SEC Unit Rankings: Comparing Athlon & Lindy's

One of my favorite ways to kill time in the final weeks before football season is to dive into the multitude of preseason publications out there and see if I can learn something new or find that extra piece of information to help carry an argument.  While we've all got our own passionate opinions across the SEC landscape, sometimes it's good to hear from an objective source like these magazines to get a better feel for where your team really stands coming into the season.

So while thumbing first through Lindy's, and then Athlon, I came across their respective SEC Unit Rankings, which rank each of the 12 teams from top to bottom at each position (quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers & tight ends, offensive line, defensive line, linebackers, secondary, and Lindy's ranks special teams) There are rankings for all the conferences in Athlon and the BCS conferences in Lindy's.

Here's a comparison of the two unit rankings:

So, just for fun, I thought I'd add up all the rankings for each team in the respective magazines, just to try and get a sense of how each team would stack up, top to bottom, on the whole.

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The results were quite unexpected:

Tennessee - who didn't rank atop any of the individual unit rankings - had the best combined score when they were all put together in both Athlon and Lindy's. 

Does this mean the Vols are the best team in the SEC?  Not necessarily, as any preseason Top 25 will attest.  However, it would suggest that - at least according to these numbers - even though the Vols have no positions of total dominance, they also lack any glaring weaknesses.

As a Tennessee fan myself - and remember, these are Athlon & Lindy's numbers, not mine - I find hope in these numbers.  And sure, they don't really mean anything...but the idea that the Vols may not have any superstars, but are capable at every position, gives me a greater sense of anticipation for 2008.