SEC Offseason News

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SEC East Quick Hits

*Vanderbilt will be a team on the down hill slide this season and won't go to a bowl
game.

*Kentucky won't be sneaking up on anyone this season as they did last year with
opponents knowing what to expect from the players returning.

*Tennessee will be an improving team and they will make a bowl game this season.

*South Carolina has to play Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Florida and Texas A&M and
won't be picked to win any of those games.

*Missouri's final record this season may not be better than last year's 8-5 mark but
they will be a better team than the 2018 edition. Maybe better than most expect.

*Florida, with a break or two, wouldn't surprise too much to see the Gators topple
Georgia for the top spot in the East.

*Georgia's only question of improving is how well the new offensive coordinator blends
with star quarterback Jake Fromn. The pieces are there if the coaches can just put
them all together correctly.
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Trend of the Day

The Kentucky Wildcats are just kittens after playing Georgia posting a 2-10 against the
spread mark. Missouri (Oct. 26) follows the Dawgs this season.

GL

 

[mws]

2019 OPEN DATES (number and teams they play after Bye Week)

WEST
Alabama (2) Texas A&M, LSU
Arkansas (2) Kentucky, LSU
Auburn (2) Arkansas, Georgia
LSU (2) Utah State, Alabama
Texas A&M (2) Alabama, South Carolina
Miss State (2) Tennessee, Alabama
Ole Miss (2) Auburn, Miss State

EAST
Florida (3) UT Martin, Georgia, Florida State
Georgia (2) Tennessee, Florida
Kentucky (2) Arkansas, Tennessee
Missouri (2) Troy, Georgia
South Carolina (2) Georgia, Clemson
Tennessee (2) Georgia, Missouri
Vanderbilt (2) LSU, South Carolina

Am I reading that right? FIVE teams get an open date before playing Georgia? Tech also gets an extra couple days before playing the Dawgs, as their prior game is on a Thursday.

 

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Am I reading that right? FIVE teams get an open date before playing Georgia? Tech also gets an extra couple days before playing the Dawgs, as their prior game is on a Thursday.

Yes, Georgia will face a bunch of rested teams this season.
(Auburn, Florida, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee)

Georgia (5)
Alabama, LSU, Tennessee (3)
Arkansas, South Carolina (2)
Auburn, Texas AM, Miss St., Florida, Kentucky, Missouri (1)
Vanderbilt (0)

 

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Updated CFB Playoff Title Odds

ALABAMA, Clemson (9/4)
GEORGIA (6/1)
Michigan (12/1)
Ohio State (14/1)
Oklahoma (16/1)
LSU (20/1)
Texas (25/1)
AUBURN, Nebraska (30/1)
FLORIDA, Oregon (40/1)
Notre Dame, Washington (50/1)
TEXAS A&M (60/1)
Utah (80/1)
MISSISSIPPI ST, Iowa, Iowa State, Penn St., Wisconsin, Miami,
Virginia Tech, USC, FSU, Baylor (100/1)

 

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Auburn - We all know this is a critical season for head coach Gus Malzahn. Would
finishing fourth in the division be good enough for him to keep his job? An incredibly
tough schedule won't make things easy on Malzahn and the Tigers, despite a roster
full of talent, especially on the defensive line. Quarterback play will be the wild card
this season for Auburn with a redshirt freshman or true freshman taking over the
starting job. Both are talented so it just depends on which one raises to the occasion.
The Tigers must improve on offense (11th in SEC) and defense (8th in SEC) to have
any chance of contending for the West. Despite a brutal schedule, Auburn has good
odds to be a top-25 team.

*Auburn's new starting quarterback will be the 9th new QB to start the season in the
last eleven years.

 

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MISSOURI, somewhat of a dark horse pick to win the division last season, and that
might be the case again this year. The Tigers have to shore up a defense that has
a tendency to give up big yardage plays though. With transfer Kelly Bryant (Clemson)
and a boat load of skill players, the potential of the offense makes the Tigers an inter-
ing and dangerous team. The defense needs to improve and become more of a shut
down unit for this team to improve on last year's 8-5 record. Six returning starters
will form the foundation for this year's defense.

*The Tigers are 40-9 SU and 31-14 ATS the last six years in games where they out
gained their opponent.

*The Tigers have not had a winning record in SEC play the past four seasons.
(1-7, 2-6, 4-4, 4-4)

 

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Quick Hits

*Former Kentucky quarterback Jared Lorenzen passed away July 3rd at the age of
38 from heart and kidney complications. The "Hefty Lefty" is Kentucky's career pass
leader with 10,354 yards, ranking him eight in SEC history. Mr. Lorenzen also won
a super bowl ring as a back up for the New York Giants.

*In 2019, the state of Mississippi produced 16 players ranked as four or five star
prospects in the 247Sports composite rankings, the fifth most of any state behind
Texas, California, Florida and Georgia.

*In the last five years, 68 of 71 offensive linemen named to an All-American team
have played for a Power 5 team and 17 of those 68 players have come from the
Southeastern Conference.

