Refreshing SEC fans on talking points as media days loom

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — It's July, at least for most of you. A handful may have dropped in during the closing minutes of June, but it's close enough.

Beyond typically being the extremely hot month where fireworks goes off for a week leading up until Fourth of July and then at least 10 days after thanks to that particular neighbor, it's also known as the official beginning of talking season in regard to college football.

It used to be the month where men would volunteer to go to Wal-Mart with their wives and stand in front of the magazine racks as they skimmed Dave Campbell's, Phil Steele, Athlon's and Hooten's Arkansas Football to see if enough content had been written on their favorite teams to justify the cost of buying the publication.

Now, with many of those physical publications extinct and most people unsure whether magazine racks still exist, the world has turned to various forms of digital media to get this type of content with perhaps the official holiday of this being when SEC Media Days take place.

It's now officially two weeks until that kicks off. Here's the appearance schedule:
Monday, July 14
Brian Kelly, LSU
Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss
Shane Beamer, South Carolina
Clark Lea, Vanderbilt
Tuesday, July 15
Hugh Freeze, Auburn
Kirby Smart, Georgia
Josh Heupel, Tennessee
Steve Sarkisian, Texas
Wednesday, July 16
Kalen Deboer, Alabama
Billy Napier, Florida
Jeff Lebby, Mississippi State
Brent Venables, Oklahoma
Thursday, July 17
Sam Pittman, Arkansas
Mark Stoops, Kentucky
Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri
Mike Elko, Texas A&M

However, before we get to those most anticipated of days, it's best we take a cue from television networks and address the "previously on..." portion of the SEC so everyone has context going into the interviews. So, without further ado, here is how things unfolded, setting up where everyone is this season.

Preseason

Prior to the season all eyes were on the arrival of Texas and Oklahoma. Most conceded that Steve Sarkisian had used his two years of roster construction to the fullest to best prepare the Longhorns for what was going to await them in the SEC.

However, no one knew what to make of Oklahoma. There didn't appear to be a lot of effort to break old Big 12 habits as the move neared, so, even though Brent Venables knew what it was like to face elite SEC teams from his time at Clemson, no one knew whether he had assembled the resources to do so in Norman.

Also, everyone was watching to see if Billy Napier would make it through the first month at Florida, how Alabama was going to handle being without Nick Saban and also mentally adjusting to the idea the SEC would no longer hold the prime 2:30 slot on CBS that carried so much clout for so long in college football.

Week 1

The first week of the season brought hope to Arkansas and Auburn as both lit up the scoreboard. Also, Alabama got to break out a shiny new toy in freshman receiver Ryan Williams while everyone got a glimpse at Arch Manning down in Texas.

Tennessee wasted time learning the name of a new quarterback while blowouts were common and wins were everywhere in the SEC. That is except for Texas A&M and Florida.

Week 2

The second week was one of misperception. Notre Dame fell to Northern Illinois, meaning SEC teams with playoff hopes were certain they no longer had to worry about the Irish, it looked like the hype was over in Colorado and Arkansas narrowly missed knocking off a ranked Big 12 favorite in Oklahoma State on the road.

However, the Kentucky offense going into a funk proved to be prophetic and South Carolina leading the SEC gave a slight hint of what was to come.

Week 3

Everyone was certain Billy Napier was going to be fired the Sunday following the Gators' blowout loss to Texas A&M. Meanwhile, the first chinks in the armor of the SEC teams in the Top 10 began to show while the momentum of Vanderbilt came crashing down following a shocking close loss at Georgia State.

Week 4

With a quarter of the season gone, things in the SEC began to settle into a more natural groove while Georgia and Alabama took the week off before their showdown in what was supposed to be an SEC championship game preview.

Week 5

Georgia followed a 13-12 win over Kentucky by getting curb stomped in the first half against Alabama en route to a 41-34 loss. Ole Miss gave a glimpse into the Rebels not being good enough for the playoffs by dropping a game to hapless Kentucky, 20-17.

Meanwhile, Arkansas kept the calls to replace Hugh Freeze coming in with a close win over Auburn.

Week 6

Welcome to the best day for Arkansas all year long. It started with Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz taking a loss against its cotton candy schedule that essentially knocked the Tigers from playoff contention. Then, Diego Pavia organized one of the most memorable upsets of all time as Vanderbilt knocked off No. 1 Alabama.

Then the night wrapped by the Razorbacks taking out No. 4 Tennessee under the lights in Razorback Stadium to send the conference reeling.

Week 7

At this point the SEC teams in contention for the playoffs were becoming suspect while Vanderbilt became the most feared team in the conference. Not even No. 1 Texas was anxious to be setting up a date with the Commodores the following week.

Week 8

Things began to separate in Week 8. Texas A&M and LSU moved into first place while Georgia and Texas battled it out for SEC respect and Tennessee and Alabama fought for their playoff lives. Also, Vanderbilt slides into the Top 25.

Week 9

Texas A&M climbs to the top of the SEC all alone. In addition, the Razorbacks make it through Halloween with a winning record as chaos reigns across the conference standings.

Week 10

South Carolina disrupts the order of things by blowing out Texas A&M in Columbia on Homecoming. Vanderbilt keeps rolling also.

Week 11

South Carolina brings an end to the ranked dream of Vanderbilt. Then, Ole Miss ends the hopes of Alabama being able to get into College Football Playoff.

The biggest concern coming out of Week 11 was a potential tie between the entire top half of the SEC to determine who would limp into the SEC championship game.

Week 12

Alabama takes down LSU in a playoff elimination game while Texas and Texas A&M set up a showdown where the winner goes to the SEC championship game while gaining an inside track to grabbing one of the 12 playoff spots.

Week 13

Rivalry week is looming, but boy have things gotten messy over Thanksgiving break. Oklahoma stuns the world by shutting out Alabama and Florida shocks Ole Miss to end their playoff hopes, leaving Texas as the only SEC team with legitimate comfort in regard to the playoffs.

Week 14

Rivalry week goes by with very little drama as the SEC plays out the way everyone expects. Only South Carolina's win over Clemson as a last minute plea for a playoff spot draws much discussion.

Bowl Season

With the SEC's reputation waffling, the conference had to rely on Arkansas, Florida and Vanderbilt to keep the postseason record respectable. However, there was no way to make up for the lack of SEC supremacy in the playoffs.

Instead of the usual season-ending swagger, fans turned to the newest sport of choice — basketball — where SEC dominance reigned supreme, unlike football.

Postseason

The football programs find that their slide in greatness puts them far behind their basketball counterparts as the dominance of the SEC in basketball takes up the talking points of the entire spring en route to a Florida national title. Yes, it takes some heat off coaches during the spring as the entire conference is invested in what's happening on the court, but the narrative will soon turn in two weeks to how the football programs are going to live up to their basketball programs.