#1- The SEC has some incredible defenses this year-
In case you haven't noticed Bama and LSU have, what could be, two of the best defenses that have been put together since the SEC expanded to 12 teams (last time I'll use the word expansion, I promise). There is not a single weakness in either of those defenses. Period. But, just behind these two teams, is UF. UF's defense has been one of the more athletic looking teams in the country so far. They have elite players all over the defensive line. The one issue with UF's defense is the youth they have in the secondary, see starting corner Marcus Roberson. However, Roberson has definitely shown flashes of absolute brilliance. I, for one, was disappointed when Auburn decided not to accept his commitment, but he's going to be an elite corner in the SEC eventually. And 8 pass interference or holding calls won't cut it most of the time but, on the bright side, most of the teams in the SEC won't be throwing as much as UT did on UF. I know this particular subject is pretty painful to us Auburn fans right now with our porous defense, but there's no denying what I've seen on the field from these 3 teams on D.
#2- There are at least five or six teams that look like National Championship teams-
Wisconsin, to me, the most impressive team so far. They certainly have a team built for it. They have an elite QB in Russell Wilson, two stud RBs in Montee Ball and James White, a beast at WR in Nick Toon, and a very good and veteran OL to go with a very good defense.
Oklahoma is next on my list. They went into a very loud and amped up atmosphere at FSU last week, and while their offense didn't dominate like some thought they would, they played good enough to get out with a top 5 road win (a major struggle under Stoops). No major flaws in OU, outside of maybe an everydown running game, but that may have been solved by walk-on RB Dominique Whaley.
LSU is number 3 for me. They have one of the fastest defensive lines I've ever seen. I thought that they may be a little too thin at the defensive end spots to stop the run well, but they play such good team defense that there just isn't anything that LSU gives up on D. The biggest question, to me, is can Jarrett Lee keep managing the offense as well as he has and will Jordan Jefferson be a team player and not destroy the chemistry the team is building with Lee at the helm. If those two things happen, LSU has a very good chance to hoist their 3rd crystal ball.
Bama is number 4. What else can be said about them except for, "damn that defense is good". They give up NOTHING. They refuse to give you the short passes, yet are able to stop you from going deep. They want to stop you from throwing deep, yet can still stop the run. This, to me, is Saban's best defense that he's put together. The only issue with this team, is can the OL hold up against better defensive lines like UF and LSU, and can AJ McCarron actually go out and put the offense on his shoulders to get a win (because he's going to have to do that at some point). He has the talent, he just has to continue to avoid the big mistake.
#3- The Coaching Hot Seats are getting hotter, quicker-
Several coaches are literally coaching with, what seems like, game by game contracts. None is more evident than Houston Dale Nutt, coach at Ole Miss. The BYU loss was tough, but not what most would consider a "bad" loss, as their defense did play very well. But, the 30-7 beating at the hands of Vandy is unacceptable to Ole Miss fans. They've become the "Vandy of the West" under Nutt, except they are actually worse than Vandy of the East. Nutt faces a must win this week when........
Georgia head coach Mark Richt brings his 1-2 bulldogs to Oxford. This is coach #2 on the hot seat list. The loss to Boise St. was ugly, and essentially was a home loss. I like Mark Richt, but he may have simply just worn out his welcome. Sometimes a change is just necessary for the sake of change. One thing is for sure, the grass isn't always greener......BUT, I can tell you that if UGA makes the right hire and completely closes off their borders from a recruiting standpoint, that program has the potential to become truly elite year in-year out.
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