HOOVER, Ala. -- Even a conference that boasts six consecutive BCS championships has warts. The SEC doesn't have a perfect team, or else the season wouldn't be very much fun to play. The national champion didn't even win the conference last season, something Steve Spurrier made an effort Tuesday to point out. (Who rips Bama?)
But there are weaknesses, even among the SEC's favorites -- and, mind you, the SEC's favorites have to be among the favorites to win the national title. Missouri Tigers receiver T.J. Moe, the snarky darling of the league's first of three media days, had a different take: "It's not like all 12 teams are winning a national championship every year. Only one has done that each year. It doesn't mean we can't beat some of the other teams."
Quite naturally, for every weakness, the teams are trying to find answers in those problem areas. Here are the biggest issues and potential solutions for the projected top three on both sides of the conference.
Eastern Division
Florida Gators
Concern: Playmakers in passing gameBoy, this department sure has changed since Urban Meyer had Percy Harvin lining up -- and running wild -- all over the field. One-and-done coordinator Charlie Weis never could find a bona fide home run threat, even if part of the problem was erratic quarterback play that made it nearly impossible to get the ball up and out to the team's receivers.
To read the rest of Travis Haney's blog on the biggest weaknesses facing the top six SEC title contenders, you must be an ESPN Insider.
Travis Haney
ESPN Insider• Joined ESPN as Insider's national college football writer in April 2012
• Previously wrote for The Oklahoman and The Post and Courier
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Travis HaneyTravis Haney joined ESPN in April 2012 as Insider's national college football writer. He previously covered the University of Oklahoma Sooners for The (Oklahoma City) Oklahoman for one season, and the University of South Carolina Gamecocks for The (Charleston, S.C.) Post and Courier for four. Additionally, Haney has contributed since 2003 to ESPN publications and projects, including ESPN The Magazine.
A native of Cleveland, Tenn., Haney's initial introduction to a college football cathedral was Neyland Stadium. He later graduated from the University of Tennessee, in 2003, and has spent time covering the Volunteers, the University of Georgia, Clemson University, and other schools. Safe to say, football, and football in the South, was injected into his bloodstream at a young age.
Haney is the author of three books -- Gamecock Glory and Gamecock Encore, which chronicled the South Carolina baseball team's run to the 2010 and 2011 national championships, and State of Disunion, a historical look at the Clemson-South Carolina football rivalry that he co-wrote with Larry Williams.
Haney resides in Charlotte, N.C. You can follow him on Twitter here.
