It was rivalry week for most of the country – with a few exceptions playing cupcakes that they are trying to pass off as Power conference opponents. There was plenty of excitement, but the real fireworks came on Black Sunday.
Alabama 27 Auburn 20 – It was another scary visit to Jerdin’s Hair for the Crimson Tide, but the VooDoo was working against the home team just as it has three straight Iron Bowl played in Lee County. Isaiah Horton had a hat trick of touchdowns to provide all of the non-field goal scoring for Bama. On that note, Conor Talty split the uprights from 45 and 29 yards out.
This game started out a little sluggish for Alabama. However late in the 1st quarter, Tide OC Ryan Grubb called an excellent QB run play for Ty Simpson that gained 26 yards deep into the Aubie red zone that set up the first touchdown of the game. The next offensive drive was more good mojo with Bama blasting right by the War Tigers defense to make the score 17-0. After the defense forced a 3-and-out, it looked like the Tide was going to blow this one open. Instead, Grubb thought it was a good time to get cute instead of just continuing with what was working. He called for a dippity-do flea-flicker play that blew up in their faces and led to a negative yardage 3-and-out and some deflation on the side of Alabama. From that point on, there was all kinds of struggle from Simpson. EVERY got-dang play he would walk up to the line and look and adjust and look and look as the play clock made its way to zero. It sure gave the AU defense plenty of time to adjust. My neighbors were all wondering why I kept yelling “JUST SNAP THE MF BALL!” Sadly, this overthinking by Simpson was not adjusted at halftime and it allowed the Plains Eagles to get back in the game.
Thanks to two dumb Auburn penalties on subsequent third downs and some valiant rushes from Daniel Hill late in the game, the Tide was able to get into position for the third and winning Simpson-to-Horton scoring connection. Reminiscent of the Bama-South Carolina game, the Tide caused a late fumble to help secure the win.
Bama had six 3-and-outs in the game. On the bright side, Alabama did not turn the ball over and had two takeaways (and a few others they missed out on).
Ole Miss 38 Mississippi State 19 – The Rebbies did about what everyone expected. The Bullies are an improving team but could not match the firepower of the Black Shark Ackbars. OM’s Trinidad Chambliss was a madman completing 23 of 34 for career-highs 359 yards and 4 TDs. Kewan Lacy did his part with 143 rushing yards and a score. (I wonder how many tampering phone calls that sophomore Lacy received on Sunday.)
Georgia 16 Georgia Tech 9 – It was no 8 overtime game this season. And thank the Good Lord for that because this game was so boring. The Bulldogs schlepped around as they usually do. They just didn’t score a bunch at the end as per usual. UGA scored the only touchdown in this game. All other points came in the form of field goals.
Texas 27 Texas A&M 17 – The Longhorns exposed overrated TAMU QB Marcel Reed (20/32-180 yds-0 TD-2 INT) and gashed their defense with UT running back Quintrevion Wisner picking up 155 yards on the ground. The Aggs, who have been a strong second half team for much of the season, were outscored 24-7 in the final 30 minutes of play.
Oklahoma 17 LSU 13 – This one was a bit closer than it should have been. With the Bayou Bengals playing on the road with a back-up quarterback Michael Van Buren, who sucks about as bad as Garrett Nussmeier (who I am convinced bailed on his team), the Sooners should have won this one by at least two touchdowns. Okie had to overcome John Mateer’s three intercepted passes and OU tallying only 75 rushing yards to top an inept LSU offense that had 198 total yards and punted 9 times. If not for a blown coverage by the Cajun Tigers, this could have been a disaster for Oklahoma.
Vanderbilt 45 Tennessee 24 – Diego Pavia threw for 268 yards and a touchdown and ran for 165 yards and another score to upend the Vols in the middle of their garbage truck worker convention. The score was tied 21-all at the break, but it was all Commodores in the second half.
Missouri 31 Arkansas 17 – Arky had a 3 point halftime lead but forgot to score in the second half. The Ozark Tigers rolled up a massive 322 rushing yards on 58 plays with two backs crossing the century mark in yards. It is fortunate that the Military Academy strategy worked because Mizz QB Beau Pribula still does not seem himself after coming back from an injury. He only attempted 7 passes, completed 4 for 25 yards, and on one play had the ball slip from his hands as he was attempting to pass that was returned for a Razorbacks score.
Clemson 28 South Carolina 14 – It was a sour end to the SC season (and college career?) of Gamecocks QB LaNorris Sellers. He started the season as the next Lamar Jackson, and ended it with two interceptions, two lost fumbles, sacked five times, and a home loss to Clemson. The Orange Tigers weren’t all that great. They just took the gifts given to them and converted them into points.
Florida 40 Florida State 21 – Gators quarterback DJ Lagway threw his 13th INT of the season, but for the most part had a decent performance with 3 TD passes. The real story was Jadan Baugh who rumbled for 266 yards and two TDs on a Derrick Henry-like 38 rush attempts. And it wasn’t a bunch of long runs that gave him that total. His longest of the day was 22 yards.
Louisville 41 Kentucky 0 – My Lawd. It was a whole lotta quit from Mark Stoops & Company. The ‘Ville racked up 440 yards, while limiting the Wildcats to 147. UK’s Cutter Boley threw a pair of picks and was dropped six times tallying -29 net yards on the ground.
