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Can we expect any "surprise" teams in the SEC next year?

Loam

Loam

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Like Ole Miss and Miss State did. Can we expect an SEC team to take a large leap forward next season that nobody really expects and ends up being ranked top 5 at some point in the season? If so, who could it be?

I think maybe Arkansas fits that bill. Not sure who else.
 
R

Redwood Forrest

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Could be Arkansas, Miss St, Florida, S Carolina or Kentucky.

Also, some SEC team will have a down year (S Carolina in 2014) and who will that be? I guess I would go with LSU and Georgia to underachieve ~ again.
 
B1GTide

B1GTide

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I think that Arkansas is going to be a real threat in the SEC. They may not win the SEC, but they are going to upset a lot of apple carts along the way. They will be one of those teams that no one wants to play.
 
B

bamacpa

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They won't be top 5, but Tennessee could get 8-9 wins with a full year of Josh Dobbs at QB.
 
CrimsonForce

CrimsonForce

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bamacpa said:
They won't be top 5, but Tennessee could get 8-9 wins with a full year of Josh Dobbs at QB.
Click to expand...
Tennessee should win the east. With Dobbs, Jalen Hurd, Alvin Kamara, Marquez North, and Pig Howard they should be able to put up a ton of points..
 
RTR91

RTR91

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My immediate two choices are Arkansas and Tennessee based on their ends to the season.

I like to look at each team's SEC schedule, though. That plays a bigger role than the talent on the team or how a team ends the previous season.

Florida:
@Kentucky
Tennessee
Ole Miss
@Missouri
@LSU
Georgia (Jacksonville)
Vanderbilt
@South Carolina

Georgia:
@Vanderbilt
South Carolina
Alabama
@Tennessee
Missouri
Florida (Jacksonville)
Kentucky
@Auburn

Kentucky:
@South Carolina
Florida
Missouri
Auburn
@Mississippi State
Tennessee
@Georgia
@Vanderbilt

Missouri:
@Kentucky
South Carolina
Florida
@Georgia
@Vanderbilt
Mississippi State
Tennessee
@Arkansas

South Carolina:
Kentucky
@Georgia
@Missouri
LSU
Vanderbilt
@Texas A&M
@Tennessee
Florida

Vanderbilt:
Georgia
@Ole Miss
@South Carolina
Missouri
@Florida
Kentucky
Texas A&M
@Tennessee

Out of the East, I like Georgia or Tennessee.

Alabama:
Ole Miss
@Georgia
Arkansas
@Texas A&M
Tennessee
LSU
@Mississippi State
@Auburn

Arkansas:
Texas A&M
@Tennessee
@Alabama
Auburn
@Ole Miss
@LSU
Mississippi State
Missouri

Auburn:
@LSU
Mississippi State
@Kentucky
@Arkansas
Ole Miss
@Texas A&M
Georgia
Alabama

LSU:
@Mississippi State
Auburn
@South Carolina
Florida
@Alabama
Arkansas
@Ole Miss
Texas A&M

Mississippi State:
LSU
@Auburn
@Texas A&M
Kentucky
@Missouri
Alabama
@Arkansas
Ole Miss

Ole Miss:
@Alabama
Vanderbilt
@Florida
Texas A&M
@Auburn
Arkansas
LSU
@Mississippi State

Texas A&M:
@Arkansas
Mississippi State
Alabama
@Ole Miss
South Carolina
Auburn
@Vanderbilt
@LSU

Out of the West, I like Bama (because of talent and Saban) and Texas A&M. Arkansas' schedule isn't friendly. IF Chavis can get the defense clicking at TAMU, they'll be the SEC West surprise in 2015.
 
J

JustNeedMe81

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West: I would pick Arkansas. They finally are now clicking and their defense is stingy. If they can open up the offense a little, they could be a legit contender for West Title. Texas A and M gets honorable mention because they still have issues on offense and who knows?

East: I definitely gotta go with Florida. Mac can get the team winning right away.
in SEC Championship... A and M or Bama against Florida.

Team most likely to regress: Ole miss, Miss State, Missouri, Tennessee, SC, Vandy and Kentucky.
 
D

day-day

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I just hope Missouri is not the surprise...again.

TAMU with a defense could be something.

Usually the "surprise" team, or basically the team having a peak season, is the team with senior ladened offensive and defensive lines. Based on the Phil Steele link noted in a previous post, UT may fit this with 4 returning OL but I think they may still be young. Ole Miss has a ton of returners including 5 OL; if they have added any depth they could be back.

The Phil Steele blog also shows Bama with 12 returning starters, 4 offense and 8 defense. Does anyone have the number of returning starters for Bama over the past 4 or 5 years?


ETA: It was noted on the blog that the list does not necessarily take into account all underclassmen that will leave early.
 
Last edited:
RTR91

RTR91

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JustNeedMe81 said:
West: I would pick Arkansas. They finally are now clicking and their defense is stingy. If they can open up the offense a little, they could be a legit contender for West Title. Texas A and M gets honorable mention because they still have issues on offense and who knows?

East: I definitely gotta go with Florida. Mac can get the team winning right away.
in SEC Championship... A and M or Bama against Florida.

Team most likely to regress: Ole miss, Miss State, Missouri, Tennessee, SC, Vandy and Kentucky.
Click to expand...
Why would you say Tennessee regresses? Not sure Vanderbilt can regress from a 3-9 season.
 
J

JustNeedMe81

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Because Tennessee has Dobb... but in the end, Teams are now going to account for him... They have improved in each of the season, but the thing is... They need to have 9 or 10 wins in 2015... anything less than that.. regressing mode. You don't have to agree with me, but this is how I feel about Tennesee. Vandy can regress from 3-9 to 1-12 :) The HC is calling defensive plays next year... he hired lot of new coaches.. so I expect him to improve the team, but I highly doubt it.

RTR91 said:
Why would you say Tennessee regresses? Not sure Vanderbilt can regress from a 3-9 season.
Click to expand...
 
Al A Bama

Al A Bama

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Jun 24, 2011
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I think the Tenercee Vols will be the surprise team in the SEC next year. Looking at how our series has gone with them, I expect them to win the Bama vs Vols game this year. If their current QB had started the Bama game this year, it could have been MUCH tougher to win.

I will really hate to see a lot of that color on TV this year.
 
theballguy

theballguy

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For it to be a surprise, it will have to be well.. a surprise. No one saw Miss State or Ole Miss doing what they did for the first 2/3 of the season. Just like that, we won't know next year until it comes. Think of some teams instead who will likely be near the bottom of the SEC. If any of those teams show up next year, then there's your surprise.
 
RTR91

RTR91

Super Moderator
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theballguy said:
For it to be a surprise, it will have to be well.. a surprise. No one saw Miss State or Ole Miss doing what they did for the first 2/3 of the season. Just like that, we won't know next year until it comes. Think of some teams instead who will likely be near the bottom of the SEC. If any of those teams show up next year, then there's your surprise.
Click to expand...
I saw several people say Mississippi State was their "dark horse" for the West going into this season.
 
Chukker Veteran

Chukker Veteran

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I hate to say it, but I'll be surprised if LSU doesn't win at least nine or ten games next season.

If the Gamecocks come back next season with a strong showing that might surprise some folks.

It's kind of hard to come up with anything original by page two of this thread given the limited number of possible answers. :) My first two picks were Tennessee and Arkansas, but they had been mentioned several times by the time I read the thread.
 
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