The college football season is already halfway over, so I thought I would give my thoughts on what I have seen and what I want to see for the second half of the season. I’ll also give some bold predictions.
####Three thoughts on the first half of the season
1. Legends are hard to replace. Just ask Georgia, Missouri and South Carolina. All three of these teams have struggled out of the gate as they are each having to deal with replacing legendary coaches (Mark Richt, Gary Pinkel and Steve Spurrier, respectively). While each school is in a rebuilding stage, a combined 3-10 conference record is not what fanbases want to see.
2. The Tom Herman sweepstakes is officially on. Another year of Southeastern Conference football, another interesting decision to fire a celebrated coach. LSU’s firing of Les Miles was one that many saw coming, but not four games into the season. After posting a 114-34 record, multiple SEC championships and a national title, Miles was fired in the middle of the season, a decision that was downright disrespectful and embarrassing. Now the Tigers must look to adding a coach, presumably Houston coach Tom Herman, who must try to do better than Miles did. But will LSU be the only Tigers that will need to look for a new coach? Gus Malzahn got off to a rocky start, but now the Auburn Tigers are rolling under a rejuvenated offense. With games against Ole Miss, Arkansas and Alabama left, how will Auburn finish the season? Will 8-4 or 7-5 be enough to keep Malzahn?
3. The future of SEC quarterback play is bright. Between freshmen Jacob Eason, Luke Del Rio, Jalen Hurts and Austin Allen, the SEC will have some star power for years to come. While the transition from high school to college is difficult, each of these quarterbacks has shown the potential that it takes to be a star at this level.
####Three things I want to see in the second half of the season
1. I want to see Texas A&M finish strong. The Aggies are known to do well at the beginning of the year and then falter as the season progresses. That should not happen this year as Kevin Sumlin has everything he needs for continued success this year. Trevor Knight looks like the quarterback we all saw destroy Alabama in the Sugar Bowl just a few years back. Led by Josh Reynolds and Christian Kirk, A&M is stacked at the wide receiver position. If an explosive offense wasn’t enough, John Chavis has built a ridiculous defense that has, in my opinion, a future NFL star in Myles Garrett.
2. I want to see someone challenge Alabama. Yes, they have the best coach, the best players, and, without a doubt, the best team. But can someone please challenge them? An Alabama defeat would be a great thing for college football. While it is one of the most unpredictable sports there is, the prediction of another national title for Nick Saban looks all too easy. An Alabama loss this year would bring upon epic chaos that would make college football even better.
3. I want to see 10 SEC teams go bowling. While it is a “down year” for the SEC, having a double-digit amount of teams playing in the postseason would only reiterate that even in an off year, the SEC still does, and always will, reign supreme in college football.
####Three bold predictions
1. Two SEC teams will make the College Football Playoff. Yes, while it might be crazy to say that now, I predict we see both Texas A&M and Alabama in the Playoff. Alabama in the Playoff would come to the surprise of no one, but A&M? The Aggies have one of the most explosive offenses in the nation and one of the top defensive fronts, led by future top-10 pick Myles Garrett. While I think the Aggies will lose to Alabama this weekend, I see them running the table, forcing the selection committee to face a tough decision come December.
2. No SEC player is invited to New York for the Heisman Trophy. When the season began, the Heisman trophy was predicted to be down to three players; Christian McCaffrey, Leonard Fournette and Deshaun Watson. Due to injury and, frankly, just poor performance, McCaffrey and Fournette can kiss their hopes goodbye. With the emergence of Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson and Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett, the Heisman now looks like a three-man race, without any SEC players.
3. Ole Miss self-imposes a bowl ban. The Rebels are now sitting at 3-3 with a difficult schedule ahead that includes games at LSU and Texas A&M. Due to the ongoing NCAA investigation of the program, and the fact that Ole Miss isn’t really playing for much, the perfect solution would be to accept a bowl ban for this year and go ahead and start looking towards the future. Hugh Freeze would much rather take a ban now than a year when they are actually in contention for a division title.
_Edited by Theo DeRosa and Katherine Stevenson | tderosa@themaneater.com, kstevenson@themaneater.com_
