Alabama Football: Final preseason SEC Power Rankings
By Ronald Evans
No. 6 Ole Miss – Predicted regular season ceiling – 9 wins
Lane’s offense will put up points. His defense will need to be much better than last season. It may not be. At quarterback, Lane has one of the league’s best in QB Matt Corral. Running back Jerrion Ealy is an outstanding player. Ole Miss may have to win shootouts, but they will be potent enough to do it frequently.
No. 5 Florida Gators – Predicted regular season ceiling – 9 wins
The Gators have to fix last season’s bad defense while rebuilding an offense with new playmakers. Dan Mullen is a good coach, but 2021 will be a tough transition. If Todd Grantham greatly improves the Gators defense – and if Emory Jones can emulate Dak Prescott, the Gators can be good. Those are two big ifs.
No. 4 LSU Bengal Tigers – Predicted regular season ceiling – 9 wins
The Bengal Tigers have too much talent to be as bad as 2020. Even with a mediocre head coach, LSU should not be challenged by most of their schedule. Alabama Football and TAMU are two likely losses and Ole Miss and Florida will be tossups. Otherwise, LSU’s deep roster of talent should prevail.