If you look at the current odds to win the SEC, it’s overwhelmingly obvious that the betting world is expecting the Alabama Crimson Tide and Georgia Bulldogs to link back up in Atlanta this season for another SEC Championship match-up. Common logic might dictate that when you look at where these two programs are. Alabama won the SEC Championship a season ago, have the Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback, and have the greatest coach in the history of college football at the helm. They were bested by Georgia in the National Championship game – the Bulldogs are defending their title with a ton of hype behind them in their own right. It makes all the sense in the world. But, c’mon – where’s the fun in that? Let’s take a look at some candidates to upset the odds and unseat one of these football powerhouses in the SEC Championship. In order, I’m going with…
A Real Shot
Arkansas – season preview – All aboard the Razorbacks hype train – we are leaving the station! I love the quick turnaround job that Sam Pittman has pulled, and think that alongside Kendal Briles and Barry Odom, Arkansas may have the best coaching triumvirate at the top of the staff in the SEC. They have a guy I would call a dark horse Heisman candidate at quarterback in KJ Jefferson. And, that schedule sets up nicely for a 10-win campaign in 2022. Like I said, all aboard.
Kentucky – The Wildcats seem like a puzzling projection in 2022 – I’ve seen ’em as high as “#2 in the East,” and I’ve seen ’em as low as “#6 in the East.” But, I believe in them for the same reason I believe in the Tennessee Titans in the NFL. They’re going to be a physical team with a strong foundation laid by its head coach. In Kentucky’s case, that’s the consistency of what Mark Stoops has built there. They’re going to have a good defense, and they have their franchise quarterback in Will Levis. They’re on a lot steadier ground than a lot of the other teams in the SEC East. This one could all come down to that November match-up with Georgia in Lexington.
Texas A&M – They currently have the best odds outside of Alabama and Georgia, and there’s plenty of reason to think that they could make another run at the College Football Playoff. They certainly have the talent to do so, but until they prove that they’re not going to randomly drop 3-4 games in October and November, I don’t think I have the confidence to put my money on ’em. Not to mention, they have a legit question at quarterback heading into the season.
Dark Horses
Mississippi State – season preview – The Bulldogs have one more year of progression under Mike Leach, they have a quarterback in Will Rogers that is going to throw for a million yards, and they fielded a surprisingly good run defense in 2021. If they can get a little more consistency going, this is absolutely a team with the seasoning it takes to have a surprise run in the SEC. The reason I’m not high enough on them to put in the “A Real Shot” category is their schedule. It’s a tough one with games at LSU, at Alabama, at Kentucky, and they drew Georgia out of the SEC East to boot.
Tennessee – I don’t know that you could call the Vols a “dark horse” given that they’re currently 4th in the SEC in terms of odds to win it, but I think we may be jumping the gun a bit with all of this preseason hype. Sure, they’ll be competitive, and I love what they have at quarterback in Hendon Hooker. And while they should be better with another year of Josh Heupel at the helm, it feels like a leap to go from surprise in 2021 to contender in 2022. Let’s not lose sight of how far the defense has to go to catch up to the offense. That said, I still give them a shot because I think they may be the only team in the division that will be able to score on Georgia. The defense may not matter if they’re scoring 50 a game.
LSU – season preview – I’m giving LSU a shot here because they have a wealth of talent, and I do believe that Brian Kelly is a damn good football coach. For me, it’s just a matter of how quickly they can jell and live up to the potential that all that talent carries with it. If they catch on in September, then watch out for this team. If it’s November, then we may be talking about ’em as a title contender in 2023.
But, what if both Alabama and Georgia are knocked out? How about an Arkansas-Kentucky meeting in Atlanta? No? No one’s buying that? We’re getting too crazy? Okay, I’ll see myself out.
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Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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