This seems like a pretty good question to ask here at the blog: Which SEC school do you think is the most over-hyped or overrated headed into the 2015 season?
Talty lists a few schools, but I think most of us would point to either Arkansas or Tennessee as being the most likely candidates. I’m not sold on either, but it’s hard to say which of the two is the more likely to fail to live up to expectations.
Say what you will about Bert, he’s got a proven track record in major college ball and his team made some real strides on defense last season. That being said, his program doesn’t rank among the SEC élite in recruiting and he’s got the added obstacle of playing in the West.
Meanwhile, Booch pilots a program that barely squeaked into a bowl game last season. He’s recruiting better than Bielema, but arguably had an emptier pantry to refill. And he’s got the advantage of playing in the East (although Arkansas doesn’t have an Oklahoma on the schedule, either). But he’s never been in the position as a coach he’s in now either, at a P5 program with significantly raised expectations.
I sort of feel like if UT takes off early, say, with a big upset of Oklahoma, there could be some palpable momentum. But lost that game and flop against Florida and I can see the wheels coming off and another year of UT struggling for bowl eligibility. Arkansas, even with a tough early loss or two – I can see the Hogs hanging in there and being a tough out for the rest of the season, albeit not a division title contender. Not sure how overrated that scenario would make Arky.
Your thoughts?
Get The Picture 
Auburn gets my vote. 8-5 last year. And I don’t think losing Nick Marshall is addition by subtraction. I see them at 9-3, not 11-1.
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everyone who has to replace a starting QB in the SEC is generally predicted for some rocky moments in the season with the new guy. Except for Auburn, who will lose last year’s trumpeted Heisman candidate and be better, because, in retrospect, Nick just wasn’t all that good and was apparently holding Gus’s offense of the future back a little.
Is anyone in the SEC a better example of feast or famine the last 5 or 6 seasons than Auburn?
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Auburn. Boom isn’t going to make that much difference.
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Ole Miss? They fell off a cliff at the end of the season. I’ve seen them in the 9-12 range in the preseason rankings. Although their OOC schedule is an abomination and they catch Florida and Vanderbilt out of the East. They have to go to Alabama, to Auburn, and to Miss. St.
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Sadly, I think its Georgia. They certainly have a long to fall. They are at their best when the media doubts them. Every time I see UGA mentioned along with Bama and Auburn for the SEC title I cringe. Maybe its because I remember all the love they got before the ass whoopin’ the Tide doled out in Athens last time. I am conditioned to set my expectations low.
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Maybe that game was the last time I truly bought into the hype. More recently every time I start to believe they have a shit the bed game.
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same here lamont. that was painful.
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Thanks to that game and later, the Florida game, I hope to never see Georgia in black again during my lifetime.
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Not to jump on the band-wagon but…the Boise St. game made me throw up the Kool-Aid more than any. All the talk about how big and heavy our 4 and 5 stars guys were and what we would do to the 3 star Broncos before the game…
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+1. All that UGA pregame hype was all a load of BS. The Dawgs were coming off a 6-7 season and the bowl game loss was (you fill in the blank).
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It was those godawful unis.
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Right. That game was bad on so many levels I can’t count them all. I thought at the time, and still believe, that McGarity booked the Boise game because he was trying to get CMR fired so McGarity could name his own man as HC. I’ll bet CMR thought that, too.
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I think Auburn will be good, but I don’t see them as a top 5 (?) or 10 team, as many so-called experts are predicting.
If Arkansas can continue where they left off last year, then someone in the West who’s been consistently good just has to drop off, as a matter of simple math. I think either OM or LSU. I’ll go with LSU. They don’t have a passing threat, and, with Chavis gone and having lost some of their key defenders, they might be due to drop off defensively. Their schedule isn’t especially tough, but they could go 7-5.
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I still feel it is the Vols. They have yet to win a meaningful game and they aren’t strong enough on either line yet.
