The SEC East Could Crown A New Champ in 2010—Will It Be Georgia?

"In the SEC, Florida will also go through a transition period as Tim Tebow can no longer be the savior. A number of other seniors from last year have moved on up as well. LSU should be ready for a rebound, but maybe not a BCS-type rebound while sportsbook odds makers probably won’t consider Georgia much of a BCS threat unless a quarterback quickly emerges." (FootballGamblingFreaks.com, 6/23/10). 


I read this statement and nearly laughed out loud as it's comical to me how much goodwill a national title grants you. Aaron Murray's inexperience aside, neither Florida nor LSU have a bonafide answer at quarterback in 2010.

John Brantley hasn't proven himself in an SEC contest—yet. The appearances he can tout to the Florida faithful amount to "garbage-time" blow-outs left for his pleasure by Tim Tebow. Not to mention, Florida lost more than half its offense to the NFL. Bye-bye Aaron Hernandez. Sayonara, Riley Cooper—so sad to see you go.

Furthermore, it matters little how phenomenal that 2010 signing class was, defensively, those guys haven't done a thing yet. Add to that, the man behind the plan—Charlie Strong—changed zip codes. If you don't think that matters—you are nuts.

So, when people just hand the SEC East over to the Gators simply because Urban Meyer is their coach and they've won it before, I find myself pausing a bit for station identification because—seriously—even Florida is bound to come back to earth a bit this season and that could mean a shift in the powers that be.

As for LSU, Jarret Lee and Jordan Jefferson combined make up one-half of a decent quarterback for the Tigers. LSU may have beaten Georgia last season but they too have lost a very significant chunk of their offensive production—including every significant carry in their running back corp.

In the West this year, it will be all about AAA—Alabama, Auburn, and Arkansas—LSU will not rebound nearly as well as most believe and that will have a lot to do with the lack of a running game to offset their schizophrenic production at quarterback.

In the East, South Carolina is a feared commodity but, honestly, until I see Steve Spurrier giving more love to his quarterback, no team in the conference should be skeered' of what he's bringing to the field. He's been shaky for the better part of his career and this offseason is showing that those shaky ways are far from over. I can't wait to see how he handles the expectations that have been placed on him this season—something that, prior to now, he hasn't truly had to deal with.

Either way, no matter what South Carolina does against Georgia, they will not win the East—there I said it. They have never won the SEC, have never had an opportunity to try, and without a running game they are no closer to doing either than the were ten-years ago.

South Carolina is cocky—not good. They are a .500 team wanting to be better and that will remain the case no matter what happens in Columbia this season.

Which brings me back to the original reason for this diatribe, this is a new season and there isn't a team in the SEC East that can boast enough experience at every spot to say they can or will win the division. 2010 is a crapshoot—despite what Dennis Dodd has to say.

Georgia may not have a proven quarterback when the first whistle blows but here's my no-holds take on the teams in the East who supposedly will:

John Brantley: He'll have time behind that line but who is he going to throw it to...no, really...who? There's not a receiver returning who will have any significant history of making an impact. Plus, other than Tebow, have the Gators really tried establishing a run-game? This IS the SEC, right? At some point, that cute little spread Urban runs will need some tweaking.

Stephen Garcia: Georgia helped make him relevant in 2009 but he's not done enough to warrant  much respect. After all, he's barely important to his own team so why should anyone else in the East care? Just saying...

Larry Smith: He and Warren Norman will be about as relevant as Rafael Belliard was for the Atlanta Braves—pity.

Matt Simms: Unless Tennessee is going to do something about their lack of an offensive line, running game, or defensive playmaker, no one will be worried about Simms leading the Vols anywhere—particularly not to another big win over Georgia in Sanford Stadium.

Kentucky: I intentionally failed to name their quarterback because, no matter who it is, he'll be irrelevant. Georgia did what no other SEC team could last season—make Morgan Newton look good. That lightning won't strike twice—trust me.

If Georgia plays even a modicum better in the secondary this season, they have a better than average shot of winning the East—not competing for it—winning. That's a fact.

So, all the disrespect they have gotten based on the nightmare defensive woes of last season need to go precisely where they make the most sense—the trash can—because this is a new team with a new plan. It's time people start to recognize that point and give Mark Richt and company something that only Phil Steele seems to want to—r-e-s-p-e-c-t.

73 days and counting, Dawg fans, are you ready to sic' em yet?