It's Only SEC (but I like it....)
GEORGE SOMERVILLE – THE TOUCHDOWN’s
SEC CORRESPONDENT
WEEK 10
Well, after a couple of Saturdays bouncing around the SEC footprint, I’m back in the U.K. to watch the conclusion of the Conference football championship unfold.
And unfold it will. This week we have a full slate of conference games – yes, a FULL SLATE. Which means it just got very serious indeed – if it wasn’t serious already. With the first round of CFB Playoff rankings released this week, there is everything to play for. And I mean everything.
Which throws every game and every performance under the scrutiny of the Playoff committee and every fan and sports commentator out there. Critical eyes are everywhere. There is little room for error during any SEC schedule, but now for every team there is zero room for manoeuvre. And as we are starting to see, jobs are on the line as teams realise action is required to get a season back on track. That’s the cutthroat business of college football these days.
So this week, the tone of the column is solemn. Unless, of course, you are the Governor of Louisiana.
Here are this week’s headlines.
this weeks sec Stories
All roads lead to Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, LA
Alabama vs LSU is among, if not the biggest game on the college football calendar. If you think that is hyperbole, you just have to think back to games between these two being talked about as the best games in college football history and certainly the greatest spectacles to watch.
So in this respect Alabama vs LSU week rarely needs additional publicity in Baton Rouge. Nevertheless, LSU has managed to add a First Lady, a potential coaching reunion and considerable Playoff jeopardy to an occasion which already screams from the rooftops.
In a week of political turmoil, First Lady Melania Trump is scheduled to attend Saturday’s game. Why, I hear you ask? Well, her visit aligns with the announcement of a $5 million permanent endowment supporting scholarships for students who have experienced foster care. The First Lady’s Fostering the Future initiative will feature across campus and inside Tiger Stadium.
Aranda returns to the bayou
Meanwhile, another familiar face could be returning to campus. LSU is reportedly working to bring former defensive coordinator Dave Aranda into an analyst-type role, with Aranda already in Baton Rouge. His appointment has not been formally confirmed, but the potential reunion provides another intriguing subplot.
Aranda coordinated LSU’s defence from 2016 to 2019, helping deliver the national championship before leaving for Baylor. His dismissal from Baylor on October 25 has now created the possibility of a return to the place where his defensive reputation flourished.
Pairing Lane Kiffin’s offensive imagination with Aranda’s defensive experience certainly sounds appealing.
Saturday’s game matters enormously to the Tigers and the Crimson Tide. Both teams arrive 6–2, meaning somebody leaves with a third defeat and an increasingly uncomfortable route towards the postseason. As is typical, both have enjoyed a bye week to prepare. Alabama’s offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb finds himself under increasing pressure after the Tennessee defeat. Crimson Tide fans are expectant that Grubb can conjure up some magic to take down Kiffin and the Tigers.
"Just start drinking earlier"
Baton Rouge,LA
There are certain things you expect when Alabama visits LSU. Noise is certainly number one. The Tigers faithful pride themselves on creating an atmosphere capable of making the best of athletes crumble under the miscommunication and misunderstanding that the chaos brings. The other advantage that those in the Bayou much prefer is playing under the cover of darkness. Much is made of the moniker… “and It’s Saturday Night in Death Valley” and there’s a reason for that.
A daylight savings time controversy
This week the timing of kick-off has proved unexpectedly controversial. Saturday’s 2.30pm Central kick-off will be the first daytime meeting between these teams in Tiger Stadium since 2010. LSU won that one 24–21, although historical reassurance has not appeased LSU Head Coach Lane Kiffin.
The Tigers’ head coach admitted he had never considered that the game might be played during daylight. Asked about the decision, he suggested anyone believing the SEC wanted LSU to win “must have just been on Mars the last four months”. Kiffin’s way of ensuring the conference office heard his disappointment.
By Monday, Kiffin had moved from questioning the schedule to rallying the fanbase. His advice included an earlier breakfast, an earlier bedtime and, inevitably, “Start drinking earlier.” He even floated the idea of Baton Rouge shutting down at 10pm on Friday so everyone could get some sleep. A plan unlikely to succeed with this particular fanbase.
Of course it wouldn’t be the Baton Rouge circus without the sage advice of Governor Jeff Landry, who offered his own solution. Rather than turning clocks back an hour, he proposed that Louisiana “spring forward four hours”, allowing Alabama to experience an evening in Death Valley.
Not so fast my friend
Sadly, the Governor got his “fall back & spring forward” confused. While Kiffin hates the idea of a 2.30pm game, he certainly would not entertain a 10.30am game!
Behind the entertainment sits a legitimate football concern. LSU treasures its night atmosphere because the crowd is part of its home advantage. Kiffin wants that same intensity without waiting for darkness to fall.
The time, however, is set. LSU’s challenge is to make Alabama uncomfortable before sunset. Death Valley should not need a darkness clause to be dangerous.
Yet more Playoff Rankings controversy
Tuscaloosa, AL
The College Football Playoff committee released its first rankings on Tuesday and promptly reminded everyone why this exercise generates almost as much discussion as the games themselves.
Alabama, carrying two defeats, appeared at #5. Tennessee, also 6–2, sat eight places lower at #13. An undefeated UCLA occupied #8. If the intention was to give college football something to argue about before Saturday, consider the assignment completed.
The Tennessee comparison is particularly awkward. The Volunteers beat Alabama by 16 points only a few weeks ago. Supporters could reasonably wonder how such a decisive result translates into watching the defeated team sit comfortably above them.
clear as red clay mud
Committee chairman Hunter Yurachek’s explanation centred on Alabama’s broader résumé. He highlighted the road victory over sixth-ranked Kentucky, another win against South Carolina and success at Mississippi State when the Bulldogs were unbeaten and had their starting quarterback available. Seven of Alabama’s eight opponents, he noted, had records of .500 or better.
