C34's SEC West preview- 2014

[Coach34]

This year's predicted West finish:

1. Alabama
2. Miss State
3. Auburn
4. LSU
5. Mississippi
6. Texas A&M
7. UPig


1. Alabama- Another typical Saban team- great RB's and a physical OL on offense and a talented D. Offensively, they have some questions at the QB position that need to be answered. It should concern all the Bammer fans in every trailer park that they have needed a transfer to come in and take over at QB- especially when he couldnt start at his previous school. And this cat didnt even go thru Spring practice. To offset the QB uncertainty, expect them to be very physical and run it down people's throats. You can do that with a physical OL and RB's like Yeldon and Henry. Amari Cooper is one of the SEC's best at WR and they also return TE OJ Howard.
Defensively, the Tide will be well-coached and physical as always. They will be replacing quite a few of their front 7- but it will be replaced with talent. DePriest is one of the SEC's best LB's. The strength of Bama's D is the Secondary- which returns 3 guys and is coached by their HC.

The schedule favors Bama in 2014- they have offweeks to get ready for road games in Oxford and Baton Rouge. They play the other 2 best West teams at home in State and Auburn. I cant see Bama losing more than 1 in 2014 on their way to Atlanta.

2. Miss State- Best team Dan Mullen has fielded yet. The Bulldogs return 8 starters on offense led by the dynamic Dakota Prescott. Prescott will be vying to be the SEC's best at the QB position. A very good runner, Prescott got better as the year went by last year as a passer. He has done nothing but impress scouts and others around college football during Spring Practice and then at the Manning Passing Academy. At RB, Josh Robinson finally gets his time to shine. A bowling ball of a runner, Robinson has averaged 6 ypc for his career. He and Prescott make an imposing backfield. Robinson will get some help from Ashton Shumpert, Nick Griffin, and freshman Aeris Williams.
The Bulldogs return their entire WR corps and that group is fairly talented. Lewis and Wilson are the top 2, but they have some other solid pieces. Malcolm Johnson is a solid SEC TE, and juco transfer Darion Hutcherson will do nothing but make that group better. The OL returns 4 starters (one who was injured for most of 2013) and has a little depth. State definitely needs their OL to stay relatively healthy- but that is true of most teams.
Defensively, State has an elite defense. This group that finished 16th in the country last season, returns 23 of their top 26 players. The DL will be hell on the right side with Chris Jones at DT and Preston Smith at DE. Look for Ryan Brown to breakout at DE on the left side. The LB'ers are as good as it gets as a group. Potential 1st round pick Bernardrick McKinney leads this group, along with Bennie Brown and Matthew Wells. The Secondary is led by playmaker Taveze Calhoun who is joined by 2 other good CB's in Love and Redmond. Hughes and Cox should start the Safety positions. This D is good and has lots of depth.

The schedule also favors State in 2014- swing games vs Auburn and A&M are in Starkville at Jackie Sherrill Stadium, and the Dawgs get UPig at home plus Vandy and Kentucky from the East. Mullen has to find a way to win in T-Town, Baton Rouge, or Oxford to make this a truly special season. They have the week off to get ready for A&M- that's huge.

3. Auburn- Auburn is very talented and could win the West, but their schedule does them no favors. The WarEagleTigersPlainesmen return QB Nick Marshall- another candidate for All-SEC QB. They will be looking however for a RB to replace Mason. That wont be as hard as you think because they return 4 starters on a very good OL. They also return 2/3 of their WR's- making this offense very dangerous, especially when coached by Malzahn.
Defensively, Auburn has to replace some guys and this group has some questions marks. McKinzy, Therezie, Whitehead, and Mincy lead this group. The health of Lawson is a big question for them at DE.

The schedule turns against Auburn in 2014- they have to travel to T-Town, Starkville the week after playing LSU, Oxford the week after playing SC, and to Athens. That's a toughass SEC schedule. If they win the West, they will have damn sure earned it.

4. LSU- This HAS TO BE the year Lester falls back after losing so much talent early to the NFL draft. They have had a crazy amount of Juniors declare the last 2 years- that has to take its toll right?
Offensively, they have a physical, veteran OL that is going to be physical and punish people. They return 4 starters there and a giant at TE also in Dillon Gordon. Where they have questions is who is going to be the QB? Neither Harris or Jennings have much experience. They signed a beast of a RB in Fournette- but hell, LSU is always good at RB. They have a brand new group of WR's to go with brand new QB's. Can LSU's QB's complete enough passes to back off the safeties out of the Box? We'll see.
Defensively, they are great in the Secondary. They return 3/4 starters there and they can lock you up. Their LB's are good but for the 1st time in a coon's age- LSU has DL questions. Their DE's dont scare you, and they are sooooo young at DT. Losing a starting DT the first week of Fall practice is another blow to that group. Chavis has work to do.

Schedule? They play 9 straight weeks to start the season which could certainly cause some injury problems. Playing State early before their QB's and WR's come along could be a problem. Back to back road games with Auburn and Fla does them no favors. Gonna be a tough ride for LSU in 2014, but dont ever count Lester out. That's when he is the most dangerous.

5. Mississippi- the Rebels are led by QB Bo Dirt. The long-haired Hippie QB looks to be back from his Haiti mission trip much healthier in 2014. The Rebels are average at RB with I'Tavius Mathers earning the starting job. Hopefully they are good enough that they dont have to put DT's at RB this year. The Rebels are good at WR though- with Quon Paidwell leading the way. The future pro will be asked to catch more than bubble screens this season with the departure of Moncrief and Logan. Joining Paidwell will be Sanders, Pack, and Adebayo. Very good group- especially when you throw in Evan Engram at TE. If healthy, he's a solid hybrid that is a very good receiving TE. Their OL returns 2 starters- Big Softy Tunsil and the injured Aaron Morris. If Morris is healthy and Tunsil can toughen up- the left side of their OL will be very good. Lots of questions about their other 3 spots. Their lack of depth here could be a killa if they have any early injuries.

