Auburn Tigers

Saves The Dates

By: Kipp Branch

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

2024 is upon us. The college football playoff landscape expands to a 12-team beauty contest moving forward.

The SEC officially released next year’s schedules recently. Not enough space to go through them all, but I will go through the historical SEC programs and Oklahoma and Texas.

Alabama
Aug. 31: vs. Western Kentucky
Sept. 7: vs. USF
Sept. 14: at Wisconsin
Sept. 21: BYE
Sept. 28: vs. Georgia
Oct. 5: at Vanderbilt
Oct. 12: vs. South Carolina
Oct. 19: at Tennessee
Oct. 26: vs. Missouri
Nov. 2: BYE
Nov. 9: at LSU
Nov. 16: vs. Mercer
Nov. 23: at Oklahoma
Nov. 30: vs. Auburn

First Glance: Bye weeks before Georgia and LSU. @Tennessee, @LSU, and @ Oklahoma the week before the Iron Bowl. The Tide will be road warriors in 2024.

Auburn
Aug. 31: vs. Alabama A&M
Sept. 7: vs. California
Sept. 14: vs. New Mexico
Sept. 21: vs. Arkansas
Sept. 28: vs. Oklahoma
Oct. 5: at Georgia
Oct. 12: BYE
Oct. 19: at Missouri
Oct. 26: at Kentucky
Nov. 2: vs. Vanderbilt
Nov. 9: BYE
Nov. 16: vs. Louisiana-Monroe
Nov. 23: vs. Texas A&M

Nov. 30: at Alabama

First glance: No road game until October. @ UGA and @ Alabama. Nice slate for Hugh Freeze to get Auburn back on track.

Florida
Aug. 31: vs. Miami (FL)
Sept. 7: vs. Samford
Sept. 14: vs. Texas A&M
Sept. 21: at Mississippi St.
Sept. 28: BYE
Oct. 5: vs. UCF
Oct. 12: at Tennessee
Oct. 19: vs. Kentucky
Oct. 26: BYE
Nov. 2: vs. Georgia (in Jacksonville, FL)
Nov. 9: at Texas
Nov. 16: vs. LSU
Nov. 23: vs. Ole Miss
Nov. 30: at Florida State

First glance: The last five games are brutal. Will Billy Napier still be employed by November? Only one cupcake on the slate.

Georgia
Aug. 31: vs. Clemson (in Atlanta, GA)
Sept. 7: vs. Tennessee Tech
Sept. 14: at Kentucky
Sept. 21: BYE
Sept. 28: at Alabama
Oct. 5: vs Auburn
Oct. 12: vs Mississippi State
Oct. 19: at Texas
Oct. 26: BYE
Nov. 2: vs Florida (Jacksonville, Fl.)
Nov. 9: at Ole Miss
Nov. 16: vs Tennessee
Nov. 23: vs UMass
Nov. 30: vs Georgia Tech

First glance: Clemson in Atlanta, @ Texas and @Alabama, and a trap game @Ole Miss sandwiched between Florida and Tennessee.

LSU
Sept. 1: vs. Southern Cal (Las Vegas, NV)
Sept. 7: vs. Nicholls
Sept. 14: at South Carolina
Sept. 21: vs. UCLA
Sept. 28: vs. South Alabama
Oct. 5: BYE
Oct. 12: vs. Ole Miss
Oct. 19: at Arkansas
Oct. 26: at Texas A&M
Nov. 2: BYE
Nov. 9: vs. Alabama
Nov. 16 — at Florida
Nov. 23: vs. Vanderbilt
Nov. 30: vs. Oklahoma

First glance: USC and UCLA from the Big 10, and the best SEC slate of all the SEC contenders from a management standpoint.

Oklahoma
Aug. 31: vs. Temple
Sep. 7: vs. Houston
Sep. 14: vs. Tulane
Sep. 21: vs. Tennessee
Sep. 28: at Auburn
Oct. 5: BYE
Oct. 12: vs. Texas (at Cotton Bowl in Dallas, TX)
Oct. 19: vs. South Carolina
Oct. 26: at Ole Miss
Nov. 2: vs. Maine
Nov. 9: at Missouri
Nov. 16: BYE
Nov. 23: vs. Alabama
Nov. 30: at LSU

First Glance: @ Auburn welcome to Jordan Hare Sooners where dreams go to die. Alabama and @ LSU to close the regular season. Are you sure you wanted this Oklahoma?

