By
Brian Harbach
15) Steve Spurrier is coaching his last season at South Carolina, he will resign after the Clemson game.
This is not the first time I have written this statement, but even with a good year, I think Spurrier steps down and gives someone else a try in Columbia.
14) Tommy Tuberville will be name the Head Coach at South Carolina the day before the SEC Championship game.
Tommy Tuberville gets his third shot coaching an SEC team and he should be a great fit in Columbia. Tuberville knows how to win in the SEC; a change of scenery is all he needs.
13) John Chavis will win the Broyles Award for the Nation’s Best Assistant in his first season at LSU.
LSU has too many talented defensive players not to be a dominant defense every year, John Chavis is going to work wonders with the Bengal Tiger D and they will be one of the nation’s best this year.
12) Lane Kiffin is going to win more games at Tennessee this season than the Vols did last season.
Tennessee may not be a better team in 2009, but they will win more games based on the schedule alone. They get UCLA at home, they play 5 of their first 6 at home and the offense really can’t be worse…can it?
11) SEC offenses are going to be vastly improved in 2009 compared to 2008.
The SEC’s biggest offensive problem last year was inconsistent and young quarterback play. With a number of quarterbacks returning after taking their bumps last season, the offenses should look a lot better in 2009.
10) Gene Chizik will win more games at Auburn this season than he has in 2 full seasons at Iowa State.
It really won’t be too tough for Chizik to live up to this prediction, but Auburn should win 6 or 7 games this year which would top Chizik’s two year win total at Iowa State of 5 victories.
9) Georgia is going to struggle early in the season, but no one is going to want play them come November…Gators included.
The UGA schedule is tough early with games at Oklahoma State, South Carolina, at Arkansas and LSU. Breaking in a new QB is never easy, but the more experience that signal caller gets, the more dangerous they become. This year will be very similar to Matthew Stafford’s freshmen year for the Bulldogs.
8) For the second year in a row the most anticipated SEC game will be the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.
There is more on the line for Mark Richt in this game than any game he has coached at UGA. Georgia doesn’t have to win this one, but if Urban Meyer is going to make it a yearly trend to treat the Bulldogs like he did last year, Richt will not be as untouchable as he is right now. First we had UGA stomping in the end zone, next we had Florida stomping on UGA, what will this year bring us?
7) Auburn’s second attempt at the Spread Offense will work much better than the first.
Tony Franklin’s spread did not work at Auburn for two reasons, the first was Tony Franklin and the second was he wasn’t able to bring in his own coaches. Gus Malzahn will be left alone to run his offense with coaches that he feels comfortable with. It may not be great immediately, but it won’t be as bad as last year.
6) Jevan Snead will give Tim Tebow some heavy competition for the SEC’s Offensive Player of the Year award.
Tim Tebow is the favorite to win SEC Offensive Player of the Year and his second Heisman trophy, but Jevan Snead’s second season at Ole Miss is going to be a special one. The strong armed Texan should have a stand out season for the Rebels and he should get enough national attention to fight with Tebow as the top player in the league.
5) Ten SEC teams will play in bowl games this year.
After a relatively down year where not all the bowl games with SEC tie-ins were not filled by SEC teams the SEC will be back with a very strong season. 2009 will be a banner year for the league. They will once again put 2 teams in the BCS and 8 additional teams will make the postseason.
4) Vanderbilt will make it to a bowl game for the second season in a row
One of those ten teams to make a bowl will be the Vanderbilt Commodores for the second consecutive season. The schedule for the Dores is not terrible and they seem to have a good mix with Mackenzie Adams and Larry Smith. They will have to upset at least one team, but Bobby Johnson has shown us over the last few years that his team can upset some of the leagues better programs.
3) The University of Georgia will not wear black jerseys in any regular season game this year.
There was a death in the Alabama/Georiga game last year in Athens and it was the end of the black jerseys. Don’t expect to ever see these again unless it is a bowl game, I would be shocked if they even wore them at a homecoming game in the future.
2) The SEC will win a 4th straight National Championship.
My final prediction will tell you who I think will win that National Championship, but I can see two teams being capable of winning it all this year. The first team is in Baton Rouge and the second team is…
1) Florida will repeat as SEC and National Champions in 2009.
Obviously I am not going out a limb with this one since they should be favored to accomplish both of these goals. The schedule is easier, the team is more experienced and they return the best player in college football.
What do you think of my early predictions? E-mail
me Brian Harbach
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