2024 SEC Football Preview and Surprise Team Pick

Scott Morris | August 2, 2024

It will certainly be a different kind of SEC football season in 2024. For the first time since 2006, Alabama will not be led onto the field by head coach Nick Saban. The Crimson Tide legend rode off into the sunset of retirement at the end of the last season. Former Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer, who took the Huskies to the national championship game a year ago, takes over for Saban.

The SEC also welcomes two new programs – Oklahoma and Texas. The two programs made the announcement back in the summer of 2021 that they would be leaving the Big 12 for the riches of the SEC. They arrive at a great time, especially Texas which also played in the national semifinals in 2023.

The conference will eliminate its traditional East and West divisions. The 16 SEC teams will each play an eight-game schedule. The two teams with the best records at the end of the regular season will play for the conference title. Since 2014, Alabama or Georgia has played in every SEC championship game. That could change in 2024 as five teams are given better than +1000 odds to win the conference.

With so much competition, the bigger question for the SEC is related to the new, expanded College Football Playoff. With 12 teams now selected to the CFP, there is potential for three and possibly four SEC teams to make the field. The five highest-ranked conference champions automatically make the playoffs this year. The CFP committee will determine the other seven selections. The competition should be fierce making for yet another exciting SEC football season.

2024 SEC Is Loaded

The SEC is loaded in 2024. Most preseason polls have as many as five SEC teams in the top 10 alone. Expand that to the top 20 and you get four more SEC teams. Most experts point to Georgia as the favorite not only to win the conference, but also to win a third national title in four years. The Bulldogs return a wealth of talent including QB Carson Beck who threw for 3,941 yards and 24 touchdowns last season. He is a preseason Heisman favorite as well.

Right behind Georgia is new SEC member Texas. The Longhorns are fresh off a 12-2 season and a loss in the national semifinals to Washington. QB Quinn Ewers returns to lead an offense that averaged 35.8 points (15th) and 477.5 yards (9th) per game. The defense has seven starters back on a unit that ranked third in the country against the run. Georgia is the SEC favorite at +180 while the Longhorns are next on the board at +300.

Top SEC Contenders

ALABAMA QB JALEN MILROE Georgia and Texas are the big SEC favorites in 2024, but you can’t forget about Alabama, LSU, and Ole Miss. The Crimson Tide (+750) won the conference title a year ago and have been a part of every SEC race for most of the last two decades. They’ll have to adjust to a new head coach, but the talent is there. QB Jalen Milroe (2,834 passing, 531 rushing, 35 total TDs) is back to lead an offense that averaged 34 points a game last season. The Tide defense churned out more NFL draft picks and is loaded with more this year, though only three starters are back.

LSU (+900) went 10-3 last season and gave us the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner in QB Jayden Daniels. He was the No. 2 pick in the NFL draft so Tigers head coach Brian Kelly will turn to Garrett Nussmeier, who threw for 395 yards and three touchdowns in LSU’s bowl victory. Kelly replaced most of his defensive staff from last year after the Tigers gave up 28 points per game. An improved defense could put LSU right in the thick of the SEC and playoff races.

Ole Miss (+650) lost to Alabama and Georgia last year en route to an 11-2 finish. Head coach Lane Kiffin returns a ton of experience, including QB Jaxson Dart and TE Caden Prieskorn. They are among seven returning offensive starters. Five more are back on defense and if that unit can improve, Kiffin could have his first crack at an SEC title and a CFP berth.

SEC Surprise Team

Missouri was a pleasant surprise a year ago. They lost to LSU by 10 at midseason and then battled Georgia before losing 30-21. Head coach Eli Drinkwitz will have QB Brady Cook back along with Biletnikoff Award contender WR Luther Burden. The Tigers (+1400) won’t sneak up on anyone this year, but one team could.

That would be Texas A&M. The Aggies are given +1500 odds to win the SEC. That number may surprise some people, but new head coach Mike Elko has done this before. In his first season at Duke, he went 9-4 and Texas A&M returns seven offensive starters, including QB Connor Wiegman.

The big reason why the Aggies may be this year’s Missouri is the schedule. Texas A&M avoids Georgia, Alabama, and Ole Miss. They also don’t play Tennessee (9-4 last year). Last season, six teams in the SEC finished with a losing record. Texas A&M plays five of them this season. The season begins with a tough one – Notre Dame – but the rest of the non-conference schedule includes FCS McNeese, Bowling Green, and New Mexico State.

SEC Teams in the Playoffs

CASRON BECK GEORGIA If you take the new 12-team College Football Playoff format and use it with last year’s results, you would find that Alabama would have been an automatic qualifier as the SEC champ. After the regular season, Georgia was ranked No. 6, Missouri No. 9, and Ole Miss No. 11. All three would have likely been selected by the committee to participate in the playoff.

It seems to be clear that the two teams that make the SEC title game are a lock for the playoff. If you look at the last few seasons, you’ll find at least three SEC teams in the top-10 which suggests a third team is going to happen. In the odds to make the CFP, Georgia (-600), Texas (-220), and Ole Miss (-130) are all favored to make the postseason. Alabama (+110) and LSU (+120) are right there as well. Don’t be surprised if the SEC has four teams in this year’s 12-team playoff. See Top Sportsbooks to bet these odds now