Tennessee
Aug. 31: vs. Chattanooga
Sept. 7: vs. NC State (in Charlotte, NC)
Sept. 14: vs. Kent State
Sept. 21: at Oklahoma
Sept. 28: BYE
Oct. 5: at Arkansas
Oct. 12: vs. Florida
Oct. 19: vs. Alabama
Oct. 26: BYE
Nov. 2: vs. Kentucky
Nov. 9: vs. Mississippi State
Nov. 16: at Georgia
Nov. 23: vs. UTEP
Nov. 30: at Vanderbilt

First glance: @ Oklahoma and @ Georgia who the Vols have lost seven straight to. Alabama lost the last time they came to Neyland.

Texas
Aug. 31: vs. Colorado State
Sept. 7: at Michigan
Sept. 14: vs. UTSA
Sept. 21: vs. Louisiana-Monroe
Sept. 28: vs. Mississippi State
Oct. 5: BYE
Oct. 12: vs. Oklahoma (Cotton Bowl – Dallas, TX)
Oct. 19: vs. Georgia
Oct. 26: at Vanderbilt
Nov. 2: BYE
Nov. 9: vs. Florida
Nov. 16: at Arkansas
Nov. 23: vs. Kentucky
Nov. 30: at Texas A&M

First glance: @Michigan, Oklahoma, and Georgia back-to-back, and a Thanksgiving trip to Aggieland. SEC was kind to Texas with the road slate to State, Vandy, and Arkansas who all are terrible now.

Whoever wins the SEC in 2024 will be tested for a deep playoff run.

 

 

SEC Stocks

Kipp Branch

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The 2022 College Football season is in the books. Kirby Smart and UGA have won back-to-back National Titles. My annual SEC Football stock report is upon us again.

Stock Keys:

Buy

Sell

Hold

Georgia: The best college football stock on the planet. CEO Kirby Smart has developed a winning organizational culture.

401K plan is the best in the business, and the best employees are recruited year in and year out.

The executive management team is the best in the business and well compensated.

This organization is built for any market and will flourish even during down economic times. Blue blood stock that will make you tons of money. The long-term future of this stock is through the roof. Advice: Buy it all.

Alabama: Over a 10-year period this stock has been the most consistent producer of wealth.

CEO Nick Saban is still the king of CEO’s.

Maybe the stock dipped slightly in 2022, but the long-term future is bright.

Top rated employer with the most talented work force make this stock very attractive.

The CEO training program is the best I the country. The executive management team has become a little complacent over the past 12 months and that has been addressed by the CEO.

This stock will always make you a ton of money. Advice: Buy as much as you can.

Tennessee: This historically producing stock crashed over the past 15 years.

However, in 2022 this stock hit a 20-year high. CEO Josh Huepel has been a breath of fresh air after a string of poor CEO’s dating back to 2008.

If you held on to this stock during the bleak years, then you are a wise investor. This stock will continue to rise to get back to the glory years of the Clinton Presidency.

When the Big Orange stock is producing the SEC portfolio is second to none. Advice: Buy

LSU: After reaching an all-time high in 2019 this blue blood stock crashed over the past two years prompting the board of directors to hire a new CEO in Brian Kelly for 2022.

The early returns have been great. Stock has performed much better than expected.

Changes were made in the human resources department resulting in an influx of topflight employees for 2023 and beyond.

This corporation has invested properly for long-term growth once again. Advice: Buy

Mississippi State: This stock made a huge turnaround over the past 24 months. The tragic loss of beloved CEO Mike Leach has made things difficult over the past month.

Leach leaves behind a great foundation that is positioned for continued growth, and his legacy will live on. Rest easy Pirate. Advice: Buy

South Carolina: This stock made a remarkable turnaround late in calendar year 2022 and recovered from some tough early losses by performing well against superior brands Tennessee and Clemson.

Energetic CEO in Shane Beamer has the stockholders optimistic but not totally convinced to invest great sums of money.

This corporation has excited its stockholders before, and returns have not matched investment. Watch this stock closely in 2023. Advice: Hold for now.

Ole Miss: Aggressive CEO Kiffin takes too many chances and this has become a roller-coaster stock. Exciting to watch but for investors nerve-wracking. This is a high anxiety stock. Advice: Hold and never become emotionally invested in stock.

