Right, it’s our annual hot seat conversation, in which we rank which SEC coach is on the hot seat at the start of the year.

1. Ed Orgeron (LSU): ‘Coach O’ is beloved by his players, but his 15-6 record in Baton Rouge isn’t great, the Tigers have finished 2nd and then 3rd in the conference. If LSU fails to beat Alabama again (they haven’t beaten the Tide since 2011) there’s another major loss like they did to Troy, and seriously underperform with the talent that they have, then the tongues will be wagging. Having said that, if the Tigers fail to beat Miami on Monday night, then the knives could start getting pulled.
2. Barry Odom (Missouri): Missouri’s defense was so awful in the first half of the year that Odom needed to pull out a sermon in an effort to stand up for his team. And then good things happened. His SEC opponents fell to pieces, and Odom got his team to a bowl game. But if Missouri struggles this year, Odom might be out.
3. Derek Mason (Vanderbilt): There is no question Mason is likeable and a motivator. The problem Mason has is that he’s following on from an excellent coach in James Franklin, and he’s not getting the talent that his predecessor brought in. His 6-26 SEC record (and 18-31 overall record) hasn’t helped, either. Vanderbilt’s not exactly a prized job, but with the ESPN money, it’s certainly got cash.
4. Matt Luke (Ole Miss): We get that Luke was thrown into the fire after the different actions of Hugh Freeze, but if Ole Miss has a bad year, then he’ll be looking over his shoulder for a replacement. You know, because someone might actually want the job in 2019. 
5. Will Muschamp (South Carolina): Expectancy is high this year for Carolina to ‘do something’ in the SEC East. If they were to falter (ie lose to ‘lower grade’ SEC opponents like Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky or – shock horror – Vanderbilt), then the hatred that Muschamp faced at Florida will resurface. You know, because SEC.
6. Mark Stoops (Kentucky): Kentucky football fans are beginning to expect more and Stoops is underdelivering most of the time….including a horror-show loss to Florida. Anyway, Stoops talks a good game, but if he doesn’t deliver, then again, he could be seeing his ass get slightly warmer.
7. Gus Malzahn (Auburn): Yes, he signed a seven-year contract, but Auburn fans are crazy and they thirst for the success that their cross-state neighbors have. If Auburn falters (despite losing a lot of talent) and gets swept by Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Washington and even Mississippi State, then the seat WILL get hotter.
8. Jeremy Pruitt (Tennessee): Tennessee fans are crazy in the fact that every time someone comes after Philip Fulmer (who they ran out of town), they expect a return to the days of Peyton Manning and National Championships. So if Pruitt looks clueless (regardless of whether it’s his first job in charge), there will be questions asked. A lot of them.
9. Dan Mullen (Florida): For a very long time, Florida has had a lot of talent but hasn’t had the level of coaching since Urban Meyer left. Unfortunately, Florida has also been a crapshow in terms of player discipline. If Mullen loses AND his players can’t keep out of jail (campus or otherwise), then he’s got a problem.
10. Chad Morris (Arkansas): Er, because Arkansas fans are fed up of losing to Texas A&M and Alabama, and crappy non-conference teams. Bret Bielema managed to do all three. And if Morris doesn’t do better, then…
11. Jimbo Fisher (Texas A&M): Money ain’t nuthin’ if you aren’t winnin’ that SEC West, boss.
12. Nick Saban (Alabama): IF Y’ALL DON’T WIN A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP AND YOU LOSE TO THOSE PEOPLE AT AUBURN AGAIN, YOU’RE A CRAPPY COACH. GET OUT!  – Unreasonable Alabama fan with short memory.
13. Kirby Smart (Georgia): BECAUSE WE HIRED YOU TO WIN A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, MAN! IF YOU DON’T DO THAT WE’RE GOING TO TAKE AWAY YOUR SEASON TICKET TO THE CHEETAH! – Unreasonable Georgia megabooster.
14. Joe Moorhead (Mississippi State): Despite people saying that Mississippi State is one of the most dangerous teams in the SEC, we don’t believe that Cowbell Nation has that level of expectation. There’s also added bonus points for the fact that he suspended QB Nick Fitzgerald for violating team rules. It’s not every day that a first-year coach suspends his star quarterback.

Mississippi State’s star quarterback Nick Fitzgerald is suspended for the Bulldogs’ home opener against Stephen F. Austin, the team announced.

Fitzgerald violated team rules in March – although the manner of which has not been specified.

