For SEC football, 2016 may bring an early frost

By Shannon Sickmon | Aug 10, 2016

Dec 5, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide tight end Michael Nysewander (46) celebrates with teammates after defeating the Florida Gators in the 2015 SEC Championship Game at the Georgia Dome. Alabama won 29-15. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports /

Will SEC football find itself in down year in 2016? All signs point to…maybe?

Another year and another college football season is almost upon us – huzzah! I am going to take an extremely unpopular tack and opine that the SEC might not be the most dangerous conference in the NCAA in 2016.

Before you Alabama fanatics send me death threats, let me assert that I have solid reasons for thinking this way. Yes, Alabama will still be a juggernaut led by arguably the best dang coach in college football. LSU will also be a dominant force in SEC West if manchild Leonard Fournette stays on his game and Les Miles can overcome his quarterback issues.

In the East, expect Tennessee to bring a wealth of talent to the table with 17 returning starters. This innate talent is one of the problems with the conference—there are so many ridiculously capable teams that the conference has a tendency to cannibalize itself.

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Don’t believe me? There was talk last year midseason of Ole Miss winning the SEC Championship after their thrashing of the Crimson Tide. Tennessee gave the Tide a rough game too, and the Volunteers have a loaded, experienced front that should be even better in 2016. If Kirby Smart lives up to his promise, Georgia could also spell trouble for Alabama – provided they both make it to Atlanta in December.

On the other hand, Kirby Smart has some really big shoes to fill. Unlike most new coaches, Smart had a talented roster handed to him. Yet he also inherits massive expectations from the Georgia fan base.

The bar for success is already high, with former head coach Mark Richt sporting a .750 win percentage. Essentially, Kirby Smart is going to be demonized if he cannot surpass Richt’s record. UGA has other question mark – their QB situation is sketchy at best, and the defensive line looks shaky. If Smart can pull off a winning season, he will be the hero of Athens; if he can’t, he may end up as vilified as the unfortunate Ron Zook.

So here is the situation with this year’s SEC. You have Nick Saban, the wicked genius that dominates every season and basically sets the bar for every other team. After Saban you have Les Miles with 4 SEC titles and one national title run; and then you have everyone else in the SEC.

If Miles can muster up some gumption and maximize the talent on his team, LSU will be a genuine title contender. Otherwise, expect another two-loss team in Baton Rouge. Georgia and Missouri have first-year coaches. South Carolina apparently got drunk and hired Will Muschamp, who let’s face it, doesn’t have the best track record.

If you compare the coaching talent at the SEC with that of the Big 10 or even the ACC, the pedigrees fall woefully short.

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The SEC is still going to be great at football, there is far too much home-grown aptitude in the south for the conference to fall. Yet if Auburn and Texas A&M struggle again this year and Kirby Smart fails to capitalize on his roster, the SEC might not dominate this year. We’ll have to see if another conference can pick up to the gauntlet thrown by the mighty SEC.