2013 Southeastern Conference Preview

2013 Southeastern Conference Preview

 

Today, we conclude our college conference previews.  To some, it could be thought that we begin our professional football previews.  The SEC is in a league by itself, Bob Stoops’ opinion notwithstanding.  There have been seasons in the past where an undefeated team from the SEC failed to receive the opportunity to play for the national championship, but those days are long gone.  With one final year remaining in the BCS Bowl alignment, the SEC will try to produce the national champion for the eighth consecutive season.  Alabama owns three of those previous seven championships, including the last two.  No team has ever officially won three consecutive national championships, and the Tide is a heavy favorite to run the table with a memorable season similar to 1992 and 1979.

 

Alabama will be favored in every game this season, but running the table in this league is not much different than running the table in the NFL.  In actuality, five league teams could compete for the national title.  Thus, we shall pick no team to run the table in the SEC.  The only thing that could prevent the SEC from winning that eighth consecutive title is not getting the opportunity to play for it.  Can a 12-1 SEC champion skip over an undefeated team from the Big Ten, Big 12, and Pac-12?  This could be the year where the SEC champ sits in that situation.  Alabama could go 12-1 and have to settle for the Sugar Bowl, because we believe at least two teams from the other power conferences will run the table.

 

Concerning the Tide, Coach Nick Saban cannot automatically inscribe his team’s name on the trophy.  There are spots on both sides of the ball that need new starters.  Yes, this powerhouse reloads rather than rebuilds, but it leaves the Crimson Tide with a couple of liabilities that can be exploited.  One of those new starters that will step in without the team missing a beat is running back T. J. Yeldon.  Yeldon averaged 6.3 yards per rush as the key backup last year, and he showed the nation what he could do in the opener against Michigan

 

Yeldon will draw in defenses for quarterback A. J. McCarron to exploit through the vertical passing game.  McCarron reminds us a lot of another QB that once wore crimson—Bart Starr.  Starr played in an era where Johnny Unitas and Sonny Jurgensen produced the gaudy stats, but Starr was the one cashing the most championship checks.  McCarron actually had a higher passing efficiency than the two top stars at Georgia and Texas A&M.  He completed 67+% of his passes for an average of 9.3 yards per attempt and with 30 TDs to 3 Int.  Those numbers are more than adequate to be considered a top Heisman Trophy candidate.

 

McCarron has most of his receiving targets coming back, including Amari Cooper and his 1,000 receiving yards.

 

On defense, Alabama takes a back seat to nobody, except maybe the Baltimore Ravens.  There are holes to plug in the secondary and in the interior line, but ‘Bama’s second teamers would still go 9-3 if they were a separate team, so the new starters will be much better than average.

 

There are three Western Division teams capable of upsetting the Tide on a given Saturday.  LSU must replace a lot of talent on the defensive side of the ball, but the Tigers start a lot of juniors and seniors.  The underclassmen still get a good deal of experience, so don’t expect much regression in Baton Rouge.

 

Coach Les Miles has an offense that will be potent this year.  Quarterback Zach Mettenberger may be no better than third or fourth best in the division, but he has a chance to play at the next level.  Running backs Jeremy Hill and Kenny Hillard will combine for 1,200-1,500 yards and 20-25 touchdowns.  Almost all the pass catchers return, and the offensive line has four starters that should play for pay in a couple years.

 

According to our preseason ratings, the Ole Miss Rebels are the most improved team in the nation this season.  Second year coach Hugh Freeze surprised fans across the South when he guided the Rebels to a bowl game in his first season, following a disastrous 2-10 mark the year before.  There is a chance Ole Miss could sneak into division title contention if the defensive backfield can improve enough.

 

Freeze welcomes back 19 starters and adds the best recruiting class seen in Oxford since the days of Johnny Vaught.  If it were not for a brutal schedule that finds the Rebels playing at Texas, and at Alabama in back-to-back games, we would forecast a BCS At-large Bowl Bid for this team.  Quarterback Bo Wallace should improve upon his 2012 numbers (63.9%/2,994 yds/22 TD/17 Int.) with a year of experience in Freeze’s no-huddle offense.  Keep an eye on receiver Donte Moncrief, as we believe he is on the cusp of a major breakout season with 85-90 receptions for 1,200 yards.