Florida: This stock should be a solid producer. New CEO Billy Napier inherited a horrible organizational culture.

Mass firings have taken place. Lazy employees have bailed for the transfer portal employment agency.

It will take some time to fix this mess. 401K plan is depleted and new hires are backing out causing this once proud organization to take massive public relations hits.

Advice: Sell it all until the board of directors allows CEO Napier to completely blow up this rotten culture.

Auburn, Texas A&M, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky and Vanderbilt: These poorly run or non-productive organizations are not worth the ink to write about.

Advice: Sell them off quickly. Watch Auburn and Texas A&M for future reinvestment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

SEC Pulse

By: Kipp Branch

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The SEC football season is now a month old. Those who follow football have come to consensus about every single team in the best football conference in the country which is the SEC. Here are my thoughts a month into the season on every team.

SEC East:

  1. Georgia: The defending national champions looked like a beast for the first three weeks of the season. Stetson Bennett looked like a Heisman front runner. UGA was lighting up scoreboards. Over the past two weeks UGA has looked very beatable with struggles against Kent St. and Missouri. Wide receivers need to get healthy, and the defense needs to stop the run better. November is looking brutal now with the recent struggles with Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi State, and Kentucky in consecutive weeks down the stretch.
  2. Tennessee: The Vols look like a scoring machine with Hendon Hooker at QB. LSU this week and Alabama next week will tell us what we need to know about Tennessee. Will the Vols be able to stop any offense with a pulse moving forward? Right now, Tennessee looks like a contender for the SEC title.
  3. Kentucky: The Cats gave one away in Oxford last weekend. But isn’t that what Kentucky does when the pressure is on? Still in contention in the east. Probably will need to beat both Tennessee and Georgia later in the season. That is not going to happen. They might get one of those big games, but they will not win both. Odds are they lose both.
  4. Florida: The Gators are in a rebuild. Billy Napier will get 6-7 wins out of this team and make a bowl. Florida will be back soon.
  5. Missouri: The Tigers played UGA down to the wire last week. Can they take that same intensity to Gainesville this week? The answer is no.
  6. South Carolina: This is a bad football team folks. End of story here.
  7. Vanderbilt: This team plays hard, and I respect that. Not a particularly good football team.

SEC West:

  1. Alabama: How hurt is Bryce Young? The running game looked impressive at Arkansas last week. Defense is solid. Wide receivers are down from previous years. This is still the team to beat right now in the SEC if Bryce does not miss considerable time. The TSIO (Third Saturday in October) next week in Knoxville with Tennessee could be the game of the year in the conference.
  2. Ole Miss: Running game and defense. That is the recipe in Oxford in 2022. 5-0 sounds good. Alabama comes to Oxford soon.
  3. LSU: Will the real LSU Tigers stand up? Jekyll and Hyde Tigers right now. Alabama comes to Tiger Stadium in November….
  4. Mississippi State: MSU is one of the surprise teams this fall. This is a dangerous team to play right now. Are you listening UGA? The November 12th trip to Starkville looks like a beast on the schedule right now.
  5. Arkansas: The Razorbacks are horrible on defense. They cannot stop a dripping faucet right now.
  6. Texas A&M: I called this before the season. This team is a fraud. No QB, no imagination on offense, and are about to get run out of Tuscaloosa, Alabama this weekend. The real loser is CBS who used a primetime 8PM slot for this game against Alabama.
  7. Auburn: If the Tigers lose on Saturday to UGA will Bryan Harsin have a job on Sunday? Auburn has QB issues and have not won in Athens since 2005. It is safe to say that Auburn has hit rock bottom. Recruiting is down and the boosters at Auburn are running and ruining the athletic department.

Wild West

By: Kenneth Harrison

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Let’s take a look at the SEC West and preview how each team’s season will go.

#1 Alabama: The Crimson Tide are loaded with talent like they are every year. They return Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Bryce Young and add Georgia Tech transfer running back Jahmyr Gibbs.

There are also a pair of transfer wide receivers, Tyler Harrell (Louisville) and Jermaine Burton (Georgia).

Left tackle Evan Neal departed for the NFL. The offensive line gave up 41 sacks last year and they were very inconsistent. The defense held teams to 20.1 points per game last season and they should be better this year.

