Okay, we lied.  We lied right there in the headline.  There’s no chance of “less.”  We’re using 25 lines here to breakdown the 2011 SEC football season.  That’s two lines per team and one for, well, you’ll see.  The line “25 lines or less” just sounded good.

Everyone does a Power Poll and a “Fearless Forecast” at the start of a new season.  We expect to see a dozen or more regarding the SEC as this week rolls forward.  So we’re going to take a different tack.  One conference, one season, 25 lines.

Besides, we already posted our own predictions for the SEC season way back before Media Days.  (And long before Jordan Jefferson’s arrest, too.)

So without further ado, here’s what we’re thinking on the eve of a new season…

Alabama:  They’ve got the coach and the roster full of top recruits to win another national crown.  But the decision to rotate quarterbacks absolutely scares the heck out of us.

Arkansas:  Is a team really a darkhouse title contender if everyone says it’s a darkhorse title contender?  The Razorbacks can survive the loss of running back Knile Davis, but it’s gonna hurt.

Auburn:  The Tigers have too many new faces at too many different positions going against too tough a schedule.  That said, opponents had better hope they get this bunch early in the year and not late.

Florida:  Can Charlie Weis get more out of the skill position players around John Brantley?  If so, then the Gators have as good a shot as anyone at “pulling an Auburn” in 2011.

Georgia:  On paper, the Dawgs’ two toughest games come in the season’s first two weeks, so there’s no need to panic if they start slow.  Panic should set in, however, if either Isaiah Crowell or Richard Samuel get hurt.

Kentucky:  UK took a slight step backwards in 2010 and the sledding doesn’t look much easier in 2011.  Joker Phillips will have to right the Big Blue ship without Randall Cobb, Derrick Locke and Mike Hartline on offense.

LSU:  Team Turmoil has already lost quarterback Jordan Jefferson and playmaker Russell Shepard indefinitely.  If luck isn’t once again on Les Miles side, it’s possible the wheels could come off for a team that faces a deadly schedule.

Miss. State:  Dan Mullen has the Bulldog Nation believing in themselves.  Too bad then that we feel they’re destined to backslide a bit this fall.

Ole Miss:  Houston Nutt usually finds a way to move the football — even last year the Rebels averaged 30 points per game.  If the defense improves as it should, UM could surprise some folks.

South Carolina:  Don’t worry about Alshon Jeffery’s weight or Stephen Garcia’s behavior.  As long as Marcus Lattimore stays healthy and the Gamecocks handle the pressure of high expectations (for the first time ever), Carolina’s got the roster to finish in the Top 10.

Tennessee:  The Vols don’t have much depth, but they’re due a lucky break or two after last season’s LSU and North Carolina games.  If the Vols can develop a run game to take the pressure off Tyler Bray and their D, UT should go bowling again.

Vanderbilt:  James Franklin has created enthusiasm in Nashville and he’s done eye-poppingly well on the recruiting trail.  If he can now get some points out of Larry Smith and the offense he inherited… he really is a miracle-worker.

Line 25:  We’re betting on the SEC to win its 6th BCS Championship in a row… because — all thanks to Jeffrey Tambor in “The Hangover” — you never walk away from the table when you’re on a heater.

Last week, Texas A&M asked the Big 12 for a breakdown of the league’s exit procedures.  Today, A&M officials received such a letter.  The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that the letter outlined “procedures according to the financial provisions of Big 12 bylaws and mutual waivers of legal claims.”

The fact that both parties are waiving legal claims could speed things up — as expected — to the point that Texas A&M might unite with the SEC by week’s end.  (That, at least would be the school’s goal… as usual, the SEC office is remarkably leak-free.)

At this stage, A&M still needs to work out its exit fee, officially withdraw from the Big 12, officially apply for membership in the SEC, and then hope that nine of the league’s 12 presidents and chancellors give a thumbs-up vote to an Aggie invite.

As for the money, it has been estimated that the Big 12 wants $28 to $30 million in exit fees and forfeited money from the Aggies.  A&M, reportedly, would like to work that number closer to the $9 million fee Nebraska paid to escape the Big 12 last year.  Some reports have suggested the final number may wind up somewhere in the $10-20 million range.

A&M president R. Bowen Loftin (that’s him at left) released a statement this afternoon saying that it is not his school’s “intent to prolong our conference exploration for an extended period of time.”

In related news, Notre Dame has already made it clear to The Austin American-Statesman that Texas AD DeLoss Dodd’s dream of adding the Irish to the Big 12 is just that — a dream.  “Our priority — and our clear priority — is maintaining our football independence and continuing to build our relationship with the Big East with our other sports,” said Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick.

So perhaps now the Big 12 can begin chasing its #2 candidate — Arkansas — and get on with the business of receiving yet another “thanks, but no thanks.”

1. Arkansas appears to be the favorite to land quarterback Robert Gregory.

2. Here’s a look at several prospects considering the Razorbacks.

3. Will Muschamp has a nice talent base in Florida. But that won’t keep him from recruiting out of state.

4. Defensive back Chaz Elder postponed his decision. He’s considering Georgia and South Carolina.

5. DT John Atkins has a list full of SEC and ACC schools. (ESPN Insider required)

6. Here’s more on the recruitment of Atkins, who will announce his decision on Friday.

7. The nephew of Javon Kearse is headed to Auburn in 2013.

8. South Carolina’s top talent has turned into a recruiting tool for the Gamecocks.

Defensive back Kivon Coman from Florence (Ala.) High School has committed to Mississippi State.

