a fair, balanced article that any objective fan should be able to agree with.
6. Florida (+1200): Arkansas holds the same odds according to 5Dimes, which lists seven teams as championship possibilities. But the Razorbacks and Gators enter the season with much different circumstances. Coach Jim McElwain won a surprise SEC East title in his first season in Gainesville. The offense tanked during the second half of the year after the NCAA busted quarterback Will Grier for performance-enhancing drugs. It was somewhat amazing that Florida started the season 9-1 with a relatively weak offensive line and next to zero confidence in the options at placekicker.
I am not going to predict Florida to win the division. But neither can the possibility be discounted. There are still four SEC East teams far from certain to win 6 games. Tennessee seems eternally vexed by these Gators. And if McElwain can coax a 5-1 record within the division, the team will have a chance to get to Atlanta.
5. Georgia (+1000): The Bulldogs could be the most intriguing team in the SEC this year. Mark Richt’s 15-year tenure has ended; hard-charging Kirby Smart, a long-time Alabama defensive coordinator, now runs things in Athens. Perhaps the change in management styleis just what UGA needs.
Furthermore, will the team stay conservative on offense, feeding Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, while retaining a veteran quarterback with the role of game manager? Or will the team insert true freshman Jacob Eason and allow him to learn on the job? That’s something we may not learn until a few games into the season, but it should be fun to watch it unfold.
Despite such a major facelift to the front seven on defense, this remains one of the most talented teams in the SEC. Remember, Georgia did win 10 games last season, and the Bulldogs continue to churn out top 10 signing classes. If UGA can manage to beat Tennessee and Florida, an East Division title should be theirs.
Speaking of intriguing, who wouldn’t be interested in a Smart vs. Nick Saban matchup in the final SEC Championship Game in the Georgia Dome?
4. LSU (+400): Since what was in retrospect a fluky 9-6 overtime win against Alabama during the 2011 season, LSU has not won that game. Last year, the matchup with the Tide simultaneously smashed the team’s College Football Playoff hopes, slammed the breaks on Leonard Fournette’s Heisman Trophy bid and sent the program into a three-game tailspin.
That’s the main reason I am going to project Ole Miss ahead of LSU entering this season. The Tigers are not dynamic enough on offense, or at least have not been in the last two years. Fournette and Derrius Guice are tremendous football players. But LSU is going to play at least two games in which the opposing defense is able to slow down the running game and dare the Tigers to beat them downfield against 1-on-1 coverage.
I expect Brandon Harris and the receivers to improve. The defense in my opinion got a significant upgrade by swapping out Dave Aranda for Kevin Steele as coordinator. But I’m skeptical that this team can beat Bama.
Right now the Tide look unstoppable against teams that play a similar style. If you can field a spread offense with some tempo and the threat of some big plays downfield, you can beat Nick Saban and company (see: Ole Miss, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Texas A&M). But if your plan is to play physical, intimidating defense and run the football? You can almost forget it. Just ask Michigan State how that strategy worked in the College Football Playoff.
Assuming Alabama continues its recent reign of terror over this Les Miles team, that’s a one-game handicap that may force LSU to be perfect through the rest of its SEC schedule just to have a chance. This team is talented enough to do just that, but it’s a very, very tough ask.
3. Ole Miss (+700): For all his charms as a recruiter, I don’t believe coach Hugh Freeze is among the best in-game head coaches in the conference. I thought former Memphis coach Justin Fuente outcoached him in the Rebels’ loss to the Tigers last year. And I’m not so sure I trust Freeze and this roster to play with consistency throughout all 12 games.
Still, this team’s style of play gives Ole Miss a chance to beat anyone. It’s no fluke that the Rebels notched back-to-back wins against Alabama. Chad Kelly returns as a quarterback with a real chance to become the SEC’s first to log multiple 4,000-yard passing seasons. The offense takes chances downfield, and often those chances pay off. The Landshark defense will give up chunks of the field, but it’s aggressive and opportunistic. Make a mistake and you will pay a penalty, often by losing possession.
