Chuck Oliver show question

[skasper06]

Today on the Chuck Oliver show, he discussed the list of SEC teams he believed could potentially win their division - not would, just potentially could. I thought it was interesting and figured I wold try to give VN something to talk about.

In the West:
Alabama - yes
Arkansas - yes
Miss St - no
LSU - no
Ole Miss - no
Auburn - yes
Texas A&M - no

In the East:
Georgia - yes
Vandy - no
Kentucky - no
Florida - no
Mizzou - yes
South Carolina - no
Tennessee - yes

I think Arkansas for the west could be interesting if they come out firing and improve in all the close calls they had last season. As much hype as Kyle Allen is getting I am not buying the Aggies one bit. And I am just not even a slight believer that a Mississippi team could win the west.

Obviously Vandy and UK won't win the east unless hell freezes over. South Carolina and Florida have way too many holes to fill. And until someone beats out Mizzou and Maty Mauk, even though I think he is terrible, they find ways to win the east.

So, what say you?

 

[montanatenn]

I say UT beats UGA, MO, Fla, USCe, Uk, and Vandy from the east and 1 team from the west. So, yeah UT wins the east.

 

[Gandalf]

we gonna whup dat azz!

Dont think its going to be Mizz. More likely the Dawgs will try to keep us from taking it.

 

[TNVolunteerGrad]

Shoot, anything can happen. We've seen teams go from last to top of the division. Let's take care of the games we can and things will fall into place.

 

[Wolfeman_Vol]

I realize that Arkansas has improved to a couple of SEC wins last year, but I absolutely fail to see why everyone is riding their sacks. I think LSU has a better chance than they do. Yes, they can run the ball. And they can run the ball, too. I'm not impressed.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Arkansas has no shot at winning the West.

 

[DiderotsGhost]

Chuck knows his stuff pretty well.

Not sure I'd totally write off Texas A&M and Florida if we're merely talking about teams that could conceivably win their division, but I wouldn't pick either as a favorite.

A&M's issue has been its defense for the past several years and Chavis will improve things on that side of the ball. The personnel there is also perfect for Chavis' system, but it still might take more than a year for them to truly contend. Florida is still immensely talented, but difficult to think of too many situations where a 1st year coach immediately turned things around. Though, I wouldn't be totally shocked if they are much better than people expect.

I'd probably pick Auburn as the favorite in the West and UGA in the East. I like our team this year, but I really don't want us to be called "favorites" before any games have been played.

 

[Vols4us]

Arky lost all of their playmakers on D, so they will be totally unproven there while playing in the SEC. Opponents will load up to stop their running game. They have a bottom tier QB and Chaney is gone as OC. Good luck with that winning the West.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

Good write-up, Diderot's Ghost, I agree with you on every point.

The West:

• Alabama, Auburn, and LSU remain the "usual suspects" to win.
• A&M finally has the chance to balance their powerful offense with a good D as well; but not this year. Look for them to step forward in 2016 and beyond.
• Ole Miss and Miss St had magical seasons in 2014...they're still decent teams, but that magic won't repeat; they're back to being middle of the pack or lower.
• Arkansas, just not yet buying the hype. If they had a game-changing QB and WRs, I'd see it. But being built for a powerful running game (they are) is still one-dimensional. And you don't go too far in the SEC being one-dimensional, not these days.

So, 2015 in the West will look a lot like the majority of the past ten years: 'Bama, Auburn, and LSU competing for the lead.

The East:

• Tennessee is back in position to compete with every team in the division. Every year from this point on is a potential championship year for the Vols.
• Georgia will be Georgia, steadiest team in the division. Solid contender.
• Mizzou's "welcome to the SEC" party magic is about to end. This is where they find that the experts who predicted they'd be "middle of the pack" were actually right, just off by a few years.
• Kentucky's making noise, but not enough to break out of the middle-and-lower part of the division. They are part of the return of the East to parity with the West, though.
• Florida's the great unknown of the future, with a lot to settle. They won't figure it all out in 2015. Very interested to see which direction they go in 2016 and beyond, but they're not a real threat yet.
• South Carolina is suffering a slow death of 1,000 cuts. Recruits know Spurrier is close to retirement, and are shying away from that school as a result. The man is still a brilliant coach, but he's hurting the school more than helping it at this point. They're no longer competitive, but still dangerous as long as he's coaching.
• Vandy's back in the cellar where they belong.

