In preparation of SEC Media Days, I rounded up some of my friends that are fans/Alumni of rival schools and asked them their thoughts regarding the upcoming season. Of course with all the predictions over the last week from the TET staff, that was the main question to all of them.
****The opinions expressed by the fans are not necessarily the opinion of TET or its staff. I am just sayin’.
So without further adieu….
Miss State What are your hopes for the season?
With a new staff in place, I and any Bulldog Fans I know are just looking for a winning season. Although it is a real long shot, just improving would make me happy. Dixon is a man at RB (assuming he can stay off the alcohol) and he should be able to excel in the new spread system that we will be running. Our defense should be good, but that is a given. Maybe we can beat some one 3-2 (laughing).
Realistically how do you see this season panning out?
Badly. Even our out of conference games are killer. Houston is a good offensive team, and Tech will kill us. We should beat Jackson State, and Middle Tennessee, but that is only two wins. Besides the beat down we will take from the Gators, we get UK and Vandy from the east and both of those games are on the road. The good news for us is that we get Auburn early and then to Vandy, so maybe we can start out 3-0 and steal a couple of wins before the slaughter fest begins. 3-9 and last in the West is probably where we will finish. Although we have some talent, we could pull a shocker and win five or six.
Tennessee What are your hopes for the season?
Anything less than 9 wins is unacceptable. We have five easy wins at home against W Kentucky, UCLA, Ohio, Memphis, Vandy, and a win at Kentucky so that is six total wins. That means that the Vols have to beat Auburn, UGA, and/ or South Carolina in Neyland or Florida, Alabama and/or Ole Miss away.
Seems like a tall order. Can you get it done?
Well, Auburn is down again, Georgia has question marks, Alabama is a toss up every season, and the Gamecocks are… well the Gamecocks, and I am not sure that Ole Miss is for real. So a loss to Florida is expected especially in Gainesville. We just have to take care of business at home. Should we lose one at home, we just need to beat the Rebels.
Realistically how do you see this season panning out?
Tennessee goes 9-3, finishes second in the east and gets a bowl win for a 10 win season in Kiffins first year. I will take it. That will get us back to the seasons where we compete for the SEC East every year.
Florida What are your hopes for the season?
Back to Back Baby!!!! Tebow is going to lead us again… we will not lose!
You better not, your schedule is pretty weak. Remember Auburn 04?
Oh yes, do I remember Auburn 04? How can I forget? I am friends with you (laughing)! I agree that our schedule is terrible, good thing we will finish undefeated; now we just have to hope that there are not three undefeated teams come seasons end. Our only real test is LSU in Baton Rouge. That game will be tough.
Realistically how do you see this season panning out?
National championship game against USC. Hell of a game, and I am ready. To beat the Trojans in the Rose Bowl will be awesome.
Ole Miss What are your hopes for the season?
SEC West crown, which would have us beating at least two of the typical SEC West winners (Alabama, Auburn, and LSU) in the same season. All the media sure has put is up on a pedestal this season, I hope we can handle it. We have plenty of talent to do it though.
Realistically how do you see this season panning out?
We should be 4-0 heading into Alabama in Oxford. If we can get by the Tide we are 6-0 and getting Arkansas at home. They are a wildcard for me. Petrino will get the best out of his players… especially on the offensive side of the ball. With a win at home, we travel to Auburn. Auburn will either have one maybe two losses or be in the tank like last season. Nutt knows how to beat Auburn though. I see us 9-1 (loss to Bama or Auburn) with the SEC West on the line against LSU at home. We finish at 11-1 and winning the West, to play Florida in the SEC Championship Game.
Can the Rebels win that game?
No one thought we would beat Texas Tech last season, and we whipped em! Hotty Toddy !!!!!
Georgia What are your hopes for the season?
To start the season with a bang and be 4-0 with LSU coming to town. Beat them down as well, and sitting pretty with Kiffykins coming between the hedges. After that beat down and a win against Vandy we are 7-0 heading to JAX. We will finish the season at 11-1 and could be looking at the Sugar Bowl with Florida heading to the NC Game.
Realistically how do you see this season panning out?
Well we have a brutal schedule again this season. There will be no time for Joe Cox to be rusty. We could be 5-0 or 1-4 with Tennessee coming to town. Who knows? Traveling to Okie State to start the season will set the tone for us. We win… we are going to be fine, lose and it could be long season. The lone easy win early is South Carolina. Arkansas follows the Cocks, and they are my sleeper to pull some upsets in the SEC West. We beat Tennessee and Vandy, but as usual lose to the Gators. We beat TN Tech, Auburn, and Kentucky for a showdown with The Jackets in Atlanta. So that makes us 9-3 to finish the season and playing in a New Years Day bowl.
Alabama What are your hopes for the season?
We are as talented as any team in the country. Saban just keeps restocking, and finally the whole team believes in the process. We open the season at the Chick-fil-a again, and hopefully we can do just like last season and get our season jumpstarted. Anything short of the SEC West title is a disappointment. The hype around Ole Miss is just that, and we are better than LSU and we get them at home. We should be 12-0 and getting a rematch with Florida in the SEC Championship Game.
Wow. That is a lofty goal, what do you really expect?
Everyone thinks we have problems in the line. I don't think that is going to be the case. If we can keep McElroy healthy we are going to be very good. We are 8-0 heading into a showdown with LSU and we have beaten highly ranked Virginia Tech, Ole Miss and a rebuilding Arkansas and Tennessee squads. LSU will be a test, but we have better talent and coaching, not to mention we get them at home. Get by the Tigers and we are smooth sailing. Auburn is going to falter again this season so we are 11-1 at the worst (that loss is to either LSU or VT). Florida will be in for a battle when we see them again. Saban will not be out coached.
LSU What are your hopes for the season?
SEC West Champs and a rematch with Florida. We had question marks last season, and they showed. Those same questions are answered this season in fact they became positives. Jefferson is ready to be the guy, and with Coach Chavis over from Tennessee the defense should be as aggressive as ever. Look for freshman Ruben Randle to push LeFell as the number one receiver. For what it is worth Lefell is was thought to be a high draft pick in the last NFL draft.
Realistically how do you see this season panning out?
We will not be tested until we get Georgia and Florida back to back. It will be tough to get those two W’s in consecutive weeks. Then a week off before getting Auburn at home, a win over Tulane then off to see Saban. We will be playing for our SEC lives in Tuscaloosa, since (in my mind) we lose to Florida. We beat Bama and take care of business against Ole Miss. Although the Rebels are going to be better, I don’t think they can survive the SEC with a target on their backs. Assuming we do not lay another egg against the Hogs, we finish at 10-2 possibly 11-1 and see Florida in the SEC Championship.
Auburn We are mostly Tiger fans here. Feel free to answer the questions in the comment section.
There are a few themes above. First off, the SEC West is wide open. LSU, Alabama, and Ole Miss all think they are going to win it. Arkansas is the sleeper. Most think that Auburn is going to struggle again this season. Another theme is that everyone thinks that Florida is going to win the East. We shall see how it all turns out.
War Damn Eagle
