When it comes to preseason polls, it’s beginning to look a lot like another banner year for the Southeastern Conference. With eight SEC teams ranked inside the AP Top 25 and the USA Today Top 25, the SEC boasts the most teams in the rankings for any conference. The Crimson Tide sits near the top of the rankings at number two in both polls.

Alabama’s first-class defense no doubt contributes to the high ranking. Offenses will have to face one of the strongest defensive units in the country, made up of star junior linebacker Dont’a Hightower, preseason All-American senior safety Mark Barron, returning starter Robert Lester, 6-foot-3 cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick and standout linebacker Courtney Upshaw.

The Tide doesn’t just display major talent on defense, though. Junior running back Trent Richardson, a top playmaker the past two seasons, will become the team’s primary ball-carrier. Richardson will run behind seniors William Vlachos and Barrett Jones, both three-year starting centers.

Even with all of the success of the team the past few seasons, Richardson downplayed the hype this year.

“Preseason hype – that’s something that’s always going to be there. A lot of people say that we’re not going to be this and that. But we still have to play one day at a time, take one play at a time, and just go on and just gradually build up as the season goes on.”

Junior tight end Michael Williams echoed Saban’s thoughts on preseason polls when asked about the high expectations that are placed on the team going into the season.

“You expect to have high expectations now. It’s nothing that should be a big surprise now,” Williams said. “We should not even look at it. There’s nothing we can do about that. Other people come up with that stuff, and we have to just play the game. If we look at that, we’re not going to play our best.”

There was no surprised look on the face of senior tight end Brad Smelley when he was asked his thoughts on the SEC having eight teams inside the top 25 of two major preseason polls.

“That’s no surprise,” Smelley said. “The SEC is the most competitive conference out there, so that’s not surprising at all. We are going to have to gear it up week in and week out. There are a lot of good teams out there.”

The strength of the SEC has shifted to the West division over the past few seasons. Of the eight teams in the SEC ranked inside the top 25, five of them are from the West division—Ole Miss is the only SEC West team not ranked.

In the East, perennial powers Florida and Georgia are looking to take a step forward after disappointing seasons last year. Last year’s East division champion, South Carolina, will returns preseason All-American running back Marcus Lattimore and star wide receiver Alshon Jeffery and remains the favorite to represent the East in Atlanta.