Who is winning the East? What will the order of finish be? Who is making a bowl game?
These will be my record predictions for the SEC East. I will list every game for the predictions, but the primary takeaway should be the final record. We will also compare my predictions to the over/under win total for each team to see how the betting public feels about the SEC East.
*Odds listed refer to O/U’s taken from DraftKings at the time of writing
7th – Florida – O/U win total: 5.5
At Utah (Thursday) – L
McNeese – W
Tennessee – L
Charlotte – W
At Kentucky – L
Vanderbilt (HC) – L
At South Carolina – L
Bye
Vs Georgia (Jacksonville) – L
Arkansas – W
At LSU – L
At Missouri – L
Florida State – L
Florida has named Wisconsin washout Graham Mertz as the starting QB. I think they’ve doomed themselves. I am not a believer in Mertz. I think he makes teams worse, not better.
This is a Florida team that went 5-7 last year… with the #4 overall draft pick at QB. Billy Napier will be on the hot seat going into week 5 with a squad that’s 2-2 and on the edge of having a dead season before Oct 1st.
5.5 is way too high. I couldn’t find 5 wins even if Mertz turns out to be OK.
Record: 3-9 (1-7)
Pick: Under 5.5 – Hammer the Under
6th – Vanderbilt – O/U win total: 3.5
Hawaii (Week 0) – W
Alabama A&M – W
At Wake Forest – W
At UNLV – W
Kentucky – L
Missouri – L
At Florida – W
Georgia – L
Bye
At Ole Miss – L
Auburn (HC) – W
At South Carolina – L
Bye
At Tennessee – L
Vandy has upped its investment in football in recent years. They want to matter. The problem: they have a mountain to climb just to be avg in their conference.
Fortunately for Vandy, I think their non-con schedule is very workable. If they can just steal a couple of conference matchups, this team will go bowling.
3.5 is a hilariously low O/U. I think the betting public is just used to Vanderbilt being irrelevant. Over 3.5 for Vandy is one of my favorite picks headed into the season.
Record: 6-6 (2-6)
Pick: Over 3.5 – Hammer the Over
5th – Missouri- O/U win total: 6.5
South Dakota (Thursday) – W
Middle Tennessee – W
Kansas State – L
Vs Memphis (St. Louis) – W
At Vanderbilt – W
LSU – L
At Kentucky – L
South Carolina – L
Bye
At Georgia – L
Tennessee – L
Florida – W
At Arkansas (Friday) – L
I think Missouri is decent. But when I run through the schedule, I just don’t find many wins.
- Kansas State and Memphis are legitimate non-conference tests.
- LSU and Georgia are juggernauts.
- South Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee are good teams.
Navigating their way to 7 wins seems tough. They would need to win every single game they are favored in, which almost never happens.
Record: 5-7 (2-6)
Pick: Under 6.5
T-2nd – Kentucky – O/U win total: 6.5
Ball State – W
Eastern Kentucky – W
Akron – W
At Vanderbilt – W
Florida – W
At Georgia – L
Missouri (HC) – W
Bye
Tennessee – W
At Mississippi State – W
Alabama – L
At South Carolina – L
At Louisville – W
This is a basketball school, right? Don’t tell the football team that. Kentucky has improved drastically on the football field since head coach Mark Stoops came to town.
Kirby Smart, for multiple years now, has referred to Kentucky as Georgia’s most physical matchup along the lines of scrimmage. Caveat – Georgia almost never plays Alabama.
I think their physicality along with quality QB play from transfer Devin Leary (via NC State) lead to them pulling off an upset or two. I have Kentucky beating preseason #12 Tennessee; having a bye before that game is nice for the Wildcats.
Record: 9-3 (5-3)
Pick: Over 6.5
T-2nd – South Carolina – O/U win total: 6.5
Vs North Carolina (Charlotte) – W
Furman – W
At Georgia – L
Mississippi State – W
At Tennessee – L
Bye
Florida – W
At Missouri – W
At Texas A&M – L
Jacksonville State – W
Vanderbilt – W
Kentucky – W
Clemson – W
South Carolina is an enigma. I think their HC, Shane Beamer, is fantastic. I think their QB, Spencer Rattler, is overrated and too inconsistent.
They beat two top 10 teams to end 2022 – Clemson and Tennessee.
They lost to two bad teams in 2022 – Missouri and Florida.
But one thing is consistent over 2021 and 2022 that I think carries into 2023. Shane Beamer continuously outperforms expectations. With the over-under set at 6.5, I think 7 wins is the floor for the Gamecocks.
Record: 9-3 (5-3)
Pick: Over 6.5
T-2nd – Tennessee – O/U win total: 9.5
Virginia (Nashville) – W
Austin Peay – W
At Florida – W
UTSA – W
South Carolina – W
Bye
Texas A&M – W
At Alabama – L
At Kentucky – L
UConn (HC) – W
At Missouri – W
Georgia – L
Vanderbilt – W
One good year and people are ready for the Tennessee of the 90s to be back and dominating.
The most important question for Tennessee: Were they good because of Hendon Hooker? Or were they good because of Josh Huepel’s system?
If it’s the former, expect Tennessee to go back to being 7-5 and losing to Florida every year.
If it’s the latter, expect QB Joe Milton to light it up and the Volunteers to be a legitimate challenge for Georgia and Alabama.
This team will be a lot easier to predict after week 1 vs Virginia, but that’s not how preseason predictions work.
I have Tennessee disappointing slightly, losing the 2 big games they have circled and then one more as a slip-up.
Record: 9-3 (5-3)
Pick: Under 9.5
1st – Georgia – O/U win total: 11.5
UT Martin – W
Ball State – W
South Carolina – W
UAB – W
At Auburn – W
Kentucky – W
At Vanderbilt – W
Bye
Vs Florida (Jacksonville) – W
Missouri (HC) – W
Ole Miss – W
At Tennessee – W
At Georgia Tech – W
Georgia is the best team in the country. Some might point out that they have uncertainty at QB, but Georgia has proven they don’t need spectacular QB play to win titles. Average is more than good enough.
The over-under is set at a whopping 11.5. They need to have a perfect season for the over to hit. Once one looks at the schedule though, 11.5 makes sense.
The schedule is a joke.
I know they were “forced” to cancel the game against Oklahoma. But, they could’ve just as easily played it as a neutral site game. One or both of those teams just didn’t want to play.
There are only 4 games Georgia could actually lose: South Carolina, Kentucky, Ole Miss, and Tennessee. And Tennessee is the only realistic option, the others are miracle upsets.
See you in the playoffs Georgia.
Record: 12-0 (8-0)
Pick: Over 11.5
SEC East Winner: Georgia
But who will they face out of the West?
Tomorrow, we will put out an SEC West prediction in this format, so don’t forget to sign up for email notifications and follow our socials!
Want more Walk On Fan?
Check out yesterday’s article where we predict the record for every team in the Big 12.
This article was written by Cole Tollison and edited by Hayden Breene