The SEC continues to be the best conference in all of college football and there really isn’t an argument around this topic, but to be frank it wasn’t heads and shoulders over a couple of conferences last year. Yes, Florida won the BCS Championship and overall the conference did well in the bowl season, but do not forget the second best team Alabama got worked by Utah in the Sugar Bowl and South Carolina was crushed by Iowa in the Outback Bowl. Overall the offenses were pretty bad last year considering six teams finished 97th or lower in total offense, five teams finished 81st or lower in rushing and seven teams finished 87th or lower in scoring. Also, SEC teams scheduled weak non-conference games on the whole and outside of a few top teams the quality was pretty poor for SEC standards.

Even the best have some down times and look for things to rebound back to their normal high standards this year. Auburn and Tennessee are almost assured to be better than their horrible seasons last year and Arkansas is improving under coach Bobby Petrino. LSU has reloaded and will be ready to roll this year and South Carolina’s offense has the promise of being something better than the anemic output they have seen in the last couple of years. Georgia will drop a little after losing Stafford and Moreno, but I could see them still being a solid team. Then you have Alabama, Ole Miss and Florida who are all heavyweights on the national scene. The only real dogs in the league this year should be Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State.

Surprise Team

Georgia – The spotlight is completely off of the team now that Stafford and Moreno have left for the NFL and they have a lot of positive items in their favor. The Bulldogs have one of the best offensive lines in the country, a truckload of good running backs and an excellent defense. Keep an eye on Mark Richt and the Dawgs!

Disappointing Team

Mississippi – This team will not be able to live up to the hype surrounding them. Last year they flew under the radar for most of the year and took solid team after solid team down, but this year they come in highly ranked in most polls. LSU and Alabama could be better than they were last year and they along with the rest of the SEC are going to give the Rebels their best shot. Look for this team to lose at least three games.

Game of the Year

Florida versus Georgia in the world’s largest cocktail party. We mentioned Georgia as our sleeper and we think this could be a game that Florida could lose this year. Look out!

Bottom Line – The SEC is back to full strength so it should be an exciting year to say the least. While Florida is head and shoulders the favorite in the conference and in the country with all defensive starters coming back and Tim Tebow still running the show there are a lot of other tough teams that want to contend. Look for LSU to be much better, Georgia to be very strong and Bama and Ole Miss to make New Year Day bowl games. I think in the end even with all the pressure Florida will pull out the SEC Championship barring an injury to Tebow or Brandon Spikes on defense.