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Projecting every SEC team's final record in 2018 (247 Sports)
Posted on 7/26/18 at 6:56 pm
Posted on 7/26/18 at 6:56 pm
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The SEC became the first conference ever to get two teams into the College Football Playoff last season, and Georgia and Alabama ended up meeting in the National Championship Game. It seems unlikely the league will get two teams into the Playoff for the second consecutive year, so winning the conference will be of utmost importance.
The conference features six new full-time head coaches, so there are a wealth of unknowns as the season approaches. Maybe some of these new coaches give their programs a bigger boost than expected, and others may struggle mightily in their first season. As always, it will be fun to watch how the SEC season plays out in 2018.
Speaking of which, 247Sports has projected the final record of each SEC program this season. You can check out our predictions below.
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14. VANDERBILT: 4-8 (1-7)
For once in his tenure at Vanderbilt, head coach Derek Mason has a solid veteran quarterback. Kyle Shurmur will make the Commodores respectable on offense, but the defense can’t let them down. This 4-8 record isn’t great, but a couple of wins against Ole Miss, Kentucky, and Tennessee are well within the realm of possibility for the Commodores. Victories against two of those teams and an upset will have them in the postseason.
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13. KENTUCKY: 4-8 (1-7)
This could be the year the Wildcats take a step back after back-to-back bowl berths under Mark Stoops. On offense, Kentucky has Benny Snell in the backfield but still has to find a quarterback capable of winning games in the SEC. The Wildcats probably won’t get shutout in conference play, but fans may be looking forward to basketball a little sooner than usual.
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12. ARKANSAS: 5-7 (1-7)
If nothing else, Chad Morris will make the Arkansas offense much more fun to watch than it was under Bret Bielema. Outside of that, it may not be the Razorbacks’ year in 2018. The SEC is just too loaded, Arkansas will be overmatched in nearly every game that they play. Granted, if the Razorbacks can pull off an upset at some point in their schedule, then they could be bowl bound in Morris’ first season.
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11. TENNESSEE: 5-7 (2-6)
Forget a coaching change. The Volunteers needed a culture change following a 4-8 season in 2017. Jeremy Pruitt may be able to provide that, but it will take some time. The culture of a program doesn’t just change overnight. Tennessee will likely be more competitive in 2018, but that may only be reflected marginally in the win column. A 5-7 record could quickly turn into 4-8 or 6-6. The Florida game is certainly winnable, but the matchup with Vanderbilt is definitely losable.
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10. OLE MISS: 6-6 (2-6)
At a turbulent time for Ole Miss football, Matt Luke looks like the perfect fit for the program. After leading the Rebels to a 6-6 record in his interim season, Luke is poised do at least do that well again in 2018. If any of the bigger fish in the SEC West pond overlook Ole Miss, six wins could prove to be too low. Quarterback Jordan Ta’amu and an elite wide receiver corps make the Rebels an upset threat every weekend.
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9. FLORIDA: 6-6 (3-5)
Dan Mullen was a good hire for a Florida program that needed some serious help on offense, but the results may not be spectacular right out of the gate. South Carolina and Missouri are both on an upward swing, so that will make things more difficult than usual for the Gators in the SEC East. A return to the cowbells in Mullen’s first year and a home game against LSU make a 6-6 season a real possibility in 2018.
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8. LSU: 7-5 (4-4)
The opening game against Miami is a rough way to start out the season for the Tigers. LSU could win that, but Steve Ensminger will have to prove himself as an offensive coordinator very quickly. There are a number of toss-ups that could go either way on LSU’s schedule — at Florida, vs. Mississippi State, and at Texas A&M. The difference between a successful season and a disappointing one for Ed Orgeron and the Tigers will be determined by how many of those games they win.
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Posted on 7/26/18 at 6:57 pm to TideSaint
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7. MISSOURI: 8-4 (5-3)
Along with South Carolina, Missouri figures to be Georgia’s top competition in the SEC East. The biggest concern for Missouri is its defense, which was putrid much of last season. With Drew Lock under center, the Tigers can compete with most teams in the conference. On the flip side of that coin, Missouri could lose to almost any team in the conference thanks to a shaky defense. That means Barry Odom’s team may drop a game it isn’t supposed to at some point.
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6. TEXAS A&M: 8-4 (5-3)
The Aggies won’t be ready to challenge Alabama for SEC West supremacy immediately under Jimbo Fisher, but it’s easy to imagine they’ll be a formidable opponent for any team they play. Three straight road games against South Carolina, Mississippi State, and Auburn will be the biggest problem for Texas A&M in 2018, but winning one or two of those games will go a long way in Fisher having a solid inaugural season in College Station.
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5. SOUTH CAROLINA: 9-3 (6-2)
Generally considered the SEC East dark horse, South Carolina is gets Georgia, Missouri, and Texas A&M at home. That means their road games are less than intimidating with a trip to Clemson being the only exception. That means the Gamecocks could be in the running to sneak into the SEC title game late in the season if they take care of business at Williams-Brice Stadium.
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4. AUBURN: 10-2 (6-2)
A win over the Washington Huskies in Week 1 should get the Tigers off to a great start in the 2018 season. That would put them squarely in the discussion of College Football Playoff candidates. However, there are just too many land mines on the Tigers’ schedule to come out of the regular season unscathed. Other than the Iron Bowl, trips to Mississippi State and Georgia present great challenges.