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Yeah, but that game terrifies me. Coming off the Alabama game, on the road, against a team that has come within a whisker of beating us at least three years in a row. That meaningful win is coming, I just hope we’re not it.
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FWIW…and it probably isn’t much, the Vowels will be playing the Sooners, a cupcake, UF, Arky, then us…that is a tough stretch for them. They are still rather spooky none the less, but that won’t be a fun stretch for them.
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We’ll come to the rescue for UT. They have almost beat us two years straight as said. This year it is a trap game. If we beat UA the week before our guys will do what our guys do, feel like all they have to do is show up and win. If we lose to UA we just might tank. I see this as the game that decides the SEC East for UGA.
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Great points & Historically, our Dawgs have rarely followed up a big win with a dominating follow up.
Pivotal season with enough uncertainty to give one pause. Still, I don’t see anyone save Bama as key, for the East is weak.
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Auburn would be my pick…followed by UTurd.
When comparing Booch to Bert, put bluntyly Bert is tougher and would give Booch a country @ss whooping. What does that have to do with anything, Ark. is a tougher minded team than UTurd.
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Gotta be AuBoom.
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Ain’t dat the truth! 🎈
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Barring a renewal of the horse shoe up the coaches butt, I say Auburn has to be way overrated.
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Vanderbilt. No?? Auburn, of course. Muschamp thought his D was on the field too long at UF, wait until Gas Pedal Gus’ offense has its way with him.
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I am not yet buying UTK or Auburn. That being said, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Vols beat OU (or us, for that matter). The Sooners did not look good against Clemson in the bowl game last year, and Cole Stoudt was a terrible qb for the Tigers. Clemson was all Defense last year, especially after that freshman qb went out with injury, and they had no trouble whatsoever with Oklahoma.
They way the Aubies faded last year, I don’t know, they just seem….fragile to me.
I think most every team can be picked apart, and the love for AU and UTK must be coming from the recruiting rankings the last couple of years. I hope I’m right about both, and that they are being over-rated. I’m not ready for the Vols to be good again, even though that day is probably coming eventually.
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I admit I don’t quite get all the Tennessee hype. Who have they beaten that was any good the last 5 years? They almost beat us in 2013? So what? Weren’t we the walking wounded at that point, on the road, and we still won? They gave us a scare in 2014? Again, so what? Almost is about the same thing as winning now? Try selling that to a UGA fan the next time UGA “almost” beats someone. Did it feel like we won in Auburn in 2013 to you? It sure didn’t to me.
I’m not saying Tennessee isn’t decent, or incapable of beating UGA in 2015. Some people are looking at them like they’re the next Tommie Frazier/Nebraska team. Respect them? Sure, but I see no reason why we should be afraid of them. They’re kind of like hillbilly GTU: dangerous if taken lightly, but their A game can’t match our A game. If they beat us, it’s more likely a problem with us than it is them overwhelming us.
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Yep – I especially agree with your last sentence.
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Exactly. Lots of folks keep saying they’ve almost beat us the past two years…
Almost beat someone doesn’t mean shit. UGA almost beat Alabama in the SECCG. So what?
Respect UT by preparing well and playing hard and smart. Do that? ‘Dogs win.
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Auburn.
And to those who keep pointing out Georgia’s close shave with Tennessee last year, we know what the deal was. Georgia hopefully will be at full strength this year and will administer a beat-down.
I don’t see Florida beating Tennessee or much of anyone. Hope that’s right.
SEC East…UGA, Mizzo, Tennessee, SoCar, Flarda, Kentucky and Vandy.
The very top and bottom (UGA and Vany) are pretty solid. Everything in between is fluid. I can even imagine SOS pulling off one of his greatest coaching jobs and moving up to second or third. That’s what a great coach can do for you.
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I’m shocked at how bad carolina is expected to be. That game could ruin our entire season and shorten cmr’s career.
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No excuse losing to that team this year. Just none. We need to show up in a big way. CAN’T be CMR’s annual FTSU game (failure to show up).