OTHER STUFF
Miami-FL 38 Pitt 7 – This one was about as bad as the score looks. Dr. Jekyll Carson Beck (23/29-267-3-1) and the ‘Canes did just about whatever they wanted against the porous PU defense. Mia amassed 416 yards and 28 first downs, while the Panthers’ totals were 229 and 11.
It is interesting to note that Malik Benson is another one of those Pavia Rule seniors. Much like Alabama linebacker Justin Jefferson, it is as if they needed a couple of years to acclimate from juco. Benson didn’t do jack-s**t for Alabama. After a blah season in Tallahassee, he ended up with the Ducks. He has had more production in the last two games than he did in an entire season with the Tide.
Oregon 26 Washington 14 – Just like Southern Cal the week before, FOX and the B1G tried to build up the Huskies into something they are not so that the Ducks win can look like some grand conquest.
Ohio State 24 Michigan 9 – The bad news: anOhio State and their bought team went undefeated in their two-game season. The good news is the cheaters Wolvies will not be in the CFP.
MUST BE NICE
It’s supposed to be Rivalry Week but many of these CFP hopefuls played blocking dummies.
Notre Dame 49 Stanford 20 – Do you blame the Irish? It’s like the incompetent Trees (4-8) were begging them to fake that punt.
Utah 31 Kansas 21 – The CFP has been stumping for the Utes for a couple of weeks now. The incredibly blah Jayhawks (5-7) actually led this one 14-10 entering the 4th quarter. The senior citizen KU QB Jalon Daniels threw a pair of 4th quarter picks that led to two UU touchdowns, including the above pick-6.
Indiana 56 Purdue 3 – Imagine if PURDUE was your biggest rival.
Texa$ Tech 49 West Virginia 0 – Move along. Nothing to see here.
BYU 41 Center Florida 21 – Poor little Scott Frost’s return to Orlando hasn’t worked out so well. No T-shirt Championships for this 5-7 team.
Virginia 27 Virginia Tech 7 – The Wahoos beat the 3-9 Hokies at home. Woo hoo.
NC State 42 North Carolina 19 – Poor little Billy Belichick completed his first foray into head coaching college ball with a 4-8 record that included defeats at the hands of four of their biggest football rivals: Duke, Virginia, Wake Forest, and finally NC State. The Wolfpack’s 42 points were the most they’ve scored against the Tar Heels in more than two decades.
NON-HOME GAME OF THE WEEK
Imagine being ranked and 9-2, and getting booed as you come out of the tunnel for a home game. The Yeller Jackets were paid $10M to move their game with UGA to Atlanta Dome. I hope it was worth it.
CAT FIGHT! CAT FIGHT! CAT FIGHT!
kitten fight. kitten fight. kitten fight…
(Source.)
HOUDINI OF THE WEEK
CLASSIEST PROGRAM OF THE WEEK
Somehow, this goon was not ejected. From rules expert Terry McAulay: “Automatic ejection. In no universe should he be allowed to play another down.”
SKETCHIEST B1G BS OF THE WEEK
A HUGE play was not overturned because it was anOhio State and it was Jeremiah Smith. Smith appears to have lost control of the ball before crossing the end zone and did not reestablish himself before stepping out of bounds. Such a play is normally ruled no touchdown and a touchback, Michigan ball at the 20. The play was reviewed and ruled that “the runner broke the plane”. Oooookay…
The Smith gift score was a huge play. It gave the Buckets a 10-6 lead in the 2nd quarter and a lot of momentum after a pretty sluggish start on offense. The networks kept replaying the play as a highlight like there was no issue.
INSULT OF THE WEEK
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Only Lane Kiffin would burn a bridge while still trying to stand on it.” Attributed to an agent, per On3.com.
WORST WEATHER & WORST ATTENDANCE OF THE WEEK
BEST WEATHER & WORST ATTENDANCE OF THE WEEK
Hmm. Big Ten again.
DOUBLE DERPS OF THE WEEK
The Aztecs threw an interception in the top half of the first overtime. The Lobos returned the favor with a fumble when any points would have won the game. Fortunately for UNM, they scored a TD in the second extra frame and held SDSU scoreless to win 23-17.
BLOCK OF THE WEEK
MEATHEAD TRASH OF THE WEEK
Go back to Albuquerque, trash.
“SO DANG CLOSE” SPEECH OF THE WEEK
“SO DANG CLOSE” SPEECH OF THE WEEK, DEION VERSION
CATCH OF THE WEEK
Ignore the OPI. 😉
ALMOST CATCH OF THE WEEK
THE FLAG PLANT IS DEAD
BLOWN OPPORTUNITY OF THE WEEK
Northwestern got the ball at the goal line with a chance to tie but managed only a field goal. The Wildcats would go on to lose 20-13.
BLOWN COVERAGE OF THE WEEK
I’D LIKE TO REPORT A MURDER
Pitt QB Mason Heintschel is just a freshman, but he should have learned to go down by now.
SEC REFS, CIRCA 2025
NEVER QUIT ON A PLAY
SO OUTTA HERE
SO WIDE OPEN HE ALMOST MISSED HIM
It continues to amaze me how the national press continues to fawn all over a QB when the receiver makes a great/tough catch.
DUMBEST TRICK PLAY OF THE WEEK
SHANK OF THE WEEK
anOhio State scored two plays later.