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3. MISSISSIPPI STATE: 10-2 (6-2)
This would easily be the best season of all the programs with new head coaches in the SEC. Joe Moorhead inherits a load of talent on both sides of the football, and that puts him in the thick of the SEC West race immediately. The only things preventing this from being a magical season are two road games. The Bulldogs must go to Death Valley and Bryant-Denny Stadium.
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2. GEORGIA: 11-1 (7-1)
The Bulldogs will still be a great team in 2018, but the question is whether they’ll be as good as they were in 2017. Georgia lost quite a bit of talent to the 2018 NFL Draft, and a few SEC East teams are improved. Road games against South Carolina, LSU, and Missouri coupled with a visit from Auburn make for a daunting schedule. Odds are good that the Bulldogs drop one of those games.
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1. ALABAMA: 12-0 (8-0)
The Crimson Tide should be the favorites to win the SEC. They are full of the depth chart from the top of the depth chart to the bottom. Not only that, but they have a very favorable schedule in 2018. Alabama’s two biggest threats to a perfect season, Mississippi State and Auburn, both have to travel to Tuscaloosa late in the season. The Tide may roll into the SEC title game.
Posted on 7/26/18 at 7:01 pm to TideSaint
7-5 or 8-4 seems pretty likely for us. 8-4 with a bowl win would be a great outcome for us in terms of building recruiting momentum in Jimbo’s first year
Posted on 7/26/18 at 7:08 pm to TideSaint
Auburn is going to be a better football team than MSU
This post was edited on 7/26/18 at 7:09 pm
Posted on 7/26/18 at 7:11 pm to MSHawg1
They have auburn and MSU tied with State winning their game in Starkville.
Posted on 7/26/18 at 7:16 pm to TideSaint
Arky & UT will go 4-4 in conference play.
Posted on 7/26/18 at 7:17 pm to MSHawg1
We will beat them this fall. Of course, it being in Starkville helps. Auburn lost 4 starters on Offensive Line from last year, going up against our defensive line that returns 2 All-SEC players from last year [Sweat (SEC Sack Leader in 2017) & Simmons] and add in two more studs, Rivers (who people say is better than Sweat), and Green (moves to DE after being at OLB in years past, DE is his natural position). That's not a good formula for Auburn- Inexperienced OL vs. Experienced, Talented DL for Mississippi State.
This post was edited on 7/26/18 at 7:19 pm
Posted on 7/26/18 at 7:20 pm to ShaneTheLegLechler
A&M goes to National Championship within the next three years
Posted on 7/26/18 at 7:20 pm to Random MsState Fan
Dak Prescott ain’t walking through that door. Auburn gonna roll.
Posted on 7/26/18 at 7:21 pm to TideSaint
Should Kentucky go 4-7 Stoops needs to be shown the door.
Posted on 7/26/18 at 7:22 pm to TideSaint
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13. Kentucky
Guess this writer's team got blown out a few too many times in shoot hoops.
We'll finish top 3 in the SEC, number 1 in the East
Posted on 7/26/18 at 7:23 pm to kywildcatfanone
Agree
Give me Neil Brown, Leach, or Les IF that happens
Give me Neil Brown, Leach, or Les IF that happens
Posted on 7/26/18 at 7:23 pm to MSHawg1
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Auburn is going to be a better football team than MSU
No
Auburn lost 4 starters on the OL plus some very good RB's.
State returns everybody on the their DL 3 deep
State wins at home
Posted on 7/26/18 at 7:25 pm to Ross
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Dak Prescott ain’t walking through that door.
No- but Nick Fitzgerald will become the best rushing QB in SEC history by Game 8. He also has more talent at RB and WR this year
Posted on 7/26/18 at 7:30 pm to CoonassBulldog
Rebs finish with a winning record with another Egg Bowl victory... It will be a big win over a really good State team to put the Freeze mess behind them for good...
Posted on 7/26/18 at 7:30 pm to CoonassBulldog
State vs Auburn:
State returns 5 guys that started on the OL last year- 4 guys that were full-time. Auburn returns 1
State returns their top 4 RB's- Auburn lost their top 2 guys
State is the only SEC team that returns their entire 2-deep on the DL and has at least 4 draft choices there. Auburn will be good on the DL also but not State-good
State plays Auburn in StarkVegas
State beats Auburn in 2018
State returns 5 guys that started on the OL last year- 4 guys that were full-time. Auburn returns 1
State returns their top 4 RB's- Auburn lost their top 2 guys
State is the only SEC team that returns their entire 2-deep on the DL and has at least 4 draft choices there. Auburn will be good on the DL also but not State-good
State plays Auburn in StarkVegas
State beats Auburn in 2018
Posted on 7/26/18 at 7:31 pm to Ross
We don't need Dak to "walk through that door." Our 2nd string DL would start for a lot of teams across the country. We return 4 of 5 starters on OL (5th in nation last year and 1st in SEC in least sacks given up; 15th in nation and 3rd in SEC in least TFL given up). Williams rushed for 1,000 yards last year, Fitz is the best rushing QB in SEC history. We are loaded from top to bottom. We will win.
This post was edited on 7/26/18 at 8:48 pm
Posted on 7/26/18 at 7:32 pm to Cardsfann1
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Rebs finish with a winning record with another Egg Bowl victory... It will be a big win over a really good State team to put the Freeze mess behind them for good..
OM should have a very good offense. Their D is dogshit and cannot afford any injuries. Good luck with that in SEC play
Posted on 7/26/18 at 7:33 pm to CoonassBulldog
Also, we return both starters at Safety including 2017 SEC Interception leader, Mark McLaurin. Auburn lost both starters at safety.
Posted on 7/26/18 at 7:36 pm to TideSaint
We ain’t last.
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