Auburn had a staggering fall last season to a season of zero wins in the SEC and a 3-9 overall record. The performance, or lack thereof, cost coach Gene Chizik his job and it is hard to believe that this program won a national title within the last recruiting cycle.
Last year was a disaster of a season for Arkansas. They followed up an offseason of upheaval with a season that included embarrassing performances against Alabama and Texas A&M – getting outscored 108-10 – as well as a loss to Louisiana-Monroe of the Sun Belt.
Ever since Alabama rose to the top of the SEC West, and the nation, LSU has been forced to take a backseat…and they don’t like it. These two teams have waged some great battles over the last few seasons but the majority of the time Alabama has come out on top so they have grabbed the spoils.
In some ways writing about Alabama is hard because there isn’t much to write that hasn’t already been written. Yes they are the two time defending national champs (3 in 4 years). Yes they have one of the best coaches in America (Nick Saban).
Things did not go swimmingly for Missouri in their first tour of the SEC last season as they dealt with injuries and poor performance overall. They were able to notch only two conference victories against the bottom of the SEC East, Tennessee and Kentucky.
It has been awhile since there was any reason to be excited about Kentucky football but with the hire of Mark Stoops as head coach they may have finally found someone who can get the program back to some level of sustained success.
South Carolina enjoyed another very good season last year, finishing 11-2 after a bowl win for the second year in a row. Even though coach Steve Spurrier is known as an offensive genius it is defense that leads this club and they are led by the most dynamic defensive player in the nation – Jadeveon Clowney.
Georgia has been very good over the last decade but never really able to break through in a big way. Maybe this year is the year they can, led by a senior QB captaining an offense that should be among the best in the conference and the nation.
Vanderbilt amazingly finished last season 9-4, the most wins they have had since 1915. The team finished on a 7 game winning streak and it was a very exciting season in Nashville.
There was a lot of criticism of the Florida Gators last year for struggling against some weaker teams on their but they finished 11-2 including a win against Texas A&M and Johnny Manziel. The success was primarily thanks to a top 5 defense as the Gators haven’t really been able to get their offense on track since QB Tim Tebow graduated.
For the third time in the past decade Tennessee is trying to regroup with a new coach. I like the hire of Butch Jones who did good things at Central Michigan and Cincinnati but I think he might have been wise to stay out of the SEC if he wants to have the kind of success he is used to.
The Vanderbilt football program has a similar – though more emphasized – problem that Notre Dame and Stanford encounters; its high academic standards put it out of the contest on some top recruits.
Kentucky has gained somewhat of a reputation in recent years for being a scrappy, hard-luck program that plays the role of spoiler for the bigger bullies in the SEC. Indeed, Kentucky often plays up to its competition and is usually only a couple upsets away from a bowl game.
With the arrival of Mizzou to the SEC (along with Texas A&M this season) a third team with the “Tigers” nickname is added to the conference fray. Missouri hopes to distinguish itself far more than its mascot, however.
Auburn fans weren’t thrilled when Gene Chizik, then from Iowa State, was hired to replace Tommy Tuberville, but Chizik has done an excellent job with the Tigers. He delivered the program’s second national title in 2010, its first since 1957.
Ah, the Tennessee Volunteers. The Vols. The Sherbet and White. Rocky Top. What a wild ride UT has had over the past few seasons – and what an interesting case study the Vols make! A few years ago, head coach Phil Fulmer was an institution in Knoxville, owning a career 152-52 record as Tennessee coach.
