The 2023 college football season is officially underway with Week 0 action opening up on Saturday and one of the many conferences experiencing a shakeup is the Southeastern Conference.

There was a point in time that it was a given that Alabama would be the best team in the SEC, but that’s changed now as Georgia looks to take the lead after winning two consecutive national titles. Beyond those two, other programs like Tennessee and LSU could make a push.

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Pat McAfee of ESPN recently named his dark horse team for the conference in the upcoming season, pinning the former as such, saying that it felt like a bit of a copout considering how highly the Vols have been ranked nationally during the offseason.

“I like Tennessee,” McAfee said. “Now, it’s another year with Heupel’s system and obviously Joe (Milton) is going to have to do a good job at quarterback. They’re plus 1,500 to win the SEC, so it is a long shot. It is a dark horse.”

Tennessee finished with an overall record of 11-2 in 2022, dropping just two SEC matchups. It will look to maintain that success in 2023, opening up the schedule against Virginia on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT.