Way-too-early 2024 SEC football power rankings without Nick Saban

No more Nick Saban. Following his retirement announcement, fans cried tears of sorrow and joy. Saban’s long-running reign in the SEC has led to the rest of the conference frequently falling short of success.

With Saban gone from Alabama’s program, how will the Crimson Tide and the rest of the SEC fair in 2024? Not to mention the conference adding the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners in the mix.

Here’s my take on where the 16 teams in the Southeastern Conference will fall at the end of next season:

16. Vanderbilt Commodores

Vandy has a tough schedule ahead of them in 2024. Not only do they have to play at Auburn and LSU, but the Commodores also have to face Texas, Alabama, and Tennessee.

Outside of conference play, Vanderbilt has to host Virginia Tech which is no walk in the park. 

The team landed at the bottom of the pack in 2023 at 2-10 overall and 0-8 in the conference. The Commodores are currently on a 10-game losing streak. 

Head coach Clark Lea brought in a relatively good class of recruits, sitting at 40th nationally, but I don’t think it’s enough to turn the program around in just one year.

15. Mississippi State Bulldogs

Mississippi finished just ahead of Arkansas in 2023 and I’m expecting to see a similar result in 2024. Head coach Jeff Lebby announced that he was bringing in six new assistant coaching hires at the end of last season which will hopefully help turn the page to a new chapter for the Bulldogs.

In his first signing class, Lebby was able to bring in a handful of four-star recruits that will be good fits for the team. Offensive tackle Jimothy Lewis and wide receiver JJ Harrell will bring some much-needed firepower to the offense.

The Bulldogs 2024 signing class ranks 34th nationally but 15th in the SEC, ahead of Vanderbilt.

Mississippi State also has a tough schedule next season, playing Texas, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Georgia on the road.

14. Arkansas Razorbacks

The Razorbacks didn’t have a great showing in 2023. Winning only four games all season, Arkansas went 1-7 in the SEC and finished in last place in the SEC West.

In November, head coach Sam Pittman added Bobby Petrino as his offensive coordinator and brought in eight four-star recruits. Petrino and Arkansas’ young players should hopefully help the Razorbacks eke out a few more wins in 2024.

Playing Arkansas Pine Bluff and UAB in non-conference games should have the team starting off on the right foot. However, having to play Auburn at Jordan Hare as the conference opener doesn’t bode well for the rest of the season.

13. Florida Gators

Just like South Carolina’s performance last season, the Gators finished at 5-7 overall and 3-5 in the conference. 

Billy Napier was able to sign two 5-star and nine 4-star recruits as head coach of the Gators but that only brings Florida in at 8th in the SEC signing class rankings this year.

With arguably the toughest schedule in the conference, I’m not sure Napier will be able to repeat last year’s semi-success of almost breaking even.

12. Texas A&M Aggies

Mike Elko failed to do what was necessary to bring Texas A&M back to a top spot in the conference. With only one five-star and a handful of four-stars making up almost all of his 2024 signing class, the Aggies will once again fall short of glory.

Finishing at 7-6 overall last season, A&M went 4-4 in the SEC. The Aggies didn’t have any amazing upsets over top teams and they weren’t upset by any unexpected opponents. 

Overall, the team’s 2023 season was pretty uneventful. 

The Aggies did get to go to a bowl game last season. They played against Oklahoma State in the Texas Bowl, losing 31-23.

11. South Carolina Gamecocks

South Carolina and head coach Shane Beamer failed to make it to a bowl game in 2023, finishing the season at 5-7 overall.

The good news is that the Gamecocks won’t see Tennessee, Texas, or Georiga next season. The bad news is that they will have to play against Alabama and Oklahoma on the road without their starting quarterback Spencer Rattler, who was a senior last season.

The team will also have to play against Clemson in Death Valley to complete their regular season.

Beamer was able to sign two five-star recruits and nine four-star recruits to help fill the voids left behind by previous players like Rattler and wide receiver Antwane Wells.

Head coach Mark Stoops dropped the ball on the recruiting front. Landing his program’s 2024 signing class at 13th in the SEC, Stoops was unable to add any five-star talent to his roster and only signed six four-stars.

Stoops was able to coach the Wildcats to a 7-6 finish last season but the team struggled in conference games, going 3-5 against SEC opponents.

Kentucky’s 2024 schedule shouldn’t be too difficult on the players. The big hiccups will come when the Wildcats play Texas at Darrell K. Royal Memorial Stadium in Austin and Ole Miss at Vaught-Hemmingway Stadium.

Having teams like Southern Miss, Ohio, and Murray State will most likely help cushion the Wildcats’ record next year.

Sorry Tigers, head coach Hugh Freeze announcing that he will be the offensive playcaller next season does not mean the team will be number one in the state. Despite having the fourth-best recruiting class in the conference, I think Auburn will continue to struggle in 2024.

I’ll give Auburn and Freeze some credit, they’re adding two five-star recruits and 13 four-star recruits.

Luckily, Auburn has a fairly easy schedule until they have to travel to Tuscaloosa to play against a Saban-less Alabama. 

