Preseason SEC Power Rankings for 2019: Should Vols start in bottom tier?
Okay, so the last time we saw them was a 44-16 national championship loss to the Clemson Tigers. But it’s not enough to knock the Alabama Crimson Tide out of the top spot in our preseason SEC Power Rankings.
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Even with that loss, Bama still won their bowl game before that, technically a semifinal game, and they beat the Oklahoma Sooners and Heisman winner Kyler Murray, a better team than who the Florida Gators or LSU Tigers beat. So that has to count.
Meanwhile, Nick Saban’s program actually has a surprisingly high amount of talent returning this year. He has over 60 percent of his production back, and that includes Tua Tagovailoa, who is still a Heisman-caliber quarterback despite how he ended last season.
We’d also like to point out that Alabama had another No. 2 ranked recruiting class, and it was No. 1 by some standards. So Saban has still stocked the cupboard and has the program rolling entering his 13th season on the job.
Next. Game-by-game predictions for Vols 2019 season. dark
Whether or not you think Alabama is slipping as a program after what Dabo Swinney did to Saban for the second time in three years in the national title game, you can’t ignore that they belong up here for now. Somebody has to knock them off, as they have lost one SEC game in the past three seasons. That’s incredible.