This season has all the makings of another Florida-Alabama SEC Championship Game. The Tide are the early favorites to repeat as National Champions, and there is still enough of a gap between Florida and the rest of the East that the Gators should find themselves in the thick of any title talk. Beyond the top two, things will get real dicey.



East

• 1. Florida (7-1): It’s not often a team has 9 players drafted and is still picked this highly, but Florida is still that good. QB John Brantley will step in to fill Tim Tebow’s shoes. Brantley has all the physical tools to be successful, but we will have to see how he handles it mentally. He will be aided by an experienced line that returns four starters, as well as a dynamic set of RB’s and some potentially explosive WR’s. The defense must also replace some high draft picks but the defensive line will be strong, especially up the middle, and the secondary will still be one of the best in the conference even without CB Joe Haden. The LB’s may take a step back from last year, but there is plenty of speed and talent looking to step in. The Gators only have three games that look at all losable: @ Alabama, and against LSU and Georgia. It is possible the Gators slip up in more than one of those games, but we think they have enough to beat both LSU and Georgia and make a return trip to the SEC Championship.
• 2. Georgia (5-3): The bad news for Bulldog fans is that they will be breaking in a new starting QB this fall and have virtually no QB with major game experience anywhere on the roster. The good news is the rest of the offense is so good they can take a lot of the load off of whoever wins the job. RB’s Caleb King and Washaun Ealey form the best running combo outside of Alabama, and WR AJ Green is one of the best in the nation. The line will be one of the best in the conference as well. New Defensive Coordinator Todd Grantham has vowed to be aggressive, and the Bulldogs have several defenders capable of getting to the QB. There are some new starters littered throughout the defense, but each position has the potential to be improved over last year. We don’t think the Bulldogs will escape the schedule with any less than at least 2 losses, but they will still have enough talent to make the Gators sweat at the top of the division.
• 3. South Carolina (4-4): This might be Steve Spurrier’s best team since he has been at South Carolina. QB Stephen Garcia has been erratic at times, and may have a bit of a short leash if he struggles this year. Heavily recruited freshman RB Marcus Lattimore joins a backfield that has promise but has been last in the conference in rushing for three straight years. WR Alshon Jeffery is the star of the offense, but it will be tough to get anything going if the line doesn’t become more consistent. Expect the defense to be slightly better than last year’s D, which was good enough to keep the Gamecocks in most games. The schedule is tougher than either Florida’s or Georgia’s, and that will be what will keep South Carolina from challenging for one of the top two spots.
• 4. Tennessee (3-5): The Vols are breaking in a new coach (Derek Dooley), a new quarterback and a whole new offensive line. With an absolutely brutal first two months of the season, things could be real ugly in Knoxville early on. Matt Simms is projected as the starter at QB and will have three returning pass catchers to help him. Unfortunately no experienced running game and five new line starters will be too tough to overcome. The defense loses probably its four best players but is in better shape than the offense and should be in the middle of the pack in the SEC. The Vols opening five conference games are Florida, @ LSU, @ Georgia, ‘ Bama, and @ South Carolina. Ouch. Staring 0-5 is a real possibility, and you have to wonder if all the new pieces will be mentally tough enough to finish the season strong after a potentially horrible first half.
• 5. Kentucky (4-4): The Wildcats came out of the spring game still looking to settle on a starting quarterback, but it still looks to be a 3-man race between Mike Hartline, Morgan Newton and Ryan Mossakowski. Hartline probably has the upper hand, but Newton led victories on the road against both Auburn and Georgia last season. Whoever lines up under center will have some good weapons in WR Randall Cobb and RB Derrick Locke. The defense loses several of its top players from last year and must have players step up at the linebacker spot. The secondary will be the strength of the defense despite losing outstanding CB Trevard Lindley. The schedule sets up so that the Wildcats can finish strong over the final four games, and should find themselves in another bowl game.
• 6. Vanderbilt (1-7): The Commodores have some major questions on offense coming into 2010. QB Larry Smith struggled mightily last year, and no WR emerged as a dependable target. The line will be completely re-tooled, which might not be such a bad thing for the rest of the offense. The good news on O is that Vandy has a strong combo of RB’s in warren Norman and Zac Stacy. The D will have many new starters but has talent at each tier. CB Casey Hayward is turning into a premier corner, and LB Chris Marve is a tackling machine. The line also has some experience and depth. Even so, Vandy will have a tough time picking up any more than a single SEC win.