For fans’ sakes, I think the biggest win for the Auburn football team is Saban’s retirement. The students rolled Toomer’s Corner to celebrate the announcement after all.

At the halfway point in the power rankings, I have Tennessee. The Volunteers struggled without star quarterback Hendon Hooker and went 4-4 in last season’s conference games.

Fortunately, Big Orange has a really easy schedule for 2024. The biggest bump in the road will come when the team has to play Georgia on the road but they get to avoid Texas and Ole Miss entirely. 

The Volunteers do have to host Alabama but the home-field advantage of Neyland Stadium, and the obvious lacking of Nick Saban, should help the Volunteers to do alright in the game.

Dillon Gabriel left for Oregon and it’s reminding me a lot of when Caleb Williams left for USC. The season after, the Sooners lost… a lot.

Luckily, OU’s head coach stuck around this time so I don’t think it will be quite as bad as the blunder of the program’s 2022 season.

Having been the associate head coach and the defensive coordinator at Clemson, head coach Brent Venables is no stranger to the big stage that comes with playing against SEC opponents. Venables was able to add an impressive 2024 signing class to his roster – consisting of 18 four-star recruits, the class is ranked 6th in the SEC.

The Sooners still have to play their old Big 12 rival the Texas Longhorns as well as Auburn, Ole Miss, and LSU on the road.

Eliah Drinkwitz had some shining moments with Missouri in what was probably the biggest SEC surprise team of 2023.

The Tigers finished second in the SEC East, behind the Georgia Bulldogs, and were ranked #8 nationally. They even capped off their season with a bowl victory over #10 Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl Classic.

The surprising success of the Tigers may account for the disappointing recruiting class that Drinkwitz brought to the program. With just one five-star and six 4-star recruits, the class leaves something to be desired for Missouri fans.

The toughest games for the Tigers next season will come when they host Oklahoma and when they play Alabama on the road.

Jayden Daniels declaring for the NFL Draft is a huge loss for LSU. However, with a relatively easy schedule, the Tigers should do just fine in 2024.

Finishing at 10-3 last season and defeating Wisconsin in their bowl game, Daniels’ successor Garrett Nussmeier seems to have the team in good shape.

Brian Kelly will look to continue his success with the Tigers as Nussmeier steps into the quarterback position. Kelly signed 29 rated recruits, including 19 four-stars.

LSU gets to host Ole Miss, Alabama, and Oklahoma at Tiger Stadium which always gives the team a leg up.

The Tide will not be the same without Nick Saban. The GOAT of college football coaches, Saban is leaving behind an unmatchable legacy.

However, this means that all of the talent Saban worked to recruit can leave. Alabama players had a 30-day window open when their coach announced his retirement in which they can transfer out of Tuscaloosa.

With the guarantee that the program will be under a new head coach, if enough star power leaves I think the fourth-place finish for Alabama is generous. Before Saban’s retirement, he had signed 19 four-star and two five-star recruits for the Tide.

This prodigal team is going to struggle under new leadership but at the end of the day, it’s the Alabama Crimson Tide, they’ll be fine.

The team escapes the risk of playing the Longhorns and gets to play Georgia at home instead of in Athens.

The one thing Lane Kiffin didn’t do well last year was recruit. Relative to the rest of the SEC that is. Kiffin still has 11 four-star and 10 three-star recruits joining his squad for the signing class ranked 15th nationally.

The Rebels will look to continue their success from 2023. Finishing 11-2 overall, Ole Miss is currently on a three-game winning streak that will most likely continue when the team plays Furman, Middle Tennessee, Wake Forest, and Georgia Southern to start its season.

While Ole Miss’ schedule gets expectedly more difficult once conference games start, the year doesn’t look too bad for the Rebels. Hosting Georgia and Oklahoma will be the real tests to see if Ole Miss is up to snuff in 2023.

If Steve Sarkisian stays in Austin, instead of heading back to Alabama, the Longhorns will make a statement in their first SEC season. Following a tough loss to the Washington Huskies in the CFP semifinals, the Horns are ready to face a new set of opponents.

Hosting one of their toughest opponents of the year Georgia at DKR will bring not only a lot of attention but a lot of pressure to the game. 

Quarterback Quinn Ewers is set to return for his junior year and the experience he gained in 2023 will set him up for success in the coming season.

Ewers will need to tap into his experience and past success when Texas travels to Ann Arbor to play against National Champion Michigan for their second game of the season.

Georgia will be the top dogs, literally, in the conference once again. Hot off the conference championship loss to Alabama, this team will be out for blood next season and it will come in the shape of Longhorns, Tigers, and Gators (oh my!).

Getting knocked out of the College Football Playoffs has left a chip on the shoulders of the team and of head coach Kirby Smart. With Saban out of the way, Smart will march his team back to an SEC title and a definite spot in the 12-team CFP.

With a jaw-dropping 20 four-star recruits coming in 2024, not only do the Bulldogs have the top class in the SEC, they have the best signing class in the country.