SEC Preview
The Pac-10 is starting to close the gap a little bit, but the Southeastern Conference is still the best college football conference in the country.
The SEC has five teams ranked in the top 25 in our pre-season poll, including the No. 1 team, the No. 5 team and the No. 8 team.
The conference also has two teams who received votes in our poll, meaning seven of the 12 teams were considered for our rankings.
Let's take a look at the conference.
WEST
1. LSU
I know that Ole Miss is the popular pick on this side of the conference, but it's nearly impossible to pick against LSU. They have the huge bruiser back in Charles Scott and Jordan Jefferson should bring some stability at quarterback. Just too many athletes to pick against the Tigers.
2. Alabama
The Crimson Tide are missing some key parts on offense, but they still have a defense that will knock you silly and an offense that has playmakers like Julio Jones and Mark Ingram. We're gonna find out a lot about this team when they jump out of the gate against Virginia Tech.
3. Mississippi
The Rebels have a big advantage over LSU and that is avoiding trips to Georgia and Alabama, and also getting to play the Tigers at home. Ole Miss has a great defensive line and the best passing quarterback in the conference in Jevan Snead.
4. Arkansas
This is my sleeper team. They have transfers that any program would love to have in QB Ryan Mallett and RB Broderick Green. They also have a stud RB in Michael Smith and a coach that knows how to get a program going in the right direction, which he started doing last year. The Hogs are going bowling.
5. Auburn
The Tigers are in a sad state of affairs. They tried to change the offense, and it didn't work. They replaced a good head coach with a not good head coach. That never works. They better be hoping to be 5-1 in their first six games, because they're not going to a bowl if they aren't. They play LSU, Mississippi, Georgia and Alabama all within about a month to end the year.
6. Mississippi State
They just don't have good enough players to compete in the SEC. This is probably a bowl team in the ACC or the Big East, but not in the SEC. Which top flight athlete wants to go to Starkville to play football if he has a choice about it?
EAST
1. Florida
I'm not going to waste valuable keystrokes talking about Florida. They return pretty much the entire defense and lost a few receivers, which will be replaced by other guys who run the 40 in three seconds flat. This team probably won't lose.
2. Georgia
The East is a little down, and for once the West is the far better side of the conference. Georgia won't be great, but the Bulldogs are certainly the second best team. They have to replace Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno, but A.J. Green is a stud at WR. Early test at Oklahoma State will give us an idea of where they are.
3. Tennessee
Lane Kiffin has come in and mixed it up, for better or for worse. The fact is, the Volunteer program was stagnating. Kiffin has been stupid sometimes, but he's been contreversial and fearless. The offense will be subpar with bad quarterbacks, and injured WR core and a suspended RB. What they do have is one of the best defensive players in the country in safety Eric Berry. This team should be back in a bowl.
4. Vanderbilt
This team returns 18 starters, with the highest impact being felt on defense. The offense needs to figure out how to make a few plays. Expect low-scoring affairs where they grind it out. The Commodores could be good enough for six or seven wins.
5. South Carolina
Same ol' Gamecocks, same ol' ball coach. The quarterbacks will be bad, Steve Spurrier will throw his visor and the offense will stink. The defense will be good enough to keep them in games, and win some. They'll be 6-6 or 7-5 as usual.
6. Kentucky
Mike Hartline is the quarterback. That's trouble. The returning leading rusher ran for 430 yards. Even more trouble. The team only allowed 30 or more points three times last year, and with a weak non-conference schedule they'll be in the bowl mix.
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If by "best" you mean "most tedious" then yes, the SEC is still the best football around. Monster D-linemen and 'backers + weak-armed/minded qbs with a smattering of good RBs=17-12 snoozzzzzzzzefests.
p.s. 2008 Utah would have crushed whomever they played in the BCS, not just 'bama, which was a late touchdown away from playing for the championship.
Savage Fred, you can't just dismiss the SEC like that. An SEC team scored 40 or more points 24 times last year, and they were in the 30's countless, countless other times. They play a great brand of football, and not many players stand out above others because of the balance of talent.
They have great quarterbacks with Tebow, Snead and Mallett and that's not bad considering Stafford was the No. 1 pick and Alabama has to replace John Parker Wilson. Maybe only USC has speed like Florida does, and LSU has top athletes every year. Sorry to burst your bubble, but the SEC is the best and Utah doesn't beat Florida, Oklahoma, Texas or USC.
Someone's been gobbling Corso's seed.
Yes, yes. Plenty of speed in the SEC (don't recall saying different)...And everyone is so goddamn good that no one stands out, especially the quarterbacks. Hmmm, "great" and "quarterbacks" in the same sentence when defending the SEC? And Carrot top is a great comedian, as well?
I'll see your JaMarcus Russell and raise you a Jason Campbell. With a side of Rex Grossman. Or would you prefer Brodie Croyle? Tell us more about all these great SEC qbs not named Manning lighting up the scoreboards. Cutler could be a dandy but he keeps spraining his vagina.
p.s. Tebow is many things, a winner, a tough sob, a crusading fundamentalist christian, but a "great" qb? Come now.
Hey you are bringing up ex-SEC quarterbacks that recently have not succeeded in the NFL but that is not what I am talking about. Tebow is great, Snead is one of the best in the country and Mallett should be a stud. All it takes is a rebound from Crompton and for the highly touted McElroy at Alabama to play well and next thing you know you are singing a different tune.
No, no, steve-o. I'm arguing that SEC quarterbacks aren't very good. I'm merely bringing up ex-SEC quarterbacks that recently have not succeeded in the NFL to illustrate that point.
I'm with Savage Fred here. The SEC does not have great quarterbacks. Tebow won't play QB in the NFL, Mallett has yet to take a snap in the SEC, McElroy is talented but unproven and Crompton is mostly bad. Snead is the only one you can say is a top NCAA quarterback (I mean a thrower who translates to the NFL.)
Nothing worth getting worked up over at Georgia, Auburn, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, etc...
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