I did the SEC East Preview yesterday, so now the second half must be completed as well. Here is the SEC West preview.
1. Arkansas Razorbacks. I am picking Arkansas to win the SEC West based upon the fact that they return 10 starters on offense and seven starters on defense. With the continuity on offense, the Razorbacks will be able to score even more than the 36 points they averaged per game. With a year of experience the defense should be better than it was last year as well.
The key for Arkansas to win the SEC West rests upon QB Ryan Mallett’s ability to increase his completion percentage. He threw for 3,624 yards with 30 TD’s and 7 INT’s. However, his completion percentage was at 55.8 percent. If he raises his percentage to sixty percent, then Arkansas should be able to outscore most of their opponents on the schedule.
The Razorbacks still have to navigate through a murky schedule midway through the season. From September 18th to October 16th, they play Georgia, Alabama, Texas A&M in non-conference play, Auburn, and Mississippi. If they win at least three of those five games, then they will position themselves at the top of the SEC West.
P.S. By the way, Renee Gork is still a dork.
2. Auburn Tigers. Auburn returns seven starters on offense and eight starters on defense. The key to the offense will be if JC All-American QB Cameron Newton can transition quickly to SEC play. Even though many starters are back on defense, a few of them will have to step up and become playmakers since their best two impact defensive players from last season have graduated: Antonio Coleman (10 sacks, 6.5 tackles for loss) and CB Walter McFadden (6 INT’s).
The key to Auburn’s success will depend upon the team learning how to close out games. In their last two games of the regular season, the Tigers lost 31-24 to Georgia and 26-21 to Alabama in the Iron Bowl. If adjustments are made, then Auburn could contend in the SEC West. If not, then they will slip in the standings because the SEC West is more balanced than the SEC East this season.
3. Alabama Crimson Tide. Now you may be wondering, “Why would you put the preseason #1 team in third place in the SEC West?” The answer to this question is relatively easy to answer.
Even though Alabama virtually has their entire offense back in QB Greg McElroy, Heisman winner RB Mark Ingram, and All-American WR Julio Jones, their defense only returns two starters. Defending a national championship without a defense to defend it usually ends rather tragically.
Also, Tide coach Nick Saban has been whining the entire offseason. First, it was about DE Marcell Dareus being at a party held by an agent. Instead of berating his player for even being around an agent, Saban calls sports agents “pimps.” No college football coach should judge the sleaziness of a sports agent when coaches are the 21st century version of plantation owners: exploiting young Black men for the purpose of making money for the university and for themselves.
Second, he was moaning and complaining about the fact that Alabama does not have a bye week before the last game with Auburn while Auburn does have a week to rest. That’s not a good sign when a coach is already making excuses for his team. Expect a huge dropoff from last year’s team. Usually when the mediocre masses pick a team to be #1, that team normally never ends up being #1.
4. LSU Tigers. Many different playmakers return this season for LSU, such as QB Jordan Jefferson (17 TD’s), WR Terrence Toliver (53 receptions), MLB Kelvin Sheppard (110 tackles), and All-American CB Patrick Peterson.
What will hurt this team is their schedule. Along with playing in the SEC, the Tigers are also playing North Carolina and West Virginia in non-conference play. Playing all of these tough teams will eventually wear the team down towards the end of the season.
Seriously, I would have picked LSU to finish higher this season if their coach was not Les Miles. His lack of time management cost LSU a game last season against Mississippi. Coach Miles will eventually make a boneheaded coaching call that will derail this season as well.
5. Mississippi Rebels. Ole Miss will be rather intriguing to watch throughout the year because Coach Houston Nutt made a desperate move during the offseason. After former QB Jevan Snead inexplicably declared for the NFL draft after throwing 20 TD’s and 20 INT’s (he wasn’t drafted by the way), Coach Nutt was left in a precarious situation of being in the SEC with an inexperienced quarterback. In the SEC in which one bad season means a coach can be fired, desperation ensues.
Coach Nutt allowed for former Oregon QB Jeremiah Masoli to walk on to the Rebels. Masoli was kicked off of the Ducks team during the summer for another run-in with the police. However, on the field, he is a remarkable dual-threat quarterback. Since his job on the line, Coach Nutt decided to take a chance on Masoli because the team has been decimated on offense with the departures of Snead, RB Dexter McCluster, and WR Shay Hodge.
If the experiment works, then Ole Miss will end up higher than fifth place. If not, then the Rebels’ weak secondary will be exposed every week. As a warning, keep Masoli away from guitars, driving, and marijuana.
6. Mississippi St. Bulldogs. While Miss. St appears to be rather decent on defense, the Bulldogs’ prospects on offense appear to be atrocious. When the returning leading rusher is the QB Chris Relf at 500 yards, then you realize that the team is in trouble. Having a lack of offense this season will be a problem because it looks like the offenses will be way ahead of the defenses throughout the SEC.
The schedule is also brutal for Mississippi St. because they play LSU, Georgia, and Auburn three weeks in a row in September. They also play Houston and Florida back to back in October. Finally, the Bulldogs will have the opportunity to finish off their season by playing Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi in November. Ouch!