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UT kind of reminds me of the Dawgs a year or two after Donnan was hired. We brought in some great highly touted talent and with that followed great expectations, but we didn’t have the complete package and got exposed by deeper teams that could recruit better on the line of scrimmage (ironically UT was one of them).
So I say UT this year, they may take a step forward, and that step forward may be us, but they ain’t returning to the glory years just yet.
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Interestingly, Arkansas and Tennessee play each other this year. I believe in the way Bert wants to play more than whatever the hell Butch is doing, so I’ll say Tennessee is more overrated. Plus, the #BrickByBrick thing they’re marketing is annoying as piss. Until he actually, you know, wins something, Butch will continue to remind me of Jim Donnan, just with a bad hair cut and more f bombs.
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LOL…same thinking…see above.
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Butch Jones has waited 3 high and tight years to have a team this good
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Gotta be UTeast. Don’t have the horses on OL. Plus, their DC/LB and Secondary coaches have trouble protecting any kind of a lead in the 2nd half.
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Auburn.
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LSU, Chavis left and the defense was all that kept that team in several games last year. I feel that strong about Chavis as a DC and that bad about whoever they run out at QB this year. The hat has never impressed as a HC, at least not to me. They are in the top 5 and that is a long way to fall.
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…long way to fall.
“Stand” Ever had a day when you can’t get a song outta your head?
I was at a clients home going through a 1 year review. Something I do when I build a custom house. He was rocking a nice sound system. Klipsch p38 speakers. Something Bluto probably enjoys. Ahhhh… the other half lives so well. 😉
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Bluto probably delves into the more esoteric stuff than Klipsch. My FIL has Klipsch Horns. They’re driven by a tiny output tube amp, but they fill the whole house with sound. Glorious bass via a 15″ woofer, I think.
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Bluto has these. Maybe? He knows his turntables.
We have a summer project every year. My sons are grown and working on that advanced degree but they humor me. I wanted to build these but they reined me in. We are doing TriTrix MTM TL Speaker instead. I hope we can do some fancy veneer.
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Georgia.
No quarterback, fragile receivers, problems in the kicking game, can’t stop the run, and the toughest schedule in the East.
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Hmmmm…I don’t know of any publication picking LSU to win the west nor ten games.
Most over-hyped: Georgia
Most under-hyped: LSU (Kevin Steele just as qualified, if not more, than Chavis)
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Bing!
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I think the entire West is overrated this year, except for Arkansas, which will be better.
Alabama has again lost a ton – it caught up to them a bit last year, and will catch up more this year.
Auburn – sorry, don’t see that high preseason rating.
LSU – losing Chavis will kill them, because he is what won them games the past few years.
MSU – I see them at 8-9 wins
Ole Miss – down from last year – the end of the year exposed them, and now a new QB
AM – they’ll be solid, but not much better than last year
UGA – the team to beat in the East, no doubt.
No need to discuss UK and Vandy.
UF is a TRAIN WRECK. They will not make a bowl. I think the get manhandled by each east team except for UK and Vandy. And UK may beat them.
Mizzou – I don’t think they win the East and they take a big step back. They lost a ton, and they’ve never recruited well. That was fine in a down East, but not this year.
UT is gonna be better. OL played better at the end of the year (against lesser competition), they’ve got everyone back and got talent. Depth an issue. The thing no one is mentioning is that their OU game is not essential, cause as indicated above, they will kill UF, and after not beating them in forever, that gets them going. Biggest threat to UGA in East.
Carolina – they’ll be better than last year, but I think Spurrier is out of gas, and that is going to hurt them. They will battle Mizzou for 3rd in the East.
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Most overhyped= TN, AU, and Ole Miss
Most undervalued= Arkansas, A&M
But it’s June, I could be wrong about A&M
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Most overhyped…FU. There are publications actually saying the Gators are a contender to win the East. Hell, they couldn’t even field enough O-linemen to have a spring game. 6 wins tops, and that’s if they beat UT.
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