Auburn:
3-9 in 2012 (0-8 in the SEC)
Only two seasons removed from winning the national title,
the Tigers laid a goose egg in SEC play in 2012 and it cost Gene Chizik his
job. Auburn hired former Chizik
coordinator Gus Malzahn to be their new head coach. It will probably take a year for Malzahn to
really get going at Auburn, but they could pull an upset somewhere along the
way. Apparently former Georgia DB Nick
Marshall is going to get a look at quarterback in Auburn’s new, old offensive
system in an attempt to recreate Cam Newton.
No word yet about how much Cecil Newton is planning on charging. Auburn
will be better in 2013 than 2012, but that isn’t saying much. They will be right on the brink of going to a
bowl game, but they better have that locked up before November 16th,
when they finish against Georgia and Alabama.
Arkansas:
4-8 in 2012 (2-6 in the SEC)
You have to feel a little bad for Arkansas. Two years ago they were 11-2, yes the third
best team in their division, but perhaps the third best team in the
nation. Then Bobby Patrino went for a
motorcycle ride, John L. Smith brought his debt and his suggestion that
everyone smile to Fayetteville, now you have a lifetime Big 10 coach that wants
to play hard-nosed football against the best teams in the country. I wished I could say that better days are
ahead for Hog fans, but there doesn't seem to be any reason to think that Bret
Bielema is the answer. He even brought
the Big 10 form of scheduling with him.
Arkansas opens up with 4 non-conference games and then plays 8 straight
SEC games with two bye weeks sprinkled in.
If they win one game in conference it will be a miracle.
Kentucky:
2-10 in 2012 (0-8 in the SEC)
After a terrible season, Kentucky fired Joker Phillips and
brought in Mark Stoops to try and build something in Lexington. Stoops big brother, Bob, thinks that the SEC
is just a hype machine and that the level of competition isn't really that much
better than any other conference. My
guess is that this Christmas, Mark will be able, in great detail, to explain to
his brother what being in the SEC is all about.
I think Kentucky will double their win total in 2013 from a year ago,
but they won’t win more than one game in conference. Better days are ahead though, as Stoops has
begun recruiting the state of Ohio rather than fight and claw for the best
players in the South. I think they will
be a bowl team in a year or two, which is big in Kentucky.
Ole Miss:
7-6 in 2012 (3-5 in the SEC)
I really wanted to put Ole Miss in the category of teams
that deserved a full preview, but they just aren't there yet. Bo Wallace
returns at quarterback, and the Rebels had a fantastic recruiting class this
past February. But on the field they are still a step or two below the top
level of the SEC West. In a five game stretch this season, Ole Miss plays at
#15 Texas, at #1 Alabama, v. #7 Texas A&M, and v. #12 LSU. Oh, and the other
game in there is a road trip to Auburn, not exactly an easy game. Without an
opening night win against Vanderbilt, it might be tough for the Rebels to do
better than 7-5 in 2013, and that is assuming they can upset one of the four
teams I mentioned above. Hugh Freeze has the Rebels going in the right
direction, but he may need a little patience with this team and that schedule.
Mississippi State:
8-5 in 2012 (4-4 in the SEC)
The narrative of the 2012 State season is one that seems a
lot worse than it is. Yes they were 7-0
and ranked highly when they played Alabama last year and got destroyed,
38-7. And yes, they went on to lose 4 of
their next five after that game, but those games were against A&M, LSU, Ole
Miss, and Northwestern in the bowl game.
No matter what order the wins and the losses came in, State beat the
teams they were supposed to beat and lost to the teams they were supposed to
lose to. The biggest concern in Starkville
should be that a few years ago they looked like a team that could get into the
top of their division and compete with LSU and Alabama. Now, they look like the second best team in
their state. For Dan Mullen, it will be
losing to Ole Miss, not LSU or Alabama that will cost him his job if he can’t
manage to turn the tide in his home state.
State won’t go bowling this year and Mullen will be lucky to survive.
Missouri
5-7 in 2012 (2-6 in the SEC)
Missouri thought they were going to have the season that A&M
had in 2012, unfortunately for them, they only proved what many fans thought
before their first season in the SEC: they don’t belong. It wasn’t just that they lost 6 of their 8
conference games, it was how they lost those games. Missouri had Georgia in a close game at home
and then the wheels fell off in the fourth quarter, they lost by 3
touchdowns. They lost by 3 touchdowns to
South Carolina. They lost by 31 to
Alabama in a game that will be remembered because Nick Saban made one of his
defensive players apologize for throwing, yes throwing, a Missouri player. They lost by 30 to A&M to end the
season. If there was a signature moment
it was a win in Knoxville in overtime, but really that isn’t as big as it
sounds. The forecast in Missouri is misery. They will be hard pressed to match their win
total in conference from last season. No
bowl for the Tigers, and they will probably give Gary Pinkle one more season
before they start to get tired of being the new Kentucky of the SEC.
Tennessee
5-7 in 2012 (1-7 in the SEC)
15 years ago you wouldn't have believed that Tennessee
football could have turned into the dumpster fire that it is now. The school that brought you Peyton Manning,
Tee Martin and a national title, big fat Phil Fulmer with his arm pit stains,
and Rocky Top so many times your ears started bleeding have fallen on the
hardest times you could ever think of.
I’m not sure Derek Dooley got a fair shake at Tennessee, but the truth
is he didn't seem to be moving things forward, so he is out and in comes Butch
Jones. Tennessee’s talent level isn't at
SEC standards, but he will have a chance to get off to a good start if they can
upset Florida in the swamp. Their schedule
is a beast: at Oregon, at Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and at Alabama. If they win any of those five games, then
Jones will have something real to build off of this season, but I don’t think
it will happen. Their two shots at wins
in conference both come on the road, at Missouri and at Kentucky, but things
will be getting better in Knoxville for the first time in a long time.
Vanderbilt
9-4 in 2012 (5-3 in the SEC)
James Franklin has done an amazing job at Vanderbilt, but
now he has the unenviable task of trying to take
that last caveat out of the
statement: at Vanderbilt. 2012 was a
great season at Vanderbilt, but an
average season for a true contender in the SEC.
Vanderbilt lost to the three teams that finished ahead of them in the
SEC East. They played South Carolina
tough in the first game of the season, but they were embarrassed by Georgia in
Athens 48-3 and gave up 31 points to a Florida offense that struggled all
season. There is nothing wrong with
losing to those teams, but if Franklin wants to go to the next level, he will
have to beat one of the big boys. Vanderbilt
has a new quarterback to break in and they go on the road to South Carolina,
Florida, and A&M. They open against
Ole Miss in a game that I think will shape the season of both teams. James Franklin has done an amazing job, but I
think he has taken Vanderbilt as far as they can go, time for Franklin to try
and find a job at a school where he can compete for titles.
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