC Championship Game berth if either of the top teams struggle.
2. Texas
Texas joins the SEC after its long stint in the Big 12. Yes, the Longhorns made it to the Playoff last year, but can they hold up to a season-long SEC grind? The nonconference schedule features a trip to Michigan in Week 2. The Longhorns also host Georgia this year, but outside of those 2 games, things look fairly manageable. This should be another great year for coach Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns. Anything less than a trip to Atlanta and a spot in the Playoff should be seen as a failure.
1. Georgia
What can we say about Georgia that hasn’t already been said? Carson Beck is a Heisman candidate. The defense looks nasty. There’s talent in the backfield, at tight end and in the WR room. There’s a good possibility that if the College Football Playoff had 12 teams last year, Georgia could have won its third-straight title. Kirby Smart won’t be focusing on 2023, though. It’s all about 2024 in Athens and this appears to be as good of a team as Smart has had during his incredible run at his alma mater.
“There’s reason for hope on The Plains. The Tigers will be a dangerous team for anyone to face in 2024.”
AU has to actually win big games to be considered dangerous.
Missou and ole miss are too high- arky and it too low…
Bama could be above OleMiss, but I don’t see us being any lower than that right now. Basically right where they left off last season.
OMiss maybe…..but Missouri’s last game was a win over a top finisher in a league that had a very good bowl season and they almost shut out Ohio State doing it! If anything Missouri is too low
Easiest schedule in the sec- if Missouri loses one they are supposed to win, that’s it
I just hope Missouri stops embarrassing us.
They didn’t lose to Georgia State.
Vols?
We certainly embarrassed the fat man and the rest of Vol nation last season. It would have been fun to do it again.
Cam Coleman is not a transfer. Do a little research.
Wondering if he mixed up Coleman and KLS. But yes, hitting publish on this with that error in is just lazy.
Cook is the weak link in the Mizzou offense, after going back and rewatching the KSU and most SEC games, it was clear that most of the many 3rd and longs Mizzou faced were largely from Cook making errors.
Cook was largely bailed out by being surrounded w/ exceptional talent at really every other position of the offense.
If Cook has made any real strides in the off season the Tiger O can be a real force, if this year is just a repeat of last year for Cook, it will be another season of very close games.
Wow. I tend to think Cook is overrated by many, but I wouldn’t go this far. Most college QBs aren’t very good, and he has become a competent passer with enough running ability to be dangerous. I don’t think he’s an NFL prospect or a Heisman candidate or anything, but compared to most college QBs, he’s an asset.
Cook was serviceable last year and if he improves year over year in the way he did for ’22 to ’23 we’ll be in great shape (like 11-1 type of shape). Like Biff said, college QBs aren’t that good so he just needs to be able to get the ball to the massive talent around him and part of that is the coaching staff’s challenge.
What more does he need to do? In two years as a starter he has just shy of 1000K on the ground and 6500K in the air at 66.6%. That’s one year of playing with a torn labrum in his throwing arm. Better TD/INT ratio / QB Rating / Completion % than Brad Smith, Drew Lock, Blaine Gabbart.
tigurr, you’re the weak link in the Mizzou fanbase.
I honestly wonder how anyone thinks Jalen Milton is a good QB, much less a Herman contender lol. He was HORRIBLE for the first part of the season and look HORRIBLE against Michigan. At no point during last season did Milroy look like one of the best QBs in the SEC, much less the country. He was barely serviceable as a passer. It was his size and running ability that made him a threat. But in no way is he anywhere near a top QB in the country.
Milton and Herman both think you’re not too bright.
Jalen had the most Heisman votes of any returning player is now plays for an offensive-minded coach who knows how to build a team around the strengths of a qb.
I think there are better QBs in CFB, but he will be dynamic as a rusher and passer this year. RTR!!!
Milroe = DJU 2.0; nowhere near his predecessors Young, Tua, etc.
I think Bama takes a step back defensively, but as long as Milroe is QB, they have a chance to win every game.
If he played for anyone other than Bama he wouldn’t even be an afterthought.
Dart, Beck, Ewers and Cook are much better QBs. Milroe is just getting the Bama hype. If Bama would have anyone of these QBs during the playoff, Bama would have won and not looked horrible on offense.
Milroe will win the Heisman.
Bama is the dark horse.
I hope I’m wrong.
IF bama makes the playoffs, it will only be bc the voters feel bad for them.. Mark my words.
Missouri is ranked too high. Sure the offense is electric, but the defense has a lot of questions.
Serious question: If LSU doesn’t make the playoffs and loses 3 games, does Kelly survive?
Good question about the fake southerner.
VOLS
…H
…I
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Pretty fair overall.
What Trumpfan said.
The SEC will probably be won by a non-contender.
Miss, aTm, LSU.
I’m surprised to see TX over Ole Miss. I would be shocked if TX can keep OM from lighting up the board. And, if OM’s defense is really historically loaded, how are they going to be predicted 3rd? If this is the pinnacle for them, at least rate them 2nd. Texas has proven nothing.
the Texas problem is Sark…
just because he was a Saban project doesn’t make him great, but Sark will get every break necessary to see if that storyline can end the way they wish it will.
See you guys are buying into Texas without actually looking into them. Man, that Bama win from last year is paying off huge. No one considered it was Milroe’s second game and he was not who is he now. They lost to OU and UDUB. They have no RB or WR’s. Their secondary is very suspect. Do your homework and quit depending on the Texas propaganda machine.