SEC Preview
East
1. Florida – Obviously, you’ve heard it all already, Tim Tebow and the entire 2 deep on defense. This is a deep and extremely talented team. What scares me the most about Florida is not anyone on their schedule, it’s the hype. I’ve already heard several talking heads say “best team ever” and “no way they can lose” and they haven’t even played yet. We’ve heard that before about teams, and normally when the expectations are that high, it’s hard to meet them. We heard the same thing about USC in 2007 and that team lost 2 games, including a home loss to a Stanford team that finished the season 4-8. They have to keep their focus and play every game like it’s the National Championship, and that wears on a team throughout the season as every team give them their best shot. This is obviously the best team in the conference and the country, only time will tell if they can run the table.
2. Georgia - Under the radar this season a bit after being last season’s preseason #1, but this is still a very good team and the defense will be great if they can stay healthy, something they were unable to do last year. It’s tough whenever you lose players like Stafford and Moreno, but Florida is the only other team in the East with as much talent as them.
3. South Carolina – Earlier in the offseason, I would have had Tennessee slotted here, but I’ve heard reports of drastic improvement on SCar’s offensive and defensive lines and Tennessee has no healthy receivers left. They have just 58% of their lettermen returning and need to get better at protecting the ball.
4. Tennessee - Time to shut up and put up some points for Lane Kiffin. After the offseason circus that was Tennessee football, it will be interesting to see how the players repond come gameday and if he is able to recruit SEC caliber talent over the long run. Hopefully Kiffin won’t try too many 76 yeard field goals like he did in the NFL and keep the Vols in some games.
5. Vanderbilt - Could it be? Vandy out of the basement in the East for two straight years? They have 17 returning starters and just 15 letterman lost. They lose their QB Nickson and star CB DJ Moore, but this is still a very talented team and could find their way into a bowl game for a second straight year with just one or two upsets. They have a great front 7 on D and the offensive line is much more experienced and should be improved.
6. Kentucky - Don’t get me wrong, Rich Brooks has done a great job here. However, they have just 12 returning starters and the defense is rather inexperienced. It probably won’t be the worst defense in the league, but likely the worst in the East and winning in the SEC requires a stout defense. Unless they lose a lot of talent to the draft early, this will be a team to look out for next season.
West
1. Mississippi – I feel as if Ole Miss is overrated by some publications and websites, however, I still think they are the best of the West. All of their games fall into the winnable category, although, they will lose at least 2 to the toughness of the schedule. Still, 10-2 in the West should get them into the SEC title game where they may not like the result of their grudge match with Florida. I think Houston Nutt is a great coach and Arkansas should have never let him go. This year, I think he’ll prove to everyone why.
2. Alabama – After a 12-2 season last year and 9 returning starters on defense, I wonder if I’m not making a mistake by slotting Alabama here. Julio Jones aside, I have questions about the offense and their ability to win ballgames. However, it would surprise me if they win less that 10 games.
3. LSU – LSU has the toughest schedule of any team of the top 3 in the West and that’s why I have them here. They will again be of the the best teams in the SEC and will top last year’s 8 wins.
4. Arkansas – Bobby Petrino is still a couple years away from challenging the top teams the way Arkansas ways think the Razorback fans think they should every year. In fact, Razorback fans forget they are Arkansas fans and not LSU fans. This is a pretty good team, but not good enough to compete with the top 3 in the league.
5. Auburn – Gene Chizik? Really? You are Auburn and have your pick of any top assistant in the country or about 1/2 the head coaches in the country to chose from, and you pick Gene Chizik? He couldn’t even win in the Big 12, how is he going to win in the SEC? All it takes is one bad hire to set your program back 10 years and that’s exactly what Auburn did. Get used to the #4 or 5 spot in the West for the next couple year Auburn fans. They have a talented team, but the schedule is tough and a completely new coaching staff will be making a lot of changes on both sides of the ball. They could return to a bowl game, but I don’t expect better than a 6-6 or 7-5 regular season.
6. Mississippi St - Not much to write about here, when people say “There are no off weeks in the SEC” and boast about how every team in the SEC would be undefeated in a different, “easier” conference, they forget about Mississippi State. The Bulldogs couldn’t even win the Big East. Just 10 starters returning, new coaching staff switching from a run offense to a pass offense, it’s clearly a rebuilding year for the Bulldogs. I just haven’t figured out what they are rebuilding from yet.