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Crystal Ball ‘07: Division Races

July 20, 2007 by TipsterHog 

We continue our series of predictions for the 2007 football season today with a look at how we think the SEC division races will play out.

SEC West TipsterHog HogBlogger Sunshine HogBaller
1. LSU LSU LSU LSU
2. Auburn Alabama Arkansas Auburn
3. Arkansas Auburn Alabama Alabama
4. Alabama Arkansas Auburn Arkansas
5. Ole Miss Mississippi State Mississippi State Ole Miss
6. Mississippi State Ole Miss Ole Miss Mississippi State

SEC East TipsterHog HogBlogger Sunshine HogBaller
1. Georgia Tennessee Georgia Florida
2. Tennessee Florida Tennessee Georgia
3. Florida South Carolina Florida Tennessee
4. Kentucky Georgia South Carolina South Carolina
5. South Carolina Kentucky Kentucky Kentucky
6. Vanderbilt Vanderbilt Vanderbilt Vanderbilt

A couple of notes:

  • LSU having Florida, Auburn and Arkansas at home certainly helps their chances of winning the West.  But even though they are our unanimous choice, all three of those opponents are certainly good enough to make sure the Tigers will have to earn the title.
  • On the other hand, Auburn has Florida, LSU, Arkansas and Georgia on the road.  But if you look at Tommy Tuberville’s road record over the last three years, you’ll see that might actually be a good thing.
  • We’re obviously not giving Kentucky a lot of love here.  They did end last season well with a bowl victory and a win over Georgia late in the regular season.  And they have arguably the best quarterback in the league in Andre’ Woodson.  Unfortunately, they also lost by 31 points to Louisville and 49-0 to LSU last season.  Based on that, our ’show me’ attitude seems appropriate.

Coming up next: Will McFadden win the Heisman?

Filed Under: Football, Razorbacks, SEC
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Comments

13 Responses to “Crystal Ball ‘07: Division Races”

  1. Bluffhawg on July 20th, 2007 8:06 am

    (edit) The coaches vote on the preseason All-SEC team and the hogs place 11. That’s one less than LSU and more than anyone else in the conference. (edit) The conference title will be decided between Arkansas & LSU when we go the Baton Rogue in November.

  2. TipsterHog on July 20th, 2007 8:13 am

    We’re not going to stand for personal attacks from Bluff or anyone else who comments on this site. If you make them, your comments will be edited or deleted.

    If you can’t disagree with someone without ripping them, you don’t need to be commenting here anymore. Period.

  3. Hog 'n Iowa on July 20th, 2007 10:47 am

    LSU
    ARK
    AUB
    Alabama
    Ole Miss
    Miss State

    Within the West, Hogs beat Auburn in Fayetteville narrowly, handle Alabama, Ole Miss, & MSU comfortably, and go to LSU with only 1 conference loss to play for the West title.

  4. HogBlogger on July 20th, 2007 11:12 am

    Hog ‘n Iowa - thanks for giving us your picks and comments.

    Everyone needs to realize that is exactly the purpose of this. There is a big difference in where you pick the Razorbacks to finish and supporting the Razorbacks. I don’t think we will win the National Championship in basketball this year but my donation remained the same.

  5. BelAirHawg on July 20th, 2007 11:55 am

    I agree with HogBlogger, a lot of people are on a “high horse” about our 10 wins last year, but we need to remember we are on a 3 game losing streak. Yes we have a great backfield but when was the last time you herd “Running backs win Championships”? Seems like the only words coming from the football gods are “QB’s win Championships” or “Defense wins Championships.” Unfortunately for us both the former and latter are question marks for this season. Will we be competitive? Yes. But as it is with every Houston team, in the end we will always be “just a few plays away”…. again. Hogs finish 3rd in the West behind LSU and Auburn.

  6. GonzoHog on July 20th, 2007 6:40 pm

    I firmly believe LSU and Tennessee will field the only defenses capable of slowing down the Hogs offense in ‘07. When you look at the athletes they are returning on the D-line, and LB positions, they look to be the best 2 defenses that could control the line of scrimmage. Unless our passing attack improves on 3rd down conversions, we won’t be able to overcome it in most situations, especially on the road with the crowd noise that you know will be there in Knoxsville, and Baton Rouge. I don’t believe Alabama will have what it takes this year, just because they have Nick Saban and the home crowd. They won’t show us anything we haven’t seen before, so we won’t be intimidated in the least. Auburn won’t have as much on defense as they had last year. They have a couple of playmakers on the D-line, and the rest is still kind of suspect. I predict the Hogs will lose these 2 games, but still manage to finish 2nd behind LSU. I believe the LSU game will decide the west. LSU Arkansas Auburn Alabama Mississippi Mississippi STATE

  7. T-towner on July 22nd, 2007 5:08 pm

    What caused my innocent (?) comment to be “moderated”?

