Is SEC Football Getting Boring? Is This Another Same Old Year?

Larry Burton (Panama City, Fl.) While making bold predictions are fun, in all reality, it looks like yet another Alabama-Florida SEC Championship game. Does that run the risk of making the SEC boring?

Does it make the rest of the SEC just a little less exciting?

These are questions that will be easier answered after the season is over. Maybe there will be a little excitement we just don't see coming quite yet. But I don't see it coming.

Mark Richt doesn't have the talent or the drive to overtake Florida this year. He and the dogs seem content to simply have "Winning seasons" and bowl games and some are wondering where the hunger is on this team.

Tennessee is still rebuilding and changing regimes yet again. This is the third coach in three years and that can't translate into a big season in anyone's book.

Kentucky is changing coaches too and losing talent, South Carolina is the place where good coaches go to finally kill their career, and Vandy? Well, they are Vandy.

So the SEC East is almost Florida's by default.

In the SEC West, who can challenge Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide?

LSU is beginning to understand that they are now just a solid team that will never again be in contention with Les Miles at the helm. "Mr. Clock Management" will always lose an important game or two all by himself and there's no place on top for a team like that.

Auburn? Please folks, did you miss the late season melt down? If anyone thinks one recruiting class makes a difference in one year, change your diaper and quit getting fairy tales read to you. While they may be improving, they're not in Alabama's league yet.

Ole Miss? Get real. Can you say underachievers? Houston Nutt will keep them in Bowl games and that's about all. They'll continue to bully out-of-conference foes, but they won't be at the top of the SEC West in your dogs lifetime.

Arkansas? Now they are an up-and-comer, and the fact Bobby Petrino hasn't changed jobs yet may help them, but be a top team week in and week out? Not this year.

And while Dan Mullen's record overshadows the real accomplishments he's made with that team, he still has much work to do before getting them into true contention.

So that leaves Alabama, that bruising defense and pounding offense to claim the West once again. Don't forget that this is the year most experts picked the Tide to be at the top of their game.

So any way you look at it, odds are that we have yet another Alabama-Florida Championship. The only real question, is whether it's getting old to everyone.