SEC Team Season Grades: West
Alabama 2020 Season Grade: A+
2020 Record: 13-0
CFN 2020 Preseason Ranking: 3
CFN 2020 Final Rankings: 1
2019 Final Grade: B
Let’s see … there was a 13-0 season, an SEC championship, a historic Heisman winner, and a national championship. That’s pretty good. 2020 Alabama did the impossible and exceeded the National Title Or Failure expectations.
Arkansas 2020 Season Grade: A-
2020 Record: 3-7
CFN 2020 Preseason Ranking: 68
CFN 2020 Final Rankings: 34
2019 Final Grade: D-
Before the season, find anyone who thought the Hogs weren’t going to lose every SEC game by double-digits. Blow off that they won just three games. Under Sam Pittman, they beat Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Tennessee, and they were competitive against everyone but the league’s superstars.
Auburn 2020 Season Grade: C+
2020 Record: 6-5
CFN 2020 Preseason Ranking: 12
CFN 2020 Final Rankings: 21
2019 Final Grade: B+
It was a slightly better team than it got credit for or what the record might show. There weren’t any amazing wins, and the loss to South Carolina was inexcusable, but in most normal worlds, losing to Georgia, Texas A&M, Alabama, and – after the head coach got fired – to the second-best team in the Big Ten (Northwestern) isn’t all that bad. But it’s Auburn. Going 6-5 doesn’t work.
LSU 2020 Season Grade: C
2020 Record: 5-5
CFN 2020 Preseason Ranking: 5
CFN 2020 Final Rankings: 29
2019 Final Grade: A+
Obviously the season was a dud coming off the all-timer 2019 run, but give the team credit for fighting late and making something out of a dead campaign in a total rebuild. The O woke up to shock Florida and hang 53 on Ole Miss – 5-5 isn’t all that bad after the 3-5 start.
Mississippi State 2020 Season Grade: C
2020 Record: 4-7
CFN 2020 Preseason Ranking: 24
CFN 2020 Final Rankings: 38
2019 Final Grade: C
Beating LSU was a mirage to start the season. The offense sputtered all year, the only win in an eight game run was against a Vanderbilt team that went winless, and then … Year One under Mike Leach ended strong. The O got going against Missouri, and the bowl win over Tulsa was better than it seems.
Ole Miss 2020 Season Grade: B
2020 Record: 5-5
CFN 2020 Preseason Ranking: 48
CFN 2020 Final Rankings: 22
2019 Final Grade: C-
Lane Kiffin got the offense going in the rough 1-4 start, and then it all came together winning four of the last five games with a victory over Mississippi State and a bowl win over Indiana. The D needs to be a LOT better, but the O is going to keep being fun.
Texas A&M 2020 Season Grade: A
2020 Record: 9-1
CFN 2020 Preseason Ranking: 23
CFN 2020 Final Rankings: 4
2019 Final Grade: B-
The one loss? At Alabama when Jaylen Waddle was fully healthy. That’s it. That’s the only sin. The Aggies might not have been all that breathtaking, but they managed to win each of the last seven games – including the Orange Bowl over North Carolina – by double-digits.
2020 Team Season Grades
ACC | American | Big Ten East | West
Big 12 | C-USA East | West
Independents | MAC East | West
Mountain West | Pac-12 North | South
SEC East | West | Sun Belt East | West