Five SEC bowl results that could spark overreactions
Bowl season is our last chance to enjoy college football before embarking on the eight-month abyss of emptiness known as the offseason. So it’s only natural we take what we see during bowl season and spend eight months blowing it way out of proportion before the start of the next season.
Remember last year’s Sugar Bowl between Oklahoma and Alabama? The Tide had only lost once all year entering the game (the kick-six), and when the Sooners steamrolled ‘Bama in New Orleans it had fans thinking the Tide’s run of excellence had passed, and that a Sooners run of excellence was just beginning.
Oklahoma began the year as the No. 1 team in the country, but fell to 8-4 without a single win over a ranked opponent. Alabama is back at No. 1 at the end of the regular season and is the top seed in the inaugural College Football Playoff. Order was restored, and those reactions to last year’s Sugar Bowl turned out to be overreactions.
So what kind of Sugar Bowl-like overreactions might this bowl season provide us? Here are five potential bowl results that could cause a few overreactions in SEC country this winter:
AUBURN SILENCES MELVIN GORDON
Auburn made a splash by hiring Will Muschamp as its new defensive coordinator, even though he won’t coach in next week’s Outback Bowl showdown with Wisconsin.
Nevertheless, if the Tigers defense rises to the occasion and shuts down Heisman finalist Melvin Gordon in the bowl game, fans will immediately begin expecting Auburn’s defense to be among the best in the SEC in 2015. Muschamp will have no bearing on whether AU can handle Gordon, and his defense in Week 1 of 2015 will still be learning his system.
“Coach Boom” can absolutely turn Auburn’s defense into one of the more feared units in the SEC in the next 2-3 years, but just because the Auburn defense might succeed next week doesn’t mean it’s poised to dominate come opening weekend next year.
GEORGIA LOSES TO LOUISVILLE
Bulldog fans have already begun to grow frustrated with Mark Richt and his lack of a conference title in the last nine seasons. A season-ending loss to Louisville certainly wouldn’t improve his popularity.
Georgia has high expectations for its program, and the Bulldogs have already fallen short of those expectations by losing to two six-win teams as well as arch-rival Georgia Tech, missing on an SEC East title and a New Year’s Six bowl game. It may seem like the sky is falling in Athens, but that doesn’t mean Georgia lacks the talent to win the conference as soon as next season. Thus, fans should not overreact to a bowl loss by sticking Richt on the hot seat entering next season.
Richt has been to SEC championship games before and he continues to funnel four- and five-star recruits to UGA. Even if the Dawgs cap a disappointing season with a disappointing loss to UL, they can get themselves back on track in a hurry. There’s no Reason to panic in the Peach State.
MISSISSIPPI STATE/MISSOURI ALLOW AT LEAST 30 POINTS
Both Mississippi State and Missouri will be playing without their defensive coordinators in their respective bowl games, and if either team allows at least 30 points on defense it’s going to feel like there’s no going on without the departed coordinators.
Geoff Collins left Mississippi State for Florida, and if the Bulldog defense is gashed by the Georgia Tech triple option, it’s going to be a punch to the gut of Clanga Nation. Missouri lost Dave Steckel to a promotion at Missouri State, and if its stout defensive line can’t handle the Minnesota rushing attack the Tigers could look vulnerable to end the year.
Coordinator losses may affect a team in the short term, but those hurdles aren’t hard to clear in the long term. Missouri already made a great hire in bringing Barry Odom back home as DC, and Mississippi State will likely make a popular hire as well when it fills its vacancy.
Even if these defenses struggle just weeks after losing their coordinators doesn’t mean they can’t get their mojo back with new coordinators next season. The Bulldogs and Tigers may allow their fair share of points this bowl season, but it would be an overreaction to think they’ll continue to do so next season.
TENNESSEE DEFEATS IOWA
The Tennessee fan base is excited to have its team back in the postseason, but Vols fans cannot make too much out of a victory if Tennessee was to take down Iowa.
The Hawkeyes are a good team with a great history in bowl games against SEC foes, but this is far from a playoff game. Fans may be excited to claim a bowl win once again, but a win over Iowa will have little bearing on next season.
If UT wins it may gain a modest boost in recruiting, but the class of 2015 will not have the same impact on next season that the class of 2014 did this year. Tennessee has much of its core in place and it is growing as a team, and while a bowl win would be a great accomplishment it won’t help UT survive its daunting SEC schedule next year.
Fans should be proud of a victory — this is not meant to cheapen a bowl win — but those fans must remember that beating Iowa with a month to prepare does not prove a team is ready to win the SEC East. Brick by brick, Volunteer fans.
TEXAS A&M SCORES AT LEAST 35 POINTS
Texas A&M has great odds to score at least 35 points in its Liberty Bowl showdown with West Virginia, but that doesn’t mean Kyle Allen and company are poised to take the SEC by storm in 2015. The Mountaineers played as little defense as the Aggies did this season, and both teams could very well score in the 40s when all is said and done.
But that doesn’t mean A&M can do the same against SEC West foes next season. The Aggies scored 35 points in just two of six SEC West contests this season, proving that although their offense has plenty of talent, it also has plenty of growing up to do.
Allen is still growing as a quarterback, and if A&M turns to five-star prospect Kyler Murray as its signal caller it will be working with a freshman at the position for the second year in a row. That’s not the recipe for a high-scoring offense in the nation’s toughest division.
Texas A&M may score a lot in its bowl game, and it may be better on offense next year than it was this year. But don’t let all the points scored next week get you daydreaming about next season.