SEC Football 2011 Power Rankings: LSU Is the Team to Beat in the West

The SEC West showed the college football world where the power truly lies by placing five teams on the first official Coaches’ Top-25 Poll last week.

No. 2 Alabama and No. 4 LSU are the two powerhouse teams that will receive most of the attention going into the season, but as we saw with Auburn last year, this is a division which can be difficult to handicap and predict.

The race for the West crown should be one of the most compelling story-lines of the 2011 college football season, as there are four teams, Alabama, LSU, Mississippi State and Arkansas, that have a legitimate chance to come out on top.

With so many dangerous looking showdowns on this year’s slate, it’s hard to imagine that any team will be able to emerge from the West battlefield completely unscathed.

The race to Atlanta will no doubt provide us all with some great entertainment this year.

I covered the East yesterday (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/770352-sec-east-football-2011-power-rankings-south-carolina-will-reign-supreme-again), so as promised, here’s a look at how I would rank all six teams in the SEC West.

1. LSU Tigers

LSU somehow managed to go 11-2 last season with an offense that ranked 86th in the country and averaged just 343 yards of output per game.

The main culprit for the offense’s ineptitude was the play of talented, yet highly inconsistent QB Jordan Jefferson, who finished the year with a 7-10 TD to INT ratio.

Jefferson definitely took his lumps in his first season as a starter, but after a strong spring, it looks like he could be ready to finally lead his team to glory.

The LSU offense knows it has run out of excuses and it’s now time to either put up or shut up.

This season, a lot is going to be asked of key offensive skill players like Jefferson,
WR Rueben Randle and RB Spencer Ware, three players who have a ton of talent but also still have a lot to prove.

Last week’s surprising resignation of first-year offensive coordinator Steve Kragthorpe, who is sadly battling Parkinson’s Disease, is a tough blow for the offense. But with eight starters returning and one of the strongest offensive lines in the SEC, the Tigers should be able to rebound and perform at a high level in 2011.

The key, of course, will be the maturation and development of Jefferson, who has the skills but has yet to produce the results.

Jefferson doesn’t have to be a star, he just has to do a better job of moving the offense down the field with more consistency and cut down on his mistakes.

LSU probably won’t need to score a ton of points if the defense, which returns seven starters from a unit that ranked 12th in the country in 2010, can play up to its potential.

It’s true, the Tigers lose their three best defenders from a year ago (CB Patrick Peterson, LB Kelvin Sheppard and DT Drake Nevis). But they’ve also got plenty of reinforcements who are making their way up the depth chart.

Even though they lose Peterson, the Tigers will still have one of the best cornerback combos in college football with Morris Claiborne and Tyrann Matthieu.

They’ll also have a plethora of pass-rushers on the edge with ends like Barkevious Mingo, Sam Montgomery and Kendrick Adams.

We’ll find out awful quickly just how good the Tigers really are when they take on No. 3  Oregon on opening weekend at Cowboys Stadium and then follow up that game with two tough road tests at Mississippi State and West Virginia.

If Les Miles’ boys can put a hurting on the Ducks and survive the September trips to Starkville and Morgantown, it should put them in great position to make a run at not just an SEC championship, but a national title as well.

2. Mississippi State Bulldogs

Forget about which team is ranked highest in the pecking order right now, because it’s irrelevant.

Mississippi State may only be slotted at No. 20 going into the season but the Bulldogs have a great opportunity to make a major push up the polls.

Through the first two years of the Dan Mullen era, we’ve seen the coach take one of the SEC’s least desirable horses and turn it into a competitive thoroughbred much quicker than anyone expected.

Mullen led the Bulldogs to a 9-4 campaign last season, culminating in a 52-14 dismantling of Michigan in the Gator Bowl. 

Now it’s time to see if Mullen and his Bulldogs can capitalize on their early success and step up to compete for a conference championship.

Back to run Mullen’s spread offensive attack is QB Chris Relf, who has the potential to become one of the conference’s breakout stars this season.

Relf may not be the next Tim Tebow, but his arm and athleticism make him a truly versatile weapon who fits in perfectly with Mullen’s system.

The senior signal caller will again be joined in the backfield by Vick Ballard, a junior college transfer who broke onto the scene and busted up defenses in 2010, rushing for nearly 1,000 yards in his first season of major college ball.

The Relf-Ballard backfield tag team is one of the strongest in the SEC and it’s one that Mullen could potentially ride to the top of the SEC West.

If the defense can bend but not break, this Mississippi State team has the opportunity to do some real damage in the SEC this season.

Mullen is one of the brightest young coaches in the game and he could have the Bulldogs in position to make a major move and become a true contender in the SEC race this year.

3. Alabama Crimson Tide

It’s rare that you see a team get better after losing a quarterback who finished his career with a 23-3 overall record, a Heisman-winning running back and a top-10 draft pick wide receiver.

Then again, most college teams don’t have a defense that’s the equivalent of an NFL JV team.

Yes, QB Greg McElroy, RB Mark Ingram and WR Julio Jones will all be missed, but remember, this is Alabama; there’s enough talent stockpiled to reload on a yearly basis.

RB Trent Richardson has already proven he's got the goods and he should be a more than capable replacement for Ingram.

Receivers Marquis Maze and Darius Hanks should be able to team up and match Jones’ 2010 output.

It’s at quarterback where there’s still some uncertainty, though.

The battle between sophomore A.J. McCarron and redshirt freshman Phillip Sims has yet to be settled, even though McCarron is expected to ultimately take the job.

With Richardson running behind one of the best offensive lines in the country, led by All-American guard Barrett Jones, Alabama’s rushing attack should be one of the most potent in the SEC. But you have to wonder if the passing game will be up to snuff.

