Gameday Approacheth
Winter is ending.
Game week is upon us, which means it finally feels like college football. As much as ESPN and the conference commissioners have done to destroy the sport I love (it is too great of a sport to be destroyed so easily-though I fully expect them to render the regular season meaningless in my lifetime), they have added week zero to the season. And this year's iteration had Vandy score 63 points for the first time since 1969. If someone decides to make a 21st century version of “We Didn't Start the Fire,” there should be a reference to this fact.
Controversy is something I am trying to avoid on this blog for the time being (but don't worry, that won't last much longer) so I'm going to try to avoid saying anything too controversial about the greatest sport ever. Preseason rankings and power polls have been popping up over the last several weeks, and as a devoted fan of the University of Georgia Bulldogs, I have more than a passing interest in such things.
I am also someone who doesn't follow the intricacies of roster and coaching changes in the off-season that closely, so I am in no position to make any predictions about what teams will end up where. This is my favorite sport, though, and I will blog about it more than occasionally, so I feel obligated to weigh in on such matters. Some might disagree with my preseason rankings, but I submit to you that this does not make this post controversial, as I don't really know shit and my thoughts on the matter shouldn't be given any serious weight. Also, I only really care about the SEC, so I'm limiting my predictions to what is obviously the best conference in college football. That said, here are my predictions:
SEC WEST:
#1 Alabama:
I considered doing the conference overall, but honesty would have made me at least give due consideration to ranking Alabama above Georgia, but I can't in good conscience do such a thing, surrounded as I am by Alabama fans who don't know who Mike Dubose is, much less Mike Price. (That's a whole blog post for another day.) They're loaded, and should win the west this season pretty handily.
#2 Arkansas
This is really a toss-up, but I love Sam Pittman and think he is a really good dude and his work for the Razorbacks has been impressive. They're loaded with talent on the line, but not enough to knock off the Tide. They should be able to handle everyone else in the west, though, with the possible exception of A&M.
#3 Texas A&M
Another loaded team, but with more talent at the skill positions than Arkansas, so they could easily be #2 here. I like Sam Pittman more than Jimbo Fisher, though, so I'm putting them at #3 instead. A lot of their talent is young, too, which means they're bound to slip up in at least one or two games.
#4 Ole Miss
The defense has a ways to go, but Lane Kiffin has the offense clipping at a good rate. Writing something good about Lane Kiffin made me throw up in my mouth a little bit, but I also can't bring myself to dislike Ole Miss. I don't know why, maybe it's The Grove or just how committed they are to being good without actually being able to be really good consistently. I don't dislike Mike Leach so I'd rather pick MSU at #4, but my gut tells me Ole Miss ends up here.
#5 MSU
Similar situation to Ole Miss except I don't hate the coach. In fact, I enjoy the pirate and am glad he is in the SEC. Especially at a school that doesn't expect much, so he should have some longevity there. He's fun to listen to in interviews, and his teams can surprise. Much like Arkansas and A&M, Ole Miss and MSU could be flipped, but the Rebels or Black Bears or Admiral Akbars (whatever the hell they are now) have more depth, so this is where I'm picking them to end up.
#6 LSU
It feels weird to think LSU is in the bottom of the division, but that seems to be how the west is shaking out right now. It's a tough neighborhood, and I don't think LSU is a bad team, I just think the teams ahead of them in my rankings are better. Brian Kelly needs time to reload, so he's going to be in for a rough ride this season.
#7 Auburn
After years living in West Georgia, I thought I'd take more pleasure in ranking Auburn at the bottom of the division. Maybe it's because we've been pretty dominant against them for years now, or maybe it's just that I feel bad for Brian Harsin. Maybe it's because I have taken to heart the Christian notion that all human life is valuable, and have befriended many Auburn fans. For whatever reason, I just think the situation over there is kind of sad. It's just pathetic to watch the school Bo Jackson went to look forward to basketball season. I mean, I hear their fans around here talking about how excited they are about midnight madness already. It's just sad, man. Just sad. I'm looking forward to UGA whipping their ass, though.
SEC EAST
#1 Georgia
Kirby has us built a death star in the East. As someone who has come to recognize that the empire isn't actually the bad guys in the Star Wars universe (another blog post for a different day), I take enormous satisfaction in this. Even though we lost a bunch of guys to the NFL, most of this year's starters on defense have all played meaningful snaps for at least one season, if not two. We're loaded at Tight End, got a good crew of receivers, a solid stable of running backs, and a solid O-line. And we have Stetson Bennett IV returning at quarterback. That guy delivers, that's why they call him The Mailman. Also, the rest of the SEC East kind of sucks, so Dawgs should win the division again handily.
#2 Kentucky
I thought it would hurt me more to write this, as these guys are a basketball school and my brother went to law school there and hates them, But it means it's not South Carolina, Tennessee, or Florida in this spot, so I'm cool with it. Plus, my buddy Max is a dedicated fan, and I like him so it makes me happy to see UK win some football games. Stoops has a decent crop and should be the runner up again.
#3 South Carolina
Honestly, I'm picking this for three reasons. One, I like Shane Beamer. Two, no one in their right mind thinks it could be Mizzou or Vandy. Three, I really hate Tennessee and Florida. Other than that, I have no reason to think they'll be third in the East, but there are plenty of reasons to believe (and hope) that it won't be UT or UF. All that, plus the quarterback play should improve and a year 2 bounce for Beamer has me putting them here.
#4 Tennessee
They aren't Florida and they have a good offense. That's why they go here.
#5 Florida
They aren't Vandy or Mizzou, that's why I have to put them here, not lower.
#6 Mizzou
They aren't Vandy.
#7 Vandy
They put up 63 on Hawaii, so maybe this is the year they get a conference win.
Thus concludes my insightful analysis. Dawgball starts tomorrow! May your soup be warm, your beer be cold and your bar tab affordable. GO DAWGS!!!!!