BYB Top 25 Countdown - #5 South Carolina Gamecocks

No other player than Johnny Football is as big a star as Jadeveon Clowney. For the time being though, all of the hype around Clowney comes from his play on the field. Sure, there was intriguing talk about a meeting with Jay Z but the meet did not violate NCAA rules and meeting a rap legend is an opportunity most would not pass up, despite what it means for his future representation.



The hit Clowney had in the Outback Bowl against Michigan was ESPN’s top play for months and was only ushered out of its place by a touchdown run by a child with cancer in Nebraska’s spring game. No in game play in any sport in recent memory captured our attention like Clowney’s hit.

The junior defensive end spearheads a talented defense that returns four other starters, including overshadowed defensive line mate Kelcy Quarles who could very well join Clowney on the All-SEC first team defensive line. The Gamecocks also return three starting defensive backs who should benefit from Clowney instilling fear in at least three opposing quarterbacks by his count. That number will grow this season.

It’s not like Steve Spurrier to be overshadowed but that what has Clowney has done to his sneaky good offense. Sure, the Gamecocks aren’t going to be confused for Oregon anytime soon but Connor Shaw is effective running the zone read and has the ability to hit open passers.

No shoes? No shirt? No Spurrier

Dylan Thompson will pitch in quarterback in more traditional passing situations and both QBs have a good group of undersized targets in returning starter Bruce Ellington and juniors Damiere Byrd and Nick Jones.

The offensive line returns four starters who will be counted on to open holes for running backs Mike Davis and Brandon Wilds who will be replacing Marcus Lattimore.

The trip to Georgia Sept. 7 will be an early barometer for this Gamecock squad but they will be fortunate as the Bulldogs travel to play Clemson the week before and could be worn out. The middle of the year is filled with easily winnable games so any loss before the Nov. 16 date with Florida in Columbia would be a true slip up.

The season finale rivalry game with Clemson will be testy given Clowney’s assertion that Tiger QB Tajh Boyd is afraid of him but the Gamecocks have won the last four against Clemson. I have South Carolina at 9-0-3.

BYB Top 25 Countdown - #8 Texas A&M Aggies



Aggie tackle Jake Matthews


Look, I could use this preview as another opportunity to blast college football’s favorite celebrity clown as I love to do but that isn’t fair. It’s too easy. So here’s a Manziel free preview.

A&M did what everyone outside of Bryan/College Station thought was impossible going into the 2012 season – the Aggies competed for the SEC West Division title. The Ags beat college football’s best in Tuscaloosa. Years down the road when we look back and assess Alabama’s dynasty Texas A&M will be discussed just as Texas is whenever USC’s Pete Carroll era dynasty is brought up.

That said, the season wasn’t perfect as A&M was beat twice at home, by Florida and LSU. While Florida is gone from the 2013 schedule, LSU remains and this year the game is in Death Valley. That trip will likely be just as daunting as hosting the revenge showdown with Alabama.

Offensively the Aggies bring back the team’s top two backs, Ben Malena and Trey Williams, who should help lead a rushing attack that finished 11th in the country in 2012. Mike Evans is back at receiver and his tall frame ensures that no ball is out of reach.

The line is without Luke Joeckel, the #2 pick in the 2012 NFL draft, but Jake Matthews will shift over to the left side to guard the blind side and two other starters return from last year’s great line.

The Aggies will have to rebound on defense as the team returns only four starters from a year ago. The team will be relying on players like Kirby Ennis and Steven Jenkins to have strong returns from injury and for instant contributions from new additions like JUCO linebacker Tommy Sanders.

A&M was torched in pass defense last year and corners Deshazor Everett and De’Vante Harris will be needed to pull together an experienced group that will have to be the strength of the defense.

Assuming the QB Who Shall Not Be Named rises from the ashes of his Summer of Goon and is available to lead the team, I see the Aggies with no definite losses but with torturous push games against LSU and Alabama and the potential for failure in a trap game at Ole Miss.

If he isn’t around all bets are off as Arkansas, Auburn, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State immediately get upgraded to push games and LSU and Alabama become definite losses. With Manziel I have the Ags 9-1-2, without him it’s more like 5-2-5.

BYB Top 25 Countdown - #9 Georgia Bulldogs

In the words of a great homeless man - "When you best the Georgia Bulldogs you gonna feel a bulldog bite!"



This seems to be the year Bulldog enthusiasts are pointing to as UGA’s year to shine and looking at the Dawgs’ talent; it’s easy to see why. Georgia returns 10 players from an offensive unit that scored 38 points per game in 2012.

