Five SEC College Football Betting Predictions in 2019

A lot of college football experts believe that the SEC is the toughest football conference in the game today. With that said, there is not a whole lot of parity. Consider that Alabama has won four of the last five conference championships (and still made the College Football Playoff in 2017, when they didn’t even make the SEC Championship), six of the last eight, and eight of the last 11, few people expect there to be much stopping the Crimson Tide from rolling to a 28th SEC title. Behind Alabama’s 27 conference championships, Georgia and Tennessee have tied for second with 13 — but the Volunteers haven’t won a title in 21 years. There are currently 14 teams in the SEC, but only five have won a title this century. Mississippi State last won the SEC in 1941, and former member Tulane, now a member of the American Athletic Conference, has more SEC titles (3) than Arkansas, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt combined (zero). With that said, there are still some chances for big surprises for college football betting enthusiasts in the SEC for 2019. Take a look at our five bold predictions.

Five SEC College Football Betting Predictions in 2019

It’s almost time for some #SECFB 2019 Coaches Preseason All-SEC Team has been announced » https://t.co/ypAuAMEHyv pic.twitter.com/QpuTqjBM24

— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) August 15, 2019

Missouri will blow away that 6.5-game win total

The Tigers have Clemson transfer Kelly Bryant at quarterback (the Kelly Bryant who did not receive a national championship ring because he decided to leave the team when Trevor Lawrence got the starting job mid-year). If you don’t think he will have plenty of motivation, you do not understand how the whole “chip on the shoulder” thing works. Missouri has one of the easiest schedules of any SEC team, including five straight home games from September 7 until October 12. I see them winning their first seven or eight games before they head into that bye to help them get ready for Georgia. But I would bet on that win total before it slides up.

Kentucky will fall back to earth

The Wildcats saw a lot of their top talent leave for the NFL in the off-season, and quarterback Terry Wilson got exposed a bit down the stretch. The beginning to Kentucky’s SEC conference schedule is, shall we say, rigorous. Florida will be hungry for revenge after losing to Kentucky last year, and even that game at Mississippi State will be tough. The home game against Arkansas might be the lone bright spot in that SEC slate.

South Carolina will beat at least one ranked team

South Carolina is 0-10 against ranked teams under Will Muschamp, going back to the 2016 season. This year, the Gamecocks could play as many as six ranked teams, with the most rigorous schedule in the nation set for them (including that non-conference game against Clemson). The two most winnable games on the slate against ranked teams are those against Texas A&M and Florida, thanks to the leadership that quarterback Jake Bently will give South Carolina.

LSU will finish second in the SEC West

Jimbo Fisher has a lot of people high on Texas A&M, but they play Alabama, Georgia and Clemson this year. Ooof. LSU and Texas A&M finish out the regular season in Baton Rouge, and the differential in schedule difficulty — and the improved offense at LSU — will help them edge out the Aggies in the battle to see who will carry Alabama’s water in college football’s most storied division.

Georgia will defeat Alabama at least once

It is true that Nick Saban has an undefeated record (19-0) against former assistants, but that will end when Georgia faces Alabama in the SEC Championship. The Crimson Tide could well rebound and beat Georgia in the College Football Playoff, but Jake Fromm is back for his junior year, and the Georgia defense is even more loaded than it was a year ago. Georgia might not win the national championship, but they will stop the Crimson Tide offense enough to beat them once.