And away we go:

10. Army. America literally invented militaries. Army is the best service academy team this year, so they hold this spot by default.

9. Arkansas. They play Georgia the first game of the season. Yes, Georgia will throttle them, but the aura of Georgia’s greatness and the lessons Arkansas learns from their beating will propel them to a great season. Also they have Sam Pittman.

8. South Carolina. South Carolina cheated when they beat Georgia last year. No one disputes that, and any objective analyst recognizes Georgia as the proper victor. But even being able to beat UGA while cheating is still impressive.

7. Ohio State. The most SEC-like team outside of the SEC, led by a quarterback with SEC experience. I question whether Ryan Day is committed to lying, cheating, and winning in that way that someone like myself or Urban Meyer is, but for now, talent will prevail.

6.  Tennessee.  Does Jeremy Pruitt know how to read? He does not. Does Jeremy Pruitt know how to coach defense? You bet your ass he does. Give me the latter over the former any day of the week.

5. Auburn. Gus Malzahn is the manager of the local Dairy Queen who isn’t particularly great at his job and isn’t well-liked by the people around him. Yet, he always manages to avoid that one, major offense that requires immediate termination, such as embezzling money from Oreo blizzard sales or having a losing season. The next thing you know, fifteen years have passed and he’s still hanging around.

4. Ole Miss.  Lane Kiffin follows me on Twitter. Lane Kiffin has read my book, “Determined Look: Life Lessons of a Youth Football Coaching Legend.” Lane Kiffin is a great recruiter, just like me. Therefore, Lane Kiffin will make the playoffs.

3. LSU.  I can just copy and paste my LSU preview from last year: “Ed Orgeron is completely illiterate. He truly embraces my mantra: ‘An hour in the weight room is more valuable than a lifetime in the classroom.’ I expect big things from him this year.”

2. Alabama. Alabama was the #2 team in the country during 2019 behind UGA and LSU (tied for #1), whether you like it or not. Nick Saban is one of my few peers, and I direct you back to my analysis of whether the Army of the Dead in Game of Thrones could survive the grind of an SEC Schedule:

“The Army of the Dead is led by the Night King, an unflappable, ruthless individual who never utters a word. His orders—which are followed without question—come through steel-eyed stares and hand gestures. Nick Saban’s ultimate goal for years has been to transform into a mute authoritarian who destroys everything in his path with a determined look, so you’ve got to respect the Night King for his accomplishments.”

Alabama will be awesome again, just not as awesome as Georgia.

1. Georgia. Is Dwan Mathis the best QB in the country? Almost certainly. With a new offensive coordinator and the best defense in college football, the only thing standing between Georgia and a fourth straight national title is our old foe the anti-UGA deep state.