After looking over this year’s SEC schedule, I’ve made my picks. I still think we have the best conference in the nation. I have us with at least 7 bowl eligible teams, maybe 8. Let me know what you think. (Conference records in parentheses.)
SEC West
1. Auburn, 12-0 (8-0)
2. LSU, 11-1 (7-1)
3. Arkansas, 8-4 (5-3)
4. Alabama, 7-5 (3-5)
5. Ole Miss, 7-5 (3-5)
6. Mississippi State, 3-9 (1-7)
I think Auburn could contend for the national title. They get LSU at home on Sept. 16th. Should be quite a doozy.
I like LSU to win the rest of their games. If they can somehow get past Auburn, they could be in the running for a BCS bowl.
Arkansas is my surprise team in the conference this season. A victory over Alabama at home on Sept. 23rd should vault them to 3rd in the West.
I know Bama had a renaissance season last year, but they have a brutal road schedule: at Florida, at Tennessee, at LSU. I also see them losing to Auburn and Arkansas.
Ole Miss: Orgeron will keep moving them in the right direction, but they’ll finish no better than 7-5, and that’s probably generous.
Mississippi State. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. The Bulldogs should be awfully strong by season’s end. Thank goodness for Kentucky.
SEC East
1. Georgia, 11-1 (7-1)
2. Florida, 9-3 (5-3)
3. Tennessee, 9-3 (5-3)
4. South Carolina, 6-6 (3-5)
5. Vanderbilt, 4-8 (1-7)
6. Kentucky, 3-9 (0-8)
Georgia gets both Tennessee and Florida at home this season. Toughest road game: at Auburn on Nov. 11th. Should be a preview of the SEC Championship Game.
Florida is getting plenty of love in the preseason pubs, but you have to be able to run the ball in the SEC. I know their D-Line is awesome, but until you establish the run, you’ll never win in our league, Urban.
Last season was a long one on Rocky Top. No matter how the QB’s fare this season, this club should be able to run the ball and play solid D. I’m picking my boys to lose home games to Florida and LSU and lose on the road at Georgia. But I’m picking us to right the ship early against Cal this weekend.
Spurrier invigorated the Cocks last season, but the clock just struck midnight. The only way I see them breaking .500 is to beat Arkansas at home on Nov. 4. Otherwise, 6-6 and a lot of visor throwing.
Kentucky and Vandy: who really cares? For the record, I’m picking Vandy to beat the Wildcats.
There you go boys & girls. That’s the way I see ’em. Tell me why I’m wrong.
FYI, for a full list of conference predictions by the “experts”, check out this page.
already & not yet 
Auburn has a great schedule – they don’t have to play anyone decent on the road, do they? Unfortunately for them, I think they beat Georgia at home, then lose to them in the title game. I also think Arkansas – assuming they stay healthy, McFadden is back at full strength, and they have a solid quarterback by the end of the year (all big assumptions) – beats LSU.I also wouldn’t be surprised if Auburn lost to LSU, if LSU remembers the game from 2 years ago and that weak penalty call. I’m looking forward to college football starting up.
SEC West1. Auburn2. LSU3. Alabama4. Arkansas5. Ole Miss6. Mississippi StateSEC East1. Georgia2. South Carolina3. Tennessee4. Florida5. Vanderbilt6. KentuckyOkay, so I think Bama will do better than everyone predicts. That’s not just because I’m a Bama fan. They do, just like last season, have a terrible last two games. Unless something happens to some stars at Auburn or LSU, I don’t see us doing very well against them.South Carolina is my big move in the East. I just have this sneaking feeling that Spurrier has some stuff planned that might shock us all. I’m going to keep Auburn up top, but I don’t think they’ll contend for a national title. In fact, they might slip up and lose ground to LSU. It seems like everytime Auburn is picked in the top 5 preseason, they blow it.
Not too off. Although FLA will beat either Auburn or LSU. Not both. Tenn will not beat Cal and I think they will lose one more in the SEC. Like the rest.
I think we have a better shot at Cal than most people think. I like the fact that we play them early and we play them at Neyland. But we play Cal, Florida & LSU at home…I don’t see us losing all three of those, even though each of those teams are probably better on paper. I’m ready for the season, man.
