SEC 2022 Preview

Normally during the pre-season, I – like many other college football writers – tend to put myself out there like a 19 year-old horny co-ed after a skinful of cheap booze looking for a one-night partner in an effort to get clicks and joy by putting out 14 SEC previews.

My biggest problem this year – and particularly this year – is that the SEC West and SEC East are foregone conclusions. Alabama and Georgia will meet in the SEC Championship Game. Both will be unbeaten (and pretty much untested (we see Texas A&M as the only team that will give the Tide a hard time this year), and both will go to the College Football Play-Off regardless.

Honestly, it’s difficult for any college football fan to get excited about, unless you’re an Alabama and Georgia fan.

So that’s why we’re going with a litany of questions for teams rather than 14 long, fairly uninteresting diatribes taking out everything you really knew. Oh, we will be doing record predictions at the end of the piece, because just because.

1.  Will the Brian Harsin frenzy ever end? Brian Harsin managed to overcome a coup last year, but that’s not to say he won’t this time around. Even in the land of cults, Auburn’s just below Texas A&M for its frenzied fanbase (even though the Tigers have had far more success at winning titles), and that’s not always a good thing. A lot of people are saying that an Auburn loss to Penn State this year will almost certainly push him out, but will an Auburn win over an unranked and not particularly good Penn State team be celebrated? The only thing Harsin can do to preserve his job is to win 2 out of Alabama, LSU, Texas A&M and Georgia. And if Auburn loses to Missouri, all hell will break loose. Tank Bigsby‘s one of the best running backs that Auburn’s ever seen, but the loss of Bo Nix to transfer will be felt On The Plains. Zach Calzada isn’t as funner replacement.
2. How will LSU get along? First of all, Brian Kelly committed one of the biggest atrocities in the college football offseason by trying a Southern accent. But also, the Tigers have a 2-way quarterback battle on its hands with Jaylen Daniels, and Garrett Nussmeier. The oft-injured Myles Brennan has now retired. Daniels has an incredible talent in Kayshon Boutte (even if he was hurt last year) to throw to – the same way as he had N’Keal Harry to throw to at Arizona State. The problem with Daniels is that while some of his throws were incredible, some were utterly brainless. That’s why he had a 10-10 Pass/INT rate – a huge fall from his first three years. LSU will have to sort it out on the lines, but the secondary should be fine for Kelly. Also, there’s enough speed all over the field to help things along. Defensively, Kelly will have to teach application, application, application. Honestly, we can call Kelly’s first year a wash, and so the LSU fans shouldn’t be exasperated if the team goes to a ‘lower’ bowl game.
3. Will the Billy Napier ‘slow with your expectations’ approach bear fruit? The best thing Billy Napier has done this season is keep the Gators out of the parapet. The best bit of PR was QB Anthony Richardson’s decision to take away the ‘AR-15’ nickname from himself, and land himself 14 four-star commits. We’re not sure about how UF’s going to work. Will Richardson take over and be the exceptional player people were promised when he comes in? Will Justin Shorter catch balls thrown at him (he hasn’t been very good at that for the Gators)? Will Florida be more about a punishing ground game than the Mullen years? The year’s not going to be helped by a visit by Utah, who are Pac-12 Champs and a lot better than y’all give them credit for. But beat LSU and Florida State and push Georgia close, and Napier will be golden.
4.  It’s Rolling Tide Roll: Nick Saban made the offseason remotely interesting (prior to USC and UCLA moving to the B1G, which made the offseason far more interesting) by grumping over NIL and then clashing with Jimbo Fisher, but quite honestly, Saban doesn’t have a lot to gripe about. He’s the best recruiter in the land, has sent millions of players in the NFL, and has won a bunch of Natties to go with it. This season his side returns talent upon talent upon talent upon talent, because those players who considered themselves not to be first round picks NOW, want to play and win a Natty this year so they can go and be first round picks in 2022 (honestly, the 2021 Alabama team was a lot more flawed than Georgia, and it showed). They added Georgia Tech running back phenom Jahmyr Gibbs (nearly 2,000 yards in 2 seasons in Atlanta), former Georgia WR Jermaine Burton (497 yards in 2021, 401 yards in 2020) and CB Eli Ricks. Oh, and the best player in college football Will Anderson Jr – who should be in New York in December as a Heisman Trophy finalist (where he will no doubt get d**ked by a QB) – plays for them, as well as current Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young (although Anderson deserved it). Burton and new arrival Tyler Harrell from Louisville (over 500 yards receiving) will cause some problems, there are still questions at that position now WRs Jameson Williams and John Metchie have gone.
