Breaking Down SEC Football For The 2018 Season

I drive by two local high school football stadiums on a regular basis and each time I do so it reminds me of how close we are to a new gridiron campaign.

That has been especially true in recent days as a new season is just around the corner, literally weeks away. For those of you like myself it is certainly a welcome thing.

The Southeastern Conference, in fact, is hosting its annual media days this week although the 2018 edition is in Atlanta rather than Birmingham. The change in venue is surprising for several reasons.

First, I don’t recall an announcement being made about the move. As much as I tune into the SEC Network I am shocked I had not heard this discussed. To me when it comes to SEC football, the city of Birmingham always come to mind.

I realize the SEC championship game has been played in Atlanta for a long time (and is now actually on its second stadium within the city) but I am still curious as to what prompted the change for media days.

Perhaps it’s because the SEC higher ups feel Atlanta is more upscale than Birmingham. Atlanta does not have an SEC team located within its borders (Athens is not Atlanta folks.) In fact, Atlanta is home to a storied Atlantic Coast Conference school as well as an upstart program in Georgia State which played in a bowl game after the 2017 season.

One result of the media days venue change that most would not think about is how some outlets who cover the event will not be there this year. For many radio stations in smaller towns in the Southeast this event was a way to get interviews with SEC coaches and officials, as well as the players who attended.

However, the cost of staying in Atlanta as opposed to Birmingham has forced some to skip the trip.

It will be interesting to see if the SEC continues to hold its media days in Atlanta. Birmingham just seemed to be a better fit.

While I will not be at SEC media days, here are a few thoughts on the upcoming season:

•Alabama will win the West.

•Georgia will win the East but will be pushed by South Carolina and maybe even an on-the-rise Florida.

•It won’t completely happen in 2018 but Florida is on its way back up under new head coach (and former Gators offensive coordinator) Dan Mullen.

•Jimbo Fisher will prove not to be worth the money Texas A&M is paying him. This was an odd hire in my book.

•The LSU head coaching job will be open after 2018.

•Arkansas will struggle in 2018. It takes two or three years to get back on solid footing after such a drastic change in offensive schemes the Razorbacks are going through.

•Kentucky will once again start the season fast only to crash and burn by November.

•Auburn will push Alabama in West.

•Vanderbilt will continue to play solid defense but also continue to struggle in a big-time way on offense.

•UGA radio play-by-play man Scott Howard will continue to try to be a Larry Munson-style homer but only sound foolish, over-the-top and out of control in doing so. The same goes for UGA sideline reporter and Foghorn Leghorn imitator Chuck Dowdle.

•With Munson calling games in the great beyond, Alabama radio play-by-play announcer Eli Gold will continue to be the class of the SEC.

Chris Bridges is a former sports editor for MainStreet Newspapers. You can send comments about this column to pchrisbridges@gmail.com.