Pretenders In The South Eastern Conference

Coming to the conclusion that blinders are still on many of the all knowing pundits, this article is necessary. The polls and picks for the South Eastern Conference this year defy all logic. Reading the drivel and hype is enough to make a football fan quit believing in sanity. It is quite alright for a fan to make a ludicrous comment on their team. Fans are supposed to be loyal beyond all logic. Pundits and Writers are supposed to have some logic behind their predictions. One would assume the pundits and writers we trust to bring us true and accurate information would be well informed and educated. It is assumed they look past their emotions and make a calculated assessment based on the evidence available. This article will explore some of these assessments.

South Carolina

South Carolina has been picked as an up and coming dark horse in the SEC Eastern Division. What would make the writers and pundits come to this conclusion? Maybe it was their stellar conference record last season. They beat Arkansas, Tennessee, Old Miss and Kentucky. Of course all of these were middle to bottom of the pack teams last season. Old Miss and Kentucky attended minor bowls. They were blown out early three times against Clemson, Florida and Iowa. They blew out N.C. State. They lost much of their defense, which was the strong point of the team. Somewhere in these facts is some tidbit of knowledge that makes many writers and pundits think this could be South Carolina's year. 

Old Mississippi

Old Miss has actually been picked by most writers and pundits to win the SEC Western Division over last years winner Alabama and LSU that won the BCS in 1997. What are the facts that would lead them to believe this of the Rebels? They did win 9 games last season and beat the eventual National Champion Florida Gators early in the season. They lost to Wake Forrest, Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Alabama last season. Alabama was ranked higher in the polls both before during and after the season. Old Miss lost their best offensive and defensive line players and replaced them with average recruits. Alabama lost their best offensive line players and quarterback and replaced them with highly rated recruits. Old Miss is ranked higher than Ohio State a team that by all measures has more talent and a better record by far over the last few years. Alabama and LSU recruited a top 5 recruiting class and Old Miss was 18. This was a considerable improvement for Old Miss, but was a common year for both division opponents. In Fact Arkansas, Auburn, Alabama, LSU have all out recruited Old Miss over the last four years. Even with all these facts and a poor opening day performance Old Miss is still listed as a top ten team and the favorite to win the SEC West by many writers and pundits. 

While both of these teams seem to be on a level with last season, every team in their perspective divisions seems to have improved substantially. Tennessee, Kentucky and Vanderbilt all looked better opening day than did South Carolina. Georgia and Florida are annual contenders for the SEC Eastern Division. South Carolina Plays Georgia this weekend. This should confirm or deny the logic of the writers and pundits trust of South Carolina. Old Miss is idle this week and has a cup cake game next week. They then play South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Alabama all teams that beat them last season. This should be a vote up or down on the improvement of Old Miss.