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Who is the SEC’s top College Football Playoff dark horse for 2017?

Andrew Olson

By Andrew Olson

Published:

In the lull between National Signing Day and the start of spring practice, college football fans will see a lot of analysts share early top-25 rankings and conference power rankings. Never mind that the 2017 recruiting class will have little impact on the 2017 season, post-Signing Day updates help pass the time in the offseason.

One storyline to watch in the SEC is which team will establish itself as No. 2 to Alabama, the perennial favorite to win the conference and lone consistent championship contender. ESPN.com writer KC Joyner turned some heads this week when he wrote that Florida is a legitimate sleeper for this year’s College Football Playoff.

Since not everyone has ESPN Insider, Joyner hopped on “The Paul Finebaum Show” on Friday to discuss why UF could be a playoff dark horse.

During Jim McElwain’s two-year tenure in Gainesville, many have credited Florida’s defense with getting the team to Atlanta in back-to-back seasons. Joyner, however, points to the offense as the reason he likes the Gators in 2017. As he points out, UF returns a solid core of talent at running back, receiver, tight end and offensive line. The big question is if the Gators can find a quarterback who will take that offense to the next level.

The Gators aren’t alone in feeling that all that’s missing is the quarterback. LSU and Auburn have both recruited at a high level that past few years and always have talent on both sides of the ball. Both Tigers offenses, however, have been similarly hampered by the quarterback position.

AU certainly looks to be in good shape with Baylor transfer Jarrett Stidham. LSU hopes that new offensive coordinator Matt Canada will find a way to get the most out of a returning veteran (Danny Etling or Brandon Harris) or a talented freshman (Lowell Narcisse or Myles Brennan).

If one extends the definition of dark horse in this scenario to simply any non-Alabama team in the SEC, than Georgia fits the bill as well. The Bulldogs are already being talked about as the favorites to win the SEC East, thanks to impressive recruiting over the past five years and the return of elite ball-carriers Nick Chubb and Sony Michel. Unlike the Auburn, Florida and LSU, UGA also already knows its quarterback.

Joyner, for the reasons above, thinks that if Alabama stumbles, Florida will be the team to take advantage. Who’s your SEC dark horse for the College Football Playoff?

Andrew Olson

Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.

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