At the halfway point of the SEC football season, there have been more than a few surprises. Alabama football fans know too well the biggest surprise has been Vanderbilt's upset of the Alabama Crimson Tide. Georgia fans did not expect the Dawgs to lose in Tuscaloosa. Other surprises were Auburn losing to Cal and Ole Miss losing to Kentucky; both in home games for the favorites.
The second half of the SEC football regular season will likely bring more surprises. Given the volatility, predictions for how the rest of the season will play out are iffy. College Football News (CFN) is never timid in making predictions. After the results from college football's Week 7, CFN has predicted how every SEC football team will finish the regular season. Alabama Crimson Tide fans will not love the predictions, but there is no good reason to hate them. Per CFN, Alabama will finish 10-2. No Playoff predictions are included, but at 10-2, with a win over Georgia, the Crimson Tide would certainly be a Playoff team.
CFN predicts the Georgia Bulldogs will play the Texas A&M Aggies in the SEC Championship Game. Traditionalists like me believe an SEC Championship still matters, but missing out in Atlanta could be a blessing for the Crimson Tide.
The CFN prediction has the Crimson Tide losing to Tennessee and then, winning out in the regular season. Coincidentally, my preseason prediction for Alabama Football was 10-2. I was happy with that prospect in August and would be happy again in November, except that losing to the Vols is never acceptable.
CFN Regular Season SEC Football Predictions
T1. Georgia Bulldogs 11-1 (7-1)
T1. Texas A&M Aggies 10-2 (7-1)
T3. Alabama Crimson Tide 10-2 (6-2)
T3. LSU Bengal Tigers 9-3 (6-2)
T3. Tennessee Vols 10-2 (6-2)
T3. Texas Longhorns 10-2 (6-2)
7. Missouri Tigers 9-3 (5-3)
8. Arkansas Razorbacks 7-5 (4-4)
T9. Oklahoma Sooners 7-5 (3-5)
T9. Vanderbilt Commodores 6-6 (3-5)
11. Ole Miss Rebels 8-4 (4-4)
T12. Florida Gators 5-7 (2-6)
T12. Kentucky Wildcats 6-6 (2-6)
T12. South Carolina Gamecocks 6-6 (2-6)
15. Auburn Tigers 4-8 (1-7)
16. Mississippi State Bulldogs 2-10 (0-8)
The CFN predictions are generally sound, or at least plausible. One exception to me would be Vanderbilt finishing 7-6 and Auburn finishing 3-9. Vandy's Diego Pavia is at least one of college football's top 25 quarterbacks. Bleacher Report ranks Pavia No. 23 in its 50 best, FBS QBs list. Auburn's Payton Thorne did not make the BR top 50.