BEST WAY TO BE EJECTED BEFORE KICKOFF
TOO OLD FOR CFB OF THE WEEK
I don’t know how, but BYU DE Logan Lutui spent three years at Weber State (FCS, not a juco) and four at Brigham Young. According to his bio, he performed his missionary service from 2017-2019, so it’s not that. If you have a kid who is old enough to run, you should not be playing college football. Grow up and get a job.
NAME OF THE WEEK
Pitt DL Maverick Gracio, someone is a Top Gun fan.
STATS OF THE WEEK
- Blake Horvath is the first QB in Navy football history to rush for 1,000 yards and pass for 1,000 yards in back to back seasons.
- Since Nebraska gave Matt Rhule a contract extension in midseason, his Cornhuskers have gone 1-3 (with the one win being a 7-point win over UCLA) with an average score in the losses of 33-14. He still has no wins over a ranked team in 3 years at Nebraska.
- Ole Miss encountered a different kind of “24 hour rule”. Thanks to the egomaniac, they only got to celebrate the first 11 win season in program history for less than 24 hours.
- Vanderbilt secured their first 10-win season since 1923.
THE WACKY WORLD OF CORSO ???
College GameDay was in Ann Arbor. I was driving, so didn’t see it.
Pat McAfee‘s man crush caused him to have a Freudian slip.
GD will be in Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game. Theo Von better not be with 200 miles of that place.
Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff was in Ann Arbor. King D-bag Dave Portnoy was big sad which makes the rest of us happy.
BNK is, of course, going to the Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship Game.
ADOPT-A-TEAM
- Southern Miss (7-5) – After leading the Sun Belt West for much of the season, the Golden Eagles dropped their Senior Day game to Troy. The loss was their third in a row and and knocked them out of the Conference Championship Game. They await an invitation to some crappy bowl. Even with the late season collapse, It’s a lot better than the 1-11 they were a fall ago.
- Georgia Tech (9-3) – The Yeller Jackets lost to UGA and are out of the ACCCG and any prayer of a CFP slot.
- Western Michigan (8-4) – Lance Taylor’s crew takes the MAC regular-season title and a berth in the league championship game with 31-21 win over EMU.
COUSINS
- Jacksonville State (8-4) – The Gamecocks kicked a 28-yard field goal against Western Kentucky as time expired to clinch a spot in the Conference USA championship game against Kennesaw on Friday.
- Troy (8-4) – The Trojans won on the road at Southern Miss 28-18 to clinch a spot in the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game. They have a chance to ruin James Madison’s season on Friday.
- South Alabama (4-8) – The Jags end an ugly season with a 49-26 loss to Texas State, who in turn became bowl eligible at 6-6.
THAT ANNOYING GUY WHO DRIVES 65 IN THE LEFT LANE AND DOES NOT GET OVER
UAB (4-8) – The Dragons had 39 players b*tch out and those remaining went out defeated Tulsa on the road 31-24. Kudos to those guys who opted to stick around and play some football! #QuittersSuck
Fired coach Trent Dilfer and interim coach Alex Mortensen both went 2-4 on the season.
SALUTE TO OUR TROOPS
- Army (6-5) – The Black Knights threw the first touchdown pass to an Army tight end since 2008 for the go-ahead score in a 27-24 victory over UTSA on Saturday. The Cadets face Navy on Dec 13.
- Navy (9-2) – The Midshipmen shutout Memphis in the second half to claim a 28-17 win and a share of AAC regular-season title. If you have not seen Navy QB Blake Horvath play, he is fun to watch.
- Air Force (4-8) – An unpleasant season for the Falcons came to a happy conclusion with a 42-21 win over rival Colorado State.
ELIMINATED FROM PLAYOFF CONTENTION
Eliminated: Washington State, Oregon State, Boston College, Cal, Clemson, FSU, Georgia Tech, Louisville, UNC, NC State, SMU, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Pitt, Arizona State, Arizona, Baylor, Center Florida, Cincinnati, Colorado, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, West Virginia, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Sparty, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, Southern Cal, UCLA, Washington, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Miss State, Mizz, South Carolina, Tennessee, Tejas
Endangered: Notre Dame, Miami-FL, BYU, Alabama, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt
Extremely Endangered: Virginia, Duke (nothing the CFPC does surprises me anymore), Utah
In: Ohio State, Indiana, Georgia, Oregon, Ole Miss, Texas A&M
Likely In: Texa$ Tech
A wayWAYWAYtooearly look at the College Football Playoff (CFP) picture
THE 2
- SEC – Why does it feel like everyone is conspiring to screw the SEC? As many as six conference teams deserve a spot in the CFP. Vandy will likely get left out. The Committee claims that losses in the Conference Championship Games will not hurt their standings, but we’ll see.
- Big Ten – Top heavy.
SECOND 2
- ACC – We are on the cusp of a nightmare scenario for the Atlantic Coast Conference. Due to Pitt being destroyed by Miami-FL, SMU getting upset by Cal, and Georgia Tech’s implosion, Duke slides their way into the ACCCG against Virginia. The league is now face-to-face with the possibility of the most hilarious timeline of the Blue Devils being conference champ. Some people are beating their chests over the Hurricanes (10-2), but a closer look at the résumé exposes some cracks. Aside from losing at home to Louisville and at SMU, the Ws over rivals FSU and Florida are not looking so great any more. Furthermore, Boston College (2-10) just won at Syracuse 34-12. A few weeks ago, Miami-FL beat the Orangemen (3-9) by a similar score of 38-10 but at home. Is the CFP Committee paying attention? Probably not.
