ESPN releases SEC preseason power rankings ahead of 2022 college football season

College football less than two weeks away and ESPN has released a thorough preview of the SEC, including a power ranking of the 14 teams going into the season. While not a total surprise, defending league and national champion Georgia is not atop the rankings — and it’s not hard to guess who eclipsed the Bulldogs for the top spot.

Yes, Alabama clocked in first in the ESPN preseason power ranking for the SEC. Bringing back the Heisman winner in quarterback Bryce Young and arguably the best player in college football in edge rusher Will Anderson will do that for you.

The power ranking, done by Chris Low and Alex Scarborough, also puts the SEC East on close-to-equal footing with the vaunted SEC West. Four teams from the SEC West are projected to finish in the top half of the league, but are joined by Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee from the SEC East.

The two teams with first-year head coaches — LSU and Florida, which hired Brian Kelly and Billy Napier, respectively — are both hanging around the middle of the pack. LSU is tabbed as the eighth-best team, Florida the 11th.

How second-year coaches Bryan Harsin and Shane Beamer fare will also be fascinating. Harsin’s Auburn Tigers are picked 10th, and South Carolina, led by Beamer, is picked ninth.

The full power ranking of all 14 SEC teams:

1. Alabama
2. Georgia
3. Texas A&M
4. Arkansas
5. Kentucky
6. Tennessee
7. Ole Miss
8. LSU
9. South Carolina
10. Auburn
11. Florida
12. Mississippi State
13. Missouri
14. Vanderbilt

Along with the power ranking of the SEC, ESPN also previewed five must-see games happening in the conference this season, including a pair of games involving the Vols.

ESPN also produced a power ranking for all of Division I, which features six SEC teams ranked in the Top 25. Alabama also secured the top spot there, with Georgia again not very far behind.