This year should prove that the team’s depth, not three top-end players, now is its true strength. This is a legitimate top 15-20 team nationally in terms of roster talent. If the 2016 version of the Rebels can do the unthinkable and knock off Alabama for a third consecutive year, the team will have every opportunity to emerge as SEC champions.
2. Tennessee (+500): Feel free to hunt me down on Twitter and yell at me if I’m wrong. There are no guarantees when it comes to projecting the SEC East, especially in recent years. But I feel confident in picking Team 120 to be hands-down the best in the East Division in 2016, a position I’ve held since before bowl season.
Even a marginal improvement on defense (with new coordinator Bob Shoop) and in the downfield passing game (another year for Joshua Dobbs, a receiving corps more adept at those plays) should be enough — perhaps along with a more cut-throat second-half approach from coach Butch Jones during games in which UT leads.
This running game is outstanding. There’s talent at all three levels on defense. And, irrespective of the outcome, I thought Tennessee gave Alabama it’s toughest down-by-down game of any team in the regular season last year.
This group came oh-so-close to knocking off not one, but two College Football Playoff teams last season. And it returns almost every important player. Shore up left tackle and this team could become the most formidable East representative the division has sent to Atlanta since Urban Meyer left Florida.
1. Alabama (+120): Nick Saban has won national titles more often than not in the last seven years. The talent level remains sky high. This team is aiming for six consecutive seasons at 7-1 in SEC play. Any potential question within this roster or coaching staff is tied to several potentially-enviable answers.
The past is the past, even the ’15 season. But Bama’s track record is too overwhelming at this point. On paper, there are at least two other rosters in the West Division that at least resemble the Tide. Do you trust LSU and Ole Miss to be more consistent over the course of a 12-game schedule?
I don’t. So while I won’t be surprised if the Rebels or Bengal Tigers win the division, most people who pick against Alabama before the season are doing so to be trendy or contrarian. I see no reason to suddenly displace this program from being the SEC favorite.
http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/sec-football/these-6-teams-can-win-sec-title-2016/
6. Florida (+1200): Arkansas holds the same odds according to 5Dimes, which lists seven teams as championship possibilities. But the Razorbacks and Gators enter the season with much different circumstances. Coach Jim McElwain won a surprise SEC East title in his first season in Gainesville. The offense tanked during the second half of the year after the NCAA busted quarterback Will Grier for performance-enhancing drugs. It was somewhat amazing that Florida started the season 9-1 with a relatively weak offensive line and next to zero confidence in the options at placekicker.
I am not going to predict Florida to win the division. But neither can the possibility be discounted. There are still four SEC East teams far from certain to win 6 games. Tennessee seems eternally vexed by these Gators. And if McElwain can coax a 5-1 record within the division, the team will have a chance to get to Atlanta.
5. Georgia (+1000): The Bulldogs could be the most intriguing team in the SEC this year. Mark Richt’s 15-year tenure has ended; hard-charging Kirby Smart, a long-time Alabama defensive coordinator, now runs things in Athens. Perhaps the change in management styleis just what UGA needs.
Furthermore, will the team stay conservative on offense, feeding Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, while retaining a veteran quarterback with the role of game manager? Or will the team insert true freshman Jacob Eason and allow him to learn on the job? That’s something we may not learn until a few games into the season, but it should be fun to watch it unfold.
Despite such a major facelift to the front seven on defense, this remains one of the most talented teams in the SEC. Remember, Georgia did win 10 games last season, and the Bulldogs continue to churn out top 10 signing classes. If UGA can manage to beat Tennessee and Florida, an East Division title should be theirs.
Speaking of intriguing, who wouldn’t be interested in a Smart vs. Nick Saban matchup in the final SEC Championship Game in the Georgia Dome?
4. LSU (+400): Since what was in retrospect a fluky 9-6 overtime win against Alabama during the 2011 season, LSU has not won that game. Last year, the matchup with the Tide simultaneously smashed the team’s College Football Playoff hopes, slammed the breaks on Leonard Fournette’s Heisman Trophy bid and sent the program into a three-game tailspin.