- Big 12 – This Committee loves inclusion and desperately wants more than one B12 team in their little Hands Across America tournament. Texa$ Tech will face BYU in the Big 12 Championship Game and the Cougars may need a win to weasel their way into the CFP. The Red Raiders already destroyed the Coogs in Provo 29-7 just a few weeks ago. Safety valve Utah was ranked No. 13 last week for some reason. The Two Utes unimpressive 10 point win over 5-7 Kansas did not help their argument very much.
AT LARGE
- Indies – We told you back in September when Notre Dame was 0-2 that they would sneak their way back in.
PARTICIPATION TROPHY
Sadly, the CFP Committee is heavily influenced by the flapping gums and monkeys with laptops. This is because they can’t be bothered to actually watch the games and form their own opinions. And those national media members have been pushing Memphis and Tulane all season. The Blue Tigers are out of the running for the Participation Trophy slot of the playoff, but the Green Wave still has a chance. James Madison is the new sweetheart of the press despite the fact that 1) everyone ignored them all year, and 2) they haven’t beaten any team worth a hill of beans. And nobody appears to want North Texas in.
- North Texas (11-1) leads the nation in scoring at 46.8 ppg. They have scored 50 or more in five of their last six games while not giving up more than 25 in that same span. UNT earns a spot in the AAC title game.
- The opposition will be Tulane (10-2) who topped godawful Charlotte (1-11). The Green Wave beat Northwestern and Duke – both in New Orleans – back in September but were throttled by both Ole Miss and… UTSA (?!?!?).
- Navy (9-2) lost to Notre Dame without their starting QB and also at North Texas, but defeated media darlings USF and Memphis in the last two games. That loss to UNT is what kept them out of the AACCG and additionally the CFP. The Midshipmen are another team the wonks do not want to talk about.
- UNLV (10-2) has the best MWC record but they will have to win in Boise just for an outside shot.
- C-USA and the MAC are really weak.
- The Sun Belt’s James Madison is now 11-1. SORRY, VANDERBILT!THE CFPC THINKS JMU IS MORE WORTHY! The Dukes played one Power team this season, Louisville, and lost 28-14.
RANK ‘EM IF YOU GOT ‘EM
Of last week’s rankings, only Texas A&M lost among the top 14. The Aggies will drop but certainly not out. How far might they drop for the ten point loss at Texas (9-3)? A deeper dive shows that beyond winning at Notre Dame by one point, TAMU has no other ranked wins. On a related note, does the Aggie loss hurt the Irish?
The real scramble comes in the at-large bids.
Below is last week’s CFP rankings 1-14:
- Ohio State
- Indiana
- Texas A&M – lost
- Georgia
- Texa$ Tech
- Oregon
- Ole Miss
- Oklahoma
- Notre Dame
- Alabama
- BYU
- Miami-FL
- Utah
- Vanderbilt
Why Utah is ahead of Vandy – even before the Tennessee game – is beyond my realm of understanding.
After the Committee watches ESPN-manufactured highlights, the penultimate college football playoff rankings will be announced on ESPN beginning at 6pm CT/7pm ET. Expect to see as many as three non-power teams ranked so they can justify this BS.
LET’S GO BOWLING!
- Only two teams finished the regular season undefeated and, BOY, did they have an easy road to that feat. Credit Indiana and Ohio State for going 12-0, but this season they combined to play one game against a team (Oregon) ranked higher than Vanderbilt – the team they deride as not good enough to play in the CFP.
- Exactly 82 teams are at 6-6 or better. No 5-7 teams will be needed to fill the 41 bowls.
- The following teams became bowl eligible this past weekend: Penn State, Kansas State, Washington State, Laffy, Texas State, Army (6-5), Georgia Southern, Arkansas State, Delaware.
- Missouri State (7-5) and Delaware (6-6) both earn bowl spots in the first year of transitioning from FCS to FBS. It’s such a shame they changed that rule. Otherwise, Auburn might have gotten back to the Birmingham Bowl. Womp-womp.
LET’S GO BLOWING!
- We have a winner of the TRIPLE GOLDEN SOMBRERO AWARD!! UMass achieved the dubious dishonor of a 0-12 record (aka: three sets of four strikeouts) when they succumbed to the charms of Bowling Green 45-14. It is the second straight season that a MAC team has recorded a winless campaign with Kent State enduring the same misery just last season.
- With Boston College (2-10) overcoming Syracuse on Saturday that left Oklahoma State as the worst Power team of 2025 at 1-11. The Cowpokes’ one success came against FCS UT-Martin in Week 1.
- Also going 1-11 were Charlotte and Georgia State.
- Purdue and Arkansas both finished with two wins on the season. I am afraid that Boilermakers coach Barry Odom is just not made for coaching big-boy football.
- Deion Sanders’s Colorado Buffys lost to K-State in the season finale to finish 3-9.
- Rich Rod’s return to West Virginia was a clunker of a campaign. The Mountaineers finish 4-8 – worse than his predecessor Neal Brown did in any of the six seasons in Morgantown.
