Defending national champion Georgia and College Football Playoff title game opponent Alabama enter the 2022 season as the consensus top teams in the SEC. No surprise there. The Bulldogs and Crimson Tide are powerhouses both on and off the field, but that’s where the similarities stop with another college football campaign approaching.
Whereas Georgia lost numerous championship-winning starters to the NFL in the offseason, Alabama saw 2021 as a rebuild. The Tide bring back not only Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Bryce Young but star edge Will Anderson Jr., CBS Sports’ Preseason Player of the Year, as a formidable 1-2 punch on offense and defense that has Bama once again favored to win arguably the toughest conference in the sport.
Beyond those behemoths, though, there’s plenty of disagreement regarding how the SEC will shake out in 2022.
Texas A&M is riding high off a record-setting recruiting class, though it may need those players to mature before it is ready to vault into contention for the league crown. Florida and LSU are both in rebuilding mode after jettisoning coaches with national championship-winning experience (Dan Mullen as a coordinator under Urban Meyer, Ed Orgeron as the lead man), but the Gators and Tigers hope to prove doubters wrong with immediate bounce-back campaigns.
Meanwhile, Kentucky and Tennessee have more hype in the SEC East than in recent memory, while Arkansas hopes to continue its surprising ascension from a year ago. Meanwhile, Lane Kiffin aims to prove his offense will work at Ole Miss despite his star quarterback’s departure to the NFL.
Our CBS Sports college football experts have provided their picks and predictions for the SEC ahead of the 2022 season.
Most overrated team
Texas A&M: The Aggies begin the year as No. 6 in the Preseason AP Top 25 and the consensus favorite to be Alabama’s top contender in the SEC West after reeling in the top recruiting class of all-time. That said, an 8-4 record and fifth-place finish in the SEC West last season doesn’t exactly scream playoff contender. Granted, they lost opening-day starter Haynes King to a season-ending injury early in 2021, but Texas A&M is the only team to finish with fewer than 10 wins in the preseason top 12. The Aggies should be in prove-it mode, especially after losing their four All-SEC players to the NFL. — Shehan Jeyarajah (also Dennis Dodd, Barrett Sallee)
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