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Football begins Saturday. The real stuff, too. Not the disillusioned preseason pro football that has been on TV the past couple weeks.

Florida and Miami will tangle in Orlando Saturday, which sets off the opening week of games that continue next Thursday.

Welcome to Voices of the SEC, where we get to make silly headlines about Vanderbilt playing in the SEC Championship Game for fun. Because what is college football for anyway?

This week, we give our Official SEC Football Preseason Power Rankings, along with reasons why each team could (or could not) win the SEC. Bear with us toward the end.

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Voices of the SEC Week 0 power rankings

1. Alabama

How they will win the SEC: Because it’s Alabama? LSU is the first true test, and the Crimson Tide wins handily at home. Georgia isn’t nearly as capable in the front seven to manage Alabama’s run game in the SEC title game.

How they won’t: Tua Tagovailoa gets banged up in September, and an Oct. 12 trip to College Station is the first trap. Alabama still can’t cover receivers, which is a problem in November.

ALL AMERICA: Five Alabama players lead the USA TODAY Sports preseason college football All-America team

2. Georgia

How they will win the SEC: It finally breaks the curse of Alabama. The Bulldogs shake off an upset by Tennessee to go 12-1 and make the College Football Playoff.

How they won’t: A 12-0 Georgia team is tied at 31 with the Tide with seven seconds left in regulation. Jake Fromm heaves a Hail Mary into the end zone. The ball is tipped around before Patrick Surtain II intercepts it. Suddenly, the only Georgia players between Surtain II and a 100-yard path to the end zone are offensive linemen. Surtain II wins the sprint. Alabama wins the game and the city of Atlanta.

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SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg breaks down a handful of quarterbacks who will be dominating the headlines this year in college football.
USA TODAY

3. LSU

How they will win the SEC: Joe Burrow is The Man. LSU’s defense, with three potential first-rounders, is dominant. Alabama’s receivers struggle with the one secondary that can match up with them. LSU whips Georgia in the SEC title game.

How they won’t: Alabama. That could be the answer to almost everyone on this list. But until Ed Orgeron’s team beats Alabama, it will be the elephant in the room in Baton Rouge.

DAILY ADVERTISER: LSU cornerback Kristian Fulton ready ‘to make a name for myself’ in second year as starter

4. Texas A&M

How they will win the SEC: The Aggies lose at Clemson but win eight straight games up to the Georgia-LSU road finish. A win in Baton Rouge gives the Aggies the SEC West. Kellen Mond is suddenly a NFL prospect.

How they won’t: This schedule would wear down any excellent team. Mond doesn’t start all 12 games, and the defense is not good enough to keep Alabama, Clemson and Georgia from scoring 40-plus points.

5. Florida

How they will win the SEC: Florida’s offensive line gels after a bumpy first month, though the Gators win every game in September. The Gators split their SEC West slate (Auburn and LSU) and finally best Georgia in Jacksonville. LSU or Auburn await again in Atlanta.

How they won’t: The schedule runs the Gators into the ground by November. The offensive line struggles to block defenses like Kentucky and South Carolina, much less LSU and Auburn. 

6. Auburn

How they will win the SEC:Bo Nix and Auburn, as a combo, sound like they are meant for each other, and Nix shakes off Joey Gatewood throughout the season. Auburn does a very Auburn thing by losing at Texas A&M early, then running the table at home in November. That includes Georgia and Alabama, by the way. The Tigers defensive line is the best in the country.

How they won’t: The noise increases with every loss, starting with a Week 1 stinker vs. Oregon. Auburn hits its first bye week at 3-3, and Malzahn gets a call on his personal cell phone from a number in Southern California. It’s USC athletic director Lynn Swann on the line.

USA TODAY: The 10 best games of Week 1 (and Week 0) of the college football season

7. Missouri

How they will win the SEC: Technically, the Tigers cannot officially *win* the SEC. But Mizzou could do the same thing Ohio State did in the first year for Urban Meyer and run the table out of spite. The Tigers are 8-0 in November, travel to Athens and upset the Bulldogs. Florida is beat up and easy prey, and Kelly Bryant is a darkhorse Heisman candidate.

How they won’t: Because they can’t? Or more appropriately: Kelly Bryant is a good quarterback, but he’s not even better than Drew Lock. 

8. Tennessee

How they will win the SEC: Jarrett Guarantano is no longer a pinball wearing orange and taking snaps under center. Instead, he is efficient and mistake-free, and UT’s offense resembles what Jim Chaney sported at Georgia, sans the terrorizing running backs. Jeremy Pruitt’s defense wreaks havoc. The Vols beat Alabama twice.

How they won’t: The young offensive line has its ups and downs. The defense can’t produce enough big plays to help its offense. 7-5 beats the alternative, Vols fans. You should know.

TRANSFER PORTAL: Quarterback Kasim Hill transfers to Tennessee football from Maryland

9. South Carolina

How they will win the SEC: The four-year long wait for Jake Bentley’s star to rise is all worth it. Bryan Edwards, Shi Smith and company are among the best receiving corps in the country, and the defense stays healthy all year. Oh, and South Carolina knocks Alabama out of the SEC West with a home upset, giving them a tolerable LSU in the SEC Championship Game.

