SnoTap College Football Preview: SEC West

Talking college football again here on Sports News on Tap with previews of all the big dogs and some fun stuff thrown in there as well. Naturally, the picks and posts will be coming during and after Week 1.  

The SEC is the best conference in college football and it is not even close. It is weird to hear people up in Wisconsin kind of talk down about it. I do not know if it is a jealous boyfriend/girlfriend thing, but they seem to not like the SEC as much as they should or care about it. Yes, this weirdly bums me out.  

It is weird to look at the SEC West because they have the last three National Championship winners, but they might not be as balanced as the SEC East, but then maybe it is, the SEC is just completely good, let's move on.  

FIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH
QB Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M) - He is obviously the player to watch maybe in all of college football given what happened to him. The game against Alabama is so huge for him. Personally, I will not be affected if Manziel struggles, but holy shit will ESPN, FOX, CBS and others blow it out of proportion. Manziel will probably not win a Heisman, but the Aggies will still be successful.

RB T.J. Yeldon (Alabama) -  Everyone says Yeldon is the next great running backs in all of college football. Not just the next Mark Ingram or Trent Richardson, but maybe the next Adrian Peterson. SnoTap writer Kramer pounded this drum during Yeldon's first year of college football. He will be up for Heisman considerations this year, and being he is a junior, he will be drafted in the top ten next season. Yeldon will be a monster for whomever drafts him.

RB Jeremy Hill (LSU) -  He probably should not be playing  for awhile as LSU running back was charged in the offseason with battery during a bar fight in April.  But the LSU team voted for Hill and they showed their support. While some might make a ground level assumption they did it to ensure their offense would stay rolling, I think many of them did to show their trust and support for him. If Hill screws up again, he is letting down his teammates, not his coach.

WR Donte Moncrief (Ole Miss) - He had a big year last season as the Rebels start to make the climb to being an SEC power player.  Moncrief had 10 touchdowns last season and nearly 1,000 yards as a receiver. He also averaged about 14 yards a catch meaning he would be picking up some big gains throughout the year and averaged around 75 yards per game. He gets Bo Wallace back as his quarterback and having three returning receivers plus top prospect Laquon Treadwell, Moncrief might be getting some more balls.

LB C.J. Mosley (Alabama) - Another member of the football Van Wilder team. He has been here for what seems like forever, but he is a hell of a linebacker. Mosley will be the quarterback of the Alabama defense, and expect him to make a full impact for the Tide. Not surprisingly, Mosley can do it all as a linebacker.    

FIVE GAMES TO WATCH
Saturday September 14th - Alabama at Texas A&M - Probably the biggest game of the year and it is in the third week of the season. Kevin Sumlin had a blueprint to beat Alabama on the road and now welcome them to Kyle Field in probably the biggest game in Aggies' history (Maybe strong but it feels that way). Nick Saban does not want to lose again to this team, and I assume he does not loss consecutive games to the same team. If Manziel wins this game for the Aggies, is it the biggest 'shut the f--- up' moment in sports for 2013?

Saturday November 9th - LSU at Alabama - One of the biggest rivalries in college football in the past five years. They always play classics and last year did not disappoint.  Alabama should have lost that football game in Death Valley, but they somehow found a way to escape in the final moments. LSU beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa in 2011, and while this team is not at the 2011 levels, they could do it as well. Zach Mettenberger looked great against the Tide last season.

Saturday November 16th - Georgia at Auburn -  The Bulldogs are expected to be pretty good this season. Auburn, we will get to in a second, but they could really make their case for being back in the SEC mix if they could beat the Dawgs. Sure beating Alabama would be great, but Georgia would not be a chopped liver win.

Saturday November 23th - Texas A&M at LSU -   Let's remember LSU beat Texas A&M in a ridiculous 11 am game in College Station and Manziel was not really a thought in people's mind. The LSU defense dominated and befuddled Manziel throughout the game. The Tigers welcome the new SEC school to Death Valley, a place where things can be very unforgiving.

Thursday November 28th- Ole Miss at Mississippi State - Another year where the Egg Bowl should be entertaining as hell. The Rebels' loaded freshman class should be completely involved with the team and State should not be that bad. Odds are both will be fighting for bowl position.  

FIVE QUESTIONS TO PONDER
Alabama continuing to build a UCLA-like dynasty? - Without question. Alabama going to the National Championship is lazy, but it is the pick to make until proven wrong, a theory I have stood by for quite some time. The Tide bring back so many great players next season

What's going to happen with Johnny Manziel? - I honestly do not know. I personally feel like Manziel should not be criticized for his actions this offseason, but we all know that already. I am not sure if he will get suspended or just play out this season and then head pro.  Odds he gets suspended at some point this season is probably 35 percent.

Big year for LSU's offense, maybe? - Yes the LSU offense is never talked about. We talk about how Les Miles always seems to have great defenses and an offense who does enough half-assed things to win football games. But they have Hill and Mettenberger, a player I believe is sort of overlooked with all the other SEC quarterbacks, the Tigers could have some going this year.

Bounce back year for Auburn? - The Tigers took a turn for the worst as they really tanked after winning the 2010 National Championship. They bring back Gus Mahlzan to be the head coach and I feel like he will start building this team back to prominence. I liked him there and believe his offensive style can carry this team.  

Would Nick Saban leave in 2014? - Um maybe. I think it is no secret Saban might want to try the NFL again because he is not the type of person to deal with failure. Dallas Cowboys might be without a head coach and Jerry Jones has more money than God, people rumored it last offseason and I would not be surprised if it is rumored again.

PROJECTED FINISH
1.) Alabama
2.) Texas A&M
3.) LSU
4.) Auburn
5.) Ole Miss
6.)Mississippi State
7.) Arkansas

The weird thing is all of these teams could be bowl teams. Alabama will win the SEC West again, but I expect Auburn to surprise some folks this year.  

Charlie.  

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