They lost the best player on their team (the RB), they lost 2 starters on the OL, and they lost 10 defensive guys, all 10 of whom will be in an NFL training camp at least (7 of them are projected to be drafted, the other 3 are good enough to be picked up as UFAs). They also lost their DC.
Looking at their schedule, its one of the easiest SEC schedules I've ever seen, and yet there are only 4 guaranteed wins: Buffalo, Umass, Vanderbilt, and Murray State.
Then they have 1 game that is a likely win but not automatic in Boston College (lost by 2 to FSU, beat #22 SMU in bowl game).
They have 2 games that are basically guaranteed losses in Oklahoma and Bama.
They have 2 other games that aren't guaranteed losses but theyre likely losses in TAMU and Auburn.
With those games, they're sitting at 5-4.
Then they have the toss-ups: Mississippi State, Arkansas, and South Carolina. They gotta get all 3 of those just to get to 8-4.
I'm seeing 7-5.
For comparison, Tennessee has 2 likely losses in Bama and Georgia, 2 toss ups in Florida (should be a win but I call it a toss up for obvious reasons) and Oklahoma, and 8 games that are in the likely win or guaranteed win category.