SEC football: Going against the grain with these predictions
SEC Media Days closed last week with assembled scribes voting that Georgia would win the conference, while predicting Alabama will reclaim the SEC West.
No surprises there.
But, in a twist that amused some observers and embarrassed others, Vanderbilt logged more votes to win the SEC than any team except Georgia, Alabama and LSU. Maybe, those voting for the Commodores suffered from blurred vision after a late night at one of Broadway's honkytonks.
On this edition of "SEC Football Unfiltered," a podcast from the USA TODAY Network, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams offer their contradictions to the results of the media voting. Of course, they don't think Vanderbilt will win the SEC, but here are some of their more relevant against-the-grain predictions.
Adams' prediction: LSU will win the SEC West.
Nick Saban and Alabama hold a lot of sway on preseason voting, and for good reason. A pick for Alabama is a smart pick more often than not. But if you examine the rosters, LSU is the smarter choice to win the West. The Tigers returned a lot more production. LSU has answers at quarterback. Alabama has questions. Oh, and don't forget LSU won the division last season.
Toppmeyer agrees.
---
Toppmeyer prediction: Auburn, not Mississippi State, will finish last in the SEC West.
Hugh Freeze inherited a roster thinner on talent and depth than Auburn is accustomed to. He got to work in the transfer portal, but questions linger at key spots like quarterback and offensive line. Meanwhile, Mississippi State returns 41-year starter Will Rogers (OK, maybe it's not quite that long), and although Zach Arnett is unproven as a coach, he showed enough as a coordinator that we can expect MSU will remain stout on defense.
Adams agrees.
---
Toppmeyer prediction: Missouri is a sleeper to do damage in the SEC East. The Tigers will place better than sixth.
Among SEC teams, only Texas A&M rivals Missouri's returning production. Missouri won three SEC games last season, despite snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory against Auburn and losing in bizarre fashion against Kentucky. The Tigers should remain solid on defense. They just need to generate more quarterback production.
Adams disagrees.
---
Adams' take: Spencer Rattler should've been preseason second-team All-SEC.
What's with the lack of love for Rattler? He wasn't even the preseason third-team choice. Are media members still hung up on his supposed poor body language in 2021 after losing the starting job to Caleb Williams? Get over it. This is the quarterback who lit up Tennessee and Clemson in Top 25 victories last season.
Toppmeyer disagrees.
Later in the episode
– What was Saban getting at when he said expectations are a premeditated way to create disappointment? Adams wonders whether Saban aims to downplay pressure this year, while Toppmeyer thinks the comment was directed at what happened last season, when Alabama went from preseason No. 1 to missing the College Football Playoff.
