After an 8-5 season that frustrated the Athens faithful, Georgia was projected to be the 2017 SEC East division champion, earning the right to be the sacrificial lamb to Alabama in December.
Despite being a young team this season and having produced stinkers in home losses to Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech last season, the Bulldogs are the media's pick for the best team in the East.
What does that mean for everyone else?
The Florida Gators, who have represented the division in the title game each of the last two seasons, were predicted to finish second, behind their border rivals. The Gators lost plenty of defensive talent to the NFL Draft, as usual, but the stellar unit shouldn't take much of a step back this season thanks to strong recruiting classes.
Florida has its own flaws, though, particularly on the offensive side of the ball, which has plagued the team since Tim Tebow and Urban Meyer left Gainesville. At quarterback, the Gators will either turn to a true freshman in Feleipe Franks or Kyle Trask, or Notre Dame graduate transfer Malik Zaire. While there is plenty of potential with all options, Florida's offense is far from a sure thing, yet again.
Tennessee was projected to finish third in the division, just above the Gamecocks, despite significantly underachieving in 2016, finishing with a 4-4 conference record after being projected as the division winner. The Vols earned last year's projection with a loaded offensive backfield featuring Joshua Dobbs, Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara, but all those players are gone now. Additionally, Tennessee has a new offensive play-caller, and Butch Jones' seat has never been hotter.
In a weak division, Tennessee figures to be in the thick of things come November, but there's not nearly as much upside as there was this time last year.
Before we get to South Carolina, ignoring the expected also-rans (Vanderbilt and Missouri), we have to talk about Kentucky. The Wildcats, who have defeated the Gamecocks in three straight meetings, bring a strong backfield to the table with quarterback Stephen Johnson and running back Benny Snell Jr., who had some success against USC last season in a 13-10 Kentucky win.
The Wildcats return 18 starters from last year's team, which finished fourth in the division, and they placed three defensive standouts onto the Preseason All-SEC team. Kentucky gets Florida, Tennessee and Ole Miss at home this season, and if no one emerges from the group at the top, the Wildcats could become the division's dark horse.
So what does all of that mean for South Carolina?
The Gamecocks have been a trendy dark horse pick as well, thanks to plenty of offensive skill talent. As was the case last season, USC gets into the meat of its schedule pretty quickly, opening with a talented ACC opponent in NC State before hitting the road to take on Missouri to open conference play.
Luckily for the Gamecocks, matchups with Florida, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Georgia don't come until October and November, though three of those four are on the road. The later dates allow time for Will Muschamp's team to grow on both sides of the ball, working out the kinks at the offensive line, linebacker and special teams spots.
Surprising though it may seem, South Carolina may have the division's most explosive offense, and Muschamp has never been one to field a poor defense. The Gamecocks are starting to get more and more buzz as potential sleepers, including from CBS Sports' Barrett Sallee, who said he "wouldn't be totally floored if South Carolina made it to Atlanta."
And why should he be?
In a division with no clear favorite, the Gamecocks' offensive firepower could push them over the top.