Fishhead Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 We're getting so close I can taste it. Once media days wraps up, I can contain it no longer! In my opinion, the dark days are over and we can legitimately start talking football! I'll do an SEC East and SEC West preview, based solely on my opinions, observations, and hopefully without understandably built in biases I have from living south of I-20 my entire life. I like to think I keep up with other teams more than the average fan, and quite often I find myself pretty sure I keep up with teams more than the average sports writer. Obviously I'll put some meat on the sammich so it doesn't come across as my "guess". Here goes the East! UGA: I think any rational prognosticator has to start with the recruiting in the last several years, and nobody has been better than Georgia under Kirby Smart. Those #1 recruiting classes have stockpiled talent, and in year 4 under Smart, there's no reason to expect a sudden letdown from the Bulldogs, who have represented the East in the last two SECCG, including a throttling of Auburn to win the conference outright in 2017. The defense will have elite talent at each level. The offense returns a 3rd year QB that has beaten out multiple 5* challengers to the point they left to seek playing time elsewhere. That said... A potential weakness I see is in the receiving corps. Our Tigers return every single WR from last year's team, but Georgia is on the opposite end of the spectrum. They return absolutely none of them. Even their excellent TE, Nauta, is gone. So, to whom does Fromm build a rapport with? He has to do that. As we saw with Joe Burrow last year, he didn't have a rapport with any of his receivers, but he quickly developed one with Justin Jefferson and it paid dividends. Fromm has to do the same with one of his talented, yet unproven new receivers. If he is able to do that, I see no reason anyone overtakes the Bulldogs as Kings of the East. 55% chance of winning the division Florida: HERE'S where I have to try really hard to be unbiased. I hate, despise, LOATHE the GayTurds, but I'll have to put that aside for now. Anyone can say what they want about Dan Mullen, but I think it's fool hearty to discount him as an SEC HC. Having lived in Mississippi quite a while, I have many MSU friends. To a man, all of them were quite vocal about Mullen's shortcomings AFTER he left them for Gainesville. I heard them out, their complaints about his "lazy recruiting" and weird tendencies overall. But.....tell me about how MSU did without him last year? I mean, THREE top draft picks on the DL alone, a SR QB, a very solid LB corps, and a pretty good secondary as well. Dan Mullen, IMO, wins 10 with that team. I honestly have zero doubt about it. But MSU was underwhelming, wasting perhaps the most talent they've had since John Bond teams of the 80s. Mullen's resume speaks for itself. I don't understand how anyone can dispute it. And you can go back to his days at UTAH with Urban Meyer. Alex Smith? That's Mullen. To UF with Meyer, Tim Tebow, that's Mullen. Dak Prescott at MSU, a guy LSU recruited to play TE...Mullen turns him into one of the best and he's an NFL starter. Forget Nick Fitzgerald's year last season...but look at what he was when Mullen was still working with him. Now just look at Felipe Franks. The guy was a disaster before Mullen got to UF, and wasn't exactly setting the world on fire early in the 2018 season. But as the season progressed, it was clear the effect time with Dan Mullen was having. Franks had pretty similar numbers to Burrow last season, but WAY more TD passes. Fact is, every QB Mullen has had improved under his tutelage. People refer to Jimbo Fisher as the QB whisperer, but I say, take a look at Mullen's results. If there's a team in the East that can actually challenge UGA, it's the GayTurds. PLENTY of returning talent, and it was clear they were improving rapidly towards the end of the season last year. Don't sleep on the GayTurds. 35% chance of winning the division Mizzou: Yep, the Missouri Tigers. I said it. Fact is, this has less to do with an expectation of drastic improvement and more to do with, simply, their schedule. I would actually be surprised if Missouri doesn't start out 8-0. And remember, Kelly Bryant left Clemson, transferring to Missouri. The kid is a proven winner, he just isn't Trevor Lawrence. Their schedule allows time for Bryant to settle in with his new team and there's a chance they could be firing on all cylinders offensively by the time the meat of their schedule hits in game 9. I'd be surprised if they upset UGA or UF, but if they get the offense going, there's a puncher's chance. 