Keytaon Thompson will replace Fitzgerald…..and he’s quite the player. Coming on for Fitzgerald in the Egg Bowl loss against Ole Miss, he ran for 121 yards and a TD and threw for 195 yards and 1 TD and 1 INT. In the bowl game against Louisville he torched the Cardinals, rushing for 147 yards and 3 TDs, and throwing for another 127 yards.

It’s the fun bit of our job when we get to predict the Week 1 games of the college football season for SEC teams. We think we know everything after Week 1, only to see that our ‘knowledge’ is blown away by Thanksgiving that we feel miserable and inclined to douse ourselves in whiskey while we wait around for bowl season.

Anyway, here are your predictions for Week 1 of the SEC season. As usual, we’re going in the order of games we’re interested in. Sorry Texas A&M vs Northwestern State, you’re not very high.

The first five games on this list are being played on neutral fields. Which means that if you’re a season ticket holder of a SEC team, you’re being screwed out of seeing a big-time match-up at your own stadium.

1. Auburn (-2.5) vs Washington (Atlanta): Auburn’s got the pick of the QBs in Jarrett Stidham, but they are still missing a hell of a lot of talent at RB, and that should be interesting against a Washington team who should be hella strong defensively. Then again, we don’t see Washington going anywhere fast against Auburn’s defensive front, either. This will be a low-scorer. PREDICTION: Auburn by 7 in an absolute war.
2. LSU vs Miami (-2.5) (Dallas): We’ve talked repeatedly say how much we hate JerryWorld as a venue (or any other neutral site venues) for regular season college football games, and things haven’t changed. Having said that, Jerry Jones’ money have put up some great match-ups. We only wish they were home-and-homes. The crowd at the LSU vs Miami game will probably be 70:30 in favour of the Tigers, bearing in mind geography and Miami’s poor fanbase, but what will that mean? Eyes will be on LSU’s starter (will it be Myles Brennan or Joe Burrow), as well as how the Tigers compensate for being ripped apart by the NFL, while Miami will try and find a way without Braxon Berrios, their best WR. This should be fun. PREDICTION: Miami by 3 in a classic.
3. Tennessee vs West Virginia (-9.5) (Charlotte): As we said in the LSU vs Miami game, we’re expecting Vols fans to dominate the crowd against the Mountaineers, but that’s all we expect them to dominate. Tennessee will still be discovering themselves under Jeremy Pruitt, while WVU brings back a hell of a lot of talent – including QB and possible Heisman candidate Will Grier. PREDICTION: West Virginia by 17 in a game not even as close as that.
4. Texas Tech (-2) vs Ole Miss (Houston): We love Ole Miss WR AJ Brown, and he and QB Jordan Ta’amu will be clicking nicely. In other words, they will be difficult to stop. Then again, Texas Tech is vastly improved on defense…although Texas Tech insiders don’t exactly love the team’s offensive game at the moment. PREDICTION: Ole Miss by 10. 
5. Alabama (-25.5) vs Louisville (Orlando): We think that Louisville’s athletic department is a Heisman Trophy candidate in the battle for the Worst Calender Year Award For A NCAA School, bearing in mind that they’ve had to fire their Hall of Fame basketball coach and their biggest booster has racially slurred his way out of his own business. This ain’t a good look. We only find is strange that Bobby Petrino’s kept himself out of trouble. While in Tuscaloosa, Nick Saban’s spitting bullets about the depth of his team – and there’s a QB fight between two good quarterbacks – but the Crimson Tide will be fine. PREDICTION: Saban goes 1-0, predictably. Alabama by 28
6. Central Michigan vs Kentucky (-17): Benny Snell’s expected to run for well over 100 in this one – and that’s probably a good thing bearing in mind the ballhawks in Central Michigan’s secondary. Expect a brawl for four quarters in the best of all of the games getting played by SEC teams on their home fields. PREDICTION: Schnell, Snell! Kentucky by 14.
7. MTSU vs Vanderbilt (-4.5): A potentially tricky battle for Derek Mason this one. Kyle Shurmur’s an assured QB, but the ‘Dores are missing their best RB, and MTSU will have an improved passing game. PREDICTION: Vanderbilt by 10 that’s closer than the scoreline suggests.
8. Coastal Carolina (-29) vs South Carolina: Hell, it’ll be nice to see Deebo Samuel back. PREDICTION: South Carolina by 41.
9. UT Martin vs Missouri: The eyes will be QB Drew Lock, WR Emmanuel Hall, and Missouri’s new OC, Derek Dooley. I’d also like to see how the Tigers’ ‘D’ is. If they don’t show up against UT Martin, the Tigers have problems. PREDICTION: LOCK AND LOAD!! Missouri by 45.
10. Eastern Illinois vs Arkansas: Chad Morris’ first game will see a new offense, which should be fun against a EIU team that’s not expected to prove problematic. PREDICTION: Arkansas by 38. 
11. Northwestern State vs Texas A&M: Jimbo Fisher’s first game in Aggieland is only remotely interesting because it’s Jimbo Fisher’s first game in Aggieland. The game itself will be over by mid-way through the second quarter. PREDICTION: Texas A&M by 52.
12. SF Austin vs Mississippi State: Joe Moorhead’s first game will also mark the return of Nick Fitzgerald, who was injured during the Egg Bowl loss against Ole Miss last year. It’ll be interesting to see how that offense blends. You know, until half-tiime when MSU will be 28 points up and we can switch over. PREDICTION: Mississippi State by 42.
13. Austin Peay vs Georgia: Some Dawgs fan will say before the game that Austin Peay is potentailly a tough opponent, because he’s trying not to say: “We’ll kick the living **** out of them”. And because UGA fans can’t manage their emotions, this victory will be seen as a sure sign that they are winning the SEC and National titles, and that they should celebrate accordingly. PREDICTION: Georgia by 50.
14. Charleston Southern vs Florida: Dan Mullen’s the new HC in FLA. Again, we’ll see who gets the starting job, and whether the Gators’ offense can actually click. You might have heard it had problems doing that last seeason. PREDICTION: Florida by 45.

