1. LSU 2. BAMA 3. AU 4. ARK 5. MSU 6. lefire: I personally dont understand where all this barn hype is coming from. I fully expect them to come full circle and begin their 8 win season formula. Any thoughts?
I think you're underscoring the barn. Cox was just learning the ropes of the SEC last year. And I know Tubby has recruited pretty well recently. I definitely think we'll take the West because we still have an assload of talent on defense, and Pelini has proven to be an excellent fit in the SEC. Now that he's got a year under his belt, he knows what to expect and will scheme accordingly/more aggressively. But Auburn is surely not going to be a slouch, and I don't see anyway that Bama will be better than them. The winner of the LSU-AU game takes the West, and thus the conference crown in '06 (yes, I'm doubting the strength of the East with that last clause).
Actually, his name is Kenny Irons. His brother (I believe), David Irons plays cornerback for them. There is no way anyone at last year's game has forgotten Kenny Irons. I agree, as has been the case for awhile, the LSU-Au game will be very pivotal and will most likely decide the West. NOTE: My 12 year old daughter told me this past weekend that she can't wait for the first game so that we can tailgate. Life is good !
This is a year where the SEC East will be highly affected by schedules. Florida is once again the sweet child of the media, but has to play LSU, Auburn and Alabama in addition to South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. Georgia will be good, but will only become a serious contender if the QB situation is figured out. Otherwise, the SEC West will dominate in Atlanta.
Auburn will likely be the favorite to win the West simply because of history, we haven't beaten them in their place in quite a while although we know we're capable of it. We should have beaten them in 04.
I was considering Kenny Iron's as a given. Of course, this is also assuming that the refs decide to blow the play dead when his forward progress is actually stopped this time...
Auburn is as evenly matched with LSU as any team I can remember. In this century we have traded games with them the only advantage being the home field. The home team usually wins this one, so the Barners should be favored. Auburn has serious talent this year, confidence from the recent undefeated season, and determination because they felt they should have won the SEC last year. They think they have the best offensive and defensive line in the SEC. However, look at the Auburn boards shows that they have seriously underestimated what LSU brings to the table this year. Most of them have it down as a win already. All the usual bullchit. They think Les Miles is a bad coach and was 'lucky' to win with Saban's players. They think "the best team didn't win the LSU game" last year. They think LSU lost too many starters to compete again with a tough road schedule. They think the early season game is to Auburn's favor because of LSU's "youth". They think LSU has a "problem" at quarterback. The LSU/Auburn game will be the best game in the SEC season once agian in 2006. The home team will be favored but either team can win.
You're kidding right? Did you see Auburn play last year? They get my vote for the best offense in the SEC West and they were young. Which means they'll only improve. They just didn't show up in their bowl game, but I expect them to have one explosive offense this year. Cox was very impressive last year even as a first time starter and you only had to watch one game last year to know that Irons is the next coming of the Caddy.
