Dan Mullen unveils his 2024 SEC predictions, order of finish, league champion
The SEC is going to have a new look in 2024 with two new teams joining the conference and the removal of divisions from the conference. With that, there is plenty of intrigue and debate about how the conference is going to shake out this year.
One person who knows the SEC well is former head coach Dan Mullen. Now an analyst for ESPN, Mullen believes he knows how the conference is going to shake out in 2024 despite those changes and he took to social media to share his 2024 SEC predictions.
With all of that in mind, here is a look at how Dan Mullen predicts the SEC league order will finish and who will become the next league champion:
1. Texas Longhorns
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It’s the first season in the SEC for the Texas Longhorns but Dan Mullen doesn’t expect that to slow them down. He has the Longhorns finishing first in the conference in their first season there. That would, in turn, put Texas in the SEC Championship Game.
It’s easy to see why Mullen is high on Texas. The Longhorns are coming off a season where they went to the College Football Playoff and they return starting quarterback Quinn Ewers in the process. With an experienced head coach in Steve Sarkisian, expectations are high.
2. Georgia Bulldogs
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The Georgia Bulldogs have won two of the last three national championships. However, after losing last season’s SEC Championship Game, they missed the CFP and had to settle for an Orange Bowl win in 2023. Now, they’re looking to get back to an expanded Playoff and compete at the top of the SEC once again.
Mullen certainly thinks that Georgia will be at the top of the conference. Still, with a very difficult SEC schedule this season, the Bulldogs are going to need to be at their best to get back to the conference championship. A second-place finish would, of course, be good enough to get there.
3. Missouri Tigers
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The Missouri Tigers surprised many people in 2023 with an 11-win season and a Cotton Bowl win. Now, the Tigers are looking to do it again in 2024, which is something that Mullen expects them to be capable of doing.
Missouri comes into the 2024 season with a relatively manageable schedule in both non-conference and SEC slates. On top of that, the Tigers have one of the best groups of wide receivers in the country. So, there are plenty of reasons to expect another productive season from the Tigers.
4. Ole Miss Rebels
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After a few seasons of knocking on the door in the SEC, Ole Miss is now looking to break through in 2024. To do that, head coach Lane Kiffin both managed to bring back some big names while also hitting the Transfer Portal hard in the offseason. Now, it looks like Ole Miss should be at the top of the conference.
Mullen has Ole Miss finishing toward the top of the SEC and in doing so, they should be a highly ranked team nationally. At fourth in the conference standings, Mullen doesn’t have Ole Miss quite making the conference championship game but that doesn’t mean the expanded CFP is out of the realm of possibilities.
5. LSU Tigers
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The LSU Tigers enter 2024 in an interesting place. Undeniably talented and well coached, the Tigers are coming off a season where they produced the Heisman winner in Jayden Daniels but struggled mightily on defense. Now, without that Heisman winner, LSU needs to replace Daniels while fixing the defense.
Despite those challenges facing head coach Brian Kelly, much is expected of LSU in 2024. That’s also a sentiment held by Dan Mullen, who is predicting the Tigers finish in the top half of the SEC this season.
6. Alabama Crimson Tide
Alabama OL Tyler Booker and QB Jalen Milroe (Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)
Perhaps no team is undergoing a bigger change than the Alabama Crimson Tide. Legendary head coach Nick Saban retired following the 2023 season and has since been replaced by Kalen DeBoer. That seems like a good hire but it’s still difficult to know what the Crimson Tide will look like moving forward.
Still a talented roster, Mullen has Alabama finishing in the top half of the SEC. At the same time, finishing sixth would feel like a very low finish for what has been a consistent power in the sport. So, Alabama will be interesting to follow.
7. Tennessee Volunteers
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The Tennessee Volunteers are going into 2024 with a new starting quarterback in Nico Iamaleava. He’s young and talented but still developing in head coach Josh Heupel‘s explosive offense. There will likely be growing pains but this team should be fun to watch with Iamaleava at the helm.
There’s no denying Tennessee has talent but there are a lot of SEC teams with talent. It seems like Mullen expects the Volunteers to be good but just a step behind those teams at the top of the conference in 2024. Still, that will likely depend on how Iamaleava is able to play.
8. Texas A&M Aggies
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Another team going through a head coaching transition is Texas A&M. In the case of the Aggies, former head coach Jimbo Fisher was replaced by Mike Elko. Previously the head coach at Duke and a defensive coordinator at Texas A&M under Fisher, Elko has had plenty of success in his career and is now ready to succeed with the Aggies.
Texas A&M still has talent and the defense is expected to be good. At the same time, there is some rebuilding that appears to be underway. Still, Dan Mullen thinks that the Aggies are going to find some success and finish in the top half of the SEC this season.
SEC Championship: Texas defeats Georgia
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Dan Mullen has the Texas Longhorns and Georgia Bulldogs finishing at the top of the SEC this season. That means the two would meet for the conference championship game. There, Mullen is predicting Texas wins and takes the SEC crown for its first season in the conference.
Interestingly, if Mullen is correct, the SEC Championship Game would be a rematch of a regular season between the two. Texas and Georgia are set to meet in Austin this October. Add the potential they then meet again in the CFP and these two teams could end up playing three different times in one year.
Rest of Mullen’s predicted SEC conference standings
9. Oklahoma Sooners
10. Kentucky Wildcats
11. Auburn Tigers
12. Florida Gators
13. Arkansas Razorbacks
14. South Carolina Gamecocks
15. Mississippi State Bulldogs
16. Vanderbilt Commodores
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