Sad as we may say, there are National Title Contenders outside of the SEC. And yes, we know they actually exist.

Anyway, so here we go:

1. Clemson: Dabo Swinney won one a couple of a seasons ago, and the Tigers’ defense is going to be an absolute beast this year. Oh, and offensively they’ll be pretty good too. We expect them to beat Texas A&M, walk the ACC, and win their home game at season-end against South Carolina.
2. Ohio State: Urban Meyer’s a horrible piece of human garbage, but his QB Dwayne Haskins is the real deal. The school also churns out talented player after talented player. Unless they play Iowa.
3. Oklahoma: The Sooners have an insanely talented coach in Lincoln Riley. They’ve got talent all the way through the team, although what will happen after Baker Mayfield’s departure?
4. Miami: Should Mark Richt’s team beat LSU, then the Hurricanes should be favored in every single game going into the ACC Championship Game on December 1st. Then they would probably face Clemson, but if Mark Richt’s team can get through that, then….maybe….
5. Wisconsin: Jonathan Taylor’s a beast of a running back behind a stacked and very big offensive line. The Badgers are back and bruising. The biggest game on the schedule will be a visit to Penn State on November 10th, which will be very, very noisy.
6. Michigan: This team brings back a stacked defense, and Shea Patterson could be a difference-maker in big games again, say, Ohio State.
7. Washington: The Huskies kick off the season in brutal fashion against Auburn, but if they get through that, they should be favored in just about every game they play. Including the Stanford one (which will be at home).
8. Penn State: Saquon Barkley might be gone, but Trace McSorley is back. The crazy QB has some great weapons to play with – including new RB Miles Sanders, who’s a stud.
9. West Virginia: Everybody’s dark horse to win the Big XII this year, with a lot of talent coming back – including Florida transfer-come-Heisman possibility Will Grier.
10. Stanford: The Cardinal’s season effectively depends on two games: The battle against Washington and the one against Notre Dame. Go 2-0 in those ones, and then we could see a Pac-12 team in the play-off.

January 9th, 2018. Tua Tagovailoa replaces Jalen Hurts as Alabama’s quarterback mid-game after Hurts fails to show up, and wins the game for the Crimson Tide in overtime. Tuscaloosa celebrates (again). Athens mourns (again). Nick Saban breathes a sigh of relief. After all, he’d lobbied the program ever since the Tide lost to Auburn and didn’t get into the SEC Championship Game and might not have gotten into the danged play-off. Rammer Jammer was played, sung, and chanted. A lot. Someone swore that they saw Bear Bryant in heaven, crying.

Roll onto August 2018 and a controversy still reigns around Tuscaloosa. Who’s going to be the starting quarterback when the team kicks off against Louisville? Will it be ‘Tua’ or will it be Jalen? Tua’s had a few drives in a huge game, where he went 14-24 for 166 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT. That wasn’t a great performance, but it was a hell of a lot better than Hurts’ on the night. And if Crimson Tide fans had been honest with themselves, Hurts wasn’t great last season, saved only by his excellent legs and a throwing arm that’s at best OK.

