SEC: Hunting trip to Knoxville

By Ryan Hunt, CNN/SI

Quincy Carter and the Bulldogs are ready to put on a little surprise party in the SEC. Rick Stewart/Allsport   Projected Order of Finish EAST 1. Tennessee 2. Florida 3. Georgia 4. Kentucky 5. South Carolina 6. Vanderbilt WEST 1. Alabama 2. LSU 3. Mississippi State 4. Arkansas 5. Mississippi 6. Auburn

Top Storylines Early showdown in East; West wide open For the first time this decade, Tennessee has to handle being the hunted. After beating Florida last season for the first time in its last six tries, now the Vols must win in The Swamp for the first time in 28 years. Meanwhile, Lou Holtz takes the task of trying to build South Carolina, which went 1-10 in '98, back into a contender. And the Western Division will be the most competitive ever -- five teams have a shot at making it to the conference title game.

Going Bowling Locks: Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, Alabama Maybes: LSU, Mississippi State, Arkansas, Mississippi, Kentucky No Way: South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Auburn

Trev's Take CNN/SI's Trev Alberts offers his team to watch "LSU is too loaded not to make a comeback this year. Last year they looked passive on defense; they didn't get in people's faces. Look for Gerry DiNardo to whip defensive coordinator Lou Tepper into shape and for the defense to be more aggressive. Also, look for RB Rondell Mealey to shine now that he's finally out of Kevin Faulk 's shadow. And QB Josh Booty is the Chris Weinke of this year. All he needs is a game or two to get his feet wet against San Jose State or Auburn before the tough stuff starts."

Top Five Offensive Players Jamal Lewis, RB, Jr., Tennessee. Hard to figure how the Vols won the national title without its best weapon. They'll get his 6.1 career yards per carry back at full speed in '99. Quincy Carter, QB, So., Georgia As a freshman, the mobile Carter threw only two more touchdown passes (14) than interceptions (12) last year. However, he has the ability to beat teams single-handedly. He may have to in '99. Shaun Alexander, RB, Sr., Alabama How much did the SEC's leading returning rusher mean to Alabama? In the Tide's seven wins, he averaged 126 yards. In their four losses, only 74. Tee Martin, QB, Sr., Tennessee In one year, Martin did what Peyton Manning couldn't do in four -- beat Florida and win a national championship. Travis Taylor, WR, Jr., Florida. Counting his breakout 159-yard, two-touchdown Orange Bowl performance, Taylor had only two fewer catches and one more touchdown than Arkansas' Anthony Lucas in 1998. This year, though, Taylor gets to be the Gators' main receiving target.

Top Five Defensive Players Raynoch Thompson, LB, Sr., Tennessee Under the shadow of LB Al Wilson, all the 6-foot-3, 217-pound Thompson did was lead the Volunteers in tackles. Leonardo Carson, DE, Sr., Auburn Great player on a poor team. As an end, he led the Tigers with 90 tackles, not to mention his 8.5 sacks. Gerard Warren, DT, So., Florida Bank on the man they call "Big Money" stepping in and being as good as, if not better than, Reggie McGrew. Deon Grant, FS, Jr., Tennessee He has the athleticism and versatility to have a role similar to Champ Bailey. But he's far too valuable to the Vols' aggressive defense. Kenoy Kennedy, FS, Sr., Arkansas. Shades of former Hog great Steve Atwater. Kennedy is the biggest hitter in the SEC and made more tackles (95) than any Razorback DB in history last year.

Top Special Teams Player John Capel, KR, So., Florida. May be the fastest player in the nation. Capel won the NCAA title in the 200 meters (19.87 seconds). And special teams could be the difference again against Tennessee.

You Don't Know Him Yet, but... Earnest Graham, RB, Fr., Florida The 5'9," 218-pound redshirt already has been called an Emmitt Smith-clone. But Fred Taylor-type production would more than suffice. The Gators desperately need a ground game to be successful -- UF was 92nd of 112 in the nation in rushing in '98 -- to get back to the top of the conference.

Hot Coach Houston Nutt, Arkansas Expectations haven't been this high at Arkansas since the glory days of the Southwest Conference. And for good reason. The Hogs were two plays -- Clint Stoerner's well-publicized fumble against Tennessee and a game-winning field goal by Mississippi State -- from a undefeated regular season. Nutt has a hard act to follow in Year 2.

Coach on the Hot Seat Gerry DiNardo, LSU The final eight games were hard to swallow for the Tiger faithful. The preseason SEC West favorites went from No. 6 in the nation to 1-7 after September. DiNardo can't have another 4-7 season and be around next year on the Bayou.

Secret Weapon Terrence Metcalf, LG, So., Mississippi Behind the bruising Metcalf, who redshirted last season with an ankle injury, tailback Deuce McAllister is a good bet to become the first player in Ole Miss history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons.

Toughest Schedule Tennessee Going to Florida aside, the defending champs also have to travel to Alabama and Arkansas. At least Georgia and Notre Dame come to Neyland Stadium.

Kansas State Schedule Mississippi State Not that it's entirely their fault, but the Bulldogs are the only SEC team to avoid Tennessee, Florida and Georgia. MSU opens with six winnable games -- Middle Tennessee State, Memphis, Oklahoma State, South Carolina, at Vanderbilt and at Auburn.

Mark Your Calendar Tennessee at Florida, Sept. 18 The unofficial SEC Championship Game. Mississippi at Auburn, Sept. 25 New Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville gets buried by his former team. Tennessee at Alabama, Oct. 23 The Vols will play in Tuscaloosa for the first time in 69 years. Florida State at Florida, Nov. 20 Forget the game, if possible. Will there be a third straight pregame brawl?

Make sure to check out CNN/SI's previews of all 12 SEC teams on Aug. 11.