#2 Texas A&M: The Aggies had the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation in 2022.

The question is can they convert that into winning the West, getting to the SEC Championship and the CFB Playoff? No, but I think they can win double-digit games.

Quarterback Haynes King was injured in the second game of 2021. He returns in 2022 along with LSU transfer Max Johnson and true freshman Conner Weigman.

They need more big plays from the passing game and true freshman Evan Stewart could provide that. Devon Achane rushed for 910 yards, 9 touchdowns and averaged 7 yards per carry in ’21. He should have a breakout year and the offensive line returns three starters.

#3 Arkansas: All-SEC candidate KJ Jefferson returns at QB, four starters on the o line and a solid backfield led by Rocket Sanders.

It’s going to be tough to replace receiver Treylon Burks (66 catches) and the big-plays he used to make. Transfer receiver Jadon Haselwood (Oklahoma) and Matt Landers (Toledo) will compete with Warren Thompson for the top target.

The defense gave up 29.6 ppg in SEC Play last year but they thrived at getting third down stops and limiting teams in the red zone.

They only return four starters but they added several players from the transfer portal. That includes ends Jordan Domineck (Georgia Tech) and Landon Jackson (LSU), linebacker Drew Sanders (Alabama), and defensive backs Dwight McGlothern (LSU) and Latavious Brini (Georgia).

#4 LSU: Bryan Kelly left Notre Dame to take over this program.

The Tigers are 11-12 over the last two seasons so they have a lot to improve. Only six starters return but they typically have talented players in Baton Rouge.

The secondary finished 12th in the SEC in pass efficiency defense last fall. They have several transfer players that should be able to contribute.

Garrett Nussmeier, Jayden Daniels and Myles Brennan are battling for the starting quarterback job.

#5 Ole Miss: The Rebels are coming off of 10 wins and a Sugar Bowl appearance. They lost several key contributors like QB Matt Corrall, running backs Jerrion Ealy and Snoop Conner and receiver Dontario Drummond.

USC transfer QB Jaxson Dart is expected to win the starting job. They also have several transfers on both sides of the ball.

#6 Mississippi State: The Bulldogs won seven games last year and return 17 starters. QB Will Rogers returns to lead an offense that averaged 378.3 passing yards per game and 29.1 ppg.

They allowed 34 sacks in 2021 and lose both starting tackles.

Having playmakers step up to keep the Air Raid going will be the storyline.

#7 Auburn: The Tigers lost five games to end the season, several players transferred and coach Bryan Harsin is already on the hot seat.

Running backs Tank Bigsby and Jarquez Hunter should be the focal point of the offense.

They ranked 11th in the SEC in scoring last season.

Omaha!

By: Kipp Branch

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

One of the underrated sporting events in the country starts today and ends on June 27th.

It is the College World Series. The field looks balanced this year with no clear favorite after Tennessee, the self-proclaimed greatest team of all-time, choked at home in the Super Regionals losing to Notre Dame in grand fashion.

The field includes four SEC teams and two others, Oklahoma and Texas, who will be joining the SEC by 2025.

The SEC is dominant in most sports these days. The College World Series is played annually in Omaha, Nebraska. There should be plenty of SEC chants going on over the next 10 days. The CWS is a double-elimination tournament.

 

2022 COLLEGE WORLD SERIES Round 1

All Times Eastern

 

Friday, June 17

Oklahoma vs #5 Texas A&M 2 pm ESPN: A match-up of two SEC teams. One current and one in future in Oklahoma.

This was a huge rivalry when A&M was in the Big 12 so these programs are familiar with each other.

In his first year at Texas A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle has reached the College World Series. He took TCU to Omaha five times in his 18 years at TCU. The Aggies are hot currently, so give me Texas A&M in this contest.

Notre Dame vs #9 Texas 7 pm ESPN: This should be a great contest. Texas lost game one in the Supers at East Carolina. Then come back and walked off with a win in game two and blew ECU out in game three to earn a trip to Omaha.

The Longhorns hit the long-ball frequently and will be a tough out in the CWS. Notre Dame, like I mentioned earlier, is riding high after beating Tennessee in Knoxville to earn a berth.

This is a tough gritty team that is dangerous in an environment like Omaha.

Give me Texas in this contest because the Longhorns have made the CWS field 38 times since the inception of the CWS.

