Connelly’s SEC East preview: Can anyone knock Georgia off its perch?

Florida won it for the first five years, then Tennessee and Florida split the next five. Georgia won three of four, then Florida did the same. Georgia won two of three, then Missouri came out of nowhere to win back-to-back. Florida won twice as Georgia was transitioning into the Kirby Smart era, during which Georgia has won five of six. The SEC East has always had a lead dog of sorts, even if that team has changed through the years.

Thirty-two years after it pioneered the divisional structure — a move so significant that we made a documentary about it — the SEC will be adopting the trend of ditching its divisions when it adds Oklahoma and Texas in 2024. (We’ll see if the league eventually does the right thing and moves to nine conference games so its teams can actually all play each other. Baby steps.)

As with the Big Ten West (a number of defense-centric teams will battle for the last title) and East (oh, hey, Michigan and Ohio State start out on top yet again), it feels the SEC East will go out with a familiar storyline: The lead Dawg is a heavy favorite. Can Tennessee or anyone else defy the odds and threaten the two-time defending national champion? And which teams might stand out among the division’s customarily large middle class?

Let’s preview the SEC East one last time!

Every week through the offseason, Bill Connelly will preview another division from the Group of 5 and Power 5 exclusively for ESPN+, ultimately including all 133 FBS teams. The previews will include 2022 breakdowns, 2023 previews and burning questions for each team.