It's Only SEC (but I like it....)
GEORGE SOMERVILLE – THE TOUCHDOWN’s
SEC CORRESPONDENT
Week Five
The grind starts in October and guess what folks this weekend the SEC calendar ticks over into the month that brings us Oktoberfest and Halloween! October football, Fall football is with us! Woo-hoo!
Matters are getting serious now and teams are building heads of steam but this week some unbeaten runs must come to an end.
As you can imagine the pressure is growing on SEC head Coaches and there are already some feeling the heat from their seat.
Which is good news for me and you as there are more SEC storylines than you can shake a stick at…here are this week’s SEC headlines.
this weeks sec Stories
Sandstorm brewing in Columbia
Columbia, SC
Trouble in Paradise
There is a cloud hanging over Columbia SC and its a grey one. It’s not a black one…yet.
Results just have not gone the way of Shane Beamer’s team thus far. The Gamecocks face an in form Kentucky team on Saturday in what is an increasingly must win game for Shane Beamer. The Gamecocks are 2-2 this season with their two wins coming over Kent State and Towson. Subsequent defeats to the surprise package of the year, Mississippi State and what can only be described as a mauling by Alabama has got Gamecocks fans hot under the collar.
None of this is helped during all of this by sub par performances from QB superstar LaNorris Sellars. Fans are at a loss as to why their QB has struggled so far and just isn’t close to the standard of play we saw from his first season in Garnet and Black.
With negativity brewing around the program the last thing that Beamer needed was revolt. Which was what sadly happened on Saturday.
A Sandstorm brewing
Up until Saturday, South Carolina’s star pass rusher Dylan Stewart was hotly tipped to be the first defensive player off the board in the 2027 NFL draft. Stewart was highly thought of by NFL scouts. However Saturday against Alabama has cast a huge shadow over Stewart’s character.
Stewart was penalised during the Alabama game for punching Alabama’s Josh Ford in the head albeit Ford was still wearing his helmet at the time. However the incident got much more serious when Stewart made his way to the Gamecocks bench. Stewart appeared highly emotional and found himself in a number of heated exchanges with his coaches including Head Coach Beamer. After those exchanges Stewart played no further part in the game. After the game Beamer advised that Stewart had been suspended from the team “indefinitely”.
Suspension
Subsequently both the SEC and South Carolina jointly agreed to ban Stewart for one game as a result of the thrown punch. The outcome of Beamer’s conversation with his young defensive star in terms of his suspension have not been made public. However on Monday Beamer had this to say during his early week presser.
“He and I have had some emotional conversations with each other, Sunday and (Monday),” Beamer said. “Talking to his mom, who I love dearly, talking to her Sunday night and that’s her son. … He made a mistake, and I understand a lot (of) the negative attention he has brought on himself. …
“I also know the kid has a lot of stuff going on in his life. Yes, he’s Dylan Stewart, future NFL Draft star and all that, but he’s still a young man at heart and dealing with some things. We’re trying to help him through it. … Hopefully, this will be an opportunity for him to learn and be better going forward, whether that’s at South Carolina or when he gets to the next level.”
There is no doubt that the Gamecocks desperately need Stewart on Saturday against Kentucky but he will be absent. How much longer he will be missing after that game remains unknown. The one game suspension will be over but Beamer has said he will sit out indefinitely.
Talking of Beamer, the Gamecocks head Coach is feeling the heat and the one thing that Gamecocks fans are criticising Beamer for is losing his locker room. So while it might be counter intuitive to winning games, Beamer is going to have to stand strong against his wayward star.
Auburn Confidential: An SEC Spy Story
Auburn, AL
Now, if you have read this column for any length of time you know that the SEC is no stranger to bizarre stories. Heck, our great friends Marty & McGee have made a living out of”Hillbilly Headlines”.
So really it wouldn’t be a week in the SEC without a bizarro story. And this week did not disappoint.
Ok first up – should we be so surprised that Auburn has been caught up in another controversy? Outside of LSU no other SEC program seems to become embroiled in nonsense quite like Auburn. However this time the Tigers are the victims in this bizarre scenario.
a war eagle controversy
This week a former Auburn football staffer, David Jenrath was arrested for trying to pass sensitive information about the football program to other SEC schools.
Jenrath who was part of Hugh Freeze’s staff was retained by new Head Coach Alex Golesh under the Tigers new regime.
Jenrath is charged with theft of trade secrets and computer tampering, the Auburn Police Department announced. Both are felonies under Alabama law.
According to an article by On3.com Jenrath was dismissed earlier this year after he told Auburn personnel he was sick but was then seen in the student section during an Auburn baseball NCAA super regional game in June.
After he was fired Jenrath reportedly sent an email to nearly a dozen other schools that included sensitive documents. Per AL.com the information leaked was related to Auburn football recruiting, and there was nothing in the documents pertaining to game plans. Auburn was alerted to the situation by at least one of the schools contacted by Jenrath who reached out following the contact.
Whether this much of a muchness or a scandal which impacts the Auburn Tigers, the University and football program declined to make comment about the arrest.
Super Kamario lights up Stark-Vegas
Starkville, MS
We know that football is everything in Mississippi. But things are always so much better when both Mississippi teams in the SEC are on top form. Which is exactly where we are right now.
Both Ole Miss and Mississippi State are ranked inside the Top Ten in the most recent AP poll. Something which hasn’t happened since 2014.
Excitement is high within both program’s however it is fair to say that excitement is reaching fever pitch in Starkville. Why so? Well Hail State has genuinely found itself a Quarterback who is as they say in those parts, the real deal.
