Conference Previews Part XXV

Welcome Back!

Today I conclude my conference previews. These previews will attempt to predict how each conference finishes, but realize that doing so is extremely difficult, especially since no conference has a balanced schedule. Also, whatever the conferences come up with in the form of tiebreakers will make a huge difference, as all but the Sun Belt have done away with divisions. In addition, these predictions aren't my personal opinion; they are the result of the formula/model/statistical analysis/whatever. I will sometimes mention my thoughts in the narratives below the predictions.

The list of records for 3-years, 6-years, and 10 years are conference records only, and do not include any results for the conference championship games. You will notice that the teams haven't all played the same number of games, especially when considering they should have. This is because that teams played a varied number of games in 2020, and that sometimes games get cancelled (see Virginia in 2022, for example). In the case of teams switching conferences, I counted the record from their previous conference. Independent teams joining a conference, and FCS teams moving up, are counted the same- that means they enter with 0-0 records.

In case you are interested, I get all of my information from various sources. I use the 3 main preview magazines (Phil Steele, Lindy's, and Athlon), but I also use many different websites, including (but not limited to): Google, Winsipedia, sports-reference.com, ESPN.com, TeamRankings.com, NCAA.com, and, of course, individual school websites.

I don't have a staff- it's just me- so all of the research is my own from these various sources (it doesn't help when they contradict each other...), so any mistakes are mine. I also don't have an editor/proofreader, so you are likely to find several (many? I hope not) typos, such as commas where periods should be (or vice versa), a misspelled or missing word, doubled words ("the the" in the middle of a sentence, for example), etc. 

I would like to invite you to fill out the fan survey in one of my previous blogs. It's titled, curiously enough, "College Football Fan Survey", so it shouldn't be difficult to find.

Finally, feel free to leave a comment. Interacting is much of the fun! Of course, if you know me personally, feel free to just text. I'll get that a lot quicker.

So, on with the previews! Today I preview the SEC!

SEC

3-Year History

Georgia 24-0/1.000/1st

Alabama 21-3/.875/2nd

Ole Miss 16-8/.667/3rd

Oklahoma 17-10/.630/4th

Texas 17-10/.630/4th

LSU 15-9/.625/6th

Tenn 14-10/.583/7th

Missouri 12-12/.500/8th

Kentucky 11-13/.464582/9th

TAMU 10-14/.417/10th

SC 10-14/.417/10th

Miss St 9-15/.375/12th

Florida 8-16/.333/13th

Auburn 8-16/.333/13th

Ark 8-16/.333/13th

Vandy 2-22/.083/16th

6-Year History

Georgia 45-4/.918/1st

Alabama 45-5/.900/2nd

Okla 39-14/.736/3rd

LSU 33-17/.660/4th

Texas 34-19/.642/5th

TAMU 27-22/.551/6th

Florida 27-23/.540/7th

Missouri 24-26/.480/8th

Tenn 24-26/.480/8th

Ole Miss 23-26/.489/10th

Kentucky 23-27/.460/11th

Auburn 22-28/.440/12th

Miss St 19-31/.380/13th

SC 19-31/.380/13th

Ark 11-39/.220/15th

Vandy 6-43/.122/16th

10-Year History

Alabama 74-8/.902/1st

Georgia 67-14/.827/2nd

Okla 69-20/.775/3rd

LSU 53-29/.646/4th

Florida 47-35/.573/5th

Texas 51-38/.573/6th

TAMU 42-39/.519/7th

Auburn 40-42/.488/8th

Ole Miss 39-42/.481/9th

Missouri 38-44/.463/10th

Miss St 36-46/.439/11th

Tenn 36-46/.439/11th

Kentucky 35-47/.427/13th

SC 31-51/.378/14th

Ark 22-60/.268/15th

Vandy 12-69/.148/16th

Predicted Finish:

1. Georgia

2. Alabama

3. Texas

4. Ole Miss

5. LSU

6. Oklahoma

7. Missouri

8. Tennessee

9. Texas A&M

10. Florida (tied with Auburn)

11. Auburn (tied with Florida)

12. Kentucky

13. South Carolina

14. Arkansas

15. Mississippi State

16. Vanderbilt

Conference Champion: Georgia

Key Conference Games:

Sep 7 SC @ Ky

Sep 14 TAMU @ Fla

Sep 21 Tenn @ Okla

Sep 28 UGA @ Ala, MSU @ Texas, Okla @ Aub, TAMU vs Ark (Arlington)

Oct 5 Aub @ UGA

Oct 12 Texas vs Okla (Dallas), Ole Miss @ LSU, Fla @ Tenn, Vandy @ Ky

Oct 19 UGA @ Texas, Ala @ Tenn, Ky @ Fla, LSU @ Ark

Oct 26 Texas @ Vandy, Mizzou @ Ala, Okla @ Ole Miss, LSU @ TAMU

Nov 2 UGA vs Fla (Jacksonville), Ky @ Tenn

Nov 9 UGA @ Ole Miss, Ala @ LSU, Okla @ Mizzou

Nov 16 Tenn @ UGA, LSU @ Fla

Nov 23 Ala @ Okla

Nov 30 Texas @ TAMU, Aub @ Ala, MSU @ Ole Miss, Okla @ LSU, Tenn @ Vandy, Ark @ Mizzou

Key Non-conference Games:

Aug 31 UGA vs Clemson (Atlanta), Colo St @ Texas, WKU @ Ala, ND @ TAMU, Miami Fl @ Fla, Va Tech @ Vandy

Sep 1 LSU vs USC (Las Vegas)

Sep 7 Texas @ Mich, USF @ Ala, Houston @ Okla, Tenn vs NC St (Charlotte), Cal @ Aub, Ark @ Okla St, MSU @ Ariz St

Sep 14 UTSA @ Texas, Ala @ Wisconsin, Ole Miss @ Wake Forest, Boston College @ Mizzou, Tulane @ Okla, Vandy @ Ga St

Sep 21 Ohio @ Ky

Oct 5 UCF @ Fla

Nov 16 NMSU @ TAMU

Nov 29 GT @ UGA

Nov 30 UCLA @ LSU, Fla @ FSU, SC @ Clemson, Louisville @ Ky

Chances to make the playoff: Guaranteed. The SEC has had a participant in each CFP, and sometimes have had 2. And with the new expanded 12-team CFP, I expect anywhere from 3-5 teams to make it in. Expect there to be a fierce battle to get into the SEC CG, possibly decided by the still mysterious tiebreakers (details have not yet been released). 

Don’t be surprised if… Missouri challenges for a spot in the SEC CG, as the only seeming loss is at Alabama, and even that may be iffy, though they do have other potential games where they could be upset (at TAMU or  vs Oklahoma, for example. 

I’m not convinced… either Alabama or Texas will finish in the top 2, though they will definitely factor into who does make it in. 

Come back Monday as I begin my weekly in season schedule- because the 1st games are only a week away!

Until next time, may you and your loved ones be blessed!