OK, so it’s about that time when we try and work out what in the hell’s going on. With the four-teams-getting-selected-to-the-play-off-thing, it was pretty easy. Generally, the two teams in the SEC Championship got in, and the rest was the other guys. But now, it’s 4 conference winners (SEC, Big Ten, ACC, Big 12) + Notre Dame (on a good season) + The top non-4 conference team. That means that it’s a bun-fight of epic proportions for the other three spots. If you by the AP Top 25, then here are the teams in: Oregon Ohio State Texas Penn State Indiana Notre Dame Alabama Georgia Ole Miss Tennessee Miami Boise State The Top Big 12 team, by the way, is
Read more-
The SEC: Why you should root for each team
Read more »Hello, Mr New SEC fan. You’re looking for a team to root for, and here at the SEC Football Blog we’d like to give a guide. For the record, all
-
National Championship Preview: Alabama vs Ohio State
Read more »Since we last wrote this, here’s some news: Alabama is going to play in the National Championship against Ohio State (more about that later). Crimson Tide WR DeVonta Smith won
SEC Preview: Bulldogs roll into Ole Miss, and course, Bama-LSU
Georgia’s off to its second rough road game in three games, this time rolling into Oxford, where expectancy’s back to being sky-high after the Rebs smashed Arkansas on the road. Had they lost that, Lane Kiffin might be facing the hurricane of rage — as well as an almost-certain miss from a play-off spot. It’s gonna be fun in Oxford. It’s also Bama-LSU weekend, which is going to get everyone very excited. It’s also going to be a lot of fun because of the level of jeopardy on this, with the loser likely not to make the play-off. The atmosphere – even without Nick Saban there as a head coach – is likely to be off the hook (Going to
Read moreFlorida Keeps Napier: Why this is a good idea
News came through for Florida Gators that embattled head coach Billy Napier would stay on for at least another season. Gators AD said: “As we’ve seen these past several weeks, the young men on this team represent what it means to be a Gator. Their resolve, effort and execution are evident in their performance and growth each week — building a foundation that promises greater success next season and beyond…I am confident that Billy will meet the challenges and opportunities ahead.” SO WHY WASN’T HE SHOVED? The Gators had performed as expected, with a 4-4 record (2-3 SEC). The wins against Kentucky and Mississippi State were comfortable (ie no upsets), and the losses to Georgia, Tennessee and Texas A&M were
Read moreSEC Preview: The most middling schedule of the year
While the B1G has a monstrous game (Penn State v Ohio State), two unbeatens battle in the ACC (Pitt v SMU) and Colorado going in as flavor-of-the-month (again) at what will be a raucous Texas Texas, the SEC has Georgia v Florida, which is going to be a stretch if you consider both teams – and a lot of very middling games. Therefore this preview is going to be pretty darned quick. Vanderbilt at Auburn (-7.5): The Commodores could experience a slide backwards after their incredible battles against Texas and Alabama – simply because they are on the road. Even if Auburn’s terrible, Jordan-Hare’s a tough place to play. PREDICTION: Jarquez Hunter gets the job done for the Barners. Auburn
Read moreSEC Rankings: Texas A&M is the best team in the SEC
So here are our rankings for the SEC…. Texas A&M (7-1): The Aggies beat LSU on Saturday night, meaning that they have the SEC’s only unbeaten record. And looking at the schedule- and we’re increasingly confident that they’ll beat Texas at Thanksgiving – they should face off against Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. What Mike Elko has done so well is recognize when his quarterback’s playing terribly, and change him (See Conor Weigman for Marcel Reed – who has wheels and a good arm) out. Georgia (6-1): After losing to Alabama and then two very ordinary performances against Auburn and Missisippi State, Georgia came to Texas and rolled – mostly on the strength of their defense, which forced
Read moreIs Texas A&M – LSU ramping up to be a great SEC rivalry?
Let’s get this straight: The LSU – Texas A&M rivalry is not considered a geographic rivalry, bearing in mind that – on a good day – it’s about 6 hours drive away. Plus, Texas A&M is as obsessed with beating Texas as LSU is obsessed with beating Alabama: Nick Saban or not. Plus, A&M only came into the SEC since 2012, and Mile Slive & Co put together these every-year games. But since they came along, we’ve had a seven-overtime game, which told the powers-that-be in Indianapolis that we didn’t need, er, seven overtime games. And since 2018, the rivalry has been 3-3. Yes, not many games have been particularly close, but this one promises to be different. That’s because Texas
Read moreSEC Rankings: Texas A&M, LSU rising hard
As we thought would happen, we know the best team in the SEC: And it’s not Texas. Despite what the garbage-throwing, cowboy-hat-but-never-seen-a-cow-except-Bevo crowd might have thought, it would always going to be tough against this Georgia front, who ate Quin Ewers and Arch Manning alive. It made us think: Is the second-best team in the SEC not actually Texas, but one of their biggest rivals? Anyhoo…. Georgia (6-1): Utterly dominant at Texas (defensively), but on the offensive side, Travis Etienne bailed out Carson Beck, who was simply awful in Austin. And that balance will be just fine. Texas A&M (6-1): Finishing drives, defensively very solid…or just plain good? Conor Weigman seems to have found his feet (finally), and Le’Veon Moss
Read moreWEEK 9: Texas. Georgia. Austin. 7pm. Watch.
