Tim Tebow and Florida Gators in charge of the SEC East
Tim Tebow and Florida Gators in charge of the SEC East
While Tim Tebow deserves the attention for what he brings to the Gators on offense, Florida's defense will be a big part of their BCS title hopes in 2009.
Gainesville, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
The Florida Gators have a very difficult task in front of them: Defend the national college football championship. Getting out of the Southeastern Conference (better known as the SEC) unscathed is challenging enough; try the entire FBS, with 120 full-time members going for the big one this season. But the 2009 Gators, at least on paper, are even better than the team that took the title in both 2006 and 2008.
The BCS futures market has wasted no time branding Florida the heavy favorite at 2-1, well ahead of the Oklahoma Sooners at 9-2. That’s good news for old-school SEC fans who had to endure the Big 12 stealing the national spotlight last year.
But where’s the betting value? The Gators aren’t the only quality team in the conference, let alone in the East Division. Here’s the rundown on all six clubs in order of predicted finish, championship betting odds included.
1. Florida Gators (2-1): Florida has a very special quarterback in 2007 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow (30 passing TDs, 12 rushing TDs, four INTs last year). He’s a consummate leader as well as a dual threat in the backfield, and his passing ability just gets better year after year. But the Gators also have the top-ranked defense in the FBS in terms of efficiency (according to Brian Fremeau’s advanced stats), and they’ll have 11 starters returning in 2009, including Jermaine Cunningham and Carlos Dunlap in the trenches. It’s undefeated or bust for these guys.
2. Georgia Bulldogs (40-1): This is the one team in the East that has a reasonable chance of hanging a loss on the Gators. Georgia is also better than last year’s 10-3 (4-7-1 ATS) squad, even with QB Matthew Stafford and RB Knowshon Moreno going to the NFL as first-round picks. Both the offensive and defensive lines are stellar, senior QB Joe Cox has thrown just one pick in 68 career passing attempts, and the BCS voters will look favorably on Georgia’s non-conference trip to Oklahoma State – provided the Dawgs win, of course. This is far too good a payout to ignore at 40-1.
3. South Carolina Gamecocks (75-1): We like to preach the importance of the offensive line around here, and the Gamecocks provide a perfect example of what happens to an otherwise good team with poor protection. QB Chris Smelley threw 15 INTs last year and top RB Mike Davis was limited to 3.5 yards per carry. Sophomore Stephen Garcia should be an improvement over Smelley, but it’ll be all in vain against the SEC’s monster defenses.
4. Tennessee Volunteers (60-1): The Vols made the switch to Lane Kiffin as head coach after a hard-luck 5-7 SU and ATS campaign cost Phil Fulmer his job. It’s debatable whether Kiffin can do better with the Xs and Os, but at least he’ll shake the program out of its rut. What the Vols really need is a QB. Jonathan Crompton (four TDs, five INTs) gets the nod to start the season, but could be replaced by Nick Stephens (four TDs, three INTs) in short order.
5. Vanderbilt Commodores (150-1): Vandy’s defense will take a step back in 2009; however, the offense looks set with the QB combination of Mackenzie Adams (the scrambler) and Larry Smith (the strong-armed passer). Their home date on Nov. 14 against Kentucky should be enough to make sure the ‘Dores get fifth place in the division.
6. Kentucky Wildcats (150-1): UK also has two viable QBs in Randall Cobb and Mike Hartline, but Cobb is also the team’s top wideout. Hartline (nine TDs, eight INTs) isn’t nearly imposing enough to keep the Wildcats out of the basement, not even with a manageable schedule featuring just four road games. Keep in mind, though, that the SEC East basement was good enough last year for UK to go to the Liberty Bowl and beat East Carolina 25-19 as 3-point dogs.
While Tim Tebow deserves the attention for what he brings to the Gators on offense, Florida's defense will be a big part of their BCS title hopes in 2009.
Gainesville, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
The Florida Gators have a very difficult task in front of them: Defend the national college football championship. Getting out of the Southeastern Conference (better known as the SEC) unscathed is challenging enough; try the entire FBS, with 120 full-time members going for the big one this season. But the 2009 Gators, at least on paper, are even better than the team that took the title in both 2006 and 2008.
The BCS futures market has wasted no time branding Florida the heavy favorite at 2-1, well ahead of the Oklahoma Sooners at 9-2. That’s good news for old-school SEC fans who had to endure the Big 12 stealing the national spotlight last year.
But where’s the betting value? The Gators aren’t the only quality team in the conference, let alone in the East Division. Here’s the rundown on all six clubs in order of predicted finish, championship betting odds included.
1. Florida Gators (2-1): Florida has a very special quarterback in 2007 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow (30 passing TDs, 12 rushing TDs, four INTs last year). He’s a consummate leader as well as a dual threat in the backfield, and his passing ability just gets better year after year. But the Gators also have the top-ranked defense in the FBS in terms of efficiency (according to Brian Fremeau’s advanced stats), and they’ll have 11 starters returning in 2009, including Jermaine Cunningham and Carlos Dunlap in the trenches. It’s undefeated or bust for these guys.
2. Georgia Bulldogs (40-1): This is the one team in the East that has a reasonable chance of hanging a loss on the Gators. Georgia is also better than last year’s 10-3 (4-7-1 ATS) squad, even with QB Matthew Stafford and RB Knowshon Moreno going to the NFL as first-round picks. Both the offensive and defensive lines are stellar, senior QB Joe Cox has thrown just one pick in 68 career passing attempts, and the BCS voters will look favorably on Georgia’s non-conference trip to Oklahoma State – provided the Dawgs win, of course. This is far too good a payout to ignore at 40-1.
3. South Carolina Gamecocks (75-1): We like to preach the importance of the offensive line around here, and the Gamecocks provide a perfect example of what happens to an otherwise good team with poor protection. QB Chris Smelley threw 15 INTs last year and top RB Mike Davis was limited to 3.5 yards per carry. Sophomore Stephen Garcia should be an improvement over Smelley, but it’ll be all in vain against the SEC’s monster defenses.
4. Tennessee Volunteers (60-1): The Vols made the switch to Lane Kiffin as head coach after a hard-luck 5-7 SU and ATS campaign cost Phil Fulmer his job. It’s debatable whether Kiffin can do better with the Xs and Os, but at least he’ll shake the program out of its rut. What the Vols really need is a QB. Jonathan Crompton (four TDs, five INTs) gets the nod to start the season, but could be replaced by Nick Stephens (four TDs, three INTs) in short order.
5. Vanderbilt Commodores (150-1): Vandy’s defense will take a step back in 2009; however, the offense looks set with the QB combination of Mackenzie Adams (the scrambler) and Larry Smith (the strong-armed passer). Their home date on Nov. 14 against Kentucky should be enough to make sure the ‘Dores get fifth place in the division.
6. Kentucky Wildcats (150-1): UK also has two viable QBs in Randall Cobb and Mike Hartline, but Cobb is also the team’s top wideout. Hartline (nine TDs, eight INTs) isn’t nearly imposing enough to keep the Wildcats out of the basement, not even with a manageable schedule featuring just four road games. Keep in mind, though, that the SEC East basement was good enough last year for UK to go to the Liberty Bowl and beat East Carolina 25-19 as 3-point dogs.