My tuppence worth? Maybe now the Playoff committee is actually starting to look at scheduling and the strength therein properly. For far too long the committee has been infatuated by wins and losses. The losses being particularly punitive. So maybe, just maybe, they have listened to the criticism and decided to take this evaluation more into their thinking.
Maybe, we’ll see.
win or bust
Where the explanation becomes harder to sell is head-to-head. Yurachek said Alabama’s victory over Kentucky mattered because those teams were being compared together. Tennessee’s victory over Alabama did not receive the same treatment because the teams occupied different stages of the ranking process.
So, you can understand why that leaves people scratching their heads.
But make no mistake – for Kalen DeBoer, Saturday offers the opportunity to replace committee-room debate with something tangible. Winning at LSU would strengthen Alabama’s argument considerably.
Lose, and #5 becomes an impossible position to defend. The committee has offered Alabama considerable respect. Baton Rouge will test how well it has been earned.
Venable's last throw of the dice?
Norman, OK
There comes a point when changing the offensive coordinator stops looking like a solution and starts looking like a head coach running out of places to turn.
Brent Venables may have reached it.
Oklahoma dismissed Ben Arbuckle on Monday, handing the offense to tight ends coach Jason Witten for the remainder of the season. The Sooners are 4–4, with Saturday’s trip to Florida offering the first examination of their latest reset in what is fast becoming a must-win game.
The Sooners and especially their offensive play have been a real disappointment this season. Disastrous at times. Oklahoma ranks 111th nationally in total offense and 108th in scoring. For a programme accustomed to offensive fireworks, this has become an exercise in checking whether somebody remembered to press the “fire” button.
More troubling is history repeating itself. Venables fired Seth Littrell during the 2024 season. Now Arbuckle, hired to provide the answer, has followed him out of the door. Different coordinators have resulted in depressingly similar conversations.
“My responsibility is to the whole team,” Venables said in announcing the decision. “We need a change,” he told the assembled media.
Of course Venables is right. But responsibility also extends to appointing the coaches, establishing the direction and ensuring that Oklahoma can function on both sides of the ball. Eventually, the questions move beyond whoever happens to be holding the play sheet.
New face, new troubles
Witten brings an outstanding playing résumé and championship success as a high school head coach. Asking him to repair an SEC offense in November, however, is a considerable assignment. There is little time for reinvention and even less patience for another explanation of what went wrong. This feels like a situation which is spiralling out of control with Venables at the helm.
Is this Venables’ last throw of the dice? Well, he is certainly saying that HIS defense is not the problem. The offense and in particular QB John Mateer, has had another troublesome year in Norman. The fit has just not been good for Mateer despite arriving in Norman alongside the coordinator he made his name with. It doesn’t guarantee success, but you would think that it would lead to an easier introduction to life in the SEC. Two years in and it clearly has been anything but an easy transition.
So, Arbuckle has paid for the offensive failures. Venables must now demonstrate that removing him actually addresses them.
Otherwise, the next change Oklahoma considers could concern the man making the changes.
What price on Venables being back at Clemson sooner rather than later? Get on the phone to your local oddsmaker.
WEEK TEN SEC SCHEDULE
ACROSS THE SEC
Texas (6-2, 3-2 SEC) at Missouri (6-2, 3-2 SEC)
Series: TX leads, 18-9-1
11 a.m. CT • ESPN
Last: TX, 33-16 (2017 at Texas Bowl)
Columbia, Mo. • Faurot Field (63,609)
Arkansas (3-5, 1-4 SEC) at Auburn (4-4, 2-4 SEC)
Series: AU leads, 21-13-1
11:45 a.m. CT • SEC Network
Last: AU, 33-24 (2025 at Fayetteville)
Auburn, Ala. • Jordan-Hare Stadium (88,043)
Texas A&M (4-4, 1-4 SEC) at South Carolina (5-3, 3-3 SEC)
Series: TAMU leads, 10-2
3 p.m. ET • ESPN
Last: TAMU, 31-30 (2025 at College Station)
Columbia, S.C. • Williams-Brice Stadium (77,559)
Alabama (6-2, 4-2 SEC) at LSU (6-2, 3-2 SEC)
Series: UA leads, 58-27-5
2:30 p.m. CT • ABC
Last: UA, 20-9 (2025 at Tuscaloosa)
Baton Rouge, La. • Tiger Stadium (102,321)
Vanderbilt (3-5, 0-5 SEC) at Mississippi State (4-4, 2-4 SEC)
Series: MSU leads, 15-7-2
3:15 p.m CT • SEC Network
Last: MSU, 45-6 (2021 at Nashville)
Starkville, Miss. • Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field (60,311) SiriusXM: 256 – 173/228
Kentucky (7-1, 5-1 SEC) at Tennessee (6-2, 3-2 SEC)
Series: TN leads, 85-26-9
6:15 p.m. ET • ESPN
Last: TN, 56-34 (2025 at Lexington)
Knoxville, Tenn. • Neyland Stadium (101,915)
Georgia (7-1, 5-1 SEC) at Ole Miss (6-2, 4-2 SEC)
Series: UGA leads, 34-14-1
6:30 p.m. CT • ABC
Last: UM, 39-34 (2025 at Sugar Bowl CFP Quarterfinal)
Oxford, Miss. • Vaught-Hemingway Stadium (64,038)
Oklahoma (4-4, 2-3 SEC) at Florida (5-3, 3-3 SEC)
Series: Tied, 1-1
7:45 p.m. ET • SEC Network
Last: OU, 55-20 (2020 at Cotton Bowl)
Gainesville, Fla. • Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (88,548)
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.
