Tag: SEC West

SEC Preview: Arkansas, we gotta talk about the pass defense

Talk all you want about how great Arkansas will be with KJ Jefferson coming back for another year, but the fact is this: Unless they get better on pass defense, there are going to be a lot of questions asked about Sam Pittman’s reign. They were WORST in the country by some mile, giving up 294.7 yards per game (second-last East Carolina gave up 292.8) and 8 1/2 yards/attempt. WHO’S IN Helping the pass rush will be one of the best players on Missouri’s defense last year in Trajan Jeffcoat as well as John Morgan, who comes from Pitt. They also added CB Jaheim Singletary from Georgia. He was a former 5-star recruit in the 2022 class, but only appeared

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SEC Preview: Should we continue to get excited about Tennessee?

Tennessee had one hell of a year in 2023. There was two sides. There was the amazing win over Alabama, which will live long into the memory. I think my house is still reverberating from the noise at Neyland, and I live nowhere near the place. The other side was the laughable loss on the road to Georgia and the “What in the hell happened there?” monstrosity that was South Carolina on the road, where Spencer Rattler finally looked like a great quarterback and Tennessee’s defense was actually what we thought it was (ie bad all season long). There is no doubt about it: Weapons have gone from the team, but it’s OK to still believe in the Vols this

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SEC Preview: Is Vanderbilt really going to be fine?

For years on end, Vanderbilt has been the laughing stock of SEC Football. Look, we loved the coaches. James Franklin put the team on the map. Derek Mason brought the energy of a great coach, but wasn’t a great head coach (He’s now working for the SEC Network). And now Clark Lea’s here, who’s on a very long leash, and is willing to take things slowly. At least at Vanderbilt, they know nothing’s a quick fix. Lea went from 2-10 (0-8 SEC) in his first year to 5-7 last year, with a 2-6 record, which included wins over Florida and Kentucky. Anyway, we think that Vanderbilt is going to be just ‘fine’, this year. We haven’t a clue what means,

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SEC Preview: This year doesn’t matter for Mississippi State

This year doesn’t matter if you’re a Mississippi State. At least, it shouldn’t. If the Bulldogs got 4-8 this season and have an 0-for in the SEC, no-one should be worried. After all, Mike Leach is in pirate heaven, and we’re still trying to get over that. WHO’S GONE With the passing away of Leach, the transfers were expected, and it happened. 25 people left Starkville. Some of them – like Mississippi State’s best WR RaRa Thomas – left for Georgia (he was arrested for misdemeanor family battery charge and a felony false imprisonment charge on Monday, January 23, but managed to avoid the courts by striking a deal to have anger management classes). WHO’S IN The Bulldogs brought in former

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SEC Preview: Will Petrino’s arrival propel Texas A&M?

2022 and 2023 were meant to be banner years for Texas A&M. Buoyed by a NIL fund worth hundreds of millions, the Aggies recruited its best class in decades. Then, they fell apart. Half of the that group transferred. A&M lost to Appalachian State and played a lot of football, but should have beaten Alabama and DID beat LSU. Jimbo Fisher exercised some excellent restraint, realizing that things weren’t working with him at the offensive reigns, so he brought in everyone’s favorite motorcyle-driving crazy person, Bobby Petrino. WHO’S IN? The Aggies bring in QB Jaylen Henderson from Fresno State. He’ll be the back-up-of-the-back-up (Max Johnson is still around). He had a season-ending thumb injury in October which kept him out

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SEC Preview: Can anyone stop Georgia?

Georgia’s offseason has been stunningly bad, replete with a deadly accident on the morning after the National Championship player which killed a Georgia player, 13 speeding tickets, an article accusing the school of not paying attention to sexual assault claims after complaints (the AJC Journalist who wrote the article was fired, despite the fact that the AJC’s investigation found no reason to call the actual article a fabrication), and the very public continued signing of a Jamaal Jarrette, who had been accused of sexual assault while on a recruiting trip. Oh, and hilariously, Kirby Smart had to boot one of his transfers – Smoke Bouie (who came in from Texas A&M) – for – lying to a policeman and driving

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Lane Kiffin: Winner or Whiner? (Ole Miss Preview)

Lane Kiffin is on a mission to make a statesman of himself. After failing to get the Auburn job, Kiffin has decided that he’s going to be the Nick Saban, proclaiming the evils of NIL. He reckons that it’s a crazy free market, with schools that have the most aggressive donors (I think he was taking a shot at the rest of the SEC, but who knows?) being able to sign any recruit they want, limiting the actions of recruiting and essentially played Money-ed ball (you heard that line hear first). Speaking of free market, it’s not secret that Lane Kiffin was lifting his blouse to Auburn for ages, and it didn’t work out. For some reason (and we suspect

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2023 Preview: Should Missouri fans prepare to be Miz-erable?

This is the first SEC Preview of the season, which will no doubt be edited thanks to the usual quarterbacking decisions, injuries and suspensions that proliferate schools.  Missouri gets everything going…. Last season: Missouri’s 6-7 season was pretty turgid, save for a Georgia game that they should have won, and a balls-to-the-wall victory against Arkansas that sent Eli Drinkwitz crazy with the joy of going to a bowl game (that they then lost to Wake Forest by 10). The biggest news of the season was the Eli Drinkwitz somehow managed to get himself a contract extension, despite doing a dreadful job as an offensive coach, and leading the team to a 17-19 record and pretty abysmal 11-15 conference record. Who’s

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All Hail The Kings of the SEC!

“Long Live The King!” “Long Live The King!” “Long Live The King!” The damned British can’t stop yelling that today. Frankly, I’ve got too much of a hangover from the non-Mexican Mexican holiday of Cinco De Mayo, which gave me far too much excuse to get wasted on margaritas and eat at taco from which I am, ahem, not feeling great this morning. In my daze, I wrote down who were the 14 Kings of the SEC. We’re taking out the crazy boosters, because Texas isn’t here yet. Anyway, here we are: ALABAMA Bear Bryant: Bear Bryant’s “The Bear”. Nick Saban can bring 20 National Championships to Tuscaloosa in the next 20 years, but he ain’t The Bear, and he

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