By BJ Bennett
SouthernPigskin.com

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A look at who is underrated this pre-season in the SEC East and SEC West.

SEC East
Missouri — The Tigers are one of just two teams in the SEC East who return a quarterback who started the majority of their team’s games a year ago. Connor Bazelak should only take another step forward in season two, now with some experience on his resume. Led by first-team All-SEC edge Trajan Jeffcoat on the defensive line, Missouri should be especially strong along the front seven. Rice-transfer Blaze Alldredge joins an already-productive group of linebackers. It’s fair to expect more consistency in year two of the Eli Drinkwitz era. A look at the schedule suggests the Tigers could potentially start the first half of the season at 6-0 entering a home game with Texas A&M.

SEC West
Auburn — It’s easy to overlook Auburn in the SEC West. The division is so good. The storylines are so many. And the Tigers are starting a new era with a schedule that includes five games against pre-season top 20 teams. That said, this is a team with a full multi-year starter at quarterback, the only program in the conference who can make that claim, one of the best running backs in the country and a veteran defense. Bo Nix, Tank Bigsby, Zakoby McClain, Owen Pappoe and Smoke Monday help form a strong core. New head coach Bryan Harsin made impressive coordinator hires as well in Mike Bobo and Derek Mason. Though the schedule will be an obvious challenge, Auburn will have the chance to shape the national narrative.