- Of the 13 MAC teams, only five will be going to a bowl game.
- The following teams picked up defeat No. 7 this past week: AUBURN, Miss State, Kentucky, FSU, Rutgers, Baylor, Kansas, Center Florida, Buffalo, App State, Temple, Marshall, Rice.
Krazy Kristi’s “SHUT UP!” of the Week goes to the nonsensical Recruiting Calendar. The Early Signing Day is tomorrow, Dec 3 – three days before any conference championship game, as well as weeks before any bowl or playoff. It should be no surprise the coaches are leaving programs early to go to their new school. The advantage is to hopefully get a handle on some of the signings, maybe flip a couple of guys, and help hang onto some of the existing players who might jump in the portal. The downside is the schools left behind are in shambles, scrambling to hold things together.
So why December 5? What is the point? First off, the Early Signing Period should be for Early enrollees only. Let the other guys sign in the traditional February Signing Day after all the dust has settled. Secondly, move the ESP ahead. What’s wrong with Dec 15?
HEISMAN HYPE
It was Julian Sayin’s turn to be held aloft of sainthood. If you believe FOX and ESPN, when Sayin was born they laid him in a manger and wrapped him in swaddling clothes. Admittedly, he is a good quarterback, but he is far from great right now. He has two incredible receivers (Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith) who many think will be future first round NFL picks, an outstanding offensive line (just watch how much time Sayin gets to find a receiver), and only had to face two currently ranked teams. Sayin has some right purty stats, but what has he done that is spectacular?
Odds per FanDuel:
- QB Fernando Mendoza (Indiana) +115
- QB Julian Sayin (Ohio State) +155
- QB Diego Pavia (Vanderbilt) +340
- RB Jeremiyah Love (Notre Dame) +2200
- WR Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State) +20000
THE SICK REPORT
- Notre Dame’s star running back Jeremiyah Love left the Stanford game in the first quarter with an upper-body injury, but returned to game after intermission. Coach Marcus Freeman shared that it was “a rib injury”.
DRAMARAMA
- After a lot of big talk, LSU finally relented and officially fired Brian Kelly without cause, meaning he is owed the entire $54+ million over 6 years. The school says it will pay the required buyout as long as Kelly meets his obligation to find another job. Some program is going to get a bargain analyst. If I was him, I’d be calling up FIU.
- New Virginia Tech coach James Franklin has flipped 4-star QB Troy Huhn from a Penn State pledge. See, this is why you hire a guy asap. Huhn is from San Marcos, California.
- A few days before Egg Bowl, Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss filed for a waiver to play one more season. Previous to OM, Chambliss played three seasons with Division II Ferris State. In his freshman year, he played in two games. According to D2 rules, no played games are allowed in order to get a redshirt. Step on the field once and that is a year – just like the good ol’ days. The NCAA might need to just get rid of that stupid 4 game redshirt rule. It has caused more headaches than it has solved.
- Speaking of Chambliss, some nut stole his jersey in the early hours before the Missy State game, and the knucklehead filmed the whole thing. It was later revealed that the thief – who captured his own face on the video and released it – was actually a Southern Miss student. Johnny Law has been in contact.
- New Arkansas coach Ryan Silverfield has received a commitment from the top in-state recruit in 4-star defensive tackle Danny Beale. He initially committed to Oklahoma State before backing off from that train wreck.
- On a related note, Arkansas lost all seven of their games following Sam Pittman’s dismissal. Happily, those defeats all go the record on motorcycle enthusiast Bobby Petrino. Ah. That felt good to write. Those seven setbacks were all conference games and drop Petrino’s overall SEC record to 17-22 after previously being 17-15. Ahhh.
KOACHES KORNER – aka BLACK SUNDAY
The day after the final regular season games is known as “Black Sunday”, a spin-off of the 1929 stock market crash known as “Black Tuesday”. While this past Sunday was not as bleak as an implosion of world economies, there was no lack of drama of coaching firings and hirings. None more so than the firenado that surrounded Lane Kiffin that reached the point of nausea. Poor Marty Smith was forced to camp out in Oxford and file hourly reports on this drama queen that you just know LFK was spooning up.
Just when Kiffin had donned the white hat with the appearances of turning over a new leaf, the erstwhile Ole Miss coach reverted back to his selfish ego-driven ways and turned his pending decision into a 24 hour EDtv.
Aside from that three-ring circus, there will be at least five coaching changes in the SEC after none a year ago.
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| SCHOOL | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Kalen DeBoer | Kalen DeBoer | Kalen DeBoer |
| Arkansas | Sam Pittman | Sam Pittman | Ryan Silverfield |
| Auburn | Hugh Freeze | Hugh Freeze | Alex Golesh |
| Florida | Billy Napier | Billy Napier | Jon Sumrall |
| Georgia | Kirby Smart | Kirby Smart | Kirby Smart |
| Kentucky | Mark Stoops | Mark Stoops | Will Stein |
| LSU | Brian Kelly | Brian Kelly | Lane Kiffin |
| Missouri | Eli Drinkwitz | Eli Drinkwitz | Eli Drinkwitz |
| Mississippi State | Jeff Lebby | Jeff Lebby | Jeff Lebby |
| Oklahoma | Brent Venables | Brent Venables | Brent Venables |
| Ole Miss | Lane Kiffin | Lane Kiffin | Pete Golding |
| South Carolina | Shane Beamer | Shane Beamer | Shane Beamer? |
| Tennessee | Josh Heupel | Josh Heupel | Josh Heupel |
| Texas | Steve Sarkisian | Steve Sarkisian | Steve Sarkisian |
| Texas A&M | Mike Elko | Mike Elko | Mike Elko |
| Vanderbilt | Clark Lea | Clark Lea | Clark Lea |
Fans saw a run on AAC coaches by the SEC on Sunday.
