SEC Football: Who Will End the Reign First?

I am a huge SEC fan, I will admit that. Being born and raised in the south, I've loved southern football for as long as I can remember. From the time the Vols (my favorite team) raised the crystal ball in 1998 to the moment Auburn kicked a game winning field goal to beat Oregon, the SEC has been dominating other conferences. 

This year, the SEC is assured another National Championship (whether or not you agree with that is not the topic I will be addressing) and will continue its reign of the college football world. But like all good things, it will come to an end at one point. Somebody will have to beat an SEC team in the National Championship sooner or later. Here are the five teams that have the best shot at it.

*If you have any other teams you feel I should be mentioning, comment below and we can discuss! 

Florida State

This is my personal favorite to break the SEC streak. There were very few teams as dominant as FSU in the 90's and they regularly battled the SEC for national championships. FSU has been on the rise for the past couple of years and their wins show it. They have already beat the likes of South Carolina, Notre Dame and the Florida Gators twice.

Florida is the best state for recruiting and FSU is the best school at it. Assuming all of their recruits stay committed, they will have three five-star and eight four-star recruits. Despite a disappointing season in 2011, the Seminoles will be a legit national contender next year. They have the perfect amount of depth, skill and experience to challenge any team in America.

Think about this possibility for a while: Chris Casher, Dante Fowler, Justin Shanks and Mario Edwards all on the same D-line. This is an SEC team in the wrong conference.

Texas

It's Texas. What else did you expect? They are constantly getting the top recruiting classes, competing for the Big 12 title and are almost always in the national championship conversation. I'm not sure they deserve to be, but the fact is Texas is a legendary program that you can't keep down for too long.

As usual, Texas soaked up all the great recruits in Texas—and then some. Five five-star and eleven four-star recruits, all at different positions. Johnathan Gray is the top player in this class that needs to be looked at, because he looks like one of the most complete running backs I've seen in a long time.

Don't underestimate Texas next year. I'm not sure they will make it to the national championship, but a BCS bowl is certainly not out of the realm of possibility.

Michigan

Big Blue. Ask most people what the first team they think of is when they hear football and it will almost always be the Michigan Wolverines. We all know about Michigan and their prestige, so I'm not going to go much into that part, but it is worth noting the revival of this storied program.

Michigan capped off their season with a Sugar Bowl win and an 11-2 final record. They experienced a huge turnaround in terms of defense and will improve in time. The only thing Michigan needs to find is consistency. Denard Robinson looked like a Heisman contender one game and a backup the next. Some games, the WR's and Fitzgerald Toussaint didn't seem to show up.

Brady Hoke has done a great job with recruiting, adding many weapons on both side of the ball. They don't need much more skill in my opinion, just depth, which they have added. The offensive line especially needed this and the Wolverines have already recruited six offensive lineman. 

I expect Michigan to win the Big 10 next year and be a dangerous team.

USC

USC would probably not be in here had Matt Barkley chosen to go to the NFL. But since he has returned, it makes all the difference. USC is the recruiting powerhouse of California (even though there was a significant drop off this year) and now one of the favorites to win the PAC-12 next year. They have an explosive offense and an improving defense that will match up with the PAC-12's finest.

Matt Barkley is obviously the difference maker here and for good reason. He is the play maker for the Trojans and can be the difference maker in some of their games. He has a great supporting cast around him with even better recruits coming in. 

The defense is not something to scoff at either, because they will be improving a lot from last year. Six of the Trojan's 11 commitments are defensive and ranked at least three stars or higher. Their defense will need to be able to adjust quickly, because offenses like Oregon are dangerous and can get out of control if you let them.

USC is ready to return to national prominence and prove it belongs back in the national title considerations. 

Notre Dame

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that I'm just another guy claiming that Notre Dame is legitimate, only to be proven wrong. But listen for a second. Notre Dame didn't look bad at all in some of their games. They had moments where they looked like they could make statements. But that is the problem. They couldn't capitalize on those moments and looked like an unorganized team.

I will be one of the first to say that Notre Dame will be returning to its prominence next year. Just look at their recruiting class. Nine four-star recruits in multiple offensive and defensive positions. They have done a great job getting recruits to play for the Irish and these recruits will pay off immensely come season time when Notre Dame needs depth.

Manti Te'o was a huge success for the Irish. He was the anchor of the defense which looked very good during some of those games. The defense looks like it can contain explosive offenses and be successful in stopping both the run and pass games.

The big question mark is the QB situation. Rees and Hendrix are currently battling it out for the starting position, but I expect the situation to be solved by next season. The drama and constant switching between the two broke the flow of the offense and caused a lot of unnecessary trouble. If it can be decided, then I have no problem believing that the Irish can at least return to national title discussion.

The SEC reign will come to an end one day, no doubt. These teams mentioned have, in my mind, the best tools to beat the SEC and end the streak. Mention any others you would like to see here in the comments section.