The offense will do enough to win games, but it’s going to be up to the ultra-talented defense to carry this team.

With the best linebacker corps in the country, a secondary that features three future pros and a disruptive force up front in DT Josh Chapman, there’s no doubt that this Alabama defense is capable of shutting down every opposing offense it battles with in 2011.

Nine starters return from a unit that was one of the most inexperienced in the country in 2010, yet still finished ranked fifth in the country in total defense

Safety Mark Barron and linebackers Dont’a Hightower and Courtney Upshaw will once again be the leaders for the Tide, but guys like Robert Lester, Nico Johnson, Dre Kirkpatrick and C.J. Mosley all look like they're ready to have huge seasons as well.

Nick Saban has done a masterful job producing a top five defense in each of the last three seasons, and all indications point to similar results in 2011.

You have to wonder, though, if either McCarron or Sims have what it takes to come into the hostile West division and handle all the pressure that will immediately be thrust onto their shoulders.

The defense will certainly be stellar but I personally still have my reservations and concerns about the stability at the quarterback position.

4. Arkansas Razorbacks

Super-strong-armed QB Ryan Mallett may be off to the NFL but that doesn’t mean all hope is lost down in Fayetteville.

Coach Bobby Petrino is hard at work trying to mold his latest quarterback pupil, Tyler Wilson, into his next star gunslinger.

We all got the chance to witness Wilson’s ability in some mop-up work for Mallett last year, and it became quite evident that there wasn’t that big of a drop off between the two.

Luckily for Wilson, he’ll have one of the best sets of skill position players in all of college football surrounding him this season.

RB Knile Davis, the leading returning rusher in the SEC, is the total package who possesses a rare combination of speed and power.

Wilson will also have one of the best receiving corps in the country, led by future pros Greg Childs, Joe Adams and Jarius Wright.

The problem for the junior quarterback is that he won’t have much of an offensive line to keep him protected.

While Arkansas may lack the experienced hogs in the offensive trenches, the Razorbacks are certainly fully stocked on the defensive side of the line with preseason All-SEC pick DE Jake Bequette, fellow imposing end Tank Wright and tackles Bryan and DeQuinta Jones.

Bequette won’t be the only star on defense.

LB Jerry Franklin, an accomplished and proven senior, will really be the one who makes the Arkansas defense tick.

Bequette and Franklin will both be suiting up on Sundays next year.

The bottom line is that if Arkansas really wants to contend in the West this season, the Razorbacks will need four things.

They’ll need Wilson to pick up the offense right from the get go.

They’ll need Knile Davis to produce at a similar rate as last year.  

They’ll need the offensive line to gel quickly and at the very least, keep Wilson on his feet.

And most importantly, they’ll need the defense to come up big in big spots.

If they can get all of that, the Razorbacks could certainly make a run at the West division title.

5. Auburn Tigers

If we learned anything from the struggles of the Florida Gators last season, it’s that replacing a star centerpiece quarterback is never easy.

Last year, we saw the Gators flounder on offense without Tim Tebow running the show and you have to wonder if Auburn will endure a similar fate in 2011 now that Cam Newton is playing in the NFL.

The Auburn offense, which loses seven starters besides Newton, will have to find a way to replace its top two receivers and four starting offensive linemen from last year’s national championship team.

Luckily for the Tigers, they’ll be able to rely on one of the top running back duos in the country.

Michael Dyer and Onterio McCalebb combined to rush for over 1,900 yards and 14 TDs in 2010, but this year, they’ll be asked to produce even more if the Tigers have any hopes of competing with the other top teams in the SEC.

On defense, the early departure of havoc-wreaking defensive tackle Nick Fairley, the team’s top defensive player last year, will hurt, as will the loss of six of the top seven tacklers.

Losing both Newton and Fairley, arguably the two biggest impact players in the conference last season, are major blows that won’t be easy to recover from.

Coach Gene Chizik has recruited well since his arrival, so there’s enough talent waiting in the wings, but with so much inexperience across the board, a substantial regression is to be expected after last season’s undefeated title campaign.

Auburn could struggle to get to eight wins this year.

6. Ole Miss Rebels

The short-lived Jeremiah Masoli era at Mississippi turned out to be a huge disappointment.

After consecutive nine-win seasons, the Rebels stumbled out of the gate, losing to FCS school Jacksonville State at home in the season opener, and they never recovered after that, finishing the season at 4-8.

With an offense that returns nine starters, including one of the best senior running backs in the country, Brandon Bolden, coach Houston Nutt may be able to lead his Ole Miss team back into bowl contention, but it’s hard to see this squad making a major turnaround in 2011.

From a talent standpoint, the Rebels are a notch below every other team in the division.

The defense, which has to replace seven starters and four of its top five tacklers from a year ago, could struggle to keep up with the competition.

Athletic West Virginia transfer Barry Brunetti currently leads the quarterback competition, which also includes heralded JUCO recruits Randall Mackey and Zack Stoudt.

Brunetti, one of the top quarterback prospects of the 2010 recruiting class, has intriguing potential and if he picks up the offense quick enough, he should be able to put together a solid first season as a starter.

Still, it won’t change the fact that Mississippi just doesn’t have the type of pieces to keep up this year.

Bolden and his speedy backfield mate Jeff Scott should be able to put together a solid ground game, running behind a big, experienced and talented offensive line. However, it remains to be seen how well Brunetti can perform in just his first year in Oxford.

If he can play better than Masoli did last year, which honestly shouldn't be that hard, the Rebels might have a shot at bowl eligibility.