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Preseason SEC football power rankings: Alabama and everything after

By Ethan Lee

MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - JANUARY 11: Bryon Young #47 head coach Nick Saban pose for a selfie after defeating the Ohio State Buckeyes to win the College Football Playoff National Championship of the Alabama Crimson Tide at Hard Rock Stadium on January 11, 2021 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images)
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - JANUARY 11: Bryon Young #47 head coach Nick Saban pose for a selfie after defeating the Ohio State Buckeyes to win the College Football Playoff National Championship of the Alabama Crimson Tide at Hard Rock Stadium on January 11, 2021 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images) /
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College football is getting set to get started once again. The offseason is wrapping up and the 2021 season is coming closer. Before the season begins, it’s time to take a look at the Southeastern Conference and how its 14 teams look.

Unsurprisingly, the best team in the SEC is also the best team in the country. The Alabama Crimson Tide is primed to be the best in the SEC once again. That’s fair and easy to say given how talented Nick Saban’s team is.

SEC power rankings: Has Georgia closed the gap on Alabama?

Vanderbilt has a lot of work to do this season. The Commodores have a new head coach in Clark Lea and are looking to improve under his leadership moving forward, but football just isn’t a sport Vandy finds much success in. Vanderbilt went 0-9 in 2020 and ESPN’s FPI is only favoring the Commodores against two foes this season: East Tennessee State and UConn.

Like Vanderbilt, South Carolina also has a new head coach. The Gamecocks struggled under Will Muschamp, so South Carolina decided to move on in the midst of a rough season in 2020 (a year in which they finished at 2-8). With Shane Beamer, South Carolina fans are likely hopeful that things will improve sooner rather than later, but he’s got some work ahead of him.

The Tennessee Volunteers, like the South Carolina Gamecocks and Vanderbilt Commodores, are also breaking a new coach in this season. The Vols made the choice to move on from Jeremy Pruitt after they went 3-7 in 2020, so they ended up hiring Josh Heupel away from the UCF Knights. The move from Orlando to Knoxville is likely going to be a big adjustment for Heupel, but he seems to be a decent candidate to lead the Vols forward.

During Heupel’s time at Central Florida, the Knights consistently thrived, winning games in large part due to their offense. Tennessee’s offense could certainly use a spark and Heupel is the kind of guy who could help the Vols get that. In three seasons, the Knights went 28-8 and he’ll need to start winning fast once he gets to Knoxville. Unless Tennessee starts winning soon, the two men who preceded Heupel at Tennessee, Butch Jones and Pruitt, got a combined seven seasons to lead the program.

Arkansas is an interesting team. The Razorbacks weren’t particularly any good in 2020, but this is a team that found the blueprint to stymie Mike Leach’s offense, beat Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss, and then took down Tennessee. But that’s all Arkansas won last year. The Razorbacks ended the season on a four-game losing streak, including a season-ending 52-3 loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Year one of the Air Raid’s installation in Starkville was messy, to say the least. Not having a full offseason the get the Mississippi State Bulldogs up to speed on his system certainly didn’t help Mike Leach’s cause. But, despite only managing to go 4-7, there are reasons for optimism for Mississippi State moving forward.

MSU did end the year by showing progress on the offensive side of things thanks to the development of quarterback Will Rogers and wide receiver Jaden Walley. State also ended the year with a couple of nice wins, one being a dominant showing in a 51-32 win over the Missouri Tigers and then a 28-26 win over then-No. 22 Tulsa in the Armed Forces Bowl.

Auburn is a team with a ton of talent and a ton of resources. Because of that, this is always a team with a ton of potential. After Gus Malzahn failed to live up to what some may call absurdly high standards, the Tigers made the decision to move on from a really good coach. Luckily for Auburn football fans, a really good coach was available in Bryan Harsin. And luckily for Harsin, he’s stepping into a pretty good job.

The Kentucky Wildcats have the potential to be a team on the rise this coming season. Each and every season, Mark Stoops consistently proves himself to be one of the best head coaches in college football, but the Wildcats weren’t particularly great in 2020. Despite the fact that UK won the Gator Bowl, the Wildcats only went 5-6. There are some new pieces on the offense that should help and if Kentucky can get back on track, expect to see this team earning plenty of respect throughout the season.