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Every week, I knew Billy Napier would do something silly to prompt an overreaction. It was comforting, knowing I could pencil him into the lineup and count on him to deliver.<\/p>\n
Now what? They\u2019ve taken away Option A, and I\u2019m scrambling for answers like Texas, coaches who go for it on 4th down, athletic directors with openings\/potential openings, and Desmond Howard, who delivered the most ridiculous take of the weekend.<\/p>\n
In these trying times, I need reliable mentors like Texas A&M, Alabama, Clark Lea or Vandy-loving Nick Saban. They\u2019ve got it all figured out.<\/p>\n
Those are among the 10 things I\u2019m absolutely overreacting to after a ridiculously wild Week 9 in and around the SEC.<\/p>\n
10. You wanted A&M to prove it? The Aggies just did<\/p>\n
You know the history. I\u2019ve written the history (See: No. 5)<\/a>.<\/p>\n We were all sitting around Saturday night waiting for the The Big Choke at Death Valley.<\/p>\n Instead, we got The Big Chokehold on a Playoff Spot.<\/p>\n No more questions. No more worrying. Texas A&M has the most dangerous, diverse offense in the SEC. Its defense is just as terrifying.<\/p>\n A&M\u2019s best running back, Le\u2019Veon Moss, didn\u2019t play at LSU and it didn\u2019t matter. LSU might as well have been La. Tech.<\/p>\n Marcel Reed dominated with his arm (2 TDs) and legs (2 TDs), and KC Concepcion, the best transfer in college football, made plays no matter whether he caught a pass for a TD or a punt for a TD. Ashton Bethel-Roman made the most ridiculous 1-handed catch of the season.<\/p>\n These Aggies are explosive, confident and on the verge of erasing the ghosts of flameouts past.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not saying plan the parade, but I\u2019m not rolling my eyes if you plan a 3-day trip to Miami in late January, either.<\/p>\n 9. Ole Miss bails out Lane Kiffin in his biggest win<\/p>\n First things first: Ole Miss earned a split in its 2 biggest games of the season: rebounding from last week\u2019s loss at No. 9 Georgia by earning a gutsy road win at No. 13 Oklahoma on Saturday.<\/p>\n Ole Miss had to earn the split to keep its Playoff hopes intact.<\/p>\n The good news: It did. Emphatically. <\/p>\n Except for one big play, Ole Miss contained Oklahoma\u2019s offense, and the Rebels had more than their fair share of success against Brent Venables<\/a>\u2018 propped-up defense. Heisman hopeful<\/a> Trinidad Chambliss made plays: 314 yards passing, a clutch TD throw and just enough rushing (53 yards including sacks) to extend drives and play keep-away from the Sooners.<\/p>\n With just a bit of help, reaching Atlanta is as realistic as it ever has been. <\/p>\n Still \u2026 there\u2019s the nagging takeaway of whether chronic jokester Lane Kiffin<\/a> is the guy you want making critical decisions in a Playoff-type game.<\/p>\n Saturday, Kiffin made an unbelievably poor\/irresponsible decision that almost cost Ole Miss, well, everything.<\/p>\n Ole Miss led 22-10 and just forced a quick 3-and-out on Oklahoma\u2019s opening possession of the 3rd quarter.<\/p>\n Ole Miss quickly found itself in a 4th-and-1 from its own 25-yard line. Forget the analytics on 4th-and-1. Embrace the situation. Have a feel for the game. Punt. The. Ball.<\/p>\n Kiffin decided to go for it. This isn\u2019t a hindsight is 20\/20 criticism. I (and others) tweeted in real time that this decision made zero sense.<\/p>\n This call looks horrible given the result, but Lane Kiffin clearly has no fear of Oklahoma based on his decision to go for this<\/p>\n Rebels held the Sooners to a field goal \u2014 SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) October 25, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Kiffin is a brilliant schemer and timely play-caller. Dangerously so. He\u2019s Brett Favre with a headset. Few, if any, are able to spot and exploit certain looks better than he can. But this? Even if it worked, the decision was reckless. The risk outweighed the reward 100-1. Not only did the play not work, at all, the Rebels lost 9 yards.