The following is a brief preview of a few of the top contenders to win the SEC this season as well as the betting odds for the rest of the teams in the conference as provided by Bovada.

Alabama Crimson Tide

• Odds to win the SEC West Division 1/2
• Odds to win the SEC 8/5
• Odds to win a National Championship 11/2

Alabama has been the poster child for the SEC during this impressive run with three of the seven BCS titles, but a stunning last-second loss to Auburn in last year's conference title game ended its run. Despite a mass exodus of talent to the NFL including quarterback AJ McCarron, the Crimson Tide have reloaded with one of the best recruiting classes in the nation in an effort to get back on top.

The one thing that head coach Nick Saban will have in his bag of tricks this season is a powerful running game lead by the duo of TJ Yeldon and Derrick Henry. Both backs are Heisman Trophy candidates this season after combining for 1,617 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2013. Yeldon did the bulk of the damage, but look for Henry to become a much bigger part of the rushing attack this season especially with some question marks at the quarterback position. There will be a number of new faces on defense with just five starters back from last year. Middle linebacker Trey DePriest will anchor the front seven and safety Landon Collins is a key returning starter in the secondary.

Auburn Tigers

• Odds to win the SEC West Division 4/1
• Odds to win the SEC Championship 5/1
• Odds to win a National Championship 10/1

The Tigers came up just short against Florida State in the final BCS title game last season and they have their sights set on one of the four spots in the NCAA's new playoff format that has been put in place to determine the national champion. Head coach Gus Malzahn exceeded everyone's expectations in his first year at the helm after Auburn sunk to a 3-9 record the season before, but now the bar has been as high as ever with 15 starters back from last year's squad.

Quarterback Nick Marshall is back to lead the offense after throwing for 1,976 yards and 14 touchdowns while adding another 1,068 yards and 12 scores on the ground. The Tigers' receiving corps remains mostly intact led by All-Conference tight end CJ Uzomah and All-American center Reese Dismukes is back to anchor the offensive line. Auburn will have a good chunk of its defense back with four starters returning to the front seven and three of four starters returning in the secondary. This unit allowed an average of 24.7 points a game last season, but it made the stops when it had to.

Georgia Bulldogs

• Odds to win the SEC East Division 8/5
• Odds to win the SEC Championship 5/1
• Odds to win a National Championship 18/1

Georgia went 8-5 last season amidst a number of crippling injuries that worked to derail a 4-1 start that had the Bulldogs ranked as high as fifth in the national polls. The good news for this year is the return of 16 starters including 10 on the defensive side of the ball. Quarterback Aaron Murray has moved on, but longtime head coach Mark Richt remains confident that Hutson Mason can step-up and fill the void.

He also remains confident that his offense will be able to effectively run the ball behind Heisman Trophy hopeful Todd Gurley. He rushed for 989 yards while averaging 6.0 yards on 165 attempts. It is safe to say that Gurley will get more touches than that in 2014. The Bulldogs were ranked 79th in the nation in points allowed (29.0), but they should benefit from the high level of experience on this side of the ball. The front seven will be led by linebacker Ramik Wilson and the entire secondary remains intact.

The Rest of the SEC

The competition in the SEC should remain tight all season long in both the East and West Division with South Carolina also listed at 5/1 odds to win the SEC and LSU's odds to win the conference set at 13/2.

The school with the next best odds to win the SEC title this season belong to Florida at 12/1 followed by Ole Miss at 14/1. Things start to thin-out from there with Texas A&M listed at 20/1 and both Missouri and Mississippi State's odds set at 33/1.

Tennessee is the best of the rest at 40/1 odds to win the SEC and Arkansas comes in as a 66/1 longshot. The longest odds to win the conference belong to Kentucky at 200/1 and Vanderbilt at 250/1.