It's Only SEC (but I like it....)
GEORGE SOMERVILLE – THE TOUCHDOWN’s
SEC CORRESPONDENT
Cocktail Party Edition
Saturday is Spooky Season in the SEC – yes, it’s Halloween!
It’s the Cocktail Party in Atlanta, making the chances of strange happenings even greater on the day that the ghosts and goblins wreak havoc! There will be chaos and spooky goings-on, and that’s just during the tailgates!
I mean, what could possibly go wrong?!
To add to all the spooky goings-on, I will be IN Atlanta for the game, and I could not be more excited. I have long wanted to attend this game, and Atlanta is a great venue for me to visit. So while some, if not many, fans are unhappy at having to travel to Atlanta, I am beyond excited! So follow along on Twitter and Instagram to get all my news from the build-up and the game itself.
But before all of this, here we are in week 9 with so much at stake and SEC football at its best.
Here are this week’s headlines!
this weeks sec Stories
Same party, different addresss
Atlanta, GA
The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party is packing its bags. Georgia and Florida meet in Atlanta this Saturday, taking one of college football’s great traditions away from its familiar Jacksonville surroundings.
But why is this game called so? Florida Times-Union sports editor Bill Kastelz is credited with coining the phrase in 1958. The story goes that he watched a merry supporter offer a drink to an on-duty police officer and decided the festivities deserved a description of their own. With tailgating stretching well beyond matchday, the name stuck. Officials have since distanced themselves from the alcohol reference, but good luck persuading supporters to retire it.
JAX home of cocktails
Jacksonville has been the rivalry’s regular home since 1933, providing the distinctive spectacle of a stadium divided between red and black and orange and blue. Generations have built their autumn calendars around it, with championship ambitions and bragging rights frequently sharing the same afternoon.
This is not its first relocation. Stadium rebuilding sent the game to Gainesville in 1994 and Athens in 1995. Steve Spurrier’s Gators won both, scoring 52 points each time — memories Georgia supporters probably won’t be packing for Atlanta.
This latest move also comes courtesy of construction. Jacksonville’s EverBank Stadium is undergoing a major redevelopment, sending the 2026 meeting to Mercedes-Benz Stadium and next year’s game to Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium. Jacksonville welcomes the rivalry back in 2028, with an agreement running through 2031.
The temporary venues preserve the neutral-site format while delivering valuable revenue for both universities.
For now, Atlanta inherits the noise, colour and nerves. The address has changed; the neighbours still don’t like each other.
What a difference a bye week makes
Atlanta, GA
Both teams enjoyed a weekend off, but Georgia and Florida arrived at their bye weeks with very different feelings.
Gators gathering momentum
Florida’s 27–24 victory at Texas restored belief after bruising defeats against Missouri, 45–17, and South Carolina, 38–19. Georgia, meanwhile, have had a fortnight to digest their first defeat of the season. The Bulldogs remain the higher-ranked team, but the Gators carry the fresher winning feeling into Atlanta.
Jon Sumrall offered the week’s most pointed assessment of a rivalry Georgia has won five times running.
“We need to do our part to make it a rivalry,” Florida’s first-year head coach said this week.
How do the Gators do this? First, Sumrall must settle his quarterback situation. Aaron Philo missed the Texas game with a throwing-shoulder injury, allowing Tramell Jones Jr. to deliver a memorable first start: two touchdown passes, no interceptions and a victory in Austin.
That performance gives Jones a head start, yet both quarterbacks are listed as questionable. Sumrall says “health and availability” will determine his decision. Naming either as the confirmed starter would be premature. As of writing this, no announcement has been made by Florida on the starting QB. And let’s be honest: with the magnitude of this game, the decision will be game time – at least publicly.
Smart certainly isn’t dismissing either option.
“One beat Ole Miss handily and one beat Texas on the road,” Smart observed, while praising Florida offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner’s ability to accommodate both quarterbacks’ strengths.
Whoever takes the snaps needs help from Jadan Baugh. The Atlanta-area running back gained 91 yards at Texas and can give Florida the balance required to protect their quarterback. Receiver and return threat Vernell Brown III, listed as probable after missing three games, could give whoever is playing quarterback another elite target.
