Game-by-game breakdown

-Mercer: W
Not much to say here.

-@Tulane: W
Solid early-season test for us and a lot of people are buying Tulane after they upset USC last year, but unlike USC, our defense will have a pulse.

-Georgia Tech: W
Georgia Tech is headed in the right direction after firing Geoff Collins, but they have a long way to go.

-@Alabama: L
Playing in Tuscaloosa is always hard. Alabama looks poised to be more ground-and-pound than in previous years, which doesn't bode well for us given our front seven isn't super deep. We'll score, but lose by 7-10 points.

-LSU: L
LSU has some absolute studs on defense that will cause problems for Dart and Judkins. This game will be much lower-scoring than last season, but LSU will take an early lead and not let it go.

-Arkansas: W
I'm not buying the Razorback hype. I know they have multi-year veterans at QB and RB, but they lost tons of production at WR, OL, DL, LB, and DB, and they haven't recruited well enough in Pittman's tenure to survive massive turnover (average class rank of 27 over the past 4 cycles).

-@Auburn: W
We are snake-bitten at Jordan-Hare, and there will be a lot of eyes on Hugh Freeze this season. I'm predicting a win because of uncertainty at QB for Auburn and general lack of impact players throughout Auburn's roster. They'll be better in future years.

-Vanderbilt: W
If we lose this game, oh boy.

-Texas A&M: W
This is a tough one to predict and A&M will more than likely take a big step forward this year, but I like us at home in this one. Our offense will hum along and the defense will make just enough plays for us to win by one score.

-@UGA: L
I'll make my first-ever trip to Athens this fall to watch this game. Georgia is just a superior team with superior coaching and superior athletes, and we play them on the road. Could get ugly late.

-Louisiana Monroe: W
Solid G5 team, but not good enough to beat us at home.

-@State: W
The Bulldogs lost a lot of production at WR and in the secondary, seem to be changing up offensive schemes, and are of course adjusting after losing Mike Leach (RIP). Will Rogers will keep them afloat, but we will be superior offensively and good enough defensively to win a slugfest in Starkville.

9-3 (5-3), which would be an incredible season given our SOS.

This post was edited on 8/17/23 at 12:52 pm