Contenders and Pretenders: Who is for real in the SEC in 2023?

The SEC is always the toughest conference in the country and they have backed it up for plenty of years. When the calendar turned to 2006 the USC’s and Texas’ of the college football world began to take a backseat to LSU, Florida and soon to be Alabama. Auburn would eventually make a run, too when the 2010’s began.

Things just seemed to change and the college football world was never the same again. Insanity is doing the same thing over again without changing and that’s what the SEC has done winning 13 of the last 17 national titles.

Thanks to the transfer portal and NIL landscape it has given the beloved sport and national treasure parity unlike any era. The rich like Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State and others have remained powers. But, there’s quite a few schools trending up that haven’t always been historical powers to say.

When it comes to the SEC there always seems to be two or three national contenders but 7-10 schools that compete at a competitive level. Who will those be?

Contenders

Georgia, Alabama and LSU are all jockeying for their position at the top of the conference. LSU seems to be the program that has it ‘all together’ at this point of talking season. The Tigers return one of the best quarterbacks in Jayden Daniels, playmaker at receiver in Malik Nabors and a pair of dangerous defenders in Harold Perkins and Maason Smith. Plus, Omar Speights will be a quality piece at linebacker.

The Bulldogs have Carson Beck at quarterback and have lost a load of talent on the defensive side to the NFL. There are enough weapons around Carson Beck that they should be able maintain an exceptional offense.

The biggest question mark for Alabama will be their quarterback situation? How has Jalen Milroe progressed? How about Tyler Buchner? From all indications the coaching staff is excited about depth on the defensive side even without Will Anderson. Kool-Aid McKinstry returns to the secondary as the superstar safety. New defensive coordinator Kevin Steele will have plenty of weapons to field an attacking and aggressive defensive. That of which is something he was known for at Auburn.

Pretenders

Enough with the Texas A&M love. There’s enough issues in College Station with Jimbo Fisher around. Then, he adds Bobby Petrino to the program as offensive coordinator but his play-calling ability at the FBS level dipped once he lost Lamar Jackson.

Conner Weigman showed plenty of promise in his few appearances last season and holds all the attributes to be a quality quarterback under Petrino. Can they better a run defense that was ranked 124th last season? That’s something DC DJ Durkin will be tasked with. If nothing is solved going into this season, Fisher’s days are numbered with the Aggies.

This is no slight to Tennessee. Unlike Texas A&M, the Volunteers have plenty of weapons and a high powered offense to compete for an Eastern Division title. However, I’m under the impression that Joe Milton will let down the Tennessee fanbase this season. Does he have an impressive deep ball? Yes, of course. But, I just don’t see them replicating an impressive 11-win season. Can they improve a woeful pass defense that ranked near the bottom of the FBS? If they can’t there is a possibility of just a 8-9 win season. Road games against Florida, Alabama, Kentucky and Missouri will be tough outs, too.

Finally, how in the world will Ole Miss do this season? Honestly, they’re the biggest question mark in the SEC. The Rebels bring in two transfer quarterbacks in Spencer Sanders and Walker Howard to go along with Jaxon Dart. They were one of the bigger frauds in college football last season after starting 7-0.

Of course, all the love will go to Quinshon Judkins after a phenomenal freshman season leading the conference in rushing yards. Ole Miss will be tested with an interesting true road matchup against Tulane. Also, road games against Alabama, Ole Miss and Georgia could put a damper on an SEC West title run.