Monday, August 17, 2009
SEC Football Blogger |
- Here’s a fun fact…
- SEC Preseason Power Rankings Part Two
- SEC Football Preseason Predictions and Power Rankings, 2009
| Posted: 17 Aug 2009 01:33 PM PDT Here’s a fun fact… I got to thinking as I was doing my preseason predictions and power rankings. You may call this the Ole Miss justification if you feel so inclined. But there is something to it. Every year that the SEC managed to get 4 or more teams in the top 15 of either of the two major preseason top 25 polls this decade? With one exception, at least one team would end up unranked this decade. You want me to break this down? I will. 2000: The Alabama Crimson Tide, coming off of an SEC Championship, started the year ranked as the #3 team in the country and had several first place votes. They would go on to finish 3-8. And ironically get ranked in the preseason polls in 2000. 2001: The SEC only had three teams ranked in the Top 15. And only two were in the coaches poll. This year doesn’t count. 2002: Tennessee started the year #4 in the country (with first place votes). They lost to Florida (who would fall from a Top 7 preseason spot to out of the top 25.) in week 4. They would end the year unranked, losing 30-3 to Maryland in the Peach Bowl. LSU also went from a 14/13 (AP/coaches) ranking out of the top 25. 2003: Somebody thought Auburn would make a fine choice for a preseason 1st place team, most people thought they’d be a solid pick at #6. They were dead by week 3. USC and Georgia Tech proved them flawed. 2004: The joy of Zooking strikes Florida again. They were #11 in the AP poll, #10 in the Coaches. They would finish out of the AP rankings. 2005: This is why Phillip Fulmer lasting three more seasons was a stunning turn of events. Because for the second time you have Fulmer with a 1st place vote garnering top 5 team in the country (#3) and it would turn out to be this giant ball of unranked. This time with a twist. They would go 5-6. Fulmer could have been disappeared here and nobody would have complained. 2006: Mark Richt does his Ron Zook impression by turning his 14th ranked team in the coaches poll into something that would be unranked in one poll. If not the other. 2007: The one exception. Every team that started in the top 15 actually managed to stick in the Top 15. But that was the craziest flippin’ year of college football ever. Ever. 2008: Now we all remember LSU falling from #6 in the coaches poll to out of the Top 25. But have we forgotten Auburn? They were a top 10 team that had more trouble scoring than me. (See, that’s called self-deprication.) 2009: Some team in the SEC West probably makes this happen again. Or Georgia. Maybe both. |
| SEC Preseason Power Rankings Part Two Posted: 17 Aug 2009 09:55 AM PDT SEC Preseason Power Rankings Part Two. You want to know how I’m feeling about the SEC? I’ll tell you. Three weeks before the season starts? We know nothing. Does that mean I know everything? I’d like to think so. But if I’m wrong? I’ll disavow any knowledge of this post. 1. Florida 12-0 (8-0) 1st in the SEC East It’s for obvious reasons. The defense returns 11 starters from a team that shut down Oklahoma. There will be no offense in the SEC that’s going even come close to matching Oklahoma in terms of skill and talent. Until they lose? They kind of have this locked in. 2. LSU 11-1 (7-1) 1st in the SEC West The riverboat gambler had a ridiculous amount of picks returned for 6 last season. He has a mobile quarterback without the actafoolery of a Ryan Perriloux. He has a lot to like about his offense. But there is shaky on the defensive side of the ball. Florida can get a stop. 3. Alabama 9-3 (6-2) 2nd in the SEC West This isn’t going to be a magical run for the roses. The offensive line was a part of what was so good about this team. Greg McElroy will probably be able to overcome John Parker Wilson. Julio Jones is going to be awesome. But who’s going to play Andre Smith? 4. Arkansas 9-3 (5-3) t3rd in the SEC West A solid offense led by a transfer quarterback and a strong pass rush was what made Ole Miss everybody’s favorite for this season after a surprising 2008. But here’s the thing. Arkansas has exactly the same sort of skills that Ole Miss had. But the difference? Arkansas has the same skills without the expectations. 