Lane,As long as Sidney Rice is around, South Carolina will be dangerous. But I don’t know if they have the horses to compete with the elite clubs in the East yet. Bama is weak at QB, but they have a stable of running backs that are solid. Should be interesting…
Greg,Arkansas over LSU? At least they play them at home. Playing at LSU is tough…
Can’t argue too much with that. Arkansas returns 19 starters which is nice. The big question is QB. We could surprise a lot of people.This weekend will be telling. I don’t like starting against USC. But at least we have the “stuff” to play a real team in our non-conference schedule.
I think we might steal one at Georgia, depending on how they are at QB now that Shockley is gone. I’m not quite as confident as you are about Cal this weekend. Have you seen some of the preseason All America teams? Cal has some people that can play.
Scott, I agree that most of the SEC has a cakewalk non-conference schedule. If my tide can’t be Louisiana Monroe or Hawaii, I may have to jump ship.Greg, no way Arkansas beats LSU.Jason, when we won the Championship back in 92, we mainly won because of Running Backs and Defense. However, Jay Barker attributed some to that…you’re right, should be interesting. I think we can go undefeated for the first few games. It could be a lot like last year.
“Arkansas over LSU? At least they play them at home.”That’s the only reason I think they can pull it off. They get LSU in Little Rock, and they always play better in LR than in Fayetteville. (Although they came close to winning @LSU last year.) Plus it’s at the end of the year. If it was early or even mid-season, I’d pick LSU. Even late it will be difficult, but I think they can do it – with said assumptions.On the other hand, if the West has not been decided and an LSU win were to put them in the championship game, then it will be even more difficult. Speaking of Cal, I saw some talking heads on ESPN this weekend putting them in the BCS title game. No idea personally if that’s reasonable or not, but that’s what I saw.
Know I’m a FLA fan, but come on land. 4th in the SEC east. They have 2 qb’s better than any other SEC east team.BTW I do agree SC will be up there, but above TN not FLA.
I don’t see SC beating TN or FLA. But I like that UT isn’t on anybody’s radar. I think we’ll surprise a few people this year. Kenny, aren’t you worried about the running game? You simply can’t win in the SEC without a strong ground game.
Matt,I’m hardly confident going into the Cal game. But we face Cal, Fla & LSU all at home. I think we can win one of those and playing Cal this early may be our best bet. I’m not sure they’re a title contender, but I’m not a talking head.
By the way, is there another conference as strong as ours? I like the ACC this year. The usual suspects like Miami, FSU & VT will be there, but Clemson is pretty strong and GT and Boston College are always decent. Virginia always underachieves. But I think this is your 2nd best conference. Thoughts?
Big 10 not too shabby either. The Cal/TN game will tell of the Pac-10. You guys need to comment on my football preview (more comprehensive: NFL and college). It’s on kennysimpson.blogspot.comAlso Jason, I seem to remember FLA winning a national title without running much. Defense wins championships and FLA has that. Hard to lose when the opponent scores 0.
Those great Florida teams had solid running games. I’m not doubting the Gator D…it’s awesome, like I said above. But the Meyer offense is a bit too finesse for me. Until they can line up and “hit ’em in the mouth”, I don’t see them being a title contender.The Pac-10 is decent, but pound for pound I’d take the SEC and ACC over them. Probably even the Big 10. I’ll leave you some commentary on your page, too.
Florida was at its best when it had Fred Taylor, Errict Rhett, etc. to compliment its great QBs. Tennessee broke the streak in ’98 because it did not abandon the running game after falling behind. Of course, we were choosing between a proven Jamal Lewis and an unproven Tee Martin, so it made more sense to run the ball. I hate to say it, but UT probably loses that game if Peyton is still there because we would be throwing it on every play, not working the clock and not wearing down the defense.As Pat Dye once told my cousin, in reference to the O-line and passing v. running, “You can’t whip anybody by backing up.”
Not doubting that you have to be able to run the ball. However I think the running game is not on the back, but the line. And FLA has a good line. TN won their title because they held FSU scoreless and their defense returned a pick for a scort, nothing to do with passing/running.