Looking at A&M's 2019 SEC foes

Key departures: C Ross Pierschbacher, DE Isaiah Buggs, TE Hale Hentges, RB Damien Harris, LB Christian Miller

Likely leaving: LB Mack Wilson, S Deionte Thompson, QB Jalen Hurts (transfer), LT Jonah Williams, DE Quinnen Williams, DE Raekwon Davis, LB Anfernee Jennings, TE Irv Smith

Will the offense change? Dan Enos, the QB coach, is going to take over for Mike Locksley next year. Enos ran Arkansas’ offense under Bret Bielema — in other words a far cry from what Alabama is doing this year. Would he change what the Tide has going with Tua Tagovailoa to fit what he’s used to? Odds are the answer is no. That would be a dumb move, and Nick Saban doesn’t hire dumb people.

Might there be chinks in the armor? Eh…maybe. The Tide is surprisingly thin at linebacker and on the defensive line. But there were some thoughts that might be the case this year, too, and they had no trouble at all. And, of course, they’re bringing in a stellar class.

What will their strength be in 2019? Outside of Tua, the backs and the wideouts? Probably the defensive backfield. Patrick Surtain Jr. is already a star, Xavier McKinney came on strong at safety and Trevon Diggs was looking good at the other corner before he got hurt.

Key departures: WR Jared Cornelius, QB Cole Kelley (transfer), G Hjalte Froholdt, G Johnny Gibson, T Brian Wallace, DT Armon Watts, DE Randy Ramsey, LB Dre Greenlaw, CB Ryan Pulley, S Santos Ramirez

Likely leaving: DE McTelvin Agim, RB Devwah Whaley (transfer)

Could next year be worse? The Razorbacks went 2-10 this year and you can argue pretty easily that their best players are leaving. To make matters worse, they’re losing three starters on the offensive line and have no real replacements for them. They’ve got a good recruiting class, but nearly all of them will have to play immediately.

Do they have a QB? Ty Storey played in 10 games, throwing for an underwhelming 1,584 yards, 11 TD and 10 INT. Connor Noland completed less than half of his 43 passes and threw 2 INTs to just 1 TD; John Stephen Jones barely played at all. Freshman KJ Jefferson may get a look by default.

Will Chad Morris get a chance to turn it around? 2018 was bad. 2019 could be another nightmare with so many losses on the offensive line and their top defenders (save LB De’Jon Harris, who has decided to stay) either gone or leaning that way. No team in the conference has more holes.

Key departures: QB Jarrett Stidham, WR Ryan Davis, TE Tucker Brown, FB Chandler Cox, DT Dontavius Russell, LB Montavious Atkinson, LB Deshaun Davis, LB Darrell Williams, RB Asa Martin (transfer)

Likely leaving: WR Darius Slayton, DE Marlon Davidson, DT Derrick Brown, DE Nick Coe, CB Jamel Dean, LB Dee Walker (legal issues)

Do they have a quarterback? After a disappointing season that didn’t come close to his 2017 campaign and likely hurt his draft status, there was a thought Stidham may return for 2019. Instead, he pulled the rip cord anyway and left the Tigers with Malik Willis as the heir apparent. He has thrown a total of 6 passes in his career. 4-star Joey Gatewood is the other option. Neither seems to be thrilling the fan base — indeed, BOTH may transfer — and Auburn is looking at graduate transfer options.

Will the defense recover from its losses? That question may not be answered until Coe and Davidson decide what to do, but Davidson seems almost certain to declare for the NFL draft. Brown is a likely first-rounder, so color him gone. Coe is not as sure a deal, but will probably also go. That’s your entire starting front seven up in a puff of smoke (and the top reserve tackle, Andrew Williams, will be gone too). That group will almost certainly step back.

Is this it for Gus? Auburn fans would like to dump Malzahn now, even with more than $30 million guaranteed on his contract. He’s got a new offensive coordinator, but he’s still the guy calling the shots. But he’ll do it with a subpar offensive line, a new quarterback and a revamped defense.

Key departures: WR Terry Godwin, C Lamont Gailard, DE Jonathan Ledbetter, LB D’Andre Walker, LB Juwan Taylor, CB Deandre Baker

Likely leaving: WR Riley Ridley, S J.R. Reed

Can this team win it all? They have two 5-star QBs (Justin Fields says he’s not leaving), a ton of running backs and plenty of existing depth, not to mention former 5-star transfer WR Demetris Robertson eligible for next year. They look loaded.

Which QB will it be? Jake Fromm has been the guy all year, but Fields is dynamic. Would they really make a switch after two tremendously successful years under Fromm?

Could the secondary be an Achilles heel? The nation’s best corner, Baker, is gone. Reed could follow. Those would be tough guys to replace, depth or not.

Key departures: LG Garrett Brumfield, TE Foster Moreau, RB Nick Brossette, CB Greedy Williams, S John Battle, CB Terrence Alexander

Likely losses: DT Breiden Fehoko, LB Devin White, CB Kristian Fulton, DE Rashard Lawrence

On the rise, or on the decline? With a win in the Fiesta Bowl, LSU will reach 10 wins in 2018. It also got physically beat up in trenches in its losses to Florida, Alabama and A&M. There’s still a ton of young talent, but they could lose key elements if White (almost certainly), Lawrence and Fulton bolt early to the NFL with Williams.

