Today the SEC Sports Report Pre-season rankings are released with LSU holding down the top position and Ole Miss bringing up the bottom. Now it's time for us to put our predictions down for the world to see...
In about seven days, SEC football will begin in Starkville, Mississippi ,when the Tigers from LSU come to kick off the 2007 season. Today, the SEC Sports Report Pre-season rankings are released with LSU holding down the top position and Ole Miss bringing up the bottom. We believe that anything is possible in the SEC West this year and that #6 could beat #1, #5 could beat #2 on any given Saturday. But now it's time for us to put our predictions down for the world to see. We have been following everything written on SEC teams for the last year and based on our analysis, this is how we see the 2007 year finishing out.
SEC Sports Report Pre-season Football Poll: SEC West
1. LSU Tigers
2. Auburn Tigers
3.Arkansas Razorbacks
4. Alabama Crimson Tide
5. Mississippi State Bulldogs
6. Ole Miss Rebels
LSU. We believe they will win, but they will not go undefeated. LSU could lose to Florida, Auburn or Arkansas because those teams will have matured when they play LSU later in the season.
Auburn and Arkansas. The #2 spot is a toss-up between the Auburn Tigers and Arkansas. We give the nod to Auburn because they have been so consistent over the last few years. Auburn continues with consistency in the coaching staff and a Senior quarterback which are huge positives in our book. Arkansas is more talented. But we believe any sign of trouble for Arkansas will be exaggerated and over-analyzed by a divided fan base and will ultimately hurt the spirit of the team. Arkansas is talented enough to make it a run ,and they could return as champions if they pull it together; so we’ll just have to sit back and watch it unfold.
Alabama. We like the Crimson Tide this year but we believe that coach transitions are difficult for teams, taking at least two years to bear any kind of fruit. Nick Saban is a great coach, but the SEC is just too tough in 2007. Bama fans will not like this prediction; we believe Alabama to be better than 2006, just not good enough to be in the top spots. Bama could knock off any of the top 3 in the West and Georgia ,but their better days are next year.
Mississippi State. Mississippi State will pull a couple of SEC wins this year. The dogs have more depth than last year and hopefully can keep their starting quarterback for the entire season. MSU can compete with everybody in the SEC this year. We believe if Sylvester Croom can win a couple of SEC games and hold his own in the West, he will return for 08. Croom may be just one year away from his best team at Miss State.
Ole Miss. Ole Miss should finish out in the bottom of the SEC West. Not having a leading quarterback in place is a huge negative for them in such a tough conference. Ole Miss had the ability to go toe to toe with LSU, Alabama and Auburn in 06; so they could finish middle of the pack if the stars are lined up correctly. We believe Coach Orgeron is a season away from competing at the top of the West. The Rebels always have a lot of fight; so don't count them out.
Jay Holgate is an analyst and sports writer for http://www.secsportsreport.com
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