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Stadium Rant
Gridiron Glory: Unveiling The Powerhouses Of The SEC West
By cnewton0614,
12 hours ago
Can Ole Miss and Texas finally Dethrone Alabama
Ole Miss
2023 Season Record: 11-2
2024 Projected Record: 12-0
Key Returners: Jaxson Dart, Tre Harris, Jordan Watkins, Ulysses Bentley, Jared Ivey
Key Newcomers: Antwane "Juice" Wells Jr, Walter Nolen, Prince Umanielen, Chris Paul Jr, Isaiah Hamilton, Trey Amos
Big Time Matchups:
The Rebels are fueled and ready for this season with returning QB Jaxson Dart at the helm, who could be in for a Heisman campaign in his third season under Head Coach Lane Kiffin. Dart improved last year, Breaking the 3,000-yard mark and improving his TD-to-INT ratio (11 ints 2022, 5 2023). He gets some help as standout wide receiver Tre Harris, who caught 8 TDs for almost 1,000 yards last year, will be back, as well trusted slot receiver Jordan Watkins. They also dug into the SEC to add former 1,200-yard receiver Antwane Wells Jr., who transferred from South Carolina, where he found success in 2022 before injury derailed most of his season in 2023. Unfortunately for the Rebels, star running back Quinton Judkins surprisingly left for Ohio State this spring, so Ulysses Bentley, who ran for 500 yards last year, will take over the starting running back snaps. It will be up to the defensive side of the ball to keep this team on the path to a title in hopes of supporting this star-studded offense. They tried to bolster this unit in the portal by adding two big-name recruits, former 5-star and 247 Sports #2 National recruit Walter Nolen, and 4-star transfer edge threat Princely Umanmielen. They added to their secondary by signing former Alabama Corner Trey Amos and Isaiah Hamilton from Kentucky. They included Linebacker Chris Paul Jr. from Arkansas to toughen up the middle. This Rebels team has all the tools necessary to run through the SEC on paper. If they can stay perfect through the first eight weeks, they'll line up for a clash of titans with Georgia in a game that could be a national championship preview.
Texas Longhorns
2023 Season Record: 12-2
2024 Projected Record: 11-1
Key Returners: Quinn Ewers, Kelvin Banks Jr, Ethan Burke, CJ Baxter, Anthony Hill Jr.
Key Newcomers: Isaiah Bond, Trey Moore, Andrew Mukuba, Amari Niblack, Matthew Golden
Big Time Matchups: Week 2 @ Michigan, Weel 7 @ Oklahoma, Week 8 v. Georgia, Weel 14 @ Texas A&M
Finally, the Texas Longhorns are where they rightfully belong: the SEC. It was just a matter of time before Texas joined the rest of the upper echelon of college football in the SEC. The Longhorns may be more prepared to dominate than ever since Vince Young. With a first-round NFL Draft pick at QB in Quinn Ewers, the Longhorns fell just short last year, losing in the semi-finals of the college football playoff, but with Ewers back for another year, this may be the time Texas can reign supreme. Ewers was nothing short of amazing last year, Throwing for almost 3,500 yards and 22 scores in his second season at the helm for Texas. They have all the pieces to win a national title, including Kelvin Banks Jr., the best tackle in the country; Isiah Bond, a Tide Transfer who is famous for his catch against Auburn last year; and UTSA transfer and former AAC Defensive Player of the Year in edge threat Trey Moore who will look to ignite this Defense with fire to supDefensee offense, this will be key with some of the Defensive Line leaving for the draft including headliner Byron Murphy II. With Bond and transfer Matthew Golden on the outside, Ewers will have plenty of weapons to dice up SEC defenses all season long. Texas came back into the national spotlight last year. This will be a big test having to play in the best conference in the world, but if Texas can prove they are a top dawg, we could see them compete for years.
Big Time Matchups: Week 3 @ Wisconsin, Week 5 v. Georgia, Week 8 v. Tennessee, Week 9 v. Missouri, Week 11 @ LSU, Week 13 @ Oklahoma, Week 14 v. Auburn
The state of Alabama doesn't care about anything more than their Crimson Tide Football team. For the first time in 17 seasons, there will be a new head coach at the helm as the GOAT of coaching, Nick Saban, has retired and has handed the team over to National Championship runner-up Kalen Deboer; Deboer is an experienced coach, having come from Washington where he built a national championship contender with the huskies producing a multitude of first-round NFL Talent. He won't have to look for more as this Tide team is full of it with returning Quarterback Jalen Milroe, an early Heisman favorite who broke out last year after fighting for the starting job early in the year; Milroe threw for 2,834 yards and 23 TDS adding 531 and 12 scores of the ground making him one of the best duel-threat players in the country. as well as a star defense led by defensive back Malachi Moore and 2023 semifinalist for the Butkus award Deontae Lawson. They will miss the transfers of safety Caleb Downs to Ohio State and wideout Isaiah Bond to Texas, who would have been great building pieces for Deboer as he tries to continue the domination by the Tide. If Deboer can recreate the magic he did with the Huskies, then Bama will look to reload instead of restarting. Alabama enters a Saban-less era of college football but seems to be tooled to continue its winning ways.
