Will Alabama football reign supreme or will someone new take over the mantel of SEC football champion? The Saturday Blitz staff makes their picks.
The Alabama Crimson Tide are the closest thing that the current generation of college football fans has seen to a dynasty. Nick Saban has not slowed down and he’s not pulling his foot off the gas. The Tide will be the favorites until Saban decides he’s ready to move on.
Partly because of the dominance of Saban, the SEC East has faded into obscurity. The last East team to win the SEC Championship was Tim Tebow‘s 2008 Florida Gators squad. The conference finale has been a tune up for the Tide with little competition. Will someone be able to challenge Alabama in 2017?
SEC West
| Alabama | 1 |
| Auburn | 2 |
| LSU | 3 |
| Texas A&M | 4 |
| Arkansas | 5 |
| Mississippi State | 6 |
| Ole Miss | 7 |
Let’s cut to the chase. Only one member of the staff picked someone other than Alabama to win the SEC West, that was me, site expert Matthew Bartlett. Am I crazy? Possibly. Betting against Alabama doesn’t seem like the best possible strategy, but then again, they aren’t the ones holding the National Championship trophy right now. The Tide can be beat, it’s just not likely. Not likely at all.
Auburn poses the biggest threat to the Tide, but all their hopes rest on the arm of former Baylor transfer quarterback Jarrett Stidham. He only has three collegiate starts under his belt, but he’s earned the starting job for the Tigers. He’ll lead what could be a tenacious offense, backed by the strong legs of Kamryn Pettway and Kerryon Johnson.
More: Game by game predictions for Auburn in 2017
If Alabama is the cream of the crop and Auburn is a very distant second, the rest of the SEC West is in the “also ran” section. Both LSu and Texas A&M have the talent to win on any given Saturday, but poor coaching and consistent stumbling has kept anyone from placing too much faith in either team. Arkansas might be the most consistent team in the division. They’re almost a sure-fire bet to finish in the middle of the pack and be a tough out for everyone on their schedule.
Apparently Ole Miss and Mississippi State still play football. They each have exciting young quarterbacks, but neither has the pieces to make much noise in 2017. Then again, don’t the Rebels always find a way to give Saban a scare?
SEC East
| Georgia | 1 |
| Florida | 2 |
| Tennessee | 3 |
| South Carolina | 4 |
| Kentucky | 5 |
| Missouri | 6 |
| Vanderbilt | 7 |
The SEC East figures to be a much more interesting race than the West. Over the course of the past six years a trend has emerged in this division of back-to-back champions. Georgia won the East in 2011 and 2012, Missouri followed in 2013 and 2014 and Florida rounds of the final two years as winners of the 2015 and 2016 divisional titles. If history is to repeat itself, someone else will claim the crown in 2017.
That someone else looks to be the Georgia Bulldogs. A year ago they beat Auburn, the SEC’s Sugar Bowl participant, without scoring an offensive touchdown. With one more year of experience under his belt, Jacob Eason will be ever more dangerous as a passer. It won’t hurt that he has two of the better backs in the SEC lining up behind him Sony Michel and Nick Chubb.
Florida has invited Notre Dame transfer Malik Zaire to compete for the starting quarterback job. Whomever takes the job needs desperately to elevate the level of play of the Gator offense. Florida finished dead last in the conference in total offense a year ago and 12th in total scoring.
More: Florida Gators 2017 season preview
Butch Jones’ seat in Tennessee is getting hotter. If he couldn’t get things done with Joshua Dobbs and Alvin Kamara last year he’s going to struggle to improve his team with either Quinten Dormady or Jarrett Guarantano in the shotgun, even with John Kelly in the backfield.
South Carolina and Kentucky both have legitimate dark horse consideration to pull off an upset or two and win the division. The Gamecocks’ Jake Bentley has an experienced cast around him and could compete for the SEC passing title. Missouri and Vanderbilt have some pieces, but won’t be real contenders, not this year.
SEC Champion – Alabama (15 first place votes)
Also receiving votes – Auburn (1)
In a stunning turn of events, the Alabama Crimson Tide were not unanimous selections to win the SEC. Actually, there wasn’t a single unanimous conference champion projected by the Saturday Blitz staff this season.
More: Game by game predictions for Alabama in 2017
Nick Saban is on his way to becoming the greatest college football coach in the history of the game. Adding one more championship to his trophy case would tie him with Alabama legend Bear Bryant. Even during years where he hasn’t won it all, his teams have still been among the elite squads in college football. His worst season since 2008, his second year in Tuscaloosa, came in 2010 when he went a depressing 10-3.
Alabama is going to be dominant once again in 2017, and the inconsistent offenses of Florida and Georgia aren’t going to be able to get it done in a potential championship game matchup. Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson exposed the way to control the Tide. You have to go right at them.
It’s going to take an above average defense and an elite offense to challenge Alabama for SEC supremacy. Who fits that bill? Auburn is the likeliest candidate, but teams like LSU, Texas A&M and South Carolina have enough pieces to put some points on the board against the Tide. If they can hang a couple of early touchdowns on the Tide and make an opportunistic stop, or two, things could get interesting in the race for the SEC Title.
Next: Rankings the top 50 players in college football in 2017
What do you think? Should oddsmakers start writing in the Crimson Tide with a sharpie? Or will Saban’s young defensive unit end up faltering down the stretch? Crazier things have happened in college football. Exhibit A: The Kick Six. Can Alabama be beat again? Let us know in the comments or on Facebook or Twitter.