SouthEastern Conference Predictions

[AuburnAlumni]

Quote: Originally Posted by RebelHog

If we had Penn Wagers in our back pocket we could've turned fumbles into ghost touchdowns, and our defensive tackles could cheap shot after the whistle also. Can't wait for you Whore Eagles to come to Fayetteville.

[Sportsbuck]

I'm telling ya'll... people are sleeping on former Buckeye-turned-Bammer WR Duron Carter. He's gonna surprise a lot of folks this year, I would not be surprised to see him as their top WR at the end of the year.

[Jr.]

Quote: Originally Posted by AuburnAlumni

The same reason why I have Arkansas winning the SEC is why I have Bama not winning it. Gamebreaking WRs. Knile Davis won't face a loaded box all season because no Defensive coordinator in the league is going to have the cajones to leave their DBs one on one with Childs, Adams, Wright, and Hamilton. Because of this, I expect Davis to have some huge rushing games. Trent Richardson, for all of his talent, is going to be facing loaded boxes all season...at least until a "Green" QB can prove he can make the defense pay for bringing their safeties down. As solid as Darius Hanks and Marquis Maze are..and they are very solid SEC caliber WRs..they aren't Julio Jones and they don't exactly strike fear in the hearts of SEC defenses in regards to consistently beating DBs one on one. If McCarron/Sims can get one of these WRs to become a legit, big time threat outside, then Bama could win the league. But I think their offense will struggle, especially early, as the Bama ground game will be the focus of every defense.

I think this is pretty spot on.

[acts238shaun]

Quote: Originally Posted by AuburnAlumni

The same reason why I have Arkansas winning the SEC is why I have Bama not winning it. Gamebreaking WRs. Knile Davis won't face a loaded box all season because no Defensive coordinator in the league is going to have the cajones to leave their DBs one on one with Childs, Adams, Wright, and Hamilton. Because of this, I expect Davis to have some huge rushing games. Trent Richardson, for all of his talent, is going to be facing loaded boxes all season...at least until a "Green" QB can prove he can make the defense pay for bringing their safeties down. As solid as Darius Hanks and Marquis Maze are..and they are very solid SEC caliber WRs..they aren't Julio Jones and they don't exactly strike fear in the hearts of SEC defenses in regards to consistently beating DBs one on one. If McCarron/Sims can get one of these WRs to become a legit, big time threat outside, then Bama could win the league. But I think their offense will struggle, especially early, as the Bama ground game will be the focus of every defense.

I agree with this 100%. I don't think Sim/McCarron will get sorted out til week 6, by that time Arkansas will be long gone. I do have to say that Sim/McCarron will be practicing against the best D in the country, potentially, but we said that about Bama's D last year. If Duron Carter melds quickly it might be a whole different story.

However, we have a JUCO transfer rated among the top DT's in the SEC, though he hasn't played a down. Robert Thomas, 6-3 & 325, is Terrence Cody lite.

Quote: Originally Posted by ESPN SEC blog

Byran Jones and DeQuinta Jones missed spring due to injury, but will be back this fall and there?s a wealth of depth behind them. Junior college transfer Robert Thomas might be the best and most athletic option in the middle is primed to break out.

All this added together I really think it's Arkansas's year, dependant on whether Arkansas's balanced offense can score and stop Bama from scoring. I think it's gonna be a 20-17 game for the Hogs.

If Mettenberg starts and becomes the QB I think he can be LSU/Arkansas could be the other GOY candidate. Crazily enough we could run the SEC and lose a game - there's still Texas A&M. Though Vonn Miller is gone A&M is still a dark horse. If Arkansas's SOS isn't #1 I'd like to see whose is.

In all it's gonna be a crazy year for CFB, reminiscent of 2006.

[acts238shaun]

Quote: Originally Posted by AuburnAlumni

Auburn blocked one of Arkansas's punts, and returned the opening kickoff to the 1 yard line, and on top of that couldn't stop Newton. Had these three things been different, then we Arkansas fans would have a legit complaint. I have to say AA is right. This isn't like Florida in 2009. That was a near ripoff. Even then, Alex "wide right" Tejada missed 3 FG's. He cost us the game vs LSU as well, IIRC. We have a good kicker again, which makes our chances even better this year.

