SINCE WE LAST SPOKE 9-13-15
SEC BIG GAME ROADMAP: Now to the league that
really matters to those of us blessed to be living in this region of the country and closely following the best conference in the land. The league is still severely tilted due to the West’s strength and balance, Florida and Tennessee’s continued struggles to regain footing and unfortunate geography that places both Kentucky and Vandy on the same side. Therefore in order to avoid listing every Western Division game I have cut those back to include only the most significant and traditional slugfests.
THURS SEPT 3
North Carolina @ South Carolina: Steve Spurrier is hoping for a much better start than last season’s Texas A&M thrashing and Larry Fedora could use a jump start as well.
SAT SEPT 5
Louisville @ Auburn: I doubt Malzahn has to worry about Petrino trying to snake him out of his job.
Wisconsin vs Alabama (Arlington, Tx) The Tide's probably still smarting from their last matchup with a Big-10 squad.
SAT SEPT 12
Fresno St @ Ole Miss: The Rebels get a rare early season shot at some Bulldogs
Oklahoma @ Tennessee: The Vols with an early-season opportunity to gain national attention and respect
LSU @ Miss State: Georgia is at Vandy and Kentucky travels to South Carolina but this is the true lid lifter for the SEC season
SAT SEPT 19
Auburn @ LSU: Tigers (the GEAUX variety) could be in great shape in the SEC West or out of the race by the end of Week 3
South Carolina @ Georgia: The new early-season trend setter in the SEC East with both Tennessee and Florida rebuilding
Ole Miss @ Alabama: I would guess Saban’s troops have had this one circled for many months
SAT SEPT 26
Tennessee @ Florida: Lacks the national acclaim it once possessed but don’t tell either fan base it no longer matters
UCF @ South Carolina: Gamecocks were downright courageous in non-conference scheduling by SEC standards with the Tarheels and Knights added to their annual bloodbath with Clemson
Miss State @ Auburn: Bulldogs have won only 3 of their last 14 in the Loveliest Village and the visitor has dropped four straight in the series
Texas A&M vs Arkansas (Arlington): The Hogs have yet to beat A&M in SEC play after owning them (37-22-3) as Southwest Conference mates.
SAT OCT 3
Alabama @ Georgia: The first of the Dawgs State of Alabama double-play non division games.
S Carolina @ Missouri: Not that I want out but I’ve lived too long when this is an important SEC game.
Arkansas @ Tennessee: Maybe the leagues two most upwardly-mobile programs but see above
Miss St @ Texas A&M: It’s a weak Saturday in the West
SAT OCT 10
Georgia @ Tennessee: If the Vols change their fortunes versus the Gators this could be for a trip to Atlanta
Arkansas @ Alabama: With Amari Cooper gone this could be an old school run fest.
SAT OCT 17
Alabama @ Texas A&M: The visitor is 3-1 but the one home victory was the Tide’s 59-0 mauling last season in Tuscaloosa
Missouri @ Georgia: The visitor has won all three SEC matchups. Look for the Dawgs to end that trend.
SAT OCT 24
Auburn @ Arkansas: Fast-twitch versus bloody your nose. The latter used to win most of these contests but not so much these days
Tennessee @ Alabama: It’s my blog and I SAY it’s still a southern football classic
SAT OCT 31
South Carolina @ Texas A&M: Gamecocks got embarrassed at home last season and though they beat Georgia a few weeks later I’m not sure their defense ever recovered
Ole Miss @ Auburn: A matchup the Rebels rarely compete in (5-27 since 1971)
Georgia @ Florida: Does anyone to this day understand what happened to the Dawgs in this one last season?
THURS NOV 5
Missouri @ Miss State: If the Bullydogs can’t play on Thanksgiving they might as well slip in a Thursday game somewhere.
SAT NOV 7
LSU @ Alabama: I loved this matchup long before it was Sabanized
S Carolina @ Tennessee: Tennessee turned their season –and maybe the program- around with last year’s come-from-behind miracle. Let’s hope a bowl berth is not riding on the outcome of this one.
SAT NOV 14
Georgia @ Auburn: Think this is a great series? The all-time record stands at 55-55-8
Arkansas @ LSU: As it is for many, Baton Rouge is a house of horrors for the Hogs (1-9)
Alabama @ Miss St: Saban’s Tide rarely gets caught with their pants down but in the old days Starkville was where it would seem to happen.
BYU @ Missouri: If you’re going to play non-conference in November it should be this level matchup.
SAT NOV 21
Tennessee @ Missouri: What I would give for this to be a winner-to-Atlanta game
LSU @ Ole Miss: Here’s a good ole Pick-o-Dixie matchup
FRI NOV 27
Missouri @ Arkansas: Nothing wrong with a little SEC Friday action
SAT NOV 28
Ole Miss @ Miss State: Prefer the game be on Thanksgiving but I love me some Egg Bowl whenever it’s played
Clemson @ South Carolina: Can Spurrier and the Cocks regain control of the rivalry?
Georgia @ GA Tech: Dawg fans have to hate how feisty the Yellow Jackets have become under Paul Johnson running a 1970s offense.
Fla State @ Florida: Don’t mind seeing the Gators struggle but it sure diminishes this game’s significance.
Alabama @ Auburn: It would be just about impossible to top the last Iron Bowl played here.
Texas A&M @ LSU: For some reason LSU-Texas A&M and LSU-Arkansas seem more like SEC games than any other that the Aggies or Hogs play in.
SAT DEC 5
SECCG: Hey Butch! Win the East before I’m deceased.
BURNING BIG ORANGE DEFENSIVE QUESTIONS:
CAN WE LOWER THE SCORE? Though the Vols talent and speed on the defensive side was vastly improved from recent seasons only the league’s dreg defensive units (Aub, A&M, SC, Ky and Vandy) gave up more points than the 315 that the Vols surrendered in 2014. Even the best defenses are struggling to slow today’s turbo offenses but 300+ is too many points regardless of the era.
CAN WE STOP THE STAMPEDE? It’s tough to stall drives and get off the field when almost all your opponent has to do is hand the ball off to a RB. The Vols were 9th in the SEC in rushing defense allowing opponents 4.25 ypc. Defenses that give their teams a chance to have special seasons are the ones that surrender less than 4 ypc.
CAN WE GET RED IN THE RED ZONE? As mentioned above the 2014 defense passed the eye test more regularly than many of its predecessors but became almost Sal Sunseiri-like in the shadow of our own goal line. The Vols finished DEAD LAST in Red Zone Defense allowing opponents to score on 32 of 34 penetrations with a whopping 23 TDs. Want to answer Question 1 on limiting points? Get a stop occasionally on opponent’s deep possessions
CAN WE TAKE MORE THAN GIVE? Though the defense could have been more larcenous 24 takeaways is not an atrocious showing. If this is to be a stellar defensive unit however that number needs to be closer to 30. The Stop-Vols could also use a boost from their offense which gave back (22 turnovers) almost as many as the D gained.
BACK-TO-BACK SACK PACK? Last season’s 35 sacks trailed only Missouri (40) and Mississippi State (37) in SEC play. With Curt Maggitt (3rd in SEC 11 sacks) and Derek Barnett (T-4th; 10) returning; Kyle Phillips potential and the likelihood of better push from the tackle position the Vols just might exceed last season’s pleasantly surprising number of QB drops.
IN A PERFECT WORLD: Marcus Jackson would be granted a sixth year of eligibility.
