It's not easy being the best.

The deafening chatter emanating from social channels and TV markets everywhere but the South was loud and obnoxious in 2013, the initial highpoint of the SEC's dominant run. Everyone came out guns blazing over Alabama-LSU in the 2012 BCS Championship Game, a rematch of the epic 9-6 heavyweight fight we witnessed eight weeks prior in Baton Rouge.

It’s not good for college football, they said, with SEC bias becoming the new popular phrase of the holidays. Five years later, parity remains an issue after the SEC placed two teams in the title game again, this time in the College Football Playoff. Other than a few salty Ohio State and UCF fans, there wasn’t as much noise this time around as Alabama-Georgia lived up to its billing and cemented its place in championship lore as one of the greatest finals the sport has ever seen.

And guess what? The road to a national championship will likely come through Tuscaloosa and Athens once again with each program in reload mode heading into the season.

Can the SEC manage an exciting encore this fall with its second straight national title? Here's 20 bold predictions for the upcoming season: