Ten Burning Question For The SEC This Season
by Jay Coulter on Jul 6, 2009 3:01 AM CDT
in Football
25 comments
Every college football season has storylines and one of the great things about preseason is anticipating what those stories will be. A year ago Auburn was picked to win the SEC Western Division and face Florida in the conference championship game. Most would have told you that Tommy Tuberville had at least five good years left in him at Auburn. After the impressive win over Clemson in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl the year before, new Auburn offensive coordinator Tony Franklin was the toast of the SEC and much of the nation.
All of these people and events were storylines last year, but not in the way we anticipated. Using this as a backdrop, what are the big storylines in the SEC this upcoming season? Who will surprise us? Who will disappoint? What coach will be walking the sidelines for the last time in the SEC? Below are 10 burning questions that will be answered this season...
1.Can Ole Miss stand up to the pressure of high expectations? Not since the days of Archie Manning has so much been expected of the program that time seems to have passed by. Houston Nutt has fans believing again; but can they deliver? A weak non-conference schedule should help.
2.Can Gene Chizik and staff coach? That's the million dollar question. Chizik has made a lot of noise by hiring some of the top recruiters in the country; but can they coach? Expectations are lower than they've been since 1999 and that's a good thing for the first year Auburn coach. Navigating a seven win season with no proven quarterback and a brutal road schedule should earn Chizik coach of the year honors if he can get there.
3.Will Florida repeat as national champions? With most of its starters back from last year's championship team, the Gators are the unanimous choice to repeat in Pasadena. How big a favorite are they? Las Vegas released its early lines for the biggest games this season and they're giving Florida ten points against LSU in Baton Rouge. Talk about expectations.
4.Will this be Steve Spurrier's last season? The Ole Ball Coach has spent much of the off-season assuring Gamecock fans that he's going to be around. Something tells me this is a pivotal season in his tenure at Columbia.
5.Can Lane Kiffin back up the smack talking? Tennessee's newly minted mouth-of-the-South spent his first off-season in Knoxville ticking off everyone in the conference. Volunteer fans seem to love it. The litmus test will be when Tim Tebow hangs 50 points on them in September. That's when we'll know whether Tennessee fans really have a stomach for the boy wonder.
6.Can Bobby Petrino continue to make inroads in the SEC West? Since leaving Atlanta in the dead of night, one might think Petrino has been put in the witness protection program. You rarely hear his name. That's not necessarily a good thing if you face him this season. Perhaps the best offensive mind in the SEC, Petrino is quietly building a team that should be a contender for years to come.
7.Will Alabama build on last year's success? Despite going undefeated in the regular season, most Bama fans were left with a bad taste in their mouth after losing to Utah in the Sugar Bowl. It has gotten so bad that Nick Saban insinuated a few weeks back that the reason they lost was because of the fans. Alabama is loaded with talent, but will be breaking in a new quarterback - something that's not easy in the SEC.
8.Can Dan Mullen win at Miss State? One of the great graveyards in college football welcomes another coach. Can the Florida offense be successful without the Gators talent?
9.Can Les Miles rebound at LSU? What was expected to be a top 10 finish last year turned into a disaster - at least by Bayou Bengal standards. Miles has loaded his team with bluechip talent and should have the guns to make another run at Atlanta in December.
10.Can Mark Richt take the Georgia program to the next level? Last year's media darling struggled mightily in its three losses despite having arguably the best backfield in the nation. Don't bet against the Georgia coach. He'll be breaking in a new quarterback against a brutal schedule, but this is not Richt's first rodeo. Look for the classiest coach in the conference to surprise many and rebound.
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Comment regarding # 10
I take exceptions with Coach Mark Richt being named the classiest coach in the SEC… I know this is the same as being the “fastest mule in the barn” but still I do not agree. Richt has used his ‘Bible thumping’ until he is now morally bankrupt. How does one expalin his selective disipline for his staters and reserves? How ‘bout them dawgs’ commenting Unsportmanship Conduct penalties at his direction? I would not want my son to play for Mark Richt. The UGA has a thug reputation in football mainly because of Mark Richt.
Explain, por favor..
Morally bankrupt? Selective discipline for starters and reserves? Bible-thumping?? Would a morally bankrupt coach go to visit our troops in the Middle East (with your former coach, BTW)? Would a morally bankrupt coach adopt a child from a rough background in Eastern Europe? Do morally bankrupt coaches go on mission trips to Honduras (I’ve never heard of one Tim Tebow called morally bankrupt).
Is suspending a starting DE for the first two key games of the season at Oklahoma State and against South Carolina selective discipline? How about suspending the starting TE for half the season for violating team rules? Those are both rather thin and unproven positions that can’t afford to lose experienced guys yet he still suspended them for big time games.
Are you kidding me? You’re going to say that Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalties = thugs? Anyone that has ever met the man knows he is a stand up guy and not “morally bankrupt”.
Wow, I just expected more from a commenter at this site. I guess it goes to show that sometimes Buzz Bissinger is right. People just make stuff up on blogs without any ounce of proof or evidence.
http://hobnailboot.wordpress.com/
I joined this site about a year ago and have been reading it for years. This is the first time I have ever seen this guy comment on anything.
by Jumpn_JackFlash on Jul 6, 2009 11:19 AM CDT up reply actions
I think
a lot of people got a bad taste in their mouth with Richt after the Florida game celebration where he told his team he would be disappointed if they didn’t get a 15 yard unsportsmanlike after the touchdown. I know I lost some respect for him after that. I think he’s a good guy off the field, but I think the Florida incident is a little more indicative of the way he coaches than not. He does come from the Bobby Bowden coaching tree after all.
"What happened yesterday is history. What happens tomorrow is a mystery. What we do today makes a difference - the precious present moment." -Nick Saban
by HarveyBirdmanAAL on Jul 6, 2009 11:46 AM CDT up reply actions
Fair, but...
I don’t think anyone that’s not either a longtime Georgia fan or player will understand why “the Celebration” was necessary. Whether you agree or disagree, he didn’t say “all 90 of you go out there and dance”. Something like that had to happen to shift the dynamic in that series. I’ve watched too many Georgia teams go down there and lose because they are just scared of the Gators. Even though it didn’t change the outcome of last year, Florida is taking the game seriously again and isn’t taking Georgia for granted anymore.
I don’t understand the disdain for Bobby Bowden. I agree that Coach Richt is just like him. I think that maybe they give their players the benefit of the doubt longer than necessary, but that doesn’t make them unrespectable or bad people which is why I questioned the first poster above.
http://hobnailboot.wordpress.com/
I see your point.
I don’t have any real disdain for Bowden. I think he is a great coach in terms of what he gets out of his players (or, used to anyway). He is just not a disciplinarian coach. I think a lot of that got rubbed off on Richt and you can see it in how his players play the game. I don’t have as much respect for that coaching style as I do for coaches whose players play with a little more discipline.
"What happened yesterday is history. What happens tomorrow is a mystery. What we do today makes a difference - the precious present moment." -Nick Saban
by HarveyBirdmanAAL on Jul 6, 2009 1:12 PM CDT up reply actions
it's people that...
don’t understand the concept of momentum…
I personally think it was an act of genius. yes, it may have had a hint of despiration to it, but it carried the “mo” throughout the rest of the game. now, from a totally unbiased point of view, I can honestly say that I believe him when he says he only wanted the p.a.t. team on the field celebrating with the offensive team (which typically only includes about 3 or 4 additional players).
and I don’t care what anyone says, he is a man of character and high morals (from what I’ve seen) and I have a lot of respect for him, even after being so frustrated at the half against bama that he cursed. the way I see it (as J.C. put it) let he who hath no sin cast the first stone. i’m not a uga fan by any means, but I am a richt fan.
"There's a lot of blood, sweat, and guts between dreams and success" - Coach Bryant
by TopDaddy on Jul 7, 2009 5:42 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
as a person who lives in athens and worked a job where i delt with the wives of a number of the assistant coaches and have heard some rumors and hearsay, Mark Richt is apparently a bit of an asshole. i’ve never met the guy…only seen him around a few times, but that’s what i’ve heard.
honestly though he does a lot of good humanitarian work and that’s more than i can say for myself, so in that regard you can’t see he’s not classy. and seriously when you rank him against Urban Meyer, Nick Saban, Houston Nutt, and Bobby Petrino anybody is classy. but really what matters is winning football games and the dude gets in done more times than not. the bible thumping rubs a lot of people the wrong way…but hey, it’s the South, that’s how sh*t goes.
I don’t support the quote that Mark Richt is the classiest coach in the conference. I don’t even know how you’d measure such a claim to justify it.
But I also don’t think he is guilty of poor sportsmanship for the penalty against Florida. I think it was probably something he intended to be a simple celebration in the end zone after a TD by the ball carrier. Something like that. But the kids blew it up and everybody ran out there. Even so, I don’t see that as poor sportsmanship. More like youthful enthusiasm gone slightly over the top.
I still believe...
that Spurrier is gone by the end of the 2010 season, barring something miraculous like winning the east.
by War Eagle Atlanta on Jul 6, 2009 2:30 PM CDT reply actions
i think 2nd in the east
w 9 or 10 wins should hold him over. but i mos def agree that the ONC is worried about his legacy and doesn’t want to spend too much time treading water… his teams have been so close, i think th eonly way he quits after the 09 season is if he doesn’t make a bowl. he’ll want one more shot w/ a QB he doesn’t want to kill. (i think he liked wuerfulle for a couple weeks during his heisman year)
welcome to the SEC kiffykins...
ONC
One National Championship.
And NO more…
by War Eagle Atlanta on Jul 6, 2009 9:04 PM CDT up reply actions
1.) Ol Miss should go 9-3, that’s a great year for them but what there expecting
2.) Our coaches will make strides but don’t expect a huge turn around. Give us two more years and will making runs at the sec championship
3.) Florida should repeat. If Tebow plays like a college QB they win, if he tries to become more NFL ready then they could lose a couple early
4.) This will not be Spurrier’s last season
5.) Tennessee got a big mountain to climb. He’s got a target on his back and teams are gunnen for it. 7-5 at best
6.) Arkansas could be the new Auburn, can they get the players?
7.) Last years record was a fluke for bama, a 9+ win season is what they should expect, but they will get better throughout the season.
8.) MSU isn’t going anywhere and with Ol Miss playing well it’s gonna be tough to get players there
9.) LSU is my favorite to win the west, they’ve got the players and the coach. 10+ wins.
10.) Georgia will always be at the top of the east. Until Tebow leaves they’ve gotta wait in line to take the next step.
1990 National Champions- Colorado Buffalo's
1913,1957,1983,1993,2004 National Champs- Auburn Tigers
No way
does Les win 10 games.
Why is everyone so high on Miles? The dude is a moron. And while were at it, who will be taking the snaps for LSU? I doubt it’s anyone who can lead them to 10 wins.
"Jay Jacobs can't go to the bathroom without Bobby Lowder's permission" - Paul Finebaum
by GumptownTiger on Jul 7, 2009 12:13 PM CDT up reply actions
agreed
les is in over his head and riding on coattails. jordan jefferson and rueben randal are also still very un-proven SEC QB’s. i know greg mcelroy is as well, but i’ll take a 4th year junior who’s been groomed for the job up til now over 18 or 19 year olds. i dont see how LSU wins more than half of the following games: @ ol miss, florida, @ georgia, arkansas. they’ll also lose to Bama for sure.
welcome to the SEC kiffykins...
