SEC football 2018: Predicted order of finish

SEC East predicted order of finish

1. Georgia: 12-0
Georgia has the easiest road to the SEC championship I have seen. They only play three legitimate teams who can beat them in Florida, Auburn, and LSU. But, the only one with a real shot is Auburn. However, Auburn has a four-game run of Mississippi State, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Texas A&M. That’s a rough road for the next game to be a top-three team. I think Georgia cruises through a schedule that has such foes as; Austin Peay, Middle Tennessee, Missouri, Vanderbilt, UMass, and Georgia Tech.

2. Florida: 9-3

Another SEC team with a new coach. Dan Mullen comes over from Mississippi State, who on face value seems much better than the now axed Jim McElwain. I love their schedule as its even, with one hard game and one easy game. They have six games I think they breeze through, and if Mullen gets this team turned around I don’t see Florida vs Florida State being that much of a contest either. So that would make seven games, almost automatic wins. This team has a road to a solid year and a good bowl game, but there is a clear divide between the Gators and the Bulldogs this year.

3. South Carolina: 8-4

After finishing the year with a bowl win over Michigan, South Carolina entered the offseason with a lot of momentum under Will Muschamp that fans hope will benefit the 2018 team. Under quarterback Jake Bentley and the return of Deebo Samuel from injury, this offense should be able to score points, but the defense will be the reason the Gamecocks compete for eight wins with a chance for a ninth one in a good bowl game.

4. Tennessee: 8-4

This is learning year for a team that finished 4-8 last year overall and a putrid 0-8 in the conference. They have a new coach over from Alabama and have a good recruiting class. They will play a lot of young kids this year as they go through a major overhaul. While the Vols may not sound like an eight-win team, they play UTEP, East Tennessee, Charlotte, Missouri, Kentucky and Vanderbilt. The heart of their schedule has all the difficult teams Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, and Auburn. If they can win all but those they will be a bowl team if they can steal a win we could see them jump South Carolina.

5. Kentucky: 7-5

After years of patience and faith that Mark Stoops was building Kentucky into a team that can compete in the SEC East, the Wildcats won seven games and made a bowl game last year. An encore performance is likely with a strong defense and a schedule that should see wins from Vanderbilt, Missouri, Murray State, Central Michigan and Middle Tennessee. Kentucky should be able to steal another game or two to get back to a bowl game.

6. Vanderbilt: 5-7

A six-win team last year who took advantage of a dismantled Tennessee team to end their year will come back to a more difficult schedule. They see the likes of non-conference teams Notre Dame and Nevada. They only have two sure-fire wins with games against Middle Tennessee to open the season and Tennessee State in the middle. Kyle Shurmur is a talented quarterback so look for his play to largely determine if they can steal a few wins to contend for a bowl spot.

7. Missouri: 4-8

Quarterback Drew Lock will put up record-breaking type numbers directing the Missouri offense. If the Tigers defense, that has at times been great in the SEC, can complement his excellence, then Missouri will have a chance to see their 4-8 outlook improve to a 6-6 or potentially 7-6 outlook in a best-case scenario. Look for former five-star recruit Terry Beckner to have a big year on the defensive line.