Randy Smith
Excitement is the key word to describe things in Big Orange Country for 2016. In fact, I haven't seen this much sheer excitement around the Volunteers in more than a decade. Tennessee is ranked in the top ten in practically every pre-season poll, and the Vols are the odds on favorite to win the SEC East by a substantial margin. Here's the way I see the SEC East in 2016.
7. Kentucky: The Wildcats have started strong for three straight years under Coach Mark Stoops and for three straight years U.K.
has tanked in the second half. In 2015, the Cats lost six of their last seven games and they have not been to a bowl game since 2010. All Kentucky fans want is to go back to a bowl game, which means they must win at least six games. Playing in the SEC that is hard for mediocre teams to do. Kentucky has Stanley "Boom" Williams returning to the backfield as one of the SEC's best running backs. As far as defense goes the Cats must replace their entire front seven from a year ago, which could be a good thing. Kentucky ranked 12th or worse in every defensive statistical category in the SEC in 2015.
6. South Carolina: I'll go ahead and predict the Gamecocks will be the ugliest team in the SEC for 2016. They may actually win a few games, but when they win, they will win ugly. In all fairness, new head coach Will Muschamp did not inherit much talent at all. And in all actuality, when he did inherit some talent at Florida when Urban Meyer left, he failed to do much with it. This may be the kind of team Muschamp can coach. One that isn't expected to do very much at all. USC could surprise a few people but the tough SEC schedule will eventually wear the team down. At the end of spring practice, Muschamp still had not chosen a starting quarterback. When that happens, there is still much to be done for the Gamecocks to be competitive.
5. Vanderbilt: As coach Derek Mason enters his third season as head coach of the Commodores, continued improvement is expected. Two wins in his first season, four last year and now the Vandy fans are counting on at least six wins and a bowl game. That may not be a realistic expectation. Vandy is very shorthanded offensively, but the Black and Gold defense will keep them in a lot of games. Vandy beat Missouri last year 10-3 and lost a heartbreaker 9-7 at Florida. If the defense continues to play that well, maybe Mason can achieve that six wins total. Vandy has a killer schedule as they open the season at home against South Carolina, then host Conference USA divisional favorite Middle Tennessee State. Five wins may be more realistic.
4. Missouri: Barry Odum takes over the reins in Columbus as the new Tigers' head coach. We can look for the defense to play well again but he has to find someone to breathe some life into the Mizzu offense. Missouri was absolutely terrible last year averaging a mere 13.6 points per game. That area needs a lot of work, and Odum may have found the guy to do that. Former Oklahoma quarterback Josh Heupel is the Tigers' new offensive coordinator. While he doesn't have a lot to work with, Heupel must depend on the defense to keep games close until he figures out a way to score some points. Picking the Tigers fourth may be a bit high, but after you get past the first three teams in the SEC East, they're all pretty equal.
3. Georgia: Former Alabama defensive guru Kirby Smart begins his tenure in Athens as the head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs, returning to his alma mater. While the cupboard is not bare, it's not as talented as recent Georgia rosters have been. Still, keeping standout running back Nick Chubb healthy is a big goal. If Chubb has a good year and the Bulldogs get solid play at quarterback, they will most definitely compete for the SEC East title. The biggest game on the schedule is the home game against Tennessee onOctober 1st. It will be very interesting to see how the Bulldogs fare against North Carolina in the season opener in Atlanta. A win there and Georgia will likely be 3-0 when they play at Ole Miss onSeptember 24th.
2. Florida: There was absolutely no doubt that Gators' Coach Jim McElwain did the best coaching job in the SEC in 2015. This year however, nobody and I mean nobody will take playing the Gators for granted. You can look for Florida to have a super defense again and an improving offense, though there will be plenty of newcomers on that side of the ball. Redshirt sophomore transfer Luke Del Rio will likely be the starter in Gainesville, and he has a super attitude as well as a talented throwing arm. Depth on the defensive side of the ball could be a problem, but the Gators will compete for the SEC East title in 2016. However that eleven game winning streak over Tennessee comes to an abrupt end on September 24th.
1. Tennessee: Last year I tabbed the Volunteers to win the East and face Alabama in the SEC Championship game. Though I should have known better, the Vols were still just a few plays away from winning the East, despite their 5-3 SEC record. I resigned myself to see I was just a year ahead of schedule. Two years in a row, the Vols were better than Florida but still didn't snap the streak. If U.T. will take 'em one at a time they have a great chance to run the table this year. The only real question mark is the Vols passing game. Quarterback Josh Dobbs is a real key to what could be a powerful offense, But throwing the ball down the field has been sort of a problem for Dobbs. his receivers are more than adequate if he can get the ball to them. Keeping everyone healthy is also a big key for Coach Butch Jones. If the Vols do not win the East, Jones knows how quickly the Big Orange fan base can turn against him. Unless I'm terribly wrong, this is going to be a special year on Rocky Top!
SEC Championship Game: Tennessee over LSU.
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Randy Smith has been covering sports on radio, television and print for the past 45 years. After leaving WRCB-TV in 2009, he has written two books, and has continued to free-lance as a play-by-play announcer. He is currently teaching Broadcasting at Coahulla Creek High School near Dalton, Ga.
His career has included a 17-year stretch as host of the Kickoff Call In Show on the University of Tennessee’s prestigious Vol Network. He has been a member of the Vol Network staff for thirty years.
He has done play-by-play on ESPN, ESPN II, CSS, and Fox SportSouth, totaling more than 500 games, and served as a well-known sports anchor on Chattanooga Television for more than a quarter-century.
In 2003, he became the first television broadcaster to be inducted into the Greater Chattanooga Area Sports Hall of Fame. Randy and his wife Shelia reside in Hixson. They have two married children, (Christi and Chris Perry; Davey and Alison Smith.) They have four grandchildren, Coleman, Boone, DellaMae and CoraLee.