 

Texas A&M is one of two teams in limbo as the season approaches.  Quarterback and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel has made headlines and could be looking at a suspension for selling autographs.  Even if he plays, we do not believe he has the wherewithal or fortitude to lead his team.  A swollen head rarely performs at peak performance, and it is our opinion that he will not replicate his big statistics of last season.  While our ratings do not factor this belief, they will factor the loss in rating if he cannot play.  Manziel’s loss would cost the Aggies roughly 9.4 points per game.  For now, A&M gets these 9.4 points.

 

Two Western Division schools introduce new coaches to the league in 2013, and both of the pair know how to coach and get positive results.

 

Gus Malzahn takes over at Auburn after guiding Arkansas St. to a conference title.  The Tigers dropped off a mountain in the two years following their national championship, and the Tigers lost their last two Iron Bowl games to their rival by a combined score of 91-14.  Malzahn should immediately produce results in Jordan-Hare Stadium, but the War Eagles have way too much ground to make up in one year and will probably come up short at least one times too many for bowl eligibility.

 

Bret Bielema has landed at Arkansas after doing yeoman’s work at Wisconsin.  He brings a power running game philosophy with big passing targets at the tight end position.  It will take him a couple seasons to create a new mold, as this team was built for the quick passing game.  Year one should see another losing mark in Fayetteville.

 

Mississippi St. began 2012 with seven consecutive wins, but none of those victories came at the expense of a bowl team.  A closing schedule of Alabama, Texas A&M, LSU, Arkansas, and Ole Miss saw the Bulldogs go 1-4, yielding 38.5 points in the four losses.  In the Gator Bowl, MSU lost to Northwestern to make it a 1-5 finish.  It would not surprise us one bit if the Bulldogs lose eight games this year, even though our ratings call for a .500 season.

 

The Eastern Division has not won a conference championship since Tim Tebow led Florida to the 2008 national title.  Last year, Georgia came very close to pulling the upset over Alabama in the title game.  That team was really good, but this team should be even better.  Georgia may actually have the best chance of going 12-0 before the conference title game, but we figure that with a schedule that includes Clemson, South Carolina, LSU, and Florida, as well as Georgia Tech, the Bulldogs will stumble at least once.

 

Aaron Murray must be considered a Heisman Trophy contender.  After all, he was voted as the preseason number one QB by the coaches’ poll ahead of McCarron and Johnny Football.  Last year, he completed 64.5% of his passes for 3,893 yards and an average per attempt of 10.1 yards!  Usually, a double-digit ypa means an option qb threw 60 passes for 600 yards.  No, Murray attempted 386 passes.

 

A couple of high quality receivers are no longer around for Murray, but he still has Malcolm Mitchell and big tight end Arthur Lynch.

 

What makes the Bulldogs so deadly on offense is the running game.  It used to be that teams ran to set up the pass, but Georgia can do it in reverse.  If defenses don’t plan to stop Murray’s downfield passing attack, they are committing suicide.  Thus, putting eight in the box is like playing Russian Roulette with only one empty chamber in the firearm.  Backs Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall teamed for 2,144 yards and 25 scores on the ground in 2012.  It’s pick your poison if you are an enemy defensive coordinator.

 

Now add to the equation the fact that the entire starting offensive line returns, and Georgia fans can expect their team to average 40-45 points and gain 475 to 500 yards per game.

 

The only possible impediment that could keep the Bulldogs from repeating as Eastern champs is a defense that is a bit too generous and must break in a host of new starters.  Alabama torched the ‘Dogs for 512 yards.  Tennessee gained 478.  Nebraska gained 443, and yet UGA won two of these contests.

 

Added to the defensive woes for this season are the losses of Alec Ogletree, Shawn Williams, Jarivs Jones, and Bacarri Rambo, the top four tacklers from a year ago.

 

If Georgia does not win the Eastern Division flag, South Carolina should.  The “Ole Ball Coach” has guided the Gamecocks to consecutive 11-2 seasons, and Steve Spurrier welcomes back enough talent to compete for another 11-win season.  Like Georgia, USC lost a considerable amount of talent on the defensive side, but The Gamecocks have one very big advantage.  They have the best defensive player in college football returning to the defensive flank.  Jadeveon Clowney has no peer at defensive end.  A year ago, the behemoth made headlines for a bone-shattering tackle in the offensive backfield at the Outback bowl, but take a look at his stats, as they are even more eye-popping.  He recorded a league best 23.5 total tackles for loss with 13 sacks.  The SEC routinely has the most NFL-caliber offensive tackles in the nation, and still Clowney could not be contained.  Opponents can eliminate him only by running to the opposite flank.