Aaron Murray returns for what seems like his sixth season and he has the best backfield tandem in the country in Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall. Gurley, who was one of my fantasy backs last year, earned first team All-SEC honors after rushing for 1,385 yards and 17 TDs.

Despite the dynamic play of Gurley and Marshall, Georgia actually generated more offense through the air last season and Murray will have big play receiver Malcolm Mitchell back to stretch the field and Artie Lynch at tight end. Georgia did a poor job of protecting Murray but four starters come back on the line and should do a better job this season.

The Bulldog defense will be short on experience this season as the team returns only three starters on that side of the ball. The two deep is still tenuous and UGA will be counting on underclassmen to get settled into position quickly in fall practice. Two of the three returning starters, linebacker Amarlo Herrera and Damian Swann, figure to compete for All-Conference.

The young defense will be tested early and often as Georgia starts the season with Palmetto state showdowns, traveling to Clemson in the season opener and hosting South Carolina in its second game.

After a tune up against North Texas the Dawgs hosts LSU. If Georgia is 4-0 at the end of that slate then it has to be the #1 team in the country but it could just as easily be 1-3. Those three games and the Cocktail party showdown in Jacksonville against Florida are push games. I have Georgia at 8-0-4.

BYB Top 25 Countdown - #10 Florida Gators

Florida QB Jeff Driskel

Will Muschamp and the Gators turned the corner in 2012, going 11-1 in the regular season before a disappointing loss to Louisville in the Sugar Bowl. The main talking point for Florida going into this season is the expected improvement Jeff Driskel will have this season.

Driskel averaged only 137 yards passing per game in 2012 but was efficient, throwing only five picks. He will be expected to open up the Florida offense that was largely dependent on the running of the now departed Mike Gillislee. Matt Jones replaces Gillislee at running back and senior all-purpose player Trey Burton will also see action out of the backfield.

At receiver the Gators are young and thin so contributors will have to develop as the season goes on to complement the returning Quinton Dunbar.

The Gators return only four players on defense but there is a great pool of talent. Dominique Easley who was a beast at end for the Gators in 2012 moves inside to tackle and will be an All-American candidate. He will be replaced at end by talented newcomers Johnathan Bullard, Dante Fowler and junior Ronald Powell, who is back after an ACL injury.

The Gators are young at linebacker but Antonio Morrison had a great season as a contributor and should lead a good group. Florida’s defensive strength may be at defensive back where the team returns starters in Marcus Roberson, Louchelz Purifoy and Jaylen Watkins.

Florida’s non-conference schedule features scrimmages with Toledo and Georgia Southern but also tough push games with intrastate, non-conference rivals Miami and Florida State. The Gators will also be tested in its annual Cocktail Party game against Georgia and in trips to Death Valley to play LSU and to Columbia to play South Carolina. I have Florida at 8-1-3

BYB Top 25 Countdown - #14 LSU Tigers

LSU QB Zach Mettenberger

The team generating the least amount of buzz in the SEC heading into the season is also the program that’s been the most consistently competitive and successful in the last decade – LSU.

Les Miles’ squad is sporting a lot of new faces this season as the team returns only nine starters, six on offense and three on defense. Among the news faces is offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, whose sacrificial lamb style midseason firing from the Baltimore Ravens sparked the team’s run to the Super Bowl.

Cameron’s top objective will be polishing quarterback Zach Mettenberg who had a decent season in his first full year as a starter in 2012, passing for 2,069 yards and 12 TDs in a game manager type role.

Mettenberger will have two of his top targets from last season, Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry, at his disposal so the pass could figure more prominently in the Tigers’ offensive gameplan but running the ball will continue to be LSU’s prime focus. The Tigers welcomed Jeremy Hill back to the team after suspending him for a sucker punch that a judge later ruled did not violate his probation. Hill and top reserves Alfred Blue and Kenny Hilliard form a great tandem and will run behind a line that returns three starters.

Miles and defensive coordinator have the tough task of restocking a defense hit hard by the loss of upperclassmen. Linebacker Lamin Barrow returns to lead the team from the middle linebacker spot. He tallied 104 tackles and 7.5 tackles as a junior. The secondary will be the strength of the defense as Jalen Mills returns at corner and Craig Loston returns at safety. Despite being a first year starter, expect Anthony Johnston to be an All-SEC contender and another in the line of great LSU defensive tackles.

While the Tigers suffered key losses all over the field the schedule is winnable. LSU starts with a tough game in Arlington against LSU but should have enough to beat a Horned Frog that wasn’t that great a year ago.

LSU will be a heavy underdog against Alabama for the first time in Les Miles’ career and it looks like a loss with all that Alabama brings back. The Tigers will also be tested at Georgia and in home games against Florida and Texas A&M. I have LSU at 8-2-2.