Dawgs seeking a response
For Georgia, Gunner Stockton’s response matters. His late fumble helped open the door for Auburn, but his season still includes 16 touchdown passes. Winning the turnover battle is key to this game. Whoever makes the fewest mistakes will almost certainly come out on top.
This is where Georgia’s greater consistency makes them favourites. Stockton’s mistake against Auburn was unusual. This is a team that protects the ball.
Florida have already demonstrated their capacity to upset a contender. If the Gators can establish Baugh, put pressure on Stockton and protect possession, they can make Saturday considerably more uncomfortable for Stockton & Co than recent history suggests.
An old friend, familiar foe
Athens, GA
Buster Faulkner knows what it takes to win a National Championship at Georgia. Florida now hopes he knows how to beat the Bulldogs.
The Gators’ offensive coordinator spent three seasons on Kirby Smart’s staff from 2020 to 2022, serving as an offensive quality control coach during Georgia’s consecutive national championship runs.
Since leaving Athens, however, Faulkner has made a habit of giving his former colleagues uncomfortable afternoons.
As Georgia Tech’s offensive coordinator from 2023 to 2025, he helped turn Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate into a more competitive affair. Georgia won all three meetings, but each was decided by eight points or fewer.
The standout came in Athens in 2024, when Tech pushed the Bulldogs through eight overtimes before losing 44–42. Faulkner’s offense amassed 563 yards, including 508 in regulation, showing that Georgia’s defence could be stretched, stressed and outmanoeuvred.
Last season brought another narrow defeat, 16–9, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Now Faulkner returns to the same venue wearing Florida colours, attempting to turn familiarity and near misses into a breakthrough.
There is considerable respect beneath the rivalry. Smart described Faulkner this week as “one of the best offensive minds in the country”, recognising the challenge posed by someone who understands Georgia from both sides of the fence.
That knowledge offers Florida an intriguing advantage, although familiarity works both ways. Smart knows the coach across from him equally well.
Faulkner has already helped Georgia celebrate championships and made them sweat in rivalry games. On Saturday, Florida wants him to deliver the next step.
Lane's Daylight Robbery
Baton Rouge, LA
Lane Kiffin has found another reason to take aim at the SEC. This time, the problem is the clock.
Saturday, November 7th’s LSU’s meeting with Alabama in Baton Rouge will kick off at 2.30pm local time, denying Kiffin the full Saturday-night-in-Death-Valley experience for his first home meeting with the Crimson Tide as Tigers head coach. It will be the rivalry’s first daytime kickoff in Baton Rouge since 2010.
“I never even considered that it wouldn’t be at night,” Kiffin said this week.
His disappointment quickly developed into a familiar jab at the conference office. Kiffin said he had joked that the scheduling decision reduced LSU’s home advantage, linking his suspicions to the university’s ongoing eligibility disputes with the SEC. Anyone believing the league wanted LSU to win, he suggested, “must have just been on Mars the last four months.”
There is an additional twist: the prime-time ABC slot goes to Georgia at Ole Miss, the programme Kiffin left for Baton Rouge. His former employers get the evening spotlight while his current supporters apply their sunscreen.
That makes for an irresistible storyline, although it hardly establishes a scheduling conspiracy. ESPN selects the television windows, and Georgia–Ole Miss offers another heavyweight matchup.
There is also an inconvenient historical detail for the prosecution. The last time Alabama visited Tiger Stadium for an afternoon kickoff, LSU won 24–21.
Perhaps daylight isn’t the enemy after all. With both teams entering their bye week at 6–2, beating Alabama would get Kiffin’s LSU back on track to a playoff berth in his first season in the Bayou.
A long awaited return
Columbia, MO
It’s taken some time; however, Missouri confirmed this week that star running back Ahmad Hardy will finally return to action on Saturday.
For Hardy, simply stepping onto the field against Arkansas this Saturday will be a moment worth celebrating.
Hardy is expected to make his season debut in Fayetteville, almost six months after being shot in the leg while attending a concert in Mississippi. According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, he will not start but should receive a handful of carries.
That sounds like a modest workload. Given everything Hardy has endured, it represents something considerably bigger.
