2011 College Football: Predicting the Unpredictable, the SEC Champions

The SEC is deeply filled with future NFL talent and always has surprises in store for conference play. That’s why it’s extremely difficult to even attempt predicting what’s going to happen over the course of this college football season, but being the idiot I am, I’m going to try.

First off, let me eliminate some teams from the fold and cut off some loose ends by saying Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Ole Miss all have great players on their squads but won’t be able to contend for the East or West title.

Now that leaves us with nine teams that could very well win their respected divisions and play in Atlanta for the SEC title. As good as Tennessee and freshman quarterback Tyler Bray looked at the end of last year, they will not win the SEC East, and Auburn will not be able to get over the absence of Cam Newton and Nick Fairley in the SEC West.

And as big of a fan I am of Dan Mullen and all the talent he has returning in Starkville, Mississippi State will contend but fall short of representing the SEC in the Georgia Dome. That narrows it down to six teams, and these are the reasons each team will and won’t win the SEC this year.

Alabama

Why they will: Let’s face it, Alabama is loaded this year. Their back seven on defense and hog-mollies upfront on offense are vicious.

The Tide will have the best secondary in college football, and the best offensive line in the SEC. Senior safety Mark Barron, junior cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick, junior safety Robert Lester, senior linebacker Courtney Upshaw, and junior linebacker Dont’a Hightower will give offensive coordinators fits.

As for the offense, senior center William Vlachos and junior right guard Barrett Jones will create plenty of holes for junior running back Trent Richardson. Jones is the best offensive lineman in the SEC, and the Tide is also returning a lot of playmakers on the outside as well.

Why they won’t: I feel like Greg McElroy was extremely underrated at Alabama. He was a smart player who managed the game well and made big-time throws when called upon.The Tide will definitely miss him this year, and replacing a player like that will be difficult.

Arkansas

Why they will: This is without a doubt the most explosive offense in the SEC. The Razorbacks have the best wide receiving core in the nation. From senior Greg Childs to senior Joe Adams to senior Jarius Wright to junior Cobi Hamilton, they’ll lead a very talented offense that has one of the best running backs in the SEC in junior Knile Davis.

Expectations are high for junior quarterback Tyler Wilson, and he got some valuable experience last year after coming in against Auburn and playing well. Not only is this a great offense, but this will be Bobby Petrino’s best defense he’s had at Arkansas. Those Hogs will have something cooking this season.

Why they won’t: While they’re the best defense Petrino has had in Fayetteville, they’re still the weakness of the team. I look at this team like I did the 2009 New Orleans Saints.

The team has to be explosive on offense and opportunistic on defense. If this team can create turnovers then the Hogs could be shouting “Pig Sooie” all the way to the national championship game, but if they fail to do so, they’ll just be another team in a loaded SEC West.

Florida

Why they will: I really, really like this coaching staff. First year head coach Will Muschamp is a great defensive coach, and I believe he did the right thing in hiring Charlie Weis to run his offense.

LIke all Florida teams, this team has the talent, and I believe senior quarterback John Brantley will benefit well from having Weis calling a more conventional offense. Look for Brantley to hook up with fellow senior Deonte Thompson on many occasions come September.

Why they won’t: This offseason just hasn’t helped the Gators chances in the least. They lost their best player in cornerback Janoris Jenkins when he was dismissed from the team, suffered injuries on the offensive line and Jeff Demps is currently in Italy with the U.S. track team. It’s just too many obstacles that Muschamp has to overcome in his first year.

Georgia

Why they will: In a league that’s dominated by great running backs and wide receivers and lacks in the quarterback department, Georgia has the best quarterback the SEC has to offer in sophomore Aaron Murray.

The Bulldogs have the talent to contend for the SEC East with guys like junior Bacarri Rambo and senior Brandon Boykin holding down the secondary of a hungry defense. The Bulldogs will rely heavily on the talents of Murray, and he’s capable of getting the Bulldogs back to being dominant again.

Why they won’t:  There’s no more A.J. Green or Kris Dunham, so young wide receivers will have to step up. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the Bulldogs lost running backs Washuan Ealey  and Caleb King this offseason.

Georgia will be lacking in depth at the running back position, so they’re going to rely even more heavily on the true freshman running back Isaiah Crowell.

LSU

Why they will:  I firmly believe that even with the departure of Patrick Peterson, this LSU secondary is the second best in the nation, behind Alabama. Remember the names of junior cornerback Mo Claiborne, sophomore cornerback Tyrann Mathieu, sophomore safety Eric Reid and sophomore cornerback Tharold Simon because they are the real deal.

The team has most of its starters back, including their entire offensive line. LSU has loads of talent on both sides of the ball and a speedy defense. If they can put it together, they can have another championship celebration in New Orleans come 2012.

Why they won’t:  There are two reasons the Tigers could fall short of winning an SEC championship: senior Jordan Jefferson is their quarterback and the schedule is brutal.

The Tigers did win in spite of their inconsistent quarterback play last year, but they also had a few balls bounce their way in close games (Florida). The bottom line is this team has all the talent in the world to have a magical season, but Jefferson will have to improve tremendously.

South Carolina

Why they will: This team has three superstars that I think are the best in the SEC at their positions.

Junior wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, sophomore running back Marcus Lattimore and junior cornerback Stephon Gilmore are amazing football players that can lead South Carolina to places they’ve never been before. Heck, they did last year.

Not to mention this team has the best defensive line in the SEC this year, with the number one prospect, true freshman Jadeveon Clowney,  joining the likes of senior Melvin Ingram, junior Devin Taylor and senior Travian Robertson.

Some people might disagree with my comment earlier about Lattimore being the best running back in the league, but I think senior Kentucky linebacker Danny Trevathan said it best when he told me, “(Lattimore) was born to play football, he’s a monster.”

Why they won’t:  You have to love head coach Steve Spurrier, and you have to feel sorry for him for having to put up with senior quarterback Stephen Garcia’s antics these past couple of years.

Has Garcia really changed? Will he stay focused and lead this team to a national championship? These are big-time questions that have the South Carolina Gamecock faithful nervous.

Winner: LSU

Given the fact that the media picked Alabama to win it all and the media is always wrong, I’m going to pick LSU. LSU has just as much talent as Alabama does and has experience at quarterback even though it is Jefferson.

Jefferson improves and does just enough to beat South Carolina in the SEC Championship game to play in New Orleans. The last two times the national championship was played in New Orleans, LSU won the BCS National Championship. The streak continues this year.