There have been quite a few predictions made this offseason about who will win the SEC East as it seems to be pretty open. Some people think that Georgia could win it if freshman phenom Jacob Eason wins the starting job at quarterback and Florida could win with its defense alone since the Gators have serious troubles at QB. However, the most stable team in the East is Tennessee with its running backs and quarterback returning as well as several defensive starters.
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Josh Dobbs is back at QB along with running backs Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara as well as Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Derek Barnett and the addition of Jonathan Kongbo on the defensive side of the ball. ESPN's Mark Schlabach recognizes that and believes the Vols are the ones to beat in the division.
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The Vols haven't won an SEC title since 1998 when they won the BCS Championship and haven't won 10 games in a season since 2007. This should be the year that all changes and the Vols finally get the upturn they've been needing. Here's what Schlabach thinks will happen on the way though and it's quite surprising:
They'll win at Georgia and South Carolina, but they'll lose to Florida for the 12th season in a row. Even worse, Steve Spurrier will be there to watch it.
How could the Vols possibly win the SEC East and still lose to the Gators? It would require some math, but basically the Gators would have to lose both SEC West games against LSU and Arkansas or a combination of one of those with an SEC East loss to Georgia or inexplicably to South Carolina. That's certainly a bold prediction from Schlabach one way or the other.
