{"id":309128,"date":"2025-11-23T15:21:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-23T15:21:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/309128\/"},"modified":"2025-11-23T15:21:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-23T15:21:10","slug":"10-things-im-absolutely-overreacting-to-after-week-13-in-the-sec","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/309128\/","title":{"rendered":"10 things I’m absolutely overreacting to after Week 13 in the SEC"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s Lane Kiffin<\/a>\u2018s world, and we\u2019re all just fortunate enough to live in it.<\/p>\n

Ole Miss didn\u2019t even play this week, and The Lane Train still dominated national headlines.<\/p>\n

Is he staying? (He should.) Is he going? If he is going, where is he going?<\/p>\n

TBD, but Ole Miss certainly is going to the Playoff. Just like Notre Dame and, sorry, Paul, the highest-ranked Group of 5 champion. Diego Pavia better be going to New York as a Heisman finalist.<\/p>\n

The clock struck midnight, however, for \u201cArch sucks\u201d takes, Stephen A. Smith\u2019s SEC credibility and Alabama\u2019s ground game, which, when not playing an FCS opponent, hasn\u2019t been this bad since \u2026 1955<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Those are just some of the 10 things I\u2019m absolutely overreacting to after Cupcake Week Week 13 in and around the SEC.<\/p>\n

10. Assessing Lane Kiffin\u2019s options<\/p>\n

LSU reportedly has offered Lane Kiffin a 7-year, $90 million deal, with an annual salary of $13 million. Florida and Ole Miss reportedly have matched the annual offer and robust NIL investment.<\/p>\n

To be honest, I\u2019ve been more amused by the frantic, daily arm\u2019s race than interested in who has the edge.<\/p>\n

Why? At the risk of repeating myself, I think it\u2019s a moot point. I can\u2019t understand why Kiffin would leave everything he has built at Ole Miss, where every goal he could possibly entertain anywhere else already exists in Oxford.<\/p>\n

If this were 2021, done deal. It\u2019s not. <\/p>\n

We are in the NIL\/Portal\/Parity Era. Coaches and players no longer need to go to a handful of programs to chase a championship. LSU probably will win another natty, with or without Kiffin, but it will never have another team as great as the 2019 team. That\u2019s just the new and improved reality of college football.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also the reputational risk of Kiffin leaving Ole Miss in the middle of a historic Playoff push, abandoning the place that allowed him to seemingly find peace, plant roots and start building a legacy that doesn\u2019t begin with being fired on a tarmac.<\/p>\n

For those reasons and others, I\u2019ve written and still believe that Kiffin is better off staying at Ole Miss, where his name could soon be on the turf at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think there\u2019s any chance Kiffin goes to Florida, where he\u2019d never escape Steve Spurrier\u2019s shadow and would have to win 3 national championships just to upstage Urban Meyer.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s more difficult to ignore LSU\u2019s history and stranglehold on Louisiana\u2019s best recruits \u2014 but it\u2019s also impossible to ignore LSU\u2019s current state of instability and penchant for firing coaches.<\/p>\n

If Kiffin goes \u2014 again, he shouldn\u2019t, and I\u2019ll only believe it when I see it \u2014 it will be to LSU. If that happens, he better win a national title by Year 3 \u2026 or else.<\/p>\n

9. Finebaum was absolutely right to call out Stephen A. Smith<\/p>\n

In case you missed it, Stephen A. Smith believes Kiffin is gone and Ole Miss fans need to get over it. He said it\u2019s easier to win national titles at LSU and Florida than Ole Miss. It used to be, sure, but not anymore.<\/p>\n

Regardless of where you stand on that side issue, this is where Smith went off the rails:<\/p>\n

In explaining to Paul Finebaum and others on ESPN why Kiffin will leave for LSU or Florida, Smith said this: \u201cI\u2019m going to bring it home, all right. He\u2019s in Oxford, Mississippi, OK? Let\u2019s get this out the way. Listen, ladies and gentlemen, you all can\u2019t say it. Don\u2019t you dare say it Paul, don\u2019t you say it Doggie (Chris Russo), don\u2019t you say it Shae (Cornette). Leave it to me, I\u2019ll say it. The brothers ain\u2019t trying to come to Oxford, Mississippi for the most part compared to Gainesville or Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Let\u2019s just call it what it is, OK?\u201d<\/p>\n