<\/p>\n Oklahoma had a chance to score a TD, gain momentum and reignite the home crowd. Kiffin is fortunate that the Rebels\u2019 D limited the Sooners to a field goal.<\/p>\n Look, Ole Miss won, and it was impressive, exactly the kind of game that aspiring Playoff teams must win.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve had Ole Miss as 1 of the SEC\u2019s 4 Playoff teams most weeks, but not last week<\/a>. <\/p>\n It\u2019s decisions like this that make me question whether I can go all-in and fully trust Kiffin in tense times.<\/p>\n 9b. You\u2019re not off the hook either, Drinkwitz, Golesh \u2026<\/p>\n The situations were different, but the results were even more costly.<\/p>\n In a tied game, 3-3 early in the 3rd quarter at Vandy, Mizzou coach Eli Drinkwitz<\/a> decided to go for it on 4th-and-goal. Mizzou QB Beau Pribula was stuffed and left with an air cast on his leg. Disastrous result, but why wouldn\u2019t a go-ahead field goal been good enough in that situation? That decision didn\u2019t necessarily cost Mizzou in a Playoff-or-bust game, but it didn\u2019t help, either.<\/p>\n USF coach Alex Golesh might have cost his Bulls a Playoff shot, when he chose going for it on 4th down over kicking a field goal to extend USF\u2019s lead at Memphis to 27-17. The 4th-down play failed (basically a go route to a freshman that had no chance) and Memphis eventually scored 17 consecutive points in the 4th quarter to win 34-31. Crushing. USF now needs help to reach the American Conference Championship Game \u2014 the winner of which likely will be ranked high enough to secure an automatic bid to the Playoff.<\/p>\n 8. The Manning family must really hate Mississippi State<\/p>\n Archie and Eli Manning starred at Ole Miss, so it makes sense that \u201cMississippi State\u201d would be a phrase uttered only with disdain. Arch went 1-1-1 during his time; Eli was 3-1 in the Egg Bowl.<\/p>\n Peyton Manning only faced the Bulldogs once, and he hung 52 on them in a blowout win.<\/p>\n Texas QB Arch Manning improved to 2-0 vs. Mississippi State, throwing for 346 yards and accounting for 4 TDs as Texas rallied from an unthinkable deficit to win 45-38 in OT. (Yes, he left with an injury before the game-winning toss, status TBD. No, the win most certainly did not keep alive the Longhorns\u2019 Playoff hopes. Those perished weeks ago.)<\/p>\n You don\u2019t need a Vandy degree to realize the Mannings are now 7-2-1 against Mississippi State.<\/p>\n Let the rest of the world focus on why and how Texas ever found itself in a 31-14 hole entering the 4th quarter against a team mired in a 15-game SEC losing streak.<\/p>\n Entering today FBS teams had lost 429 straight games when trailing by at least 17 points with 10 remaining in the 4th quarter, per CBS’ research team. <\/p>\n Texas just broke that streak, scoring 24 straight in a 45-38 overtime win over Mississippi State. pic.twitter.com\/c8YbqwZ0jy<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Chris Hummer (@chris_hummer) October 26, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n I\u2019m focusing on the more amusing aspect: The Mannings\u2019 mastery of Mississippi State.<\/p>\n 7. Hugh Freeze? Win\u2019s a win, but you didn\u2019t exactly earn a vote of confidence \u2026<\/p>\n There are some games you just have to win. Or they will find somebody else who can.<\/p>\n Saturday was that day for Auburn coach Hugh Freeze<\/a>, whose seat already was so hot that last week he publicly pleaded for a vote of confidence from his AD.<\/p>\n Yeah, that\u2019s not happening. Credit Auburn for a 17-0 4th-quarter blitz that allowed the Tigers to escape with a 33-24 win, but it\u2019s difficult to say the Tigers were impressive. However, they did enough, behind backup QB Ashton Daniels no less, to get to 4-4 and reignite their bowl hopes. Auburn still has Kentucky and Mercer remaining, so 6 wins is all but a lock. Anything less and the conversation about Freeze\u2019s future ends really quick.<\/p>\n However \u2026 will 6-6 be enough to save Freeze?<\/p>\n For weeks, I\u2019ve said Freeze was 1 of the next 5 head coaches who would be fired. Last week, I said I wouldn\u2019t fire him but still believed Auburn would. I falsely assumed that Auburn would hammer Arkansas in Week 9.