Defensively, the BearSharks should be very solid. Their DC does have a reputation for being exposed in his 3rd season at previous stops though. They are good at DE, especially with the return of CJ Johnson. One thing to watch for on their DL is the lack of size. They are quick and can cause teams some problems- but being small could see some teams wear them down. Gross and Kimchee are very light for DT's- but good players no doubt. Maybe Hamilton can give them some help and allow Gross to play some DE. They are solid at LB but nothing great. They are one of the best in the nation at Safety with Conner and Prewitt. Golson and Jones are solid CB's- Elston is not bad either on D. 9th in the SEC against the run last year- that will tell the tale for them in 2014 on D.

Schedule? Boise in Atlanta on turf definitely gives the BearSharks a speed advantage. They get the West's 3 best teams- Bammer, Auburn, and State at home. They play Vandy and Tennessee from the East. Their swing games are on the road- LSU, A&M, and UPig- can they win those? The BearSharks fate will be told upfront- can they block on the OL as well as stay healthy- and can they stop the run on D?

6. Texas A&M- They lost 3 1st round draft picks from their offense- and still only went 4-4 in the SEC. Their OL will be good as 4 starters return- 2 of them will be draft picks. How good will they be at QB? Will the RB's step up? Lots of new faces at WR. Defensively, they were terrible in 2013. They return 8 starters and that should help- but they have also had some off the field issues from this group.

Schedule? Their schedule is a mf'er. At SC, At State, At Bammer, At Auburn....UPig at a neutral site...I cant see them winning any of their SEC road games- and they will be hardpressed to beat Mississippi, LSU, and Missouri at home. This could easily be a 2-6 SEC team in 2014.

7. UPig- Bert's group will be improved- but who they gonna beat? They play Bammer, Georgia, LSU, and Mississippi at home. Maybe they can upset LSU or Mississippi- MAYBE. Maybe A&M in JerryWorld if they get really lucky and wear that shitty D down. Pig fans gonna be unhappy again 2014.

[Esmerelda Villalobos]

Nice write up

[Covercorner2]

Exactly how I see it finishing

[ShotgunDawg]

Nice write up

If Lester wins 10 games this year after losing all that talent, what will you think of him?

[Skydawg1]

Y'all know it's Leslie, not Lester, right? Just setting the record straight.

[PMDawg]

Ala bama may be starting 2 true frosh at CB. I don't see that being their strength.

[PassInterference]

Good post. Would read again.

[MarketingBully01]

Definitely like your thinking. It's about where I see things as well.

[hells bells]

Coach, rarely listen to sports radio, but I think it was Matt Wyatt and Richard Cross this afternoon. Now I know why I do not listen. Both were smelling a possible upset in the opener against USM if State did not play basically a flawless offense. Fumbles ect, USM would exploit it, well no shit. Am I missing something?

[PassInterference]

I think we can't lay down against USM. We need to play a B game the first 1 or 2 quarters until we get up by about 3 TDs, then it will be over.

This is USM's Super Bowl. For us, it's a non-conf patsy. We just need to not play bad and not let them think they can win.

[tcdog70]

Good analysis, I think A&M is the sleeper.

[Dawgcentral]

Our guys will be fired up. Sure the others will also, so we may give up 7 early. But I look for a tremendous response. I see us winning by 21-24.

[PMDawg]

We will score 50 on USM. Rest easy.

[defiantdog]

Coach, rarely listen to sports radio, but I think it was Matt Wyatt and Richard Cross this afternoon. Now I know why I do not listen. Both were smelling a possible upset in the opener against USM if State did not play basically a flawless offense. Fumbles ect, USM would exploit it, well no shit. Am I missing something?

Interesting.... USM has a ton of holes to fill. Not really because of graduation, but because they have to figure out who's going to start. 10 years ago, Southern Miss could fly down the field and actually make some plays on defense. Unfortunately for them, their offense is lethargic now (not really sure who their qb is.... I guess Nick *******) and the defense is small.

[defiantdog]

Is there really a bad word filter for Mullen with an S? That's awesome.... the kid really is Mullen with an S though.

[Coach34]

I'll be shocked if USM is as good as Rice last year

[Reason2succeed]

I cannot see our players allowing USM to beat them. There are too many Mississippi players on our team. Someone will step up and get the team fired up. The important thing is to go ahead and blow them out and not let them hang around. This is on Mullen and his play calling. After Auburn last year I would hope that he now realizes that we must keep our foot on the pedal until the clock hits 0:00.

[Covercorner2]

It's the first game of the year. We will be up and we will roll

[EAVdog]

I cannot see our players allowing USM to beat them. There are too many Mississippi players on our team. Someone will step up and get the team fired up. The important thing is to go ahead and blow them out and not let them hang around. This is on Mullen and his play calling. After Auburn last year I would hope that he now realizes that we must keep our foot on the pedal until the clock hits 0:00.

First game in the new stadium, to start the season no less? I'm only worried they will be too crunk.

[BulldogBear]

This is USM's super bowl to be sure but it means a good bit to a lot of dog fans as well. I grew up in the 80s and have had to listen to that we must be scared to play them crap for 20 years. I can't wait to see our boys tear them a new one and leave no doubt. We need to stomp them into the dirt. They've had it coming for a long time.

This warning to not have a let down and lose can apply to any game. I can't see Mullen and company let the team look at this as just another nonconf patsy.