That’s the main reason I am going to project Ole Miss ahead of LSU entering this season. The Tigers are not dynamic enough on offense, or at least have not been in the last two years. Fournette and Derrius Guice are tremendous football players. But LSU is going to play at least two games in which the opposing defense is able to slow down the running game and dare the Tigers to beat them downfield against 1-on-1 coverage.
I expect Brandon Harris and the receivers to improve. The defense in my opinion got a significant upgrade by swapping out Dave Aranda for Kevin Steele as coordinator. But I’m skeptical that this team can beat Bama.
Right now the Tide look unstoppable against teams that play a similar style. If you can field a spread offense with some tempo and the threat of some big plays downfield, you can beat Nick Saban and company (see: Ole Miss, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Texas A&M). But if your plan is to play physical, intimidating defense and run the football? You can almost forget it. Just ask Michigan State how that strategy worked in the College Football Playoff.
Assuming Alabama continues its recent reign of terror over this Les Miles team, that’s a one-game handicap that may force LSU to be perfect through the rest of its SEC schedule just to have a chance. This team is talented enough to do just that, but it’s a very, very tough ask.
3. Ole Miss (+700): For all his charms as a recruiter, I don’t believe coach Hugh Freeze is among the best in-game head coaches in the conference. I thought former Memphis coach Justin Fuente outcoached him in the Rebels’ loss to the Tigers last year. And I’m not so sure I trust Freeze and this roster to play with consistency throughout all 12 games.
Still, this team’s style of play gives Ole Miss a chance to beat anyone. It’s no fluke that the Rebels notched back-to-back wins against Alabama. Chad Kelly returns as a quarterback with a real chance to become the SEC’s first to log multiple 4,000-yard passing seasons. The offense takes chances downfield, and often those chances pay off. The Landshark defense will give up chunks of the field, but it’s aggressive and opportunistic. Make a mistake and you will pay a penalty, often by losing possession.
This year should prove that the team’s depth, not three top-end players, now is its true strength. This is a legitimate top 15-20 team nationally in terms of roster talent. If the 2016 version of the Rebels can do the unthinkable and knock off Alabama for a third consecutive year, the team will have every opportunity to emerge as SEC champions.
2. Tennessee (+500): Feel free to hunt me down on Twitter and yell at me if I’m wrong. There are no guarantees when it comes to projecting the SEC East, especially in recent years. But I feel confident in picking Team 120 to be hands-down the best in the East Division in 2016, a position I’ve held since before bowl season.
Even a marginal improvement on defense (with new coordinator Bob Shoop) and in the downfield passing game (another year for Joshua Dobbs, a receiving corps more adept at those plays) should be enough — perhaps along with a more cut-throat second-half approach from coach Butch Jones during games in which UT leads.
This running game is outstanding. There’s talent at all three levels on defense. And, irrespective of the outcome, I thought Tennessee gave Alabama it’s toughest down-by-down game of any team in the regular season last year.
This group came oh-so-close to knocking off not one, but two College Football Playoff teams last season. And it returns almost every important player. Shore up left tackle and this team could become the most formidable East representative the division has sent to Atlanta since Urban Meyer left Florida.
1. Alabama (+120): Nick Saban has won national titles more often than not in the last seven years. The talent level remains sky high. This team is aiming for six consecutive seasons at 7-1 in SEC play. Any potential question within this roster or coaching staff is tied to several potentially-enviable answers.
The past is the past, even the ’15 season. But Bama’s track record is too overwhelming at this point. On paper, there are at least two other rosters in the West Division that at least resemble the Tide. Do you trust LSU and Ole Miss to be more consistent over the course of a 12-game schedule?
I don’t. So while I won’t be surprised if the Rebels or Bengal Tigers win the division, most people who pick against Alabama before the season are doing so to be trendy or contrarian. I see no reason to suddenly displace this program from being the SEC favorite.
http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/sec-football/these-6-teams-can-win-sec-title-2016/