Kamario Taylor doesn’t just have Starkville in a state of euphoria. The nation is grabbed by “Super Kamario”.
a star is born
Kamario Taylor has been the driving force behind Mississippi State’s unbeaten start, leading the Bulldogs to a 4–0 record, including two SEC victories. Through four games, the sophomore quarterback has completed 83 of 120 passes for 1,192 yards, 14 touchdowns and just two interceptions, with a completion rate of 69.2%. He has added 185 rushing yards and a touchdown, taking his total offensive production to 1,377 yards. Taylor has thrown at least three touchdown passes in every game, with nine of his scoring passes covering 20 yards or more.
Heisman form?
His biggest statement came against No. 19 Missouri, when he threw for a career-high 360 yards and three touchdowns in a 31–24 victory. With State trailing 24–17, Taylor led two fourth-quarter touchdown drives, finding Sanfrisco Magee for the decisive 24-yard score.
Through September, he was tied for the national lead in passing touchdowns and ranked sixth in passing efficiency, having already comfortably surpassed his freshman-season totals of 629 passing yards and five touchdowns. That my fiends is Heisman winning form.
Saban speaks
Taylor’s emergence has also sparked controversy off the field. Speaking on ESPN’s College GameDay, Nick Saban said that, if he were still coaching, he would be trying to persuade the Mississippi State quarterback to enter the transfer portal. The remark drew backlash from fans who felt it was inappropriate for a prominent broadcaster to discuss enticing a player away from his school during the season. Even fellow panellist Pat McAfee described such an approach as “ethically suspect”, albeit during a joking exchange. Taylor responded after the Missouri victory by reaffirming his allegiance to the Bulldogs: “If you know me, you know I bleed maroon and white.”
Taylor faces perhaps his biggest challenge of the season so far when the Crimson Tide visit Starkville on Saturday. A win over Alabama will create an energy we haven’t seen in Starkville for a long time.
Hail state! More Cowbell, One world Record!
Starkville, MS
Ok, ket’s stay in Starkville for just a moment longer. If you are even remotely interested in College Football you know one of the great traditions in collegiate athletics is the noise of cowbells being rung at Mississippi State home games.
It is a tradition which goes all the way back to the time when the State University was Mississippi’s Agricultural & Mechanical college serving the long standing farming community in the Magnolia State.
This week the cowbells took on further legendary status when the Guinness Book of World Records confirmed that 41,819 cowbells ringing simultaneously set a new record for these types of bells or probably any bells for that matter being rung at the same time. The official count – made by 50 volunteers – happened during the 31-24 win over Missouri at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville.
It has long been seen as a huge home advantage for the Bulldogs especially in night games and is a tradition which requires an SEC exemption allowing them to be rung inside the stadium.
With Alabama visiting on Saturday and a 5-0 record at stake those cowbells will be more vital than ever to cause havoc during road team hurdles.
Week Five SEC Schedule
Across the sec
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3
Alabama (4-0, 2-0 SEC) at Mississippi State (4-0, 2-0 SEC) Series: ALA leads, 86-18-3
11 a.m. CT • ABC Last: ALA, 40-17 (2023 at Starkville)
Starkville, Miss. • Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field (60,311)
Vanderbilt (3-1, 0-1 SEC) at Georgia (4-0, 2-0 SEC) Series: UGA leads, 61-20-2
12:45 p.m. ET • SEC Network Last: UGA, 37-20 (2023 at Nashville)
Athens, Ga. • Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium (93,033)
Florida (4-0, 2-0 SEC) at Missouri (3-1, 0-1 SEC) Series: MIZ leads, 7-6
2:30 p.m. CT • ABC Last: MIZ, 33-31 (2023 at Columbia)
Columbia, Mo. • Faurot Field (65,000)
Auburn (3-1, 1-1 SEC) at Tennessee (3-1, 0-1 SEC) Series: AU leads, 29-22-3
3:30 p.m. ET • ESPN Last: AU, 30-17 (2020 at Auburn)
Knoxville, Tenn. • Neyland Stadium (101,915)
Kentucky (3-1, 1-1 SEC) at South Carolina (2-2, 0-2 SEC)
Series: SC leads, 22-13-1
4:15 p.m. ET • SEC Network Last: SC, 35-13 (2025 at Columbia)
Columbia, S.C. • Williams-Brice Stadium (77,559)
Arkansas (2-2, 0-1 SEC) at Texas A&M (2-2, 0-2 SEC) Series: ARK leads, 42-37-3
6 p.m. CT • ESPN2 Last: TAMU, 45-42 (2025 at Fayetteville)
Bryan – College Station, Texas • Kyle Field (102,733)
McNeese (2-3) at LSU (3-1, 1-1 SEC) Series: LSU leads, 2-0
6:45 p.m. CT • SEC Network
Baton Rouge, La. • Tiger Stadium (102,321)
Open Date:
Ole Miss (3-1, 1-1 SEC)
Oklahoma (2-2, 0-1 SEC)
Texas (4-0, 1-0 SEC)
GEORGE SOMERVILLE
COLLEGE FOOTBALL WRITER
GEORGE IS A LONG STANDING FANATIC OF LIFE AND FOOTBALL IN THE DEEP SOUTH AND WRITES HIS WEEKLY COLUMN CALLED “IT’S ONLY SEC” FOR THE TOUCHDOWN. HE IS ALSO CO-HOST AND ONE THIRD OF THE COLLEGE CHAPS PODCAST, THE UK’S FIRST PODCAST DEDICATED TO THE COLLEGE GAME.
