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AccuScore Conference Previews - SEC Print E-mail

Jonathan Lee    AccuScore Analyst
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Every year the Southeastern Conference is one of, if not the best, collection of teams in the nation.  This year is no different.  The question is, can a team survive the gauntlet of the conference season and still be able to reach the national championship game?  Last year LSU won the BCS title, but the Tigers lost twice and had to use a confluence of events outside their own control in the final weeks to even earn a shot at the championship.  There is talent stacked up and down the conference again this season.  Georgia starts the season off as number one in the land, but it will face strong challenges from Florida, LSU, and Tennessee.  New coaches have also taken over at Ole Miss and Arkansas, and we have yet to mention national title winning coaches Steve Spurrier and Nick Saban.  That is everyday life in the best conference in the country.

Favorites:  Georgia, Florida

The Bulldogs begin the season number one in both the Coach’s and AP polls, and with good reason.  Quarterback Matthew Stafford could be the top overall pick in next year’s NFL draft, and he’s not even the best offensive player on his own team.  That distinction would belong to sophomore running back Knowshon Moreno who ran for 1,334 yards and 14 touchdowns in his freshman season.  The defense is terrific, and pass-rushing will once again be a key as Georgia has averaged 37 sacks over the past five seasons.  The Bulldogs would easily be the outright favorites to most except for the not-so-small fact that the schedule is in a word: brutal.  Georgia must travel to ASU on September 20, and has a four week stretch against LSU, Florida, Kentucky, and Auburn away from home.  That’s tough no matter how talented this team is.

Florida is of course led by Heisman trophy winner Tim Tebow.  He and wide receiver/athlete Percy Harvin are back to terrorize defenses once again in Urban Meyer’s spread attack.  Transfer Emmanuel Moody, redshirt freshman Chris Rainey, and holdover Kestahn Moore will try to improve the play from the running back position to balance the offense.  The defensive situation is far more dicey with very little secondary depth, and a lack of experience on the line.  As many as nine players could factor into the defensive tackle position, and only two are upperclassmen.  Those two are a little used senior coming off ACL surgery and a JC transfer.  It is likely that no seniors start on defense so the Gators will once again have to rely on their explosive offense to win games. 

Contenders:  LSU, Auburn, Tennessee

LSU might be the most complete team in the conference except for one position: quarterback.  The Tigers have one of the offensive lines in the nation and terrific committees at running back and wide receivers.  Under center however will either be Harvard transfer Andrew Hatch or redshirt freshman Jarrett Lee.  Whoever plays, he will need to just get the ball to his playmakers and avoid mistakes.  The defense will once again be killer, and the defensive line could be even better than last year.  Considering that Glenn Dorsey is gone to the NFL, that is scary.  Auburn will be shifting to the spread under new offensive coordinator Tony Franklin.  The Tigers will also have a new defensive coordinator and a new face at quarterback.  Despite the changes it would be wise not to doubt Tommy Tuberville’s program.  Auburn has the most SEC wins this century and just keeps on cranking out quality seasons.  Tennessee actually, not Georgia, won the SEC East last season and played LSU for the conference title.  The offense will be opened up by new coordinator Dave Clawson, but he is handing the reigns to a green quarterback in Jonathan Crompton.  Eric Berry is a defensive superstar, and could be the best secondary player in the nation.

Team on the Rise:  Ole Miss

Ed Orgeron recruited well but he couldn’t get that talent to perform on the field.  Now Houston Nutt, a proven commodity in this league at Arkansas, is the new head coach and gets to reap the benefits.  Quarterback Jevan Snead is a huge boost to the offense, and he will have a solid group of receivers to throw too.  The line was also boosted by Michael Oher’s decision to pass on a shot at the first round of the draft to play his senior season.  Eight starters are back on offense, but the line will be soft for the first few weeks of the year as pass rusher Greg Hardy and tackles Jeria Perry and Ted Laurent are injured.  A bowl game is a reasonable goal for the Rebels to shoot for this season.

Bottom Feeders:  Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Arkansas

After brief flirtations with winning football both schools from the Blue Grass state will be relegated to the bottom again this season.  Kentucky lost almost every single one of its skill players namely quarterback Andre Woodson, receiver Keenan Burton, and back Rafael Little.  Vanderbilt must rebuild once again with just three returning starters on offense.  Arkansas gets to play what might-have been in 2008.  Mitch Mustain, Damian Williams, Darren McFadden, and Felix Jones all didn’t stick around long enough to play for new coach Bobby Petrino.  There is still talent for Petrino to work with, but it will very difficult for him to succeed at least this season in Fayetteville.

Wild Cards:  South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi State

All three schools made strides last season, but even with healthy improvements the results may not show on the field because of the overall strength of the conference.  Is Stephen Garcia ready to be the man at quarterback for Steve Spurrier?  Is Alabama ready to turn the corner under Nick Saban?  Will the Bull Dogs be able to carry the momentum over from last season and continue progressing under Sylvester Croom?  These three will need to answer some serious questions, but have the ability to spring upsets against anybody else in the conference.  There are no off-days in the SEC.

Analyst Power Ranking:

1. Georgia
2. Florida
3. LSU
4. Auburn
5. Tennessee
6. South Carolina
7. Alabama
8. Mississippi State
9. Ole Miss.
10. Arkansas
11. Kentucky
12. Vanderbilt
 
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