Preseason SEC Football Predictions: Division Winners, Surprise Players And The CFP


Each Monday leading up to kickoff of the 2016 season, we’ll answer several preseason questions facing the Southeastern Conference. This week’s SEC football predictions include division winners, surprise players, the College Football Playoff and more.


1. Will Alabama repeat as SEC football champions?

Brian Stultz – I will probably regret this, but I’m saying no. The Crimson Tide lose two regular season games.

Jonathan Bass – No returning quarterback, no returning Heisman Trophy winner, no repeat conference championship. Nick Saban is still the best coach in the nation, but his team will finish second in the West this year.

Glenn McGraw – No. The Tide will make a run at it, but slip-up at Death Valley. LSU will take the thrown atop SEC football for the time being and also earn a College Football Playoff berth.

Pete Fiutak – No. The Crimson Tide won’t even repeat as West champs. This is LSU’s season and everyone else is just playing for giggles.

2. Will Leonard Fournette rush for 2,000 yards?

Brian Stultz – Yes. He will run over defensive backs like a tank over a tulip. Just ask Auburn defenders.

Jonathan Bass – Easily. He was only 47 yards away from it last season. He’ll also finish with at least 500 yards receiving, double his career high.

Glenn McGraw – He’ll come very, very close in the regular season, averaging around 155 yards per game. Add in the SEC title game and CFP/bowl game, and he’ll eclipse 2,000 for the entire season.

Pete Fiutak – Yeah. He should be doing it for the Dallas Cowboys, but we live in an unfair and unjust world. So we’ll just have to watch him dominate the SEC again.

3. Which first-year SEC football head coach will have the best year?

Brian Stultz – Kirby Smart. I can’t tell you how impressed I have been with the first-year Georgia coach so far. He seems like a veteran.

Jonathan Bass – With all due respect to Will Muschamp and Barry Odom, the answer is Kirby Smart and it’s not even close.

Glenn McGraw – Kirby Smart. He has the best talent on hand and gets three rivals – Auburn, Georgia Tech and Tennessee – at home. I don’t think the Bulldogs live up to preseason expectations, but Smart will show that he was the right choice in Athens and that he’s ready for SEC football. 

Pete Fiutak – Kirby Smart, if the Spinal Tap drummer issue at running back is solved in a hurry. Barry Odom will get Mizzou to a bowl.

4. How many SEC football teams go bowling?

Brian Stultz – 9 – Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Texas A&M.

Jonathan Bass – 11 – Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky LSU, Missouri, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas A&M

Glenn McGraw – Ten SEC football teams will go bowling (Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Missouri, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas A&M), possibly 11 if Kentucky can catch the right breaks.

Pete Fiutak – 12 teams will get the call. Vanderbilt and South Carolina shan’t be joining in on the fun.

5. Will Tennessee break the streaks against Florida and Alabama?

Brian Stultz – Yes to both. While the Florida game is important for SEC East matters, don’t forget who comes into Knoxville as Alabama’s offensive coordinator: Lane Kiffin. The Volunteers faithful will be ready for that one.

Jonathan Bass – If Tennessee can’t break at least one of these streaks then they might as well SECede. Florida is still seeking an identity under Jim McElwain, and this is about as close to rebuilding as Alabama will ever come under Nick Saban. With both games in Neyland, the time is now.

Glenn McGraw – Yes against Florida. No against Alabama.

Pete Fiutak – Yes and yes … And will gack against Texas A&M.

6. Who will win the SEC East?

Brian Stultz – With everyone talking about Tennessee, Georgia will end up representing the East in Atlanta.

Jonathan Bass – Let’s see here. Florida has no quarterback, a murky situation at the skill positions and a weakened defense from last year. Georgia has an unproven quarterback, a beaten-down backfield and an inexperienced defensive line. And Tennessee, well, can Butch Jones coach in the 4th quarter of games? Give me Tennessee, if for no other reason than if Jones can’t at least split against UF and UGA then he will never take the East.

Glenn McGraw – After losing to Tennessee, Florida will grab the division from the Vols in the second half of the SEC football schedule and make it two straight for Jim McElwain.

Pete Fiutak – Tennessee

7. Who will win the SEC West?

Brian Stultz – Five teams have a legitimate chance – sorry, Auburn and Mississippi State – to win the SEC West, but it will ultimately come down to Alabama or LSU. I’m going with the Bayou Bengals.

Jonathan Bass – Geaux Tigers.

Glenn McGraw – LSU. Les Miles, Leonard Fournette and Co. get it done in a year when they need it the most. Miles reminds the LSU brass and SEC why he’s one of college football’s best coaches.

Pete Fiutak – LSU

8. Will Jacob Eason outperform expectations?

Brian Stultz – Given the height of the expectations, it will be hard to outperform them, but Eason definitely has the ability. I say he meets them, but doesn’t outperform them.

Jonathan Bass – You mean win a Heisman as a true freshman and guide UGA to its first national championship since 1980? Given that he’s already talked about with reverence usually only reserved for Herschel Walker, no, Eason won’t outperform the lofty expectations this year. That said, he’ll probably earn conference rookie of the year honors.

Glenn McGraw – No, he won’t outperform them, given the lofty 5-star expectations coming in, but he’ll prove why he was such a heralded recruit and the future of Georgia football. He’ll also make a few Gator fans shudder at the thought of him leading a renaissance in Athens.

Pete Fiutak – No.

9. Who will be the surprise SEC football player in 2016?

Brian Stultz – Auburn running back Kerryon Johnson. With the dismissal of Jovon Robinson, most of the carries are now going to go into Johnson’s hands. He will become the eighth straight Tiger to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season.

Jonathan Bass – Let’s go with LSU wideout Malachi Dupre. With defenses stacking the box against Leonard Fournette, it should open up the receiving game. A former 5-star recruit in his own right, Dupre will be the special sauce that takes LSU’s season to another level.

Glenn McGraw – Florida quarterback Luke Del Rio. All the Gators needed last year was mediocre play under center and they would have been in the College Football Playoff hunt. Del Rio will prove to be a game manager for what’ll be a much better offense, while the defense will continue to shut down opponents, giving the UF attack opportunities to score. His supporting cast will be head and shoulders above what Florida has been used to recently. Because of that, expect Del Rio to be better than advertised.

Pete Fiutak – Luke Del Rio. He’ll complete a forward pass and Gator fans won’t recognize what that looks like.

10. Will a player from the conference win the Heisman?

Brian Stultz – Leonard Fournette. He’s a man among boys against almost every team. By the fourth quarter, defenses will be sick of trying to tackle him.

Jonathan Bass – I’d love to be a contrarian here and go against Fournette, but the guy is too good. Give him the trophy now so we can enjoy his final year without any manufactured debate attached to each masterful performance.

Glenn McGraw – Yes, Leonard Fournette. He’s a once-in-a-generation type talent, and if LSU can stay in the title conversation, the voters will have no choice but to give it to the guy leading the way for the Bayou Bengals.

Pete Fiutak – Yup. Lenny Heisman.

11. Will the SEC be represented in the College Football Playoff again?

Brian Stultz – Do SEC football fans take the game a little “too” seriously? Yes. Same answer to the question above.

Jonathan Bass – Does a bear s–t in the woods?

Glenn McGraw – No question.

Pete Fiutak – LSU. There’s no need to play the season.

MORE: 2016 Preseason College Football Rankings, No. 1-128