Georgia football is easily predicted to make Atlanta in way too early 2022 SEC Rankings

Auburn and Mississippi State are the SEC West’s bottom-tier teams 

Auburn Tigers: 6-6 (2-6)

After a mediocre season in 2021, Auburn fans should expect much of the same in 2022.

This past season was a strange one for the Auburn Tigers, as is to be expected for year one under a new head coach. Quarterback Bo Nix looked like he could have started to turn a corner before an injury that sidelined him for the rest of the season. Going into 2022, he is no longer on the team after transferring to Oregon.

The quarterback position will be the most heavily debated amongst Auburn fans, with some believing there might not be any real solution at all.

TJ Finley took over for Nix in 2021 and looked reasonably average. He could make the most sense to win the starting job based on his experience in the system.

Texas A&M transfer Zach Calzada will also be in the conversation after an up and down season as the starter for the Aggies. His numbers weren’t flashy, but he was the signal-caller for the major upset win over Alabama.

Calzada’s overall experience could give him an edge, but another transfer could also make noise in the competition.

Robby Ashford transferred from Oregon after not seeing the field. Ashford was a 4-star prospect in the 2020 class and could be the fan-favorite for the starting job.

Quarterback competitions and crowded quarterback rooms are always unique situations to navigate. When it comes to Finley and Calzada, fans know what they will get from both of them. The draw of Ashford comes from the aspect of him being a general unknown in terms of what he will bring to the table.

The desire to see an unproven quarterback often takes over because fans want to know if he will be any better than what they already know the current quarterbacks are capable of doing.

One position that Auburn will not have to worry about is running back. Tank Bigsby deciding not to transfer was the best possible news for the Tigers, as he could potentially be one of the top backs in the SEC.

Bigsby’s success will be somewhat determined by who starts at quarterback, but look for him to put up numbers regardless.

Entering year two of the Bryan Harsin era, Auburn will still be in a transitional stage. For the most part, the Tigers will be a competitive team that simply just isn’t able to string together wins against higher competition.

Mississippi State Bulldogs: 4-8 (0-8)

Year three of the Mike Leach era in Starkville could be a significant step backward.

The SEC West is as difficult as ever for the Bulldogs, and drawing Kentucky and Georgia as the teams they’ll face from the East make for a gauntlet of a schedule.

Quarterback Will Rogers will be back after passing for 4,739 yards and 36 touchdowns with just nine interceptions. However, Rogers does lose his top target from 2021 as Makai Polk heads to the draft.

Leach was able to land Georgia wide receiver transfer Justin Robinson who could be in for a substantial workload in the air raid attack.

The explosive passing offense of the Bulldogs will return as expected, but as many believe, Leach needs to find a way to incorporate some semblance of a ground game to find success in the SEC.

The air raid offense worked well in the Pac-12, but a lack of balance on offense can and will be exposed in the SEC. It’s especially true when a rather mediocre defense complements the offense.

Given the sheer difficulty of the Bulldogs’ schedule, fans can expect a long season. While some games could be high-scoring and exciting, Mississippi State will end up losing most of those matchups.

This ranking is how the 2022 SEC football conference could look when the first weekend of December rolls around. It seems like we will see another rematch in Alabama and Georgia for the conference title as they will be the heavyweights of this conference. How would you rank the SEC?