Many of us have enjoyed watching the epic battles and unraveling conspiracies in the struggle to claim the iron throne of the seven kingdoms, but I think an even more intriguing struggle for power exists in the South Eastern Conference and its football rivalries. If SEC football was "Game of Thrones," I think it's pretty clear who would be who.

University of Tennessee - Eddard Stark

The traditions of the football program at this university are hallowed and honored by its students, alumni, and loyal fans. Much as Eddard Stark, they are unwavering in their commitment to what they believe is right, which for Volunteer fans means winning all their games and resounding Rocky Top in their proudest voice while wearing their loudest team colors (referring to the pumpkin orange color of the volunteer's uniforms). Unfortunately for the loyal Vols, they have more than that in common with "Ned" Stark. Ned is infamous for his warning "winter is coming" in the very first episode of Game of Thrones, but after six seasons winter has not yet arrived. This warning of a winter that has yet to arrive mirrors a warning Volunteer fans have been saying for quite a while, "Y'all just wait 'til next year!" This has been a phrase uttered by many Volunteer supporters, but yet their "winter" remains to be witnessed meaning that big Bowl games and conference championships always seem to be out of reach for the Vols. Much like Ned Stark, somebody more powerful usually beheads their season very early on.

Ole Miss (Hugh Freeze) - Lord Baelish (Little Finger)

Recently, beloved Ole Miss Head football coach Hugh Freeze resigned to avoid being terminated due to allegations involving a University issued cell phone and some rather suspicious phone calls; however, this is not what links these two "characters" together. Lord Baelish, aka Little Finger, is viewed as one of the most colluding and shifty men in all the seven kingdoms because of his formulation and execution of plans to destroy several people who thought him to be a friend. In the same way that Little Finger uses a smart tongue and false motives to ensure the downfall of those who would call him friend, Hugh Freeze betrayed the trust of thousands of Ole Miss rebels when he decided to take part in the activities that inevitably caused his own termination. It is an extremely sad situation for the University of Mississippi football team and its fans, who have enjoyed a lot of success in the recent seasons under the coaching of Freeze. I sincerely hope that the Ole Miss Rebels bounce back from this stronger than before, and continue to be the SEC team that is capable of giving any other team from the conference a run for their money. Despite all of the similarities listed, there is another that first brought the comparison of this former head coach and a fictional character to mind. Lord Baelish runs several brothels and is notorious for his love of the ladies, unfortunately for coach Freeze, his attitude toward the ladies is now also notorious.

University of Missouri - Benjen Stark

Benjen Stark is Ned Stark's brother who has been a man of the Night's Watch for years. He appears early in season one and afterward disappears for an extremely long time. In fact, Benjen Stark remained MIA for so long a lot of viewers had forgotten he even existed. In the same way, Missouri joined the SEC and made it to a couple of conference championships (losing all of them) early, and since then they have been a little less than relevant.

Texas A&M - Stanis Baratheon

Stanis believed himself to be the true heir to the throne, and for a while, it seemed as if he just might take it. He utilized the help of a preistest capable of dark magic (the Red Woman) in order to ease the process of taking over the iron throne. Despite the magic and birthright, Stanis's army is eventually defeated before even getting close to the iron throne. In the same way, the Aggies start off almost every season crushing opponents and appearing to be a force to be reckoned with, but eventually run out of steam and get rolled over by several teams they were previously projected to defeat. Perhaps the Aggies should make more use of their own magic ally, known in College Station as the "12th Man".

University of Georgia - Sandor Clegane aka "the Hound"

I know what this must seem to be, an homage to the Bulldogs of Georgia and their beloved Mascot Uga, but no it is not. The comparison comes from the moment when the Hound, sworn protector of King Joffrey, ended his duties and fled North. The Hound eventually was bested in combat by Brienne of Tarth, and his life seemed to be coming to an end due to his wounds. However, the Hound soon after has recovered, and after a confusing period finally seems to be on his feet again and loyal to a different force. In the same way, Georgia football stayed loyal to the coaching styles of Mark Richt for a number of years with moderate success, but eventually, the athletic department decided to go in a new direction. Even under the leadership of their new coach, Kirby Smart, The Bulldogs have continued to struggle. What will happen this season to both the Hound and the Georgia Bulldogs remains to be seen, but the future does seem hopeful.

Vanderbilt - Samwell Tarly

Samwell, often called Sam, is a sworn brother of the Night's Watch but lacks a knack for hand to hand combat. However, what he lacks in brawn he certainly makes up for with his brain. Obviously, Vandy is home to some of the most intelligent students among us, but their football program is not exactly known for being the strongest. The connection between these two comes from equally unlikely events. In season three of Game of Thrones, Sam defeats an ancient and feared creature is known as a White Walker. Similarly, The Vandy Commodores defeated an opponent thought to be well beyond their level of strength last season with their incredible win over the University of Georgia Bulldogs. Both of these victories seemed to be long overdue for both the beloved character Samwell and the notoriously benign football team of the Vanderbilt Commodores. In the current season of Game of Thrones, Samwell has been away at the Citadel increasing his knowledge and skills to better prepare his men for the wars to come, and I am certain Vanderbilt Head Coach Derek Mason has been doing the same this off-season.

