For the past five years the Southeastern Conference has been the best football league in the country. The SEC lately has seen unprecedented success at the national level that has been unmatched by winning three straight national BCS championships. Without a question, Urban Meyer & the Gator’s incredible run in winning two national titles in three years is one of the bigger accomplishments in NCAA Football’s recent history. Meanwhile LSU should also be recognized as they became the 1st two time winner in the BCS era. This high-profile success and new winning tradition has earned the Southeastern Conference a record tv contract and has dethroned the Big 10 as the nations’s most powerful conference in terms of revenue this season.

Last season, football fans watched how close the Big 12 Conference was in terms of competitiveness and SEC patrons should be averse when proclaiming that the SEC is undoubtedly the best conference in the country. If you would have asked pundits in ’01 which conference was the country’s best, the astounding answer outside of the deep South would likely have been simply the Big 12, hand down. From ’94 – ’00, the Big 12 won 4 National Championships and prided itself on dominating powerhouse teams. Nebraska was the nation’s superior team and the national polls were stacked with Big 12 schools. Kind of sounds like the SEC in it’s current reign.

On the contrary, Southeastern Conference buffs will argue that they are deeper than the Big XII. To prove their point, where is has Nebraska been ranked recently? The SEC’s 1st BCS national title winner was the Volunteers of Tennessee and the league weathered their erosion soon after only to see LSU & Florida to pick up the slack. Meanwhile, since Nebraska’s fall from the top, Texas and Oklahoma have dominated the conference, giving legitimacy to the apprehension that they are the only 2 teams in the Big XII. But as every football fan knows, the Southeastern Conference does not have a problem with depth.

But a valid point can be made, because since ’00 there have only been 2 SEC championship games that have not involved either LSU or Florida and those 2 teams have combined for 6 of the last 9 conference championships and all 4 of the SEC’s national titles trophies. So, is it not fair to wonder if the SEC’s reputation nationally hasn’t largely been built on the strength of two excellent programs. We know that this under minds the achievements recently of Georgia, Auburn. Clearly, you can see our point that Florida and LSU have dominated the SEC as much as Texas and Oklahoma have dominated the Big XII.

We strongly believe that a conference’s national reputation must be built upon the success or failure of their biggest games. The SEC is a perfect example, when you go 5-0 in BCS Championship games, does anything else really matter? People did not question the strength of the Big 10 until they struggled in BCS bowl games the past 3seasons. Just keep in mind that conference strength is revolving door in NCAA football. As history has shown, the 1960′s & 1970′s belonged to the Big 10 and Big 12, the 1980′s belonged to the Independents, the 1990′s belonged to the Big 12 and so far the 2000′s has been owned by the SEC. So enjoy it will it last, because the tide could turn quickly.

Now that we got the “Our Conference is better than yours” argument out of the way, we can give some perspective on the ’09 SEC season. The Gator’s are the heavy favorite to win the SEC East without a doubt in our mind. Florida earned 58/60 first place votes the highest in history for tan AP Preseason Poll. Mostly because, the Volunteers are rebuilding and under the new leadership of young coach Lane Kiffin, the Bulldogs have to replace its starting backfield and under former Gator great Steve Spurrier the Gamecock’s continue to be a all over the place.

With the East locked down by Florida, the West is a different story. The Crimson Tide is the defending champs but Alabama and Nick Saban will have to deal with a lot of offensive turnover. The Tigers last season struggled to a 7-5 record after winning the ’07 National Title but they did dominated their bowl game and should build off of that with high expectations. The Rebels of Ole Miss were the darling of the ’08 season and they return most of their talent, including QB Jevan Snead. These 3 teams are the favorites to go to the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta. But don’t forget about Arkansas who will be improved in Bobby Petrino’s 2nd season and Auburn and Mississippi State will look for improvement with their new head coaches. The SEC West will be very interesting to watch this season.

EXPECTED ORDER OF FINISH

EAST:
1. Florida Gators
2. Georgia Bulldogs
3. South Carolina Gamecocks
4. Tennessee Volunteers
5. Vanderbilt Commadores
6. Kentucky Wildcats

WEST:
1. Mississippi Rebels
2. Alabama Crimson Tide
3. LSU Tigers
4. Arkansas Razorbacks
5. Auburn Tigers
6. Mississippi State Bulldogs

SEC – EAST DIVISION

Florida Gators

Besides a little slip up against Mississippi, Florida dominated everybody they played. The closest games the Gators played besides the loss was an 11 point game over Alabama in the SEC Championship Game and a ten point win against Oklahoma in the National Championship. Now that is domination. With the return of Tim Tebow, the Gators are the favorites to do it again.

(Predicted Conference Record: 7-1)

Florida 2009 Season Preview – Florida 2009 Season Schedule

Georgia Bulldogs

The Bulldogs had some high expectations heading into the ’08 campaign, but Georgia fell well short. But, it was not the fault of the #1 NFL Draft Pick Matthew Stafford or RB Knowshon Moreno. The O line was plagued by injuries and they were never able to develop much consistency. The line hopes to stay healthy this season, but now they will have to replace their former superstars and the high expectations left with them.

(Predicted Conference Record: 6-2)

Georgia 2009 Season Preview – Georgia 2009 Season Schedule

South Carolina Gamecocks

The Gamecocks every year seem to be on the verge of something great. Coach Steve Spurrier certainly brought those expectations with him when he took over South Carolina. Moving into year 5 of the Coach Spurrier era, the fan base would have expected more by now. The Gamecocks tend to hang around for a little while and then hit a rough spot in the schedule and turn into a mediocre club. Maybe Spurrier and club will get out of that cycle.

