College Football Betting: 2020 SEC East Preview
The SEC still intends to play football along with the Big 12 and the ACC. Those three conferences are still preparing for a college football season while the Big Ten and Pac-12 stay home, having shut things down for the fall. In the SEC East, the battle is expected to come down to Georgia and Florida. One team might clearly seem to have the upper hand, but will other factors make the race a lot closer than many people might first think? Let's take a look at the SEC East in 2020.
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Team That Will Surprise: Kentucky Wildcats
Odds To Win SEC: +10000 at DraftKings Sportsbook
The Kentucky Wildcats beat Penn State in the Citrus Bowl two seasons ago, a tremendous achievement for a program that has generally struggled against the rest of the SEC East over the past 40 years. Kentucky has usually been a punching bag for Georgia, Tennessee, and Florida, but 2018 marked a breakthrough. It was, however, merely one strong season, not part of a pattern of continuous excellence.
In 2019, Kentucky wasn't able to replicate its 2018 level of success, falling to a relatively ordinary 7-5 regular-season record before winning its bowl game. Therefore, it is easy to think that Kentucky will quietly slide back into obscurity. Yet, Kentucky brings back most of its defense this season.
Head coach Mark Stoops has done a phenomenal job of creating high-quality defenses, especially at linebacker, which is able to contain opposing SEC offenses. Kentucky will have a very stingy defense this season, and given the weak quarterback play throughout the SEC East, Kentucky could sneak its way up the standings and finish either second or third.
Team That Will Disappoint: Tennessee Volunteers
Odds To Win SEC: +10000 at DraftKings Sportsbook
The Tennessee Volunteers have recruited at a very high level. They have not recruited as well as Georgia, the best team in the division, but they have recruited well in terms of both quality and quantity. They have developed depth on their roster while also bringing in players who can change the equation for the program. The people in Knoxville are very high on the Vols and what they can achieve.
Purely in terms of raw talent, they will be expected by some to finish third in the SEC East behind Georgia and Florida. However, Tennessee plainly has not solved its quarterback and passing game problem. This is the aspect of competition the Vols have not been able to figure out - not in recent years, and really not since Erik Ainge led the program to the SEC Championship Game over a decade ago. If Tennessee develops a passing game, it could all turn out great for the team, but without sufficient evidence of a transformation at quarterback, this program is likely to struggle for at least another year.
Team That Will Win SEC West: Georgia Bulldogs
Odds To Win SEC: +200 at DraftKings Sportsbook
The Georgia Bulldogs have the best team, but they have to play Alabama on the road, a likely loss. Georgia, therefore, has to beat Florida head to head in order to win the division. A loss would vault the Gators to the top spot. Georgia doesn't have a margin for error, given that its schedule is tougher than Florida's. Nevertheless, Georgia hasn't lost to Florida in the current coaching matchup between UGA's Kirby Smart and UF's Dan Mullen. Until proven otherwise, this is still Georgia's division to lose.
Prediction: Georgia Wins SEC East
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Dave Golokhov is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Dave, check out his archive and follow him @davegolokhov.