They seem a little annoyed on the Bama board because many feel that Ole Miss is the leading contender for the SEC West. LSU is understandably sold short right now with a young quarterback and a new defense. But Ole Miss has the second-best quarterback in the conference and better balance between offense and defense than Bama does. Bama has what appears to be a very powerful defense but a rookie quarterback who is unproven in the league. Other than an all-world receiver, the offense is middle of the pack in the SEC. So, the questions seem to be: 1. Is Ole Miss more than a flash in the pan. Can they string together more than one year of success? Is Nutt the answer for their 3-decade decline? 2. Is Bama's defense good enough to win the West if their offense can't score enough points? Will McElroy be an SEC-caliber quarterback on day one? Is their running game enough to carry them, if he ain't? 3. Can LSU overcome the toughest schedule in the SEC? We are the only SEC contender that has to play each of other four (Ole Miss, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida). Can Jefferson/Lee/Shepard step up to championship quarterback play. Can Chavis get a new defense together that can stop stop top SEC offenses? 4. Auburn, Arkansas, State . . . any chance at all of upsetting the cart?
I am going with Arkansas, they probably have a chance to shake things up. Bama is leaning on last season, but its different this year. After losing to Utah, they dont have much of an argument.
Bama fans would be annoyed that they weren't picked to win the conference, even if they were starting 10 true freshmen on both sides of the ball. Their opinions are irrelevant in a realistic conversation about the SEC. Taking off the purple and gold glasses (which tell me we will have won the West when its all over), I've got to call it 1. Ole Miss, 2. Alabama, 3. LSU entering the season. If 'Bama catches lightning in a bottle with the new QB, they could easily repeat as Division champs. Can't see any of the others cracking the top 3. For us, a lot rides on the job our coordinators do this season. That's obvious on defense, but I think its there on offense as well, especially on 2 questions: How well will Crowton be able to cover up the growing pains that are sure to come with JJ early in the season, and how will he incorporate Shepard into the game plan? I also believe Toliver has to live up to his billing this season, in order to keep secondaries from rolling over on Lafell.
Can Ole Miss beat the teams they are supposed to beat? They play at Auburn, at South Carolina, and at Vandy. Im going to go with a loss at Auburn and I can see them losing to Vandy or South Carolina as well.
something was in that kool aid bama and their fans were drinking last year if they think they are going to win the west this season. gonna be tough for us to win the overall SEC this year because more than likely we will have to play florida twice.
Maybe but I also think they will win one they should not. I say they beat bama at home after two weeks on the road, a month after their early bye.
i think they run away with that one. they should have beat them last season and we all know st. nick and his struggles with Ole Miss.
Youre probably right. For those saying Arkansas - They probably have the best offensive coach in the country but they also have no talent on defense. Theyre not going to be able to stop anyone. Should be fun games to watch, though.
