Before the start of the last two college football seasons, I’ve written a SEC predictions column. There’s been some good. I’ve nailed both of my “surprise team” picks. Technically I selected Mississippi State in both 2014 and 2015, but I picked Florida to win the SEC East last year. Nobody saw that coming.

There were plenty of bad picks too. I was on the Auburn hype train last year and it got derailed quickly. I had the Tigers not only winning the SEC but also winning the national championship over Oregon.

Let’s hope for a five-for-five season in 2016:

1. This year’s surprise team will be Auburn. The Tigers were picked to finish sixth in the SEC West by the media and coming off a 6-6 season, it’s easy to see why. Auburn plays some of the nation’s best teams this year, including both of last season’s national championship game participants. But, has anyone really looked at Auburn’s schedule? The Tigers don’t play a road game until Oct. 8 and only leave the state of Alabama three times the entire season. The road games aren’t even all that daunting. A trip to Tuscaloosa is obviously a big one, and while the others  aren’t a cakewalk, games at Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Georgia aren’t the same as a road game at LSU or Florida. I like Auburn to finish in the top four of the SEC West.

2. Tennessee won’t win the SEC East. Before writing this column, I had to double check that Tennessee hadn’t won a SEC Championship since 1998. The Vols also haven’t beaten Florida in their last 11 tries, including last season’s debacle of a fourth quarter where Tennessee should’ve won at The Swamp. Yet, they are the overwhelming favorite in the SEC East? I’ll take my chances on someone else, but we’ll know one way or another by early October. If Tennessee beats Florida Sept. 24 and Georgia Oct. 1, the East race is essentially over.

3. Alabama won’t make it out of early November unscathed. The Tide will beat USC and will end its losing streak to Ole Miss, but I can’t see Alabama rolling through road games at Arkansas, Tennessee and LSU or a home contest against Texas A&M without a loss.

4. Alabama will win the SEC over Florida. I’ve learned my lesson from last year, although I still don’t trust Alabama’s backfield situation.

5. Alabama, Michigan, TCU and Clemson will make the playoff. Alabama will win the championship over Michigan.