*Tennessee has made a bowl five times in the past eleven seasons marking the fewest
bowl bids during that span by any team in the Southeastern Conference. This year
the Volunteers play eight home games and does not play a nonconference opponent
from a Power 5 conference. I believe they will get a bowl bid this season.

*SEC Media Days will start July 15-July 18 in Birmingham, Alabama. Much of the event
will be televised by the SEC Network and ESPN. The schedule for coaches are:

Monday, July 15 - Dan Mullen, Fla.....Ed Oregeron, LSU.....Barry Odom, Missouri
Tuesday, July 16 - Kirby Smart, Ga.....Matt Luke, Ole Ms.....Jeremy Pruitt, Tn.....Jimbo Fisher, Tx A&M
Wednesday, July 17 - Nick Saban, Ala.....Chad Morris, Ark.....Joe Moorhead, Ms St.....Will Muschamp, SC
Friday, July 18 - Gus Malzahn, Aub…..Mark Stoops, Ky.....Derek Mason, Vandy

Needless to say, Wednesday will be the big day for fans. The place will be overflowing.

 

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SEC Win Totals (Fan Duel Sportsbook)

Alabama - 11 -130
Georgia - 11 +130
LSU - 9 +100
Florida - 9 +100
Auburn - 8 -108
Miss State - 8 -108
Texas AM - 7.5 -114
Missouri - 7.5 -180
Kentucky - 6.5 -130
Tennessee - 6.5 -135
South Carolina - 6 +120
Ole Miss - 5 +100
Arkansas - 5 +100
Vanderbilt - 5 +140

 

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Vanderbilt - Derek Mason is entering his sixth season in Nashville with an 8-32 SEC
conference record. Mason stands 24-38 overall including three straight wins over
big in-state rival Tennessee. Mason will welcome back 7 starters on offense and 4 or
5 on defense. Commodore teams have been well coached under Mason but keeping
up with an improving SEC East is proving difficult. The offensive line must replace
three starters who combined for 35 starts in 2018. The defensive line must replace
all starters and is mainly unproven. The back end of the defense has even more to
prove after losing 3 key starters. The lines on both sides of the ball are sure to suffer
early lumps against Georgia, Purdue and LSU to open the 2019 season. The key for
the Dores season will be developing in time for a season ending five game stretch that
includes visits to South Carolina, Florida and Tennessee.

Georgia.....@Purdue.....LSU.....Northern Illinois.....@Ole Miss.....UNLV.....Missouri.....
@South Carolina.....@Florida.....Kentucky.....East Tennessee.....@Tennessee

Trend of the Day

The Vanderbilt Commodores are 0-18 straight up and 2-16 against the spread in Game
six of the season the last 18 years.

GL

 

[LSUpete]

SEC Win Totals (Fan Duel Sportsbook)

Alabama - 11 -130
Georgia - 11 +130
LSU - 9 +100
Florida - 9 +100
Auburn - 8 -108
Miss State - 8 -108
Texas AM - 7.5 -114
Missouri - 7.5 -180
Kentucky - 6.5 -130
Tennessee - 6.5 -135
South Carolina - 6 +120
Ole Miss - 5 +100
Arkansas - 5 +100
Vanderbilt - 5 +140

I'll definitely get down on the LSU OVER 9, Ole Miss OVER 5, Vanderbilt UNDER 5 and I LOVE A$M UNDER 7.5

 

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Preseason Top 25s are starting to drop now and NCAA.com is just the latest
to release its ratings. Seven SEC teams are included.

1. Clemson.....2. ALABAMA.....3. Ohio State.....4. GEORGIA.....5. Oklahoma

6. Michigan.....7. LSU.....8. FLORIDA.....9. Texas.....10. Notre Dame

11. TEXAS AM.....12. Oregon.....13. Penn State.....14. Washington.....15. Utah

16. Wisconsin.....17. AUBURN.....18. Iowa.....19. Central Florida.....20. Nebraska

21. Virginia Tech.....22. Michigan St.....23. MISSOURI.....24. Northwestern.....25. Boise St.

 

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2019 Returning Starters
*QB Returns
**Obviously, when the season starts, some numbers may need adjusting.

Team...……………….Offense.....Defense......Total
Alabama...……………..6*…………...6...…………..12
Arkansas...…………….6...…………..6...…………..12
Auburn...………………..7...………….7...…………..14
Florida...………………..5*…………...8...…………..13
Georgia...……………...6*…………...7...…………..13
Kentucky...…………….4*…………...4...…………...8
LSU...…………………….8*…………….6...…………...14
Ole Miss...……………..3...………….10...…………..13
Miss State...………….7...…………..4...…………...11
Missouri...……………..7...…………..6...…………...13
S. Carolina...………..7*…………….7...…………….14
Tennessee...…………10*…………..7...…………...17
Texas A&M...………..7*…………….4...…………….11
Vanderbilt...………….7...…………..5...…………….12

Most teams, other than Kentucky have a decent foundation returning.
Eight teams return starting quarterbacks.