The Missouri star returned to practice this week after receiving medical clearance, another milestone in a recovery which has demanded patience from player, coaches and supporters alike. Eli Drinkwitz had resisted putting a firm date on his return, understandably prioritising Hardy’s recovery over any football timetable.
Before the shooting, Hardy had established himself among the country’s outstanding running backs. His 1,649 rushing yards led the SEC last season, while 16 rushing touchdowns helped earn him consensus All-American honours.
Missouri have found another productive runner during his absence. Jamal Roberts has carried the load impressively, meaning Hardy can return without immediately having to shoulder the entire offence.
There will be time to discuss what that partnership might mean for the Tigers’ remaining schedule. This weekend, the significance is far more personal.
Football careers are usually measured in statistics. Hardy’s first carry of 2026 will carry a meaning no box score can capture.
Whatever the result against Arkansas, that is something worth applauding.
Starkville is home
Starkville, MS
While there was good news in Missouri, there was miserable news in Starkville. “Super Kamario” has been grounded, and Mississippi State’s promising season suddenly looks a considerably tougher assignment.
The Bulldogs confirmed Tuesday that quarterback Kamario Taylor will miss the remainder of the campaign with a foot injury requiring surgery. He is expected to make a full recovery, but that offers little comfort to supporters who watched him transform their autumn.
Taylor threw for 1,460 yards and 17 touchdowns, completing 65.4 per cent of his passes across six appearances. His emergence helped State start 4–0, giving Jeff Lebby’s rebuilding project a compelling focal point.
The injury has stubbornly refused to cooperate. Taylor missed the LSU defeat before attempting a return against Oklahoma, only to aggravate the problem and leave during the first quarter of the 23–15 loss.
Now the focus shifts from getting him through Saturdays to getting him healthy.
“My role will look different these next several weeks, but my commitment to this team won’t change,” Taylor said.
He also offered three words Bulldog supporters will particularly appreciate: “Starkville is home.”
That is an encouraging message which will keep Hail State fans happy in the short term: Taylor sees his future in Starkville.
Lebby described Taylor as the “ultimate teammate and competitor”, stressing that his leadership will remain important throughout his recovery.
On the field, Parker “Billy” Puckett faces the task of keeping the offence moving, beginning with a difficult trip to Texas.
State has lost three straight since their unbeaten start. Without their most dynamic player, finding the victories needed for bowl eligibility becomes an even greater challenge.
HALLOWEEN SATURDAY IN THE SEC
Across the sec
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31
Auburn (4-3, 2-3 SEC) at Ole Miss (5-2, 3-2 SEC)
Series: AU leads, 35-12
11:45 a.m. CT • SEC Network
Last: OM, 28-21 (2023 at Auburn)
Oxford, Miss. • Vaught-Hemingway Stadium (64,038)
Florida (5-2, 3-2 SEC) vs. Georgia (6-1, 4-1 SEC)
Series: UGA leads, 58-44-2
3:30 p.m. ET • ABC
Last: UGA, 24-20 (2025 at Jacksonville)
Atlanta, Ga. • Mercedes-Benz Stadium (75,000)
South Carolina (4-3, 2-3 SEC) at Oklahoma (4-3, 2-2 SEC)
Series: Tied, 1-1
3:15 p.m. CT • SEC Network
Last: OU, 26-7 (2025 at Columbia)
Norman, Okla. • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (83,489)
Mississippi State (4-3, 2-3 SEC) at Texas (5-2, 2-2 SEC)
Series: TX leads, 4-2
6:30 p.m. CT • ESPN
Last: TX, 45-38 OT (2025 at Starkville)
Austin, Texas • Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium (100,119)
Missouri (5-2, 2-2 SEC) at Arkansas (3-4, 1-3 SEC)
Series: MIZ leads, 12-4
6:45 p.m. CT • SEC Network
Last: MIZ, 31-17 (2025 at Fayetteville)
Fayetteville, Ark. • Reynolds Razorback Stadium (76,000)
Open Date:
Alabama (6-2, 4-2 SEC);
Kentucky (7-1, 5-1 SEC);
LSU (6-2, 3-2 SEC);
Tennessee (6-2, 3-2 SEC);
Texas A&M (4-4, 1-4 SEC),
Vanderbilt (3-5, 0-5 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.
