Prove It, SEC Schools… Prove It

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When the 2010 SEC football season kicks off tomorrow night in Columbia, it will finally be time for some of the league’s teams and coaches to prove themselves.

To prove their skills.  To prove their talents.  To prove that offseason media hype has been justified.

Here’s what each school will need to prove heading into the year:


Alabama

The Crimson Tide needs to prove that success hasn’t gone to its head.  Sure the defense will need to be rebuilt.  And the special teams will feature a lot of new faces, too.  But it’s what between the ears that I’m concerned with.  Nick Saban preached chemistry throughout the summer.  Midway through fall camp his veterans had to explain to the newcomers what kind of effort and commitment is expected in Tuscaloosa.  Will Bama remain as hungry and as dedicated as 2009… or will this team try to rest on last year’s team’s laurels?


Arkansas

The secondary should be better.  Good thing.  The Razorbacks need to show that they have some semblance of a defense or else they’ll look like Louisville playing in the SEC.  The bigger issue, however, is Ryan Mallett’s accuracy.  He is being hailed as the best quarterback in the nation and the talent is most definitely there.  But if Mallett completes just 39% of the passes in SEC road games and just 51% of his passes in SEC games overall (matching last year’s performance), the Hogs won’t have the breakthrough season that most are predicting.  He has to prove that his accuracy and decision-making have improved.


Auburn

So Kirk Herbstreit believes Auburn will unseat Alabama and win the SEC West?  They might.  Their defense has some depth this year and Cameron Newton should be a better fit for the spread offense than anyone AU has had at quarterback the last two years.  But is Gus Malzahn’s offense really all it’s cracked up to be?  The Tigers averaged more than 35 points per game in their first two SEC games a year ago (both wins).  They then went 1-5 in their final six conference games and that scoring average plummeted to less than 21 points per contest.  Auburn needs to prove that Malzahn is a genius… and that all those high-paid defensive coordinators in this league didn’t already figure out his vulnerabilities.


Florida

New faces.  New coaches.  New health-first approach from Urban Meyer.  Florida has lots to prove, but replacing Tim Tebow is Issue #1.  John Brantley has to prove that he’s up to the task of leading the Gators through the air rather than via the ground.  And someone — anyone — will have to step up and be THE short-yardage attack for UF.  Florida has the talent, but they still have to prove to me that they can replace one of the most unique college football talents SEC fans had ever seen.


Georgia

UGA’s defense couldn’t be worse could it?  Three new coaches, a new coordinator and a new 3-4 system should make the Bulldogs’ more stingy on the defensive side of the ball.  Shouldn’t they?  2010 is the time to prove it.


Kentucky

Rich Brooks had the Wildcats moving in the right direction.  UK has become a regular bowl bid recipient in recent years.  Now new coach Joker Phillips has to prove that he can keep the momentum going.  If the Cats stay in that 6-7 win range and reach another bowl, folks in blue will feel good that the Cats at least won’t backslide post-Brooks.  If Phillips takes advantage of a favorable schedule and notches 8 or more wins (snapping losing streaks to Tennessee and/or Steve Spurrier in the process), he’ll be a hero.  Can he?


LSU

In Baton Rouge it’s time for Les Miles to prove that Ryan Perrilloux really was the cause for his last two so-so seasons.  Nine losses in two years will get you a raise in Lexington or Columbia.  On the Bayou it gets your rump in a sling.  It’s time for Miles to lead the Tigers back into the national picture and back into title contention in the SEC West.  He has two veteran quarterbacks who he signed and who he has now trained for two-plus years.  The Perrilloux defense has ended.  Time for Miles to prove that things really are OK on his watch.


Mississippi State

Dan Mullen is viewed as an up-and-comer.  Some folks have even picked the Bulldogs to go bowling in 2010.  But is Mullen more enthusiasm and pedigree than real coaching all-star?  2010 is the time for him to prove that he can start to build MSU’s offense into a truly dangerous attack.  He doesn’t have to lead the league in offense to win me over, he just needs to show that he’s making progress.  That shouldn’t be too much to ask for a guy who left Florida on the strength of his offensive resume.


Ole Miss

The Jeremiah Masoli situation muddies the water on the UM front.  Not knowing whether or not he’ll win his NCAA appeal (though it’s very doubtful), I’ll simply say that Houston Nutt needs to prove that he can keep his team together.  The Rebels have lost playmakers and stars across the board.  Kentrell Lockett is now out for the opener.  Plus Masoli’s odd situation.  Nutt will have to do some of his best coaching to keep his team together mentally or else this could be a big step backwards in Oxford.


South Carolina

This one’s easy.  It’s time for Steve Spurrier to prove that he knows how to handle quarterbacks.  That hasn’t happened in a long, long while.  Rather than supporting a veteran QB in Stephen Garcia, Spurrier chose the tough love approach.  He’s made freshman Connor Shaw a real option.  If his quarterbacks struggle and spend 2010 looking over their shoulders it will be business as usual in Columbia.  If they play well and USC wins more than 7 games, it will prove to me that Spurrier does indeed know how to handle passers.  But for now, he currently ranks behind someone who was as shaky as Lane Kiffin.  (Do you think Spurrier would have stood behind Jonathan Crompton and eventually turned him into an NFL draft pick last year at Tennessee… or would he have started his quarterback merry-go-round?  You know the answer.  And it’s no compliment to pale in comparison to Kiffin.)


Tennessee

With a depleted roster and a brutal schedule, Derek Dooley won’t have to prove much to me as a coach in 2010.  I’ll start judging the guy for real in late 2011.  No, this season it’s time for Dooley to prove that he can recruit.  He was hired in part because of his role serving as Nick Saban’s recruiting coordinator at LSU.  He landed a hot class in a very bad situation as soon as he grabbed the Vols’ job last February.  But he’s spent a lot of time since talking about recruiting “5-star people” rather than 5-star players.  UT’s class ranks near the bottom of the SEC currently.  The Vols need an infusion of talent to rebuild.  It’s time for Dooley to prove that he’s the man to get that done.


Vanderbilt

Like Dooley, Caldwell inherits a mess at Vanderbilt.  Depth issues, injuries, no real quarterback to speak of.  Under those circumstances, Caldwell will be asked to prove that he’s truly an SEC-caliber coach.  Not to me, mind you, but to his bosses at Vandy.  Despite the word “interim” being dropped from his title, there are many in Nashville who still believe Caldwell is getting a one-year tryout for the head coach’s job.  So quite clearly, Caldwell needs to prove that he can hold his team together and at least eek out a few victories along the way.  No easy assignment looking at Vandy’s roster.