Every week seems to bring along a Top 5 match-up, and this week will be the same when No.1 Texas hosts No.5 Georgia in Austin. Thanks to the TV people, the game won’t be played in the life-obliterating early-to-middle-of-the-afternoon Texas heat (unlike the Texas – Oklahoma game, in which the stadium concessions people ran out of water by half-time), but instead as the sun comes down over DKR. And we can’t wait. Elsewhere, No.7 Alabama goes to No.11 Tennessee in the annual ‘Third Saturday In October’ match-up, Arkansas go to No.8 LSU, Auburn goes to No.19 Missouri, Oklahoma hosts South Carolina, Mississippi State hosts 14 Texas A&M, and everybody’s Sudden Football Darling Vanderbilt plays Ball State in Nashville. Oh, and
Read moreKirby Smart’s lost control of Georgia football
Kirby Smart isn’t the only one in the history of college football to have lost the control of their programs. The first that was acknowledged was Miami, when players seemed to have a season ticket to jail. Florida State managed a few years with Bobby Bowden, and then Florida took it to a whole new level with Urban Meyer – a time that included wildly successful football, drug dealing and AK-47s…alongside White Jesus Himself. Les Miles’ LSU team had their run-ins with the law in moments that included battery and robbery, and Alabama teams of the past certainly had conversations with the police (although nothing quite topped the basketball team and ‘wrong spot, wrong time‘. Heck, there’s even a cup
Read moreThe SEC/Big Ten meeting was a joke
OK, so amid all the excitement about the Red River Shoot-Out, one bit of news should stick in the noggin, because to be quite frank, it’s far more important. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey and Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti met with each other as part of the joint advisory group they’d set up in February – careful to bring the lawyers with them just in case every other conference thought it might be collusion. In part of his statement that you can only assume was – to use a British term – utter shite, Sankey said that he often talks to the ACC and Big 12 on the phone, but somehow can’t seem to get everyone together. “We talk regularly with
Read moreTexas is on top, but Vandy continues to rise
1. Texas (6-0): The Texas – Oklahoma game was ESPN’s showpiece game this week, and it wasn’t close. Texas wasn’t good in the first half of the game, but they got better as the time went on and eviscerated a hapless Sooners team. As much fun as I’ve made of them, this team is great all over the park. The big test will next week against some team called Georgia. 2. Texas A&M (5-1): Smashed Bye Week into the ground, but reason they’ve vaulted Georgia is the evidence of the week before, when there was no playing with their food against Missouri. 3. Georgia (5-1): Don’t imprison Kirby Smart for pushing that Mississippi State player, get him investigated by the
Read moreWeek 7: Red River Time!
No.1 Texas (-14.5) v No.18 Oklahoma (Dallas): Texas is really talented, while Oklahoma will be the best defense they’ve faced so far this season. We will see how Texas’ running game does against a tight front that is Oklahoma’s. But Oklahoma will also be tested by the best QB they have this year in Quin Ewers, who’s going to start on Saturday after weeks out with injury. But Texas will probably cruise before OU’s offense is utterly vomitous- now not helped by the fact that it’s top WR Deion Burks is out for the game, on top of the other four on the trainer’s table.. Texas might be closed down by OU’s punter a little, therefore reducing the chances of
Read moreWEEK 6: SEC RANKINGS ARE ALL ****ED UP
I joked on Saturday night that my SEC rankings were this: 1-15: F**k knows 16: Mississippi State. And that’s probably right. Texas is the No.1 team in the nation and – by virtue of not playing while the unbridled carnage was happening around – would go as No.1 in my view. But are they really better than Georgia? Does Vanderbilt’s win over Alabama automatically mean that they are better than Alabama? Or Arkansas’ win over Tennessee mean that Sam Pittman’s team is better than the Vols? If you believe those guys at the AP Poll – who have Texas first, Georgia fifth (behind Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State), Miami sixth and Alabama seventh. Tennessee is 8th, Ole Miss 9th, LSU 13th,
Read moreWeek 6: Will Texas A&M get a Top 10 scalp?
Missouri comes into Saturday’s game at Kyle Field with trepidation. It’s not because they haven’t played each other before (it’s 2-2 in SEC play since they both came into the conference in 2012), it’s because they were so lousy against Vanderbilt, while the Texas A&M-Marcel Reed combination has looked better and better. But there are other interesting games this Saturday too. Ole Miss can’t possibly play as badly as they did against Kentucky this week when they visit South Carolina, can they? Will No.4 Tennessee avoid problems at Arkansas? Will Alabama continue to roll against Vanderbilt? Can Georgia get over the ‘loss hangover’ at home to ancient rival Auburn? And will Florida continue to recover against UCF? Anyway, there are some
Read moreWeek 5 Rankings: Alabama’s back at No.1 in the SEC
At the end of the season, we’ll be talking about great games. If the Alabama v Georgia game isn’t in your Top 2, you’re probably wrong. They played out a crazy, wonderful, game-of-two-halves classic that was finished with a crazy-brilliant touchdown by a kid who happens to be the 17-year old cousin of one Serena Williams Anyway, here are our rankings after Week 5 of the SEC season. 1. Alabama: Calen DeBoer’s gonna win games he should have lost (see last season v Oregon and Texas) and lose games he should have won. His clock management will be questionable. But through all of this, he will be bloody entertaining to watch. It’s gonna be some ride, Alabama fans. 2. Tennessee:
Read more