[SBRforum Staff]

2006 SEC Preview

By: Marc Lawrence
http://playbook.com

Rich in tradition and talent, the SEC takes to the gridirons this fall set to establish themselves as the best conference in the nation. And with the depth of their conference, look the SEC to be heavy in postseason bowl action once again.


Make no mistake about it. Football is large in the SEC. It’s a conference that has led the nation in attendance 25-straight years and has seen five teams finish in the Top-25 each of the last three seasons. A 30-12 mark outside the league last year has certainly stamped the SEC as a conference to recognize.

Here is my take on the SEC Conference for 2006.

ALABAMA
Head coach Mike Shula is banking on last year’s upset win in the Cotton Bowl as a confidence-building catalyst for 2006. Actually, he should be thanking the schedule maker as nine of the Tide’s first ten games are littered with losing teams from 2005. Departed is team MVP QB Brodie Croyle, who has moved on to the NFL. SR Marc Guillon and SOPH John Parker Wilson will battle to fill his shoes. The good news is star RB Kenneth Darby decided to spurn the lure of leaving early for the NFL draft and return instead for his senior season. Thanks to the aforementioned ‘Charmin’ schedule, the Tide could be on a roll in ’06.
PLAY ON: as dog vs. Tennessee (10/21)

ARKANSAS
Not even the emergence of sophomore QB Casey Dick was enough to put the Hogs over the top in 2005 as Houston Nutt finished 5-6 for the second straight season. Dick replaced QB Robert Johnson for the final four games of the year and figures to be behind center in ’06. [It did lead to the best headline of the year though: NUTT YANKS JOHNSON, INSERTS DICK] The good news is 53 lettermen are back, including 19 starters. We also note that during his tenure, no team in the SEC has more home wins than Nutt’s Hogs. Eight home games in ’06 insures their return to the postseason.
PLAY ON: vs. South Carolina (11/4)

AUBURN
A 9-3 season is considered a downer if you are either Bobby Bowden or were undefeated the previous season. Assuredly, Tommy Tuberville is not Bowden but his team was 12-0 in 2004. "We had a target on our back all year with a perfect season the year before. This group has a chance to be pretty good. They know that," says Tuberville. That largely due in fact to the 23 seniors dotting this year’s roster, the most ever in Tuberville’s 14-year head coaching career. Included are six all-SEC honor winners from the team that lead the conference in offense and scoring. The luxury of eight home games makes them pretty damn good.
PLAY ON: vs. LSU (9/16)

FLORIDA
2005 left its mark on the Gator football program. For openers they snapped a 3-game bowl losing skid. They were one of only eight teams in the nation to go undefeated at home. And they wrapped up the best recruiting class in the country. All good building blocks under ‘Boy Wonder’ Urban Meyer in his first year in Gainesville. His past itinerary shows sterling success in his 2nd year with past football programs as Meyer is 21-3 SU & 15-8 ATS in Year 2, including 15-0 SU & 12-2 ATS in non-conference confrontations. SR QB Chris Leak will need to improve on his 22-11 mark as a starter if Meyer is to stay on course.
PLAY ON: vs. South Carolina - *KEY off SUATS win - (11/11)

GEORGIA
Slowly but surely, Mark Richt is quietly putting up Bobby Bowden-type numbers. Seventy-eight straight weeks in the AP Top 25 (behind only Miami and Texas), 44 wins in four seasons, 20-2 in non-conference games, 19-2 in other team’s stadiums, the only coach to beat Phil Fulmer three times in a row at Tennessee. Pretty impressive, wouldn’t you agree? And he’s been the big-dog in Athens only five years. He’ll be put to the test this season as graduation losses have hit this team hard. "I feel like we’ve got a good group of seniors coming up who are excited about the challenge of taking the lead here," confesses Richt. We wouldn’t doubt him for a minute.
PLAY ON: vs. Auburn (11/11)

KENTUCKY
First, the bad news: By last count 17 starters and key reserves missed a combined 80 games because of injuries for the Wildcats last season. Next, the good news: Most of them are back in 2006. Because of the aforementioned injuries, head coach Rich Brooks was forced to play 14 true freshmen. Combined with the 14 starters that are back this year, you can see why Kentucky is keyed up about their prospects this season. A switch to a conventional 4-3 defense last year yielded little results overall, but improvement was made where it counted - against the rush. A return to full health should do wonders for this club. Otherwise it may be Brooks & Done.
PLAY ON: as dog vs. Mississippi State (10/28)

