While we still have to wait an entire summer, college football season gets closer and closer every day. While Florida State will fight to retain its National Title, the SEC will be fighting and clawing to take back the throne of the NCAA. While some of the biggest names in SEC history, such as Aaron Murray and A.J. McCarron, have moved on to the next level, there are plenty of talented players still in the conference that will make for some exciting matchups.

Here is an early look at some of the top conference matchups entering 2014.

5. Alabama vs. Ole Miss

One season removed from obtaining an incredible freshman class, Ole Miss is primed to make some noise in the SEC this season. It will be fun to see how Robert Nkemdiche, Laquon Treadwell and Tony Connor progress as the key players, and this will be the biggest test of their season. Alabama may have lost a lot of talent to the NFL, but they are the definition of a team that “doesn’t rebuild, but reloads.”

Ole Miss runs an exciting offense, led by Bo Wallace, with primarily a rushing attack, but love to get their receivers involved. Alabama, meanwhile, will potentially have Jacob Coker under center, who is viewed as the best quarterback they have had in a long time. And with T.J. Yeldon, Derrick Henry and a plethora of receiving options, Coker has been given all the tools he needs to succeed.

4. Georgia vs. Florida

“The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” will be a showcase for running backs. Since Georgia lost Aaron Murray to graduation and Florida has struggled with inconsistent quarterback play since Tim Tebow graduated, these teams will need to rely on their superstar running backs to be the focal point of their respective offenses. For Georgia, Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall make up arguably the nation’s best backfield. Meanwhile the Gators’ Mack Brown and Kelvin Taylor combined for over 1,000 yards in 2013 and battle for carries, with Matt Jones as a strong 3rd back.

This game will not feature any high-octane passing offenses like the NCAA has transitioned to, but it will be a great battle in the trenches.

3. Texas A&M vs. South Carolina

The College Football season opens with this game, and the most interesting part of this game will be watching these teams without their key players from 2013.

South Carolina will be missing key players, like Jadeveon Clowney, Connor Shaw and Bruce Ellington. Meanwhile, Texas A&M will be missing big names like Johnny Manziel and Mike Evans.

The Aggies have the pieces in place to replace their names, with super freshman Kyle Allen projected to start at quarterback and Ricky Seals-Jones coming back at receiver. However, the Gamecocks lost three starters along the defensive line, so it will be a good storyline to follow where the pass rush will come from. They still have playmakers Mike Davis and Shaq Roland on offense, so they have the potential to put up big numbers, but how the defense will respond to losing many starters will be key.

2. Alabama vs. LSU

This game is one of the games fans look forward to every year. Alabama and LSU is one of the biggest rivalries in college football and is always a battle. Both teams lost a lot of talent to the NFL, but they return many great players and have plenty of spectacular freshmen.

Both teams lost their starting quarterbacks from 2013, but each will have plenty of time to let their new starter get in rhythm with the offense before the first weekend in November.

1. Auburn vs. Alabama

After last year’s game, that ended in a finish for the ages, the whole world will sit down to see what happens this year. Although Chris Davis, the man who returned the missed field goal 108 yards at the end of the game, and Tre Mason, who rushed for 164 yards against the Crimson Tide last season, are both gone, Nick Marshall is still running the show under center, and Gus Malzahn will do a good job playing to Marshall’s strengths.

Alabama, meanwhile, will have new special teams players in place, after Cody Mandell and Cade Foster have moved on, so they will look to find some more consistency in that facet of the game. It’s also safe to say Saban won’t challenge to put one extra second on the clock this time around.