Finebaum didn\u2019t react in the moment, but he later addressed Smith\u2019s characterization of Oxford on his show.<\/p>\n

\u201cI realize a lot of you did not see what Stephen A. said, but he clearly made it racial,\u201d Finebaum told his audience. \u201cHe clearly said, in his words, \u2018the brothers do not want to go to Oxford, Mississippi,\u2019 which has been proven to be completely incorrect. I\u2019ve been to Oxford a million times and I think it\u2019s terribly unfair to bring up echoes of yesteryear, the \u201960s, and try to portray Oxford as that type of place today. It\u2019s not. The South has changed. You can make your own interpretation, but to dump on Oxford while saying Gainesville and Baton Rouge would be utopia was just baffling to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

National commentator Tim Brando also admonished Smith, writing on X<\/a> that \u201chis words were divisive, despicable and given his pedestal a true reflection of how the self proclaimed World Wide Leader views Mississippi and the South in general. I\u2019ve respected Stephen A\u2019s work ethic and intelligence and have stated such many times over. Words matter and his this morning were reprehensible and will never be forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brando has a daughter who went to Ole Miss and started his career at ESPN.<\/p>\n

Media beefs frequently are ego-driven, occasionally staged and rarely matter. (See: Whitlock vs. Stephen A.)<\/p>\n

This was different.<\/p>\n

Two media heavyweights rightfully calling out arguably the biggest name in sports talk for feeding stereotypes was a meaningful moment. Last week, Smith was among the many (myself included<\/a>) who called out the Texas state trooper who bumped into 2 South Carolina players. Smith said the Trooper should be suspended<\/a> and never work another game.<\/p>\n

Too bad ESPN stayed silent after Smith\u2019s harmful commentary about Ole Miss.<\/p>\n

8. \u2026 however, this Playoff take was horrible, Paaawwwl!<\/p>\n

It is absolutely incredible how fast the Playoff discussion has jumped the shark.<\/p>\n

Fifteen years ago, I was on an island actually wanting a Playoff. As soon as it arrived, I began pleading for expansion while others broke out their bullhorn over concerns that we\u2019d never find 4 quality teams! Now we\u2019re at 12, with everybody in America having a shot \u2026 and the noise is growing louder every day about the intruder who crashed the Haves\u2019 party.<\/p>\n

This week, Finebaum, a friend of SDS, by the way, blasted the new system that \u201clets the Group of Whatever in\u201d and \u201cthat division really has no business playing\u201d in the Playoff. (He specifically called out the USF and the American Conference as unworthy, perhaps forgetting that USF beat Florida, Memphis beat Arkansas, North Texas beat Washington State, and Tulane beat Northwestern and Duke \u2026 this season.)<\/p>\n

That\u2019s his opinion. That\u2019s fine. <\/p>\n

Finebaum also said: \u201cThat\u2019s like letting the Triple-A\u2019s best team into the major league playoffs. It doesn\u2019t happen in any other sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a fact error.<\/p>\n

Finebaum knows that literally every other major sport, pro and college, has a path for underdogs to fight for the national championship.<\/p>\n

The NCAA Tournament, the single greatest tournament in sports and the blueprint for how other playoffs are conducted, awards automatic bids to 31 conference champions \u2014 31! More than 80% of those automatic bids go to smaller conference champions that, using Finebaum\u2019s football logic, have no business being there?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s nonsense. Underdogs staging stunning upsets helped turn the NCAA Tournament into March Madness<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Finebaum specifically mentioned Major League Baseball and NFL as examples of leagues that only put the best teams in the playoff. Are you sure?<\/p>\n

In 2025, 3 wild-card teams had a better record than 2 division winners. Does Finebaum believe that the AL Central and AL West champs shouldn\u2019t have made the playoffs?<\/p>\n