Jalen’s Dad is threatening with transfer if his little son isn’t given the starting job. Tua seems to be happy as-is. Saban’s getting asked the questions every 90 mins about the job, and it must be driving him mad.

Anyway, that’s the 2018 off-season. What’s going to happen to the Crimson Tide DURING the season?

OFFENSE

Regardless of who will be the QB in town, the great news for him is that he’s got two wonderful running backs to plough the road in Damien Harris, who ran for 1,000 yards and 12 TDs and Najee Harris, who rushed for over 10 yards per carry in the National Championship Game. Brian Robinson and Joshua Jacobs will prove to be good back-ups – particularly as Saban likes to platoon his running backs. And if Hurts doesn’t start, then the Tide loses some speed on the outside.

Oh, and the New Tide Quarterback may be stinging from the loss of Calvin Ridley, but Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs and DeVonta Smith are all fine. Also, Xavian Marks can absolutely fly, and the unfortunately-named frosh (and the fifth-best overall player in Texas) Jaylen Waddle can absolutely fly too.

Offensive-line wise, three veteran players will fill in the line, with future NLF first rounder Jonah Williams the standout.

DEFENSE

The losses are going to be huge to this team. Gone to the NFL are leaders Minkah Kirkpatrick, Rashaan Evans, Ronnie Harrison, Da’Shawn Hand and Daron Payne.

Everyone’s expecting the Tide to reload, because that’s what they are used to. I’m sorry, but the secondary’s probably going to be a little rougher, although Deionte Thompson is expected to shine at safety. One of Trevon Diggs, Patrick Surtain and Savion Smith will play in the corners. It’s been noted that all but 1 of the INTs from the corner spot has gone professional, which means that offenses will try and go downtown. The first game against Louisville – a team not noted for its quiet defense – should be interesting from that point-of-view.

Otherwise, Anfernee Jennings, Mack Wilson and Dylan Moses lead a LOADED linebacking corps, and we’re excited about the damage Raekwon Davis (8 sacks last year), Isaiah Buggs and Quinnen Williams will cause.

SCHEDULE

Sept. 1 vs. Louisville (in Orlando)
Sept. 8 Arkansas State
Sept. 15 at Ole Miss
Sept. 22 Texas A&M
Sept. 29 Louisiana-Lafayette
Oct. 6 at Arkansas
Oct. 13 Missouri
Oct. 20 at Tennessee
Oct. 27 OPEN DATE
Nov. 3 at LSU
Nov. 10 Mississippi State
Nov. 17 Citadel
Nov. 24 Auburn

Alabama should roll (tide) in its first three games against Louisville, Arkansas State and at Ole Miss before having a bit of a battle with Texas A&M. After surviving that, they’ll smash Louisiana-Lafayette, Arkansas, Missouri and Tennessee. The dates at LSU and at home to Mississippi State could be toughies, while the home game to $1 million-receiving Citadel won’t. The best game on Bama’s schedule could be the home game to Auburn, which could see two unbeatens going for the SEC West title, if the Tigers do their bit. 

PREDICTION: 12-0. SEC WEST CHAMPIONS

The Georgia Bulldogs will absolutely dominate the SEC East. We know this because the SEC East is a mixture of bad teams (Vanderbilt, Tennessee), teams with new coaches (Florida, Tennessee), teams that have an offense that is still trying to find itself (South Carolina), and a high-scoring team that plays no ‘D’ (Missouri). Georgia’s offense has found itself, is a good team, has the same coach, and plays ‘D’.

The only problem for Georgia is how its SEC West schedule measures up – the Dawgs will definitely be playing Auburn (home) and LSU (road), and possibly Alabama in the SEC Championship Game.

Anyway, here’s your 2018 preview….

OFFENSE

Let’s be quite brazen about this: No running back unit is going to recover immediately when they lose two 1,200+ rushing stars in Nick Chubb and Sony Michel. Yes, D’Andre Swift, Elijah Holyfield and Brian Herrien are potential stars (and froshes Zamir White and James Cook could add to the mix too), but it’s still going to be an adjustment for them. We expect some big numbers, but it will be interesting to see how they stack up against the two teams from Alabama, who have solid, solid defensive fronts.

Quarterbacks-wise, there will be a lot of chatter about a potential battle between Jake Fromm and Justin Fields, but let’s be honest, Kirby Smart wants an AJ McCarron-type QB who’s quiet and gets his job done, and that’s Fromm to a ‘T’ (or is ‘G’?). Fields will be an exciting option if Fromm’s treading water or they want a speedy option for some spread play, but really, it’s Fromm all the way.

