My Summer SEC West Predictions

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to Lucas On Sports. I decided to try my hand out in the blogosphere and I figured, hey, why not blog about sports? After all, I am more knowledgeable about sports than any other topic, and that includes my current job (Sssshhh don't tell my boss), but I have to admit that's not saying a whole lot. I plan to talk college sports, Braves baseball, with a little NFL and NBA sprinkled in. I hope you enjoy it.

With my initial post I am going to give you my predictions for the SEC West for the upcoming 2011 season. I will have my predictions for the East later.

So here it goes:

LSU has all the makings of a contender

1. LSU - The bayou tigers will be in the SEC championship this year, and ultimately, the BCS national championship game. They lost only twice all of last year and recruited a talented quarterback in JuCo transfer Zach Mettenberger. If the incumbent Jordan Jefferson falters at all then LSU has a talented back up to take his place. However, it appears right now as if it's Jefferson's job to lose. Coach Les Miles said, "Jordan Jefferson is the starting quarterback --- I think he's had the best spring since he's been here." If LSU shows any improvement at the QB position then their defense will take them along for a special season.

2. Arkansas - Arkansas is returning some very talented players from a team that made it to a BCS bowl last year. Those returning include RB Knile Davis, who was arguably a top three running back in the SEC last year, and excellent receivers Jarius Wright, Greg Childs, and Joe Adams, who make up what I believe to be the best receiving trio in the SEC. They surround new starting QB Tyler Wilson, who came in for an injured Ryan Mallett in a hostile Jordan Hare stadium last year and went 25-34 for 332 yards and 4 TDs against the eventual national champs. It would not surprise me to see them win the West if Tyler Wilson can progress quickly.

3. Alabama - Alabama has a good bit of talent with RB Trent Richardson and WR Marquis Maze returning among others, but I don't know that they have what it takes at quarterback to challenge for the SEC West title. AJ McCarron was highly recruited out of high school, but did not impress in limited action last year. Alabama boasted the fifth best scoring defense in the nation last year and I think that will help them as they break in a new QB.

Could Wilson change Auburn's fate?

4. Auburn - The defending national champions will have trouble repeating as SEC champions this year after losing over 25 key contributors from last years team. They will lean heavily on RB Mike Dyer, but the tough SEC road schedule will take its toll. Auburn plays South Carolina, Arkansas, LSU, and Georgia all on the road. Talk about a gauntlet. However, former NC State QB Russell Wilson is looking to transfer and may end up at Auburn after visiting last week. If he does come to Auburn he would be eligible immediately and AU would move up to #2 on my list. Russell Wilson had an impressive year for NC State last year amassing 3,663 yards passing while throwing 28 touchdowns. He would immediately be a top 3 quarterback in the SEC. Even if they don't get Wilson, look for Auburn to return to the SEC championship in 2012 after putting together several solid recruiting classes in a row.

5. Mississippi State - Mississippi State had a solid year in 2010 under second year head coach Dan Mullen going 9-4 with 4 SEC wins. However, their problem in 2011 is the same as last year. The SEC West is once again very strong at the top, and they just don't have the talent to compete consistently week in and week out. Also, unfortunately for them, if Mullen has a few more seasons like he did last year I don't think we will stay for very long there. He was rumored to be a leading candidate for the Florida job last year, and if another job like that comes open again this year he will be out the door. It's just not easy to win in the SEC West if you are MSU because of the difficulty recruiting to that area and the strength of division opponents year after year.

The new Ole Miss Black Bear won't
help them win many games this year.

6. Ole Miss - What can you say about the Rebs? Not much, and I think that's exactly what lands them in last place in the West again this year. I see a similar showing to 2010 where they finished 4-8 and 1-7 in the conference. The Jeremiah Masoli experiment failed last year and I don't expect anything to change that would make them any better this year.







So thanks everyone for reading (if anyone does). I hope this blog will be entertaining and insightful as it evolves. Feel free to leave any comments or suggestions below.

Coming up next: My Summer SEC East Predictions