Tennessee football: ESPN ranks SEC East as 6th toughest Power 5 division

ESPN thinks the SEC East is the 6th toughest Power 5 division in the nation. Is that too high or too low considering the makeup of the division?

The love ESPN has for the good ole SEC is outstanding. Okay, not really, In fact, there are many times I wonder if ESPN even likes the SEC. Tennessee fans know they hate the Tennessee football program.

However, in the end, the SEC makes ESPN and other cable providers a lot of money in advertisements, so they have to at least act like they like the SEC. But, there is no acting when it comes to ranking each division from the Power 5 conferences.

Of course, the SEC West is the highest ranked division in college football, and rightfully so. Yes, there is Alabama. Is it not funny I know what the ‘haters’ are going to say? That is the only comeback that ‘SEC haters’ have.

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Since 2007, the SEC has had four different teams win a National Championship. Alabama, Auburn, LSU, and Florida. If you’re counting that equals three teams from the SEC West division and one from the SEC East.

The Big Ten as a whole only has one Championship, and that was Ohio State. And, the ACC, only has Clemson and Florida State. So even if you take Alabama away, and the SEC West still has two teams that won a title in the past 11 years.

You have to scroll down to the number six position below the Big Ten East, ACC Atlantic, Pac-12 North, and Big 12 to find the SEC East.

We are all familiar with the East teams. Georgia is recruiting at Alabama levels, and it does not appear to be slowing down anytime soon. Well, that is until they get busted by the NCAA for paying players. I mean who seriously wants to play at Georgia?

Then there is Florida, who is a dumpster fire right now. Dan Mullen is pulling his best Butch Jones impressions, and that unquestionably is not a good idea. Kids, you should never try to imitate Butch Jones in anything you do. Unless of course, you are trying to get fired from your job.

South Carolina is rolling with Will Muschamp at the helm and should be a vastly improved team. Some media members think the Gamecocks just might have a shot at the SEC East Title.

Missouri has an All-SEC Preseason First-teamer in quarterback Drew Lock and should be a scary team to play.

And, of course, just like every conference there are the bottom feeders. For the SEC East, those teams are Kentucky and Vanderbilt of course. However, as bad as those teams are I still take them to beat Indiana and Rutgers from the Big Ten East.

Finally, comes Tennessee. The Vols are the team and could rank the SEC East as high as the third best division in college football. Or, on the other hand, could drop them to number seven or eight.

The Vols are not going to win ten games, that is fairly certain. However, they could surprise some people.

Tennessee has a lot of talent. Now, that talent has not been coached the past five seasons, but it is talent nonetheless. If first-year head coach Jeremy Pruitt can get his guys going, it might be a good year for the Vols and an even better one for the SEC East.