Last year in the NFL, 4 wild-card teams had a better record than 3 of the 6 division winners. Should those 3 division winners have stayed home?<\/p>\n

Last year in the NBA, 5 teams with a losing record qualified for the playoffs.<\/p>\n

I could go on, but you get the point. Those sports give everybody the same opportunity to make the postseason. Finebaum knows that. It\u2019s his job to stir the pot. Again, fine.<\/p>\n

College football finally has it right. The only way to improve this system is to add to it and expand to 16, not suddenly revoke access to Group of 5 conferences that have forever been on the outside looking in \u2014 as if reserving 1 spot out of 12 for an underdog is the worst thing in this sport\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

7. Save your Cupcake Week jokes, a\u2019ight?<\/p>\n

Was I impressed with Texas A&M\u2019s 48-0 victory over FCS Samford?<\/p>\n

You know I wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Was it utterly unnecessary for Alabama to play (and subsequently beat the paw prints off) the FCS Eastern Illinois Panthers on Saturday?<\/p>\n

You know it was.<\/p>\n

But save your faux outrage, B1G Nation.<\/p>\n

Last year, 2 Big Ten teams played Eastern Illinois.<\/p>\n

This year, Indiana played FCS Indiana State, Ohio State played FCS Grambling, and Oregon played FCS Montana State. They just did it earlier.<\/p>\n

If it\u2019s OK for the B1G, it\u2019s OK for the SEC \u2014 no matter how loud the B1G talking heads scream into your TV.<\/p>\n

P.S.: That rugged B1G Week 13 schedule? Ohio State rested its 2 best receivers \u2014 including Heisman contender<\/a> Jeremiah Smith \u2014 because it knew it didn\u2019t need either to rip Rutgers.<\/p>\n

6. No, I\u2019m not mad about Alabama\u2019s Playoff ranking<\/p>\n

Have you replaced the big screen you broke after the Playoff committee dropped Alabama from No. 4 to No. 10 \u2014 behind 2-loss Notre Dame?<\/p>\n

I understand being a fan, but I don\u2019t get the outrage in this instance. Not after that Oklahoma game in Week 12, anyway.<\/p>\n

Change Alabama\u2019s team colors, peel off the iconic numbers and slap a logo on the helmets.<\/p>\n

Now watch that team actually play. Or, rather, watch that team try to run the football.<\/p>\n

The Tide can\u2019t. Not against real competition, anyway.<\/p>\n

Sure, they ran for 269 yards and 8 TDs against FCS Eastern Illinois, a glorified scrimmage that was less physical than the typical A-Day Game.<\/p>\n

Against real competition, however, the Tide are more 1-dimensional this season \u2014 and especially in their previous 3 SEC games \u2014 than they ever were under Nick Saban<\/a>. Even when Saban\u2019s dynasty was at its run-the-ball best, its passing game was reliable and potent enough to consistently contribute. Even when Saban switched gears and went all-in on airing it out, the running game never teetered on the edge of irrelevancy quite like this.<\/p>\n

Entering Week 13, Bama\u2019s passing game was averaging 186.0 more yards per game than the rushing game. That\u2019s the 2nd-largest yardage gap since Saban arrived \u2014 just behind the pass-happy 2021 group led by Heisman winner<\/a> Bryce Young. But even that team featured a 1,300-yard rusher in Brian Robinson Jr. <\/p>\n

Number can lie, sure. The yardage gap isn\u2019t critical if both sides are producing; see 2021. That\u2019s not happening in 2025. Jamarion Miller enters Week 14 with a team-high 410 yards, all but guaranteeing the Tide will fail to produce a 1,000-yard rusher<\/a> for the 4th consecutive season \u2014 and 2nd consecutive under Kalen DeBoer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Forget the 7 Bama teams under Saban that averaged north of 200 rushing yards per game. Every Bama team this century has averaged at least a modest 120 rushing yards per game. The last Bama team that failed to crack 110 rushing yards per game? The 0-10 1955 Tide.<\/p>\n

