We are under 50 days away from Week 0 of the college football season. SEC Network host and anchor Dari Nowkhah joined Tuesday's edition of TexAgs Live to preview his expectations for a handful of SEC teams, including Texas A&M, LSU, Oklahoma and more.
Key notes from Dari Nowkhah interview
- I think SEC Media Week started with Arch Manning and the way he handled himself. Steve Sarkisian is always impressive. It was fun to chat with John Mateer a little. Most people were impressed with him. It’s good to see what players stand out to the media. I took away that Tennessee doesn’t know who its starting quarterback is. I actually believe Josh Heupel.
- I think Mateer is really impressive. I hear about his leadership style and “rah rah.” No hesitation to get on his receivers or linemen if he needs to. I think he gets tired of the Baker Mayfield comparisons, but there will be times he reminds us of him. It’s more of his personality and leadership. He’s a fun guy, but a guy who locks into the work. R Mason Thomas said it feels like he’s been at Oklahoma for three years because of his comfort with the system. It feels like there will be some clear vision and comfort coming out of the chute. That’s important with Michigan in Week 2.
- I never like putting a win total on a “successful” season. Does Oklahoma win at Alabama and shock Texas, but lose at home to Auburn and Ole Miss? It’s hard to assess. Nine wins would be great, but I want them to show clear offensive improvement. I think the defense will be fine with Brent Venables. Was Ben Arbuckle a good hire? Do the wide receiver pieces they brought in fit? Is there an offensive explosiveness? Health will play a part. What does the offense look like? Did he hire the right person to run it? The wild card is that the athletic director who hired Venables is stepping away. A new AD means a new vision of how to run a program. Otherwise, clear offensive improvement is needed.
- Jackson Arnold was playing behind a piecemeal offensive line. They had the same starting five twice. They needed to grow. The biggest thing was that they played nearly every game with their top five receivers injured. Receivers six through nine are not SEC caliber, but they have to get passes and create situations, which they couldn’t. Arnold was playing with his hands behind his back. He only had six interceptions, but he had costly turnovers. I don’t blame him for being hesitant to throw, though. Nobody was creating separation. I wish I had seen him with a healthy Deion Burks and a group of wide receivers. Only a portion of it was on Arnold. It was bad event after bad event that hamstrung that offense.
- I’m looking forward to watching Marcel Reed. His ability to run the football. How is his passing? There was something to be desired a year ago. They have built around him with key wide receiver acquisitions. I was unsure at media days, going in, what to think about A&M. Everyone convinced me that they could be really good offensively. Obviously, they will be able to run the ball. I was worried about losing Nic Scourton, Shemar Stewart and Shemar Turner. But Mike Elko has built depth in a short time. They’ll look different defensively, but there’s no reason they won’t be really good.
- I’m hesitantly high on LSU. When you look at what a team brings, where are the fewest question marks? I think it’s them. Starting at quarterback, LSU has a guy who has been in the system. There’s obviously talent on that offense around Garrett Nussmeier. Defensively, it might look different. If they can utilize Harold Perkins and Whit Weeks, they have the fewest questions to answer. If they lose to Clemson, I don’t know that my take changes. That’s a really difficult opener. In the end, they have a great shot to play in the SEC Championship, and I think they should be a playoff team.
- I think the Texas vs. Georgia rivalry is great. With Oklahoma and Texas coming to the SEC, I was excited to see what new rivalries would form. It makes sense. They both recruit like crazy and have seemingly endless pockets. The landscape might even up, but they are the best two coaches in the SEC. It makes sense. I think Oklahoma vs. LSU over time will develop a really good rivalry as well.
- I think Oklahoma could be like South Carolina last year. I think they’ll be really good defensively, and the offense will take major strides. They managed to win six games with a historically bad offense last year, I’m not sure how. Another one is Florida. Billy Napier has done a phenomenal job recruiting. He has a couple of five-star stars on the outside. They can run the ball with Jadan Baugh. DJ Lagway is legitimate. Solid offensive line. They may give up points defensively, but I don’t think that more than they can overcome most days. Florida and Oklahoma are the two potential disrupters.
- If we go back to Arbuckle at Oklahoma, it might be the same thing with Ryan Grubb at Alabama. It might be better because he’s had previous success with Kalen DeBoer. Grubb didn’t work out with Pete Carroll, and now they are back together. Key acquisitions that are not players, Arbuckle and Grubb, are potential difference makers.
- I root for the SEC in general. I’ve always been an Oklahoma fan, but I root for the SEC to succeed. It makes our job more fun. We can cover playoff games like Tennessee and Ohio State in Columbus last year. I had never been to Ohio State. It was an unbelievable atmosphere. You root for them selfishly, but you want the league to be as good as it can be.
- The Big Ten and SEC have supreme teams on top, but the difference is the depth. In the Big Ten, realistically, three teams can win that league — Penn State, Ohio State and Oregon. That drop to Michigan, Illinois or Nebraska is deep. In the SEC, it’s not. If Texas, Georgia and Alabama are the top three, LSU, Florida, Texas A&M and Oklahoma are potentially not that far back. You could go ten deep in the SEC with one team that could beat another on any given Saturday. I don’t think you could go past four or five deep in the Big Ten. Very top-heavy, good league, but it’s not as deep as the SEC.
- I think A&M is higher than the teams in the disruptor range. Obviously, four straight losses were a bad end to the season, but I think they made themselves known the majority of last season. Oklahoma and Florida continued to struggle. I see A&M as a different bracket than the disrupters. Disrupters are Oklahoma, Florida, Ole Miss, Auburn… I think A&M is a year ahead of those teams, quite honestly.
