See where SI Top 25 ranks Alabama football, FSU and other SEC schools
By Ronald Evans
Sports Illustrated has released their preseason Top 25. Alabama football and FSU are ranked No. 1 and No. 2. Let’s look at SI’s opinion of the other ranked SEC schools.
According to the SI Preseason Top 25, Alabama football and FSU will be a No. 1 versus No. 2 matchup on September 2. The SI projection is double good news for Tide and Noles fans. The loser of a No. 1 versus No. 2 contest will not be severely damaged in the hunt for a CFB Playoff berth.
The loser will have little margin left with a future second loss probably pushing either team out of contention. However, as long as the Tide-FSU loser wins out, both teams should make the playoff. The winner will have the boost of knocking off a top team. A future loss, not costing a conference championship, would not derail the Sept 2 game-winner.
The other SEC teams in the SI Top 25
Four other SEC schools are ranked in the SI poll. The top two teams from the SEC East were Florida at No. 18 and Georgia at No. 16.
Three SEC West teams joined Alabama football in the SI Top 25. Texas A&M is ranked No. 25; LSU, No. 13 and Auburn at No. 10.
As we argued earlier this week in Tide Opponents Worst to Best: No 4, TAMU, we think the Aggies will be improved. But our confidence in them is shaky. We believe TAMU could win 10 games in 2017 or as few as five. It is possible the Aggies could lose four of its first seven games.
An early exit for Sumlin and the Aggies will struggle to become bowl-eligible.
Alabama Crimson Tide Football
The SI ranking of Auburn and LSU seems correct. Two good teams in 2017 that should at least start out of the Top 10. The winner of the Tigers versus Tigers game in Baton Rouge on October 14, should contend for the SEC West division championship.
Maybe if SI had produced a Top 30, the Tennessee Vols might have snuck in. We are not pollsters but if forced to rank the SEC schools we would deviate little from the SI ranking. We would flip Georgia and Florida and leave the other schools where SI ranked them.
Why the Gators over the Bulldogs? Thanks to the genius of LSU AD Joe Alleva, Florida only plays three SEC road games in 2017: Kentucky; Missouri and South Carolina. Georgia travels to Knoxville and Auburn, plus three more SEC road games.
Next: Five Greatest Threats to a 2017 Championship
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