SEC preseason predictions: Our picks to win East, West, SEC championship
By Chris Wright
Published:
One of the hidden joys of SEC Media Days is learning how wrong some of our industry colleagues can be about this game called football.
The SEC office likes to joke that the media rarely predict the champion correctly — just 7 times since 1992. That trend continued last year when the media picked Alabama to beat Georgia in the SEC title game. Alabama lost 2 division games and didn’t make it to Atlanta. LSU ran away with the West, the SEC and the national crown.
Auburn, Kentucky, Mississippi State, South Carolina and Tennessee each received 1 vote to win its respective division last season. That’s nothing. Three voters picked Missouri to win the East.
Unfortunately, we missed out on seeing who really liked Texas A&M and Tennessee this season.
Alas, we’ll try to do better than some of those writers did last year. Here is how Saturday Down South staff members see 2020 shaking out. (The SEC will release the official media vote Wednesday.)
Connor O’Gara, senior columnist
SEC East
1. Florida
2. Georgia
3. Kentucky
4. Tennessee
5. South Carolina
6. Mizzou
7. Vanderbilt
SEC West
1. Alabama
2. LSU
3. Auburn
4. Texas A&M
5. MSU
6. Ole Miss
7. Arkansas
SEC Championship: Alabama over Florida 35-28
I just keep getting the sense that everything that’s happened in this strange offseason favors Alabama and Florida. As of this writing, they both avoided the major opt-outs and injuries, unlike LSU and Georgia, both of whom were already dealing with massive turnover on the offensive side of the ball after winning their respective divisions. I expect both Alabama’s and Florida’s offense to shine all year, and in a thrilling showdown reminiscent of the 2018 SEC title game, it’s another late Crimson Tide comeback that continues the West’s dominance. Bryce Young wins SEC Championship MVP and 2-loss Florida is left wondering what its Playoff fate will be.
Michael Bratton, news editor
SEC East
1. Florida
2. Georgia
3. Kentucky
4. Tennessee
5. South Carolina
6. Missouri
7. Vanderbilt
SEC West
1. Alabama
2. LSU
3. Texas A&M
4. Auburn
5. Mississippi State
6. Arkansas
7. Ole Miss
SEC Championship: Florida over Alabama
After having his program in contention last fall, this will be the year Dan Mullen takes the Gators to the next level with the help of the league’s best quarterback. I’m not ready to buy Alabama’s defense as one of the best in the nation as that unit has been trending in the wrong direction in recent seasons. Alabama’s depth gets them to Atlanta but the Gators leave the game as 2020 SEC champs.
Joe Cox, Kentucky columnist
SEC East
1. Florida
2. Georgia
3. Kentucky
4. Tennessee
5. South Carolina
6. Missouri
7. Vanderbilt
SEC West
1. Alabama
2. LSU
3. Auburn
4. Texas A&M
5. Ole Miss
6. Mississippi State
7. Arkansas
SEC Championship: Alabama over Florida 38-20
If there’s anything that gets Nick Saban out of bed at an ungodly hour on a random day of the off-season, it’s probably the chance to prove somebody else wrong. LSU did amazing things last season. But it required a more or less perfect storm, and a motivated Nick Saban is a Nick Saban whose about to add to the trophy case. For Florida, overtaking Georgia in the East is more than enough to make a satisfactory season, and that’s why Alabama wins this game fairly easily.
Adam Spencer, newsletter editor
SEC East
1. Georgia
2. Florida
3. Tennessee
4. Kentucky
5. Mizzou
6. South Carolina
7. Vanderbilt
SEC West
1. Alabama
2. Auburn
3. LSU
4. Texas A&M
5. Mississippi State
6. Ole Miss
7. Arkansas
SEC Championship: Alabama over Georgia
It’s a chalk pick, I know, but the Crimson Tide have so much NFL talent on their roster. This season is going to be about depth, in my opinion, and I think the Tide and the Bulldogs have the most talent and depth. Georgia’s defense is elite. That will get the Dawgs past Florida for the SEC East title, even if it takes a while for the QB position to be fully settled. Alabama wins in Atlanta, though.
Neil Blackmon, Florida columnist
SEC East
1. Georgia
2. Florida
3. Kentucky
4. Mizzou
5. Tennessee
6. South Carolina
7. Vanderbilt
SEC West
1. Alabama
2. Auburn
3. Texas A&M
4. LSU
5. Ole Miss
6. Miss State
7. Arkansas
SEC Championship: Alabama over Georgia
Alabama is tired of hearing about how the dynasty is over. The defense is healthy and loaded. Mac Jones has a stable of elite wide receivers and the nation’s best running back corps. The Tide have something to prove. They’ll overwhelm a Georgia team that will win the East on the strength of an exceptional defense. If Florida and Dan Mullen get over the Cocktail Party blues, maybe the outcome in Atlanta is different; but I won’t pick Kirby Smart to lose that game until it happens, and the road to Atlanta in the East goes through Jacksonville.
Chris Wright, executive editor
SEC East
1. Florida
2. Georgia
3. Tennessee
4. Kentucky
5. Mizzou
6. South Carolina
7. Vanderbilt
SEC West
1. Alabama
2. LSU
3. Auburn
4. Texas A&M
5. Ole Miss
6. Miss State
7. Arkansas
SEC Championship: Alabama over Florida, big
I sound like a broken record, but I always root for the best story. In the East, that means Florida finally beating Georgia and returning to Atlanta. This is very much an “if not now, when?” perfect storm of opportunity for the Gators.
In the West, the best story would require even crazier chaos, the likes of which I don’t anticipate. I’ve thought all offseason that LSU was no better than the 3rd-best team in the West. Then other teams started losing key players, too. Teams 2-4 in the West are essentially interchangeable and barring fluke plays or untimely unavailability, no threat to Alabama.
This Alabama team is loaded and can win any way Nick Saban wants. Passing, running, punting and playing defense. It won’t matter. The SDS Crystal Ball predicted Georgia would beat Alabama in the regular season. I can’t see that happening. I think this time, for the first time, Nick Saban beats Kirby Smart comfortably and the Tide roll into Atlanta undefeated. That loss, coupled with the Cocktail Party loss, knocks Georgia out of the race and sends Florida to Atlanta.
Once there, the Gators play better than the last time they met the Tide in an SEC title game, but the suspense will be similarly limited.
Managing Editor
A 30-time APSE award-winning editor with previous stints at the Miami Herald, The Indianapolis Star and News & Observer, Executive Editor Chris Wright oversees editorial operations for Saturday Down South.
