SEC power rankings: Week 1 – Can anyone stop Georgia and Alabama?

SEC power rankings heading into Week 1. Can anyone stop Georgia and Alabama from meeting in the SEC Championship Game for a second straight year?

The Razorbacks should take a step forward as a program this year, in Chad Morris’ second year running the program.

Ben Hicks and Nick Starkel continue to battle for the starting job either, however, should prove to be an improvement over Ty Storey’s tough 2018 campaign. They will also look for wide receiver Trey Knox and last year’s leading rusher Rakeem Boyd to become playmakers that can elevate their offense this season. They will also need their defense to take a big step forward, they finished the 2018 season ranked 108th in the nation in points allowed, with an average of 34.8 points allowed per game.

Arkansas has a manageable non-conference schedule this season and could pull wins against Portland State, Colorado State, San Jose State and Western Kentucky. I believe, however, that will be the extent of their wins this season. They may see their second straight winless season in the SEC. A four-win season, though, will still be a step forward as the Razorbacks continue a long-term rebuild to contender status.

There is some reason to be optimistic in Oxford, but the Rebels face a tough challenge in 2019.

The Rebels will be looking to replace a ton of talent on the offensive side of the ball. They will be without their 2018 signal-caller Jordan Ta’amu and a trio talented wideouts in DK Metcalf, DeMarkus Lodge, and AJ Brown.

To replace them, they will put a renewed focus on their running game. Scottie Phillips averaged 6.1 yards per game in 2019. He ran the ball just 153 times, though, while Ta’amu kept the ball 116 times. Look for Phillips to get more of the work this season and blow past the 928 yards and 12 touchdowns he accumulated on the ground last season.

Ole Miss will have redshirt freshmen Matt Corral leading their offense this season. Corral was the No.4 ranked pro-style quarterback in the 2018 class. Expectations are high for Corral, but his lack of experience puts a ceiling on what he will be able to accomplish in his first year as a starter.

Arkansas, Mississippi State, and Vanderbilt are winnable conference games but they may struggle to win more than two conference match-ups total. They also will face a tough challenge when they host Cal during Week 4. Expect Ole Miss to be competitive, but teeter on the edge of bowl eligibility this season.

For the first time in a while, football was the top sport in Lexington last season. I do not expect that to be the case again this year.

The Wildcats made a magical run in 2018, winning 10 games and finishing second in the SEC East. They lost their best playmaker on offense and defense, though, to the NFL. Josh Allen dominated SEC backfields in 2018. Kentucky does not have a player, or group of players, truly prepared to replace the 88 total tackles and 17 sacks he totaled on the way to winning the 2018 SEC Defensive Player of the Year award.

Benny Snell carried their offense last season, rushing the ball 289 times-19 more times than Terry Wilson threw the ball. In total, the Wildcats rank the ball 41 times per game last season and threw the ball 23 times per game. That will be a huge adjustment for Terry Wilson to make as he tries to prove he can take the reins of this offense.

Kentucky will be a contender in almost every game they play this season. They can sweep their non-conference schedule (Toledo, Eastern Michigan, UT-Martin, and Louisville) but will need a big conference win to be bowl eligible. They draw Arkansas from the west, which should be a victory. That means they will need to win one of the following toss-up games: Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee, or Vanderbilt.

Vanderbilt has played in a bowl game two of the last three seasons, and could very well play themselves into another one this year.

Last season the defense was the foundation of a six-win season. They allowed just 26.6 points per game to opposing offenses and featured playmakers like Joejuan Williams. This season, though, the playmakers will come from the offensive side of the ball.

The weekly success of the Commodores will come down to how well Ke’Shawn Vaughn plays. The redshirt senior exploded for Vanderbilt last season, after transferring from Illinois. He ran for 1,244 yards on just 157 attempts for 12 touchdowns. Kalija Lipscomb, another senior, will be the leader of their receiving corps. Lipscomb is coming off an 87 reception, 916 yards and nine touchdown season. Jared Pinkey, a third senior playmaker, will factor into their offense as a dynamic tight end who can contribute to this passing game. Last season, Pinkey caught 50 passes for 774 yards and seven touchdowns.

Where Vanderbilt does not have experience, though, is in their passing game. Derek Mason has still not named a starter in their wide-open quarterback battle.

Jake Bentley has a lot on the line in his final campaign with the Gamecocks.

Bentley has been the starter for 2.5 seasons, and the senior is looking to end his long career in a fashion that makes him attractive to NFL teams. Bryan Edwards (55 receptions, 846 yards, seven touchdowns in 2018) will look to help Bentley as he forges his own path to the draft.

South Carolina has 16 wins over the last two seasons and projects to finish slightly above .500 once again in 2019. They have a pair of non-conference games against North Carolina and Appalachian State that will not come easy. South Carolina also has to travel to Columbia, Missouri, Athens, Knoxville, and College Station this year.

This team has a lot of talent and experience, but ultimately the schedule may prove to be too overwhelming for this squad to achieve much more than a bowl appearance.

The Bulldogs have won at least eight games in two of the last three years. That will be hard to accomplish again in 2018.

Head Coach Joe Moorhead will once again rely on his defensive unit to do the heavy lifting. They have suffered some very large losses, though. Johnathan Abram (99 tackles, two interceptions) is now an Oakland Raider but led them in tackles last season. Jeffery Simmons led the team in tackles for a loss (18) in 2018 but is now a Tennessee Titan. Montez Sweat led the Bulldogs in sacks (12) in 2018 but is now in the NFL with Washington.

Tommy Stevens, who played with Moorhead at Penn State, has won the quarterback battle. The running back Kylin Hill though will be the focus of their offense. He ran for 734 yards and four touchdowns on 117 attempts last season. With Nick Fitzgerald (221 rushing attempts) gone Hill should expect a big bump in workload.

This might just be the season that breaks Gus Malzahn, but that’s been said before.

Despite being on the perennial hot seat Malzahn has never finished a season at Auburn with less than seven wins. He will have to rely on a trio of young playmakers on offense to keep that going, in a season where he faces a very tough schedule.

Bo Nix has won the starting quarterback job. Nix, a true freshman, comes with high expectations and low experience. He is the top-ranked quarterback in the 2019 recruiting class, according to 247Sports Composite, and the 33rd overall recruit. Sophomore JaTarvious Whitlow (787 yards, six touchdowns in 2018) will lead their rushing attack.

Auburn’s season will hinge on whether their defensive playmakers can outperform their tough schedule. The Tigers and Malzahn will go in the direction that Derrick Brown, Marlon Davidson, and Nick Coe bring drag them to from the trenches.