University of Kentucky - House Tyrell

House Tyrell of High Garden is known for two things: being extremely good at a monetary gain and other events such as jousting for sport and being very bad at other areas, such as fighting. The Kentucky Wildcats have been running the basketball courts for season after season, but not so much the football field. In fact, the Wildcats are playing two of their out of conference games against smaller schools on the road. Come on Kentucky, you still seem to be the only hope for the SEC in basketball, but we have the reputation of being the best football conference to preserve. We can not do it without you.

University of Florida - Hodor

Hodor is both a beloved and giant character in Game of Thrones, as the Florida Gatos is in the hearts of their students and fans. Despite having two SEC championship appearances in a row, the Florida Gators and Hodor seem to have been made for the same purpose "holding the door" for somebody else. The past two times Florida has been to the Sec Championship, the University of Alabama has beaten them by a combined margin of 52 points. The amount of ease with which Florida has been routed makes it seem as if they have just been "holding the door" for Alabama to walk through to the playoffs.

Louisiana State University - Winterfell

Winterfell is a fortress that serves as the capital of the entire North, providing justice and protection, and generally being a place that would strike fear into its enemies. However, eventually, Winterfell was burned to the ground, and never fully started to recover until a rightful ruler arrived to set things right. In the same way, LSU under the leadership of former head coach Les Miles seemed to always be a terrifying opponent season after season, especially when an opponent found themselves traveling to their home deemed "Death Valley". Despite the fear and history of defeats, the opponents of LSU seemed to gain a foothold, and the Tigers began to spiral into worse and worse seasons. Inevitably, Coach Miles was routed and replaced by Head Coach Ed Orgeron, a native of Louisiana born in the town of Larose. Since his hiring, LSU seems to be on the path to once again becoming the team nobody in the SEC wants to mess with.

Arkansas - Jorah Mormont

Jorah went from being an esteemed knight to a servant of the Mother of Dragons, to a man doomed to die of a terrible infection. However, it seems as if Jorah has recovered from his mortal ailment, and can once again be a fearsome fighter. This is analogous to Arkansas football in my mind due to the fact that in years past if a SEC team could defeat the Razorbacks, they were destined to have an amazing season. Despite the long lasting legacy, recently Arkansas has seemed to have come down with some sort of illness, as in they haven't been able to defeat many formidable opponents in the past few seasons. But fear not Razorbacks! Head Coach Bret Bielema seems to be making quite a difference, and can possibly nurse your wounded program back to its former glory.

Auburn - Bran Stark

In season one Bran Stark climbed his way to the top of the highest tower in Winterfell, only to fall from that tower and becoming paralyzed from the waist down. He then spends a very long time on a long journey seeking answers for his purpose in life. In the same way, the Auburn Tigers seem to have fallen from a tower and broken their legs. After winning a national championship, rallying behind such all-stars as Nick Farley and Cam Newton, Auburn fell from the top hard leading to the hiring of a new coach Gus Malzahn. Despite adoration from the Auburn family, Coach Galzahn has struggled to get his offense together these past few seasons. The result of this has been several crushing defeats as well as several losses in a row to Auburn's most sworn rivals, the Georgia Bulldogs, and the Alabama Crimson Tide. In other words, Auburn just has not been capable of finding their "legs" to carry them through a successful season.

University of Alabama - Gregor Clegane aka the Mountain

Sir Gregor Clegane, aka the Mountain, is one of the most fearsome characters in the entire world of Game of Thrones. He mercilessly cuts down his enemies and is bested by nobody. Even when it is believed that the Mountain was defeated, he turned the tables and crushed the opponents head with his bare hands. It was pretty gruesome stuff, just as the scoreboard is when a team plays the Crimson Tide unprepared. However, despite the surmounting victories, Sir Gregor is viewed by many as quite the douche-bag, just as Head Coach Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide are viewed by the rest of the SEC and even the nation. However, the similarity comes from the episode where the mountain was defeated in combat and almost succumbed to his wounds. He was beaten by an opponent who used speed and surprise in order to disrupt head to head brute force, which is synonymous to how Dabo Swinney used the raw speed and talent of his Clemson Tigers to defeat the Tide in the 2016 College Football Playoff Championship. Despite the defeat of both the Mountain and the Crimson Tide, they are not dead. The Mountain seems to be stronger than ever, and focused only on his primary mission, to protect the Queen. In the same way, the Crimson Tide has also been training to become stronger than ever and focused on one goal, defeating all of their opponents.

Only time will tell what not only this season of Game of Thrones will unfurl, but also what will unfurl in the 2017 SEC football season