College Football

What's New?

Here's a look at what's new in the world of College Football Coaches, both new HC's & Coordinators.

1. Clay Helton, USC. I have to admit I am not sure if this is a good fit. Helton has twice been the interim HC, now he gets the gig full time. He is a good recruiter but I wonder if he can handle the pressure of being the full time guy. Of course the bigger question is who will the new AD be at USC? I think that is the bigger question, and I doubt Helton will be here for too long.

2. Will Muschamp, South Carolina. This shocked me since SC was looking at some HC's at smaller schools. Muschamp has experience, but while his defenses were good in the SEC, his offenses were not. I still don't think the Gamecocks will ever win the SEC, but if Muschamp can find an offense this could be a team that can find a way to win 9-10 games a year.

3. Justin Fuente, Virginia Tech. Fuente was able to win in Memphis, which is a hard to do since nobody has won there in a long time. Still, Fuente did and he left a hot program to go to Virginia Tech, which violates my cardinal rule of coaching: never be the one ot replace the legend. See Ron Zook, Jerry Stovall & Ray Perkins. Can Fuente's spread offense work here? In a few years, yes. But it will take some time to implement the changes. Keeping Bud Foster as DC was a brilliant move. Watch for the Hokies to get back big in 2018.

4. Mark Richt, Miami, FL. Great hire, what else can I say? I think Richt can bring some immediate help in the X's & O's, but the biggest challenge he will face is keeping the talented kids in the Miami area to stay home. That will be his biggest challenge.

5, Kirby Smart, Georgia. Kirby Smart left his gig as Bams's DC to step into coaching SEC rival Georgia. Smart had no prior HC experince before (Neither did Mark Richt when he took the UGA job) but that is not a bad thing. Former Nick Saban asistant Jimbo Fisher has done well at Florida State, so the Muschamp argument doesn't work here. Smart's biggest strength is recruiting, as evidenced by how Georgia finshed on signing day. But will Smart be like his former boss? time will tell.

Dave Aranda, LSU. Les Miles has tabbed Dave Aranda to be the new DC at LSU. After getting in trouble in Novemeber, LSU has hit it out the park since then. This is a great hire! It helps that Wisconsin, his former employer is the opener for LSU so he can help prepare LSU for the opener in a unique way.

More to come later on!

Since I dont know when I will be back, here is my SEC preview, and I will predict the winners of the other conferences before so here it goes:

Big 10-Ohio St

ACC-Clemson

Big XII-Oklahoma

Pac 12-UCLA

And now the best conference in the country: SEC

East

7. Vanderbilt Commodores-it's going to be a long season. Like the defense, the offense not so much. Depth is always an issue, so that hasn't changed. I think Derrick Mason is looking for a new gig as I don't see anywhere close to 6 wins here.

6. Missouri Tigers-New coach Barry Odom has his hands full. Missouri had a bad season a year ago and I don't think they will be much better in 2016. There is some talent here, and Odom might be the right guy but it is clear they must find a way to get to 6 or 7 wins this season, but that will be a tall order. They will not make a bowl game this season.

5. South Carolina Gamecocks-Will Muschamp is back as a HC in conference, but this is not the talent rich team he inherited when he took the Florida job. If he can find a direction on offense, and get some good talent on the defense this could be a program on the rise, but I didn't think this was a good hire.

4. Kentucky Wildcats-Mark Stoops has to produce this year if he wants to stay in Kentucky or move on to a better gig in 2017. They have come oh so close the last 2 years to go to a bowl game, and I will predict this will be the year they win 7 games and make it to a bowl game.

3. Florida Gators-HC Jim McElwain needs to fiind a QB as both starters from LY are gone. If they do find a QB they have a favorable home schedule and could be the team that wins the East once again. The defense is one of the better ones in the SEC. If they find the QB, they will. I think the Gators are poised for a breakout 2017 season.