LOL
If LSU is banking on Rueben Randle to be their QB next year then yeah I’d be worried. He’s an unproven SEC WR, not QB by the way…
Jefferson is the starting QB. He improved from the Ole Miss game (where he came in after Lee was hurt) to the Arkansas game (where he had one week of practice time with the first string) to the Georgia Tech game (where he had several week’s practice time with the first string under his belt). If you remember the GT-LSU bowl game was most people’s “lock of the bowl season” putting GT over LSU. Both teams had a lot to prove, both teams wanted to win that game. This wasn’t a case of GT not showing up. Granted GT doesn’t have an SEC caliber defense, but I’m confident that Jefferson will be in the top half of the division and conference as far as QB play is concerned.
As far as the Miles bashing goes, well he needs no defense from me. If opposing fans hate you, you must be doing something right.
i love les miles and i hope LSU waits a long long time before firing him
and whatever the other kid’s name is. good luck w him and lee and hatch backing up jefferson. and pardon my ignorance for failing to notice the stratospheric rise in jefferson’s level of play from the ol miss game to the bowl. with that kind of sound resume i should have known better than to call his credentials into question.
also, i called the peach bowl, and so did most of the people in my bowl pick em group. 1 week to prepare for the bone makes it hard on a D, see GT vs miami and georgia. one month to prepare for the bone is a little easier for a D, see the peach bowl. LSU has a really sound D, an unproven offensive scheme, un proven players at QB throughout the depth chart, and some decent backs and WR’s.
i dont see how LSU more than 2 of the following 5 games; @ ol miss, florida, @ georgia, arkansas, alabama
i would say LSU should be favored over arkansas at least, based just on talent, but arkansas has won the last 2 years w/ inferior talent, now the scales are closer to even than they were before, and Arkansas has a good QB and system, LSU is still searching.
i see alabama winning the west and going 8-0 in the league, with a real dog fight for second in the west between arkansas, ol miss, and LSU. LSU should come out on top, but has a tough schedule.
welcome to the SEC kiffykins...
I have to agree with LSU Jonno. Miles is a capable coach. If Tubby was the Mississippi Gambler, Miles often topped him with on side kicks mid-game, fake punts, and all kinds of gimmickry.
QB Jefferson, if he lives up to the promise from that bowl game with Tech, will be a dangerous man. LSU has a very good group returning, and with Jefferson at the helm they should win the West.
I will pick LSU to win the west just because I'm an LSU fan and it is entirely possible...
But in reality, I think it is a complete toss up between LSU, Ole Miss, and Bama.
Objectively I’d have to give the nod to Ole Miss because of proven QB play, but I think Nutt is the most overrated coach in history.
Agree with your thoughts. But I’d take Bama out of the running this year beause of the cherry QB and loss of Andre.
Your guy looked really good in that bowl game. And the QB at Ole Miss is pretty stout, plus he has a lot of talent returning just like you guys.
Bama will not be as good this year as last. I don’t care what their fans say, when Andre was gone they were hurting. Their new QB has yet to prove himself, as has their OL.
I remember two years ago when Prothro went down. I knew right then they were going to struggle.
by KungFuPanda9 on Jul 8, 2009 12:33 PM CDT up reply actions
time will tell
but i like greg mcelroys pedigree and i’m in the camp that feels Gmac can more than live up to what JPW was able to do. not to disparage the guy, but JPW wasn’t anything too special. it doesn’t take much to dump off screens and slants to TE’s and H backs and big #8. the real question is on O-line, Bama’s hopes for the year are pinned almost entirely on james carpenter and dj fluker’s backs.
Bama’s RB corps has been vastly upgraded as has the WR unit. i feel like QB is the same, only lacking depth below the #1 guy. and the O-line should be deeper overall, but the starters are unproven and the top5 may not be as effective as last years group.
the D will be sick. better than florida’s mark my words.
welcome to the SEC kiffykins...
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