SteemSports Presenter: Scott Frank,@scottybuckets
We are only 11 days away from the start of the 2017 College Football Season! Yesterday I broke down the SEC West. Today it's time to tackle the SEC East and find out who will be playing Alabama in the conference championship game. Let's get started!
1. Florida - Head Coach Jim McElwain enters his third season for the Gators. After a strong recruiting class, there are high hopes this season. Their offense reruns 9 starters and should be stacked. Their defense only has 5 starters back but with their injury plagued season last year, they developed a lot of experience. Florida is a national championship contender and they will get tested right out of the gate with a non conference games against the Michigan Wolverines on September 2nd.
2. Georgia - The Bulldogs are back with the most dangerous backfield in the country. 2 NFL prospects will split the carries as Nick Chubb and Sony Michel will be running wild. On the other side of the ball, 10 starters return on defense. Like Florida, Georgia also will have an early test in the non conference. They play at Notre Dame on September 9th. Their matchup against the Gators on October 28th will have huge consequences for the winner and loser.
3. Tennessee - Every year for the last 4 years we kept hearing in the preseason that the Vols were “back.” But each year was a disappointment for their Head Coach Butch Jones. Talented quarterback, Josh Dobbs, is gone along with their leading receiver and running back. Those are some big shoes to fill and we should have a good idea how the new talent will perform when they start the season against the triple option offense of Georgia Tech. The defense returns 7 starters and has their top 5 tacklers back. Can they improve on their 9 win total from last year and hit double digits?
4. South Carolina - Will Muschamp only won 6 games in his first year for the Gamecocks and was a disappointment. But they have 10 returning starters back on offense and have higher hopes for this season. Their defense will be strong and they open the season with a test from NC State. Their schedule gets brutal in November as they play Georgia, Florida and Clemson. 8 wins and a bowl game will be a solid season for South Carolina.
5. Kentucky - Will this be the year that the Wildcats can make some noise in the SEC? They won 7 games last year but have the potential to beat that total this year. They have one of the most experienced teams in the SEC with 8 offensive and 9 defensive starters back. They have some talent on the roster and although I have them listed at 5th in the East, they should be in every game.
6. Missouri - 2016 was a season that the Tigers would like to forget. They only won 4 games and first year Head Coach Barry Odom had a rough time. The defense struggled mightily but should be improved this year. The good news is that 10 starters are back on offense. They will have to score a lot to win this year. They will be one of the most improved teams and will have a shot at a bowl.
7. Vanderbilt - The Commodores ended the 2016 season with impressive wins over Mississippi and Tennessee to reach the 6 win total. They have lost some talent on defense but return nearly their entire offense. Quarterback play MUST improve if they want to beat last year's win total. QB Kyle Shurmur only reached the endzone 9 times while throwing 10 interceptions. Their season starts with a tough road game at Middle Tennessee State.
There you have it. The breakdown of the SEC is complete. I have Florida coming out of the East and Alabama coming out of the West. But with the amount of talent in this conference, anything is possible. Who are you rooting for? Thank you for following @steemsports and you can find me @scottybuckets I will breakdown the Big 10 tomorrow! Cheers!