The 2022 tournament marks the 75th playing of the CWS. Texas has been there more than half of the time. No other program has more than 25 appearances. Give me Texas in this match-up.

 

Saturday, June 18

Arkansas vs #2 Stanford 2 pm ESPN: Stanford always has good pitching, and this year is no exception. Arkansas was the Top overall seed in 2021 and did not make the CWS but went to Chapel Hill and beat a tough North Carolina team in three games to earn a spot in 2022.

Arkansas is peaking at the right time. Watch out for the Hogs. Give me Arkansas in this game.

Ole Miss vs #14 Auburn 7 pm ESPN2: Ole Miss may be the hottest team in college baseball right now. They were Preseason #1 that slumped badly in the middle of the season, only to get hot at tourney time.

The Rebels were the one of the last teams (probably last) selected to the field of 64 and have gone on a run and won a Super in Hattiesburg by sweeping Southern Miss and not giving up a run.

Auburn got sent to Corvallis, Oregon for a Super Regional and beat Oregon State.

Auburn has been a major surprise in 2022. The Tigers have a good power packed line-up. The SEC goes head-to-head in this one. Give me Ole Miss in this contest.

Teams with deep pitching staffs will rise to the top during the tourney. When it is all said and done, here is how I see it playing out:

 

Bracket One:

Notre Dame

Oklahoma

Texas

Texas A&M

 

Winner: Texas

 

Bracket Two:

Arkansas

Auburn

Ole Miss

Stanford

 

Winner: Arkansas

 

College WS Final:

Arkansas vs Texas

Winner: Arkansas

 

Arkansas is your 2022 National Baseball Champions.

The Crystal Ball Of The SEC

By: Kipp Branch

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Labor Day weekend is upon us and that means the greatest game of all, College Football kicks off.

I love many sports, but college football is just special. In this part of the world, you have SEC football; which is the best brand in college athletics.

Others try and duplicate it, but they simply come up short.

Oklahoma and Texas are moving over probably next season instead of 2025. Some critics say conference expansion is bad using excuses like geography, and any other reason they can find.

We live in a generation of participation trophies as it relates to sports, and quite frankly the SEC has an ‘iron sharpens iron’ kind of mentality and that keeps them ahead of the rest in the college football world.

Here are my 2021 SEC Predictions:

Most Overrated Team: Texas A&M: The 2021 hype train has the Aggies picked by some to knock of Alabama to win the West.

I don’t think defensively A&M is there yet, and will Jimbo Fisher open up the offense to the Alabama and LSU levels of the past two seasons?

I don’t think the Aggies have those types of weapons and will come up short in the West. What happens if they lose at home to Alabama? Well, they are and I think they end up losing to Ole Miss and possibly LSU.

Most Underrated Team: Ole Miss: Ole Miss may end up having the best offense in the conference. So, when you line up against this team you better be prepared to score a lot of points.

Everyone harps on the Ole Miss defense, but I ask the question they can’t be worse than they were last year, right? I expect improvement out of the unit in 2021. This team could sneak up into the double-digit win category.

SEC West:

Alabama: Until someone knocks them off, they are the pick here.

Nick Saban is the best head coach in the history of the conference and he has the national championships to prove it in the playoff era of college football.

Ole Miss: This team is dangerous. Sleep on them if you want to.

Texas A&M: I’m just not buying the hype. This team is too conservative on offense, and do they have enough defense to be championship elite? The answer is no.

LSU: Coach O it is starting to slip away. Fix it in 2021 or your seat is going to get very hot.

Auburn: New coaching staff that wants to go from a spread offense to more of a pro type offense. Going to take some time Aubbies.

Arkansas: I love how the Hogs are building this roster, but you are in the best division of the best conference in college football.

Mississippi State: Not a terrible team, but you have six bowl teams ahead of you.

SEC East:

Georgia: This is an elite football program that gets the underachiever label by folks who don’t hold everyone to the same standard they judge UGA by.

Could it be they know UGA is about to knock the National Title door down in the near future and what that may mean? Cue the 1980 jokes haters.

Florida: Gators will be good, but a different kind of good. One that starts with better defensive play. Florida lost 6,600 yards and 79 TDs to the NFL draft from last year.

Missouri: A much improved Tiger squad could challenge for 2nd in the East.

