Of course, it is too early to predict how SEC football teams will finish their 2022 seasons. Way too early to pick the division winners or the clump of teams below each favorite. In no way is it too early to pick the teams that will come in last in each division.
Check out the betting futures market if you prefer, but oddsmaking will not provide more insight than the following two, ‘Dead, Solid, Perfect’ picks. Note, the ‘DSP’ reference is a tribute to Dan Jenkins’ novel and not the HBO film, that Jenkins probably threw a drink glass at when he saw the movie.
2022 SEC Football East Division – No. 7 – Vanderbilt Commodores
Picking the Dores to finish last again is easy. No offense is intended to Clark Lea, who like Derek Mason before him, deserved a better shot to make it as a head coach.
In 2016, Mason’s Vandy team beat Georgia, Ole Miss, and a ranked Tennessee team. Vanderbilt should have given Mason a lifetime contract. In a 5-7, 2017 season, Vandy beat Kansas State early and finished by beating the Vols again, in Neyland Stadium. In 2018, the Dores beat the Vols again, along with SEC wins over Arkansas and Ole Miss. Their last SEC win came in October, 2019 over Missouri. They have not won an SEC game since.
Clark Lea can do an outstanding job in his second season and Vandy’s range of SEC wins will be zero to two. Mark them down to finish No. 7 in the SEC East
2022 SEC Football West Division – No. 7 – Auburn Tigers
Yes, this post is an effort to shoulder to the front of the ‘Auburn is a dumpster fire’ parade. We have lots of competition.
Two things should happen with Auburn in 2022. One is Bryan Harsin, should have more success after reshaping the roster and the staff to his liking. After seven losses in the 2021 season, including the Tigers’ last six games, the team should not regress.
Plus there is the Auburn football history for the last couple of decades. Going back to Senator ‘Tooberville’ Auburn blossoms into a double-digit win team every three of four seasons. It happened twice under Tubs, once under Gene Chizik, and twice under ‘Offensive Guru’ Gus Malzahn. Coming off just 29 wins in the last four seasons, Auburn is due to be good in 2022.
It is not going to happen. Confirmed by the openly shared perspectives of Auburn insiders, the Tigers are in total disarray. The staff is both weakened and unstable. The roster has had a double door, stream of exiting players. Recruiting is the weakest it has been at Auburn for a long time.
To win with the 2022 roster, Bryan Harsin will have to be one of college football’s best coaches. He isn’t. And worse, there is considerable doubt in Auburn about how much Harsin cares. More than a few Auburn insiders think he will gladly leave, as long as he can collect the remaining chunks of his almost $32M contract.
How bad will Auburn be in 2022? The Tigers can win three games – and maybe not one more. If the 2022 record becomes 3-9, there is little chance Harsin will last the entire season.
The next post in this series will predict the No. 6 finishers in the SEC East and West. After the first two picks, the rest will not be so easy.