Althon sports projects football standings

[GreenheadDawg]

http://athlonsports.com/college-football/sec-football-2014-predictions

I still don't understand the love for OM. I just don't get it.

[TheRef]

Sexiness....that's the only reason I can think of.

[jumbo]

I don't disagree too much with those picks. I've said all along we will both be 8-3 heading into the Egg Bowl

[codeDawg]

Here is their thought process for UM over LSU:

Ole Miss probably doesn?t have as much overall roster depth as LSU, but you could argue that the Rebels have fewer weaknesses heading into the 2014 season. The key for Ole Miss is senior quarterback Bo Wallace. If he plays up to his potential on a consistent basis ? and of course remains healthy ? the Rebels should enjoy their first winning SEC season since 2008, Houston Nutt?s first year in Oxford.

So essentially, they are not as talented as LSU, but they have fewer weaknesses (wha?). Also, Bo Wallace, who has not played up to his potential OR remained healthy has to do that.

No mention of MSU with the #2 QB in the SEC (behind a NC player) with the most returning starters that beat UM to end the season last year playing 95% of the game with the 3rd string QB. Way to do that research Athlon. Way to go.

Athlon 2013 Predictions vs Actual (http://athlonsports.com/college-football/sec-football-2013-predictions):
1. Alabama (2)
2. aTm (4)
3. LSU (3)
4. UM (6)
5. MSU (5)
6. Auburn (1)
7. uPig (7)

Athlon 2012 Predictions vs Actual (http://athlonsports.com/college-football/sec-football-2012-predictions):
1. Alabama (1)
2. uPig (6)
3. Auburn (7)
4. LSU (2)
5. MSU (4)
6. UM (5)
7. aTm (3)

[Coach34]

OM is going to be pretty good. They have huge games at home with Bama, Auburn, and us

The problems OM faces are that their big swing games are on the road- LSU, A&M, and UPig. And they dont have any OL depth

[GreenheadDawg]

OM is going to be pretty good. They have huge games at home with Bama, Auburn, and us

The problems OM faces are that their big swing games are on the road- LSU, A&M, and UPig. And they dont have any OL depth

I agree, Im not saying OM is going to suck I just don't think they are gonna be world beaters like the national media thinks. I saw something the other day calling them a NC dark horse contender. Are you F'n kidding me? They will be good and we COULD have the same record going into the egg bowl but O-line can make or break a season just like quarterback play, and OM's O-line is gonna be pretty bad.

[msstate7]

I agree, Im not saying OM is going to suck I just don't think they are gonna be world beaters like the national media thinks. I saw something the other day calling them a NC dark horse contender. Are you F'n kidding me? They will be good and we COULD have the same record going into the egg bowl but O-line can make or break a season just like quarterback play, and OM's O-line is gonna be pretty bad.

If tunsil goes down, their season could fall apart rather quickly. Their offense wasn't fooling anyone at the end of last season.

[spudd21]

Top 5 recruiting class****

[Bothrops]

OM will not beat Auburn.

[starkvegasdawg]

Our seasons hinge on the play of our OL's and if they can stay injury free. We might could absorb one hit to the line. TSUN can afford any losses.

[dawgindothan]

The problems OM faces are that their big swing games are on the road- LSU, A&M, and UPig. And they dont have any OL depth

Good point about their swing games being on the road, but their OL situation is worse than just no depth. Other than Tunsil and Aaron Morris (who has basically been injured since the end of the 2012 season and ballooned up to 375 lbs at one point), they don't have any proven OL. Who knows how their OL who have redshirted or played sparingly will perform when thrown into the meat grinder that is the SEC. Jackson Calloway product Justin Bell has played some at G and is supposedly a good kid, but he's a borderline SEC talent. If a team's OL struggles, the whole offense struggles.

[dawgindothan]

I saw something the other day calling them a NC dark horse contender.

link?

[blacklistedbully]

OM is going to be pretty good. They have huge games at home with Bama, Auburn, and us

The problems OM faces are that their big swing games are on the road- LSU, A&M, and UPig. And they dont have any OL depth


Coach, you don't think more defenses are catching up to what the bears are doing offensively?

[BeastMan]

The only thing I think about these predictions is Athlon picking Ole Miss to lose to Boise. 8-4 and 5-3 means a OOC loss. Picking that is bold. MSU at 8-4 and 4-4 sounds right to me

[GreenheadDawg]

The only thing I think about these predictions is Athlon picking Ole Miss to lose to Boise. 8-4 and 5-3 means a OOC loss. Picking that is bold. MSU at 8-4 and 4-4 sounds right to me

I'm sorry but if we are 8-4 and 4-4 then i'm going to be extremely disappointed and consider that an underachievement. Period

[DawgSaint]

Serious question.... Do they even have a tackle on campus to replace their transfer?