 

The Carolina offense returns its key contributor for the ninth year in a row.  Spurrier runs the offense much like Tom Landry ran the Dallas Cowboys’ offense for close to three decades.  You can always count on USC to average about 380-400 yards per game and 31-35 points per game.

 

Florida has too much of a rebuilding project this year to be a serious contender in the division, but the Gators have the talent to beat out everybody else for third place.  Jeff Driskel plays in virtual anonymity in a league with so many star signal callers, but he has an NFL arm.  Unfortunately, this year, he does not have the same quality of receivers as last year.  To add to the troubles, the Gators must replace Mike Gillislee at running back.

 

There are more holes on the defensive side of the ball as five of the top six tacklers from last year are gone.

 

After Florida, the next three spots are up for grabs.  Missouri, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt will jostle for the four, five, and six spots.

 

Tennessee welcomes Butch Jones as its new coach.  We believe of the four new coaches to enter the league, Jones will have the most success in year one, as he inherits a team that underperformed greatly in 2012.

 

The offense must break in a new quarterback, and that man figures to be Justin Worley.  Worley benefits by enjoying the best offensive line in the league if not in the entire nation.  The Vols are especially talented inside, and that should bode well for their running back tandem of Marlin Lane and Rajion Neal.  This duo teamed for 1,366 yards, and it is likely that they will move that number north of 1,750 yards this year.

 

Part of the reason for the bump in rushing yards is due to the fact that Tennessee lost two receivers that heard their names called early in the 2013 NFL Draft.  The Vols do not have a receiver on this year’s roster that can equal Justin Hunter and Cordarelle Patterson.

 

Tennessee played matador defense last year, giving up more points and total yards (428 pts/5,666 yards) than any stop unit in school history.  We have a suspicion that having Jones on the sidelines will be worth at least seven points improvement per game on this side of the ball.  If so, look for the Big Orange to return to a minor bowl this year.

 

Vanderbilt is coming off its most successful season since 1948 and first nine-win season since World War I.  Third year coach James Franklin is a hot commodity and has already turned down offers to coach elsewhere.  He has simply led the Commodores to bowl games in consecutive seasons and just signed the best recruiting class in Vandyland since the days of Coach Henry “Red” Sanders.

 

Vanderbilt suffered a major black eye in July, and the wound is still oozing.  Four players were dismissed from school and later indicted for an alleged rape on an unconscious student.  A fifth player has since been indicted for alleged evidence tampering.  The other four had never played for the Commodores, but one of those involved was expected to compete for a starting spot this year and had NFL potential.

 

However, that fifth player was one of the top players on the team.  Chris Boyd was suspended with less than two weeks to go before the opening game, and that leaves the black and gold in a bind.  Boyd would have teamed with Jordan Matthews to form the best two-man receiving punch in the league.  Without Boyd, Matthews figures to see a lot of extra attention from pass defenders.  His catch total might actually go up, but his yards per catch is headed south.

 

Austyn Carta-Samuels takes over for Jordan Rodgers at quarterback.  Carta-Samuels has prior starting experience at Wyoming, but the SEC and the Mountain West are not comparable.  Also missing from the offense is all-time leading rusher Zac Stacy, who rushed for 1,141 yards and 10 TDs last year.

 

The defense should be as talented this year as last, but the offense may force it to stay on the field a bit longer.  The secondary is very talented with two players capable of becoming NFL draft picks.  Andre Hal and Kenny Ladler combined for four interceptions and 19 Passes Defended.

 

Missouri was on course for a rather decent first season in the SEC until star quarterback James Franklin went down with an injury in October.  Three close losses followed, and the Tigers finished 5-7.  Franklin returns for one final season, and MU has the pieces in place to reverse that record and head back to a bowl in 2013.

 

Kentucky has a lot of ground to make up before the Wildcats can compete for sixth in the Eastern Division.  New coach Mark Stoops has already received commitments that would make this next recruiting class one of the best ever in Lexington, but the only thing Wildcat fans can look forward to this fall is the commencing of basketball practice in mid-October.  The Cats could very well go 0-8 in league play for the second year running.

