Thursday Thoughts on the SEC and My Crystal Ball Friend

Could've, would've, should've.

Yes, we all love hindsight. That, or we hate it. There's not much ground for the middle here. 

I've been thinking this week of all the things that could've, would've and should've in the SEC, and thought I'd share them with you.

SEC East

South Carolina

What if Steve Spurrier would have had a quarterback that first year in South Carolina after his NFL fiasco? 

What if he had been a contender that first year and started attracting top talent to the Gamecocks? 

Would they be in the talk as a contender every year?

I don't really think the old ball coach has gotten stupid over the years, but I do think he's gotten a little lazy when it comes to recruiting. He didn't have to recruit too hard at Florida because guys were busting the doors down to come.

If that had started at South Carolina, could he have established another Swamp?

Swami looks into the crystal ball and says no.

Kentucky

What if they had given Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant a car and the same money they gave basketball coach Adolph Rupp? 

Coach Bryant led Kentucky to their first consecutive bowl games and their only first place ranking when they shared the national title with another team. He was upset that the university there gave him a cigarette lighter and the basketball coach a car, so he decided to leave.

What if Coach Bryant had stayed at Kentucky? 

Would he have given them the glory and championships that he brought to Alabama? Would Kentucky have owned the SEC as Alabama did during his reign?

Swami looks into the ball and says yes.

Georgia

If Georgia had not suffered those 13 injuries last year, would the Bulldogs have played in the SEC Championship Game? 

Florida was ripe for the picking earlier in the season, as demonstrated with the loss to Ole Miss. A healthy kennel of dogs may have been too much for Florida to have dealt with going into the critical last few games of the season. 

Alabama certainly gave Florida a game in the championship. A healthy Dog Pound may have caused a Georgia -Alabama rematch in the championship.

Swami says 50-50 chance

Florida

If Tim Tebow had not gone to Florida, would it have been the same Florida today?

He provided the spark as a freshman that helped Chris Leake win Urban Meyer's first title and single-handedly willed the team to a championship this past season.

Looking into the crystal ball, Swami sees a much different Florida team with no championships since the one Chris Leake led them to, and that one is cloudy.

Swami says the swamp would be drained without Tebow.

Tennessee

What about another current what if? 

What if Fulmer had squeaked a win out at UCLA and beaten a terrible Wyoming team at home? That would have given him seven wins and and an automatic contract extension.

What would the fortunes of Tennessee football have been going forward?

Swami says two more years of mediocre football.

Would it be better or worse for Tennessee to have kept Fulmer over Lane Kiffin?

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