LSU
It’s not often a team that loses 10 of its starters from the previous season is a Top 5 pre-season choice. So it is at LSU, where Les Miles hopes his 2nd season with the Bengals is as successful as Year Two was at Oklahoma State when his Cowboys doubled both their SU & ATS numbers. Leading the charge is 6'-6" junior QB LaMarcus Russell, who is 17-2 SU as a starter. And just in case his injured shoulder isn’t fully healed, backup Matt Flynn, MVP in last year’s Peach Bowl, is waiting in the wings. Eight home games await the Tigers, who were a perfect 5-0 away from home last season. Yes, they’re diggin’ Miles at El-Les-U.
PLAY ON: vs. Alabama (11/11)

MISSISSIPPI
New head coach Ed Orgeron immediately put his stamp on this program in 2005. The former defensive coordinator at Southern Cal and Syracuse quickly laid the groundwork in establishing the Rebels as a defensive force as they improved their stop-numbers 59 YPG. Unfortunately the offense went into shell, declining 65 YPG. The net result was a 3-8 record, thanks in no part to an ugly 0-4 SUATS finish. To make matters worse, Ole Miss returns in ’06 with the fewest pass attempts, zero, among returning quarterbacks (along with New Mexico State and Texas). Zero returning defensive linemen doesn’t help, either. Too many goose eggs and not enough goose liver for our tastes.
PASS

MISSISSIPPI STATE
It’s been six years since the Bulldogs have been able to muster more than three wins in a single season. Sylvester Croom is hoping the streak ends in 2006. Aside from the luxury of seven home games, Mississippi State returns 17 starters from last year’s squad. Interestingly, last year’s starting quarterback, Omar Conner, is listed 1st on the depth chart at wide receiver this season. He yields to QB Michael Henig, a sophomore who broke into the starting lineup in Week Nine of the season last year. The defense has done their job, improving 138 YPG since Croom took over two years ago. Keep an eye on these Sly dogs.
PLAY ON: as dog vs. South Carolina (8/31)

SOUTH CAROLINA
Bar bet: Name the only university in the nation with a football and basketball coach that have each won national Coach of the Year honors. Answer: South Carolina. A lot of 'firsts' occurred for the Gamecocks last year, including their 1st win ever in Knoxville (Vols), their 1st win against Florida since 1939, and a school record five-straight SEC wins (after an 0-3 start). Not surprisingly, all of this was achieved under the lead of the No. 1 coach in SEC annals, Steve Spurrier, whose 92-17 .844 conference record is tops in league history. The biggest blemish last year occurred when USC lost for the 4th straight year to arch rival ‘Neck Tech (Clemson). Calling Super Hero to the rescue.
PLAY ON: as dog vs. Clemson (11/25)

TENNESSEE
Caveat emptor. It could be the driving force behind the Volunteers in 2006 as they enter off an embarrassing 5-6 effort last year. For what it’s worth, Tennessee has suffered a losing season only four times since 1965, and has not endured back-to-back losing seasons since 1963-64. Their combined record the following four seasons is 32-11. Rest assured Phil Fulmer is dead set on making amends in 2006. To do so he’ll be forced to take on no less than seven bowlers for the 2nd year in a row. Behind a defense that actually improved 58 YPG last season, look for the winningest program in the SEC to exact a strong dose of revenge in ’06.
PLAY ON: vs. South Carolina (10/28)

VANDERBILT
Oh, so close. The Commodores opened the season 3-0 for the first time since 1984 last year. It appeared they were a virtual lock to land their first bowl bid since 1982 when a dramatic two-point loss against Middle Tennessee State opened Pandora’s Box. Out of it came a six-game losing streak and *Poof!* just like that the dream turned into a nightmare. To their credit the Commies refused to throw in the towel completely when they surprised arch rival Tennessee, winning straight-up as double-digit dogs. QB Jay Cutler, the SEC Player of the Year, is now playing in the NFL. Without him, will it be horseshoes or hand grenades this year? Stay tuned.
PLAY ON: as dog vs. Kentucky (11/11)

[bigboydan]

there's just a lot of question marks going on right now with Tennessee right now. Sure Ainge might be healthy this year and all, but they still have Fulmer coaching on the sidelines. Not to mention the possible probation charges levied against them with them stemming from that booster innocent.

The one thing UT did right was hiring Cutcliffe to run that offense again.