With summer upon us and fall moving quickly — too quickly — toward us, we’re starting to get plenty of “fall preview” questions when we appear on radio talkshows across the Southeast.  Having answered the question, “What intrigues you about School X” umpteen times already, we thought it might be a good time to put all of the topics that most interest us together in one or two posts.

Below you’ll find our look at the SEC East and the seven questions — one per team — that we look forward to having answered in the fall…

Florida

Can offensive coordinator Brent Pease and head coach Will Muschamp put enough skill position talent around quarterback Jeff Driskel to make him successful?  Driskel showed flashes of dual-threat abilities last season, but the Gator offense continued to slump, just as has since Tim Tebow departed Gainesville.  It’s time some of those hotly-recruited tailbacks and receivers on the Gator roster stepped up and gave the Gator QB some help.  Driskel needs some help from someone.

Georgia

Can defensive coordinator Todd Grantham get enough out of a rebuilt defense for UGA to capture another East Division crown?  With so many parts returning on offense, it’s expected the Bulldogs will be able to put up points a’plenty.  But can they stop the league’s other teams from putting up points on them?  UGA ranked 4th in the SEC in scoring defense (against conference foes) last season.  To reach Atlanta again, Grantham and crew will probably need to have similar success… and his crew will feature a lot of new faces.

Kentucky

How will offensive coordinator Neal Brown’s “Air Raid” offense mesh with head coach Mark Stoops’ defensive background?  Stoops has talked about creating a Florida State-type strong defense in Lexington.  Brown’s throw-it-all-over system — a throwback to his days at UK under Hal Mumme — actually has Wildcat fans excited for football season.  Now, we don’t expect everything to come together in Year One, obviously, but will they start to come together at all?  Check the stats and you’ll find that pass-happy, up-tempo offenses are rarely paired with tough-as-nails defenses.  Maybe it’s because those defenses don’t get enough rest between series or perhaps it’s because there’s no smashmouth offense to go against in practice, but it’s rare to see a pass-first team sport a brickwall defense.  (Example: Bobby Petrino’s teams at Arkansas.)

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The LVH Hotel and Casino recently updated its odds for the 2014 BCS Championship race and, not surprisingly, the Southeastern Conference rules the top of the list.  In fact, six of the top eight favorites to win the national title next January all play ball in the SEC.

Such odds speak to two things.  First, the SEC’s power during the BCS era (nine of the 15 title-winners under the current set-up have come from the SEC).  Second, that past success — coupled with dominance in each year’s NFL draft — has helped create a strong perception among gamblers that Mike Slive’s league is just about the safest bet in the casino.

The odds:

1.  Alabama 5/2

2.  Ohio State 6/1

3.  Oregon 7/1

4.  Georgia 10/1

5.  Texas A&M 12/1

6t.  LSU 15/1

6t.  South Carolina 15/1

6t.  Florida 15/1

9.  Stanford 18/1

10.  Clemson 25/1

All other squads are at least 30/1 according to the LVH.

In the SEC, Arkansas and Tennessee can still be had at 300/1 odds.  Vanderbilt, Missouri, and Ole Miss are set at 500/1.  Auburn and Mississippi State are 1000/1 shots.  And Kentucky is still a “field” bet at 30/1.

It’s no secret Alabama coach Nick Saban wants a nine-game SEC schedule.  South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier has an idea on how he can get there – play Tennessee each year as a non-conference game. Here’s what Spurrier told Matt Hayes of The Sporting News.

“Nick Saban wants nine games, well he can have nine and be happy. Yep, nine games against conference opponents—but one of them won’t count, that’s all.

“Our commissioner seems to think if Alabama-Tennessee is not a conference game, no one will want to watch it. I told him, you think no one wants to watch South Carolina play Clemson? We’ve got North Carolina in the first game of the season; a border rival, our stadium will be full. You think no one will want to watch that?

“If the commissioner doesn’t think that’s a big game, he should come watch it. So there you go, Nick can have his nine (conference) games. I’m all for it.”

Spurrier’s idea could extend beyond Alabama-Tennessee and include other traditional rivalries such as Auburn-Georgia and Ole Miss-Vanderbilt.  He told Hayes he suggested the idea at last month’s meetings in Destin but it gained little traction.

SEC Football

1. Five players reportedly leaving Kentucky. Down to four scholarship receivers until incoming freshmen arrive. ”When you have a new coach taking over a 2-10 team, some bags are going to be packed.”

2. Tennessee running back Marlin Lane reinstated?

3.South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier 38 wins away from breaking Bear Bryant’s record for most conference victories by an SEC coach and drawing inspiration from the pope.

4. Recalling Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin’s first SEC Media Days appearance and his assessment of the SEC West:  ”What’s my assessment? It’s a pretty damn hard league.”

5. Alabama an early six point favorite over Texas A&M, first time less than touchdown favorite since 2012 BCS championship game. Crimson Tide 11.5 favorite over LSU.

