7th annual Coach34 SEC Predictions...2013 edition

[Coach34]

It's that time again, SEC football. And just like Phil Steele and anybody else that does predictions, I'll hit some dead-on and miss on some. Let's see what's in store for this season:

East:

1. Jawja- (8-0) O-Line returns intact along with the TE. Their QB aint bad either. Will be a little young on D, but their offense should overcome that. Their physical run-game, along with getting SC and LSU at home gives them the edge in the East.

2. South Carolina- (7-1) Spurrier gets denied another trip to Atlanta with a very good team. I think having to replace their entire LB corp and half their DL costs them the Georgia game in week 2. They run the table after that- getting State at home and a week off to get ready for Florida.

3. Florida- (5-3) Boom and company will be good- but not great. They only return 10 starters, and while the new guys will be talented, they just face a daunting task to win @SC and @LSU.

4. Tennessee- (3-5) This bunch will be improved, but not enough to make a major jump. Their schedule is front-loaded to ensure mediocrity. @Oregon, @Fla, Georgia, SC, @Bammer, and then @Mizzou in a toss-up looms large in the middle of their schedule. I think they get 3 SEC wins and return to a bowl in Jones 1st season.

5. Vandy- (2-6) Vandy slows their roll a little in 2013. I think their off field problems cause them enough trouble to lose their toss-up opener vs Ole Miss. I see them getting wins over Mizzou and Kentucky at home- and thats it in the SEC this year. Bowl streak stays alive though

6. Kentucky- (1-7) Kentucky is getting some momentum, but they just have a long hill to climb. I say they upset Mizzou at home to get a conference win this season.

7. Mizzou- (1-7) They could be better- but who they gonna beat in 2013? Home game are Florida, SC, Tennessee, and A&M. Road games are Vandy, Georgia, Ole Miss, and Kentucky. I think they get Tennessee to prevent an 0'fer in the SEC for 2013.


West:

1. Bammer- undefeated until the SEC game. Georgia is only team capable of beating this team in 2013.

2. Texas A&M- (6-2) Offense will mask their defensive problems. They are loaded with weapons on offense, and have at least 2 future NFL linemen. They will play enough defense to get 6 SEC wins. Having the week off before playing Ole Miss helps them win that swing game

3. State- (5-3) yes, call me a homer. Some of you will I know. The trumpeting of the downfall of Mullen has been extremely premature. State returns all of its OL, QB's, and RB's. The defense is damn good at DE and LB, and will get better every week at DT and in the Secondary. State lucks out in getting Auburn early, and then UPig late when the team morale in FayetteNam will have subsided after they lose game after SEC game. Egg Bowl at home = State victory. Coach's big prediction???? State finally beats LSU in 2013- stuck in between Georgia and Fla for them- and we have the week off to get ready. Mullen gets his sig win the haters will finally acknowledge.

4. Ole Miss- (4-4) This team is pretty good on the DL and LB. They run a good offense that has some weapons at WR. They lose to Auburn who has the week off to get ready- but I think they upset LSU this year at home. Freezus gets 7 wins in 2013.

5. LSU- (4-4) This team will be solid on offense and has some good players. Chavis will have them solid on defense- but they will be young. Their schedule in the middle is rough@Georgia, @State, Fla, and then @Ole Miss. Lester has been holding together in Baton Rouge, but this year he falls back a little and they start calling for his head.

6. Auburn- (2-6) They have a new coaching staff- but they have to cure alot of problems in Year 1. Lots of drug issues and problems off the field, coupled with lots of attrition from the last few recruiting classes makes this a young team. They are dangerous and have a little talent, but the GusBus will struggle some in Year 1. Starting off with State and LSU is a little more than they will be ready for- but they do enough to get into a bowl game.

7. UPig- (0-8) Bielema is a good coach, but his ass has his hands full. New QB, new RB's, new TE, only 2 starters returning on the OL...defense will be improved- but there is no way it couldnt be. Who are they gonna beat in 2013? @Fla, @Bammer, @OM, or @LSU??? Hayyyyyyle no. Home games vs A&M, Auburn, SC, or State? Auburn and State are their only chances- and I think they come up short on both. State getting get them late in the season with morale down is a good thing.

SEC COY- Mark Richt
SEC Offensive POY- Todd Gurley
SEC Defensive POY- JaDaveon Clowney

[smootness]

I think those are fairly good predictions. Only thing I'd change is to switch State and Bama.

ETA: Sorry, State and Bammer.

[msstate7]

So I suppose you predict our losses are bama, aTm, and USCe?

[PassInterference]

[maroonmania]

Well C34, I admire your optimism but I guess until I start witnessing Mullen's teams actually beating Top15 caliber teams on the field, I can't really bring myself to predict that we will beat them before the season starts. I still think 4-4 is about our top end in the SEC.

[msstate7]

Well C34, I admire your optimism but I guess until I start witnessing Mullen's teams actually beating Top15 caliber teams on the field, I can't really bring myself to predict that we will beat them before the season starts. I still think 4-4 is about our top end in the SEC.