 

New Teams: None

 

Departures: None

 

Pre-season PiRate Ratings

Southeastern Conference
East Division
Team	Conf.	Overall	PiRate	Mean	Bias
Georgia	0-0	0-0	121.4	117.4	121.7
South Carolina	0-0	0-0	119.8	116.7	119.5
Florida	0-0	0-0	117.8	113.3	116.0
Missouri	0-0	0-0	114.1	109.7	112.9
Vanderbilt	0-0	0-0	109.8	106.8	109.2
Tennessee	0-0	0-0	107.6	107.5	107.2
Kentucky	0-0	0-0	100.0	100.9	98.1
West Division
Team	Conf.	Overall	PiRate	Mean	Bias
Alabama	0-0	0-0	132.9	123.9	133.7
Ole Miss	0-0	0-0	122.0	117.2	122.0
Texas A&M	0-0	0-0	122.0	114.7	121.9
L S U	0-0	0-0	120.2	117.3	120.6
Mississippi St.	0-0	0-0	109.2	109.6	109.3
Auburn	0-0	0-0	105.5	103.5	103.9
Arkansas	0-0	0-0	101.7	107.3	99.8
League Averages			114.6	111.8	114.0

 

 

Official SEC Preseason Media Poll

 

Pos	Team	Points	1st Place
Eastern Division
1	Georgia	1570	149
2	South Carolina	1474	75
3	Florida	1300	19
4	Vanderbilt	858	0
5	Tennessee	694	0
6	Missouri	577	0
7	Kentucky	331	0
Pos	Team	Points	1st Place
Western Division
1	Alabama	1681	225
2	Texas A&M	1333	11
3	L S U	1324	7
4	Ole Miss	883	0
5	Auburn	579	0
6	Mississippi St.	516	0
7	Arkansas	488	0
Picks To Win SEC Championship
1	Alabama		182
2	Georgia		38
3	South Carolina		18
4	Texas A&M		4
5	L S U		1

 

Official Media SEC Preseason All-SEC Teams

OFFENSE
First-Team
Pos	Player	Team
QB	Johnny Manziel	Texas A&M
RB	T. J. Yeldon	Alabama
RB	Todd Gurley	Georgia
WR	Amari Cooper	Alabama
WR	Jordan Matthews	Vanderbilt
TE	Arthur Lynch	Georgia
OL	Cyrus Kouandjio	Alabama
OL	Jake Matthews	Texas A&M
OL	Anthony Steen	Alabama
OL	Gabe Jackson	Mississippi St.
OL	Travis Swanson	Arkansas
Second-Team
Pos	Player	Team
QB	A. J. McCarron	Alabama
RB	Tre Mason	Auburn
RB	LaDarius Perkins	Mississippi St.
RB	Keith Marshall	Georgia
WR	Donte Moncrief	Ole Miss
WR	Mike Evans	Texas A&M
TE	Rory Anderson	South Carolina
OL	Antonio Richardson	Tennessee
OL	Jon Halapio	Florida
OL	Chris Burnette	Georgia
OL	JaWuan James	Tennessee
OL	Reese Dismukes	Auburn
Third-Team
Pos	Player	Team
QB	Aaron Murray	Georgia
RB	Matt Jones	Florida
RB	Jeff Scott	Ole Miss
RB	Alfred Blue	L S U
WR	Malcolm Mitchell	Georgia
WR	Jarvis Landry	L S U
TE	Brian Vogler	Alabama
OL	La’el Collins	L S U
OL	Josh Williford	L S U
OL	Wesley Johnson	Vanderbilt
OL	A. J. Cann	South Carolina
OL	Zach Fulton	Tennessee
OL	James Stone	Tennessee
OL	Jonotthan Harrison	Florida
DEFENSE
First-Team
Pos	Player	Team
DL	Jadeveon Clowney	South Carolina
DL	Dominique Easley	Florida
DL	Anthony Johnson	L S U
DL	Chris Smith	Arkansas
LB	C. J. Mosley	Alabama
LB	A. J. Johnson	Tennessee
LB	Denzel Nkemdiche	Ole Miss
DB	Ha Ha Clinton-Dix	Alabama
DB	Craig Loston	L S U
DB	Loucheiz Purifoy	Florida
DB	Deion Belue	Alabama
Second-Team
Pos	Player	Team
DL	Xzavier Dickson	Alabama
DL	Ed Stinson	Alabama
DL	Dee Ford	Auburn
DL	Jeoffrey Pagan	Alabama
LB	Adrian Hubbard	Alabama
LB	Jordan Jenkins	Georgia
LB	Lamin Barrow	L S U
DB	Damian Swann	Georgia
DB	Andre Hal	Vanderbilt
DB	Marcus Roberson	Florida
DB	Vinnie Sunseri	Alabama
Third-Team
Pos	Player	Team
DL	Garrison Smith	Georgia
DL	Daniel McCullers	Tennessee
DL	Alvin Dupree	Kentucky
DL	C. J. Johnson	Ole Miss
LB	Ronald Powell	Florida
LB	Tahj Jones	L S U
LB	Trey DePriest	Alabama
LB	Avery Williamson	Kentucky
DB	E. J. Gaines	Missouri
DB	Charles Sawyer	Ole Miss
DB	Jalen Mills	L S U
DB	Chris Davis	Auburn
SPECIALISTS
First-Team
Pos	Player	Team
P	Kyle Christy	Florida
K	Carey Spear	Vanderbilt
Ret	Odell Beckham, Jr.	L S U
All-Purp	Bruce Ellington	South Carolina
Second-Team
Pos	Player	Team
P	Cody Mandell	Alabama
K	Cody Parkey	Auburn
Ret	Bruce Ellington	South Carolina
All-Purp	Odell Beckham, Jr.	L S U
Third-Team
Pos	Player	Team
P	Steven Clark	Auburn
K	Zach Hocker	Arkansas
Ret	Andre Debose	Florida
All-Purp	Loucheiz Purifoy	Florida