6. Is Mississippi State a trap game for LSU?

7. Nick Saban is not opposed to a duel-threat quarterback at Alabama: “You would like to always be able to recruit players that fit your system. But sometimes that’s not always possible.”

8. Alabama makes the honor roll for academic success.  Saban:  ”I think that speaks volumes for the commitment that we have to academics…”

9. Saban wants 10 BCS games: “So if everybody played 10 BCS games, we’d certainly play nine in the conference.”  What about a national rival game for every SEC team?

10. A vision of an SEC regular-season kickoff game in Birmingham?

11. A chance to revive the Missouri-Illinois series in St. Louis?

12. Auburn coach Gus Malzahn on Jay Prosch:  ”He has a chance to be one of the better H-backs we’ve ever had.”

13. Former Arkansas quarterback Mitch Mustain on his relationship with Malzahn: “My and Gus’s relationship is generally that of any former athlete and coach, especially ones who have shared times like we have.”

14. Dukes assistant coach Leon Wright joining Les Miles’ staff at LSU as a graduate assistant.

SEC Basketball

15. Former Missouri guard Michael Dixon is officially a Tiger, a Memphis Tiger.

16. Dixon on Missouri coach Frank Haith and assistant Tim Fuller: “They have been tremendously supportive of me. I love them for that and always have and always will.”

17. Florida will play Dixon’s new team in the Jimmie V classic in New York in December.

18. Frank Martin adding Perry Clark as an assistant coach at South Carolina.

Extras

19. Florida State looking for an athletic director.  Randy Spetman has left the position.

20. Oklahoma State Mike Gundy facing a lawsuit that involves an Oklahoma t-shirt.

21. Outgoing North Carolina chancellor says it’s time for A.D.s to handle athletics.

D-Day Anniversary

22. 69 years ago today, Operation Overlord started.  D-Day invasion led to Allies victory in Europe less than a year later. Ceremonies in France today.

23. President Reagan’s speech at the 40th anniversary: “These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs.”

1. A whirlwind week at Missouri where the Tigers lost their top 2013 recruit and unexpectedly picked up a 2013 commitment from a defensive tackle in Texas.  Four-star running back Chase Abbington is headed to Hutchinson Community College this fall. Meanwhile, 6-foot-1, 295-pound defensive tackle DeQuinton Osborne officially committed to the Tigers Friday night.  Because of grade issues, he was expected to go the JUCO route but raised his grades his last semester in school to qualify.

2. Georgia signee DeVondre Seymour is likely headed to prep school. Here’s what the coach of the offensive lineman told the AJC: “A lot of that is being handled on the other end by Georgia, so that’s kind of in their hands right now, in terms of where he is. But they’re trying to go the prep school route…”

3. One of the top 2014 prospects in the state of South Carolina says he wants to play for the Gamecocks.  Tight end Kevin Crosby Jr. announced his choice Saturday.  Crosby picked South Carolina over Alabama and Clemson.

4. The sons of both LSU coach Les Miles and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron are participating in the Elite 11 quarterback camp. Both fathers got to see their sons participate at Ohio State Saturday.

5. Wide receiver Cameron Sims took part in a one-day camp at Ole Miss Saturday.   The Monroe, La. prospect is also making stops at  Auburn today and then Mississippi State, Georgia and Alabama before heading back to Ole Miss Friday.

6. Four-star quarterback and Kentucky commit Drew Barker is actively using Twitter to get additional recruits to Lexington.  ”Great players want to play with great players and I’m just trying to get the best players here possible. So far, we’re doing a pretty good job.”

SEC Football

1. Depending on the recruiting source, Tennessee either has the No. 1 or No. 2 recruiting class in the country.  The Vols now have 14 commitments in the class of 2014.  The latest verbal commitment – defensive end Joe Henderson from Shaker Heights, Ohio.

2. With the commitment of three-star offensive tackle Paul Adams from Nashville, three of Missouri’s ten commits are from the state of Tennessee.

3. Kentucky’s ninth commitment in the class of 2014 is Stone Mountain, Ga defensive back Jared Tucker.  Tucker’s other SEC offers included Tennessee, Florida and South Carolina.

4. Tampa linebacker Vincent Jackson has cut his list to 12 schools.  Six of them are in the SEC - Alabama, Auburn, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Tennessee,  and Texas A&M.

5. Here are the linebacker candidates Alabama is targeting in the class of 2014.

6. Auburn is targeting these quarterbacks in next year’s class.

7. Alabama associate A.D. Thad Turnipseed is headed to Clemson to become Dabo Swinney’s director of recruiting operations.

8. Former Georgia commit Demarre Kitt says he now intends to sign with Clemson. The wide receiver picked Clemson over his finalists of Tennessee, Ohio State and Florida State.

