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In August, we are all geniuses. After a few weeks of the season, we think we know even more. Or so we think.
By the end of the year, many things we thought we knew in the first few weeks of the season is generally proven wrong.
What did we believe early in the year that we know to be false now?
JIM MCELWAIN WOULD NEED TIME TO GET GATORS BACK ON TOP
The four-year Will Muschamp era at Florida was an abject disaster, so when Jim McElwain was hired to fix all that was wrong, everyone knew it would take time to get the Gators back on top. McElwain has had great success with offenses, first as the offensive coordinator on national championship teams at Alabama, then as head coach at Colorado State.
But there were no weapons on that side of the ball when he got to Florida. The Gators were picked fifth in the SEC East in the preseason polls and that seemed about right.
Well, until the games were played.
The Gators beat Tennessee with a great fourth-quarter rally, with Will Grier and freshman Antonio Callaway emerging. Then, they crushed Georgia in Jacksonville and the SEC East was won. We’ll dismiss the struggles down the finish, the ugly wins over South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Florida Atlantic and the even-uglier losses to Florida State and Alabama. Winning the East in Year 1 is a good, good thing.
THAT GUS MALZAHN WAS READY TO TAKE OVER THE SEC WEST
No team got more accolades in August than the Auburn Tigers. They were ranked No. 6 in the country in the first preseason poll and were picked to win the SEC West, far and away the toughest division in college football. Some people even went so far as to say that Gus Malzahn was passing up Nick Saban at Alabama.
But then Auburn struggled in a narrow win over Louisville to open the season. They came home the next week and almost lost to FCS foe Jacksonville State. They should have really, pulling it out with a late score, then a TD in overtime. After that bad win, Auburn dropped from No. 6 to No. 18 in the polls, the biggest drop in the Associated Press poll by a winning team in the history of the poll.
It never really got any better. Auburn finished 6-6, won only two SEC games and finished dead last in the SEC West. Jeremy Johnson was a massive flop at QB, and everything we thought was good about the Tigers turned out to be wrong, in all phases of the game.
Now the Tigers are starting at the bottom instead of the top. They’ve got a lot of work to do.
THAT CHUBB AND FOURNETTE WERE 2 TOP RUNNING BACKS
Georgia’s Nick Chubb and LSU’s Leonard Fournette were the preseason All-SEC running backs, which made total sense based on what they had done as freshmen in 2014. Chubb’s season ended early on a horrific knee injury, and through September and October, Fournette was the runaway favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. LSU was 7-0 and Fournette was ripping off 150 yards or more in every single game.
Then came Alabama. The Crimson Tide shut down Fournette completely, allowing him only 31 yards on 19 carries. It was Alabama RB Derrick Henry who stole the show, ripping off 210 yards against LSU in a 30-16 win. From there, Fournette’s season crumbled and Henry rushed for 864 yards in his final four SEC games, an average of 216 yards per game. Henry won the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night, and Fournette and Chubb could only watch.
THAT THE SEC WOULD CONTINUE TO DOMINATE AMERICA
The big, bad SEC is supposed to be the best conference in the land. Coaches in the league don’t mind bragging about it, either. That’s what Razorbacks coach Bret Bielema did in September, harping on Ohio State’s weak schedule and the softness of the Big Ten. Then, Arkansas went right out and lost to Toledo of the Mid-American Conference and the Big 12’s Texas Tech.
They weren’t alone in embarrassing the brand. Ole Miss, trying to win a national title, lost to Memphis. South Carolina lost to The Citadel, of all things, their tiny little in-state FCS neighbor. And on Rivalry Weekend at the end of the season, the ACC won the heads-up battle 3-1 after going 4-0 in 2014. Florida, South Carolina and Kentucky are all far behind their in-state rivals Florida State, Clemson and Louisville. There were 10 total non-conference losses this year, far too many.
The league really needs a good bowl season – one in which they are favored in nine of their 10 games – to get their swagger back. It would also help, of course, if Alabama won a national title.
THAT PINKEL, RICHT AND SPURRIER WOULD COACH FOREVER
Gary Pinkel has been the head coach at Missouri for 15 years after spending 10 years at Toledo. Mark Richt was at Georgia for 15 years himself. Steve Spurrier coached 11 years at South Carolina after spending 12 years at Florida and three years at Duke. That’s a combined 66 years of patrolling college football sidelines.
We thought we’d have them in the SEC forever. But now they are all gone. Pinkel retired because of health reasons, Richt was let go at Georgia (but landed at Miami) and Spurrier quit midseason to get out of the way and get in more golf. That’s a lot of coaching experience all gone at once.
Pinkel had 191 career wins. Richt had 145 wins and Spurrier 228. That’s 564 career wins. They were replaced by two career assistants (Barry Odom at Missouri, Kirby Smart at Georgia) and a guy (Will Muschamp) who will take over a South Carolina program after completely flopping as a head coach at Florida.
Thanks for the memories, Gary, Mark and HBC. You’re going to be missed.
Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist and author who is covering SEC football for Saturday Down South.