Kentucky: Nope, I’m not buying what you are selling Cats. Your offense is like watching paint dry.

Tennessee: Vols are building back the roster. It is going to take a couple of years.

South Carolina: The Gamecocks are starting a Graduate Assistant at QB. Ouch!

Vanderbilt: We love the Dores during baseball season, but they are an instant win during the fall.

SEC Title game will be Alabama against Georgia.

I Have The Power

By: Kipp Branch

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Thanksgiving is almost upon us in the pandemic-stricken football season of 2020.

Just this weekend alone you have four games in the SEC that have been postponed and scheduled for a later date due to the Coronavirus. Will we make it through the regular season?

Who knows that answer, but here are my SEC Power Rankings at this point of the season:

Alabama: The Crimson Tide hung 52 points on Texas A&M. Alabama hung 41 on Georgia before Georgia’s defense was officially exposed as a fraud.

Mac Jones and Najee Harris are Heisman candidates.

This defense is starting to come around, and there is no team in the conference that will stand in their way on a cruise to the SEC Championship.

Florida could pose some problems, but that defense can’t stop a faucet drip.

Nick Saban is still the best in the business. Alabama’s offense might be better than a couple of NFL teams that are in the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes. SEC Champion and College Football playoff team.

Texas A&M: By virtue of beating Florida the Aggies land here.

The Aggies played awful against Alabama, but doesn’t everyone not named Auburn and LSU once every 8 years?

Jimbo Fisher is in position to get a College Football playoff bid without winning a conference championship if his team can run the table and finish 9-1 in this pandemic season.  This team is improving weekly.

Florida: The Gators got over the UGA hurdle last week, but UGA left three TD’s on the field with awful QB play.

Kyle Trask may be the Heisman front-runner at the moment.

Dan Mullen needs to get something out of this season because Trask will not be back next year.

This defense can’t stop an elite team like Alabama. I see Florida finishing the season with a 10-2 record with a nice NY6 Bowl win over someone to be determined.

This offense is really good, and they just completed another 40-yard wheel route to a running back on Georgia.

Mullen still has a month to fix this defense before the Alabama SEC title game.

Georgia: UGA lands here by default.

The QB room is a mess and the defense can’t stop a good college passing offense.

UGA may finish 8-2 who knows, but last weekend in Jacksonville left a bitter taste in the mouth of the Bulldog Nation.

Carson Beck needs to get his shot Kirby.

Auburn: With the win over a bad LSU team Gus may have survived once again.

Perception is reality you know.

This is a team that did not score a TD against UGA.

Arkansas: The Razorbacks are the most improved team in the SEC.

“The Pit Boss” Sam Pittman is the SEC coach of the year. Arkansas is the SEC feel good story of the year. The Hogs are 3-3 currently and are a pretty decent football team.

Ole Miss: The Rebels have the third best offense in the SEC.

Once Lane Kiffin can shore up that defense with a couple of recruiting cycles look out SEC.

This is an exciting team to watch.

LSU: Yeah, we know the Tigers lost 14 players to the NFL draft, but damn this is LSU.

Covid-19 delayed a monumental beating from Alabama this weekend, but don’t worry LSU its coming in December.

Tennessee: You can shake 9-14 up in a bag.

Tennessee should be better than this.

Missouri: The Tigers are rebuilding and show signs of life.

South Carolina: Hugh Freeze is sitting by the phone Carolina fans.

Kentucky: Watching this offense is like staring at paint drying.

Mississippi State: The Air Raid is a dud in the SEC. The LSU game was fool’s gold against an awful defense.

Vanderbilt: Baseball season will start soon Vandy fans.

Power Rankings in Coastal Georgia seem to be a hot topic these days.

How The West Was Won

By: Kipp Branch

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Why don’t we take a look at the toughest division in all of College Football and that, my friends, is the SEC West.

Here are my SEC West Predictions for 2019:

Alabama 12-0: Tua will be the frontrunner for the Heisman, and Najee Harris may be the best overall running back in the SEC when it is said and done production wise.

The Alabama receiving corps with headlined by Jerry Jeudy are the best in college football.

Nick Saban is the best in the business, and the Tide has the best starting 22 players in the country.

LSU comes to Bryant-Denny, but dangerous road trips to Texas A&M and Auburn seem to be the only hurdles on the regular season slate. Alabama heads to Atlanta for another epic showdown with Georgia for the SEC Title.

