FAVORITE TEAMS

I wouldn’t mind giving my feedback about Alabama’s performance in the National Championship, but I’m not going into any details. We all knew who they were before it, so lets move on. Hope Alabama fans had their Frosted Flakes today…

Let’s talk about the rest of the West. Auburn went undefeated in non-conference play while playing a bland 3-5 in-conference. Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher had Texas A&M going in the right direction for once after upsetting LSU for the first time since joining the SEC. LSU won 10 games for the first time since 2013 and ended UCF’s undefeated run. Joe Moorhead’s first year with Mississippi State was seemingly good, but they did defeat two Top 25 teams (A&M and Auburn) and exposed Alabama for the rest of the teams ahead of them. Ole Miss produced NFL players despite their poor season with one SEC win. Arkansas’s first year with coach Chad Morris is a work in progress.

The East are building strength to compete with the West. Georgia won the East again and nearly defeated Alabama to cause a 2nd straight two SEC team playoff appearance. The Gators chomped at the SEC and ended their 5-game skid against Florida State and defeated Michigan for the first time in 5 meetings. Kentucky shocked the SEC after ending 3 decades of losses to Florida and won 10 games for the first time in 4 decades. South Carolina had a decent but injury-prone season. Missouri won their last 4 SEC games (which started with a big upset over Florida). Vanderbilt won their last two games to become bowl-eligible, while Tennessee lost their last two games and failed bowl-eligibility. That last loss was sealed by their rival, Vanderbilt.

I may have expected too much from Auburn’s 2018 season, but they do have potential for the 2019 season. Auburn had two key wins against Washington and Texas A&M and nearly came away with a third over LSU. They also put an early hurting on Alabama in the 1st and part of the 2nd quarter. The loss to Tennessee was a disappointment, but the problem stemmed from the offensive line, new running backs, and injuries across the receiving unit. The Tigers’ defense of 2018 played as strong as 2017’s team. Auburn could turn into SEC West contenders next season, but I’m unsure if incoming freshmen quarterback Bo Nix or another quarterback are the answer. Although, running back Boobie Whitlow will definitely be the Tigers’ offensive threat of the future.

The Tigers started 3-0 before hitting an ugly 0-3 stretch against Georgia, at South Carolina, and at Alabama. After choking very badly to Kentucky by allowing 12 points in the last 5 minutes of the game, Missouri won the last 4 SEC games, and #13 Florida was the first victim during the 4-game winning streak. The Tigers’ defense fairly improved, but cornerback DeMarkus Acy gets the praise for his 2018 performance. The offense in non-conference games scored over 40 points per game, but the SEC kept them around 30 points per game.