[codeDawg]

Serious question.... Do they even have a tackle on campus to replace their transfer?

If I remember correctly, they have a JUCO guy and another guy that was moved to C, but is going to have to come back.

[DownwardDawg]

I'm sorry but if we are 8-4 and 4-4 then i'm going to be extremely disappointed and consider that an underachievement. Period

I will never consider 8-4 an underacheivement.

[GreenheadDawg]

I will never consider 8-4 an underacheivement.

Agree to disagree I guess

[Coach34]

Coach, you don't think more defenses are catching up to what the bears are doing offensively?

I think defenses are adjusting- but the biggest problem I saw was OM's OL getting their ass handed to them vs good defensive fronts

[dawgs]

I'm sorry but if we are 8-4 and 4-4 then i'm going to be extremely disappointed and consider that an underachievement. Period

Absolutely agree. We've never had and probably will never have a better situation to win 10+ games in the sec west with the current crop of HCs running things.

We may not have the pure talent of Bama/aub/lsu, but we have depth, experience, and pretty damn good talent, and for once in my life, a difference maker at QB. While Bama, lsu, and a&m are all breaking in a lot of new pieces, including new QBs. The stars are aligned IMO, and if we don't capitalize this year, we'll never do it.

[codeDawg]

I think defenses are adjusting- but the biggest problem I saw was OM's OL getting their ass handed to them vs good defensive fronts

They got it handed to them versus good DL's, and Wallace couldn't do what he should have been able to do. No time to throw, nobody to throw it, and only one guy that can run the ball isn't going to get it done.

Freeze has said that they know what they were doing last year didn't work and they were going back to the drawing board. He's a smart guy, so I expect him to come out gunning early in the season, but scheme can only disguise holes on the OL and the toll injuries will take at other thin positions for so long.

[msstate7]

Absolutely agree. We've never had and probably will never have a better situation to win 10+ games in the sec west with the current crop of HCs running things.

We may not have the pure talent of Bama/aub/lsu, but we have depth, experience, and pretty damn good talent, and for once in my life, a difference maker at QB. While Bama, lsu, and a&m are all breaking in a lot of new pieces, including new QBs. The stars are aligned IMO, and if we don't capitalize this year, we'll never do it.

I agree with ya 100% and that's rare

[Miss. Stake]

Absolutely agree. We've never had and probably will never have a better situation to win 10+ games in the sec west with the current crop of HCs running things.

We may not have the pure talent of Bama/aub/lsu, but we have depth, experience, and pretty damn good talent, and for once in my life, a difference maker at QB. While Bama, lsu, and a&m are all breaking in a lot of new pieces, including new QBs. The stars are aligned IMO, and if we don't capitalize this year, we'll never do it.


You're forgetting one more important component.. Our schedule. I don't know if we'll ever have a schedule again to set us up any better for a 10 win season. There's no doubt pre-season wise (you never know how the season will unfold) this is the one year to put aside past pessimism and go into this season as optimistic as ever.

[Johnson85]

Way to do that research Athlon.

I don't get this. Isn't Athlon a college football magazine? I can understand a magazine like sports illustrated not doing its homework; their market for the most part will only have passing familiarity with individual teams anyway. But how can Athlon not do a detailed look, at least with respect to the major conferences and especially with respect to the SEC.

[RossDawg82]

If Im the DC for one of these SEC squads, Im lining up 8 in the box and making Bo beat me. They wont run the ball and those screens wont be as effective if you jam them at the line. I feel confident that Bo will have lost all confidence in himself by week 9. Our Defensive Line will absolutely destroy those OL for Ole Miss. Bring it on Bo, Its you against us.

[PMDawg]

I don't get this. Isn't Athlon a college football magazine? I can understand a magazine like sports illustrated not doing its homework; their market for the most part will only have passing familiarity with individual teams anyway. But how can Athlon not do a detailed look, at least with respect to the major conferences and especially with respect to the SEC.

Apparently not. their write up on us said that we finished spring practice with no idea who would take the other Guard spot vacated by Jackson. While losing Jackson hurts, we have plenty of really good guards ready to play. Back up center and the 2 deep at RT are the issues on the OL.

[Pollodawg]

That O line will haunt the rebs. You can bank on it. Games are won and lost up front in this league, and OM doesn't have the O line to make any serious noise this season. An O line can break a season. Just look at MSU circa 2011. O lineman go down, Relf breaks ribs, team never gets it together, we limp to 7-6.

