Crimson Tide Favored To Win SEC West, Aggies Second In Line

The LSU Tigers stunned the college football landscape when they not only emerged out of the SEC West and topped Alabama, but topped everyone else in the process. The coming SEC football season will feature LSU as the defending champion in the conference but after losing so much talent to the 2020 NFL Draft, the Tigers are not going to be the favorite.

Let’s take a look at the SEC West odds, which are now up on the board.

ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE

ODDS: -125

The Crimson Tide were crushed by injuries last season, but not primarily Tua Tagovailoa. Alabama scored over 40 points against Auburn late in the season after Tagovailoa’s season-ending injury, so the offense was fine. The problem is that the defense was hollowed out, especially at linebacker. Alabama did not have enough bodies to stop tight ends, running backs out of the backfield, or run-pass options. The remaining players were far too inexperienced to meet Alabama’s needs. The defense was a sitting duck in November. Assuming the Tide play a healthy season with linebackers remaining on the field for 12 or 13 games, Alabama should be much closer to normal on defense. If that is the case, the loss of Tua Tagovailoa to the NFL won’t hurt that much; returning quarterback Mac Jones has Jaylen Waddle to throw to and a strong offensive line to protect him. Alabama should be fine this season, partly because of the changes at LSU, which you will read about below.

TEXAS A&M AGGIES

ODDS: +400

The Aggies aren’t better than LSU, but they will at least have a chance to see what they are capable of. Texas A&M paid enormous money to head coach Jimbo Fisher to turn the program around. This is an important time for Fisher to develop the program and move it in the right direction. The big key for Texas A&M is quarterback Kellen Mond, who will be entering his third season as an Aggie. He struggled last year, but maybe one more offseason of learning will enable him to reach his potential. If he does, A&M could have a really good team. Plenty will be skeptical, however, of Mond’s ability to read defenses and make accurate downfield throws. A&M’s offense bogged down far too often last season. It has to improve by a lot, not just a little, to give this team a chance at winning the SEC West.

LSU TIGERS
ODDS: +500

The LSU story is simple: The Tigers had five first-round NFL Draft picks, 10 picks taken in the first three rounds, and 14 players overall. Their starting quarterback, starting running back, and No. 1 wide receiver all went in the first round. The Tigers lost high-end talent. They lost a large volume of talent. They lost an enormous supply of depth from a uniquely gifted team we aren’t going to see again anytime soon. LSU should have a solid defense, but the offense is likely to be a work in progress, and what’s more is that passing game coach Joe Brady left to go to the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. This is likely to be too much for LSU to overcome.

AUBURN TIGERS
ODDS: +700

The Tigers have to play Georgia, LSU and Alabama every year. Alabama and LSU play Georgia only on an occasional basis. This is always going to make it tougher for Auburn to win the SEC West. This year, Auburn has to visit Alabama. The Tigers have also lost their last three games to LSU, so that will be enough of a challenge for head coach Gus Malzahn. Auburn would do well if it finished third in the SEC West this season.

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