LSU Tigers
2023 Season Record: 10-3
2024 Projected Record: 10-2
Key Returners: Will Campbell, Harold Perkins Jr., Emery Jones, Garrett Nussmeier, Kyren Lacy, Da'Shawn Womack, Paris Shand
Key Newcomers: Cj Daniels, Jardin Gilbert, Zavion Thomas, PJ Woodland
Big Time Matchups: Week 1 @ USC, Week 7 v. Ole Miss, Week Week 11 v. Alabama, Week 14 v. Oklahoma,
The LSU. Tigers will have a new look to them in 2024 as reigning Heisman trophy winner Jayden Daniels was drafted 2nd overall by the Washington commanders in the NFL draft, leaving Garrett Nussmeier to handle the pressure of Baton Rouge. Nussmeier, who has competed with Daniels for the starting job the past two seasons and who some thought could start over Daniels, will look to take LSU back to the national spotlight that it once dawned.
He is protected by two of the best tackles in the country in Emery Jones and Will Campbell, making the best duo in college football; if they can keep Nussmeier upright, the talent on the outside will be there as LSU is historically known for producing some of the best receivers in the country year in and year out. That core will be headlined by Kyren Lacy, who played as the third option last year behind first-round picks Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr.; he will be joined by Liberty transfer CJ Daniels, who hauled in 1,000 yards and ten scores in 2023.
For example, in years past, the test for LSU was the defense, which returns defense layers such as Harold Perkins Jr. and Da'Shawn Womack. If Nussmeier filled in where Daniels left off, which would surprise no one, then head coach Brian Kelley will need his Defense to step up or defend them to compete with the cream of the crop.
Texas A&M Aggies
2023 Season Record: 7-6
2024 Projected Record: 8-4
Key Returners: Conner Weigman, Shemar Turner, Noah Thomas, Shemar Stewart, Trey Zuhn III, Taurean York
Key Newcomers: Nic Scourton, Will Lee III, Cashius Howell, Bj Mayes
Big Time Matchups: Week 1 v. Notre Dame, Week 6 v. Missouri, Week 9 v. LSU, Week 14 vs. Texas
NWA
The Aggies will have a new commander at the helm as Jimbo Fisher was fired, making way for former Duke head coach Mike Elko; he was previously the defensive coordinator at A&M until 2021 when he left to take the head job at Duke. He is back in Aggie land and hopes to give this program the turnaround they need. Hopefully, he will get the opportunity to groom QB Conner Weigman, who was out for the year after four weeks last year, but during his time as the starter, he threw for just under 1,000 yards and eight TDs. This is a very experienced offense as they return most of the team from last year, including up-and-coming receivers Noah Thomas and Moose Muhammad III, who will look to make a significant impact with Weigman; the Defense is headlined by Defense transfer Nic Scourton, who was one of the most highly recruited portal players in this cycle, he was a monster for the Boilermakers last year has he recorded ten sacks and 15 tackles for loss in his first year as a starter, he will line up with Cashius Howell on the other side as the two are set to be one of the best pass rushing tag teams in the country. With a new coach and town, this is a chance for Elko and the Aggies to prove they can compete with anyone in the country and that the Jimbo Fisher years were a misstep in the rebound of A&M football. This team has some tools to make noise in a crowded conference and will look to put it on display in 2024.
Key Newcomers: Cam Coleman, Keandre Lambert-Smith, Percy Lewis, Jerrin Thompson, Robert Lewis
Big Time Matchups: Week 5 v. Oklahoma, Week 6 @ Georgia. Week 8 @ Missouri, Week 13 v. Texas A&M, Week 14 @ Alabama
Auburn looks to get back on track after three straight years of losing seasons, failing to finish better than .500 in the conference. In his second year as Head Coach, Hugh Freeze will try to influence winning ways back into a program that is over due to being a power in the S.E.C. Freeze returns his starting QB from last year, Payton Thorne, who transferred to Auburn from Michigan State, looking to improve upon a season in which his stats were a bit down from his previous two seasons as a Spartan.