[Coach34]

If Im the DC for one of these SEC squads, Im lining up 8 in the box and making Bo beat me. They wont run the ball and those screens wont be as effective if you jam them at the line. I feel confident that Bo will have lost all confidence in himself by week 9. Our Defensive Line will absolutely destroy those OL for Ole Miss. Bring it on Bo, Its you against us.

The teams that hurt them the most just ran 3 and 4 man fronts and dared them to just run the ball. They couldnt do it

[Homedawg]

The teams that hurt them the most just ran 3 and 4 man fronts and dared them to just run the ball. They couldnt do it

I remember a November night when we put 6 in the box and they couldn't do it! And that November hasn't had it's year anniversary yet!...to add Bucky even said in his post game, we couldn't run against what should have been a good look- when they had 6 in the box!

[Coach34]

we had 5 in the box on some 3rd and longs

[smootness]

The teams that hurt them the most just ran 3 and 4 man fronts and dared them to just run the ball. They couldnt do it

This, and there's no reason to think they'll be much improved there. The OL should be worse overall, and all of their RBs were already on campus last year; they didn't bring in anyone in their recruiting class that is a threat to get good PT, so if any of their guys were good enough, they would have at least given glimpses last year. And if Wilkins was good enough, he would have played.

[RougeDawg]

If they lose to Boise, making a bowl game will be difficult for them. I see 5-7 wins depending on Boise and Egg Bowl. They will have injuries. This is the SEC. Everyone has injuries. Since they have 0.00 depth, their injuries will catch up to them. They better be glad they had Boise opening game, because a late season game with injuries against Boise would most likely be a loss. I see a 2-6, 3-5 in sec play for them as well. They may beat ark and another upset against a team asleep at the wheel like LSU last year, and also a 3rd if the win the Egg. They have 3-4 most likely wins on schedule: Ark, Presbyterian, Memphis, and ULL. I have no idea what ULL has coming back, and Ark could be much improved in year 2 under Bilemma(sp?). To me they need 0.0000 injuries and a good bit lucky breaks to finish higher than 5th in west. I also have no clue what A&M will do either.

Let's just hope every one of their opponents took notes during the Bears last two regular season games on how to stop Bucky's Bubble Screen Offense.

The top 4 teams in west are Bama, Aub, LSU And MSU with either of those having a legitimate shot at winning the west. The love media love affair with Bucky's Bunch will soon fade, just like the recruiting honeymoon has already ended. You can't pull the smoke and mirrors forever and people keep believing in you.

[smootness]

I fully expect Ole Miss to make a bowl, but if they lose to Boise State, that could change. Not because I think that game will determine if they get to 6 wins, but because if they lose to Boise State this year, it means they aren't very good.

[DudyDawg]

I'm sorry but if we are 8-4 and 4-4 then i'm going to be extremely disappointed and consider that an underachievement. Period

I think you can't really call it an underachievement, but, I wouldn't be thrilled. I think we should win nine and maybe pull ten from our ass, but that would require a huge upset. But I know this season will likely break my heart

[sandwolf]

I have no idea what ULL has coming back......

Per Phil Steel, they return 8 starters on offense (including their QB and 4 OL), 9 starters on defense, their kicker and their punter. So, they definitely won't be a pushover.

[Jack Lambert]

I think defenses are adjusting- but the biggest problem I saw was OM's OL getting their ass handed to them vs good defensive fronts

I agree. Ever since I have been following football there has always been some Offense that defenses have trouble with for a few years and then those offenses go away once defenses learn them.

[dawgs]

Per Phil Steel, they return 8 starters on offense (including their QB and 4 OL), 9 starters on defense, their kicker and their punter. So, they definitely won't be a pushover.

Yep. They also have a ton of guys on the preseason all-conference lists. They will absolutely give ole miss a hell of a game and it wouldn't surprise me at all if they pull the upset.

[msstate7]

Yep. They also have a ton of guys on the preseason all-conference lists. They will absolutely give ole miss a hell of a game and it wouldn't surprise me at all if they pull the upset.

Calling it now. OM has less than stellar season. They lose to Boise, vandy, and ull to start season. Dan finishes off Hugh's OM career and OM goes after hud.

[sandwolf]

Calling it now. OM has less than stellar season. They lose to Boise, vandy, and ull to start season. Dan finishes off Hugh's OM career and OM goes after hud.

I know that Vandy always seems to give them fits, but I just can't see it this year. Vandy will be really bad.

[RougeDawg]

Per Phil Steel, they return 8 starters on offense (including their QB and 4 OL), 9 starters on defense, their kicker and their punter. So, they definitely won't be a pushover.

I know they were very competitive last year and Hud is building steam down there. Side note: They are almost done with a stadium expansion that will bring them up to 48-49k I believe. They are definitely getting better.