Can Joe Burrow get it done? Burrow has Ed Orgeron’s faith; he proved that in the A&M game when he wouldn’t let anyone else touch the football. But with the big, fast receivers LSU has, they should be a lot better than in the 90s in passing yards (granted, some of that has to do with the incredibly conservative play calling). Burrow is a game manager. That won’t beat Alabama and the Aggies in 2019.

Will the offensive line improve? A&M sacked Burrow 6 times in the 7 OT win (only once in overtime). Alabama sacked him 5 times. The Tigers had trouble running against both teams. LSU loses one starter to the NFL, but their returning starters (especially the tackles) have been unimpressive. They need to get better if they’re going to allow the rest of the team’s tremendous talent to be utilized.

Key departures: QB Jordan Ta’amu, WR DaMarkus Lodge, WR AJ Brown, WR DK Metcalf, LT Greg Little, LG Javon Patterson, C Sean Rawlings, CB Ken Webster, S Zedrick Woods, DT Ross Donnelly

Likely losses: RB Scottie Phillips (more like a possible loss, in this case)

Can the Rebels rebound from staggering offensive losses? Looking at who they’re losing, it seems like one heck of a stretch. Matt Corral could be a solid QB, but losing all three bigtime receivers is a massive hit. Their line was respectable, but not more than that, this year — and they lose three experienced starters. This has the potential to be a big mess.

How much of a difference can Mike MacIntyre make as defensive coordinator? If there’s anything positive here for the Rebels, it’s that they get most of their defense back. Of course, it was putrid in 2018, so it may be damning with faint praise. But A&M fans saw first-hand what the right guy in the right spot can do this year, so they should be improved at least somewhat.

Will the next OC keep Phil Longo’s system? At this point in time, he probably won’t have a choice. Getting a new coordinator this close to signing day, and with the personnel they have, it almost requires sticking with Air Raid 2.0. It makes you respect what Jimbo did on the fly that much more.

Key departures: QB Nick Fitzgerald, DE Montez Sweat, C Elgton Jenkins, RG Deion Calhoun, TE Justin Johnson, RB Aeris Williams, WR Jesse Jackson, DT Tre Brown, DT Braxton Hoyett, DT Cory Thomas, DE Gerri Green, CB Jamal Peters, S Mark McLaurin, S Jonathan Abram

Likely losses: DT Jeffery Simmons

How badly will the defensive front suffer? Probably pretty badly. Simmons is almost certain to leave, since he’s projected as a first round draft pick. That means all of your starters and two key reserves are gone. Safety could also be an issue, with both starters there departing.

Is Keytaon Thompson ready to start at QB? Thankfully, Nick Fitzgerald is gone, which means it’s Thompson’s job whether he’s ready or not. Mississippi State has quietly looked for a grad transfer to come in and at least compete for the job, but have had no luck. That’s not a ringing endorsement for Thompson.

Will the offensive line take a step back? Losing three experienced starters hurts, but this is where State has been really good, just reloading with big guys with a lot of time under their belt. And lo and behold, they’ll have three redshirt seniors ready to go next fall to replace their current redshirt seniors. They’re also bringing in seven offensive linemen in the 2019 recruiting class.

Key departures: WR Deebo Samuel, LT Dennis Daley, RT Blake Camper, TE Kevin Crosby, TE Jacob August, LB Bryson Allen-Williams, CB Rashad Fenton, S J.T. Ibe, S Steven Montac, S Nick Harvey, CB Keisean Nixon

Likely losses: QB Jake Bentley (more like possible, in this case)

What are they going to do in the secondary? The Gamecocks weren’t good in the back end this year — 66th against the pass, which is not as good as you’d expect for a senior-laden group. Now, they lose everyone. Right now, they’re looking at two sophomores starting at corner, one undersized junior safety in Jaymest Williams and…they have no two deep at the other safety spot. They have one (!) DB committed in the 2019 class (4-star Cameron Smith). There’s going to be some serious juggling done here.

Do they have any offensive firepower? Losing Deebo Samuel leaves them with potential in two wideouts, but not much more. Bryan Edwards and Shi Smith had some nice moments this year, but now they’re going to be the focus off the defenses they play. Rico Dowdle led the team with 633 rushing yards, but it’s keeping opponents up at night, especially with both tackles leaving.

Can Muschamp turn this around? There was a lot of optimism coming into 2018 for USC, and then they were very average. The 2019 schedule does not do them many favors: they get UNC and Mack Brown’s new look Heels in Charlotte to start the year, then play Charleston Southern. That should be two wins, but then it gets ugly: Alabama is next, then they’re at Missouri, home for Kentucky and at Georgia. Depending on how the Wildcats look, they may be underdogs in all four of them. Then it’s Florida, at Tennessee, Vandy, a pretty good Appalachian State team, and then at the Aggies and Clemson to close. Even if they win all three of their easier non-conference games, that may be a 6-6 record. Maybe.