SEC Power Poll Roundtable #2 Responses

What's your prediction for the matchup in the SEC championship game, and has that changed at all from what you were predicting in the preseason?

Right now, I’ve gotta say it’s going to be Florida and LSU in Atlanta in early December, which is different than the Auburn/Florida matchup I saw in the preseason.

In the Eastern Division, Vanderbilt sits atop the standings now, but I don’t see any chance they’re there at the end of the season. Florida seems to have righted their ship with a resounding victory over LSU Saturday night. Georgia is certainly not out of the mix, but they’ve been less than impressive in consecutive games against Alabama nad Tennessee. South Carolina already has 3 conference losses. Kentucky is in the early stages of a losing streak. Tennessee sucks.

In the Western Division, I didn’t expect the Tony Franklin experiment to run like a well-oiled machine this season, but I certainly didn’t expect the disaster that has been the 2008 Auburn offense. LSU seems to have barely missed a beat from last season and are thriving without Ryan Perrilloux’s antics. It’s obvious that Mississippi State and Arkansas would struggle to win the Sun Belt this year and Ole Miss just doesn’t have the horses this year. The West will comedown to the mid-November showdown between Alabama and LSU, but at this point, I give that edge to LSU.

If your team has Vanderbilt coming up at some point on its schedule, are you worried? If not, which team should be the most worried?

Any team that plays Vanderbilt should be worried, but if I’m Phil Fulmer I’m petrified. The natives are growing restless in Knoxville as the Vols have been anemic on offense all season long. The Commodores are not a powerhouse themselves, but are as opportunistic a team as there’s been in several years. They lead the country in turnover margin and capitalize on the short fields their opponents give them.

Holding onto the ball has not been the Vols’ strong point this season. As they’ve lost it 10 times already. Mississippi State beat the Dores by not beating themselves. If you can force Vanderbilt to drive the field to score, you’re in very good shape as VU still ranks last in the conference in total offense by a long shot.

If the Vols were to lose that game to Vanderbilt, it would – in all likelihood – wrap up a losing season for UT. That would not be good for Fulmer’s job security, what little there is left.

Other than perhaps Alabama's season-opening win over Clemson, the SEC doesn't really have any marquee non-conference wins thus far, and a couple of traditional powers (Auburn and Tennessee) are struggling in high-profile fashion. Is it too early to call this a "down year" for the conference?

That depends completely on your definition of the word “down”. The SEC is not as strong as it was last year, which was certainly one of the most impressive bodies of work in recent memory. As usual, the SEC lost a lot to the NFL draft and that’s taken its toll on the league offensively this year. There’s yet to be that 3rd QB to step up as a reliable option behind Stafford and Tebow. JPW and Jevan Snead have both shown signs, but Snead is a turnover waiting to happen and JPW will follow up a 250 yd game with a 75 yd game.

Defensively, the SEC is as strong as ever. The numbers will be somewhat inflated this year because of the stagnant offenses, but come bowl season, the defenses and team speed will again shine through.

It’s a testament to the standards of SEC fans to talk about this year as a potential “down year”. As of Week 7, the SEC has 2 teams in the AP Top5, 3 in the Top10, and 5 in the top 25. Only the Big 12 has more with 6.

So sure, go ahead and call it a “down year” for the SEC if you must, but don’t call it a bad one. A couple of high profile programs are immersed in a season of FAIL, but Vanderbilt nearly cracked the Top 10 and Ole Miss has already matched its win total from last year, so there are positives as well. I fully expect another success bowl season this year as well.

SEC Power Poll Roundtable Responses

The full results are up here at Garnet and Black Attack, and there's some good stuff.

Highlights include:

Red Solo Cup's response on which game he wishes the Rebels could've postponed:

Could we go back in time and have Hannah postpone the Wake game? We played them so well but our inexperience got the best of us. To think that we actually threw a touchdown pass on fourth and 2 on the 3 only to give Wake Forest one minute to get into field goal range and win the game by two really reminds us that we are, in fact, Ole Miss.

Sea of Blue's response to which game you would most regret missing if the world were to end:

With the bad blood that has developed between these two teams, the kickoff of this game could be the collision that forms the black hole that eats the world.

And the Joe Cribbs Car Wash's response to the same:

Even if the Hadron Collider did destroy the Earth, I think the Gators want this one bad enough that their spirits would live on and try to goad the Dawgs into having a spirit-game on some other ... plane.

My full responses are here.

SEC Power Poll Roundtable, Week 2

1. Pretend for a minute that Vanderbilt wasn't 2-0, then answer this question: What has been the most surprising thing in the SEC so far this season?

While I’m sure a lot of people are going to say Arkansas’s ineptitude, I can’t say that’s the most surprising thing. They were projected to be bad. Maybe not this bad, but bad.

To me, it’s how poor the QB play has been for the Gamecocks this year. While it’s obvious Spurrier’s best days are behind him, it’s still amazing to me that he can’t get a QB to just manage the game and not lose it for him. Through two games, USC QBs are completing a respectable 60% of their passes, but have thrown 6 interceptions to just 4 TDs. The Gamecocks have a strong defense, but unless someone steps up under center, it’ll be a disappointing year in Columbia.

2. Conference action has either just begun for most teams, or will Sept. 20. (The exception is Kentucky, which I believe plays I-AA teams until mid-November.) From what you've seen so far, how will your team fare in your division? If it's not going to win, which team will?

Even with its offensive ups and downs so far this year, I still think Auburn wins the West. We’ll know much more next weekend after LSU visits the Plains, but there’s few better gameday coaches than Tuberville and I suspect the AU Tigers will be sharp in that game They just need to avoid a letdown Saturday against MSU.

As for the East, I’ll stick with my original pick of the Gators. UGA took over my #1 spot in the SEC Power Poll, but I’ll stick with my guns and the Gators until proven otherwise.

3. Which SEC player that few of us are paying attention to is poised to have a breakout season? Try to choose someone not on your team.

Almost by default, it seems you could choose nearly any pass receiver on Arkansas’ team. After years of being in a run-first offense, they’re now immersed fully in the pass-happy Petrino offense. TE DJ Williams is the obvious choice so far, already doubling his reception total from last year (10/5) and catching his first two career TDs.

4. Both Arkansas and LSU have had games delayed because of hurricanes. If you could choose a game on your team's current schedule to get postponed because of inclement weather, which game would you choose and why?

pass

5. So, the Large Haldron Collider hasn't destroyed the Earth -- so far, anyway. But had the world ended Wednesday morning, which SEC game would you have most regretted missing? Assuming, of course, you had been around to regret it. (Head...hurts...)

If the LSU/Alabama game were in Baton Rouge last year, it would be the no-brainer. This year, some of the hatred has dissipated as the Tigers are the defending BCS champs. The Cocktail Party is probably the default answer here as it’s most like a de facto SEC East Championship game. For me, I like hard-hitting defensive battles, so I’ll take next week’s LSU/Auburn game. These two teams always play classic battles and there’s always a lot on the line as they’re the two marquee programs in the SEC West and have been for several years.