Bulldogs Favored To Win SEC East, Gators Close Second

The coming college football season will have many dramas, but the SEC is usually the centerpiece of the show. This is the toughest conference in college football, the one which – if won – will guarantee inclusion in the College Football Playoff. The only conference other than the SEC to get its champion in the playoff every year is the Atlantic Coast Conference, and that is only because Clemson has set a remarkable standard. The SEC has put three different teams in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game the past three seasons. Winning this conference is a huge achievement.

While the SEC West looks like it’s Alabama’s to lose, the SEC East appears to be up to Georgia and maybe Florida. Let’s take a look at the race in this side of the SEC.

GEORGIA BULLDOGS

ODDS: -110

The Bulldogs enter this upcoming season without quarterback Jake Fromm, who left after his junior season instead of staying one more year. Wake Forest transfer Jamie Newman could be the new starting quarterback, but he might get a challenge from Stetson Bennett. The quarterback drama aside, Georgia has regularly out-recruited Florida under current coach Kirby Smart. The Bulldogs have the best offensive and defensive lines in the SEC East. Florida needs to have noticeably better skill-position talent if it hopes to beat Georgia, and that doesn’t yet seem to be the case. Georgia and Smart have built the stronger program. They have beaten Florida three straight times and have not allowed more than 17 points to the Gators in any of those three games. This is still Georgia’s division to lose.

FLORIDA GATORS

ODDS: +175

The Gators’ hope for an SEC East title this year rests on the fact that Georgia must play at Alabama, and Florida does not have to play the Crimson Tide. If Georgia loses at Alabama and loses one other game in SEC play this coming year, Florida could lose to Georgia but still win the East if it can win every other SEC game. Georgia going 6-2 in eight SEC games, while Florida loses to Georgia but finishes 7-1 in SEC competition, is the scenario Gator fans are looking for. It isn’t likely, but it is within the realm of possibility. Florida does not yet appear ready to beat Georgia, but the Bulldogs could stumble elsewhere on the schedule and give the Gators an unlikely division title.

TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS
ODDS: +1000

The Volunteers are recruiting really well under coach Jeremy Pruitt, so in 2021 or 2022, they might be really good. As things currently stand, however, the Vols are in a rebuilding process, and the young talent they are pulling into the program is not ready to immediately produce. The future is getting brighter in Knoxville, but the present moment is still going to contain plenty of growing pains. Tennessee’s offense has lagged behind other teams in the SEC, and that isn’t going to be a quick fix. What matters most is building for the future. If the Vols can be prepared to win on a larger scale next year, they should feel good about what they are doing. 2020 has a relatively low ceiling.

KENTUCKY WILDCATS
ODDS: +1200

The Wildcats keep recruiting excellent defensive players under head coach Mark Stoops. Kentucky has managed to survive in the SEC by building elite defenses which are strong enough to compensate for the limitations of the Wildcats’ modest offenses. As Kentucky prepares for a new season, it is likely to have the same characteristics as it possessed in recent years. UK is recruiting and developing four-star prospects on defense but has holes to fill on offense. If the Wildcats can minimize turnovers and establish good field position, they might be able to steal a game they aren’t expected to win.

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