How they won’t: The schedule, y’all. Bentley could be the next Patrick Mahomes and South Carolina would still go 9-3 at best.

USA TODAY: Steve Spurrier values Alliance of American Football title as much as his ACC and SEC crowns

10. Kentucky

How they will win the SEC: Terry Wilson becomes one of the most dynamic dual-threat quarterbacks in the country, while the depth, of which Mark Stoops has spent six years building, finally pays off on defense, which remains among the top 30 units in the country. Lynn Bowden is an All-American, and another receiver steps up as an efficient target.

How they won’t: Wilson isn’t nearly good enough to offset a defense that is now back into the bottom of the conference because it can’t rush the passer or cover receivers. Bowden and A.J. Rose can’t do it all by themselves.

COURIER JOURNAL: Picking a winner for each game on the Kentucky football 2019 schedule

11. Mississippi State 

How they will win the SEC: Tommy Stevens is a much better passer than Nick Fitzgerald, and the offense benefits greatly. Willie Gay and Erroll Thompson are All-America candidates. Alabama must come to Starkville.

How they won’t: The Bulldogs have an SEC West schedule and lost three first-rounders on defense as well as their quarterback. MSU could stay within shouting distance of Alabama, Auburn, LSU, etc. with a ferocious defense. That won’t be the case in 2019.

CLARION LEDGER: ‘The hand we’re dealt’: How Mississippi State does more with less in recruiting

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Penn State transfer Tommy Stevens recently arrived at Mississippi State. Stevens reunited with Joe Moorhead, his former offensive coordinator.
Mackenzie Salmon, Clarion Ledger

12. Vanderbilt

How they will win the SEC:Outscore a Georgia defense without a proven pass rush in the opener, then do the same to either LSU and Missouri. As a result, the East becomes a mess, and Vandy wins a three-way tie at 5-3. Riley Neal is SEC Player of the Year, and Derek Mason is SEC Coach of the Year. Vanderbilt beats LSU 42-30 in the SEC Championship Game.

How they won’t: Easily. Georgia wins by 40 in Nashville to start the campaign, and Neal starts just as many games at QB as Deuce Wallace does. A 4-8 season is much more likely.

TENNESSEAN: Why Vanderbilt, Georgia will wear a teal and purple sticker on helmets in season opener

TENNESSEAN: How Vanderbilt football’s Dayo Odeyingbo can make 2021 NFL Draft if he doesn’t freelance in defense

13. Ole Miss

How they will win the SEC: Matt Corral immediately plays as if he is one of the most heralded freshman quarterbacks in the country. The defense, which returns 10 starters, improves substantially. Every game, sans Alabama, is winnable. And that’s what the Rebels do.

How they won’t: Ole Miss struggles defensively, because returning production means little if the production is not good. Corral struggles, and Ole Miss goes 0-5 on the road.

CLARION LEDGER: Ole Miss football: SEC coaches skeptical of Rebels with votes, anonymous quotes

14. Arkansas

How they will win the SEC: It’s a hard path to create. Rakeem Boyd could become the most productive running back in the SEC? Ben Hicks is better than he ever has been? The defense pushes into the top 50 nationally?

How they won’t: Chad Morris still needs time to get the right athletes in position for his offensive scheme. The Razorbacks defense will need years to get right. But the Hogs do get two SEC wins, against the Mississippi teams.

USA TODAY: 10 things that stood out from our examination of recruiting costs for Power Five schools

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The SEC started allowing alcohol sales at member schools in May. Since then several schools have begun providing alcohol at games and now Vanderbilt University will as well.
Joseph Choi, Nashville Tennessean

Opening week schedule

(All times Central.)

Sat. Aug. 24

Florida vs. Miami (Fla.) in Orlando, 6 p.m. ESPN

Thurs. Aug. 29

Texas State at Texas A&M, 7:30 p.m. SEC Network

Sat. Aug. 31 

Toledo at Kentucky, 11 a.m. SEC Network

Ole Miss at Memphis, 11 a.m. ABC

Mississippi State vs. Louisiana Lafayette in New Orleans, 11 a.m. ESPNU

South Carolina vs. North Carolina in Charlotte, 2:30 p.m. ESPN

Duke vs. Alabama in Atlanta, 2:30 p.m. ABC

Georgia State at Tennessee, 2:30 p.m. ESPNU

Portland State at Arkansas, 3 p.m. SEC Network

Oregon vs. Auburn in Arlington, Texas, 6:30 p.m. ABC

Georgia Southern at LSU, 6:30 p.m. ESPNU

Georgia at Vanderbilt, 6:30 p.m. SEC Network

Missouri at Wyoming, 6:30 p.m. CBS Sports Network

Voices of the SEC is the USA TODAY Network’s weekly newsletter compiled by Nicole Saavedra and Nick Gray. Voices will publish weekly leading up to the start of the 2019 college football season. Sign up here.