Settle It: Who is going to win the 2013 SEC Championship?

Ben Cornfield | January 28, 2013 at 12:39 pm | 21 Comments

Alabama Crimson Tide wide receiver DeAndrew White (2) holds the SEC sign after winning the 2012 SEC Championship game against the Georgia Bulldogs at the Georgia Dome. Alabama won 32-28. (Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports)

The nation’s most dominant conference was exactly that in 2012 — dominant. Six of the top 12 teams in the final 2012 season rankings were all members of the SEC.

Alabama won its third national title in a four-year span, earning the title of a college football ‘dynasty’ after elephant stomping Notre Dame to the tune of a 42-14 final score. In earning their trip to Miami, however, the Tide was pushed to the limit by Georgia in the SEC title game. The epic meeting in the Georgia Dome was far more competitive than was the actual fight for the crystal ball.

On the other hand, coach Les Miles and LSU were a minute away from toppling Alabama and earning their own trip to the SEC title game against the Bulldogs. One assumes that the Tigers, despite losing to Clemson in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, would have taken care of the Irish as well.

The same goes for Georgia, who themselves came up five yards short of beating Bama in Atlanta. Quarterback Aaron Murray would have carved up Notre Dame’s overmatched secondary like a Turkey Day dinner.

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The same goes for the running game of Florida, who was one fumble away from a potential win over Georgia in their annual rivalry game in Jacksonville. A win would have given coach Will Muschamp’s Gators a perfect SEC East mark and their own date against Alabama for the shot to take on Notre Dame.

Steve Spurrier and South Carolina lost superstar running back Marcus Lattimore to a horrific knee injury and still won 11 games for the second straight season.

Don’t even get us started on Texas A&M. The SEC newcomers barely lost to Florida in their first game of the year, under a first year head coach and a quarterback starting for the first time. Perhaps you have heard of Johnny Manziel — he became the first freshman in the history of college football to win the Heisman and he set a Cotton Bowl record with a zillion yards against Oklahoma.

Alright, you get the picture.

Will the Tide once again roll all the way through the conference and presumably into the national title game? Will Georgia’s elite offense pile up the points en route to their first SEC trophy in three consecutive attempts?

Will A&M continue to dominate their new digs?

What about Florida and LSU? Will each of their quarterbacks, Jeff Driskel of the Gators and the Tigers’ Zack Mettenberger, mature enough to carry the load?

Finally, will Jadeveon Clowney carry the South Carolina Gamecocks’ all the way to the promised land, earning himself the Heisman Trophy as an exclusively defensive player in the process?

We’re just going to come right out and ask it…