Receiving Fromm’s throws will be to Terry Godwin, who many are still hoping reaching his potential. Right now, he really hasn’t.  Riley Ridley is going to be one of the X-Factors. He caught for 82 yards in the National Championship Game, and many think he could be an even better prospect than his brother, Calvin. 6-5 redshirt freshman Matt Landers will be quite a target, too. Oh, and transfer Demetris Robinson will load that receiving corps even more, giving Kirby Smart even more options from the air.

The Dawgs are going to miss Jeb Blazevich at TE, but Isaac Nauta and Charlie Woerner – as well as four-star recruits Luke Ford and John Fitzpatrick – should more than replace him.

DEFENSE

Like the missing of Michel and Chubb, an arrogant Georgia fan would probably tell you that they won’t miss Roquan Smith by the end of the season. And they may well be right. But at the start of the year- and definitely during the South Carolina game in a hostile environment – they will do. Smith was the best defensive player in college football last year.

If he can stay away from weed, Natrez Patrick will be a key to the Georgia ‘D’ with Monte Rice, Tea Crowder and Juwan Taylor expected to pick up the load as well. D’Andre Walker and Walter Grant will also be expected to fill in linebacker roles after the losses of Davin Bellamy and Lorenzo Carter to the pros.

In the secondary, CB Deandre Baker – perhaps the best player of the unit – is back, and S JR Reed will also prove to be hard to throw on.

THE SCHEDULE
Sept. 1 Austin Peay
Sept. 8 at South Carolina
Sept. 15 Middle Tennessee
Sept. 22 at Missouri
Sept. 29 Tennessee
Oct. 6 Vanderbilt
Oct. 13 at LSU
Oct. 20 OPEN DATE
Oct. 27 vs. Florida (in Jacksonville)
Nov. 3 at Kentucky
Nov. 10 Auburn
Nov. 17 UMass
Nov. 24 Georgia Tech

It’s going to be an easy 1-0 when Georgia drops 60 on Austin Peay, but the South Carolina game will come down to the wire, with the Dawgs winning. Georgia will decimate MTSU, run over Missouri, Tennessee and Vanderbilt, before beating LSU in a close one in a humid afternoon in Tiger Stadium. They’ll comfortably beat Florida at the Cocktail Party before clinching the SEC West by beating Kentucky on the road. The Auburn game will be one of the games of the season, with the Dawgs gaining revenge for the debacle at Jordan-Hare, before closing out with back-to-back wins of UMass and Georgia Tech. 

The problem for the Dawgs play-off wise is that if they don’t show up in the SEC Championship Game against (we think) Alabam, and Auburn and LSU have awful seasons where they are unranked, they will be deemed to have played absolutely no-one, and a play-off spot could well be out of their reach, especially if Ohio State, Washington, Oklahoma, Clemson and Alabama all run their respective tables. 

PREDICTION: 12-0. SEC EAST WINNERS 

Ole Miss was one of the most entertaining teams of 2017. You can’t argue with that. If it wasn’t arguing its case about bribing different players to come play in Oxford, then it was the head coach getting ousted for making calls to escorts in Tampa and not using a burner to do it. And then came the actual college football season, where they dropped about 32 points on teams using a high-octane offense and gave up about 35 using a defense with more holes than the Titanic. It was pretty awesome.

In the off-season of 2018, it’s been a bit of a step-up because there hasn’t be a dead hooker found in a school locker, although QB Shea Patterson managed to get away from Oxford to go to Michigan, and WR Van Jefferson, who was the team’s second-highest receiver, transferred to Florida.

How will things fare this year? The fans don’t think it’ll be great – season ticket sales are down compared to 2017, but things might go otherwise.

HIGH-OCTANE OFFENSE

The best WR in the SEC is back in Oxford. Now Ole Miss can only pray he remains healthy. That’s AJ Brown, who’s freshman season yielded a mind-boggling 1,252 yards and 11 TDs. He’s already spent a little bit of the offseason out with a hamstring injury, and Ole Miss fans want the bad juju done now rather than in the fall.

Quarterbacks-wise, the loss of Patterson really isn’t as big as people make out. Patterson only played in 7 games in 2017, but the end of the season was taken over by Jordan Ta’amu, who threw for 1,684 yards and 11 TDs with 4 INTs. During that time he was more accurate than Patterson, and he’s also more of a running threat than Patterson. That’s not to say that Patterson won’t have a better career in Ann Arbor, but Oxford is hardly going to crumble with this kid playing.

