When Nick Saban took left the Miami Dolphins to go back to the college ranks, many people cursed him as if he had committed a crime. Watching him on the sidelines at Alabama shows the only mistake he made was leaving college to begin with.

I give the same credit to Saban that I gave Steve Spurrier when he took the South Carolina job; he must like a challenge. That is not to say Alabama is not steeped in tradition. Or, that they don't have one of the more intense fan bases (Over 92,000 at Spring Game). Alabama has many built in advantages over the Gamecocks, but by entering the SEC , Saban entered a league with more big name coaches and players than any other conference.

Arkansas , Auburn , Florida, Georgia, LSU, South Carolina, and Tennessee are all programs that you could potentially see winning a title in the next 3 years. Some more than others, but that is 7 programs. Throw in Alabama, which has to be included with Saban patrolling the sidelines, and the SEC is STACKED!

Given all of that, the college football realist in me knows that circumstances can change is a hurry.

Just look at the top teams throughout many recent college football seasons.

• In 2006 everyone thought OSU vs. UM represented the National title game
• In '05 Kirk Herbstreit and Mark May voted USC the #2 team of all-time...before losing to Texas (Mark May said in the pre-game telecast that if Texas pulled off the upset, they would be the #3 team of all-time).
• Oklahoma was the best team ever in 2003 before getting destroyed in the Big 12 title game by Kansas State and losing again to LSU.
• Miami was supposed to destroy OSU in 2002

How I see the SEC playing out:

Florida may hit a couple bumps in the road this year, with a young defense and many skill positions to replace, but they should be dominant under the direction of Urban Meyer and Tim Tebow.

Meyer used to have "outs" in his contract for ND, UM and OSU. Michigan should have a spot open soon but I'm thinking Urban will be a Gator for a long time.

Arkansas is a train wreck. On their roster they are loaded with Darren McFadden and Felix Jones, among others. The problem is that their fans don't seem to like Head Coach Houston Nutt and Nutt has made some poor decisions. This kind of reminds me of the Minnesota - Glenn Mason relationship. The coach does not really want to be their and fans grow to resent their coach, who is the best they could ever hope for.

The talk is that Georgia went 9-4 last year in an "off year". This year they can prove if that's true. Mark Richt should keep the Bulldogs pointed in the right direction.

LSU is expected to have the best defense in the SEC this year and have a good chance to win the SEC. I mentioned the Michigan job earlier and said Urban Meyer would not take it. I think Les Miles would have a hard time saying no considering Michigan is his Alma Mater.

Before any of that would be considered he has to prove himself this year.

Tennessee has tremendous athletes coming through but consistency is lacking. They have not been dominant like years past and Erick Ainge is going to have a tough time reviving championship glory in his last year.

South Carolina won't go away as long as Steve Spurrier is still their. Hell, if an old Lou Holtz could win games as the Gamecocks coach, then Spurrier sure can. Let's not forget, Steve Spurrier won the ACC...at Duke!

Auburn beat Alabama every year that Mike Shula was head coach. How long will they continue this dominance? Will they win recruiting battles against Saban? Right now it is business as usual and they should be tough across the board.

Alabama needs to take care of business against Auburn. I think Saban will dominate once his pieces are in place. Until then he will have to scratch and claw he way out of SEC mediocrity.

To Summarize:

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