Longtime college football analyst Phil Steele has finally released his annual magazine ahead of the 2021 season, much to the delight of fans everywhere. Among the many topics that he tackled was the order of the finish in the SEC for the upcoming campaign.
Last year, Steele nailed his Alabama pick to win the West. The Crimson Tide did that and more, as Nick Saban went on to win yet another National Championship. However, the college football analyst missed his SEC East pick, going with Georgia instead of eventual division champ Florida.
Here’s a look at Steele’s picks in the SEC for 2021:
SEC West
- Alabama
- Texas A&M
- LSU
- Ole Miss
- Auburn
- Mississippi State
- Arkansas
SEC East
- Georgia
- Florida
- Kentucky
- Missouri
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Vanderbilt
There aren’t too many surprises with Steele’s order of finish, as Alabama and Georgia have been expected to top the conference leading up to the season. However, further down the line in each division, a few teams have moved up a couple places from last year’s finishes.
Steele named South Carolina as an SEC team that will exceed expectations and Ole Miss as the biggest surprise team in 2021, so both programs should be pleased that they’ve moved up the finishing order from last year. On the other hand, the longtime analyst bumped Tennessee down after calling the Volunteers the group he’s concerned the most with this season in the conference.
Earlier this week, Steele shared that he has three SEC teams in his preseason top 25: Alabama, Georgia and Texas A&M.
The SEC programs will open up their seasons in Week 1, primarily on Sept. 4.
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