re: Honest opinion of LSU's finish in the SEC next year?

LSU will win the West next year if the QB position produces.
I like our chances making the NC game.

Bama -> About the same (3-4 losses) due to key players leaving
Tenn -> Will be better
Ark -> Won't do as well (RM shoes are hard to fill)
Auburn -> Won't be as good (goes without saying)
Miss State -> Will be about the same
Florida -> Will be much better (waaaay too much talent; QB play will be much better)
USC -> Won't be as good. No way USC makes the SECCG next year
Kentucky -> About the same
Georgia -> Substantially better (The team is young and they were starting to gel late)
LSU => Better football team (record may be close); with either a senior QB or takeover by ZM, this offense could be lethal; Even an average offense would have had us in the NC game this year; Our offense will improve far more than our defense could fall

Third in the west.

Stating the obvious here,, but a lot of our success next season depends on the quality of our quarterbacking. How we won 10 games this year while throwing only 7 TDs is beyond me. It's hard to imagine us going 10-2, 11-1 or 12-0 with that kind of output in 2011.

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Bama -> Will be better
Tenn -> Will be better
Ark -> Will be better
Auburn -> Won't be as good
Miss State -> This we own them talk needs to end, they are on the rise. Beat UF this year, played Auburn closer than us, and our victory over them was early and turnovers played a huge roll. Will be better.
Florida -> Could be very scary very quick, I think they win the SEC first year under Muschamp, because of Weis and the talent that's already there.
USC -> No clue. Latimore is coming back. They could be good.
Kentucky -> Who cares, but they seem to beat us even when we are making a run at the NC.
Georgia -> Ofcourse they are going to be better...

LSU => ? We finished 10-2 this year, with some clutch wins over teams that will have the advantage over us next year...

Do we have a shot at the SECW? Im not worried about PP7 leaving, but our LB core seems to be mediocre without Shep.

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Bama will not be better. McCarron is not what you think he is. He is JPW-lite. (Do you even follow recruiting?) And you don't lose Mark Ingram and say they will be better, I don't care how promising Richardson and Lacy are. Ingram was easily the best RB on the field yesterday.

Tenn -> Will be better? Uh, Marginally, but nothing to challenge for the SEC East much less the overall SEC.

Ark -> Will be better? Arguable. Wilson has some Arkansas fans screaming this and that he already is better than Mallett. I think they will notice a difference. But it's hard to lose a Top Ten NFL draft pick with two-year production of 7,000 yards and 60 TD's and non-chalantly say Arkansas will be better.

Auburn -> Won't be as good. That's an understatement.

Miss State -> will be better. Agreed.

Florida -> Could be very scary very quick? No. Brantley is the problem, not just the spread system. Pro-style or not, he is not a good decision maker. And did you see their offensive line? Pitiful. Plus they are losing 3 senior OL starters. And the leftovers have to learn a new sytem. Also, name one Gator RB that fits the pro-style offense. Overall, this is not a recipe for "scary quick".

USC -> They could be good? They lose a lot of leadership on defense, and who knows about Shaw filling in for Stephen Gracia. At best the stay status quo, which was mediocre.

Kentucky -> status quo

Georgia -> Of course they are going to be better... ? Not a given. They will probably lose both OC & DC in a clean house sweep to save Richt's job. No quick turnaround next year.

Does LSU have a shot at the SECW? Actually, they are poised to make a run at the National Championship.

LSU- 3rd in the West again. We start the season with a poor showing against Oregon but conjure up some close, ugly wins on the way to a 9 win season and another glorious Chicken Bowl.

Some here will be thrilled bc the schedule was so tough and we were breaking in a new QB, and hey you can't win them all.

Others will again be disgusted at another year of mediocre passing stats.

(I think Mett plays, but I have no faith that Crowton is leaving.)

We'll be firmly established, as it will be 4 years in a row, as a second-tier SEC team that makes it to second-tier bowls.

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Honest opinion of LSU's finish in the SEC next year?

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We will "finish second" once again. The trend is your friend.

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Did you see that back up QB vs Auburn

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After seeing Garrett Gilbert and John Brantley this last year, I've stopped putting as much stock in backup QB performances when the other team did not gameplan for them.

Although I have no doubt that Petrino develops his QBs as well as any coach in football.

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That is a little different than coming in an making plays on the road against a ranked team in the SEC imo.

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Not to disagree, but Wilson came in against a team that was not playing great defense at the time. I just wouldn't put a whole lot of stock in him for a season based on that one performance.

Alabama could not lose just Jones, but Maze and Hanks. That would be their starting QB, and top 3 receivers. They'll be a team with high school talent that has a lot to prove.

MSU is an improving team, no doubt. Ready to win the West, who knows?

I agree with the point that Florida has Spread talent possibly switching to pro-style. Not that it really means anything, but how did Weis do the last time he faced LSU's defense?

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LSU should be better next year. If LSU doesn't have a BCS bowl type of season next year, and compete for the SEC something went wrong

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but

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We will "finish second" once again. The trend is your friend.

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as evident by Lester never dropping less than 2 games in the reg season, ever, as a HC.