2009 College Football Preview: SEC

I will leave you this weekend with a preview of the SEC. I held off previewing the SEC because I wanted to save the best for last. Here's the previous installments of the college football preview.

It's kind of hard arguing that any other conference is better than the SEC. Florida and LSU have won the past two national championships and the SEC teams usually show up for their bowl games(except for Alabama last year). I just don't see the SEC as the best conference overall though. And please I don't want to hear your arguments about how they play defense in the South. Defense might when you games, but that doesn't make you the best conference.

The SEC had a hard time last season filling out all of their bowl games. Teams like Auburn and Tennessee failed to live up to their expectations and missed out on bowl games. And the regular season games were just dreadful, like the Auburn-Mississippi St. 3-2 snooze fest. I just have a hard time calling the SEC the best conference in the nation.

Can Anyone Beat Florida This Year?: It's kind of hard arguing against a team that just won the national championship, returns their Heisman winning quarterback, and returns everyone from the fourth best defense in the nation. The only team at this moment that I can see beating Florida in the regular season is LSU. Florida typically struggles in Baton Rouge, and they have to travel their on October 10. But LSU still has a young team with a first-time starting quarterback. So who else can beat Florida?

Ole Miss comes into the season with high expectations, but Houston Nutt is their coach. I don't trust Nutt because his teams in the past have had high expectations before and faltered. Alabama and Georgia are rebuilding. Tennessee and Auburn just fired their coaches and have to start all over again. Everything has fallen in place for Florida to once again win the SEC championship.

The Lane Kiffin Era: I couldn't even link to you all the transgressions that have gone on in Tennessee since the hiring of Lane Kiffin. Not only that but he has managed to piss off every single SEC coach. So did Tennessee make the right decision in hiring Kiffin?

Right now you have to say yes. Kiffin was one of the nations best recruiters during his time at USC. Plus he brought in his buddy Ed Orgeron as a coach, and Orgeron is also one of the best recruiters in the nation. The only reason why Ole Miss will be as good this year is because of the players Orgeron recruited while he was there.

Kiffin though is a natural head coach for the college game. He has complete control over the program and that is exactly what he needs. Kiffin couldn't have complete control with the Raiders or any other NFL team. Kiffin is in his zone in college and Tennessee is a perfect fit for him.

Vanderbilt: Yes the Commodores actually reached a bowl game last season and won for the first time in 53 years. Even the great Jay Culter didn't take Vanderbilt to a bowl game in his time in Nashville. One of the reasons why Vanderbilt is better than what they used to be is their coach Bobby Johnson. Vanderbilt is well coached under Johnson and he get's the most out the resources that he has. Coaches like Bobby Johnson impress me more than an Urban Meyer, Nick Saban, and Pete Carroll because they have less to work with.

Team That'll Surprise, Arkansas- Bobby Petrino can finally play prized quarterback Ryan Mallett. Mallett had to sit out a season after transferring from Michigan. Also Petrino has built a nice program through recruiting the past couple of seasons. Plus Arkansas returns 17 starters from a team that improved down the stretch. Arkansas is still a year away from competing for the SEC championship, but they should be an interesting team to watch this season.

Team That'll Disapoint, Ole Miss- Ole Miss is this year's Georgia. The expectations are so high, there is only one way for this team to go. And that is straight down. Yes they have a lot of talent, but as I said at the top, I don't trust their coach Houston Nutt. Nutt had teams at Arkansas that had high expectations at the beginning of the season, but his teams faltered down the stretch. Sorry, I'm not a fan of Ole Miss this season.

Game of the Year, Florida at LSU, Oct. 10- This game in the long run won't have much meaning because both of these teams play in different divisions. But this game is important to see where these teams are headed. LSU gets an early season chance to see if their talent has improved from the previous season and to see if they are ready yet to compete with Florida. This game is also important to Florida because LSU could match up with them in the SEC Championship game. And Florida usually struggles in Baton Rouge. Mark this game down on your calendar.

Coach on the Hot Seat, Steve Spurrier- It's hard to imagine Spurrier on the hot seat, but he is. Since arriving at South Carolina, Spurrier has gone 28-22 in four seasons. Many people have wondered if he lost his old ball coach magic. One more season of South Carolina not competing for the SEC East title, and Spurrier could be out of a job.

Coach of the Year: Les Miles, LSU

Offensive Player of the Year: Tim Tebow, Florida

Defensive Player of the Year: Brandon Spikes, Florida

Freshman of the Year: Bryce Brown, Tennessee

Heisman Contenders: Tim Tebow, Jevan Sneed

SEC East Champions: Florida

SEC West Champions: LSU

SEC Champions: Florida