Dooley’s Dozen: Breaking down the X-Factor teams in the SEC
Usually, as we make our way through talking season (also known as the summer in some places), we look at the teams in the Power Five conferences and identify the teams we like to call X-Factors.
That’s a fancy way of saying we have no idea what a team here or there is going to do this season.
But in the SEC, it feels like the league has turned into the X-Men. There are so many teams that we are clueless about that we can make an argument for 12 X-Factors.
Now, that is assuming Alabama and Georgia are going to dominate the league again even though Alabama has a lot of holes to fill on the offensive line and Georgia lost 15 players to the NFL draft.
Seriously, unless someone is just trying to get clicks or podcast listeners or just wants to be different, it’s difficult to make the case for any of the other 12 teams winning either division.
But they all can make a case for being X-Factors. Dooley’s Dozen looks at the reasons we really are perplexed with everything but the top of the SEC.
Texas A&M Aggies – X-Factor 8.5
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This is a baffling one because the Aggies brought (or is it bought?) in the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class, but you can’t count on freshmen feeling the major voids on a team, especially on the defensive line. Critics will also point to Jimbo Fisher’s record in the last six years as a head coach – 29-20 in conference games. The easy answer for A&M is that the Aggies are a year away. So, what about this year? Don’t know.
Tennessee Volunteers – X-Factor 8.1
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The Vols have a lot of momentum going with Josh Heupel and Neyland Stadium is again a rough place to play. But let’s not forget that Tennessee was 7-6 last year and lost the Music City Bowl. The Vols are going to be picked by most to finish second in the East and the schedule is not that tough. This could be a big year for Tennessee, but remember that the seven teams UT beat last year were a combined 37-49.
LSU Tigers – X-Factor 8.0
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Go ahead and try to figure out what the Tigers are going to do. LSU has underachieved massively since the national championship season and brought in a carpetbagger to solve the problem. Brian Kelly’s culture change seems to have affected him more than his team, but that’s another story. It seems like LSU is the No. 1 X-Factor team every year in the SEC.
Auburn Tigers – X-Factor 7.5
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Bryan Harsin survived a coup attempt, but he lost a lot of players. Still, he has enough talent to have a winning season and one would hope that he has changed and the people around him have changed. But there are no guarantees. And, oh yeah, you have to go to Alabama and Georgia this season.
Kentucky Wildcats – X-Factor 7.2
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This love for Will Levis is getting a little out of hand. Remember that he threw the same number of interceptions as [autotag]Emory Jones[/autotag]. And Kentucky has a lot to replace on the offensive line. At the same time, Mark Stoops has had two 10-win seasons in the last four years to get his Kentucky record over .500. He also has never lost fewer than three conference games in his nine seasons. I don’t know what to think.
Ole Miss Rebels – X-Factor 6.9
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Lane Kiffin has declared himself the King of the Transfer Portal and is coming off a Sugar Bowl. But you don’t hear a lot of love for the Rebels because they are such an unknown. The early part of the schedule will have Ole Miss in the top 15 in the country, but the back end could be a rude awakening (at A&M, LSU and Arkansas; Alabama and Egg Bowl at home).
Mississippi State Bulldogs – X-Factor 6.5
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Hey, we like coupling these two together because they don’t like each other. If Will Rogers continues to improve at quarterback, the Bulldogs may have something despite a brutal schedule. But if they don’t get the running game going, meh. Mississippi State got better last year, but can it show another step forward? Only if a bunch of redshirt freshmen come through.
Florida Gators – X-Factor 6.2
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We know about the schedule, and we know that [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] is working hard on changing the culture. We also know he has admitted he doesn’t have enough players to be a contender. But can he find lightning in [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag], the guy who must be great for Florida to be great? The sample size is not large enough to say.
Missouri Tigers – X-Factor 6.0
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Last year, there were a lot of people who thought Mizzou was the team who could give Georgia a race in the East. They were wrong. The Tigers went 3-5 in the SEC and the jury is still out on Eli Drinkwitz. Maybe Missouri thrives without the high expectations. We’ll see.
Arkansas Razorbacks – X-Factor 5.9
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We know that Sam Pittman is going to have his guys ready to play. We know he has a talented quarterback. We also know he has the toughest schedule in the country again. It’s difficult to jump on the bandwagon and buckle up when the first seven games include bookends Cincinnati and BYU, and Alabama and Texas A&M in the middle.
South Carolina Gamecocks– X-Factor 5.5
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Remember, I’m not ranking the teams in order of how I think they will finish. I’m talking about expectations and how difficult this league is going to be this year except at the top. South Carolina thinks Spencer Rattler is going to be great, even if he lost his last job. They might be. But there is a tradition in Columbia (other than those three [autotag]Steve Spurrier[/autotag] years) to play up and down and we saw that last year.
Vanderbilt Commodores – X-Factor 3.1
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You pretty much know what you are going to get here, but the one caveat is that most coaches do better in their second years. Clark Lea won zero conference games in his first year and the Commodores probably won’t let that happen again. Then again, who are they going to beat?
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