 

 

PiRate Ratings Summary

 

About Grades

93-100         A+

86-92           A

79-85           A-

72-78           B+

65-71           B

58-64           B-

51-57           C+

44-50           C

37-43           C-

30-36           D

0-29             F

 

About Predictions

Predictions are based on the PiRate Ratings with home field advantage factored in.  The PiRate Ratings use different home field advantages for every game, since the opponent factors into the equation.

 

Eastern Division   Team Florida Gators                 Head Coach Will Muschamp                 Colors Orange and Blue                 City Gainesville, FL                 2012 Record               Conference 7-1 Overall 11-2                 Grades               Run Offense 86 Pass Offense 76 Run Defense 87 Pass Defense 84                 Ratings               PiRate 117.8 Mean 113.3 Bias 116.0                 Rankings               PiRate 14 Mean 18 Bias 19                 Prediction               Conference 5-3 Overall 8-4     Team Georgia Bulldogs                 Head Coach Mark Richt                 Colors Red and Black                 City Athens, GA                 2012 Record               Conference 7-1 (lost in SEC Champ. Game) Overall 12-2                 Grades               Run Offense 94 Pass Offense 97 Run Defense 80 Pass Defense 75                 Ratings               PiRate 121.4 Mean 117.4 Bias 121.7                 Rankings               PiRate 9 Mean 3 Bias 8                 Prediction               Conference 7-1 (lose in SEC Champ. Game) Overall 11-2     Team Kentucky Wildcats                 Head Coach Mark Stoops                 Colors Blue and White                 City Lexington, KY                 2012 Record               Conference 0-8 Overall 2-10                 Grades               Run Offense 61 Pass Offense 70 Run Defense 69 Pass Defense 60                 Ratings               PiRate 100.0 Mean 100.9 Bias 98.1                 Rankings               PiRate 57 Mean 59 Bias 71                 Prediction               Conference 0-8 Overall 3-9     Team Missouri Tigers                 Head Coach Gary Pinkel                 Colors Black and Gold                 City Columbia, MO                 2012 Record               Conference 2-6 Overall 5-7                 Grades               Run Offense 77 Pass Offense 92 Run Defense 76 Pass Defense 70                 Ratings               PiRate 114.1 Mean 109.7 Bias 112.9                 Rankings               PiRate 30 Mean 30 Bias 31                 Prediction               Conference 3-5 Overall 7-5     Team South Carolina Gamecocks                 Head Coach Steve Spurrier                 Colors Garnet and Black                 City Columbia, SC                 2012 Record               Conference 6-2 Overall 11-2                 Grades               Run Offense 72 Pass Offense 92 Run Defense 89 Pass Defense 84                 Ratings               PiRate 119.8 Mean 116.7 Bias 119.5                 Rankings               PiRate 12 Mean 6 Bias 12                 Prediction               Conference 7-1 Overall 11-1     Team Tennessee Volunteers                 Head Coach Butch Jones                 Colors Orange and White                 City Knoxville, TN                 2012 Record               Conference 1-7 Overall 5-7                 Grades               Run Offense 79 Pass Offense 74 Run Defense 73 Pass Defense 66                 Ratings               PiRate 107.6 Mean 107.5 Bias 107.2                 Rankings               PiRate 40 Mean 37 Bias 41                 Prediction               Conference 3-5 Overall 6-6     Team Vanderbilt Commodores                 Head Coach James Franklin                 Colors Black and Gold                 City Nashville                 2012 Record               Conference 5-3 Overall 9-4                 Grades               Run Offense 75 Pass Offense 72 Run Defense 70 Pass Defense 81                 Ratings               PiRate 109.8 Mean 106.8 Bias 109.2                 Rankings               PiRate 37 Mean 39 Bias 38                 Prediction               Conference 2-6 Overall 6-6     Western Division									Utah Utes
Team	Alabama Crimson Tide
Head Coach	Nick Saban
Colors	Crimson and White
City	Tuscaloosa, AL
2012 Record
Conference	7-1
Overall	13-1
Grades
Run Offense	98
Pass Offense	97
Run Defense	100
Pass Defense	97
Ratings
PiRate	132.9
Mean	123.9
Bias	133.7
Rankings
PiRate	1
Mean	1
Bias	1
Prediction
Conference	7-1
Overall	12-1

