3 biggest 2023 SEC games that could impact the College Football Playoff

ATHENS, GEORGIA - NOVEMBER 05: Ladd McConkey #84 of the Georgia Bulldogs carries the ball past Tamarion McDonald #12 of the Tennessee Volunteers during the third quarter at Sanford Stadium on November 05, 2022 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) /

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Neyland Stadium (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /

Tennessee vs Alabama

If you have a friend who is on the fence about College Football, all you need to do is show them this game from last year and if they’re still on the fence you might want to reconsider your friendship.

Tennessee fans are on top of the mountain, as they should be, after ending the 15-year losing streak to their rival, the Tide. Unfortunately, the Vols travel to Tuscaloosa the third week in October this year and won’t get to weaponize their home crowd.

The roster gap is large between these teams, but it was last year as well, and that was a moot point. Both teams will be replacing quarterbacks this season, and Tennessee is replacing their Bilentnikoff Award-winning receiver, Jalin Hyatt.

Alabama has been a recruiting powerhouse since Saban took over; and while they lose some players to the portal, they have been hand-picking top talent off of other teams. Notably, some of the Tide’s top production offensively over the past two seasons have come from the transfer portal in Jameson Williams and Jahmyr Gibbs.

Alabama is also replacing both coordinator positions this season with Kevin Steele taking over on defense and Tommy Rees on offense. This is the first time Alabama has had to replace both coordinators since 2018. Following that season, the Tide finished ranked 8th with an 11-2 record.

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