 

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Arkansas - The 2018 season is almost here and the countdown can't start soon enough
for the Razorback faithful hoping to erase the memories of 2018. Chad Morris is supposed
to have brought a high-powered offense to Arkansas. Putting the "hammer down" in the
"left lane" was his promise during his introductory press conference and seemingly every
other time he met with the media until the Hogs played an actual game under him. But
once the team faced competition outside of practice, it became very clear Arkansas' offense
wouldn't be finding the "fast lane" anytime soon. Don't expect that to change quickly in
2019. This program is still at least one more season away. Morris didn't win a conference
game last year but played Texas A&M and LSU to 7 point games giving hope for a SEC win
this season. Considering how many young players are about to receive a ton of playing
time, I'm thinking a league win would be a major step in the right direction.

Trend of the Day

The Arkansas Razorbacks are 11-1 against the spread after playing Auburn. Say it ain't
so Hog fans...Alabama follows Auburn this season October 26. GL

 

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SEC Quarterbacks - Alabama's Tua Tagavailoa and Georgia's Jake Fromn are generally
rated the top two signal callers in the SEC for 2019, if not for the entire country. Take
a look at some others.....

*Jake Bently (SC) - Bently has a legitimate shot to be the Gamecocks' all-time leader
in passing yards and touchdowns by the end of the season, but he's been inconsistent
accuracy wise during his career.

*Kelly Bryant (Mo) - Bryant has never taken a snap in the Southeastern Conference, but
he did lead Clemson to a berth in the College Football Playoff in 2017. Despite losing his
job to freshman Trevor Lawrence, he's 16-2 as a college starter.

*Joe Burrow (LSU) - Burrow is considered largely as a game manager for the Tiger offense,
but that was a vast improvement over what the offense had had in the previous decade
or so before him. He threw just five interceptions in 379 attempts last season, but he was
sacked 35 times.

*Feleipe Franks (Fla) - Franks still has accuracy issues and tends to hold onto the ball too
long at times, but he showed vast improvement under Dan Mullen last season. He needs
to keep improving for the Gators to have a shot at Georgia in the East.

*Kellon Mond (A&M) - In his first season working with Jimbo Fisher, Mond broke the 3,000
yard mark passing. He is also the leading returning rusher among SEC quarterbacks with
474 yards and 7 touchdowns.

*Auburn, Mississippi State, and Arkansas have interesting quarterback battles going on to
see who will be the starter. Fall camp will probably determine who wins the job.

 

[mws]

*Kelly Bryant (Mo) - Bryant has never taken a snap in the Southeastern Conference, but
he did lead Clemson to a berth in the College Football Playoff in 2017. Despite losing his
job to freshman Trevor Lawrence, he's 16-2 as a college starter.

At least he has faced plenty of SEC competition, with a win over Auburn in Clemson, a win over USC in Columbia, and a win over the Aggies in College Station to go along with a loss to Alabama in the playoff. What's your opinion?

 

[mws]

SEC Quarterbacks - Alabama's Tua Tagavailoa and Georgia's Jake Fromn are generally
rated the top two signal callers in the SEC for 2019, if not for the entire country.

The only question for me is whether the gap between Tua and Fromm is bigger than the gap between Fromm and the third-best QB in the conference. What's your opinion?

 

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The only question for me is whether the gap between Tua and Fromm is bigger than the gap between Fromm and the third-best QB in the conference. What's your opinion?

Tua and Jake are first round draft picks. Not sure any of the other quarterbacks rate at that level. The third best behind the two
is A&M's Mond in my opinion. Guessing he's headed for a big year, even with that tough schedule.

 

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Coaches - Every SEC coach returns from last season but some of them probably need
better results to keep their jobs. Auburn's Gus Malzahn, Ole Miss' Matt Luke, Vandy's
Derek Mason and South Carolina's Will Muschamp have led their respective programs
for at least three years. They haven't created sustained success. Malzahn must find
a quarterback, Luke replaced both coordinators, Mason hasn't finished with a winning
record, Muschamp's Gamecocks went 7-6 last year. It will interesting to see who steps
up and who takes a walk.

*Nick Saban is a 50 percent bet when Alabama plays non-conference teams with a 25-25
against the spread record.

 

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Coordinators - Half the conference replaced at least one coordinator during the
offseason, with three teams (Ole Miss, Tenn, Ga) replacing both positions. Six
of the new coordinators are on the offensive side of the ball, and LSU hired Joe
Brady to restructure its passing game. The majority of the conference offensive
schemes probably won't change much, but the success or failure of these new
coordinators can determine the outcome of the Southeastern Conference.

*Ole Miss coach Matt Luke enters his third season in Oxford with a 3-12 against
the spread record in conference play.

 

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Georgia - The Dawgs have emerged as a national contender under Kirby Smart, and
it has represented the SEC East in the conference championship game the past two
seasons. The rest of the division looks murky behind the Bulldogs. Florida has shown
improvement under Dan Mullens, who verbally prodded Georgia a couple times this
offseason. After the Gators, not sure any other teams are capable of reaching the
SEC title game. Kentucky lost its best players. South Carolina regressed last year
and Missouri is appealing NCAA sanctions, which included a bowl ban. Tennessee
and Vanderbilt will look to the future for any challenge to the East crown.

*The Georgia Bulldogs have scored 31 or more points in 20 of their last 24 victories
under Kirby Smart.