Welcome to the SEC preview for 2009. When you have 4 teams starting out the season in the top 10 you know once again you are in for an exciting year in the SEC.

This year we will get to witness 2007 Heisman Winner Tim Tebow go for Florida’s second NCAA title in 3 years. Can Matthew Stafford Drive the Georgia Bullgogs to a national championship? Or Can Auburn or LSU get to # 1?

The biggest problem like normal is all these teams will have to battle one another for a National Title. The days of an undefeated season in the SEC is in the past but as always it will be exciting.

Well on to my preseason rankings. I think there could be a couple sleepers coming out of the SEC this year but of course the money is on Florida to win the SEC title and another National Championship.

1. Florida – When you start off the year ranked as high as the Gators you know everyone is going to be gunning for you. Tim Tebow will be back behind center and I am looking for him to cut down on the running this year. Urban Meyer wants to get a running game in place and it’s looking to be a few different guys out of the backfield. Meyer has stated that Chris Rainey will start and he will either be lining up in the backfield or as a 3rd WR. It’s looking like they may try and run a USC type backfield. The only thing stopping the Gators right now is injuries. Percy Harvin( Heel surgery) is still not back at 100% and it is still up in the air if he will be ready for the start of the season against Hawaii. The Gators second WR Louis Murphy is also injured right now which could open the door for Frankie Hammond Jr. who was originally thought to be red-shirted. The biggest hit so far before the season came to TE Cornelious Ingram who is out for the season. It will be up to Aaron Hernandez for the rest of the year. The Gator defense has taking a huge hit this spring which is the only thing that I see worrisome. It seems that with this team someone always steps up on the D and makes themselves known.

2. Georgia- There is a lot of excitement in Georgia this year and I am looking for a big year from Matthew Stafford. This is his year to shine and it is a must for this team to win a National Championship. At RB you have one of the top 5 Running Backs in the county in Knowshon Moreno and he will carry the load. Caleb King who is a solid backup has been nursing Hamstring issues so it will be Moreno, Moreno and more Moreno to start the season. Georgia has a decent WR in A.J. Green and a above average TE in Tripp Chandler. Of course Georgia is back with one of the top 10 defenses in College Football. The biggest set back this spring for Georgia is the loss of Left Tackle Trinton Sturdivant. They will need someone to protect Stafford’s blindside and also get someone Moreno can run behind. If they can fill that gap then Georgia may be in the Title hunt.

3. LSU- It looks like Andrew Hatch is going to be the Tigers starting QB to begin the season which should be exciting news for LSU fans. Hatch has two decent receivers in Demetrius Byrd and Brandon Lafell and a great TE in Richard Dickson. The one who is really going to have to step up is RB Reiland Williams. This team is going to have to run the ball against some of the top defenses in the country and if they want to go for a National Title they will have to do just that. Of course LSU has the #3
defense in the country so they will not have to put up huge numbers to win.

4. Auburn- Auburn is another SEC team that is going to live on their defense. The QB and RB situation is still up in the air. At QB you have Kodi Burns and Chris Todd fighting for #1 and at RB you have the combo of Brad Lester and Ben Tate. Really not a lot of WR options past Rodriguez Smith but we know that they are going to run. Run and run some more.

5. Tennessee- For me Tennessee can go either way this year as they are having some injury issues. Jonathan Crompton will be starting at QB and he has some nice weapons in WR’S Lucas Taylor and Josh Briscoe. At TE Brandon Warren has been cleared to play and this is great news for the VOLS as Jegg Cottam is out 6-8 weeks with Back surgery. One of the main issues is the running game with Arian Foster and is he healthy? If he is healthy he can be one of the top 10 backs in College Football but there are some concerns with his knee. This team is going to have to put up some points in this conference as the defense is young and inexperienced.

6. South Carolina- This is a team that I am excited to see this year. Will they start off like they did last year and then fall apart or will they continue their success for a full season. Tommy Beecher will be behind center and he has a couple explosive weapons in WR Kenny Mckinley and TE Jared Cook. Starting RB Mike Smith is suspended for the opener but should have a great season. The Game cocks have a decent Defensive unit and may surprise some teams this year.