As well as Brown, Ta’amu will be throwing to DeMarkus Lodge (698 yards, 7 TDs) and DK Metkalf (646 yards, 7 TDs), which means that even without Jefferson, secondaries will have a lot to fear.

D’Vaughn Pennamon and Eric Swinney will lead the way rushing, although we’re probably less enthused about them than if now-left RB Jordan Wilkins (1,011 yards, 9 TDs) hadn’t taken so much of the workload. Pennamon and Swinney will have a heck of a job to do.

The Rebs also bring back 4 starters from the line, which should make things interesting.

BUT CAN THEY PLAY DEFENSE?

If 2017’s anything to go by, then the answer’s no. Leading tackler DeMarquis Gates and top-sack artists Breeland Speaks and Marquis Haynes are all gone. That’s not great. Although the team’s bringing back a lot, they weren’t great tacklers in the first place, so it’s doesn’t fill us with confidence.

After the unit had just had 8 INTs, things have to improve in that region, too. CJ Moore and Javien Hamilton – who had 3 INTs each last year – are both back, but…..but….You get it. We don’t hold out a lot of hope.

PREDICTION

Sept. 1 vs. Texas Tech (in Houston)
Sept. 8 Southern Illinois
Sept. 15 Alabama
Sept. 22 Kent State
Sept. 29 at LSU
Oct. 6 ULM
Oct. 13 at Arkansas
Oct. 20 Auburn
Oct. 27 OPEN DATE
Nov. 3 South Carolina
Nov. 10 at Texas A&M
Nov. 17 at Vanderbilt
Nov. 22 Mississippi State

Ole Miss has nothing to lose, so it’s going to let it all hang out next season. We think they’ll start the season with wins over Texas Tech and Southern Illinois before getting beaten by Alabama in a tighter game than most people expect. They’ll roll Kent State, lose at LSU, beat ULM and lose the funnest game of the SEC season to Arkansas – possibly in a game that sees both teams hit 50 points. We think they lose a trio of games to Auburn, Texas A&M and South Carolina before smashing Vanderbilt and losing a tight one to Mississippi State. 

SO WE THINK: 5-7. But even without the team going to a bowl game (or even having a chance to bearing in mind the sanctions), it’ll be so much fun to watch.

Derek Mason is a great speaker. He made us all want to walk through walls during his Media Days speech this year in Atlanta. He made you want to root for this Commodores team. You almost felt: “Screw this, I’m going to Nashville to see them play”.

Of course, what Mason failed to discuss is the fact that since James Franklin left, Vanderbilt – under his charge – haven’t had a winning season. His record at Vanderbilt has been at best poor and worst atrocious (18-31), and his SEC record (6-26) would at least have had people talking about the end of the road.

But for some reason – and this may be because people don’t think a lot of Vanderbilt football – people don’t seem to care.

So will 2018 be any different? Here’s our preview….

OFFENSE

If 2017 wasn’t that great for Vanderbilt (they were rescued from the SEC 0-for by getting to blow out Tennessee), then 2018 could be even more of a struggle. Although QB Kyle Shurmur’s back after a 2,823 yard, 26 TD season, one of his best weapons in RB Ralph Webb is gone, as have WRs Trent Sheffield and CJ Duncan. Kalija Lipscomb (610 yards, 8 TDs) is back though, and with Shurmur probably going to have to go more TE than WR in his throwing game, we should see Jared Pinkney also threatening.

As mentioned, the loss of Webb will be huge for the ‘Dores, but there will be hope that Illinois transfer Ke’Shawn Vaughn will pick things up.

On the upside, Shurmur should be protected nicely by a quality offensive line that brings back five starters and only allowed 19 sacks all season (28th in the nation).

DEFENSE

There aren’t words to describe how bad Vanderbilt’s ‘D’ was in SEC play last season. The Commodores went anchor down down down, giving up a laughable 43.3 points per game last year – including getting 52 dropped on them by Alabama after the crowd started chanting ‘We want ‘Bama’ (SEC folks probably don’t get irony, because we’re sure that Vandy fans knew they didn’t have a cat’s ass in hell’s chance of winning that one). And when they got beat, they were beaten badly (46 points per game).

Derek Mason – although a great defensive coach at Stanford back in the day- hired in Jason Tarver from the NFL, where he’d spent time as DC in Oakland for two years before becoming a defensive assistant at San Francisco. We don’t know how this will make Vanderbilt turn around – particularly as the team only returns four starters to a ‘D’ that was – as described – absolutely terrible in SEC play.