9. Running back Nick Chubb of Cedartown, Ga. is reportedly deciding among Auburn, Georgia and South Carolina.

10. Fifteen top seniors from the state of Louisiana have been nominated to play in the 2014 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. You can check out a list of all the nominees here. 

11. Linebacker Traver Jung from Greeneville, Ms. is headed the JUCO route after his ACT score kept him from qualifying.  Headed to Holmes Community College, he’s drawing interested from Arkansas, Ole Miss and Mississippi State.

SEC Basketball

12. Could center Jahlil Okafor and guard Tyus Jones - both 2014 prospects interested in Kentucky – go to the same school? “Would go down as one of the best package deals in recent memory.”

Earlier today we informed you that Auburn assistant coach Dameyune Craig had plenty of praise for Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron.  McCarron’s coach, Nick Saban, is also more than willing to sling some attaboys at rival players.

Speaking of South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney this week, Saban said:

“I think he’s a fantastic player and I think he’s the most dominant player in our league, especially on defense.  He plays a position where you can disrupt the game and he certainly does that extremely well.  It was no surprise to me.  We thought he was the best player in the country and was going to be this kind of player…

He’s done a fantastic job at South Carolina of developing and maturing into a consistently fantastic dominating guy that is very disruptive to the game.  It’s no surprise to me.  I have a lot of respect for him and what he’s been able to do.  I think he’s going to have a great career.”

Clowney — a junior-to-be — is expected to be the first pick in next spring’s NFL draft.

Another coach has decided to tweak the SEC’s nose and this time he’s not a Big XII’er.  Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher told The Tallahassee Democrat this weekend that the ACC compares quite well against the SEC.

Asked what his conference needed to do to get more national respect, Fisher said:

“Wake y’all media people up a little bit (laughing).  I say that jokingly, but if you look at the numbers, perception is a huge part of it.  When you look at number of recruits in the top 150 players in the country, SEC and ACC are by far the top two.  So it’s the two most athletic, competitive conferences.  Now we (as a conference) have to win more games.

Everybody says that about us (Florida State), but we’ve only lost to one SEC team (in three years).  Florida last year was the first time we’ve ever lost to one.  We beat Florida (twice), beat South Carolina… (Last year’s Florida game was) the first one we’ve lost.  We beat Notre Dame.  Beat South Carolina in a bowl game.  Now we have to keep winning games and make ourselves relevant again.  And I think the (NFL) draft also proves it…

Perception sometimes… once something’s said over and over and over again… sometimes it’s not always reality.”

Fisher is correct on two fronts.  First, recruiting grades and NFL draft results do suggest that the ACC has plenty of talent within its borders.  Second, the ACC has “to keep winning games” to make itself relevant again.

The Southeastern Conference not only leads the way in recruiting rankings and NFL draftees, it wins on the field.  Among the five power conferences, the SEC’s bowl record is far and away the best dating back 15 years.  The league has won nine of the 15 BCS championship games played since 1998.  The only SEC squad to lose a BCS title game (LSU) was beaten by another SEC team (Alabama).

The ACC has talent.  It just needs more of its teams to use that talent to win ballgames.

Four-star 2014 prospect Drew Barker says he’ll play his college football at  Kentucky.  Barker, a quarterback from Hebron, Kentucky, made the announcement just moments ago. Barker’s decision came down to Kentucky or South Carolina, with Tennessee also in the mix (those three hats were on the table) and even some whispers about Ohio State.  Regardless, Barker says he’s headed to Lexington and that’s good news for coach Mark Stoops.

Kentucky had made Barker its No. 1 priority since Stoops was hired as coach.  He’s considered a top contender for Mr. Football in Kentucky next season.

How can the Georgia Bulldogs beat South Carolina this year?  By channeling their inner “Mean Machine” and drawing inspiration from Paul “Wrecking” Crewe, of course.  That’s the word from Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, asked Thursday night, how best to handle South Carolina star defensive lineman Jadeveon Clowney. But beyond the reference to the “The Longest Yard”, it’s clear the man in charge of Georgia’s offense is thinking about the potential havoc Clowney can wreak.

“I think we’re gonna do the ol’ Burt Reynolds-Longest Yard, not block and let (Aaron) Murray throw it.

“The guy’s gonna get his. We can’t throw the ball backwards if he’s about to sack us, and we’ve gotta hold on to the ball and not turn a bad play into a catastrophe. That’s what’s gotta happen. Because he’s a great player. He’s one of those guys you sit there and try to (decide): Can you do this, can you do that. … I don’t know. We gotta play hard, and realize that he’s gonna make some plays. And we’ll do some things to hopefully try to discourage him.

“And maybe he’ll change his mind, and maybe decide he’s gotta sit out and go pro. He’s a great player. He’s gonna make plays. But we’ve got good players too. And when we’ve got opportunities to make plays against them, we’ve gotta make plays.”

South Carolina has defeated Georgia three straight years.  ”We’ll be ready for that game. I promise you,” Bobo said.