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SEC Championship odds: Where Auburn fits into mix to win conference title

By Rob Maxwell

Beat Alabama in November again and Auburn likely finds itself playing for the SEC title in 2018. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Beat Alabama in November again and Auburn likely finds itself playing for the SEC title in 2018. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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Bovada makes Alabama the favorite to win the SEC in 2018. Here’s a look at where Auburn football fits into those odds.

Alabama is the reigning College Football Playoff champions. The Crimson Tide will be everyone’s preseason No. 1 team and, therefore, predicted to win the SEC.

But Auburn defeated Alabama last season and Georgia pushed the Tide to overtime in the playoff championship game.

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Here’s how Bovada set the odds for winning the SEC championship:

Alabama: 5/7

Georgia: 13/4

Auburn: 17/2

Mississippi State: 15/1

Florida: 18/1

LSU: 25/1

Texas A&M: 25/1

South Carolina: 33/1

Missouri: 40/1

Tennessee: 66/1

Arkansas: 80/1

Kentucky: 100/1

Vanderbilt: 150/1

FlyWarEagle analysis

Three teams are good enough to win the SEC this year: Alabama, Auburn and Georgia. For that purpose, we’ll focus on those three teams and no one else. No disrespect to Mississippi State, LSU, Texas A&M or South Carolina, but those teams might be good — they might be very good — but none are ready to compete for the SEC crown.

Alabama: The Crimson Tide remain the team to beat. They have two great options at quarterback in Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa and return talent and depth on the offensive line, running back and, of course, on defense. On top of that, the schedule is very favorable. Louisville is nowhere near the threat it would have been if Lamar Jackson remained at quarterback. Alabama has the nation’s 48th toughest schedule, according to Phil Steele. Road games at Ole Miss, Arkansas, Ternnessee and LSU don’t look daunting and Alabama gets A&M and Auburn, its biggest threat, at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Georgia: The Bulldogs should steamroll their way through the SEC East. The schedule is laughable (Steele was kind to rank it 56th toughest). The non-conference schedule includes FCS Austin Peay and Middle Tennessee, UMass and Georgia Tech — the three combined to go 16-20 last season. Georgia’s chances to play in Atlanta for the SEC title basically comes down to two games: Sept. 8 at South Carolina and Nov. 10 vs. Auburn. If there were odds to just get to the SEC title game, Georgia’s would be higher than Alabama’s.

Auburn: The Tigers’ road is more difficult than anyone. Bovada still felt confident enough to place Auburn with the third-best chance. Auburn opens the season with a top-10 opponent in Washington in Atlanta. The Tigers also go on the road to Athens and Tuscaloosa. A road game against Mississippi State could also be troublesome. But Auburn lost to Clemson in Week 2 last season, lost to LSU in the regular season and beat Alabama in the season finale to get to Atlanta, where it lost to Georgia. As long as Auburn arrives to Tuscaloosa on Nov. 24 with one of no losses in conference, it will have a chance to reach Atlanta. With the talent returning, that’s doable.

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