5.  HOW ABOUT THEM DAWGS? No really, how about them Dawgs? The NFL Draft decimated the 2022 National Champions’ defense (5 first rounders, 8 total), and only three are going to return this season. That’s an awfully low number – even if you’re a super-talented unit. The group will be led by DT Jalen Carter, who had 37 tackles, 8.5 TFLs and 3 sacks. We trust Will Muschamp far more as a Defensive Coordinator than we ever did as a head coach, and his partnership with LB coach Glenn Schumann should make sure the apples don’t fall too far from the tree. On the other side of the ball, we had little trust in Stetson Bennett last year, but boy, did he prove us wrong. While people will talk about how UGA will miss George Pickens, let’s not forget that he wasn’t there all season either. Bennett has the best offensive player in college football in Brock Bowers to throw to, as well as Ladd McConkey, WR Adonai Mitchell and speedster Keiris Jackson (and Dominik Blaylock, if he can stay healthy). The offense may be even better than last year passing-wise. Rushing-wise, Kendall Milton and Kenny McIntosh will be fun to watch, too. They are also helped by a weak-ass SEC East and a laughable non-conference schedule.
7.  What’s the most interesting transfer? A lot of SEC fans will yell at you about the Gibbs, UGA fans will be talking up Arik Gilbert, and there’s former Virginia Tech highlight reel Tavion Robinson to Kentucky. Texas A&M will tell you that Max Johnson was great but misunderstood at LSU (Clue: He wasn’t and made some boneheaded plays) and Zach Calzada will give Auburn fans hope (Clue: He wasn’t great at Missouri), but for us it’s Spencer Rattler (Oklahoma to South Carolina) and Jaxson Dart For us, Rattler’s the ‘X’ factor because he’s got all the talent in the world with his arm, but can’t throw off his back foot (see the Red River game last year) and tries to play ‘hero ball’ instead of simply throwing the ball away. If he can get his head into gear and play safe, then one of the most-preseason-touted players in South Carolina history could surprise a lot of people – and even make Georgia fans a little nervous. But watch out for Arkansas’ Jadon Hazelwood, who never hit the tops of his talent at Oklahoma, because of injuries and being No.3 behind Marvin Mims and Mike Woods in 2021. He’ll be WR1 at Arkansas and if KJ Jefferson’s on his game, then woooo…..piiiiig…..sooooieeeeee.
8.  Ole Mississippi or State Mississippi? Jaxson Dart came to Oxford from Austin on the proviso that he’ll simply fit into QB whisperer Lane Kiffin’s plans, earn the starting job, and continue to make Ole Miss entertaining. However, Luke Altmeyer – who impressed last season despite not having a lot of time playing – might have something to say about it. Another thrilling aspect of Ole Miss – apart from the excellent tailgate parties where you can score free booze from the posh people at The Grove and some cocaine at the frat parties – is the fact that Kiffin has brought in ultra-talented RBs Zach Evans from TCU. Evans was one of the biggest recruits in the country, but failed to get into Georgia because his grades out of high school were terrible. On the other side of the State (sorry for the bad geography, but I’m being poetic!), Will Rogers is a fantastic QB, and last year rolled in a very, very fun offense, led by talented RB (and WR) Jo’Quavious Marks. Mississippi State will be hoping the defense can hold up OK.
9.  You gotta talk about Jimbo, right? OK, so let’s be blunt about it: Jimbo Fisher coached a good QB since Jameis Winston. Can he recruit though? Heck yes. Frosh Connor Weighman was the 2nd highest-rated QB in the country coming into College Station, with the speed and arm that will light up defenses. In our view, he should win the job over Max Johnson, who was a middling QB in crappy offense. Both QBs will have an excellent WR in Ainias Smith, who’s not going to be in Jimbo’s doghouse after getting arrested for guns and weed, because that’s Jimbo. The most fun we’re going to have with this season is when Miami arrive on September 17th (we can always smell the grease from Miami fans’ hair from here), and their visit to Alabama on October 8th. This year, though, there will be a lot of excitement around frosh WR Evan Stewart, DT Walter Nolan, and RB Devon Achane, who led the SEC in rushing yards per attempt and was fifth nationally in that category. But at what point will A&M fans get bored of not going to the Promised Land? For A&M, it’s not an ‘all-or-nothing’ year. Alabama’s expected to run the table and probably will. Next year, however, Aggies will be expecting a return to some sort of the aforementioned Promised Land, be it the SEC Championship Game or the Play-Off. They had the No.1 recruiting class in 2021 and have already recruited filthily in 2022, thanks to NIL and Jimbo’s talent at getting recruits – especially the ones in-state – to College Station.
