SEC Football Q&A: Is the SEC Scared to Travel for West Coast Games?
In April 2014, the SEC announced a new long-term scheduling format that includes an eight-game conference schedule and mandates that every team plays a Power Five out-of-conference game every season. That mandate goes into effect starting in 2016.
Yet, a tired narrative outside of the SEC footprint still exists: "The SEC doesn't play anybody."
Is there merit to that despite the mandate to play major out-of-conference games every year? That question and more are answered in this week's edition of SEC Q&A.
"@BarrettSallee why are the SEC teams afraid of coming out west to play?
— Garrett Hill (@GarrettHill31) June 20, 2016"
No, the SEC isn't scared of West Coast road trips.
LSU opened the 2009 season at Washington and has home-and-homes scheduled with UCLA and Arizona State on its future schedules, according to FBSchedules.com. Auburn and Ole Miss have home-and-home series' set up with Cal in the future, Texas A&M starts one with UCLA this year and Georgia—which has a built-in out-of-conference rivalry game with Georgia Tech ever year—will do the same in 2025 and 2026.
So tell me again who's scared to go out west?
Alabama?
The Crimson Tide get right of first refusal at virtually every neutral-site kickoff game, which is the equivalent of an extra bowl game with that bowl paycheck. If they've earned that right, why wouldn't they take advantage of it?
Are some SEC teams known for scheduling cupcakes? Of course.
Mississippi State plays South Alabama, UMass, BYU and Samford this year, and it played Southern Miss, Troy, Northwestern State and Louisiana Tech a year ago. But even the Bulldogs have a road trip to Arizona on the docket in 2022.
Complaining about the SEC and saying that it routinely schedules cupcakes is like complaining about texting with a flip phone—it's outdated, tired and factually inaccurate.
Yes, Noel Mazzone will help Texas A&M's offense find its stride in 2016.
Mazzone has evolved from a pure pro-style coordinator during his first stint in the SEC in the late 1990s and 2000s, into a tempo-based, spread coordinator who has remained true to his power roots.
At UCLA, he helped Paul Perkins break the 1,000-yard mark on the ground twice (1,575 in 2014 and 1,343 in 2015), and he helped Johnathan Franklin post 1,734 rushing yards in 2012.
The Aggies have some issues along the offensive line, but James White is a solid all-around back, and former Oklahoma running back Keith Ford is a former 5-star prospect who can be a superstar if he stays healthy.
Plus, Mazzone doesn't have a track record of sending quarterbacks down a spiral of doom in mid-October like his predecessor, Jake Spavital, does. As I noted last fall, the only quarterback who hasn't suffered an October swoon under Spavital since 2012 was Johnny Manziel in 2013. The others—Geno Smith at West Virginia in 2012, Kenny Hill at Texas A&M in 2014 and Kyle Allen in 2015—have all had the wheels fly off after hot starts.
Mazzone took a true freshman in Josh Rosen last year and helped him set the program record for consecutive completions without an interception at 245.
That'll work.
Texas A&M's offense is in much better hands this year with Mazzone. If quarterback Trevor Knight can recapture at least part of the magic he showed in the 2014 Sugar Bowl win over Alabama, the Aggies can contend for the SEC West.
As long as Kyle Davis is healthy, he can be exactly what Auburn needs in 2016.
Assuming John Franklin III is the starting quarterback and provides a running threat off of the edge to complement power back Jovon Robinson, all that's needed for Auburn to replicate the offense it was successful with in 2013 and 2014 with Nick Marshall taking the snaps is a bona fide deep threat like Sammie Coates who has the speed to burn defensive backs deep and the strength to position himself well downfield.
At 6'2", 219 pounds, Davis, a native of Loganville, Georgia, is already bigger than Coates was as a senior. Coates played at 6'2", 201 pounds during the 2014 season, according to his Auburn bio, and had 1,643 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns during the final two seasons of his Auburn career.
One look at Davis' high school tape, and you'll see plenty of Coates in his game.
From his wide shoulders, to his ability to high-point the football downfield, to his speed, he has everything Auburn wants from somebody in that Coates role.
The early enrollee was in a non-contact jersey this spring after offseason shoulder surgery, but he should be good to go for fall camp.
"Kyle's good," wide receivers coach Kodi Burns told Tom Green of AL.com. "He's getting better. I think he's 100 percent healthy now, so that's always good."
I'm not too concerned with Ole Miss' defensive backfield, honestly.
Tony Conner back at 100 percent gives the Rebels a tremendous weapon who can do just about everything from working in coverage in man-to-man situations, playing over the top or walking down to provide pressure.
Cornerback Tony Bridges had three picks last year, safety C.J. Hampton has patiently waited for his chance and has all of the tools to be a star, Kendarius Webster played in all 13 games last year while notching 41 tackles, and the Rebels have a proven track record of success replacing stars in the secondary under head coach Hugh Freeze.
The bigger issue for Ole Miss is the offensive line.
The silver lining is that, thanks to injuries and suspensions over the last two seasons, Freeze is well-versed on figuring out how to succeed on the fly with offensive line issues. Because of those issues, players like Robert Conyers and Rod Taylor have played significant roles over the last couple of seasons.
That offensive line has to come together in a hurry. With Florida State in Week 1 and Alabama in Week 3, the Rebels could be worn out, demoralized and left with a slim margin for error early in the season thanks to the fast and physical defensive fronts that the Seminoles and Crimson Tide boast.
Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Statistics courtesy of CFBStats.com unless otherwise noted. Recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
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