There’s also intrigue in the middle of the table. 9, no SEC team sits higher than 13th in Ken Pomeroy’s preseason ratings, but there are 5 between that slot and 25th - hinting at depth, a competitive race, and the potential for a coupe of elite teams to emerge.

Bringing Up the Rear: South Carolina and GeorgiaĪs we close in on Nov.

Muddling Through: Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, and Missouri.

Bubble Worthy: LSU, Mississippi State, and Ole Miss.

Likely NCAA Tournament Teams: Auburn and Florida.

Potential Protected Seeds: Kentucky, Alabama, Arkansas, and Tennessee.

Whether it’s beat reporters, national writers, analytic wonks, or bloggers, there’s uncommon unanimity over how to sort teams into tiers. You’d think so much turnover might make it hard to reach a consensus on sorting SEC programs, but you’d be wrong. That’s dimmed the SEC’s star-power a bit and dented continuity, but it still appears to have enough talent stockpiled to claim six or seven bids when the NCAA tournament arrives. Nevertheless, the transfer market radically reshaped rosters, and the conference coaches are importing as many newcomers from the portal as freshmen. In most statistical categories, programs only return an average of 40 percent of their production from last season.

Like the rest of the sport, the SEC wasn’t left unscathed by unprecedented player movement brought on by the NCAA’s adoption of a one-transfer exception.

While UK’s roster refresh proved successful this spring, blending top-end transfers with another top-five crop of freshmen, there’s still a quartet of squads - Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Auburn - hanging just off the Wildcats’ shoulder. Over the past five seasons, its peers have seen their hardwood investments reap dividends, while coach John Calipari’s one-and-done model required some tweaking, especially after a 9-16 finish last season. Gone are the days when we blindly penciled the Wildcats atop the SEC preseason poll.

Portal 2 episode 1