(Predicted Conference Record: 4-4)

South Carolina 2009 Season Preview – South Carolina 2009 Season Schedule

Tennessee Volunteers

The Volunteers let go of Phillip Fullmer, after 17 seasons at Tennessee. Following an extremely disappointing 5-7 campaign it was time for a change. Now Coach Lane Kiffin is the coach of the Volunteers and right out of the gate he created a buzz when he landed in Knoxville. However, all the hype and recruiting successes will not immediately turn this program around and meet the high expectation of the Tennessee faithful.

(Predicted Conference Record: 4-4)

Tennessee 2009 Season Preview – Tennessee 2009 Season Schedule

Vanderbilt Commodores

The Commodores finished their ’08 campaign by winning their 1st bowl game in 53 seasons. Vanderbilt had not even been to the postseason since 1982. Each year the question was whether or not the Commodores could end that dreadful streak. And finally Vanderbilt and Coach Bobby Johnson put that question to rest. Now the question is, can they do it again this year.

(Predicted Conference Record: 2-6)

Vanderbilt 2009 Season Preview – Vanderbilt 2009 Season Schedule

Kentucky Wildcats

The Wildcats are increasing their talent on both sides of the ball. And over the last few seasons it has shown as Kentucky, under Coach Rich Brooks, have posted 3 straight bowl games victories. Which is very impressive for a program that previously had absolutely no expectations what so ever. Those expectations are much higher these season the Wildcats probably will not win the SEC East, but they can pull off some upsets and make it interesting.

(Predicted Conference Record: 1-7)

Kentucky 2009 Season Preview – Kentucky 2009 Season Schedule

SEC – WEST DIVISION

Ole Miss Rebels

Former coach Ed Oregon brought some talent into Ole Miss, but it took former Arkansas Coach Houston Nutt to turn that talent into a winning team. The Rebels ended the ’08 season on a 6 game winning streak and that does not even count their win over Florida. There are some big losses on both sides of the ball, and everybody in the SEC will not be looking forward to playing Mississippi as they will most likely win the West.

(Predicted Conference Record: 6-2)

Ole Miss 2009 Season Preview – Ole Miss 2009 Season Schedule

Alabama Crimson Tide

The Crimson Tide had a great season in ’08, starting off to a perfect 12-0 before falling to the Gators in the SEC Title game and Utah in the Sugar Bowl. With that type success it has created even higher expectations for Coach Nick Saban and crew. Although, last season was ahead of schedule and the Crimson Tide should take a step back as they retool their offense.

(Predicted Conference Record: 6-2)

Alabama 2009 Season Preview – Alabama 2009 Season Schedule

LSU Tigers

The Tigers had some problems on the offensive side of the ball last season and the defense was not dominating like it has been in the past. Mostly because the offense put the defense in some bad situations. LSU has potential to win the SEC West this season, but their offense will need to improve quickly.

(Predicted Conference Record: 5-3)

LSU 2009 Season Preview – LSU 2009 Season Schedule

Arkansas Razorbacks

The Razorbacks may have finished the ’08 season with a 5-7 record, but they should still have some momentum heading into 2009. Arkansas finished strong by beating LSU and3 of their final 4 losses came by just 3 points or less. Coach Bobby Petrino’s squad could have just as easily been 7-5 and playing in a bowl game. They know that they let some opportunities slip last year and they hope not to let that happen this time around.

(Predicted Conference Record: 4-4)

Arkansas 2009 Season Preview – Arkansas 2009 Season Schedule

Auburn Tigers

Auburn’s hiring of Gene Chizikwas met with quite a bit of controversy. It remains to be seen if he can actually coach, but he sure hired some great assistant coaches. Gus Malzahn is a great offensive mind who can turn the mediocre offense into something special sooner than later. And Ted Roof, the new defensive coordinator, a former head coach at Duke, should help the Tigers get some much need stops.

(Predicted Conference Record: 2-6)

Auburn 2009 Season Preview – Auburn 2009 Season Schedule

Mississippi State Bulldogs

The Bulldogs won some games last season with their D. And to add some spark to the offense, Mississippi hired Coach Dan Mullen after letting Sylvester Croom go. Mullen spent the last 4 years in the Swamp as the offensive coordinator. He will not have the same type of talent to work with, but he should be able to spice up an offense that needs a makeover.

(Predicted Conference Record: 1-7)

Mississippi State 2009 Season Preview – Mississippi State 2009 Season Schedule

SEC – 2009 Football Season Overview

The Southeastern Conference will be significantly stronger on the offensive side of the ball this year after scoring dropped expeditiously last year, due to mediocre QB play all over the conference. This season the SEC is stacked with talented programs and don’t be surprised to see as many as 8 or 9 team finish the year bowl eligible. If that holds true, the SEC will once again be the nation’s elite conference.

We predict that the SEC Title game will consist of Florida and Ole Miss in a rematch of the epic ’08 upset at Florida. Ole Miss has a ton of talent returning and both teams will benefit from excellent QB’s. This will be a excellent match up as both programs do not play each other in the regular season. But in the end we think the Gators will win a close battle over the Rebels because the Gators will be able to slow down the running game and pressure Snead into so turnovers. How can you pick against Tim Tebow in his senior year after what he did last year.