SEC football 2018 preview: Breakout stars, biggest games, predictions

SEC Championship Game Prediction: Alabama vs. Georgia

Practically everyone who follows the sport is predicting a rematch of last year’s National Championship Game. I try to look outside the and make some unique predictions, just not at the expense of being wrong. So here is what to expect in the game almost everyone is expecting at the end of this season.

The two teams were obviously very evenly matched last season considering it took overtime for Alabama to top Georgia in the National Championship Game.

Georgia returns 13 starters including quarterback Jake Fromm and four players from what became one of the best offensive lines in the country a season ago. They lost their top two rushers but have a very promising replacement in D’Andre Swift ready to step in.

The biggest holes Georgia has to fill in 2018 are at linebacker and defensive back. Safety J.R. Reed and corner DeAndre Baker are two of the SEC’s best at their positions and will be even more important in 2018 as they’ll be joined by inexperience at the other safety and corner spots.

There’s no way to replace Roquan Smith and all the things he did as the 2017 SEC Defensive Player of the Year. But he’s just one of four key linebackers Georgia’s defense must replace from last year’s team. Senior D’Andre Walker will be a first-time starter but has experience and is someone to watch as a potential standout in the conference. Natrez Patrick has had issues off the field but appears to have dealt with them and looks ready to return as another potential impact player this year. Sophomores Monty Rice and Walter Grant are both young, talented players with some experience who will be asked to step into major roles in the middle of Georgia’s defense.

Alabama’s biggest question coming into 2018 is at quarterback. It’s the kind of question most teams will kill to have though as it’s asking whether Tua Tagovailoa, the hero of last year’s national title game, is good enough to replace Jalen Hurts who is 26-2 as a starter. Tagovailoa, the likely starter, will make Alabama much more dangerous as a passing team. They’ll reload at running back as always and have five starters returning on the offensive line.

Tosh Lupoi takes over as defensive coordinator to replace Jeremy Pruitt who was hired as a head coach to revive once-great Tennessee program. Lupoi has been with the program since 2014 as a defensive position coach and one of the nation’s top recruiters and should hit the ground running this season. He’ll have a pair of stud linebackers in Mack Wilson and Anfernee Jennings at linebacker. On the defensive front, Raekwon Davis is an absolute monster at 6-feet-6, 315 pounds and one of the most dominant players in the country.

The biggest area of concern for Alabama is at defensive back where they’ll be replacing last season’s Thorpe Award winner in Minkah Fitzpatrick and two starting corners. Safety Deionte Thompson who saw significant playing time as a sophomore has All-SEC talent and steps in as a starter in his junior season. Two more rising juniors, Shyheim Carter and Trevon Diggs, will factor in at corner. Both were former four-star prospects who have spent two seasons waiting their turn. Newcomers Saivion Smith (JUCO transfer and former five-star) and Patrick Surtain, Jr. (five-star true freshman) will also play roles on the outside for Bama’s defense.

Both teams could return to the College Football Playoff regardless the SEC Championship outcome but Alabama brings back more starters on both sides of the ball, more depth and could take a dramatic step forward on offense with Tua at quarterback.

If that wasn’t enough, they’ve won the SEC Championship four times in the last six years and only missed winning in back to back seasons once (2010 & 2011) under Nick Saban. Bama also has history on their side in case you needed one more reason for picking them to win the SEC in 2018.

Predicted Winner: Alabama