- Coaching changes:
- Arkansas > Ryan Silverfield
- Auburn > Alex Golesh
- Cal – open
- Coastal Carolina – NEW
- Colorado State > Jim Mora, The Younger
- Florida > Jon Sumrall
- Kent State > Mark Carney
- Kentucky > Will Stein
- LSU > Lane Kiffin
- Memphis – NEW
- Michigan State – Pat Fizgerald
- Oklahoma State > Eric Morris
- Ole Miss > Pete Golding
- Oregon State > JaMarcus Shephard
- Penn State – open
- South Florida – NEW
- Stanford > Tavita Pritchard
- Tulane – NEW
- UConn – NEW
- Virginia Tech > James Franklin
- UAB – open
- UCLA – Bob Chesney
- It seems appropriate that the Clown Show coach Lane Kiffin is heading to the Clown Show program of LSU. Kiffin really had me fooled. I thought he had settled down, matured, and was a good guy and a family man. He was actually a guy I would root for. That is all over now. Not just because he is going to an Alabama rival. It is the whole silly ego-driven way he went about this whole thing. It was worse than any 18 year old hat switcheroo on National Signing Day could have ever dreamed up.
- As if Sunday did not get bizarre enough, Rebels and former Alabama DC Pete Golding was soon after named as Kiffin’s replacement. In his introduction, the players did not look all that enthused.
- Usually when you see these videos, there is an explosion of yelling and jumping around. This one was more of a golf-clap that slowly got guys raising to their feet and some hoots. I’m calling it now: 5-7.
- Auburn was somehow able to throw a lasso around South Florida’s Alex Golesh who took over a Bulls team that was coming off a 1–11 season and turned them into a bowl team in 2023 and 2024. This season, USF is 9-3 and actually had some flirtations with the CFP this fall. The funny thing is, Golesh’s USF teams gave the Crimson Tide fits in 2023 and 2024. Could this be yet another case of Auburn hiring a guy with the sole purpose of beating big brother?
- After missing out on Golesh, Arkansas scooped up Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield, which we at RBR all agree is a solid hire for the Razorbacks. However, some fans are actually upset and about two dozen people held a protest outside of the Arky football facility on Sunday. How delusional can a fan base be? Go find the closest mirror asap. Silverfield is a Jacksonville, FL native who has coached high school, D-III, FCS, FBS and NFL including six seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. He was hired at Memphis by Mike Norvell as an assistant and then succeeded him when the latter left for FSU. With the Blue Tigers, Silverfield has gone 50–25. Not counting his one game tenure as interim, he has led his teams to bowl games every season and won all of them with one game canceled due to a Captain Trips scare in 2021. Arky fans should be familiar with the 45-year old. His team defeated the Hogs back in September.
- Also on Sunday was Florida acquiring the services of Jon Sumrall from Tulane. The Huntsville, Alabama raised former linebacker played for Grissom HS and then Kentucky. He got his first head coaching job in 2022 with Troy and achieved two Sun Belt titles in two seasons going 12-2 and 11-2. With the Green Wave, he was 9–5 in 2024 and has his team at 10-2 on the verge of a possible CFP spot. Several national writers claim that Sumrall picked the Gators over Auburn despite an equal offer but with incentives favoring Aubie. lol
- Florida is also bringing in Philadelphia Eagles executive and former Jax Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell to serve as the university’s GM of football operations.
- The longest tenured SEC coach was the next on the chopping block. According to Chris Low: “(Mark) Stoops was never going to walk away on his own, but when Kentucky approached him about a separation, he said he would be willing to negotiate an agreement allowing UK to spread out payments over a number of years instead of paying $38 million buyout within 60 days of his firing.“ Sounds like he was ready to be sipping margaritas on a tropical island somewhere. Stoops has been at UK since 2013. After a rocky start, his Wildcats made bowl appearances 2016 through 2023. But things have grown stale and it is time for a change. Kentucky is expected to hire Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein as its new head coach. Oddly enough, he played quarterback for hated rival Louisville from 2008 to 2012.
- Is Shane Beamer safe? He shouldn’t be. Yet somehow, the fifth year coach has South Carolina fans under some kind of a spell. Yes, he is a very likeable guy and be beats Clemson ever now and again. However, his SEC record is 16–24 and 1-7 this year. The Texas A&M disaster itself is a fireable offense. It seems like every year his Gamecocks derp away wins to LSU and Florida.
- UCLA has filled their coaching opening with James Madison coach Bob Chesney. His two years at JMU represent his only experience at the FBS level in his entire career and he has never coached any further west than in the state of Pennsylvania. It seems like a risky move for the Bruins.
- Alabama experienced their first departure of an assistant coach of his own volition under Kalen DeBoer. Oregon State has hired Bama WR coach JaMarcus Shephard, giving him a 5-year contract with terms undisclosed at this time. Shephard came to the Capstone with DeBoer from Washington and knows the Pacific Northwest area rather well. He is an excellent recruiter. Maybe he can slow Dan Lanning’s crootin machine. He is expected to stay with the Tide through the end of the season.