Both Tarver and Mason will be looking to top-sacking LBs Charles Wright (9 sacks) and his partner-in-crime LB Dare Odeyingbo (6.5 Sacks) for a bit of direction. In the secondary, they’ll be looking to CB Joejuan Williams, who had 10 passes defended last season….but how many balls will be thrown towards him.

PREDICTION

Sept. 1 Middle Tennessee
Sept. 8 Nevada
Sept. 15 at Notre Dame
Sept. 22 South Carolina
Sept. 29 Tennessee State
Oct. 6 at Georgia
Oct. 13 Florida
Oct. 20 at Kentucky
Oct. 27 at Arkansas
Nov. 3 OPEN DATE
Nov. 10 at Missouri
Nov. 17 Ole Miss
Nov. 24 Tennessee

We would be shocked if Vanderbilt manages a SEC win this year. We just don’t think that they can compete. Sure, they’ll get wins against MTSU, Nevada and Tennessee State to give them 3 wins, but the rest of the way – particularly as the ‘home crowd’ doesn’t give them any advantage whatsoever – isn’t going to be easy. The best chances for the Commodores to come out of the conference with some sort of smile will be the last two games of the season against Ole Miss and Tennessee. Although with that defense, it’s tough to even see them going 1-1.

VERDICT: 3-9. Sadly, this could be one of Derek Mason’s last season as Vandy coach.

So much for the #winning. Bret Bielema is now out after never finishing higher than 3rd in the SEC West, and finishing 7th in three out of seven years in his reign. Oh, and he went 11-29, which probably didn’t help him.

Anyway, Chad Morris has been ‘prized’ away from SMU, and he’s an exciting prospect for an offensethat depended on a heavy line but really went nowhere (94th in the country) and a defense that went nowhere too (102nd last year).

So what do we think will happen in 2018?

OFFENSE

Giant QB Cole Kelley (he’s 6-7) is loved by just about everybody, and we really like him, too. He threw for 1,038 yards and 8 TDs, and if Morris uses him better than Bielema did, he could be one of those Nick Fitzgerald types that could rock defenses in close yardage situations.

What’s exciting for the Razorbacks is that they bring back a lot of receiving talent with WRs Jonathan Nance (539 yards, 5 TDs), Deon Stewart (404 yards, 3 TDs), Jordan Jones (401 yards, 3 TDs) and TEs Cheyenne O’Grady (132 yards, 2 TDs) and Jeremy Patton (189 yards). There is also talent in reserve too, which means that things should be really damned interesting.

Rushing-wise, David Williams, who formed a 1,000-yard partnership with Javwah Whaley went to the NFL. Whaley is still around, and he will be the lead RB after a 559 yard, 7 TD season. Backing him up will be Chase Hayden, and both will be running behind a line which has two great players (Frank Ragnow and Hjalte Froholdt) but otherwise wasn’t that great. That’ll be the key to whether the ‘Backs can improve in a stacked West.

DEFENSE

Top tacklers D’John Harris and Dre Greenlaw are back, bringing with them 218 tackles combined from last year and 4.5 sacks, but this is a team that ranked 104th in the country in sacks and 115th out of 130 in points per game with 36.2. It wasn’t pretty.

New DC John Chavis, who’s been doing the rounds more than a drunk, morally ambiguous frat boy, is in another SEC job, and Razorbacks fans hoping that this time he’ll stick (then again, so does he!). McTelvin Agim and Randy Ramsey should be fun to watch, too.

In the secondary, Ryan Pulley will be the leader alongside safety Santos Ramirez, but will it improve from a team who seemed to let anyone through all the time?

Personally-speaking, we think Arkansas fans will think they are in a Pac-12 game with the amount of shoot-outs on the horizon.

PREDICTION

Sept. 1 Eastern Illinois
Sept. 8 at Colorado State
Sept. 15 North Texas
Sept. 22 at Auburn
Sept. 29 vs. Texas A&M (in Arlington)
Oct. 6 Alabama
Oct. 13 Ole Miss
Oct. 20 Tulsa
Oct. 27 Vanderbilt
Nov. 3 OPEN DATE
Nov. 10 LSU
Nov. 17 at Mississippi State
Nov. 24 at Missouri

The Hogs will go 3-0 in their first 3 games before losing at Auburn and the annual shoot-out against Texas A&M. Things won’t go well against Alabama, but Chad Morris’ team will win a high-scoring affair against Ole Miss, which could be the first to 70. They’ll beat Tulsa and Vanderbilt (both at home) before losing tight ones to LSU, Mississippi State and Missouri, although Missouri is more 50/50 than the other two in game-winning potential.