So it really comes down to Tennessee and Georgia in the East in 2015, I believe. Out of respect for Pinkel's death-defying results of the past two years, I'll include them as well.

Auburn / Alabama / LSU vs. Tennessee / Georgia / Mizzou. That's 2015, I think.

 

[IndianapolisVol]

I think Miss State is overrated in the slightest...

 

[Crazy Ivan]

I realize that Arkansas has improved to a couple of SEC wins last year, but I absolutely fail to see why everyone is riding their sacks. I think LSU has a better chance than they do. Yes, they can run the ball. And they can run the ball, too. I'm not impressed.

Everyone in the SEC that is not a UT fan doesn't understand the media hype over the Vols this offseason. The hype over UT and AU is based on the last part of last season (which is why everyone was hyping OU last preseason as a national contender, based off beating Bama in a bowl game). AU actually looked more impressive in shutting out Ole Miss and LSU than UT did in beating SC, UK, and Vandy, and both teams whipped their bowl opponents. So it is not hard for me to understand why the hawgs are getting hyped. I think they will be a tough out for anyone they play this season, same as I think the Vols will.

 

[RiseToTheTop]

Chuck Oliver believes UGA will win the title every year.

 

[Volngeorgia]

Chuck Oliver believes UGA will win the title every year.

As you prob know, Chuck lives in Atlanta.
So, he often caters to Dawg fans.
But, he is an Auburn grad.
He is often very complimentary of Butch.

 

[skasper06]

Good write-up, Diderot's Ghost, I agree with you on every point.

The West:

• Alabama, Auburn, and LSU remain the "usual suspects" to win.
• A&M finally has the chance to balance their powerful offense with a good D as well; but not this year. Look for them to step forward in 2016 and beyond.
• Ole Miss and Miss St had magical seasons in 2014...they're still decent teams, but that magic won't repeat; they're back to being middle of the pack or lower.
• Arkansas, just not yet buying the hype. If they had a game-changing QB and WRs, I'd see it. But being built for a powerful running game (they are) is still one-dimensional. And you don't go too far in the SEC being one-dimensional, not these days.

So, 2015 in the West will look a lot like the majority of the past ten years: 'Bama, Auburn, and LSU competing for the lead.

The East:

• Tennessee is back in position to compete with every team in the division. Every year from this point on is a potential championship year for the Vols.
• Georgia will be Georgia, steadiest team in the division. Solid contender.
• Mizzou's "welcome to the SEC" party magic is about to end. This is where they find that the experts who predicted they'd be "middle of the pack" were actually right, just off by a few years.
• Kentucky's making noise, but not enough to break out of the middle-and-lower part of the division. They are part of the return of the East to parity with the West, though.
• Florida's the great unknown of the future, with a lot to settle. They won't figure it all out in 2015. Very interested to see which direction they go in 2016 and beyond, but they're not a real threat yet.
• South Carolina is suffering a slow death of 1,000 cuts. Recruits know Spurrier is close to retirement, and are shying away from that school as a result. The man is still a brilliant coach, but he's hurting the school more than helping it at this point. They're no longer competitive, but still dangerous as long as he's coaching.
• Vandy's back in the cellar where they belong.

So it really comes down to Tennessee and Georgia in the East in 2015, I believe. Out of respect for Pinkel's death-defying results of the past two years, I'll include them as well.

Auburn / Alabama / LSU vs. Tennessee / Georgia / Mizzou. That's 2015, I think.

Good write up. And I agree with you. Thanks for pretty much being the only one who actually responded to the original question. Haha

 

[RiseToTheTop]

As you prob know, Chuck lives in Atlanta.
So, he often caters to Dawg fans.
But, he is an Auburn grad.
He is often very complimentary of Butch.

yeh i know. Im here in ATL. I just cant hardly listen to the sports radio though bc of all the Dawg talk i hear. Those guys crown themselves national champs every summer only to underachieve every fall.

 

[Wolfeman_Vol]

Everyone in the SEC that is not a UT fan doesn't understand the media hype over the Vols this offseason. The hype over UT and AU is based on the last part of last season (which is why everyone was hyping OU last preseason as a national contender, based off beating Bama in a bowl game). AU actually looked more impressive in shutting out Ole Miss and LSU than UT did in beating SC, UK, and Vandy, and both teams whipped their bowl opponents. So it is not hard for me to understand why the hawgs are getting hyped. I think they will be a tough out for anyone they play this season, same as I think the Vols will.

