Looking Ahead: 9/19/09

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Yeah, I know it's basketball season, but obviously college football is my favorite sport...

Just guessing here, but given what I've seen written by the MSM so far:

Vanderbilt +6 +102 3x

Ole Miss was one of my favorite teams at the end of last season. They were, in my opinion, legitimately the third best team in the SEC last season. That said, let's take a look at their last 5 games:

W 17-7 Auburn (chicken garbage)
W 59-0 UL-Monroe (Sun Belt)
W 31-13 @ LSU (chicken garbage)
W 45-0 Mississippi State (chicken garbage)
W 47-34 Texas Tech @ Cotton Bowl (overrated?)

These games are what the public is going to remember heading into 2009. The last 5 teams were mainly garbage. Texas Tech, while having an outstanding season, still seemed to me like they had a better record than their actual skill level. However, some people are ranking Ole Miss in their Preseason Top 5. I'm not so sure. With only 5 returning offensive starters and 2 on the offensive line back, I'm not really expecting Ole Miss to put up the numbers they were at the end of last season, Jevan Snead notwithstanding.

I am of the opinion that Ole Miss will have a higher public perception than what they deserve, given the way they took care of the awful SEC West last season. The only part that I am unsure about is how good Vandy will be this season, but they are returning 19 of 22 starters from last year's bowl team. Hence, I'm thinking Vandy will be an anti-public pick in Week 3.

1 comments:

James Sherrill said...

I think you could make a pretty strong case they were the second best team in SEC last year.