The Tide haven\u2019t topped 150 yards rushing yet this season against a Power conference team. They didn\u2019t gain 100 in their previous 3 SEC games. They ran for 87 and 80 yards, respectively, in losses to FSU and Oklahoma \u2014 which, not surprisingly, were Ty Simpson\u2019s 2 worst games of the season. <\/p>\n

Translation: If Simpson doesn\u2019t play like a Heisman Trophy winner every time out, the Tide are in serious trouble and look far more like a questionable bubble team than a Playoff lock fighting for a first-round bye.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know who needs to hear this, but Notre Dame would beat Alabama.<\/p>\n

5. 5 \u2018locks\u2019 that might not even make their league title game<\/p>\n

The greatest rivalry in college sports is Narrative vs. Results.<\/p>\n

Entering the final week of the regular season, we still don\u2019t know who is going to play in the most critical leagues\u2019 championship game.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s exactly how the NFL draws it up.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s still possible that Week 13 league leaders Ohio State, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Georgia Tech and Tulane don\u2019t even make their league title game. Likely? Not in each case, but possible. (MRed has a fun tool to break down scenarios<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Want chaos? The ACC has it, but it no longer owns exclusive rights.<\/p>\n

Georgia Tech could have wrapped up an ACC title game spot in Week 13, but Pitt blasted the Yellow Jackets \u2014 and now the Yellow Jackets need help to reach the ACC title game. Suddenly, Miami is back in the picture, but only if, among other things, it beats Pitt AND Virginia Tech upsets Virginia in Week 14.<\/p>\n

The Big Ten? Ohio State has been a wire-to-wire No. 1 and has the best odds to win the national title<\/a>, but if the Buckeyes lose at Michigan next week \u2014 more than possible \u2014 they would then need help to reach the B1G title game. (Granted, OSU\u2019s lose-and-still-make-it scenarios start with Indiana losing to Purdue, which isn\u2019t happening \u2026 but the possibility exists.)<\/p>\n

The Big 12? Texas Tech has led the race from the start, but if the Red Raiders lose to West Virginia, they\u2019ll need help to reach the title game.<\/p>\n

The SEC? There were so many title-game scenarios heading into Week 13, the SEC didn\u2019t even address it beyond saying nobody can clinch or be eliminated. Week 14 will provide all of the answers. The most interesting possibility? If Texas A&M loses to Texas, the Aggies suddenly need upsets in the Egg Bowl<\/a> and Iron Bowl<\/a> to make it to Atlanta for the first time.<\/p>\n

The American? There are at least 4 teams still in contention to reach its championship game. Tulane is in the driver\u2019s seat, but nothing is set. This race is particularly interesting because, most likely, it will produce the Group of 5 automatic bid. Any chaos here brings presumed Southern Conference champion James Madison into the picture. If that happens, there will be no silencing the noise about eliminating automatic bids for conference champions.<\/p>\n

4. Predicting the SEC\u2019s 4 Playoff teams<\/p>\n

The SEC\u2019s math problem came into full focus in Week 13.<\/p>\n

With 5 teams ranked in the top 10 of the Playoff rankings, of course the league has a case to get 5 teams in the Playoff. I\u2019ve made that case all season while also noting the math \u2014 and politics \u2014 won\u2019t allow it. <\/p>\n

Let\u2019s break it down.<\/p>\n

There are 7 at-large Playoff bids. <\/p>\n

Playoff No. 9 Notre Dame delivered the most impressive performance of Week 13, blowing out Syracuse as Jeremiyah Love added to his Heisman campaign with 171 yards and 3 TDs \u2014 against an ACC team, not an FCS team. The Irish are a Playoff lock assuming they handle Stanford in Week 14.<\/p>\n

That leaves 6 at-large bids.<\/p>\n

The B1G will grab 2 of those \u2014 the title game loser and Oregon, which handled USC in Week 13. That leaves 4 bids \u2014 and that\u2019s not even considering what happens if Michigan beats Ohio State (again) to finish 10-2.<\/p>\n

Miami is poised to pass lucky Week 13 winner Utah in the rankings and grab 1.<\/p>\n