<\/p>\n Yeah, that didn\u2019t happen, either, despite the final 9-point margin.<\/p>\n Arkansas was 0-3 in the SEC, had lost 5 in a row and obviously already fired its head coach earlier this season.<\/p>\n There are some games that spell out the T-H-E E-N-D so simply that a 2nd-grader would get it. Auburn fans turned the page weeks ago and might not have even watched the final 15 minutes Saturday. They\u2019re in Napier Watch mode now, just waiting for the press release.<\/p>\n If you were on the fence, waiting for the sign, Saturday might have been it. Certainly at the end of the 3rd quarter, you were ready to cut the buyout<\/a> check for $15.437 million and move on.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re an eternal optimist, maybe you saw that comeback, on the road, with the backup QB all but securing bowl eligibility and thought the worm is turning. The Iron Bowl<\/a> is at Jordan-Hare, where the Tide have seen ghosts. Forget settling for 6-6, when 7-5 is possible.<\/p>\n I admire your optimism. But I doubt AD John Cohen shares it.<\/p>\n This is what happens when a conference wins back-to-back national championships. You get wild overreactions like this one, from Desmond Howard.<\/p>\n The only thing he got right was saying the Big Ten will only get 3 teams in the Playoff. I\u2019ve been saying that for weeks, while the masses just assume it\u2019s automatic that the B1G deserves 4.<\/p>\n 5. Ranking the Power Conference jobs<\/p>\n Seven Power conference coaches have been fired this season \u2014 with more to come, possibly as soon as later today. (Dave Doeren, what was that? Brian Kelly, bet you wish you were still up North.)<\/p>\n Using a completely made up metric of history\/athletic director\/likelihood of making the Playoff with 2 years\/toxicity of fan base\/where you\u2019d actually want to live, here\u2019s how I would rank the openings:<\/p>\n 1. Penn State: No-brainer at No. 1. This is one of the top jobs in the country \u2014 among current openings, potential openings, future openings. Just don\u2019t ask Nick Saban. He\u2019s not interested.<\/p>\n 2. Florida: Please do not mistake this as me saying this is the 2nd-best gig in the country. We are 20 years removed from that honor. It\u2019s the 2nd-best of these 7 current openings. (Overall, it\u2019s no better than the 8th-best gig in the SEC. Before you start screaming: 1. Alabama, 2. Georgia, 3. Texas, 4. LSU, 5. Texas A&M, 6. Oklahoma, 7. Tennessee, T8. Florida\/Ole Miss\/Missouri\/Auburn, then South Carolina, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt).<\/p>\n 3. Oklahoma State: OK State should have been poised to pounce the second Texas and Oklahoma bolted for the SEC. Instead, the Cowboys tanked. The new Big 12 is there for the taking \u2014 with the right coach.<\/p>\n 4. UCLA: The Miami of the West Coast? Sounds harsh \u2014 to both programs, actually \u2014 but there is no realistic reason that the Bruins have had just 1 top-10 finish since 1998. This should be a destination job for coaches and landing spot for recruits.<\/p>\n 5. Virginia Tech: Blacksburg ain\u2019t for everybody, I get it. But it\u2019s one of the few, true college football towns in the ACC. It\u2019s Football Country.<\/p>\n 6. Arkansas: Put Arkansas in the ACC or Big 12, and everything about this gig sounds significantly better than the reality of having to survive in the SEC. Money won\u2019t change that.<\/p>\n 7. Oregon State: Nothing against the program itself, but it\u2019s on an island. Yes, the Pac-12 is reinventing itself, but it will be years before anybody takes that league seriously. Any successful Group of 5 coach would be wise to stay put.