10.  Will Levis: Heisman Trophy candidate? The first time we saw Will Levis in college, it was at Penn State, and he was used as a short-yardage bulldozer, but didn’t have a great arm. In 2021, he was mediocre in all stats apart from interceptions, where he led the SEC with 13. But because of his size and his ability to zip the ball, he’s suddenly getting comparisons to Josh Allen and there’s talk about him being Top 10 pick next year. Personally, we don’t understand. So, along with the NFL chatter you’ve got to be thinking that he’s in the Heisman conversation, right? Well, if he improves about everything in his passing game and scores a lot more touchdowns on the floor, then maybe…. And while he should be helped by the arrival of Virginia Tech transfer WR Tayvion Robinson, who was a 500-yard receiver in Blacksburg, former four-star Javon Baker from Alabama (he never worked out in Tuscaloosa), as well as returning WR DeMarcus Harris. Levis should be further helped by Chris Rodriguez (when he comes back from suspension after his DUI), who is the top returning rusher in the SEC, as well as other quality rushers.
11.  You ready for the Gamecock explosion? With the arrival of one of the biggest transfers on the 2022 board (and former Heisman favorite) Spencer Rattler, there are going to be a ton of eyes on how the Gamecocks – and Rattler – performs this year. ‘QB1’ has to be a lot better throwing the ball away, holding the ball, and not throwing the ball off his back foot. If he couldn’t do it against Texas, then we wonder what will happen against the likes of Georgia and at the end of the season, Clemson. But when he’s on form, Rattler is one of the Top 5 best QBs in the game, and there’s no denying it. He’ll have Josh Vann and Jaheim Bell returning, who were the team’s top receivers in 2021. If the offensive line can improve from its awfulness in 2021, then we could see Shane Beamer’s team spring some surprises. But that’s a big ‘If’.
12.  Is Eli Drinkwitz the next one on the hot seat? Eli Drinkwitz is doubtless a great quote, ranging from barbs at Dan Mullen to his thoughts on SEC Media Days, where he didn’t hold back on the future for most college football players. But while Drinkwitz might be nipping at the heels of Georgia in the SEC East quotes game (it’s not hard bearing in mind the competition), the 11-12 record (8-10 SEC) is hardly something to crow about. If Missouri has an awful season in 2022, there will be discussions to be had in Columbia, you would guess. The biggest thing in Drinkwitz’s arsenal will be freshman WR Luther Burden, who was the best-in-class WR and 3rd nationally in the 2022 class. ‘Coach Drink’ will hope that his QB Brady Cook isn’t as ordinary as now-departed incumbent Connor Bazelak, who was very ordinary last year (2,548 yards, 16 TDs, 11 INTs). There will also be a massive hole in the backfield now that Tyler Badie’s gone to the NFL. Drinkwitz’s has brought in 19 transfers to try and boost the depth of his squad, including experienced DT Jayden Jernigan and Jr LB Tyrone Topper, who had Florida’s fourth-most tackles in 2021.
13.  The Tennessee ‘All Gas’ Volunteers: For the first time in a while in 2021, Tennessee football was actually enjoyable to watch. Josh Heupel’s supercharged offense was No.7 nationally in scoring (39.3 points per game) and 9th total with 474.9 yards per game. Interestingly enough, this offense was more about running, helped by QB Hendon Hooker’s legs and Jabari Small, who was the SEC’s ninth-best RB. But what helped Tennessee so, so much last year was Hooker’s accuracy. ‘The Hook’ was No.1 in pass efficiency, No.2 in pass completion percentage, and 4th in passing yards. He was also responsible for 36 touchdowns (No.2 in the SEC). But although this is exciting football, Heupel’s defense (like every team that Heupel has been part of as a coach) remains worrying. They were 99th in total defense, giving up 421.7 yards per game and 29.1 points per game. Whether the secondary remains easy to throw on (122nd out of 130 in the land) remains in the air, but it can’t really get any worse, can it?
14.  Vandy: Dear Lord. This writer is a New York Yankees fan writing in August, so we know a lot about swoons. But Vanderbilt hasn’t won a SEC game since October 19th, 2019, and that’s one hell of a swoon (they would have also been Conference-winless in a normal 2020 year, honestly). Although the secondary was pretty good (4th in the SEC with 13), and the linebacking corps will be experienced, we’d love to find out from Vanderbilt fans where the joy will be (except maybe the 2-0 start after beating Hawaii and Elon).