7. Alabama- Alabama will be another SEC team relying on a strong defense to win games. As of now QB John Parker Wilson and WR Julio Jones seem to be the strongest weapons on the offense. It’s looking like the Crimson Tide are going to start the season with three starting Running Backs which should be quite interesting. Most people figured Terry Grant would be the main guy in the backfield but Freshman Mark Ingram and Glen Coffee have also been guaranteed extensive playing time.

8. Arkansas- Will Petrino turn this team around? I believe he will but it will not be this year. I think this team could pull of a couple shockers but its really going to be up to their defense to hold someone. When you have about the 75th-80th defense in College Football and you play in the SEC you could be in for a tough season. The Razorbacks have a decent QB in Casey Dick and some great weapons in WR’S London Crawford and Carlton Salters. They also have one of the top TE’S in the country with D.J. Williams. The guy I am most interested in Seeing in RB Michael Smith. If this kid can perform as well as the hype then this could be one of the top up and coming offensive teams in the SEC.

9. Mississippi State- Not much exciting here beyond top 20 running back Anthony Dixon. As we know they will run the ball and then run the ball some more. They do have a solid Defense but I am not sure if they can put up enough points to win many games.

10. Kentucky- I believe this is another team that could shock a couple teams this year. They have decent offensive weapons in QB Mike Hartline, RB’S Derrick Locke and Tony Dixon, WR Dicky Lyons and TE T.C. Drake. The problem with this team is also their second rate defense that will give up a lot of points.

11. Ole Miss- QB Jevan Sneed is a top sleeper pick this year and hopefully will be the one exciting thing to watch. RB Cordera Eason and WRS Mike Wallace and Derek Mccluster are solid offensive weapons but will it be enough? The biggest news out of Ole Miss is the loss of top pass rusher DE Greg Hardy. He will be out for 6-8 weeks which is a crushing blow to this defense.

12. Vanderbilt- Umm top defense and pathetic offense. Welcome to another year of Vandy football.

Nice picks. Florida ahead of Georgia? I'm not terribly surprised because with the SEC there's at least 3 teams that could be #1.

Excellent gm.

great write up. a few follow ups though.

you talked an awful lot about florida's offense, which we already know was unstoppable at times last year. but the defense was average or awful most of the year, and it doesnt sound like that has really changed. you cant win a title or survive that brutal sec without much of a defense, especially when your top 3 contenders all have top 10 defenses in the nation. florida's offense will not score enough a few weeks, and they will lose another 2 or 3 games again.

i think youve really overlooked ole miss, a solid sleeper team in this conference. i think they will take miss state's bowl spot this year and will get one big shocker over one of those top 4 at some point.

i think youve also overlooked bama. they are not in the bottom half of this league. no team with nick saban coaching it is at the bottom half of a league.

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The 6th spot is between the Gamecocks and Bama but they will not be in the top 5. I like South Carolinas offense much better then Bamas while they seem to iron some stuff out.

As far as Ole Miss goes, Yes they could shock a few people but where can they go in this conference. I do think the Hardy injury is a big deal and they will have to get over that hump for their defense to succeed.

i think i would have bama and ole miss both in my top 6. south carolina starts well and disappoints every year, and i always hate tennessee for some reason.

I hate Tenn also but it doesnt stop them from being a top 20 team haha. Ole Miss in the top 6?

8/30/08 vs MEM
9/06/08 at WFST
9/13/08 vs Samford
9/20/08 vs VNDY
9/27/08 at FLA
10/04/08 vs SOCAR
10/18/08 at ALA
10/25/08 at ARK
11/01/08 vs AUB
11/15/08 vs LAMO
11/22/08 at LSU
11/28/08 vs MSU

that looks like 7 or 8 wins to me.

win - memphis, samford, vandy, sc, lamo, msu

plus 1 or 2 of the bama/arky/aub stretch.

even if they dont get one of those games, should be a bowl season. *shrug* i believe in houston nutt's ability to make teams above average. nothing more. nothing less.

I would rank Ole Miss number 7 in the SEC between Arkansas and South Carolina. Like DB, SC doesn't seem too good to me this year (namely their Defense, it's just not as good the other big teams in the SEC.

Just my 2 cents!

Jevan Sneed isn't as good as people think. There's a reason he got beat out by a guy from a town of 900 people. Still, big daddy walNutts will find a way to make this team work where Orgeron (sp) could not. I see 6 to 7 wins in Ole Missies future.

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