<\/p>\n 4. The SEC\u2019s 4 Playoff teams are \u2026<\/p>\n We are 2 weeks from the first Playoff ranking. After 9 weeks of evidence, I\u2019m even more convinced that the SEC absolutely deserves 5 teams in the Playoff. (If we\u2019re being completely honest, the SEC has 6 of the 12 best teams in the country, easily.) But the politics won\u2019t allow that to happen, so we\u2019ll stick to projecting the 4 that will make the Playoff after the wildest week in recent SEC memory:<\/p>\n 1. Texas A&M: Among contenders, A&M had the most impressive victory in Week 9. Obviously, if A&M runs the table \u2014 borderline likely, especially given Mizzou\u2019s QB situation in light of Beau Pribula\u2019s injury \u2014 the Aggies are a Playoff lock. I live for chaos, though. The only problem is, any loss forces a thorough examination of the Aggies\u2019 schedule, which is solid, but not quite as strong as other potential 11-1 contenders.<\/p>\n 2. Alabama: I mean, if Kalen DeBoer<\/a> is going to start beating unranked teams regularly, too? We already know what he does to ranked teams.<\/p>\n 3. Georgia: Another title fight with Alabama in Atlanta? It\u2019s possible, with help. No way DeBoer beats Kirby Smart<\/a> for a 3rd consecutive time<\/a>, right?<\/p>\n 4. Vanderbilt: Major caveat \u2014 Vandy has to run the table and finish 11-1, including a resume-sealing win at ranked rival Tennessee<\/a>. At 11-1, the Commodores would have defeated 5 ranked SEC teams. That\u2019s the only way they stay in the mix. Am I caught up in the moment? I\u2019d wear the King Pavia costume while writing this if I had one. If Nick Saban is all-in on Vandy, who am I to disagree?<\/p>\n First out: Ole Miss: Statement win for Kiffin and the Rebels, no matter the details. The Rebels are staring at 11-1 with a possible trip to the SEC Championship Game<\/a>. They won\u2019t see another ranked team until the postseason. Their SOS\/resume isn\u2019t as strong as other contenders, but 11-1 in the SEC with 2 wins over ranked teams is 11-1 in the SEC with 2 wins over ranked teams. It holds up against the rest of the country \u2014 but will it hold up if 5 SEC teams finish 11-1 or better? That\u2019s entirely possible. If A&M, Vandy and Ole Miss all finish 11-1, I\u2019d probably pick A&M and Vandy over Ole Miss, based on quality wins, but who knows what the committee will do.<\/p>\n Bottom line: All 5 deserve to go.<\/p>\n 3. Oh, Jimbo \u2026<\/p>\n So, another year, another dozen tributes to Jimbo Fisher, who says he still wants to coach again.<\/p>\n This time, Yahoo wrote the piece, spending time with Fisher in Tallahassee. Standard stuff, a nice attempt to paint Fisher as, you know, a humble, good ol\u2019 ball coach trying to get back in the game.<\/p>\n \u201cI never got into coaching for money,\u201d he told Yahoo. \u201cWell, I\u2019m not going to get out of it because I\u2019ve got money.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s the rub. In real-time, as his Texas A&M saga was dragging toward its inevitable end, I wrote that Fisher needed negotiate a reduced buyout. It was the only shot he had of salvaging his sinking reputation. Negotiate, and you don\u2019t come off as a billboard lawyer with a whistle, chasing every last penny. Consider this: Sam Pittman<\/a> looked like a hero who actually loved Arkansas when he accepted a lower buyout. Fisher wouldn\u2019t be the butt of every buyout joke had he settled for, say, $60 million instead of the record-setting $77 million he\u2019s still being paid for not winning nearly enough at Texas A&M.<\/p>\n He chose to make that about himself. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019re away from something, it makes you reflect,\u201d Fisher told Yahoo. \u201cI\u2019m back to watching film and have those feelings. I miss the players and those relationships. I miss practice. I miss the grind. I live to coach. I love to do what I did.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s nice that he wants to coach again. I\u2019m sure he does. Maybe Arkansas, Oklahoma State or Oregon State offer to make him the lowest-paid coach in their conference. Virginia Tech makes the most sense. Until then?<\/p>\n There are high schools in and around Tally with openings.<\/p>\n 2. If I\u2019m Florida, I\u2019m making 1 phone call \u2026<\/p>\n And it\u2019s to the active USC head coach, not the former one y\u2019all want who was fired on the tarmac.<\/p>\n
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