[acts238shaun]

Concerning Steve Kragthorpe:

Quote: Originally Posted by Chris Low

By Chris Low Coming out of the holiday, we turn our attention to the Tigers. Coach: Steve Kragthorpe Position: Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks Experience: He's entering his first season on the LSU staff. Kragthorpe, 46, took last season off after resigning from his job as receivers coach at Texas A&M to care for his wife, who was battling health concerns. Kragthorpe was previously the head coach at both Tulsa (2003-06) and Louisville (2007-09). He was fired at Louisville after going 15-21 in three seasons. At Tulsa, he was named the WAC Coach of the Year in 2003 after engineering the biggest turnaround in college football. The Golden Hurricane improved from 1-11 in 2002 to 8-5 during Kragthorpe's first season in 2003. He became only the second coach in Tulsa history to lead the Golden Hurricane to three bowl games. Kragthorpe also spent some time in the NFL as the Buffalo Bills' quarterbacks coach from 2000-01. He was the offensive coordinator and receivers coach at Texas A&M from 1997-2000 before joining the Bills' staff. And before that, he spent a year on the Boston College staff as the quarterbacks coach in 1996. He also served stints at Northern Arizona and North Texas and began his coaching career at Oregon State in 1988 as a graduate assistant. Of note: In his second season on the Bills' staff, Kragthorpe helped Drew Bledsoe set a franchise record with 4,359 passing yards on his way to earning Pro Bowl honors. ... While at Boston College, Kragthorpe tutored future NFL quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. ... Kragthorpe started his playing career at Eastern New Mexico and than transferred to West Texas State, where he threw for 1,980 yards and 19 touchdowns as a senior in 1987. ... Kragthorpe's brother, Kurt, is a sports columnist for the Salt Lake Tribune. His challenge: Kragthorpe's first job was getting senior quarterback Jordan Jefferson up to speed after Jefferson struggled to find any success in the passing game last season. By all accounts, Jefferson showed marked improvement in the spring in terms of his accuracy, throwing to the right receiver and getting rid of the ball on time. Kragthorpe emphasized fundamentals, but he also emphasized playing and throwing the ball with confidence. Jefferson got better in both departments, but the real test will come this fall. Kragthorpe's long history with quarterbacks was one of the big reasons he was hired. The Tigers also brought in talented junior college transfer Zach Mettenberger, who will be hard to keep off the field this season. But regardless of who's at quarterback, Kragthorpe's No. 1 job is making sure the Tigers are better across the board in the passing game than they were a year ago after finishing with just 10 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions. LSU should be solid in the running game once again with four returning starters on the offensive line and promising sophomore running back Spencer Ware. But keeping defenses honest will be the key, which means the Tigers will have to throw it and catch it better than they did last season, not to mention make a few more plays down the field.

[Sportsbuck]

Word is that Knile Davis suffered a high ankle fracture in practice.

[RayAllen20]

With Kniles Davis out for the rest of the season here are my predictions..

West

1. Alabama
2. LSU
3. Miss St.
4. Arkansas
5. Auburn
6. Ole Miss

I see all these teams getting atleast 1 loss since I don't believe McCarron/Sims or Jefferson is going to lead a team to an undefeated season in the SEC West. I like Mississippi State a lot as a sleeper to win this division since they have a solid O line and defense with an experienced QB and a strong HB. Still I don't think that they may be good enough to beat LSU or Bama. I think Tyler Wilson will be great for Arkansas but without Kniles Davis this team is knocked down to 4th. Auburn is 5th for me because I don't like Barrett Trotter at all, but they Chizik could definitely prove me wrong. Then Ole Miss is locked in at 6th.

SEC East

1. South Carolina
2. Georgia
3. Florida
4. Tennessee
5. Kentucky
6. Vandy

SC is a sleeper to go undefeated this year I think if Garcia comes back and plays well, as they avoid both LSU and Bama, and the SEC East doesn't look to good. I'll pick Georgia over Florida since I like Aaron Murray over Brantley and Florida's struggling offense. Then it's Tennessee which could hop Florida this year, and Kentucky and Vandy are the bottom feeders.

Alabama over SC....and I think the only way Bama sneaks into the title game is if no BCS team (and Boise/TCU) in the country has no losses.