Why the SEC Media got the 2015 postseason predictions wrong

After Southeastern Conference Media days came to a close on July 16, the conference released the SEC Media’s picks to win the East, West and SEC Championship.

By a narrow margin, the Auburn Tigers were selected by the media in attendance to win the SEC Championship. However, Auburn wasn’t even the media’s favorite to win the SEC West.

That honor went to the Alabama Crimson Tide.

More from Alabama Crimson Tide

The Crimson Tide won the Western Division vote after receiving only three votes for fourth place or lower. Auburn received 26 of those same kinds of votes.

Georgia was predicted to win the SEC East by a slightly larger margin as most of the media doesn’t see how Tennessee or Missouri can take the Dawgs out of the top spot.

But to all of these predictions I say, SEC media, you have got this all wrong.

The media predicted that Auburn will win the SEC Championship but 26 people don’t think Auburn will finish better than fourth of six teams. Auburn also has an unproven quarterback in Jeremy Johnson.

Sure, he will have the offensive brains of Gus Malzahn to support him and guide him through his first year at the helm of the Tiger offense but in no way can anyone guarantee Auburn will win the SEC this year, let alone the Western Division.

Because if we are making assumptions that Auburn will be just as good as last year due to a group of solid defensive players and a few offensive weapons with a fresh face at quarterback to lead the way. The same argument could be made that the Ole Miss Rebels will win the SEC in 2015.

Sep 20, 2014; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide offensive lineman

Cam Robinson

(74) lines up against Florida Gators at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

The smarter option would have been to stick with the SEC powerhouse, Alabama to win the West and the SEC Championship. In the last three years, the Crimson Tide have lost a total of five games, two coming in postseason bowl games, and have plenty of talent that can lead them to another SEC title.

The Tide will be led by their offensive line and solid running game in 2015 and will have no problem cleaning house in the SEC for another year. Linemen Ryan Kelly and Cam Robinson will open up huge holes for running backs Derrick Henry and Kenyan Drake to run through. Tack on the blocking ability and down the field threat of tight end O.J. Howard and you have an offense poised to score a lot of points no matter who is receiving the snaps under center.

At each level of the defense Alabama also returns impact players. From defensive line to the linebacking core and the defensive backs this is a well rounded team that can easily win the SEC Championship. The Crimson Tide have fewer questions to answer about their teams ability and will win the Western Division this season over Auburn and anyone else who tries to dethrone the powerhouse.

The SEC media also predicted the winners of the Eastern Division incorrectly. Sure, the Georgia Bulldogs are talented, they have a superstar player in Nick Chubb and plenty of players who can make an impact but every year the Bulldogs let the fans and preseason polls down.

The Georgia Bulldogs are consistent, but consistent given the fact that they can’t break the good to great threshold. Since their last losing record season in 2010, the Bulldogs have gone 10-4, 12-2, 8-5 and 10-3 but can’t win against the best teams in the country and fail to live up to the preseason hype that surrounds them every year.

This season, the Bulldogs will again be a good team with a solid winning record at the end of the season making a nice bowl game that won’t mean anything but to add another trophy to the case in Athens.

But Georgia will not win the SEC East.

The SEC East will be won by the Missouri Tigers. The SEC media predicted that the Tigers will finish third in the East behind the Dawgs and Tennessee, but they have one of the easiest schedules this season and have won the East both of the last two years.

What will be different this year?

Jan 1, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Missouri Tigers quarterback

Maty Mauk

(7) runs to the end zone for a score during the second half in the 2015 Citrus Bowl at Florida Citrus Bowl. Missouri wins 33-17 over Minnesota. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Not much. The Tigers return quarterback Maty Mauk who threw for over 2,500 yards in 2014 and they will continue to score tons of points. In 2014 the Tigers averaged 27.8 points per game while holding their opponents average to under 22 points.

Since joining the league in 2012, the Missouri Tigers have been the quiet sleeper team that always seems to have a good record and be ranked in the nation’s Top 25 at the end of the season. That is because they are dominant. While this year’s team might not have any superstars like first round NFL Draft pick Shane Ray. Missouri will win the SEC East and it will be evident after they take down Mississippi State the first weekend in November.

If the Tigers are clicking when November rolls around, they won’t have a problem defending home turf against the Volunteers and taking a road win at Arkansas to end the season sending them to the title game.

The Eastern Division winner has no chance at beating any team that wins the Western Division but at least the media predicts that this season the East will be a little more competitive.

I on the other hand, think it will be same old same old. Georgia and Tennessee will not live up to expectations. Kentucky and Vanderbilt will have a hard time winning conference games. Missouri will stealthily rise to the top of the East and the Florida Gators will improve but will not yet return to national prominence (they need a quarterback first).

The Media also predicted the preseason All-SEC teams and the biggest shock is that the predictions are really it is what anyone could have predicted. A lot of the players on the All-SEC teams were athletes that attended media days on behalf of their universities and the media stuck to the numbers from 2014 in predicting who will do well this year.

The biggest surprise of the SEC preseason teams were that Johnson from Auburn and wide receiver Pharoh Cooper from South Carolina were on the All-SEC Second-Team.

Johnson because he is unproven. Joshua Dobbs from Tennessee (Third-Team All-SEC) or Mauk from Missouri would have been much better picks for the Second-Team all conference but the media thinks that Johnson will be the next wiz kid running Auburn’s offense.

As for Cooper, he is a First-Team snub. The media put Laquon Treadwell from Ole Miss on the First-Team but he is returning from injury and no one knows if he will really be a factor. But Cooper is going to have a breakout season in 2015 and prove to the media that he should have been on that First-Team.

We will see how the 2015 season plays out and see if the media was indeed correct. The SEC is the nation’s toughest conference and it’s hard to predict who will come out on top. The All-SEC teams could easily change due to injuries or under-the-radar stars.

Since 1992 the SEC Media Days have only predicted the correct SEC Champion five times including last year’s Alabama team.

More from Southbound and Down

Home/Alabama Crimson Tide

SEC Football: Why the SEC Media got the 2015 postseason predictions wrong

By Ryan Summers | Jul 23, 2015

More from Southbound and Down