2018 PREDICTION

6-6. The Hogs will be back in a bowl, and the fanbase will be a little excited. The defense will need some work, though.

Trainwreck doesn’t cover just bad Florida’s 2017 season was. There was a bit of a smile when they beat Tennessee on a Hail Mary in one of the plays of the season, but that was it, save for Jim McElwain’s nudist battle with a shark. Dan Mullen arrived to the pomp and circumstance (and some new Jordans), but he’s had to deal with non-stop disciplinary crap – something that must be weighing on Gator Nation. You know, that and the rise and rise of one of their most hated enemies.

OFFENSE

Every time we think about UF’s offense, we get squeamish. The Gators were 110th in total offense, good enough for the second-worst in the SEC behind Tennessee (the third-worst was South Carolina in 109th). Rushing-wise that number improved to 75th, but 102nd in passing. Oh, and being placed 109th in points-per-game was as brutal, too.

The biggest issue for the Gators was that starting QB Luke Del Rio blew out his shoulder early on, and there was no cover. Malik Zaire’s transfer from Notre Dame was a failure and Felipe Franks’ only highlight of a season where he threw 9 TDs and 8 INTs was THAT bomb against Tennessee.

Anyway, enough of 2017.

One key for Florida’s failure was a HORRIBLE offensive line, which one of the worst teams in FBS football (123rd out of 129) for sacks given up (37). That’s some going. And although Martez Ivey is back – and Jawaan Taylor provided some better moments – the injuries sustained as well as a record of, well, not being particularly good doesn’t fill us with confidence. We hope we’re wrong.

QB-wise, it’s a three-way battle between Franks, Kyle Trask and Emory Jones, with no-one clearly standing out. Any of them would have four-star freshman stud Justin Watkins to throw to…. he hadn’t ‘left’ the program after being arrested twice in three months in increasingly sinister situations – which included kidnapping. Van Jefferson, the stud WR who came across from Ole Miss, has just cleared waivers by the SEC, so he could be one hell of a target. Jefferson had nearly 1,000 yards receiving for the Rebels over the last two years.

Running-wise, we’re a little more confident. Lamical Perrine and Malik Davis shared the rushing last year and put up over 1,000 yards between them. That isn’t a bad 1-2 punch. Jordan Scarlett will also provide some fun (he’s back after ‘credit card gate”).

DEFENSE

We can’t understand why College Football Preview gave UF’s defense so much crap for last year. It was 5th in the nation in total yards given up and 4th in FBS), but with THAT offense, they were always going to tire out. And this year,

But in 2018, the Gators are still pretty loaded – especially on defense. Led by Duke Dawson and CJ Henderson (4 INTS each) and Jeawon Taylor at safety had 30 tackles and 1.5 sacks last year, it should be hard to throw on them.

In front of them, LB David Reese’s production of 102 tackles in 2017 will excite a lot of Gators fans. Although CeCe Jefferson’s shoulder surgery could be quite a hole to start the year, the returns of Chauncey Gardiner, Zabari Zuniga and Vosean Joseph will mean that the Gators should be a force. The team will have to be better against the rush (28th nationally).

SCHEDULE

Sept. 1 Charleston Southern
Sept. 8 Kentucky
Sept. 15 Colorado State
Sept. 22 at Tennessee
Sept. 29 at Mississippi State
Oct. 6 LSU
Oct. 13 at Vanderbilt
Oct. 20 OPEN DATE
Oct. 27 vs. Georgia (in Jacksonville)
Nov. 3 Missouri
Nov. 10 South Carolina
Nov. 17 Idaho
Nov. 24 at Florida State

The Gators will start the season at 4-0, which shouldn’t be too surprising bearing in mind they should be favored in all four. Mullen’s return to Mississippi State will be a very nasty atmosphere – especially if it’s at night – and we think they’ll lose, and follow that up by losing to LSU at home in another heartbreaker. They’ll rebound to beat Vanderbilt to get to five wins before losing to Georgia in the Cocktail Party. They’ll beat Missouri at home, lose to South Carolina at home, thrash Idaho but lose to Florida State. The locals won’t be happy, but it’s still a rebuilding phase for Mullen after the Jim McElwain Era.

PREDICTION: 7-5. The locals will be pretty happy after the step-up from the Jim McElwain era.