Missouri and Texas A&M find themselves facing a challenge:
adjusting to the Southeastern Conference after spending the last 16
years in the Big 12. Given this challenge, will these newcomers find
themselves crushed in their first year of SEC football or will they make
a splash in their first season?
Let’s take a look at the Aggies first. Most analysts seem to agree that the SEC West is the tougher of the two divisions. That should mean that A&M will struggle, right? Probably not. The Aggies entered the conference looking SEC ready, and with new head coach Kevin Sumlin bringing his explosive offensive system and new defensive coordinator bring both head coaching and coordinating experience, the team looks solid. I think that 8-4 is well within reach for the Aggies this season, but I would call Mississippi State and Missouri toss-up games. The bottom line for A&M is this: anything less than bowl eligibility has to be considered a failure.
Missouri has the easier division to play in, but they also bring in a less conference ready team. The offense should be great, but the defense isn’t capable of holding up week in and week out against the bruising offenses of the SEC. They should be able to outscore every non-conference opponent on their schedule, but within the conference they are probably on par with Vanderbilt. Their game against Vandy should be a coin-toss, and their best chances for pulling a much needed upset are Tennessee and Texas A&M. Mizzou could end up earning bowl eligibility, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them fall short.
So where does that leave the newcomers? Well, they should rapidly assume a role as middle-of-the-pack SEC teams, which isn’t the worst place to find yourself. I don’t expect them to get any extra effort from any of the SEC veterans, but they certainly won’t get any slack either.
Let’s take a look at the Aggies first. Most analysts seem to agree that the SEC West is the tougher of the two divisions. That should mean that A&M will struggle, right? Probably not. The Aggies entered the conference looking SEC ready, and with new head coach Kevin Sumlin bringing his explosive offensive system and new defensive coordinator bring both head coaching and coordinating experience, the team looks solid. I think that 8-4 is well within reach for the Aggies this season, but I would call Mississippi State and Missouri toss-up games. The bottom line for A&M is this: anything less than bowl eligibility has to be considered a failure.
Missouri has the easier division to play in, but they also bring in a less conference ready team. The offense should be great, but the defense isn’t capable of holding up week in and week out against the bruising offenses of the SEC. They should be able to outscore every non-conference opponent on their schedule, but within the conference they are probably on par with Vanderbilt. Their game against Vandy should be a coin-toss, and their best chances for pulling a much needed upset are Tennessee and Texas A&M. Mizzou could end up earning bowl eligibility, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them fall short.
So where does that leave the newcomers? Well, they should rapidly assume a role as middle-of-the-pack SEC teams, which isn’t the worst place to find yourself. I don’t expect them to get any extra effort from any of the SEC veterans, but they certainly won’t get any slack either.
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