How the SEC West Will Get Its Groove Back This Spring
In late October, the SEC West was high atop its catbird seat with three teams in the inaugural College Football Playoff top four.
In other words, "business as usual."
Then reality set in, the division went 2-5 during bowl season, and Alabama was bounced in the Allstate Sugar Bowl national semifinal by eventual national champion Ohio State.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
| Alabama | Ohio State | Allstate Sugar Bowl | 42-35 (L) |
| Mississippi State | Georgia Tech | Capital One Orange Bowl | 49-34 (L) |
| Ole Miss | TCU | Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl | 42-3 (L) |
| Auburn | Wisconsin | Outback Bowl | 34-31 (L) |
| LSU | Notre Dame | Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl | 31-28 (L) |
| Texas A&M | West Virginia | AutoZone Liberty Bowl | 45-37 (W) |
| Arkansas | Texas | AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl | 31-7 (W) |
The SEC West is still the toughest division in college football based on parity and overall talent, as Cole Cubelic of WUMP 730 in Huntsville and the SEC Network told Bleacher Report.
"Name another division in college football where every team has an argument that they could win the division," he said.
That gap between it and the rest of the college football world has shrunk tremendously, as other high-profile programs have followed its lead and poured resources into important aspects of the program such as assistant coaching salaries, facilities and recruiting budgets.
Top to bottom, the SEC West is strong, but there are problems at the top that must be addressed in 2015.
How will the SEC West get its groove back in 2015?
Reality Check
What brought the SEC West down in 2014? What seemed like glitches in several systems before the season turned into lingering problems by the time the postseason rolled around.
Alabama's issues in the defensive backfield weren't fixed despite Cyrus Jones' improvement from Game 1 through the Sugar Bowl, Auburn and Texas A&M failed to find any semblance of consistency on the defensive side of the ball, and LSU couldn't find a quarterback who could provide enough of a threat to keep the pressure off Leonard Fournette and the rest of the talented Tigers running backs.
These aren't exceptions to the rule that used to state that the West is infallible; these are lingering issues that must be addressed.
The coaching staffs for those schools know that now.
That's not to say complacency has set in, but simply being "bigger, faster and stronger" won't cut it anymore, which puts more pressure on coaching staffs and players to fix those problems.
LSU can't have a caretaker at quarterback and expect to win football games. Auburn and Texas A&M can't rely on their offenses to simply outscore the opposition on a consistent basis. Alabama can't mask its secondary issues with a physical front seven that needs to find a way to generate consistent pressure in order for the defense to be successful.
The good news is that, for the most part, those issues are beginning to be addressed.
Texas A&M and Auburn hired John Chavis and Will Muschamp, respectively, to turn their defenses around. Defense doesn't win championships anymore—"just enough" does, and those two coaches are well-respected and have the talent on their rosters to find "just enough," considering the bar isn't too high thanks to the offenses in College Station and on the Plains.
Alabama will bring in several defensive backs, including 5-star corners Kendall Sheffield and Minkah Fitzpatrick, this summer to add more options to a cornerback battle that includes Eddie Jackson, Bradley Sylve, Tony Brown, Marlon Humphrey and a host of other defensive backs with potential.
Who will step up alongside Jones? And will newcomers have a legitimate shot at earning a starting spot?
On top of new personnel on the field, new defensive backs coach Mel Tucker will focus specifically on Alabama's biggest defensive concern, taking some pressure off defensive coordinator Kirby Smart and head coach Nick Saban—who had been more hands-on with the defensive backs in years past.
At LSU, instead of replicating last year's offensive scheme, which was, for the most part, "run, run, run and take the top off," offensive coordinator Cam Cameron is focusing more on balance within the passing game.
"We still want to attack people vertically, obviously that's one of our strengths," Cameron told NOLA.com's Ron Higgins. "But if you say you want to throw a higher percentage of completions, you're going to have to get easier throws for your quarterbacks."
Last season was a reality check for the SEC West's most talented teams, and across the board, they've made changes to correct those lingering issues that need to become apparent during spring practice.
Stars Step Up
Across the board in the SEC, there are budding stars who are just now getting their chances to truly shine.
At Auburn, quarterback Jeremy Johnson waited patiently behind Nick Marshall to become Auburn's true starting quarterback. Once he earns the keys to the college football version of a Ferrari (Auburn's offense) this spring, he needs to become the difference-maker that he looked like he could become when he set the world on fire in the first half of Auburn's 2014 season opener versus Arkansas.
On Muschamp's side of the ball, defensive end Carl Lawson needs to become the focal point after missing all of last season with an ACL injury. If he can generate the pass rush Auburn has sorely missed, it will make everybody's job much easier.
"Muschamp needs [Lawson] to affect the pocket to help that secondary," said Cubelic. "If he is forced to overcommit to pressure, you will see similar results as last year."
Former Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper was the MVP of college football last year because, without him, Alabama wouldn't have sniffed the SEC title. He helped quarterback Blake Sims evolve into a winner and helped Lane Kiffin adjust to life as Saban's offensive coordinator.
Who's going to be the guy this year who is the centerpiece of the Kiffin offense? There are plenty of options at both wide receiver and running back to choose from. Whether it's monster tailback Derrick Henry, wide receiver Chris Black or Robert Foster, or the ultra-versatile Kenyan Drake, a "go-to" star has to emerge to help ease the transition for the eventual winner of the quarterback battle.
At up-and-coming schools, established stars need to handle the pressure that the brighter spotlight brings with it. That means Ole Miss defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche needs to be a disruptive force inside despite what's sure to be added pressure; Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott needs to take the next step despite the absence of running mate Josh Robinson and several pieces along his offensive line; Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen needs to be more of a threat to take some pressure off his talented stable of running backs.
If the SEC West is going to reverse things and widen the gap between itself and the rest of college football, its new stars need to shine this spring, and old stars need to make sure their teams have staying power.
Sense of Urgency
We will know early just how good many of these SEC West teams are, and that could create a sense of urgency this spring that's quite different than previous seasons.
With Alabama facing off against Wisconsin at AT&T Stadium, Auburn playing Louisville in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta and Texas A&M going up against that potent Arizona State offense in Houston in Week 1, the SEC West will be tested early.
How will that new-look Alabama offense look? Will Johnson shine against that vaunted Louisville defense? How will Chavis handle Todd Graham's Sun Devils? Those questions will be a little more pressing this spring after the failures of last season.
More importantly, though, it will signal whether or not last season's mediocre bowl season for the SEC West was an aberration or the start of a trend.
A solid opening weekend will erase the horrors of the holiday season in college football's most grueling division, but the reverse could signal that the race has hit high gear, and the glory days might be long gone.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on Sirius 93, XM 208.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of CFBStats.com unless otherwise noted, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports' composite rankings. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
