SEC College Football Preview: Teams to Watch, Breakout Players, and Best Bets for 2024

The SEC is adding two more major brands for the 2024 season as the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners are now apart of the conference where "it just means more." This takes the conference to 16 teams, tying it with the Big 12 for the third-most squads behind the Big Ten and ACC.

As usual, the SEC is expected to be front and center in the national picture; the conference boasts 9 of the top-20 favorites to win the national championship when looking at FanDuel Sportsbook's national championship odds. The SEC has five of the top-seven national championship favorites, as well.

This conference is demanding attention as always. Let's break down the SEC ahead of the 2024 season.

SEC Team Win Totals

Here's a look at each team's win total, national championship odds, and College Football Playoff odds, via the college football odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.

SEC Championship Odds

Check out the live odds for the SEC Championship game winner.

SEC Teams to Watch

Georgia Bulldogs

Despite a combined 42-2 record since the 2021 season with two national titles during the span, the Georgia Bulldogs have not been able to get a stranglehold on the SEC. They have only one SEC Championship during the span, which came in 2022 with a 20-point win over LSU.

Alabama has been a constant thorn in the Bulldogs as they lost the 2021 and 2023 SEC Championship games to the Tide. Welcome to the club; legendary coach Nick Saban had his way with most. With the GOAT hanging up his whistle, Georgia has the inside track to start dominating the conference.

The Dawgs have the shortest odds to win the conference (+170) while carrying the lowest line to win the national championship (+280) and second-shortest line to make the College Football Playoff (CFP) at -600.

Georgia is expected to have one of the nation's top quarterbacks with Carson Beck returning for his second season as the starter. Beck holds the second-lowest odds to win the Heisman Trophy (+750) while being ranked as the top overall prospect for the 2025 NFL Draft, per NFL Mock Draft Database's consensus big board.

Beck's cupboard of weapons is full as the offense has nine returning starters, including Beck. Dominic Lovett, who led wide receivers with 613 yards last season, is back, and the Bulldogs added two of 247 Sports' top-five receivers in the transfer portal: London Humphreys and Colbie Young.

The run game is looking very healthy with four starting offensive linemen back in the fold paired with the addition of the third-best transfer running back Trevor Etienne -- the young brother of the Jacksonville Jaguars tailback Travis Etienne. It's safe the offense is locked and loaded even following the loss of Brock Bowers.

The defense is stacked with talent, featuring two top-20 prospects on the consensus 2025 draft board in edge rusher Mykel Williams and safety Malaki Starks.

We'll start the season with things looking like Georgia and then everyone else down south.

Texas Longhorns

After appearing in last season's CFP semifinal, Texas is a major addition to the SEC. The Longhorns have 14 returning starters -- 6 on offense and 8 on defense.

Texas is expected to be the next-best squad in the SEC behind Georgia, carrying the second-shortest line to win the conference (+350). Plus, the Longhorns have the fourth-shortest odds across CFB to win the national championship (+850) and appear in the CFP (-220) -- both second-best in the conference.

Quarterback Quinn Ewers is the most notable returning starter, and he is +1000 to win the Heisman (third-shortest) and is ranked as the fifth-best signal-caller for the 2025 NFL Draft.

This should be one of the nation's top passing attacks, for it also features offensive tackle Kelvin Banks -- who is ranked as the second-best tackle for the 2025 draft -- and wideout Isaiah Bond, who was the top transfer receiver.

However, the offense sustained a huge blow this week as the expected starting running back CJ Baxter suffered a season-ending knee injury. The sophomore back posted 659 rushing yards last season and was expected to take a big leap in 2024.

The defense doesn't carry the same kind of talent compared to last year's squad. The departures of Byron Murphy II and T'Vondre Sweat were big losses as both players were selected within the first two rounds of the 2024 NFL Draft. The Longhorns added a couple of promising transfer pieces in edge rusher Trey Moore and safety Andrew Mukuba.

Alabama Crimson Tide

Even with Saban out of the picture, the Alabama Crimson Tide are still expected to be toward the top of the SEC. The Tide are knotted with Ole Miss for the third-shortest odds in the conference to win the national title (+1400) while carrying the third-shortest line to win the SEC (+700).

Coach Kalen DeBoer, who was the Washington Huskies' coach in 2022 and 2023, walks into a room loaded with talent.

