SEC Media Days, Vols unanimously picked to finish 3rd

#1
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WA_Vol

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#1
Auburn picked to win title; Vols 3rd in East
2006-07-29
by John Brice and

Leonard Butts

of The Daily Times Staff

HOOVER, Ala. -- Auburn was an overwhelming pick to win the Southeastern Conference title in voting by the media at the league's annual media days. The Tigers, who were SEC champions en route to a 13-0 season in 2004, garnered 73 of a possible 104 first-place votes. Florida, narrowly projected to win the SEC East over Georgia, had 11 voters choosing it to win the title. It's the largest voter participation in SEC Media Days history.

``Appreciate the target you put on my back,'' Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville joked to writers Friday morning. ``The last time you did that, you almost got me fired. We're looking forward to the challenge. It's going to be a big challenge.''

Tennessee, which had nine nods to win the East, was picked third behind the Gators and Bulldogs. South Carolina was fourth, Kentucky fifth and Vanderbilt sixth. In the West, it was LSU, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and Mississippi State filling out the projected pecking order.

``None of that really matters,'' Auburn wideout Courtney Taylor said. ``We have been in that situation before. You can't believe that you are No. 1 in this league. Each year you have to start over. We like to have that kind of respect, but we haven't earned it yet.''

Not surprisingly, Auburn also led the way with 12 players selected to the media's preseason first-, second- and third-team All-SEC squads. Tigers Tim Duckworth (OL), Kenny Irons (TB), Will Herring (40) and David Irons (DB) were first-team picks.

Tennessee's Arron Sears, listed on 95 ballots, was the leading vote-getter on offense. Ole Miss linebacker Patrick Willis was the top pick overall with 98 selections.

Georgia and LSU each had 10 players chosen, followed by Arkansas and Florida with eight each. Alabama had seven and Tennessee six. Other Vols voted onto the squads were: Justin Harrell (1st, DL); Arian Foster (2nd, TB); Jonathan Hefney (2nd, DB); Jonathan Wade (3rd, DB); and James Wilhoit (2nd, PK).

Florida's Chris Leak garnered 69 votes as the first-team quarterback.

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#4
#4
Auburn is screwed now. Only twice in 14 years has the media day pick won the SEC, and only 4 times have they actually made the Championship Game.
 
#6
#6
I'm surprised they didn't pick the gators. They did pick the right team, but history tells us they probably won't win it.
 
#7
#7
My prediction for the SEC is:

East
1. Tennessee 4. South Carolina
2. Georgia 5. Kentucky
3. Florida 6. Vanderbilt

West
1. LSU 4. Alabama
2. Auburn 5. Ole Miss
3. Arkansas 6. Mississippi State

LSU will win it all. I am not a homer that picks UT to win every game but I think that UGA's QB uncertainty and the fact that UF is running a high school offense we have a very good shot at winning the East.
 
#8
#8
(utvol0427 @ Jul 29 said:
My prediction for the SEC is:

East
1. Tennessee 4. South Carolina
2. Georgia 5. Kentucky
3. Florida 6. Vanderbilt

West
1. LSU 4. Alabama
2. Auburn 5. Ole Miss
3. Arkansas 6. Mississippi State

LSU will win it all. I am not a homer that picks UT to win every game but I think that UGA's QB uncertainty and the fact that UF is running a high school offense we have a very good shot at winning the East.
Click to expand...

Compare UT's offense last year to Florida's. Tell me who's looks more like a high school? Probably Florida's, because UT's was probably more on par with a lot of middle schools. As for Florida's offense. Pretty much every offensive coordinator and their mom is trying to rip off that "high school offense." And give me a break. It may not work so well next year, but give Tim Tebow and the rest of Meyer's players a year or two to get in the system, and you might regret mocking it. Ask Georgia how gimmicky the spread offense West Virginia used against them was. Also, everyone thought that Spurrier's offense was some cheap gimmick. All you have to do is look at our record against him to figure out how that's panned out. I think it's a bit premature to compare Meyer's team to a high school, when we clearly lacked the discipline to play with them last year.

Also, QB uncertainty didn't stop Georgia from toppling our best team this century (by far) in 2001. Fulmer has been embarrassed a number of times by Richt, so I wouldn't feel too confident heading into that game.
 
#9
#9
I like our position, hopefully the trend of the Media being wrong will continue:

Pre Season Media SEC East Picks

2004
1.Georgia
2.Florida
3.Tennessee *SEC East Champs*

2005
1.Tennessee
2.Florida
3.Georgia *SEC East Champs*

2006
1.Florida
2.Georgia
3.Tennessee *SEC East Champs??*
 
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