Game of the Year
Florida vs. Georgia, Oct. 30 ? the Florida ? Alabama game on October 2nd will be the biggest SEC regular season game of the year on a national scale, but it really might not mean that much. If both the Gators and the Tide finish the regular season with just one loss, or the winner is unbeaten, they?ll play again in the SEC Championship and the winner will probably end up in Glendale. However, the winner of the Florida ? Georgia battle will almost certainly represent the East in the SEC title game considering Tennessee is down, Kentucky and Vanderbilt aren?t going to challenge, and South Carolina is merely decent. The winner of the former Cocktail Party, if everything else goes to form, could be one step away from playing for the whole ball of wax.
5 Big-Time Players Who Deserve a Bigger Spotlight
1. OLB/DE Justin Houston, Jr. Georgia
2. CB Patrick Peterson, Jr. LSU
3. LB Chris Marve, Jr. Vanderbilt
4. WR Darvin Adams, Jr. Auburn
5. LB K.J. Wright, Sr. Miss State
Coach on the Hot Seat
Les Miles, LSU ? Georgia?s Mark Richt probably can?t afford another 8-5 year, and he certainly can?t afford another blowout loss to Florida (losing the last two years by a combined score of 90 to 27), but Miles is in a stickier situation. The guy has a national title, and it could be argued that he did a decent job getting nine wins (with the four losses to Florida, at Alabama, at Ole Miss, and Penn State) out of a team that looked like Tarzan and played like Jane, but with nine losses in the two seasons since winning the BCS Championship, there?s a sense that things are slipping. Alabama has reemerged as the cream of the SEC crop, Arkansas is getting better, Auburn is lurking, and Ole Miss appears to have staying power. Miles is still bringing in the talent, and it?s not like a losing season is around the corner, but he could desperately use a ten-win campaign with a victory over an Alabama on November 6th and/or a win over Florida on October 9th to show that his team is still damn strong.
5 Non-Conference Games the SEC had better take very, very seriously
1. Georgia at Colorado, Oct. 2
2. Mississippi State at Houston, Oct. 9
3. Fresno State at Ole Miss, Sept. 25
4. Southern Miss at South Carolina, Sept. 2
5. South Florida at Florida, Sept. 11
Bold Predictions ? The SEC will have 11 bowl eligible teams, but the champion will have two losses. ? At least three SEC schools will have a different head coach next year at this time. ? At least two SEC schools will be on probation next year at this time, and, considering it?s already on double secret probation for past sins, Alabama will be in Reggie-Bush-USC-like trouble if the Marcell Dareus stuff is true. ? Dareus will bring the Bama program more NCAA sanctions, and then he?ll be an NFL millionaire. ? Auburn?s Cameron Newton will be the hot player going into the 2011 season. ? CFN will receive a bazillion e-mails about how we don?t have do-it-all Auburn playmaker Mario Fannin among out SEC Top 30 players, they?ll all be correct, I?ll respond to all of them by saying, ?But who do you take out??, and then he?ll be ranked 14th in the season-ending ranking. ? Ole Miss QB Jeremiah Masoli will battle Arkansas? Ryan Mallett for First Team All-SEC honors. ? Tennessee will have a disastrous first two months and will go unbeaten in November. ? Florida won?t use the spread for the ground game as much as Urban Meyer is letting on. ?
5 Best Pro Prospects
1. CB Patrick Peterson, Jr. LSU
2. WR Julio Jones, Jr. Alabama
3. QB Ryan Mallett, Jr. Arkansas
4. RB Mark Ingram, Jr. Alabama
5. DT Jerrell Powe, Sr. Ole Miss
5 Biggest Shoes to Fill
1. QB John Brantley for Tim Tebow, Florida
2. S Rod Wilks for Eric Berry, Tennessee
3. LB Don?t?a Hightower for Rolando McClain, Alabama
4. CB Moses Jenkins for Joe Haden, Florida
5. LB Cornelius Washington for Rennie Curran, Georgia
Cont'd ...