PREDICTING THE RECORDS: 

SEC West

Alabama: 13-0 (SEC Champions)

Texas A&M: 11-1

Ole Miss: 8-4

Arkansas: 7-5

LSU: 7-5

Mississippi State: 7-5

Auburn: 6-6

SEC East

Georgia: 12-1 (SEC Championship Runner-Up)

Tennessee: 9-3

Kentucky: 8-4

Florida: 8-4

South Carolina: 5-7

Missouri: 5-7

Vanderbilt: 3-9

PLAYERS TO WATCH AND ADMIRE:

Alabama – Will Anderson

Arkansas – Jadon Hazelwood

Auburn – Tank Bigsby

Florida – Anthony Richardson

Georgia – Brock Bowers

Kentucky – Will Levis

LSU – Kayshon Boutte

Ole Miss – Zach Evans

Mississippi State – Will Rogers

Missouri – Luther Burden

South Carolina – Spencer Rattler

Tennessee – Hendon Hooker

Texas A&M – Connor Weighman (if he starts)

Vanderbilt – Mike Wright

THE SCHEDULE(S)

SEC Non-Conference Games you must see: 

1.  Alabama at Texas (September 10th): Texas has a fun offense, but Will Anderson may eat Quinn Ewers for breakfast. And Alabama’s offense may eat Texas’ defense too. It’s probably not going to be close, but it’ll be fun before the whistle starts.
2.  Penn State at Auburn (September 17th): As much as this is a big-name match-up, both sides are predicted to be pretty shite, which makes this all the more fun. This will rank as one of the year’s best atmospheres, too. Penn State tend to travel well, and Auburn fans are, well, Auburn. There will be much discussion of shitty coaches, too.
3.  Miami at Texas A&M (September 17th): This should be amazing simply because of the undertones. Both teams used NIL to recruit heavily, both teams should be competitive, there’s the Jimbo v Miami factor, and the shock of Texas A&M fans when Miami fans come to town armed with gold chains and Brylcreem should be a sight to see.
4.  Georgia vs Oregon (September 3rd): Words could not describe how much I hate neutral site games, but Dan Lanning’s return to the place where he was a DC with Bo Nix behind center and a defense that won’t have the experience of last year should make this one of the funner games.
5.  Arkansas at BYU (October 15th): Let the jokes about in-breeding begin, folks.

If there’s two SEC in-conference games that you see (and we expect you to see every one), go for Alabama hosting Texas A&M (October 8th). The Jimbo vs Saban chatter will run wild, but there’s also A&M’s young talent and Alabama’s revenge game to think about, too and Georgia’s early trip to South Carolina (September 17th) .