Coman considered scholarship offers from South Florida, Arkansas State and South Alabama before committing to Mississippi State.

The Bulldogs have 17 commitments for the class of 2012.

It took a lot longer than expected, but former Ohio State then juco wide receiver Duron Carter has been admitted as a student at Alabama.  He could begin practicing today.

The son of former NFL great Cris Carter had his enrollment slowed due to a transcript issue.

Viewed by some as the sure-fire replacement for Julio Jones, it will be interesting to see how long it takes Carter to get up to speed… considering the fact that he’s missed weeks of practice time.

1.  SI.com’s Stewart Mandel is already trying to predict bowl matchups.

2.  ESPN.com’s Pat Forde has posted his first Forde-Yard-Dash column of the season.


In it he includes a great quote from former SEC commish Roy Kramer regarding officiating and how fans view it.  “It’s amazing how much better the officiating is when you don’t care who wins.”  Amen.


3.  Rana L. Cash of SportingNews.com names Carolina’s Marcus Lattimore a Heisman hopeful.

4.  Tony Barnhart of CBSSports.com looks at 10 big questions on the college football horizon.

5.  And The Jackson Clarion-Ledger has polled 12 SEC beatwriters for their predictions, picks and prognostications for the fall.

Gearing up for Tennessee’s season opener on Saturday, Derek Dooley shared a new analogy with the Knoxville press today:


“A lot of new guys.  Got to teach them what it means to prepare.  I equated it to every day you’re depositing money in your bank account — every day.  The investment that you put in physically, the investment you put in mentally is a deposit.

On gameday, you withdraw it all.  So, the more you deposit during the week, the more money you’re going to have on gameday to play well.

Today we put a pretty good deposit in and we’ll see if we can keep it going all week.”


Dooley’s Vols will host FCS-level Montana in their opener on Saturday evening.

When you think about it, South Carolina isn’t as long a shot to win the BCS title as Auburn was at the beginning of last year’s campaign.  Still, knowing the Gamecocks’ history, it’s a little jarring to see USC — the USC of the East — tabbed as the top team in the country.

But The New York Post has done just that:


“With (Steve) Spurrier’s smooth Southern charm and dazzling resume as a college coach (he led Florida to the 1996 national championship) and player (he won the Heisman Trophy in 1966), landing some of the nation’s best talent, and his sixth sense for play calling, the Gamecocks are ready to make history.”


While The Post is picking the Gamecocks to win it all in January, Spurrier is quick to point out that his program still needs to do some growing.

“We never finished in the Top 10, never won a major bowl, never won the SEC,” the coach said.  “There’s still a whole bunch of firsts out there for us.”

“We’ll get a little pub right now, get our fans fired up over it.  Then we’ll see.  I think we’ve assembled hopefully one of our best teams ever.”

If nothing else, Spurrier has built the Gamecock program to the point where a national title isn’t completely outside the realm of possibility.  That’s quite a feat when you consider the long march through the desert that Carolina’s football history has been.

Now even folks as far off as New York City are paying attention to what’s going on in Columbia.

(As we noted earlier in our post regarding Mississippi State’s rise, hire the right coach and upward mobility is possible in the rough-and-tumble SEC.)

1.  This writer expects Kentucky to grab a Gator Bowl bid with a 6-6 record in 2011.

2.  Here’s a terrific primer on Joker Phillips’ second UK football team.

3.  Carolina freshman defensive end Jadeveon Clowney — the most-hyped rookie in the SEC this fall — is staying humble.

4.  Stephen Garcia is asking Cock fans to take him back “one more time.”

5.  New strength coach Ron McKeefery — the Vols’ fifth since the start of the 2008 season — has tried to instill a sense of pride in Tennessee players.

6.  Freshman safety Pat Martin is leaving the UT program in what Derek Dooley calls a “mutual decision.”

7.  In the end, Vanderbilt’s hopes hinge on an improved offense.

8.  James Franklin named his starters today and quarterback Larry Smith will once again get the nod.  (He’s now had three head coaches give him starts at VU.)

Fresh off a 9-win season and a Gator Bowl whoopin’ of Michigan, Mississippi State fans are feeling pretty good about the state of their football program.  Oh, and winning two straight Egg Bowls hasn’t hurt either.

But it’s not just fans who feel good about MSU’s future.  With record-setting ticket sales, a healthy bounce in fundraising, a $25 million football facility in the works, and a possible stadium expansion coming soon, AD Scott Stricklin is walking a little taller, too:


“It’s gratifying to see kind of this belief that, if you took away some of the glass ceilings that are out there, and some of the preconceptions about what a place is or isn’t, and you say, ‘What if we think we could do anything, what could happen?’  It’s pretty neat to see pretty cool things happen.”


Not bad for one the SEC’s traditional bottom-dwellers.  The Bulldogs’ resurgence proves that with the right coach, upward mobility is possible in the SEC.