- Alabama assistant QBs coach Mitch Dahlen is expected to be named QB coach and offensive coordinator for Oregon State. Shepherd is also taking Alabama associate director of player personnel Eron Hodges as its new general manager. Bama analyst Torrey Gill is set to be hired as the Beavers’ wide receiver coach. Damn, Shep! Back off!
- Stanford GM Andrew Luck made the choice of former QB teammate and BFF Tavita Pritchard as head coach. I can’t imagine that going bad. Right? Hiring your buddy who has no head coaching experience is a totally logical choice. After his playing days ended, Pritchard was a long-time David Shaw assistant at their shared alma mater. Pritchard was offensive coordinator & quarterbacks coach for Shaw’s final four seasons in Palo Alto in which the Cardinal never won more than four games in a season. After Shaw’s departure, Pritchard was not retained and landed with the Washington NFL team (2023–2025) as QB coach.
- Oklahoma State has found a replacement for The Mullet in North Texas head coach Eric Morris and not enough is being said about this guy. Previous to UNT, he served as OC for Kliff Kingsbury at Texas Tech and helped discover/mold Baker Mayfield and Patrick Mahomes. In 2017, Morris was named head coach at adorable little FCS doormat Incarnate Word where he plucked now Tennessee Titans QB Cam Ward out of obscurity and put UIW on the football map. Ward followed Morris to Washington State where the latter was hired as OC for 2023. Morris now has the Mean Green at 11-1 with a shot at participating in the CFP. His freshman QB Drew Mestemaker leads FBS with 3,835 passing yards. Mestemaker is 4th in TDs with 29 with only 4 INTs. Morris will finish out the season with UNT.
- Worried about poachers, Vanderbilt gave Clark Lea a new 6-year deal and Mizzou gave Eli Drinkwitz one as well. It will be interesting to see how Lea fares in the future without Diego Pavia at the helm.
- Jim Mora Jr. has left UConn for Colorado State. The Rams will be a part of the revitalized PAC-12 in 2026. The 64-year old former Falcons, Seahawks and UCLA head coach had back-to-back 9 win seasons with the Huskies. He will not have a chance to go for a tenth win as the offensive coordinator will take over as interim head coach in the bowl game.
- Michigan State is parting ways with head coach Jonathan Smith. I never liked that hire from the beginning. The guy is a bit of a weirdo. In two short years, he went 5–7, 3–6 B1G and 4–8, 1–8 B1G. There was no “fired with cause” this time. He is set to be owed $33 million. Former longtime Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald will take over.
- Coastal Carolina has fired head coach Tim Beck. He was Urban Meyer’s OC at anOhio State for two seasons and was supposed to be the next big thing. He left the Buckys in order to be the OC for his predecessor/mentor Tom Herman who was hired as the new Texas head coach. After that disaster, he OC’d at NC State and then was brought in to Coastal in 2023. In three seasons, he went 8-5, 6-7, and 6-6 which considering the program is not terrible.
- Of note, a completely different guy named Tim Beck is OC at Vandy – who is 8th in the nation in scoring. He’d be the perfect replacement at CCU. They wouldn’t have to change the stationery.
- Nick Saban mentioned that Brian Daboll should be a candidate for Penn State. Daboll was Alabama OC in the National Championship season of 2017. He was recently fired from New York Giants head coaching job (2022–2025). PSU appears to be zeroing in on BYU’s Kalani Sitake, which would be a bit of a culture shock for both parties. Sitake was born in the island nation of Tonga and is a Mormon. He has never coached east of the Rocky Mountains, and they want him in the snowy Rust Belt with Roman Catholic Steeler fans. Hmm. Okay…
- To all you folks who prefer the NFL to the madness that is college football: I weep for you.
- Before Thanksgiving dinner while Urban Meyer’s family was giving thanks, he said “you’re welcome”.
- Fat F*** Phil Fulmer’s Thanksgiving never has leftovers. I’m just sayin’… He’s fat, ya know? He eats a lot. Sorry, they can’t all be gems.
TEEVEE
The CW’s feature game on Saturday had to be one of the worst “Power” games of the year with Syracuse (3-9) losing to Boston College (2-10) at home to the tune of 34-13.
THIS WEEK
Below is NOT a sampling highlight of games of interest this week. This is all of them. If you REALLY MUST know about lame-o NBA games, click here.
Friday, December 5
- Sun Belt Championship: Troy at James Madison 6pm/7pm ESPN – Maybe you like Cinderellas, but I want to see this CFP Participation BS burn to the ground. GO TROY!
- Conference USA Championship: Kennesaw at Jacksonville State 6pm/7pm CBSSN – JSU is actually a -2.5 underdog (?!?!).
- American Championship: North Texas at Tulane 7pm/8pm ABC – Two teams with departing head coaches.
- Mountain West Championship: UNLV at Boise 7pm/8pm on FOX – Boise. It’s always Boise.
Saturday, December 6
B12 Championship: BYU vs Texa$ Tech 11am/noon ABC (Arlington, TX) – Mormons vs Oil Money
MAC Championship: Miami-OH at Western Michigan 11am/noon ESPN (Detroit) – GO LANCE!