 

 

Team	Arkansas Razorbacks
Head Coach	Bret Bielema
Colors	Cardinal and White
City	Fayetteville, AR
2012 Record
Conference	2-6
Overall	4-8
Grades
Run Offense	70
Pass Offense	66
Run Defense	80
Pass Defense	55
Ratings
PiRate	101.7
Mean	107.3
Bias	99.8
Rankings
PiRate	50
Mean	38
Bias	59
Prediction
Conference	1-7
Overall	5-7

 

 

Team	Auburn Tigers
Head Coach	Gus Malzahn
Colors	Burnt Orange and Navy
City	Auburn, AL
2012 Record
Conference	0-8
Overall	3-9
Grades
Run Offense	69
Pass Offense	72
Run Defense	68
Pass Defense	72
Ratings
PiRate	105.5
Mean	103.5
Bias	103.9
Rankings
PiRate	43
Mean	45
Bias	44
Prediction
Conference	1-7
Overall	5-7

 

 

Team	L S U Tigers
Head Coach	Les Miles
Colors	Purple and Gold
City	Baton Rouge, LA
2012 Record
Conference	6-2
Overall	10-3
Grades
Run Offense	90
Pass Offense	88
Run Defense	85
Pass Defense	79
Ratings
PiRate	120.2
Mean	117.3
Bias	120.6
Rankings
PiRate	11
Mean	4
Bias	9
Prediction
Conference	6-2
Overall	10-2

 

 

Team	Ole Miss Rebels
Head Coach	Hugh Freeze
Colors	Harvard Crimson and Yale Blue
City	Oxford, MS
2012 Record
Conference	3-5
Overall	7-6
Grades
Run Offense	88
Pass Offense	93
Run Defense	90
Pass Defense	78
Ratings
PiRate	122.0
Mean	117.2
Bias	122.0
Rankings
PiRate	7
Mean	5
Bias	6
Prediction
Conference	6-2
Overall	9-3

 

 

Team	Mississippi St. Bulldogs
Head Coach	Dan Mullen
Colors	Maroon and White
City	Starkville, MS
2012 Record
Conference	4-4
Overall	8-5
Grades
Run Offense	75
Pass Offense	73
Run Defense	82
Pass Defense	69
Ratings
PiRate	109.2
Mean	109.6
Bias	109.3
Rankings
PiRate	38
Mean	31
Bias	37
Prediction
Conference	3-5
Overall	6-6

 

 

Team	Texas A&M Aggies
Head Coach	Kevin Sumlin
Colors	Maroon and White
City	College Station, TX
2012 Record
Conference	6-2
Overall	10-3
Grades
Run Offense	84
Pass Offense	99
Run Defense	78
Pass Defense	84
Ratings
PiRate	122.0
Mean	114.7
Bias	121.9
Rankings
PiRate	6
Mean	12
Bias	7
Prediction
Conference	5-3
Overall	9-3

 

 

This closes the college football conference previews.  Beginning Monday, we commence with our NFL previews.  Additionally, on Tuesday, we will publish our regular weekly college ratings and spreads for week one of the FBS season.