10% chance of winning the division ***As you can see, 100% of my chances are gone. From here on, it's the also rans*** South Carolina: They have a couple things going for them. Will Muschamp seems to have developed a coaching style that suits both him and USCe, and he has a returning multi-year starter manning the QB position. I saw they even received a 1st place vote when the media selected the finishing order during SEC Media Days. Whomever cast that vote needs to have his credentials revoked. 0% chance for the Gamecocks, but they're the best of the also rans. Kentucky: Here's what the Wildcats have going for them. Mark Stoops. Well, that and a long awaited taste of success, having won 10 games a season ago and FINALLY defeating FU. But without work horse Benny Snell, it's not enough to garner even a 1% chance. Tennessee: It gets difficult when you get to this point. Bottom line is, the Vols are STARTING to recruit better, but they certainly don't have enough to break into the top 3. They COULD sneak a win here or there and surpass USCe and/or Kentucky, so I have to put them above Vandy. But not by much. I wish I was wrong about Tennessee. I'm of the mindset a strong Tennessee is good for LSU and the rest of the SEC West. Remember, this is a team that plays Alabama every year, and they haven't put up a fight in well over a decade. I'd like to see them return to some semblance of relevance in the east, but I don't see it this season. Vandy: I like Derek Mason, and I like some individuals they have returning, such as RB Ke'Shawn Vaughn. A transfer from Illinois a couple years back, Vaughn is a 5th year SR that you've likely never heard of. Well, in about 100 fewer carries than anyone in front of him, he finished top 5 in the SEC in rushing last season. His 8 YPC are reminiscent of Derrius Guice in his sophomore season when he was overshadowed by Leonard Fournette. He's a great back, but he's not enough. That's my SEC East Preview. Hope you enjoy and would love to get some feedback/snide remarks, anything. Let me have it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houtiger Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 The only surprise to me is Mizzou, I'll have to keep an eye on them this year and see how they do. We play Fla. and Vandy this year from the east, and as usual, Fla. is the one that counts. I agree with you that Mullen is a good offensive mind and he usually has a good offense. Fla. is always tough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishhead Posted July 23, 2019 Author Share Posted July 23, 2019 1 hour ago, houtiger said: The only surprise to me is Mizzou, I'll have to keep an eye on them this year and see how they do. They play no ranked team until 11/9/2019 when they visit UGA. Mizzou has a bye the week before, but Florida visits the week after the UGA game, so two tough ones in a row. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 Might fine write up, Fish. I get the big 2, but I can't put Mizzou in any kind of chase at all. Not yet, anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishhead Posted July 29, 2019 Author Share Posted July 29, 2019 1 hour ago, Herb said: Might fine write up, Fish. I get the big 2, but I can't put Mizzou in any kind of chase at all. Not yet, anyway. Strictly based on their schedule. They dodge any good west team and they should be 8-0 prior to meeting the better east teams. They're preseason top 20 too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 2 minutes ago, Fishhead said: They're preseason top 20 too Lazy ass sportswriters are too busy with their vacations to do their homework before the season starts...we were picked to finish like 5th in the SEC West a year ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houtiger Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 52 minutes ago, Herb said: Lazy ass sportswriters are too busy with their vacations to do their homework before the season starts...we were picked to finish like 5th in the SEC West a year ago. There is some truth to that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishhead Posted July 29, 2019 Author Share Posted July 29, 2019 https://247sports.com/LongFormArticle/Alabama-football-SEC-schedules-toughness-South-Carolina-Gamecocks-Florida-GayTurds-Georgia-Bulldogs-LSU-134007729/Amp/ See who has the least challenging schedule in the SEC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dachsie Posted July 30, 2019 Share Posted July 30, 2019 Surprise, surprise, surprise......not! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishhead Posted August 1, 2019 Author Share Posted August 1, 2019 On 7/30/2019 at 12:37 PM, dachsie said: Surprise, surprise, surprise......not! It's Missouri lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dachsie Posted August 15, 2019 Share Posted August 15, 2019 And InbredGumps is #13 Mizzou is in the easier side of the conference Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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