LSU 9-3: Coach O has got the Tigers headed back in the right direction.

Joe Burrow is back under center for a second straight season. John Emery is coming in at running back, and LSU has the best defensive backfield in the conference.

With that said this team is not going to beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa. A tough road game at Texas in week 2, and dangerous SEC road trips to Starkville and Oxford in mid-season. I think the Tigers drop one of those Magnolia State road trips.

Texas A&M 8-4: This schedule is brutal with the SEC West slate plus Clemson and Georgia. Is this team ready for primetime?

The Aggies lost their leader rusher and tackler from 2018. Is Kellen Mond an elite SEC QB? Jimbo Fisher is an elite coach, but it’s still too early to proclaim the Aggies as great in this division.

The Aggies will lose to Alabama and LSU in the West this year.

Auburn 8-4: Gus Malzahn is sitting on the hottest seat in the conference.

Who is going to be the starting QB? Will a running back up to Auburn historical standards surface? The front seven on defense will be solid and Derrick Brown may be the best defensive lineman in the conference.

Who knows about this team? Georgia and Alabama come to Jordan-Hare. Brutal schedule with the opener in Dallas against Oregon and a trip to Florida make it hard to predict big things for the Tigers in 2019 which usually means they play in the National Title game right?

A lot of questions right now in Auburn, Alabama. Gus is feeling the heat.

Ole Miss 8-4: This is my SEC West sleeper team. Yes, I see 8 wins on the schedule.

This team has some talent on offense with Matt Corral at QB. Ole Miss always has productive wide receivers. Can this defense hold up is the question?

I think the Rebels come back in 2019 after the probation period and go bowling.

Rich Rodriguez may have struggled as a head coach, but he is one of the best offensive coordinators in the business. This offense will cause problems in the SEC.

Mississippi State 6-6: The Bulldogs are going to struggle in 2019.

How do you lose three first round draft picks on defense from 2018 and improve on that side of the ball?

MSU gets in a bowl at 6-6 and the heat starts getting turned up on Joe Moorhead in 2020. Keytaon Thompson has talent at QB. The jury is out on the Bulldogs.

Arkansas 4-8: Chad Morris is in a total rebuild in Fayetteville.

It is going to take a couple more recruiting classes for Arkansas to be competitive again. Proud program that let a Big 10 coach come in and drive it over a cliff. Hog fans need to be patient with Chad Morris.

Bowl Teams: Alabama, LSU, Texas A&M, Auburn, Ole Miss, Mississippi State

Division upset of the year: Ole Miss over LSU in Oxford on 11/16. LSU suffers a letdown after losing to Alabama on 11/9.

SEC Championship Game: Georgia over Alabama

SEC Best Basketball Conference In The Country

By: JJ Lanier

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

For years the SEC has been known as a football conference, and with good reason.

The start of the basketball season was just viewed as the beginning of the countdown until spring football games; each passing game meant fans were just one day closer to the start of the gridiron season.

Over the past few years SEC basketball has slowly crept up the rung of high powered basketball conferences. With four teams participating in this year’s Sweet Sixteen, they may have finally arrived.

I’ve joked in the past how outside of John Calipari the rest of the SEC had basically become the “Land of Misfit Coaches”. Names like Rick Barnes, Bruce Pearl, Tom Crean, and Ben Howland; all on their own personal reclamation journeys after being dismissed from more prestigious jobs.

While it’s still too early in Crean’s tenure at Georgia, the other hires have undoubtedly exceeded expectations. Throw in other coaches like Kermit Davis and Mike White, and suddenly the SEC coaching tree is as strong as any in the country.

(Up until a few weeks ago I would’ve included Will Wade on that list with Davis and White. I do think Wade is a good coach, but I’d be shocked if he coaches another game for LSU.)

The conferences strong showing in this year’s tournament, and the increasing possibility of having at least one Final Four team, can only bolster their upward projection.

Barnes’ Volunteers did their best to help run his consecutive tournament appearances without a trip to the Sweet Sixteen to eight, but low and behold they were able to break the streak. Now, they are probably the favorite to come out their region.

North Carolina is still the favorite to come out of the Midwest, but Auburn is as dangerous as any remaining team with their ability to stretch the floor and propensity for hitting the three.