I'd be very happy with 4-4

[Goat Holder]

3. State- (5-3) yes, call me a homer. Some of you will I know. The trumpeting of the downfall of Mullen has been extremely premature. State returns all of its OL, QB's, and RB's. The defense is damn good at DE and LB, and will get better every week at DT and in the Secondary. State lucks out in getting Auburn early, and then UPig late when the team morale in FayetteNam will have subsided after they lose game after SEC game. Egg Bowl at home = State victory. Coach's big prediction???? State finally beats LSU in 2013- stuck in between Georgia and Fla for them- and we have the week off to get ready. Mullen gets his sig win the haters will finally acknowledge.

Many of you are starting to see things my way, I see.

[Bo Darville]

I think we will be a better team that last year. The record may not reflect it though because of the schedule. Having Texas A&M and LSU coming back down to earth a little will certainly help. I think 5-3 is possible. That does mean winning most/all of the toss-up games. Assuming losses to Bama and South Carolina, we could only lose 1 game among Auburn/Ole Miss/Arkansas/Kentucky/LSU/Texas A&M. It's doable.

Here is the reason I think it is doable. The offense returns intact except for the wideouts. We lose experience at wideout, but upgrade the talent/athleticism. We have some veteran offensive linemen with a 5th year QB. Running back is deep. On defense, I think the DL will be much improved. LB's will be better (even with the loss of Cam). The scheme will be much better. DB is the only drop-off. That drop-off can be offset with a better scheme and improvement by Nickoe. We also aren't replacing Banks/Slay with stiffs. Jiles has looked good, Love has played a lot, and Cox was a highly touted player. Maybe we are reloading the secondary rather than rebuilding.

I think the fieldgoal kicking game will be more consistent. I expect Swedenburg to be good as always.

[civildawg]

I think we lose to auburn this year. Their quarterback will be better than expected.

[Coach34]

Well C34, I admire your optimism but I guess until I start witnessing Mullen's teams actually beating Top15 caliber teams on the field, I can't really bring myself to predict that we will beat them before the season starts.

Well, thats the thing- by the SEC championship game- I dont expect LSU to be a top 15 team

[BulldogDX55]

If we manage to take down OSU, which at this point I am cautiously leaning towards us doing, I will buy into your prediction lockstep. I am naturally optimistic, but our schedule is hell this year. Good stuff.

[Barking 13]

If we manage to take down OSU, which at this point I am cautiously leaning towards us doing, I will buy into your prediction lockstep. I am naturally optimistic, but our schedule is hell this year. Good stuff.

X1

[msstate7]

Well, thats the thing- by the SEC championship game- I dont expect LSU to be a top 15 team

I think lsu will be much better than you guys think.

[Quaoarsking]

So another 7-0 start, a 3-game skid, and beat Arkansas, but this year beat Ole Miss too? I'll take it.

[BulldogDX55]

I think lsu will be much better than you guys think.

What is your take on them, in a bit more detail?

I think that most people are saying that LSU will be down because they lost a lot of guys that they were expecting to have another year to the draft, most of which were on defense. To make matters worse on that side of the ball, they only return two starters. On offense, LSU has not put together a good offense in God knows how long, and there is really no reason to believe they will start now.

Of course, Bama replaced 9 starters on D in one of their recent championship runs, and if anyone can reload like Bama, it is LSU.

[maroonmania]

I think lsu will be much better than you guys think.

And even if LSU is not quite as good as expected and we beat them, still for us to get to 4-4 in the SEC we would have to win 2 of 3 from Aub, Ark and OM. Would take us beating LSU AND sweeping those other 3 games to get to 5-3 which will be a tall task. Yes, there is the possibility that LSU is not Top 15, but there is also the possibility that Auburn and/or Arkansas rebound MUCH quicker than expected or that OM (who returns almost everyone) is much better than most MSU fans want to give them credit for.

[msstate7]

What is your take on them, in a bit more detail?

I think that most people are saying that LSU will be down because they lost a lot of guys that they were expecting to have another year to the draft, most of which were on defense. To make matters worse on that side of the ball, they only return two starters. On offense, LSU has not put together a good offense in God knows how long, and there is really no reason to believe they will start now.

Of course, Bama replaced 9 starters on D in one of their recent championship runs, and if anyone can reload like Bama, it is LSU.

I just like lsu's skill position players on offense and think ZM will be much improved this season. Lsu under les and chavis will be good defensively. If I'm not mistaken lsu lost a lot of talented but lazy defensive players so they could be better

[Coach34]

LSU will not be better on D than they were last year- you dont lose all those draft picks and end up being better. They will still be good- but they wont be as good. They will suffer a few growing pains there in big games- and that is if they stay good and healthy. Injuries to a young D could really cause problems and make them human

[BogeyGolfer]

It's not the D that we had trouble with last year. We couldn't stop them from running simple dive plays through the 2 hole. LSU has more talent on both sides of the ball. We won't beat LSU.. We won't finish third either... LSU or AM will...

[Coach34]

It's not the D that we had trouble with last year. We couldn't stop them from running simple dive plays through the 2 hole. LSU has more talent on both sides of the ball. We won't beat LSU.. We won't finish third either... LSU or AM will...

ok- we shall see...****ers were telling me we wouldnt start 7-0 last year either