The SEC proved — again — last year its status as college football’s preeminent conference. There are few signs that will change entering 2019 with Alabama a co-favorite to win a national championship followed and several other SEC contenders not far behind.

The Crimson Tide will be firmly in the mix. It’s all but guaranteed when you consider their history (five straight College Football Playoff appearances), talent and schedule. Following Alabama is a deep and intriguing group of Top 25 teams separated by the slimmest of margins. You could make an argument for LSU, Georgia and Florida as legit national title contenders. Auburn, Texas A&M and Missouri (look at the schedule) could jump into the playoff conversation as well.

This isn’t anything new for the SEC. There’s a reason why the conference has the feel of a week-by-week prize fight as contenders vie for a CFB Playoff berth that seems all but assured.

247Sports is previewing each Power Five conference this week to get you ready for the 2019 college football season. Today, we break down the SEC.

Three Major Storylines

LSU’s Alabama Chase: Since the BCS delivered the rematch nobody outside the Southeast wanted in the 2012 national championship, the Tigers are 0-8 against Alabama. And most of the games haven’t been close. That could change this year. Nobody in the SEC, sans Tennessee, returns more production than LSU. That group includes starting QB Joe Burrow, the first LSU passer in seemingly a decade nobody is questioning entering a season. Burrow is surrounded by one of the better skill groups in the country and an experienced offensive line. Defensively, the Tigers are always stout under defensive coordinator Dave Aranda; it helps when a player of Grant Delpit’s caliber leads the way. Add in the fact the offense is entering its second season in offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger’s system – with a boost from passing game guru Joe Brady – and this is an extremely dangerous team with a higher ceiling than a year ago when it largely overachieved. Is that enough to challenge Alabama? We’ll see. This is arguably a better Alabama team than what the Tide employed last year. But if LSU can’t take down Alabama this season, it’s fair to wonder if it ever will again, so long Nick Saban prowls the sidelines in Tuscaloosa. Georgia vs. Florida: No offense to Missouri and South Carolina, but the SEC East is largely a two-team race: Georgia and Florida. The Bulldogs hired Kirby Smart and emerged as a dominant presence during a Gators swoon. Florida, with Dan Mullen leading the charge, is a contender once again. And this annual rivalry is bordering on contentious. Mullen has poked Georgia on more than one occasion this offseason. If they chose to respond, the Bulldogs could probably just mention the combined score of their last two meetings, 78-24. Georgia is recruiting as well as anyone, and some of that youth should step forward this season. Jake Fromm is among college football’s best passers. Meanwhile, Florida QB Feleipe Franks is expected to take a step leading a team that brings back the 26th-most production nationally, per SB Nation. There are micro questions for both teams. For Georgia, it’s the team’s defensive front. For Florida, it’s the offensive front. Yet barring anything crazy, the SEC East will run through Jacksonville on Nov. 2. Gus Malzahn’s Warm Seat: Less than two years ago, Malzahn had Auburn on the brink of the CFB Playoff and Auburn engaged in a bidding war with Arkansas to keep its head coach for the long term. One offseason later, the likelihood of Malzahn finishing his seven-year contract is even with a pre-'Old Town Road' Billy Ray Cyrus revival: Not impossible, sure, but difficult to imagine without something truly unexpected occurring. For Malzahn, that means a return to big-time contention. That in of itself is entirely possible. Auburn will employ perhaps the nation’s best defensive line and a potent cast of skill players. Even quarterback isn’t a huge question mark as the talented if inexperienced pair of Joey Gatewood and Bo Nix battle to replace Jarrett Stidham. Instead, it’s the schedule and division working against Malzahn. Take a look at some notable games for the Tigers: vs. Oregon, at Texas A&M, at Florida, at LSU, Georgia, Alabama. Auburn likely won’t lose all of those games – the Tigers are far too talented – but it’s not unreasonable to suggest it drops four of them. Given Malzahn’s contract and the looming cross-state presence of Alabama, another seven or eight-win season just isn’t good enough for the Tiger boosters. Malzahn’s saved himself before. Now that he’s calling the plays again, he can either help, or greatly hurt, his survival odds.

Sleeper Team: Missouri Tigers

Texas A&M and Auburn would be good answers here. But I discussed the Tigers at length above, and the Aggies will start the year in the top 15, so they’re hardly a sleeper. That brings us to Missouri, which could be a sneaky threat to Georgia and Florida in the SEC East. Drew Lock is gone, but the Tigers found a natural successor in Clemson transfer Kelly Bryant. He’ll be surrounded by a 1,000-yard rusher in Larry Rountree, an experienced receiving corps and college football’s best tight end Albert Okwuegbunam. Defensively, the Tigers have made small steps during Odom’s three-year tenure. With six starters back and some potential instant impact JUCO adds (Chris Daniels, Sci Martin), the unit could take a step forward. The aspect truly working in Missouri’s favor is the schedule. The Tigers’ non-conference slate of Wyoming, West Virginia, Southeast Missouri and Troy lacks teeth. Missouri also drew Arkansas and Ole Miss from the SEC West in the cross-division portion of the schedule. Throw in the fact South Carolina and Tennessee travel to Columbia and that Kentucky should take a step back, and things really break Missouri’s way. There’s a more than decent chance Missouri is 7-1 or 8-0 heading into back-to-back games against Florida and Georgia. The Tigers get a bye before that stretch, too. Win one or two of those contests, and there’s a scenario in which Missouri sits atop the East.

SEC West Standings

1. Alabama

2. LSU

3. Texas A&M

4. Auburn

5. Mississippi State

6. Ole Miss

7. Arkansas

SEC East Standings

1. Georgia

2. Florida

3. Missouri

4. South Carolina

5. Tennessee

6. Kentucky

7. Vanderbilt

Offensive Player of the Year: Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama

Defensive Player of the Year: Grant Delpit, LSU

Coach of the Year: Jeremy Pruitt, Tennessee

Top Newcomer: Jonathan Greenard, Florida

Biggest Riser: Tennessee

Biggest Faller: Kentucky

Most Important Game(s): Florida vs. Georgia (Nov. 2) | LSU at Alabama (Nov. 9)

Previous Conference Previews

Monday: ACC

Tuesday: Big Ten