Most of the discussion is SEC related and LSU is mentioned several times... Q: How much of a chance does LSU have to win the SEC and the national title? If they can what would it take to get there? – Converse A: Let’s put it this way with LSU; there’s no grace period whatsoever for Les Miles with ten starters coming back on offense and seven on D. Certainly the loss of both starting corners and Marcus Spears isn’t a positive, but there’s more than enough talent to fill in the gaps. The problem is the schedule with a killer home slate facing Arizona State, Tennessee, Florida and Auburn. Can the Tigers go 4-0 against those for top-15 caliber teams? Maybe, but there’s also a landmine of a road date at Alabama. With that said, the other three road games (at Mississippi State, at Vandy and at Ole Miss) which are as soft as can possibly be in the SEC. I don’t think LSU can go unbeaten, but it can certainly win the SEC championship, go 10-1 (or 11-1 with an SEC title) and be in the national title mix. Q: I'm a little tired of reading about the Life and Miracles of Saint USC. Yes, USC is a good team and will be a good team next year, but frankly Oklahoma tanked and that's that. It seems to me that college football is about 50% motivation, and the other 50% is talent, playcalling and all the other things we think about a lot. Less flashy and (judged at the time) less talented teams like Ohio State and LSU have won championships because they wanted it more, and stayed focused enough to accomplish their desires. I wonder, not whether you think USC can be upset and by whom, but how susceptible you think USC is to being out-desired, as Miami was in 2002 and Oklahoma in 2003. – JM A: USC was susceptible in 2004 and was able to get by to the Orange Bowl where it came up with its unbelievable performance. The loss of Norm Chow is going to hurt no matter how many ways you cut it. Don’t get me wrong, USC will be the best team going into 2005 and there’s not even a reasonable argument for anyone else as the preseason number one. However, I’ll be the sucker disbeliever for yet another year and think the Trojans will get tagged somewhere. At Oregon and Autzen Stadium is a landmine, and at Arizona State could be one of the toughest battles of the year. At California is dangerous as well. Add the game at Notre Dame to the mix and there are way too many landmines to think it’ll be a cakewalk to another national title. ...and leave it to a BARNER to add comic relief: Q: Looks a lot like last year with no respect/love given to Auburn. Looks like USC and OU will be top five favorites again. Should we schedule the championship game now? To make things worse, Bama, and LSU are being picked ahead of AU in the SEC West. You all do know Nick Satan and the Bear aren’t coaching in those schools anymore don’t you? Nobody likes to hear I told you so but… - FC A: First of all, let’s stop with the “nobody respected us” thing with Auburn. I spent way too much time last year dealing with LSU fans after I said in the preseason that Auburn would win the West. Sorry, but it’s not just the loss of the multi-million dollar backfield along with some serious defensive talent, it’s also the schedule that has the Tigers going to LSU and Georgia. Teams with veteran quarterbacks can win those games. Auburn doesn’t have a veteran QB. Don’t be stunned if the Tigers have a tough time getting by Georgia Tech and its phenomenal defense in the opener. Last year was a magical season for Auburn helped by the play of a senior dominated offense and the decision making of Jason Campbell. As anyone who follows the recent SEC world knows, you don’t get all the breaks two years in a row. Q: I know its early and the SEC is loaded, but if DJ Shockley plays up to his potential could Georgia be a "sleeper" contender for the title in the same way Auburn was last year? - Eric in NYC A: Absolutely, but that’s a huge, gaping, screaming if on Shockley playing up to his potential. David Greene might not have been heart-stopping, but the dude knew how to win and now Shockley has to shine without Fred Gibson and Reggie Brown. It’ll all be about the running game behind a tremendous offensive line. If the Dawgs can win at Tennessee, there’s no reason they shouldn’t be 7-0 going into the Cocktail Party. Auburn and at Georgia Tech aren’t going to be picnics. I don’t think the Dawgs are going to be in the national title hunt (with that game in Knoxville looking too tough), but a 10-1 year isn’t impossible by any stretch. Will 10-1 get Georgia to the Rose? It’ll be tough. Q: I am a Tennessee fan & 40 year student of SEC football. Two things will happen with Spurrier. 1) SEC football will go back to being fun again cause we have someone to hate. 2) All 11 SEC coaches better start recruiting DB's soon. – DS Why is everyone so enthralled with the Spurrier hire at South Carolina? Those of us who know the dynamic of the Palmetto State know that SC is a coaching graveyard. The same hoopla was raised in 1999 for Holtz, and he went 33-37 in 6 years. Spurrier was wildly successful at Florida because he was in Florida, recruiting kids to UF. Now he's supposed to get the kids to come hundreds of miles north to play in Columbia? It's an impossible task. Why don't we all just call it like it is and say SC will continue to be fourth in the SEC East? – Tony A: There’s been an interesting mix of e-mails coming in about Spurrier with half of SEC fans freaked out that South Carolina is going to dominate under The Visor, while half the fans can’t figure out why this is such a big deal. I’ll be absolutely shocked if South Carolina wins an SEC East title, much less an SEC championship, under Spurrier. First of all, you don’t catch lightning twice. Spurrier created a machine down in Gainesville that dominated the SEC in amazing fashion, but it’s asking too much to do it again. Just because Spurrier is at USC, that doesn’t mean Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, LSU, or any of the other good SEC teams are worse and yes, they always have good defensive backs. Second, USC isn’t going to win the SEC this year with road trips to Georgia, Auburn, Tennessee and Arkansas, and it’s not fair to think Spurrier can make this program a juggernaut by next year. That means year three has to be the year things really come around when Spurrier will be in his mid-60s. Will he really have the fire to see this thing through if he doesn’t have success right away? Don't forget that Lou Holtz did a great job getting USC from point A to B, but couldn't go any further. I’m not going to say Spurrier can’t make the Gamecocks a contender, and he’s sure to pull off a few major wins over the next few seasons, but shooting for anything higher than 8-3/9-2 over the next two years is a bit unrealistic. Full Article
