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Midseason review: SEC’s 10 biggest surprises (so far) in 2014
By Ethan Levine
Published:
The SEC has been more unpredictable than ever in 2014, and the insanity dictating the first half of the season has affected all 14 SEC teams in one way or another.
Before we make the turn to the second half of the season, let’s look back at the 10 biggest surprises from the first half of the 2014 season:
10. Dak Prescott’s Heisman campaign. Most fans and experts familiar with Prescott knew he had Heisman potential entering the year, but no one could have seen Prescott emerge as the favorite to win the prestigious award at the midpoint of the season. The Mississippi State quarterback has been the most dynamic player in the SEC thus far, stunning the rest of the conference in leading his Bulldogs to their first No. 1 ranking in school history.
9. Florida’s continued struggles on offense. Florida wasn’t going to post the SEC’s No. 1 offense this year, but after bringing in offensive coordinator Kurt Roper from Duke to overhaul the offense, Gators fans expected more of an improvement than UF has shown in 2014. The Gators are 11th in the SEC in total offense and scoring offense, and quarterback Jeff Driskel has completed fewer than 50 percent of his passes for fewer than 100 yards twice in five games this year.
8. The brilliance of Shane Ray and Markus Golden. Most thought the Missouri defensive line might show some regression after losing last year’s starting defensive ends — Michael Sam and Kony Ealy — to the NFL. Instead, the tandem of Ray and Golden has been the best combination of defensive ends in the conference. Both players rank in the top 5 in the SEC in sacks and tackles for loss, and as a team Mizzou is third in the conference in both categories.
7. Blake Sims winning Alabama’s quarterback job over Jacob Coker. After seven weeks, Nick Saban’s choice to start Blake Sims at quarterback appears to have paid off. However, it wasn’t such an easy decision. When the Crimson Tide opened training camp in August, many thought the job was Coker’s to lose. Saban and offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin surprised most Tide supporters in electing to start Blake Sims in the opener against West Virginia, and seven weeks later Alabama remains ranked in the top 10 in the country.
6. Missouri’s home loss to Indiana. The Tigers took the SEC East by storm last year, winning their first division title in only their second year in the conference. Most expected Mizzou to sustain that success this season with the return of Maty Mauk, but a stunning home loss to Indiana derailed the Tigers’ season before they even reached SEC play. Missouri has laid a few eggs since, including a fortunate win over South Carolina and an embarrassing loss last week to Georgia, but it was the Hoosiers who truly exposed Mizzou’s flaws in 2014.
5. LSU’s fall from the top 10 out of the rankings. The Tigers were expected to take a small step back after losing 18 players to the NFL the last two years, but few expected LSU to free fall the way it has this season. LSU was once ranked as high as No. 8 in the nation, but now sit outside the rankings altogether. The Bayou Bengals have already lost twice in just half a season, and they narrowly avoided two more losses in close wins over Wisconsin and Florida. It’s fair to say this is LSU’s worst team in the Les Miles era, dating back to 2005.
4. Kenny Hill’s early season success. Hill had perhaps the toughest task of any single player in the SEC as Johnny Manziel’s replacement at quarterback in Texas A&M’s offense. No matter, he’s wildly exceeded expectations in his first seven games as a starter. The sophomore broke Manziel’s school passing record in his first career start against South Carolina, and led A&M to a 5-0 start before back to back losses to Mississippi State and Ole Miss. He’s thrown for more yards and touchdowns than anyone in the SEC, and the Aggies remain one of five SEC West teams in the current rankings.
3. South Carolina’s 3-3 start to the year. South Carolina began the year ranked in the top 10 and considered by most as the favorite to win the SEC East. Those expectations flew out the window quickly after the Gamecocks gave up 52 points and lost by 24 on opening night to Hill and A&M. Since that game South Carolina’s season has been an inconsistent mess. The Gamecocks narrowly avoided disaster at the hands of East Carolina, gave up 34 points to a Vanderbilt offense averaging just 17 points per game this year, then gave away two double digit fourth quarter leads to Missouri and Kentucky to drop to 2-3 in the SEC. Winning the East is out of the question, and South Carolina is just hoping to get to seven wins by season’s end.
2. Kentucky’s 5-1 start to the year. By the middle of October, the Bluegrass has normally forgotten about its football team and turned its attention to John Calipari and the star-studded basketball program. However, Kentucky’s 5-1 start this season has been impossible for fans to ignore. At the midway point of the season, the Wildcats have more wins than their last two full seasons combined, and they’re currently in a three-way tie for first place in the SEC East standings. No one could have seen Kentucky’s football resurgence coming, not even UK fans. This team has something to play for in the second half, and for the first time in years the Cats will be a factor in the SEC down the stretch.
1. The state of Mississippi’s football success. Three years ago Ole Miss couldn’t even win an SEC game. Five weeks ago Mississippi State was unranked altogether. Suddenly, MSU is No. 1 and Ole Miss is not far behind at No. 3 in this week’s national polls, and the two teams have combined to win four games over top 15 opponents the last two weeks to take the college football world by storm. The two biggest schools in the Magnolia State make up one-third of America’s remaining unbeatens, and both have a realistic chance at competing for a national championship this winter. Most fans across the country had never paid either program any mind; now the Rebels and Bulldogs have become impossible to ignore. No matter how the second half of the season shakes out, the state of Mississippi has been the SEC’s greatest first half surprise.
A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.
