For more than a decade, the SEC has been widely considered the top college football conference. With the inclusion of Oklahoma and Texas, things will only become tougher.
While many still consider the Georgia Bulldogs to be the favorite, the issue remains who could challenge them for the top slot. For years, it’s been either Alabama or LSU. Alabama is still anticipated to be elite, but they are replacing probably the best coach in the sport’s history, Nick Saban.
LSU has the potential to be formidable, but they struggled defensively last year and are replacing Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels.
ESPN’s Matt Barrie appeared on Greg McElroy’s podcast “Always College Football” and had an unexpected response to this topic.
“I believe Sark (Steve Sarkisian), he’s got it there now,” Barrie stated. “When he took control, he needed to recruit. He had to cleanse, he had to bring in some men, and he finally has it. Brian Kelly of LSU has enough coming back. Is Garrett Nussmeier the solution? I believe you and I share a preference for quarterbacks. Then Lane Kiffin did a lot in the portal. He’s always on the verge of having a breakthrough season but hasn’t quite gotten there yet. And then you have to consider, “How legitimate is Tennessee year after year with (Josh) Heupel?”
But for the team that’s the biggest threat to Georgia, Barrie is picking the Texas Longhorns.
“So, if I had to look at it right now, Georgia is the clear number one. “I would rank Texas second.”
The unexpected element isn’t that Texas is No. 2 for Barrie; several people have Texas highly placed, but it is a little strange that people are betting on a newcomer to the conference to be that successful so soon.
Texas is also replacing a large number of players on defense and in skill areas. However, this is also true for many other clubs outside of Georgia. There are a lot of teams vying to knock Georgia down, and there are a lot of question marks, which may make the conference even more interesting to watch.
