SEC quarterbacks could be key in helping the league end a 3-year championship drought
The Southeastern Conference is going through a championship drought, the kind of lull the football league last endured more than two decades ago. Not only has the SEC watched a Big Ten team hoist the College Football Playoff trophy each of the last three years, the once-seemingly unmatched powerhouse hasn’t even played in the title game since Georgia closed out the 2022 season with a crown. Reason to panic?
Cause for concern? It might be more of a head-scratching fluke than an eye-opening fade. The last time the SEC went three consecutive tears without a national title was 1999-2002, when Florida State, Oklahoma (then in the Big 12), Miami (then in the Big East) and Ohio State won the Bowl Championship Series.
The SEC didn’t make any of those title games, either. But the league responded by winning 14 of the next 17 national championships, building a reputation as having the fastest players in the league and dominating in the trenches. Oh, and quarterbacks mattered (see: Tim Tebow, Cam Newton, Jalen Hurts, Joe Burrow and Mac Jones).
If the SEC is going to end its current skid, quarterback play surely will be key. “Too often the storyline is always the quarterback, the quarterback, the quarterback,” new Florida coach Jon Sumrall said. “Well, I’m pretty damn worried about who the right tackle is and who the left tackle is.
Those decisions are as important, to be quite honest with you, because they’re protecting the quarterback. ” Nonetheless, here’s a look at how the league stands at the all-important QB position following spring practice: Nearly half the SEC has a returning starter at QB Six teams have returning starters, including five of the top seven favorites to win the league. Oddsmakers list Arch Manning (plus-750) of Texas and Trinidad Chambliss (plus-900) of Ole Miss as two of top three preseason Heisman Trophy favorites.
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