SEC power rankings, Week 1: Alabama and everybody else
By John Buhler
South Carolina Gamecocks (0-0)
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The South Carolina Gamecocks massively overachieved last year under new head coach Will Muschamp. Many saw this as a team that might win two games. Instead, the Gamecocks went bowling. Muschamp got the most out of his defense and has a solid young quarterback in Jake Bentley to work with going forward.
South Carolina may be a year or so away from contending for a SEC East crown, but this is a team that nobody should over look. Expect this team to win somewhere in that six to eight-game range. South Carolina may not make it to Atlanta, but the Gamecocks will absolutely have a say in who does coming out of the SEC East.
Kentucky Wildcats (0-0)
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Mark Stoops has done a phenomenal job on the recruiting trails to make the Kentucky Wildcats a respectable program. The Youngstown native pries into the Ohio region to help this basketball school field a formidable SEC East team. Kentucky will win with the offense this year, that’s for sure.
The Wildcats are the dark horse to come out of the SEC East. Georgia isn’t back to being a juggernaut just year. Florida is dealing with a ton of suspensions. It might be a down year for Tennessee. Kentucky could win about eight games this year, maybe win the SEC East in a terrible year for the division. Expect this team to get to back-to-back bowl games this season.