Breaking down the most intriguing SEC teams in 2024

A new era of the SEC is upon us, with the football landscape changing ahead of the 2024 season. Two new members will be added this summer, while there will be no more divisions. This potentially opens the door to Atlanta for a few new programs and makes them a serious contender for the 12-team College Football Playoff.

We might only be in January and a few weeks removed from the national championship but it’s never too early to think about the fall. Chris Doering of the SEC Network was on Tuesday’s episode of Andy Staples On3 to discuss which teams have the most intrigue this upcoming season.

He gives us a quartet of programs as rosters begin to officially fill out and the coaching carousel reaches its conclusion. Interesting storylines are going to be around the entire SEC — spanning from from Austin, TX to Columbia, SC.

New blood entering the SEC in 2024

The story of the offseason is going to be Texas and Oklahoma leaving the Big 12 and finally joining the SEC. Especially since the Longhorns are fresh off a College Football Playoff appearance and the Sooners are seemingly on the right track under Brent Venables. How the Red River duo performs in 2024 will be closely followed by everyone around the league.

“I’m fascinated to watch Oklahoma and Texas,” Doering said. “It’s going to be a unique opportunity with them coming to the league.”

LSU Tigers

Brian Kelly had to hit the reset button this offseason, making some serious staff changes. LSU had a historically bad defense and has brought in Blake Baker as the defensive coordinator. Getting better personnel to Baton Rouge will be a top priority with new coaches in town.

“They only have three scholarship defensive linemen right now,” Doering said. “It’s almost like — Florida always had great defensive lineman. And for LSU not to have that right now is hard…

“I do think getting Corey Raymond back to LSU is going to be a big part of helping the rebuild,” Doering said. “DBU, there. It was weird seeing them cherry-pick players that I don’t think were SEC-caliber secondary players.”

Missouri, Ole Miss have opportunity to replicate success from 2023

Five teams finished with double-digit wins in 2023, with Missouri and Ole Miss being the surprise duo. Now, Doering wants to see if they can replicate the success moving forward. In his eyes, having a program that can win consistently is a far bigger challenge.

“I think both of them are actually built to have a lot of success,” Doering said. “But… how do you handle success? Sometimes, how you handle success is more telling than what it is with challenges.”