By Vince Ferrara / @VinceSports

Here are my SEC predictions for 2019 in my blog, “Vince’s View.”

SEC East
Georgia 12-0 (8-0 SEC)
Florida 9-3 (5-3 SEC)
Missouri 8-4 (4-4 SEC)
Tennessee 7-5 (3-5 SEC)
South Carolina 6-6 (3-5 SEC)
Kentucky 6-6 (2-6 SEC)
Vanderbilt 5-7 (2-6 SEC)

SEC West
Alabama 12-0 (8-0 SEC)
LSU 11-1 (7-1 SEC)
Texas A&M 8-4 (5-3 SEC)
Auburn 7-5 (4-4 SEC)
Mississippi State 6-6 (2-6 SEC)
Ole Miss 5-7 (2-6 SEC)
Arkansas 4-8 (1-7 SEC)

SEC Championship Game: Alabama over Georgia

*Vince’s View: This makes the SEC very top-heavy this season. In my scenario, only 5 of the 14 teams have a winning conference record. My guess is this will draw criticism to the league nationally, despite 11 bowl eligible teams.

My order of finish adjusted very slightly in the East once I went through it game-by-game and evened out the wins and losses. That moved SC down below UT on a head-to-head tiebreaker in conference record. It’s weird because I’m not as down on South Carolina as some are, but their schedule is brutal and among UT’s two biggest swing games (SC & MSU,) I gave the Vols the elusive first win over a Will Muschamp coached team. Maybe that’s silly to some, but that’s the way I see it.

I think Florida isn’t as close to Georgia as many think. I believe, UF, although still very good, is closer to Missouri behind them than Georgia above them.

I’ve said repeatedly that I think LSU is the 3rd best team in the league. LSU is right on the heels of Georgia in talent, who is right on the heels of Alabama.

I think A&M and Auburn have talent for better records, but both have difficult schedules and some question marks. The middle of the pack East teams benefit from lighter and more advantageous schedules.

Other Power 5 Conference Champion Picks
ACC: Clemson
Big 10: Ohio State
Big 12: Oklahoma
Pac 12: Oregon

*Vince’s View: Pretty chalk, I know, but that’s pretty much where we’re at in college football these days. Oregon isn’t exactly a unanimous pick, so that’s different, at least.

Playoff
1-Clemson
2-Alabama
3-Oregon
4-Georgia

National Championship: Alabama over Clemson

*Vince’s View: In this scenario, Georgia would get in after another close SEC Championship Game loss to Alabama, but because that would be their first loss, the SEC runner-up still gets in. The top 3 go undefeated in the regular season and after their conference title games. That many undefeated teams is unusual, but there have to be some different things happen this football season.

I will share more detailed thoughts on Tennessee next week.

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