2. Georgia Bulldogs-Kirby Smart bided his time at Alabama, and took one of the better coaching jobs that was available last year. The defense will be much better than it was a year ago, but again it comes to the QB play. Georgia has a good OL, depth at RB and at WR so whoever gets the call has the talent around him to do well.

1. Tennessee Volunteers-This is the year for Butch Davis and the Vols. I thought they would win it last season, but feel they will do it for real this time. They have the best QB in the division, RB Jalen Hurd will be up for the Heisman, and the defense looks impressive. But the problem for the Vols is the West is just too good once again.

Wes Division

7. Mississippi State Bulldogs-Dan Mullen is going to learn how bad life is without Dak Prescott at QB. There is some good players here, don't get me wrong. But they just won't have the staying power to win the tough games. It is going to be a long season in Stark Vegas.

6. Auburn War Eagles-The Gus Bus has rolled on, but now there is some excitement as the forward pass has been implemented in the Spring and it looked good for the most part (trying to make a joke but in all honesty the passing game will be a strength for Auburn). Former LSU DC Kevin Steele comes in to reverse an Auburn D that was just plain terrible a year ago. If they D was any good, I would have Auburn higher than where they are.

5. Texas A&M Aggies-Kevin Sumlin has had a bad offseason. From offending women fans at a coaching seminar tailored for women to off field actions by players, not to mention the high profile QB's that have left the program in the offseason. Trevor Knight will be the QB, and he has a pedigree for beating SEC schools, something the Aggies need. Noel Mazzone takes over the offense, and should have it make some sense. John Chavis is a great DC, but the Aggies will be very young. Make no mistake, Sumlin is coaching for his job. The Aggies have great talent on offense, but were hurt by play calling last season. The defense has some talent but must stop the run. They have the potential to win the West, but do the players want that? That is the question that must be answered.

4. Ole Miss Rebels-The good news for Hugh Freeze: Chad Kelley is back at QB. The bad? Tunsil, Nkemdeche and Treadwell are all gone. Freeze also has a chance to be the 1st HC to ever beat Nick Saban 3 straight times. But that won't happen. The possibility of severe NCAA penalties are hanging over the Rebs, This is going to be a good team, but they will not be as good as they have been the past 2 years and take a step or 2 back in 2016.

3. Arkansas Razorbacks-Bret Bielema has the best OL in the SEC. The defense is good, the offensive skill guys can make plays. But QB is the big question. If they get the type of play they got from this position last season, there is a strong chance Arkansas can win the West, and this is not a joke. But I just don't see that happening this season. They have a favorable home schedule, but if injuries bite them early on, this will be a long season.

2. Alabama Crimson Tide-Nick Saban once again won a national title with the least likely team to do so in his time at Bama. The same questions linger from a year ago: Who will be the QB? Who will be the LB that steps up to lead the team? Which DL will be a one man wrecking crew? Is the secondary capable of stopping the big play WR's in the SEC? Bama always finds an answer, but in the past they have avoided losing more than 1 game. Their good fortune will run out this season.

1. LSU Tigers-This is the year for LSU. Last season, Les Miles almost lost his job, but the players rallied around Miles and rallied to beat Texas A&M and put a beating on Texas Tech that was just plain fun to watch. The QB will be Brandon Harris, and I can verify they are working on a deadly new weapon in their offense: the forward pass. Leonard Fournette is the best RB in College Football, and Derrious Guice is going to be the best in 2017. Dave Arranda is the new DC, and he has the Tigers buying in to his new 3-4 scheme. They start off with a tough test at Wisconsin, and that will be a close game. Florida & Auburn will be tough road games, and the big home games will be Alabama and Ole Miss. With all the bad that happened a year ago this should be the year LSU breaks out big.

SEC Champions: LSU Tigers

College Football Playoffs

LSU vs Oklahoma

Clemson vs Ohio St

College Football National Championship Game

LSU vs Clemson

Projected National Champions

LSU Tigers (I can dream this can't I?)

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