Max
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As spring practice gets underway, we're getting ahead of one of the most pressing questions facing the SEC in 2017: Can anyone stop Alabama?
The Crimson Tide have won three straight conference championships, pounding its SEC East foes by a combined score of 125-44 in those games. Knowing that stat, as well as the current state of the SEC East, it's likely that Alabama's staunchest conference competition will come from within the SEC West (and as Travis Haney writes, it almost certainly won't be from teams 4-7). Could it be Auburn, who won the SEC in 2013? Or LSU, who nabbed the 2011 crown but were topped by the Tide in the BCS title? Those are the last two non-Tide teams to win the SEC since 2008, when Florida was led by Tim Tebow.
Bama's toughest test will be Auburn, says Barton Simmons
Auburn was a really good football team last year. It was a Sugar Bowl team. It was a 'touchdown away from beating Clemson' team. But it was a quarterback away from being a great team.
Auburn in 2017 will be a great team. In 2016, it already had one of the best defenses in college football, and though it loses some NFL talent, it has more NFL talent on the bench.
The Tigers had a great offensive line last year, too. It was a unit that plowed open holes for a backfield that was mostly anonymous before 2016. Auburn loses some beef from that unit but it also adds a graduate transfer in Casey Dunn, who is a two-time FCS All-American.
The offensive line is in place. The running backs are proven now. The wide receivers are young and talented. So about that quarterbackā¦
If you're Gus Malzhan and all you're missing is a signal caller, and you can go to high school, junior college or the grad transfer market and find a guy, is there a better solution anywhere than the guy you landed in Jarrett Stidham? I'd argue there isn't.
Stidham is not only one of the most talented passers in the country, but he's also an athletic fit for Auburn's offense, a system that will add some vitality with the arrival of Chip Lindsey from Arizona State.
Being a great team is a necessary condition for beating Alabama, but most great teams still come up short against the Crimson Tide. Auburn will satisfy that necessary condition, at least.
No, it's LSU, says Chris Hummer
Auburn might have a chance to topple the Tide, but no team is better equipped from a talent standpoint to do so than LSU. There are plenty of question marks surrounding LSU next season, but the fact remains that the teamās mix of returning talent and coaching schemes make the Tigers the biggest threat to topple the Crimson Tide.
Matt Canadaās multiple offensive system should help unlock talent thatās lain dormant in Baton Rouge for too long. Danny Etling is not a spectacular quarterback, but heās functional enough to distribute the ball to LSUās explosive mix of skill prospects.
Defensively, the Tigers lost plenty of 2017 draft picks from their defense. But a second year in Arandaās system should help elevate a unit that finished fifth in scoring defense last season. During his first campaign in Baton Rouge, Aranda ran a toned-down version of his scheme as the Tiger defenders adjusted to the newness. Behind all of that is a head coach who is among the most inspiring in college football.
There are a lot of ifs when it comes to LSU dethroning Alabama in the SEC West ...
If Ed Orgeronās second full-time tenure as a head coach goes better than his first ... If Derrius Guice continues to run like a Heisman contender ... If the hire of Canada gives LSUās offense a much-needed boost ... If Arandaās defense can take a significant step in Year 2.
If. If. If.
It wasnāt too long ago LSU went blow for blow with Alabama every year. It might be an āifā game with LSU in 2017, but what isnāt when youāre talking about Alabamaās dominance in the SEC?
Who's Alabama's biggest challenger in the SEC? Auburn or LSU?
The Crimson Tide have won three straight conference championships, pounding its SEC East foes by a combined score of 125-44 in those games. Knowing that stat, as well as the current state of the SEC East, it's likely that Alabama's staunchest conference competition will come from within the SEC West (and as Travis Haney writes, it almost certainly won't be from teams 4-7). Could it be Auburn, who won the SEC in 2013? Or LSU, who nabbed the 2011 crown but were topped by the Tide in the BCS title? Those are the last two non-Tide teams to win the SEC since 2008, when Florida was led by Tim Tebow.
Bama's toughest test will be Auburn, says Barton Simmons
Auburn was a really good football team last year. It was a Sugar Bowl team. It was a 'touchdown away from beating Clemson' team. But it was a quarterback away from being a great team.
Auburn in 2017 will be a great team. In 2016, it already had one of the best defenses in college football, and though it loses some NFL talent, it has more NFL talent on the bench.
The Tigers had a great offensive line last year, too. It was a unit that plowed open holes for a backfield that was mostly anonymous before 2016. Auburn loses some beef from that unit but it also adds a graduate transfer in Casey Dunn, who is a two-time FCS All-American.
The offensive line is in place. The running backs are proven now. The wide receivers are young and talented. So about that quarterbackā¦
If you're Gus Malzhan and all you're missing is a signal caller, and you can go to high school, junior college or the grad transfer market and find a guy, is there a better solution anywhere than the guy you landed in Jarrett Stidham? I'd argue there isn't.
Stidham is not only one of the most talented passers in the country, but he's also an athletic fit for Auburn's offense, a system that will add some vitality with the arrival of Chip Lindsey from Arizona State.
Being a great team is a necessary condition for beating Alabama, but most great teams still come up short against the Crimson Tide. Auburn will satisfy that necessary condition, at least.
No, it's LSU, says Chris Hummer
Auburn might have a chance to topple the Tide, but no team is better equipped from a talent standpoint to do so than LSU. There are plenty of question marks surrounding LSU next season, but the fact remains that the teamās mix of returning talent and coaching schemes make the Tigers the biggest threat to topple the Crimson Tide.
Matt Canadaās multiple offensive system should help unlock talent thatās lain dormant in Baton Rouge for too long. Danny Etling is not a spectacular quarterback, but heās functional enough to distribute the ball to LSUās explosive mix of skill prospects.
Defensively, the Tigers lost plenty of 2017 draft picks from their defense. But a second year in Arandaās system should help elevate a unit that finished fifth in scoring defense last season. During his first campaign in Baton Rouge, Aranda ran a toned-down version of his scheme as the Tiger defenders adjusted to the newness. Behind all of that is a head coach who is among the most inspiring in college football.
There are a lot of ifs when it comes to LSU dethroning Alabama in the SEC West ...
If Ed Orgeronās second full-time tenure as a head coach goes better than his first ... If Derrius Guice continues to run like a Heisman contender ... If the hire of Canada gives LSUās offense a much-needed boost ... If Arandaās defense can take a significant step in Year 2.
If. If. If.
It wasnāt too long ago LSU went blow for blow with Alabama every year. It might be an āifā game with LSU in 2017, but what isnāt when youāre talking about Alabamaās dominance in the SEC?
Who's Alabama's biggest challenger in the SEC? Auburn or LSU?