See the problem? That pretty straight-forward scenario leaves 3 at-large bids remaining \u2014 and that\u2019s assuming the Big 12 only gets its automatic qualifier.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll let y\u2019all debate the resumes.<\/p>\n

After Week 13, these 4 SEC teams are headed to the Playoff:<\/p>\n

Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Georgia and \u2026 a fierce fight between Alabama or Oklahoma.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m giving the nod to Oklahoma, not only because the Sooners beat the Tide but also because Alabama\u2019s season-opening loss to FSU might be the worst among Playoff contenders.<\/p>\n

3. Six \u2026 Sevens? Have yourself a day, Arch<\/p>\n

\u201cPeyton never did that.\u201d That was my immediate reaction after Arch Manning made the best play of his young career, on the greatest day of his young career, Saturday against Arkansas.<\/p>\n

As a receiver.<\/p>\n

Manning, showing athleticism that neither of his famous uncles possessed, adjusted his feet to a high pass on a trick play, flipped his hips and feet, jumped and came down with a TD, all part of Texas\u2019 easy romp over the Hogs. We\u2019ve seen 5-star receivers drop passes like that.<\/p>\n

Manning\u2019s best play was merely the highlight of his best day. In addition to the TD catch, he threw for 389 yards and 4 TDs and also rushed for a TD. (Yes, teenagers, Manning accounted for 6 \u2026 7s.)<\/p>\n

In doing so, he became the first player in Texas football history to throw for a TD, run for a TD and catch a pass for a TD.<\/p>\n

He has now topped 300 yards passing in 4 consecutive games \u2014 all against SEC defenses.<\/p>\n

The preseason Heisman hype was ridiculous. So, too, were the overreactions that he\u2019s a bust.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s absolutely going to be a problem in 2026.<\/p>\n

2. Diego Pavia, SEC Offensive Player of the Year<\/p>\n

How fitting, on Senior Day, Heisman hopeful Diego Pavia delivered the single greatest offensive game in the history of Vanderbilt football.<\/p>\n

Pavia was nearly perfect, completing 33-of-39 passes.<\/p>\n

He set Vandy\u2019s single-game record with 484 passing yards.<\/p>\n

He tied Vandy\u2019s single-game record with 5 TD passes \u2026 and ran for another. (So, like Manning, Pavia accounted for, all together, 6 \u2026 7s. Promise, I\u2019ll never write that again.)<\/p>\n

Next week, he\u2019ll become just the 4th Vandy QB to pass for 3,000 yards. Barring injury, he\u2019ll break Kurt Page\u2019s record of 3,178 yards, too. With 26 TD passes, he\u2019s already tied Kyle Shurmur\u2019s single-season record and is on pace to become the first Vandy QB to throw for 30+ TD passes in a season.<\/p>\n

Along the way, he has led Vandy to the precipice of its first 10-win season.<\/p>\n

Words are fine, but give the man the hardware he deserves: SEC Offensive Player of the Year.<\/p>\n

Heisman? I still like Jeremiah Smith and Jeremiyah Love as the best players in America, but there\u2019s no denying Pavia is the Most Valuable Player in the country.<\/p>\n

1. Dear Shane, it\u2019s a little early for Talkin\u2019 SZN<\/p>\n

I realize Shane Beamer<\/a> has nothing left to play for \u2014 and now, not even a sentimental landing spot for his next gig \u2014 but this was a bit much.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do know next year at this time, we\u2019re going to be sitting here on this Tuesday night, watching the Playoff rankings to see where we are in ranking show,\u201d Beamer told reporters.<\/p>\n

Know? There\u2019s overreacting \u2014 and then there\u2019s just wishful thinking.<\/p>\n

Forget making it all the way to the National Championship Game on Jan. 19. Can we at least get through the SEC Championship Game before Talkin\u2019 SZN begins?<\/p>\n

\"Chris<\/p>\n

A 30-time APSE award-winning editor with previous stints at the Miami Herald, The Indianapolis Star and News & Observer, Executive Editor Chris Wright oversees editorial operations for Saturday Down South.<\/p>\n