They also lost all their playmakers on defense and have a lackluster quarterback. All they have is an offensive line and two running backs. If they had returned that defense I might agree with you, but they didn't.

 

[Volador]

Buck Chuck

 

[wmcovol]

Everyone in the SEC that is not a UT fan doesn't understand the media hype over the Vols this offseason. The hype over UT and AU is based on the last part of last season (which is why everyone was hyping OU last preseason as a national contender, based off beating Bama in a bowl game). AU actually looked more impressive in shutting out Ole Miss and LSU than UT did in beating SC, UK, and Vandy, and both teams whipped their bowl opponents. So it is not hard for me to understand why the hawgs are getting hyped. I think they will be a tough out for anyone they play this season, same as I think the Vols will.

with all due respect, Auburn was a broken leg tackle away from losing to Ole Miss and having something like 6 loses. They looked bad vs uga and didn't look all that hot in their bowl loss.

LSU, either both QBS got better in the spring or neither improved and im saying neither improved, will continue to struggle to win the West as long they have QB issues.

 

[ALLVOL24/7/365]

They also lost all their playmakers on defense and have a lackluster quarterback. All they have is an offensive line and two running backs. If they had returned that defense I might agree with you, but they didn't.

You could take this statement and apply it to MIZZOU before the start of last fall and it would have sounded legit about their situation. But Pinkel found more defensive players and managed to win the East somehow. So I am reluctant to write off Arky so easily. I think we beat them in a hard fought game but I believe they are going to make some noise in the conference.

 

[Wolfeman_Vol]

You could take this statement and apply it to MIZZOU before the start of last fall and it would have sounded legit about their situation. But Pinkel found more defensive players and managed to win the East somehow. So I am reluctant to write off Arky so easily. I think we beat them in a hard fought game but I believe they are going to make some noise in the conference.

While true, I think Pinkel is a better coach than Bielema, and he had the great fortune of having four amazing ends on that defense in two years. I think they fall back down to earth this year and I think Arkansas struggles again in the sec, replacing virtually all their defensive production and their offensive coordinator. I think we will just have to agree to disagree.

 

[GAVol]

Chuck Oliver believes UGA will win the title every year.

Not exactly. He's an Auburn guy and had had a couple of public dust ups with Mark Richt.

680's relationship with uga is odd at times. They're the official sports talk station, but other than Buck Belue, there's not really a uga homer on the air.

 

[TeddyYeti]

I realize that Arkansas has improved to a couple of SEC wins last year, but I absolutely fail to see why everyone is riding their sacks. I think LSU has a better chance than they do. Yes, they can run the ball. And they can run the ball, too. I'm not impressed.

I agree Arkansas no, LSU yes.

 

[DiderotsGhost]

[*]South Carolina is suffering a slow death of 1,000 cuts. Recruits know Spurrier is close to retirement, and are shying away from that school as a result. The man is still a brilliant coach, but he's hurting the school more than helping it at this point. They're no longer competitive, but still dangerous as long as he's coaching.

Totally agree on this. So difficult to write-off South Carolina after Spurrier built them into a contender and nearly won the East in 2013. The offense was still pretty good last year.

Yet, it does feel like they are in decline. Defense was horrific last year. A change of coordinators might help, but a lot of it was also a lack of personnel. And there's this sense that top players are reluctant to go there knowing that Spurrier will likely retire soon.

 

[DiderotsGhost]

Not exactly. He's an Auburn guy and had had a couple of public dust ups with Mark Richt.

680's relationship with uga is odd at times. They're the official sports talk station, but other than Buck Belue, there's not really a uga homer on the air.

Perfectly stated.

I'm in Atlanta, too, and listen to 680 frequently. The biggest bias is that UGA gets a lot more coverage here than any of the other teams (including GA Tech even though 680 is officially a GA Tech station). Nevertheless, almost everyone on the station is pretty objective, and Belue might be the only UGA alum in the line-up.

 

[Crazy Ivan]

They also lost all their playmakers on defense and have a lackluster quarterback. All they have is an offensive line and two running backs. If they had returned that defense I might agree with you, but they didn't.

The hawgs return 7 starters on D, including 3 DLs and 3 DBs, as well as their starting MLB. They lost Flowers, their best DL, to be sure, but they obviously had more than just him on D last season. While I don't think they will have a great defense, I think they will have a solid defense. With a potent running game and a solid defense, their QB just has to be a game manager.