SEC Championship: Alabama vs Georgia 3pm/4pm ABC (Atlanta) – Nobody is giving Bama much of a chance.
B1G Championship: Indiana at Ohio State 7pm/8pm FOX (Indianapolis) – Indy is a 4.5 dog. I’d bet Erik would tell you to take the points. What say you, E?
ACC Championship: Duke at Virginia 7pm/8pm ABC (Charlotte) – Go CHAOS!
#ALABAMA
- Bray Hubbard was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week. The Tide safety had two solo tackles, an interception, and a forced fumble.
- LB Justin Jefferson could have been a good runner-up for the award. He had 3 solos, 2 assists, a TFL, and 2 pass break-ups.
- Jam Miller was in the midst of having one of the best games of his career in the Iron Bowl, carrying the ball 15 times for 83 yards. Unfortunately, the senior was knocked out of the game in the fourth quarter with a leg injury and was seen on the sideline on crutches. Technically, Alabama does not have an SEC game this week, so Kalen DeBoer was not obligated to have a Monday presser. Thus, Miller’s condition is still a bit unknown. [SIDE NOTE: When Miller went down and was attended to on the field by medical personnel, Auburn fans could be heard chanting “F— you Bama.” Stay classy, barn]
- On Sunday, DeBoer did state during a teleconference that injured starting tight end Josh Cuevas would “probably not” play against Georgia which seems pretty obvious with a rumored broken bone in his foot. There is optimism that he will return for whatever future games await the Tide later in December.
- It’s about damn time. Freshman phenom Michael Carroll started at right tackle and played all 75 offensive snaps. Wilkin Formby shifted over to right guard and also played 75. Kadyn Proctor took in every play as well.
- Parker Brailsford (54 snaps) and Geno VanDeMark (24) shared duties at center. Brailsford has preexisting issues with his ankle and had to be fitted for a brace during the IB which led to VDM being inserted.
- Tight end of the future Kaleb Edwards was in on 60 plays. Jay Lindsey (18 snaps), Marshall Pritchett (15), and Brody Dalton (6) also lined up at tight end. Cuevas was out and SORELY missed. F you, Loki.
- In a baffling move, freshman running back AK Dear came in for one play in the 4th quarter, gained 6 yards on a completion, and promptly returned to the bench. It was his fourth game participation of the year. One more 2025 appearance and the redshirt is gone.
- WR Isaiah Horton caught 5 of 6 targets for team-high 35 yards with three of them going for scores. The Auburn defense honed in on Germie Bernard for most of the game and were successful in limiting his performance. Bama QB Ty Simpson targeted Germ 9 times but he only reeled in 3 passes for 29 yards. Despite Chris Fowler’s ruminations, Ryan Williams played 38 snaps. However, the sophomore finished without a target for the first time in his career. On the aforementioned Sunday evening teleconference, DeBoer stated that there is “’nothing to read into’” Williams’s lack of targets. It sure would be nice to get these guys some rest. Instead, they have to go up against UGA while several others in the CFP will be idle until mid-December.
- Speaking of Chris Fowler, he is getting up there in the annals of Brent Musburger and Gary Danielson of hyperbole, speculation, and espousing false drama that makes me scramble for the mute button.
SEC Championship Game: Saturday, December 6, 2025
Alabama Crimson Tide (10-2) vs Georgia Bulldogs (11-1)
Atlanta, GA ~ 3pm/4pm ABC
- Editorial: In the era of 12-team playoffs, this game has outlived its purpose. And as long as there are self-serving buffoons making up the CFP Committee, there is very little to gain by participating in this event. Rematches always favor the team that lost the original meeting. However, the Tide is the underdog and even the CFP Committee is disrespecting them. Perhaps they can use those doubters as motivation.
- Jerseys: Interestingly, Alabama is the home team since they actually won the regular season title – though they won’t be Auburning up any banners any time soon. Unless there is a special request, the Tide will be wearing crimson jerseys. Georgia will wear their white (visitor) jerseys.
- UGA Coach: It’s Kirby Smart. His overall record is an outstanding 116-20. His record against teams not named the “Crimson Tide” is 115-13. In his one win over Alabama, the Tide was without two starting cornerbacks Josh Jobe and Jalyn Armour-Davis, WR John Metchie, and WR Jameson Williams for the second half – all of whom are currently starters in the NFL.
- UGA 2025: The Bulldogs’ only loss of the regular season came to the Tide. Dwags wins over Tennessee, Auburn, Ole Miss, Florida, and Georgia Tech were by ten points or less.
- UGA Injuries: Starting center Drew Bobo could be out with a foot/ankle injury. The back-up, Malachi Toliver, is kind of shaky. Offensive tackle Earnest Greene left the Tech game for a spell but returned to the game. He has been fighting injuries all season.
- Series: Alabama is 45-26-4 all-time against UGA.
- Weather: The Atlanta Stadium is indoors with a retractable roof.
- TV Announcers: Chris Fowler on play-by-play, Kirk Herbstreit as analyst with Holly Rowe and Laura Rutledge as sideline reporters.
- Radio: Chris Stewart, Tyler Watts, Corey Reamer on Alabama Radio.
- Vegas: The FanDuel point spread opened with Alabama as a 1.5 point underdog but it is now up to 2.5. The Over/Under remains at 47.5.
