Academic Suspension: Last season, QB Wesley Carroll led the 12th ranked passing offense in the SEC. In 13 games, he averaged 107 yards per game. MSU likes to play it safe, but that number has to improve for the offense to get any respect.
SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS
Coach: Steve Spurrier
2007: 6-6 overall, 3-5 in the SEC
Head of the Class: Head coach Steve Spurrier has made a name for himself as a guru of the passing game, but an awful lot of great runners have been a part of his teams and he's got a couple good ones again this year. Seniors Cory Boyd and Mike Davis could take some pressure off whichever QB is in the game at any given moment.
Underachievers: Steve Spurrier is giving up his playcalling duties. The man has won an awful lot of games while being in total control of his domain. Can he really give this up? Should he? Spurrier says he'll still have input, and this could change by the third quarter of the first game, but it's a new wrinkle in Columbia.
Academic Suspension: The Gamecocks' QB play last year was good, but not great, under the likely returning starter Chris Smelley. They'd rather start someone else, but talented freshman QB Stephen Garcia (three arrests in 15 months) is about one Budweiser from playing 1-AA football with Ryan Perriloux.
TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS
Coach: Phillip Fulmer
2007: 10-4 overall, 6-2 in the SEC
Head of the Class: With the exception of QB Erik Ainge and LB Jerrod Mayo, the Vols return a lot of starters on both sides of the ball, and in both of those cases the team has already settled on talented players to step in and fill the holes. Fourth-year junior Jonathan Crompton will succeed Ainge, and the Vols continue to enjoy solid depth at the LB position.
Underachievers: When Vols fans clamored for someone who hasn't been part of the UT "family" to run the offense, I doubt they were hoping for the former head coach of Richmond to be the guy Phillip "The Great Pumpkin" Fullmer dialed up, but that's who will replace the departed David Cutcliffe. It's strange that a team with so many defensive deficiencies has seen most of its staff changes on the offensive side of the ball.
Academic Suspension: This defense was the 11th ranked defense in the SEC. It nearly cost longtime coordinator John Chavis his job. Hell, The Great Pumpkin almost got the axe after being destroyed by Alabama.
Article comments
1 - Pico
"Make no mistake, LSU was the best team in football last year but had to struggle to get to the title game in no small part because Les Miles is an appallingly bad game coach with a poor disposition."
For a minute there I thought that Josh wrote this piece ;-)