He will have a whole new core of weapons around him as Auburn attempts to improve the positions in which they struggled last year. The wideout group is headlined by Freshman Cam Coleman, a 6'3 197 jump ball threat who will try to make an immediate impact at Auburn and become one of the best wideouts in the country. He is joined by KeAndre Lambert-Smith, a transfer from Penn State, who is leaping to the SEC ball and hoping to provide a spark for the Tigers. Joining Thorne in the backfield is second year tiger Brian Battle, as he looks to take over the starting runningback spot, Battle rushed for 1,820 yards in three seasons at USF Before becoming a Tiger.
An explosive weapon in multiple parts of the game, Keionte Scott is an exciting player who led the SEC in punt return average a year ago while making 44 tackles for the Tigers. Auburn is in for a tough year as the schedule only gets more complicated with the arrival of Oklahoma and Texas to theSECC. If Thorne can return to his stats as a Spartan, Auburn can be a threat to upset some of the top teams in theSECC.
Arkansas Razorbacks
2023 Season Record: 4-8
2024 Projected Record: 5-7
Key Returners: Landon Jackson, Andrew Armstrong, Rashod Dubinion, Brad Spence
Big Time Matchups: Week 5 @ Texas A&M, Week 6 v. Tennessee, Week 8 v.LSU., Week 10 v. Ole Miss, Week 12 v. Texas, Week 14 @ Missouri
Sam Pittman and the Razorbacks are back and ready to take on the powerhouses of the SEC. In 2024, after a lackluster 2023, a team that was assumed to have many great players fell short of expectations. With the departure of longtime backfield duo KJ Jefferson and Rahiem Sanders, there will be a new look for this Hogs offense as Boise State transfer QB Taylen Green and runningback Ja'Quinden Jackson are poised for significant years.
Green is a dual-threat QB; He ran for almost 500 yards last year with nine scores on the ground and 11 through the air. He has been an average passer during his career, but his legs make him a difference-maker. He will have impact players on the outside, such as Andrew Armstrong, who led the Hogs in 2023 with 764 yards and five scores. The Defense returns star pasDefenser Landon Jackson, who totaled 44 tackles and 6.5 sacks a year ago. For this Defense, he gets some defense in the portal.
To bolster that unit, former Georgia Bulldogs Xavian Sorey Jor and Jahiem Singletary will be added, and they will both have significant roles in 2024. There are a lot of exciting pieces surrounding this Arkansas squad. They haven't been able to get over the mountain since 2021, when they could keep pace with the rest of the SEC, which will be the goal for Pittman and the Hogs this year.
Mississippi State Bulldogs
2023 Season Record: 5-7
2024 Projected Record: 4-8
Key Returners: Corey Ellington, JP Purvis, Jeffery Pittman, Jordan Mosley
Key Newcomers: Blake Shapen, Stone Blanton, Makylan Pounders, Kevin Coleman, Cameron Ball
Big Time Matchups: Week 5 @ Texas, Week 7 @ Georgia, Week 8 v. Texas A&M, Week 11 @ Tennessee, Week 13 v. Missouri, Week 14 @ Ole Miss
New Head Coach Jeff Lebby is here to rebuild a failing program at Mississippi. He comes from Oklahoma, where he was the offensive coordinator for a year before being offered the Bulldogs' head job. He inherits a program that has had only one ten-win season since 2010 and hopes to bring it back to winning ways. He will turn to Baylor transfer Blake Shapen to try and lead this team in the right direction; he is a proven collegiate passer, having over 5,000 passing yards in his short career as a Bear.
There is talent on the perimeter for Mississippi State on both sides of the ball with transfer Kevin Coleman from Louisville, who. was very productive in 2023 for the Cardinals, totaling 500 yards. He is looking to jump to these. And make an early impact. His counterpart, Jordan Mosely, returns after very limited game action for the Bulldogs in previous years. He seems to be a fit in the offense for Lebby. On Defense, one player sticks out in the secondary: ball-hawking safety Corey Ellington, who had 66 tackles a year ago, including two sacks and two forced fumbles.
He is a downhill player who isn't afraid to stick his nose in there and get dirty as he patrols the backend for the Bulldogs. The fans down south won't get to scream "Hail State" too often this fall as this roster doesn't seem to have the pieces to compete in Lebby's first year, but if the offense can make an impact and Ellington and the Defense can force turnovDefenseey may be able to put up a shocker based off how many big games they'll have this year.
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