(Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images)
The SEC has gone through some major changes in the past five years. Some coaches were fired, other coaches were hired, and there were even a couple of coaches who left the SEC only to return and start all over at a different school.
In this period of time, the SEC has won three National Championships and four out of the last six BCS titles.
All this was accomplished while every school in the SEC except three—Vanderbilt, Kentucky, and Georgia—went through coaching changes.
Some schools changed coaches more than once.
There was a changing of the guard during that time. Powerhouse football programs like Tennessee and Auburn lost ground, while teams like Alabama and Ole Miss gained ground.
Here are the standings for all the SEC teams and my opinions on their chances in 2009.
(1) Florida
Urban Meyer has the Gators poised for another SEC Championship and a possible National Championship.
Everything seems to going the Gators' way.
The only fly in the ointment for Florida is the rumors of Meyer leaving next year for Notre Dame, as well as the 24 football players that have been arrested since Meyer arrived on Gainesville.
If Meyer can keep those things from spilling over onto the field, they may succeed in winning both championships again.
(2) Alabama
Nick Saban has led Alabama out of the NCAA purgatory that the Crimson Tide was cast into in 2001. In two short years, Alabama has gone from a middle of the pack average team to one of the fastest rising stars in NCAA football.
The only bump in the road so far for Saban has been another brush with the NCAA, this time involving misuse of textbooks by some student athletes. Saban has two No.1 recruiting classes in the pipeline and is working on a third.
The future looks bright in Tuscaloosa, but I am not sure if the future will start this year or next.
(3) Ole Miss
Houston Nutt left Arkansas for Ole Miss, and that move is paying off in spades for Nutt and the University of Mississippi. Ole Miss is loaded with talent and has one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC.
They are expected to contend for the SEC West title and may be headed for Atlanta.
The question is, can Ole Miss and Houston Nutt handle success?
Ole Miss has always been an "also ran" in the SEC, and so has Nutt. Both have had a flash or two of greatness over the years, but neither has been able to cash in.
Expectations can become a very heavy burden if you aren't used to dealing with them.
(4) LSU
Les Miles and LSU took a major hit last year by falling all the way from defending National Champions to third in the SEC West. Going 8-5 and losing to rivals like Alabama, Ole Miss, and Arkansas, as well as Florida and Georgia, left a bad taste in LSU fans' mouths.
Losing at home to Saban was a hard pill to swallow and left Miles looking for answers.
On the upside, Miles did land another top-ranked recruiting class last year and hired Tennessee's former defensive coordinator in hopes of improving his defense.
On another note, since the arrival of Lane Kiffin in Knoxville, Miles hasn't had to deal with the press printing any of his off the cuff comments. I still see LSU losing up to three games this year as Miles' team starts to take on his persona.
(5) Georgia
Georgia could have been heading toward another banner year in 2009 if it weren't for Mark Richt not being able to convince two Bulldog superstars to return for one more year.
Without Knowshon Moreno and Matthew Stafford, 2009 may end up being one of Georgia's most difficult in years.
Starting with Oklahoma State and ending with Georgia Tech, Mark Richt and Georgia may have the hardest schedule in the nation. In fact, the only time Georgia will get to come up for air will be Nov. 7, when the Dogs play Tennessee Tech.
It may be a very long season.
(6) South Carolina
Steve Spurrier has to be frustrated. After having so much success in Gainesville, FL, having to watch from a distance as Meyer takes his beloved Gators to heights they have seen before while he is stuck in Columbia, SC must hurt.
I predict that if the Gamecocks do not make some headway soon or at least land a decent bowl game, then Spurrier may throw in the towel and just play golf. He may hang around long enough to see if Momma will call him home—if and when Meyer leaves.
(7) Arkansas
Bobby Petrino had a rough start in his first year in the SEC, but the Razorbacks showed some improvement toward the end of the season by beating a reeling LSU team.
Only winning five games in your first year in the SEC is par for the course for most new coaches, but Arkansas fans are accustomed to better results.
I predict that Petrino's Razorbacks will be the most improved team in the SEC, but I do not expect any miracles.
(8) Auburn
Gene Chizik will lead the Auburn Tigers into 2009 with a team that doesn't have an established quarterback or an established identity. It is a new everything for the Tigers, and most experts are expecting the worst.
The War Eagles need to get off to a good start in order for things not to get so ugly that "you know who" gets involved. That should be doable with a favorable schedule.
Auburn's first real test is on Sept. 19 against West Virginia, and that game will determine if Chizik may be over his head as a head coach playing in the SEC. Their first SEC Road Game will be in Knoxville against the Vols on Oct 3, that should tell us "The Rest Of The Story".
A .500 season should be the realistic goal with an upset of some kind to hopefully quiet the critics.
(9) Tennessee
Kiffin has really placed the Volunteers behind the eight ball in 2009. He has managed to insult almost half the coaches on Tennessee's 2009 schedule and will most likely have more intelligent things to say after the season starts.
The only problem is he doesn't have the coaching credentials or the talent to back up his own talent for saying the wrong thing.
Somehow, I have the feeling that he will never have enough talent to back up all the wrong things he feels he must say.
(10) Vanderbilt
Last year, Bobby Johnson did a great job for the first five weeks, and then the old Vanderbilt Commodores showed up as usual.
With 18 starters returning, I would like to place them higher on my list, but experience has taught me not to take that chance.
Vandy will always be Vandy.
(11) Kentucky
Rich Brooks and Kentucky shouldn't be ranked this low, but the Wildcats lost some of their best players on defense, and that was all that made them decent last year.
Kentucky does more with less, and they always play hard, but even when they are good, they manage to lose four or five games.
(12) Mississippi State
Dan Mullen takes over for Sylvester Croom in Starkville, MS, and there is a little spark at Mississippi State. State's problem was offense, not defense, and Mullen will be the answer to that in time.
The only problem is, how long will Bulldog fans have to wait this time?
Croom did a good job cleaning the program up—maybe too good. The offensive athletes are just not there to run Mullen's offense yet, so time and patience will be required.
Same story, different characters: Bulldog fans will have to wait another year.
To sum up: This year should be exciting with the momentum swinging back and forth from week to week as the SEC sets about knocking each other out of contention.
You would have to believe the SEC East will be the Florida Gators' to lose if Tim Tebow stays healthy.
The SEC West, on the other hand, will likely come down to the winner of the Alabama, LSU, and Ole Miss Round Robin tournament, with the first round taking place on Oct. 10 in Oxford, Mississippi between the Ole Miss Rebels and the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Here are my predictions for these three important match-ups:
(1) Alabama @ Ole Miss on October 10 in Oxford, MS. (toss-up)
(2) LSU @ Alabama on November 7 in Tuscaloosa, Al. (toss-up)
(3) LSU @ Ole Miss on November 21 in Oxford, Ms. (toss-up)
It should be an exciting season!
I went out early this morning to drink my coffee on the deck, and I swear I thought I heard the sound of an SEC crowd roaring in the distance. I heard it yesterday as well, but it sounded a little nearer today.
Call down the thunder and awaken the echoes—it is getting closer, and I can't wait!
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