With so many SEC football teams expected to do great things this year which teams will actually end up disappointing their fans?
Teams like the Alabama Crimson Tide, Auburn Tigers, Florida Gators, Georgia Bulldogs, and LSU Tigers all have high expectations in the SEC in 2017. Even the Mississippi State Bulldogs, South Carolina Gamecocks, and Tennessee Volunteers should put together solid campaigns this fall. However, one or more of those teams are likely to disappoint and could even miss a bowl game.
The college football season is drawing closer and closer. Soon we’ll actually figure out which teams will really contend. Yet, some teams like Tennessee, Georgia, and Auburn seem to fall short of expectations every single year. Some other programs like Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, and South Carolina seem underrated heading into the season.
The SEC has been a contender on the national scene every single year going past the last decade. Whether it be Alabama, Florida, or Auburn, there’s almost always an SEC team in the National Championship Game.
Who is supposed to be good?
According to Athlon Sports, six SEC teams are top 25 teams entering the 2017 season. Three of those teams, Tennessee, Florida, and Georgia are from the SEC East. The other three teams are from the SEC West, Auburn, Alabama, and LSU. The SEC West is hard to figure out this season because there’s so many teams that could surprise but the teams at the top are so talented. Mississippi State and Arkansas both have talented quarterbacks with Nick Fitzgerald and Austin Allen, respectively.
Now, let’s take a look at the five SEC teams that are likely to disappoint in 2017.
5
LSU Tigers
Scouting Report
LSU head coach Ed Orgeron takes over the spot that Les Miles failed to keep in Baton Rouge. He’ll look to turn the Tigers into a national title contender once again. The Tigers first need to change their fortunes on offense. Things were going in the right direction with quarterback Danny Etling behind center. Yet, even Etling did not produce big numbers last season.
Letting go of offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and bringing in Matt Canada might be just the thing that LSU needed. Between players like Derrius Guice, Arden Key, and Kevin Toliver II, the Tigers have all the skill and talent necessary to make a run to the College Football Playoff. Putting it all together has been the consistent problem for LSU.
LSU capped off the 2016 season well with a bowl victory over Heisman winner Lamar Jackson and the Louisville Cardinals. However, eight wins still fell drastically short of what LSU fans expected out of the Tigers last year.
With the SEC West so crowded at the top between the Alabama Crimson Tide, LSU Tigers, and the Auburn Tigers, some team has to be knocked off. LSU could be that team.
4
Georgia Bulldogs
Scouting Report
The Georgia Bulldogs and Florida Gators are expected to be the top two teams in the SEC East. However, it’s been almost five years now since the Dawgs have claimed the SEC East crown. Missouri and Florida have won the last four division titles. Is it finally time for Georgia to meet expectation and fulfill the hype and win the division? Who knows.
If nothing else, Georgia is extremely talented with sophomore quarterback Jacob Eason and senior running back Nick Chubb heading the offense. Defensive tackle, and former no. 1 overall recruit, Trenton Thompson could take a step to an All-American level in 2017.
With all the change that second-year head coach Kirby Smart brought to the Georgia program after the firing of Mark Richt, the Dawgs still only won eight games. They let too many close games slip away from them, including narrow margins of defeat against rivals Tennessee and Georgia Tech.
Heartbreaking losses to bitter rivals are no way to make your fan base happy. Maybe Georgia can flip the script and start winning those close games and get over the 10-win mark once again. However, only one team will walk away with the SEC East Title which will leave fans of either Georgia, Tennessee, and/or Florida disappointed at the end of the season.
3
Texas A&M Aggies
Scouting Report
How many times can the Texas A&M Aggies get off to a hot start only to collapse in the second half of the season? That seems to be the calling card of head coach Kevin Sumlin and Texas A&M ever since they joined the SEC. It was an injury to quarterback Trevor Knight ultimately derailed the Aggie hopes last season.
Texas A&M lost three of their final six games in 2016 with Jake Hubenak behind center. There’s a chance that Hubenak will start again in 2017 but Nick Starkel and Kellen Mond are in the running as well.
There are just too many question marks to consider a team like Texas A&M competitive in a division like the SEC West. They’ll likely get lost between division favorites and dark horses that could surprise some people like Mississippi State and Arkansas.
Finding the Aggies at the bottom of the division along with the Ole Miss Rebels would not be a surprise at the end of the 2017 season. However, that result would likely mean the end of Sumlin’s tenure with the Aggies.
2
Auburn Tigers
Scouting Report
Auburn ended the 2016 season in disappointment. They got thrashed Baker Mayfield and the Oklahoma Sooners in the Sugar Bowl. However, head coach Gus Malzahn has a new look offense behind the hype of Baylor transfer quarterback Jarrett Stidham.
Hype is already building Auburn up to the level of a championship or bust season in 2017. Stidham’s hype has also reached Heisman level which happens to Auburn quarterbacks quite often (i.e. Nick Marshall and Jeremy Johnson).
The Tigers could very likely be a top 10 ranked team when the season kicks off. That’s a lot of pressure for a team with many new faces and a quarterback that has not even played a full season in his college career.
Overcoming Alabama is still the toughest test for Auburn when it comes down to it. Defeating both Alabama and LSU could put them right in position for a berth in the College Football Playoff. The many unknowns with this team and the extreme level of hype puts them at this spot on the list.
1
Tennessee Volunteers
Scouting Report
Every single offseason all college football fans get to here it over and over again, Tennessee will be back. Especially under head coach Butch Jones (who actually made the Vols somewhat competitive again), the Tennessee hype is at possibly an all time high.
The hype train for Tennessee fell off the rails pretty early with their near-early season loss to the Appalachian State Mountaineers last season. They ended up leaving the 2016 campaign on a high-note, though, with their two-touchdown bowl victory over Nebraska.
Much like Kevin Sumlin at Texas A&M, another disappointing season could mean the end of the line for Butch Jones. Tennessee brought in legendary former head coach Philip Fulmer to advise Jones and the Vols to bring more consistency.
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If not for a disappointing loss to in-state rival Vanderbilt, Tennessee might have actually returned to the SEC Title Game last season as they were able to defeat both Florida and Georgia. That type of repeat season could mean the end of the line for Jones and the current coaching staff at Tennessee.