SEC East: Optimism, Meet Reality

Every summer in SEC East country, moonshine-swilling jort wearers think to the fall and smile. “This will be our year,” they think. And for some of them, this is a good year to feel that way. But amber leaves are not the only thing that awaits most of them; cold hard reality comes in the fall and can turn the mild southern autumn into a Duluth-worthy period. So which teams will be feeling the warm glow of success, and which will be shivering in the frigidity of disappointment?

Florida
Reasons for hope: Why shouldn’t the Gators be happy? They have a young coach, who already has lead them to a National Championship. They have a quarterback who, improbably, made the quarterback position seem tough. Chris Rainey looked like he might bring the explosive running threat that the Gators lacked last year, even more so than USC transfer Emmanuel Moody.
Cold reality: Honestly, in the Gators’ case, reality is only slightly chilled. They will be tough to beat next year. Meyer has never been at a previous school more than 2 years, so it will be interesting to see if they other coaches in the SEC start to figure out his offense a little bit. If Tebow takes the beating that he took last year, November could bring unseasonable cold to Gainesville.

Georgia
Reasons for hope: Dawg fans have been barking since before the 2007 season that 2008 was to be the year of the Dawg. They have experience at quarterback, a nasty runner in Knowshon Moreno and some young receivers. More importantly, they have a nice coach who has developed a nasty side, as last year’s Cocktail party showed. Dawgs definitely think 2008 is the year.
Cold reality: Last year did show lots of promise, but Richt won’t be able to pull the same motivational ploys that got them past Florida last year. Also, the schedule holds a ugly stretch for them, one where they go to LSU, play UF at Jacksonville, go to Kentucky, and go to Auburn. Those four games away from Athens will tell us whether the Dawgs are national title contenders or Outback Bowl contenders.

South Carolina
Reasons for hope: Spurrier. SEC fans should never count out the Ol’ Ballcoach, because they know what he has done to them in the past: beaten, humiliated, stomped, and then taunted them, and then made them love him anyway. He could do it again, at any moment.
Cold reality: Blake Mitchell is gone, that doesn’t mean an instant upgrade at the QB position. Their schedule has a turd sandwich waiting at the end of it, as they face LSU, Tennessee, Arkansas, Florida and Clemson for their last five opponents.

Tennessee
Reasons for hope: Last year, a year that saw a lot of criticism of Phil Fulmer, the Vols were still the East’s representatives in the SEC Title game. Still, Fulmer felt the need to gut the coaching staff (David Cutcliffe did leave of his own volition, it should be noted) to try to bring some freshness to the program. Jonathan Crompton will be the starting quarterback, and while he doesn’t have world’s of experience, he did play well against a stiff LSU defense two years ago when he came in to replace an injured Eric Ainge.
Cold reality: They lost a starting quarterback and an offensive coordinator, never a good combination for an offense. On defense, losing Jerrod Mayo leaves a big hole. Even worse, they have to face division foes Florida and Georgia, who both appear to start the year with more firepower than the Vols.

Vanderbilt
Reasons for hope: Following a tired Commodore refrain, they can hope because one day we will probably all work for them. Other than that, not much reason for optimism. Word is that the SEC is considering a special rule for Vanderbilt that will limit their practice time to 4 hours per week so that their athletes can devote more time to studying to bring up the conference cumulative GPA.
Cold reality: Reality is as cold as Darth Vader’s bathroom for these guys. On the bright side, they do get to see some of the best teams in the country!

Kentucky
Reasons for hope: Rich Brooks is a very good coach, and while this year may not carry them to the dizzying heights that they reached last year, this should be a better rebuilding year than they have had in the past. Brooks has shown to be an excellent tactician, most notably when he coached circles around Bo Pelini in last year’s game in Lexington.
Cold reality: The Cats just don’t have the talent to reload and hope to improve upon last year. Their out of conference slate gives them a realistic chance at four wins there, but in conference they have to travel to Bama, Florida, Mississippi State and Tennessee, and get Arkansas and Georgia at home. This year will be about identifying potential players and getting them some work as they try to build to a more consistent factor in the SEC East.

It is only late May, so summer’s heat still awaits us. Come August, and the start of fall practice, many SEC fans will mistake the lingering heat for hope for next season. In the SEC East, however, unless you are a fan of Florida or Georgia, winter’s chill is likely to come quicker than you want.