Mark's SEC West Forecast

An extension of my SEC picks, as promised:

1.

Alabama: A returning Heisman trophy winner, an undefeated QB and a horde of talent will be too much for Arkansas to overtake, and the Tide will roll back into Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game for a third straight year. The defense will need to replace eight starters (not counting Hightower), but another highly rated recruiting class and defensive whiz Nick Saban should allow Alabama to stay atop the league.

2.

Yet another step in the Bobby Petrino world-takeover will vault the Hogs into national prominence behind the arm of Ryan Mallett and the offensive genius of Petrino. Expectations are sky high, and anything less than 9-3 will be viewed as a disappointment in God's country. A tough road game between the hedges in Athens against Georgia and a home tilt against the defending national champions will tell this season's tale. I expect a split in those two and I'm starting to lean more toward 10-2 than 9-3. The Kool-Aid tastes delicious!

3.

I'm definitely not drinking the Herbstreit beverage, so I certainly won't be going nuts by picking Auburn to be any higher than third. The gimmicky offense and suspect defense haven't changed, and lest we forget, the head coach is still a nobody. No more words should be wasted on the Tigers with an identity crisis. Can anyone explain how a Tigers team cries War EAGLE? I don't care for the story so spare me.

4.

LSU is always super-athletic and talented, as they seem to always recruit well. The talent had better win out over coaching, however, because the Mad Hatter Les Miles is a moron. If they can out-play his ineptitude they have a shot, but 4th (at best 3rd) is where they'll end up.

5.

Jeremiah Masoli's on-again off-again eligibility aside, the QB Killa will work his magic this year and there will no doubt be hundreds of smoke draws, fullback dump-offs to the flats, and one-man routes from offensive (insert sarcasm) mastermind Houston Dale Nutt. The addition of Masoli could re-arrange this list as Auburn, LSU and Ole Miss could easily switch places, but this is my prediction. May be wishful thinking, but here's hoping they don't win a game.

6.

Dan Mullen will have the Bulldogs out of the cellar very soon, but it won't be this year. All-everything RB Anthony Dixon is gone, and there just is not enough talent to equate to enough wins to pull the 'Dogs out of the doldrums.