SEC blitz: Predicted order of finish, bowl teams and games to watch

(Editor’s note: This story is part of The Star’s annual football preview, which will appear in three special sections in the Sunday, Aug. 28 print edition and also on KansasCity.com and The Star’s Red Zone Extra app.)

Projected finish

SEC East

1. Tennessee >> 11-2, 7-1

Vols should live up to all the hype

2. Georgia >> 9-3, 5-3

Kirby Smart’s job: improve on back-to-back 10-3 seasons

3. Florida >> 7-5, 4-4

Gators stunned SEC with division title, should fall back a bit

4. Missouri >> 7-5, 4-4

Barry Odom charged with reversing fortune of program that won one league game

5. Kentucky >> 5-7, 2-6

Fourth year for Mark Stoops probably must end with bowl game

6. South Carolina >> 5-7, 2-6

Starting over at South Carolina in post-Spurrier era

7. Vanderbilt >> 4-8, 1-7

Showed improvement in Derek Mason’s second season

SEC West

1. Alabama >> 12-1, 7-1

Another terrific team, but the toughest games are away from Tuscaloosa

2. LSU >> 10-2, 6-2

Expectations rampant with 18 returning starters

3. Mississippi >> 8-4, 5-3

Rebels have improved every year under Hugh Freeze. That would mean at least 11 victories this season

4. Arkansas >> 7-5, 4-4

Austin Allen takes over for brother Brandon at quarterback

5. Texas A&M >> 7-5, 3-5

Former Oklahoma Sooner Trevor Knight takes over at quarterback for the Aggies

6. Auburn >> 6-6, 3-5

Tigers are 15-11 since losing the BCS title game after 2013

7. Mississippi State, 6-6, 3-5

Bulldogs may step back after end of Dak Prescott era

Games of the year

Sept. 3: Alabama vs. Southern California, at Arlington, Texas

Glamour matchup of a fantastic opening weekend in college football

Oct. 15: Alabama at Tennessee

Preview of SEC title game? Vols played Tide tough last season

Oct. 22: Mississippi at LSU

If Alabama doesn’t win the division, the winner of this game just might

Bowl teams

College Football Playoff: Alabama

Orange: Tennessee

Sugar: LSU

Citrus: Mississippi

Outback: Georgia

TaxSlayer: Florida

Music City: Arkansas

Liberty: Auburn

Texas: Texas A&M

Belk: Missouri

Independence: Mississippi State

Offensive player of the year

Leonard Fournette, LSU running back

Three straight LSU losses derailed Fournette’s Heisman Trophy chances last season, but he still wound up with a school-record 1,953 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns.

Defensive player of the year

Myles Garrett, Texas A&M defensive end

The next Von Miller? Garrett is a sack machine in the mold of Miller, the former Aggie. He’s totaled 24 sacks in his first two seasons, and don’t be stunned to see him go No. 1 in the 2017 NFL Draft.

This story was originally published August 27, 2016 at 3:08 PM with the headline "SEC blitz: Predicted order of finish, bowl teams and games to watch."