SEC Football Preview

Although I'm excited about the upcoming college football season, I'm less than thrilled with the quality of season opening games. In the first of only 3 enticing matchups, South Carolina will face the Wolfpack of N.C. State over in Raleigh. Last year, Tom O'Brien's squad posted a 6-7 record, which included a loss to Rutgers in the Papajohns.com Bowl. But, I can't wait to see if heralded QB Russell Wilson can deliver against a stingy South Carolina defense. In 2008, Wilson threw 17 touchdowns and just 1 interception. As a Georgia fan, it will be nice to get a preview of Stephen Garcia and the Gamecocks offense. On the defensive side of the ball, senior South Carolina LB Eric Norwood had 9 sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss last year. He's fun to watch, when your team ain't playin' against his squad. This game will be broadcasted on ESPN and ESPN360.com at 7PM on Thursday September 3.

Two days later, the 2009 season officially begins. The first week of football is highlighted by Georgia's trip to Stillwater, Oklahoma and Alabama's invasion of the Georgia Dome. The Dawgs are facing a much tougher Oklahoma State team than the one they devoured in Athens to open up the 2007 season. Junior QB Zac Robinson leads a dynamic Cowboys offense that averaged over 200 yards rushing AND passing in 2008. #11 is a versatile QB, who can also rack up yards on the ground. Last year, Robinson threw for over 3,000 yards and rushed for over 500. The Oklahoma State signal caller posted 25 passing TDs and ran for 8 more. Can Georgia's defense keep him out of the endzone? What about the Dawgs' DBs? Can they contain playmaking WR Dez Bryant? You can get the answers at 3:30 PM, by watching the game on ABC.

In the nightcap, Alabama and Virgina Tech converge upon the Georgia Dome at 8 PM. This game will also be shown on ABC. The Crimson Tide will field one of the nastiest defenses in the nation, fueled by the presence of big Terrence Cody at DT. His supporting cast includes fellow All SEC caliber athletes in LB Rolando McClain and CB Javier Arenas. The Tide will need to find a replacement for graduated QB John Parker Wilson. Junior Greg McElroy will likely take over the position. If he struggles, highly touted freshman, A.J. McCarron could get some immediate PT.

As far as the rest of the SEC is concerned, September 5 is littered with extremely lame non-conference matchups. I won't be paying much attention to games such as Charleston Southern at Florida or Missouri State at Arkansas. Ole Miss travels to Memphis in a rare Sunday afternoon game on September 6. I might tune in for a quarter or two, just to get a look at Jevan Snead and Dexter McCluster.

*Click on the title of this post to watch SEC Plays of the Year 2008.