  8. TipsterHog on July 22nd, 2007 7:38 pm

    T-towner…don’t sweat it. We’re just working to keep the conversation here focused on the Hogs and not on those of us who write or comment on this site.

  9. BlindHog on July 23rd, 2007 9:14 am

    No one gets this right. That is what is great about college football, it is about breaks and teamwork and kids who bond and believe. There is often some coaching involved, sometimes not.

    This year is a particularly tough one to pick. Everyone loves LSU. They can build momentum with the early showdown with VTech and then carry national title expectations all year. Those can be pretty heavy but the schedule looks good. It is equally possible that they lose to VTech and then get out coached and lose on a couple of bad breaks to SCar and leave everyone scratching their head, kind of like the usual Mac Brown team.

    Arkansas seems destined for second. They might return to Atlanta is they can win in Baton Rouge or their hopes may disappear at Tenn. They have so many holes and question marks but they seem like a team that will be the happiest in America to begin the season just to start a new storyline. If Alabama gets revenge early which is a possibility, they could unravel. It all hinges on the secondary, a second wide reciever and Casey Dick.

    Up until now Casey has played pretty well in games against the lesser teams and pretty poorly in big games. QB is about leadership first and foremost. It will be a big part of the story for 07. If he does well Darren can begin to run wild and larger goals will be available.

    Coaching can be key here as well. With the large number of play makers on offense a five play game plan will work against the hogs in a big way. We could keep teams off balance with a little imagination. We need it to cover our weak spots.

    Alabama is a team on the rise. On paper they may not look to be back but emotionally they are ready. They have a passing game and Saban will make a difference like him or not. They have to be pointing for the Arkansas game for about a dozen reasons not the least of which is last year’s give away. Houston will try to win it with D-Mac but Saban will make enough defensive adjustments to keep it close in the 4th quarter. The new storyline will emerge or the old one will take on new life here.

    Auburn seems just as destined for 4th place. Too many holes and too tough a schedule. It is time for Tommy to have a down year. He will beat Arkansas, Florida, or Alabama to save face.

    Mississippi schools won’t matter. Flip a coin.

    The east is starting to look more like the West. They should beat each other up pretty good this year. I have changed my mind with a few facts on Florida, I like Tenn.

  10. GonzoHog on July 23rd, 2007 5:21 pm

    I like Tennessee too BlindHog, but if you think about it, the Vols ground game is just as suspect as the Hogs air attake. They have good atheletes, but have not recently produced much. I believe Ainge will have a banner year if the ground game is solid. As far as Florida is concerned, Tim Tebow will have a lot on his shoulders. With the atheletes he’ll have around him, he’ll be exspected to pick up where Chris Leak left off. Plus, everyone will bring thier A-game to knock off the Gators. I think he will have enormous pressure to overcome. Matthew Stafford could have a breakout year for the Dogs. They played awefully good late last season, after Stafford started figuring things out. I think your right about the East looking more and more like the West. This could be the most balanced this league has been since the Hogs joined it in ‘92. It should be an interesting year to say the least.

  11. BlindHog on July 24th, 2007 9:05 pm

    YOur right Gonzo. Georgia could be the surprise or even a few upsets by SCar. The whole league could be a complete surprise.

    YOu gotta love the SEC.

  12. Talon on July 29th, 2007 12:56 am

    I seem to have more confidence in Casey Dick than most who are looking at the upcoming season. I think he is going to have a good year. He will be far better than an adequate QB. As I look at the schedule and the team I keep seeing an 11-1 record this year. Unfortunately my predictions over the last 3 years have been off by one each year on the down side. To make up for that consistent error I’m going to have to go with 12-0.

  13. GonzoHog on July 29th, 2007 10:54 am

    You may be a little more optomistic than realistic Talon, but I would love to see that happen. As far as your confidence in Casey goes, I agree that he will do better than most think he will. Most people are so miffed about Mitch, supposedly being ran off, that they refuse to see a future in Casey Dick. Casey will do just fine this year. He has 2 half-seasons (8 games) under his belt, so he is basically nothing more than a soph. exsperience wise. Having Hillis back, Crawford in the mix, with a bigger and stronger Cleveland, He will make a big improvement over last year.