Football season is almost here. With just a little over two months to go, the anticipation is growing every second of every day. Auburn played some of the most exciting games in recent memory last season, with a last minute thriller against Texas A&M when the Tigers went in and knocked off Johnny Manziel and the Aggies, then a huge Hail Mary win against Georgia, and finally the best one of all, against the #1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, when Chris Davis pulled off the impossible and took a missed field goal 109 yards all the way the way for a touchdown as time expired to knock off the Tide and crush their dreams at a three-peat. Auburn is a team that shocked everyone after not winning a single game in conference play in 2012. So no, you cant exactly predict what will happen in college football…but that is what everyone loves about it. Now here are the SEC predictions for the 2014 College Football Season:
SEC Predictions
The East:
The team to come in 7th should come as no surprise considering they haven’t won a conference game in three years, the Kentucky Wildcats. Kentucky just hasn’t performed at a high level at all in forever and I do not see that changing next season. 6th Place: The Volunteers of Tennessee are next for the East Standings. Another team that just has not showed up in the last 3 years, with a total of four conference wins. Yes, they beat South Carolina last year, but with that being one of just two conference wins they had (the other coming against Kentucky), I don’t see Tennessee anywhere on the radar as a contender in the East. 5th place: Vanderbilt. The Commodores have been playing pretty well here in the past two years, with back to back 9-4 seasons- pretty good, considering they have only had three years with a plus .500 record in the last 12 years! They may be getting on the right track, but with the loss of their coach James Franklin to Penn State, I just do not see Vanderbilt as a contender. 4th place: Georgia. The Bulldogs are usually a 1st or 2nd place team in the East every year, however with the loss of their QB the ‘dogs year will not be one to remember. Coming off an 8-5 record in 2013, the Bulldogs were just said to have a bad second half of the season. They started off a strong 4-1 with victories over South Carolina and LSU. However, LSU did have 3 key offensive players out in a game the Tigers should have easily dominated. As far as this season goes, Georgia lost starting quarterback Aaron Murray to the NFL, which will cost them on offense. People may disagree with me but I don’t see Georgia doing well next year. Best possible scenario 7-5. 3rd place: Florida. The Gators are coming off of a bad year last year, finishing 2013 4-8, but they do have a rock solid defense. How they play this season will determine if coach Will Muschamp has a job in 2015. Last year was a disaster for the Gators, who lost several players, including their starting QB, to injury. If you remember, Florida was a BCS team as recently as 2012. I think Florida will indeed be a 8-4 team next year, maybe better. Yes, they lost to Georgia Southern last year, an embarrassment, but didn’t the powerhouse #5 Michigan get stunned against Appalachian State at home in 2007? Florida had a bad season, great teams find a way to bounce back and Florida has great history, they will be just fine. 2nd Place: South Carolina. The Gamecocks have always been a contender in the East and they will continue to be a contender, not for the national championship, but they are a contender for the SEC. They did beat SEC East champ Missouri at home last season. South Carolina always finds a way to win, no matter what, they just seem to find a way. Maybe it’s Coach Spurrier, maybe it’s the great fans in Columbia, I don’t know, but South Carolina will be a ranked team next year and a contender for the SEC East title. 1st Place: Missouri. The Tigers shocked everybody last season and went to the SEC title game in just their second season in the SEC. They did lose James Franklin to the NFL, but last years’ back-up QB Maty Mauk substituted for the injured Franklin last year and had more than respectable numbers, going 3-1 and throwing for 1071 yards, 11 touchdowns, 229 rushing yards and just two interceptions over four games. He will be the starter next year for Missouri and he will be a perfect fit, having been in the situation before. These are my predictions for the East side of the SEC.
The West:
The West has been the more dominant side of the conference in the last 8 years, and that dominance should continue next season. Now to the rankings: 7th place: Mississippi State. The Bulldogs aren’t the same team from 2012 when they got off to the hot 7-0 start. They just don’t look to be a good team next year. They’re an unpredictable team- last season they lost to Alabama by 13 points and to Auburn by 4, but were killed 59-26 by LSU. After that, they eked out several close wins: Bowling Green 21-20, Kentucky 28-22, Ole Miss 17-10, Arkansas 24-17. You can’t always get that lucky. Next season will be a season to forget for the Bulldogs. 6th place: Ole Miss. Right ahead of their in-state rival are the Rebels. The Rebs had an incredible draft class in 2013 and looked ready to have a good season, however things didn’t work out in Oxford as the Rebels finished 7-5. This year won’t be any better for the Rebels. 5th Place: Arkansas. The Razorbacks were a top team until they lost their head coach Bobby Petrino in 2012. No, they haven’t been even halfway decent in the last two years but they have been close to getting wins, and their new head coach Brett Bielema, going into his second season in Fayettevillle, has a look in his eyes that tells me he will get this program heading in the right direction. 4th Place: LSU. The Tigers are coming off a good 10-3 season but they did lose Zach Mettenberger, and without him and with no other experienced QB in place, LSU will have to rely on their defense to win them games. They will be a good 8-5/9-4 team this year, but not a contender to win the SEC. 3rd Place: Alabama. The Crimson Tide actually will NOT be in the mix to win a national championship this year. With the loss of A.J. McCarron, it doesn’t look like Alabama will be the same Goliath team. Last season’s Sugar Bowl proved that the program will need a year to get back to being a top SEC team and a top team in college football. Look for the Tide to go 9-4/10-3 next season. 2nd Place: Texas A&M. The Aggies may have lost Johnny Manziel but what they are gaining is just as good as Johnny Manziel. With the best recruiting class in the nation and a stadium that is going to be one of the biggest in the country, the Aggies are looking to be a top ten team for a few years. Next season they will still have one of the top offenses in the country with Kevin Sumlin running the show. Texas A&M may not be on a whole lot of people’s radar because of the loss of Johnny Manziel, but never count out the Aggies. They produced Johnny Manziel, who knows what else could come out of Old Aggieland. 1st Place: Auburn. The Tigers are in my mind the second best team in college football. They played a great game vs Florida State but in the end it came down to Jameis Winston and the superb play by the offense in the national championship and all season. Gus Malzahn is the best coach in college football by far- you just don’t take a team that was 0-8 in the SEC the previous year to the national championship and fall just short of the title. Gus Malzahn will once again lead this team to another great season.
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