5. Georgia 8-4 (6-2) 2nd in the SEC East They’ll be healthier. They still have A.J. Green as an offensive weapon. But the team on paper? Just kind of vibes a trip to the Outback Steakhouse bowl. 6. Ole Miss 9-3 (5-3) t3rd in the SEC West I am baffled as to everybody’s regard for this team as a BCS buster. Houston Nutt has had multiple chances in Arkansas with enough talent to go to the BCS. He has failed every time. The expectations game is something that he does not manage very well. And while they may be strong enough to replace Peria Jerry, can they fade losing Michael Oher? 7. Tennessee 9-3 (5-3) 3rd in the SEC East I know you have to love the savior faire and derring-do of Eric Berry. I know I do. And the backfield is going to be very interesting for the Vols. But here’s the thing. They have Jonathan Crompton at quarterback. He was that bad last season. This team could climb up. But I don’t trust it. 8. South Carolina 5-7 (2-6) t5th in the SEC East As you can tell I am dubious to any claim of divinity for Stephen Garcia. With the same sort of quarterback problems and no real answer for the loss of Kenny McKinley, this is a team that could fall off a cliff toward the end of a season. Spurrier may be back at the golf course sooner than you think. 9. Vanderbilt 5-7 (2-6) t5th in the SEC East This is the same sort of scenario as the Gamecocks. The defense will be strong, the offense will be shaky. You don’t have Alphonso Smith D.J. Moore this year. So you lose that home run threat. You lose out on the bowl. 10. Auburn 5-7 (1-7) 5th in the SEC West The offense probably won’t be nearly as tremendously awful as it was last year. However? The defense isn’t going to be as good as it was last year. And Gene Chizik’s coaching skill seems destined for nothing. 11. Kentucky 5-7 (1-7) 6th in the SEC East It’s not as if Jeremy Jarmon’s run to Washington killed this teams hopes. Expectations were tampered and this was a team that did go 2-6 in the SEC least season. They still have some offensive whimsy in terms of Randall Cobb and Alfonso Smith. But they’re about 9 pieces away on defense. The cornerback across from Trevard Lindley, if he can bear the burden (Get it?) will go a long way to get this team to another bowl. 12. Mississippi State 2-10 (0-8) 6th in the SEC West. The only thing that Mississippi State can hope for right now is that they can go and Croom some team this year. It’s a team that looks like they’re going to be ugly bad. They can stop people, but you get the sense that the only way they could put up 30 is if the defense was 9 of you readers, Ethan and myself. |
| SEC Football Preseason Predictions and Power Rankings, 2009 Posted: 16 Aug 2009 09:31 PM PDT SEC Football Preseason Predictions, 2009. Here they are short and sweet. I know that my predictions will not only raise eyebrows, but they will also bring my sanity into question. I can only say that I think the SEC West is the deepest we have ever seen. Parody will be the SEC West’s surname. With 2 weeks to go in the season there will be several teams with shots at going to the Atlanta for the championship. The SEC East will be sewn up fairly quickly by the impenetrable Florida Gators. Georgia will make a lot of heads turn picking up the trash. Auburn and Tennessee will both bring some normalcy to the picture by running the ball and keeping their defense fresh so they can do what they know how to do. The coaches have changed but the top level talent is still there. The coaches and assistants will bring new life. Alabama, Arkansas, and Ole Miss will all come back to Earth a little. Well, Alabama a lot. Alabama lost their best passing QB of all time ( by the #’s ), and they lost their top 1 or 2 ranked offensive lineman throughout their storied program’s history. Last year was the perfect storm for them, and they still lost their last 2 games. Please do not be too offended, if your team is not where you expect it. This is the best conference in the nation, and it is the deepest I have ever seen it. #5 through #11 could lose to each other any given Saturday. #5 through #11 would be the pride of any other conference. That’s just how the SEC roles.
That’s just how the SEC roles. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from SEC Football Blogger To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 Comments:
Post a Comment