The roster experienced some big departures such as Bond to Texas and safety Caleb Downs to the Ohio State Buckeyes. Still, DeBoer did an excellent job of keeping most of this roster in tact while adding talent.

Quarterback Jalen Milroe should be one of FBS's top quarterbacks. He's carrying the fourth-shortest line to win the Heisman (+1400) and is ranked as the third-best QB by consensus draft boards.

The offensive line looks promising with two top-40 draft prospects in Tyler Booker and Parker Brailsford -- a transfer from Washington. Former five-star offensive tackle prospect Kadyn Proctor also returned to Tuscaloosa after a brief three-month stint with the Iowa Hawkeyes.

The defense was bolstered with the additions of transfer LT Overton, Domani Jackson, King Mack, and Keon Sabb, who were all top-60 transfers.

Heisman Odds: SEC

We mentioned the SEC's top Heisman candidates -- Beck and Ewers. Plus, Alabama's Milroe isn't far behind. The conference's contenders doesn't stop here, though.

Among the nine top contenders for the Heisman Trophy, the SEC features six players. As usual, the nation's most competitive conference is full of stars.

The fourth-shortest line for the Heisman is pretty much a logjam of SEC signal-callers. Along with Ohio State's Will Howard, the Tennessee Volunteers' Nico Iamaleava, the Mississippi Rebels' Jaxson Dart, and the LSU Tigers' Garrett Nussmeier all carry +1400 odds.

Iamaleava was a highly-touted recruit out of the 2023 class and was rated as the second-best overall player and second-best QB. Tennessee has sky-high expectations for Iamaleava's first season as the starter.

Dart pitched 3,364 passing yards paired with 31 total touchdowns in 2023.

Nussmeier is more unknown in his first season as the starter but carries promising potential after throwing for 395 yards in his only appearance as a starter last season in a system that just produced last year's Heisman Trophy winner.

SEC Best Bets for 2024

Ole Miss Over 9.5 Wins (-110)

If one team has to be circled as a sleeper, it's Ole Miss.

Even with their All-American running back Quinshon Judkins hitting the transfer portal, the Rebels still feature the second-most returning starters in the conference. This was a team that already reached a 10-2 record in the regular season a year ago.

As previously mentioned, Dart is expected to be a Heisman contender. Returning wide receiver Tre Harris is among the top-10 contenders for the Fred Biletnikoff Award given to the nation's top wideout. Ulysses Bentley IV is a promising replacement for Judkins after posting 540 yards in 2023.

The defense caught several big fish in the transfer portal, including defensive lineman Walter Nolen (3rd overall), edge rusher Princely Umanmielen (18th overall), and cornerback Trey Amos (48th overall).

Best of all, the Rebs' schedule looks favorable. The non-conference slate has Furman, Middle Tennessee, and Georgia Southern -- a package of cupcakes. LSU and Georgia are the toughest conference matchups, but Ole Miss also gets to face four of the five lowest win totals in the conference: South Carolina, Florida, Arkansas, and Mississippi State.

The Rebels are loaded with experience and already went over 9.5 wins last season. The schedule is also falling in Ole Miss' favor in a competitive SEC. Give me the over.

Alabama Under 9.5 Wins (-142)

The SEC is carrying a whopping six teams with win totals of at least 9.5. This line could be a bit too kind for what's ahead for Alabama.

The greatest coach in FBS history is gone; there's no replacement for that. This isn't a deep dive into stats or a roster break down, but this cannot be understated. There is no one like Saban. A decline in coaching should be expected.

This team was fortunate enough to reach 11 regular-season wins last year considering some of their close calls, including a 17-3 win over South Florida, a six-point win over Texas A&M, and a three-point victory against Auburn.

Several holes were glaring -- such as finishing outside the top 75 in rushing yards per carry and outside the top 60 in yards per game. Jase McClellan -- the team's leading rusher from 2023 -- is onto the NFL, making the situation even more dire. The projected starting halfback is Justice Haynes, who posted only 168 yards a season ago.

Finally, the schedule is doing the Crimson Tide no favors. Georgia is on the regular-season schedule along with two road trips to Tennessee and LSU, two of the loudest venues across CFB. Plus, Alabama has yet another difficult away game against Oklahoma.

Considering the change and DeBoer's first season paired with a difficult schedule, I'm backing under 9.5 wins.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.