Who will be good and not so good on SEC gridiron in 2024?:
GDW Analysis:
DALLAS: Four exciting days of the Southeastern Conference in the "Lonestar State" for the first time with football media days, now puts the extremely talented league into its next phase.
August is approaching, meaning teams will get preseason workouts underway as each of the 16 teams in the SEC, will open the 2024 schedule on the final weekend of the 8th month.
Gameday Weekly has composed a preseason ranking, now the conference is up to 16 teams with the addition of Oklahoma and Texas. And also to make it clear, the college football playoff is going in expansion to 12 teams.
That makes it easy to respond in saying, most likely, four teams from the conference will be in the expanded playoff. But possibly whom?
This is the analysis GDW delivers to the SEC fan in preseason picks.
No. 1 - Georgia: Bulldogs have enough back to fight through the competition and win the conference title for the 3rd time in the last 4 years. Key games for the Bulldogs will be at Alabama September 28, at Texas October 19, vs. Florida October 26, at Ole Miss November 9.
No. 2 - Texas: Longhorns enter the SEC as good as it can be from their time building the program in the Big XII. A playoff unit from the old format will allow the Longhorns to utilize it in having to steer through 8 challenging SEC games.
Key matchups for Texas is with Oklahoma October 12, Georgia October 19, at Arkansas November, at Texas A&M November 30.
No. 3 - Alabama: Kalen DeBoer made his point last season that he can take Washington through the Pac 12 enroute to the national championship game. His credibility in arriving to replace Nick Saban is where he has nothing to lose.
Alabama is right there on the cusp of making it in the DeBoer era. The Crimson Tide see four games on the schedule that can make them or break them in 2024.
Tide vs. Georgia September 28, at Tennessee October 19, at LSU November 9, at Oklahoma November 23.
No. 4 - Ole Miss: Lane Kiffin has molded a very good program in Oxford with the Rebels now believing they can be an SEC representative in the expanded playoff system. Ole Miss must conquer games at South Carolina October 5, at LSU October 12, vs, Oklahoma October 26 and with Georgia November 9.
No. 5 - Missouri: From being a surprising good squad last year, Missouri is optimistic on its situation for the new season.
The big games for the Tigers are at Texas A&M October 5, at Alabama October 26, vs. Oklahoma November 9 and at South Carolina November 16.
No. 6 - LSU: No one has an easy path of getting through the conference schedule. The toughest on the slate for LSU appears to be vs. Ole Moss October 12, at Texas A&M October 26, vs. Alabama November 9 and vs. Oklahoma November 30.
No. 7 - Tennessee: Key games that see if Tennessee is a contender or a pretender will be at Oklahoma September 21, at Arkansas October 5, vs. Alabama October 19, at Georgia November 16.
No. 8 - Oklahoma: In their first venture into the SEC, the Sooners could be a middle of the pack squad. Four challenging games for Oklahoma will be vs. Tennessee September 21, at Auburn September 28, vs. Texas October 12, at LSU November 30.
No. 9 - Texas A&M: With Jimbo Fisher and his expense account gone, the Aggies are optimistic with Mike Elko taking over in College Station.
These challenges will pay long due for the Aggies in 2024. At Florida September 14, vs. Arkansas September 26, vs. LSU October 26, vs. Texas November 30.
No. 10 - Florida: A lot of doubt has now invaded the "Swamp" in Billy Napier's 3rd season with the Gators.
Four games in the final month of the schedule will see where the Gators are among the contenders or looking ahead to a possible bowl game and the future.
Vs. Georgia November 2, at Texas November 9, vs. LSU November 16, vs. Ole Miss November 23.
No. 11 - Auburn: Trying to go from a 6 win team in Hugh Freeze's initial season on the plains to more victories this year, will be very challenging.
The first five games for Auburn, two of them conference play, will hail from Jordan Hare Stadium. They need the momentum there if they can manage their way through the remaining six games on the conference schedule.
The tough matchups will be September 28 vs. Oklahoma, at Georgia October 5, at Missouri October 19 and at Alabama November 30.
No, 12 - South Carolina: Another squad that knows how tough the SEC is from top to bottom. South Carolina has four key games in the SEC with LSU September 14, vs. Ole Miss October 5, at Alabama October 12 and vs. Missouri November 16.
No. 13 - Kentucky: Wildcats seek to be better than 7 wins from 2023. Four pivotal games have the Wildcats vs. Georgia September 14, at Ole Miss September 28, at Tennessee November 2, at Texas November 23.
No. 14 - Arkansas: Winning just four times last season does not sit rather well in Fayetteville. Getting to see foes that were with the Razorbacks in the Southwest Conference era can be inspiring.
Arkansas tangles with Texas A&M September 28 in Arlington and sees Texas at home November 16. The other big games for the Razorbacks will be vs. Tennessee October 5 and at Missouri November 30.
No. 15 - Mississippi State: Life in Starkville the 2nd year after the passing of coach Mike Leach has uncertainty in the case of wins over losses.
MSU will likely be an underdog in many of the conference games. The four that will be needed to be victorious if possible, at Texas September 28, at Georgia October 12, vs. Texas A&M October 19 at Ole Miss November 30.
No. 16 - Vanderbilt: Nothing new on where the Commodores are picked.
Vanderbilt is hoping to have the fans dancing in the "Music City" in the following SEC games. Vs. Alabama October 5, vs. Texas October 26, vs. South Carolina November 9, vs. Tennessee November 30.
Top 10 non conference games for the SEC in 2024:
# 1 - Texas at Michigan September 7
# 2 - Georgia vs. Clemson August 31 in Atlanta
# 3 - LSU vs. Southern Cal September 1 in Las Vegas
# 4 - Alabama at Wisconsin September 14
# 5 - Notre Dame at Texas A&M August 31
# 6 - Arkansas at Oklahoma State September 7
# 7 - Miami at Florida August 31.
# 8 - Tennessee vs. NC State at Charlotte September 7
# 9 - California at Auburn September 7
# 10 - Houston at Oklahoma September 7.
Photo of Texas coach Steve Sarkasian after the Longhorns upset Alabama in Bryant Denny Stadium in September of 2023.
Photo courtesy of the University of Texas media relations.