Kentucky will need PJ Washington back in order for them to have any legitimate shot of beating Houston, and either UNC or Auburn. Still, that doesn’t mean the Wildcats will be a pushover.

And as a Duke fan, if the Blue Devils are lucky enough to get past Virginia Tech, I do not want any part of LSU. The Tigers, along with Tennessee, have arguably been the best team in the SEC this season.

My only concern for LSU entering the tournament was how they would handle all the off court distractions. After two good, but not overly impressive wins, I’m not sure they’ve quite answered that question yet. However, they are long, athletic, and talented enough to beat any one of the other remaining teams.

There was a four to five year span where SEC basketball consisted of Kentucky, and that was about it. The remainder of the league basically took turns at mediocrity, with the occasional surprise tournament run.

The SEC is still viewed as a step below conferences like the ACC and Big Ten when it comes to all around talent and depth, but they’ve made up a lot of ground in a short period of time.

The league may be full of coaches on their second or third chances, but they have all but turned the corner on being “reclamation projects”.

Basketball will never be as big as football in SEC country, but with some consistency and a few deep tournament runs, those three to four months may be actually be referred to as “basketball season” and not just “football’s offseason”.

A Plain Change?

By: Kipp Branch

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Auburn started the 2018 season ranked in the top 10 and beat a ranked Washington team the opening weekend in Atlanta.

The Tigers went into a week 3 matchup with LSU and ended up being exposed on offense in a 22-21 loss.

Back to back losses to Mississippi State and a bad loss at home to rebuilding Tennessee started the rumblings on the plains and then another loss to UGA in Athens, and having 52 hung on them in the Iron Bowl has Malzahn’s future at Auburn being questioned by many around the SEC.

Malzahn’s overall record at Auburn now is 53-27 in six years. Outside of the miracle season of 2013 where Auburn went 12-2, won the SEC, and lost the National Title game to FSU, what have the Tigers done that is so special?

Yes, I know Auburn won the SEC West in 2017 and beat number one ranked Georgia and Alabama in a three week span that November. I get that, but this program turned around and lost to Georgia in the 2017 SEC Title game 28-7 and then lost to UCF in the Peach Bowl to finish 10-4 on that season.

Auburn is 41-25 over the past five seasons, the natives are getting restless in Auburn, Alabama. So basically, Auburn under Gus is a program that is going to lose 4 or 5 games a season.

That is not acceptable at Auburn and they are trying to stay in the same area code as rival Alabama. Alabama is winning 13-14 games a season now under Saban, while Auburn is an 8-5 type team.

Let’s take a look at reasons why Auburn is struggling right now:

Stubbornness: Gus always says the right things in the media and promises change, but nothing seems to change especially as it centers around play calling on offense.

This is Malzahn’s offense at Auburn and now that Chip Lindsey is gone the focus is squarely on Gus. That is all on Malzahn. The offense is his baby.

Jarret Stidham will have a successful pro career, but I don’t think Auburn knew how to use his skill set properly. The fan base turned on Stidham, but forgot that without Stidham Auburn doesn’t win the SEC West in 2017.

Running Back: How does a school that produced William Andrews, James Brooks, Bo Jackson, Brent Fullwood, Rudy Johnson, Carnell Williams, Ronnie Brown, and Kerryon Johnson, not have a big time running back? Auburn can’t run the football, and it’s because they don’t have a big time running back. This is squarely on Gus.

Player Development: If you look at five year recruiting ranking averages Auburn is in the top ten, but Auburn has lost, on average, 5 games per season in the same cycle. What is happening to all of that talent? Gus Malzahn is the head coach of Auburn University and the buck stops with him.

Auburn hung 63 on Purdue in the Music City Bowl and Gus was feeling really good about his play calling in that contest. Will that be enough to quiet down the critics on the plains?

If not for The Prayer at Jordan Hare against UGA, or the Kick Six against Alabama in 2013 would Gus still be the football coach at Auburn University?

Keep a close watch on this situation at Auburn. If Auburn struggles early in 2019 will Gus make it to October?

Auburn is a proud football program, but the Tigers have been losing to UGA and Alabama a lot lately. That will not cut it on The Plains.

Tiger fans are praying that incoming QB Bo Nix has the same impact that Jake Fromm has had at UGA. That may be what saves the Gus Bus at AU.