West

• 1. Alabama (8-0): All QB Greg McElroy does is win, and he has an outstanding set of WR’s to throw to in Julio Jones, Marquis Maze, and Darius Hanks. The line returns 3 starters and will see the emergence of DJ Fluker at RT. The real stars of the offense, though, are RB’s Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson. Without a doubt the best 1-2 punch in the nation, Ingram and Richardson could each rack up over 1,000 yards this year without much difficulty. Richardson is so good he might even be better than Ingram, last year’s Heisman winner. The defense has to replace 9 starters this year, but there is some good experience across the line and incredible talent at LB and in the secondary. Don’t’a Hightower is recovering from a severe knee injury but looks ready to step into the void left by Rolando McClain. Mark Barron will lead a secondary that is very young but has loads of potential. The Tide will have to navigate tough games against Florida and at LSU and avoid any other upsets, but they are everybody’s favorite to repeat as SEC Champions and National Champions.
• 2. Arkansas (6-2): No team in the SEC returns as much talent as the Razorbacks. QB Ryan Mallet has the strongest arm in the nation and is a potential #1 pick in next year’s back. Returning are the top three WR’s and one of the best TE’s in the nation in D.J. Williams. The loss of guard Mitch Petrus will hurt, but the rest of the line is back and will be among the best around. The only other loss on offense is RB Michael Smith, and the Razorbacks go four deep with talented players ready to replace him. Perhaps the only defense in the nation that can slow down the offense is Arkansas’ own. They were downright terrible at times last year and will need to step it up this year if Arkansas has hopes of challenging Alabama. The first two conference games are @ Georgia and then ‘Bama, so we will find out pretty quick if Arkansas has what it takes to compete at the top of the conference. If they somehow start off 2-0, they have a great chance to run the table the rest of the way.
• 3. LSU (4-4): There are some question marks on offense for the Tigers this fall. QB Jordan Jefferson will have some new toys on offense, as former highly-touted QB Russell Shepard will make the switch to WR. He joins Terrance Toliver, one of the better WR’s in the conference, and Rueben Randle, who has a world of potential. The Tigers need guys to step in and fill some holes on the line, and also need a RB to establish himself as a legitimate threat in order for the offense to reach its potential. The defense is led by LB Kelvin Sheppard, one of the best in the conference, and CB Patrick Peterson, perhaps the best cover corner in the nation. If the offense clicks early the Tigers could finish above this prediction, but we think they will do no better than fighting Arkansas and Auburn for the right to finish 2nd to Alabama.
• 4. Auburn (4-4): Auburn has some big-time talent on both sides of the ball in 2010. JUCO QB Cameron Newton could have a big year in Gus Malzahn’s offense, and has two terrific WR’s to throw to in Darvin Adams and Terrell Zachery. The Tigers will be strong up front with four returning starters, and RB Onterio McCalebb will be an excellent change of pace for RB Mario Fannin. The defense will have three returning starters at LB and both CB’s returning. Head Coach Gene Chizik used to be a top-flight defensive coordinator, so expectations will be high for a strong defense. Despite starting 5-0 last year, Auburn stumbled to a 3-5 finish last season. They will need to win a couple more games this year to please Tiger fans.
• 5. Ole Miss (2-6): Losing star QB Jevan Snead and RB Dexter McCluster will set the Rebels back, especially considering the other losses along the offense as well. There is some hope at the skill positions, with quality depth at RB and a few WR’s with bright futures. Replacing Snead will be the biggest issue, along with settling on a starting 5 on the line. The defensive line will be a strength, with two outstanding players in DT Jerrell Powe and DE Kentrell Locket. The LB’s will also be solid, but the secondary could struggle against the big-passing teams in the West. Coach Houston Nutt will have the Rebels back in the picture within a couple of years, but this year the Rebels will take their lumps.
• 6. Mississippi State (1-7): QB Chris Relf will likely win the quarterback job and had a strong finale last year against Ole Miss. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs don’t have much quality depth at WR and will need to replace RB Anthony Dixon, who put the team on his back at times last fall. The good news is the line is experienced and will be a major asset to the new QB. The defense returns some good talent and is expected to be heavy blitzers under new coordinator many Diaz, but the Bulldogs just don’t have the horses to stop the offensive powerhouses that reside in the SEC. A brutal schedule that includes road games @ Florida, Alabama and LSU will suffocate the Bulldogs this year.

Let’s hear your predictions in the comments!

Tweetback for this post? Add SEC Football Predictions – 2010 Season to your tweet.

Tags: sec football predictions

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 20th, 2010 at 4:05 pm and is filed under Football. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.