The top nine projected men's teams at this week's NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, OR, all come from the Southeastern Conference. One would think the SEC Championship would be a great indicator for what to expect at the NCAA Championships, which begin Wednesday, but that is not the case. Conference and national championships are two completely different team scoring events for two main reasons.

- Team rosters are smaller
- About 80 teams score at NCAAs compared to just 13 at SECs

As a result, sixth- to eighth-place scorers at SECs who can make an impact on the team score at SECs can't do the same when 70 more teams are added to the field at NCAAs. And, superstars such as Grant Holloway and Lindon Victor become even more valuable at the national level because earning 10 points at an NCAA meet has a much bigger impact than scoring the same at a conference meet.

So while the Florida men were only fourth at SECs this year, they will once again be in the driver's seat for back-to-back NCAA outdoor team titles -- with the Gators' top competition being Texas A&M, the 2017 indoor champions.

Following the NCAA prelims, our official team projections had a virtual tie between Florida and Texas A&M. We predict the SEC battle will go the distance in an epic 12-round boxing match.

Here are the 12 rounds broken down and how we think they will play out. Team scores are based off our rankings here.

ROUND 1: Day One Field Action

The Aggies will rack up major day one field points against a defenseless Gators team. Texas A&M will start the fight with Austin Cook (HT), Audie Wyatt (PV), Jacob Wooten (PV), Carl Johansson (PV), Ioannis Kyriazis (JT), and Sam Hardin (JT). Florida's only response will be asking the rest of the NCAA field to withhold as many points as possible from the Aggies.

SCORE AFTER ROUND 1:
14-0 Texas A&M

ROUND 2: Unexpected Prelims

Both teams here have athletes on the outside looking into the finals. Florida will look to sneak Ryan Clark into the 100m final, while A&M will ask Alex Riba (1500) and Elijah Morrow (200) to qualify as well. Unfortunately, the NCAA final is a hard one to make, so these two teams might go 0-3 in their attempts.

SCORE AFTER ROUND 2:
14-0 Texas A&M

ROUND 3: Long Jump

It's two versus one. Florida has an incredible 1-2 punch in KeAndre Bates and Grant Holloway. Meanwhile, A&M will look to Will Williams to continue his magical 2017 season and grab another NCAA top three finish.

SCORE AFTER ROUND 3:
22-15 Texas A&M

ROUND 4: Decathlon

No need to analyze Lindon Victor. He is the undisputed collegiate-record holder, and after 10 events he will add 10 points to the Aggies' total. Florida's only hope here is a foul, false start, or no height, which ain't happening.

SCORE AFTER ROUND 4:
32-15 Texas A&M

ROUND 5: Relay Time

This should be a great 4x100 between two historically fast programs. LSU should take the title, and we give the edge to Florida in this race.

SCORE AFTER ROUND 5:
34-21 Texas A&M

ROUND 6: Jumpin' High

Florida will look to ride the momentum of the 4x100 into the high jump and hope for Clayton Brown to score big points to help close in on A&M's lead. The Aggies have Garrett Cragin in their corner for this event, but the Gators also has Jhonny Victor to counteract Cragin.

SCORE AFTER ROUND 6:
34-25 Texas A&M

ROUND 7: Hurdlin'

Grant Holloway is the future of U.S. hurdling, and we expect his to put on a show in Eugene. I'm sure A&M head coach Pat Henry also is expecting the same thing. After round seven, we will be virtually all tied up!

SCORE AFTER ROUND 7:
35-34 Florida

ROUND 8: Kerley Bash Brothers

Fred Kerley and Mylik Kerley should have a great response to Holloway's potential 110m hurdles win with some big-time points in the 400m. We know Kerley is winning, the question is will he break the NCAA record again?

SCORE AFTER ROUND 8:
47-35 Texas A&M

ROUND 9: Back To The jumps!

After scoring big points in the long jump and high jump, KeAndre Bates and Clayton Brown will look to do the same for the Gators in the triple jump. Meanwhile, Jeffrey Prothro could pull of the upset and be the key reason the Aggies win the team title.

SCORE AFTER ROUND 9:
48-47 Texas A&M

ROUND 10: Don't Just Watch Korir!

The men's 800m is going to be a special race. We expect UTEP's Emmanuel Korir to shatter the NCAA record, but also going down in this race will be a team battle of epic proportions between senior Andres Arroyo and true freshman Devin Dixon. These two men finished 1-2 at SECs and will be a crucial rematch to see who can add a few more points to their team's total.

SCORE AFTER ROUND 10:
49-47 Texas A&M

ROUND 11: Back To The Hurdles One Last Time!

The two Florida seniors Eric Futch and T.J. Holmes won the team title due to their 1-2 finish in this event last year. They could be having deja vu this year as they both are expected to score big in this event against A&M's Robert Grant, who could spoil the Gator party all by himself.

SCORE AFTER ROUND 11:
62-53 Florida

ROUND 12: The Final Race

Texas A&M is going to win this race. Florida will be racing the field, hoping to score more than two points. However, the Gators might need to score even more if things don't go their way in the earlier rounds or if athletes such as Devin Dixon and Jeffrey Prothro over-perform. Regardless, the men's team title is coming down to the 4x400, which is what every track and field fan wants. Should be fun!

SCORE AFTER ROUND 12:
65-63 Florida

What About Us?

Apologies to LSU, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, and Auburn. However, if both A&M and Florida struggle, one of you will be in the driver's seat to take the crown.