SEC Football Unfiltered

Since the College Football Playoff’s inception, Alabama has never gone consecutive seasons without making the field. By missing the playoff last season, the Crimson Tide missed the program’s standard in Kalen DeBoer’s debut. He knows it. Now, Alabama has retooled with effective offseason maneuvering, but is it enough to make the playoff in the face of a tough schedule, with a new starting quarterback?

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No SEC football coaches were fired a year ago. What's the encore to that? Well, buckle up for a particularly spicy hot seat this season.

Proud programs like Oklahoma, Auburn and Florida starve for success at a level their current coaches haven't proven they can supply. The hot seat doesn't stop there, either.

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams identify their top five SEC coaches on the hot seat. Their lists ea...

It was a matter of time before a media member introduced the rumor that Nick Saban wants to return to coaching. Greg McElroy did the honors this week, saying that someone "in the know" told him that Saban will coach again.

McElroy later denounced the rumor he started. By then, it was too late. The rumor had gained oxygen and made the rounds at SEC media days. Never mind the veracity of this speculation.

On today's episode, hosts Bl...

Auburn’s athletic director says the Tigers are determined to do things "the right way." Never mind that Auburn’s recruiting class ranks last in the SEC. Have patience. Athletic director John Cohen’s words echo the sentiments of coach Hugh Freeze, who admits Auburn's recent approach is "not really to our advantage."

Who cares about rules nowadays? Insisting on doing things "the right way" tends to be the battle cry...

The SEC became the nation’s best conference because of its strength at the line of scrimmage, punishing running backs and perimeter speed. Somewhere along the way, though, this conference began attracting the best quarterback talent, too.

That’s especially reflected this season. The SEC's crop of quarterbacks includes a crowded top tier, resulting in a heated debate about who's the No. 1 man.

On today's episode, host Bl...

The company line within the SEC is that no other conference matches the gauntlet of its conference schedule. Perhaps, but it's also true that no other conference plays as many cupcake games as the SEC.

That's a sticking point for the Big Ten as the conferences try to reach an agreement on a College Football Playoff format for 2026 and beyond. The Big Ten wants the SEC to join it in playing nine conference games. The SEC, so far, ke...

Tennessee’s mid-April quarterback swap damaged the Vols’ chance of making the College Football Playoff, but did the Nico Iamaleava for Joey Aguilar swap make the Vols one of the SEC’s weakest teams? That’s what one preseason publication thinks.

Lindy’s magazine picked Tennessee 11th in the SEC in its conference picks. Might want to take a peek at that schedule, though, before predicting such a freefall...

Several SEC coaches enter this season facing an inflection point in their tenures. That doesn't necessarily mean each of these coaches is on the hot seat (not yet, anyway), but this projects as a defining season for coaches like LSU's Brian Kelly, Florida's Billy Napier and Auburn's Hugh Freeze.

Kelly says he's got his best LSU roster to date. No argument here. Napier's Gators finished last season on a hot streak. Auburn hasn't sho...

Battle lines are forming in the ongoing debate for the College Football Playoff's future format. The Big Ten wants to rig the playoff. The Big 12 and ACC fight against that.

The SEC hangs out in the middle, unsure whether to side with the Big Ten or the other power conferences.

To rig, or not to rig? That is the question.

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams unpack the leading playoff formats under consideration...

The SEC's scheduling debate will renew when the conference's spring meetings begin later this month.

It's that age-old question of whether to stick with eight conference games or bump up to nine.

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams debate the merit of adding a ninth conference game versus sticking with the status quo. Retaining the eight-game format would sacrifice the annual nature of some secondary rivalries,...

Did Texas just assemble the best team money can buy? Maybe. Alternatively, it spent big for a playoff-caliber roster that will come up short of the national championship game once again, after two straight years bowing out in the semifinals.

This much we know: The Longhorns spent big. Just how big? Well, the Houston Chronicle recently reported that Texas’ budget for its 2025 squad is expected to be in the $35 to $40 million r...

Kirby Smart remains the No. 1 coach in the SEC. Any naysayers, consider the reigning SEC champion. It's Georgia.

When ranking SEC coaches, 1 through 16, the debate becomes lively after Smart, the obvious starting point.

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams reveal their lists, from first to last. 

Auburn's Hugh Freeze becomes the subject of the biggest disagreement among the hosts. 

Adams also goes just...

Tennessee slapped a tire patch in the gaping hole in the rubber of its quarterback situation. UCLA’s disposable goods became the Vols’ prize.

Tennessee is expected to add transfer quarterback Joey Aguilar from UCLA, after the Vols lost starter Nico Iamaleava to none other than UCLA.

In other words, UCLA decided it would rather anoint Iamaleava as its starter than Aguilar, who transferred in December after two seasons st...

Nico Iamaleava reportedly wanted more money from Tennessee. The Vols wouldn’t meet his demands, so, Tennessee’s starting quarterback entered the transfer portal.

Iamaleava now needs a new school to pay him to be its starting quarterback, while Tennessee needs a transfer to stay in the playoff contender column for this season.

This public breakup between a quarterback and a school that had invested so much in him encapsu...

March Madness just does not miss.

This year’s tournament served fewer upsets but made up for it with an epic Final Four. 

The 68-team tournament provided another reminder that this annually stands as one of the best postseason events in all of sports – not just college sports.

In contrast, college football supplies maybe the best regular season in sports, but its postseason often falls flat. Even College Football P...

The nation's best basketball conference supplied half the teams in the Final Four. Bravo, SEC. The SEC lived up to the hype throughout March Madness, taking the Sweet 16, Elite Eight and now Final Four by storm.

Even so, oddsmakers point to Duke as having the best team, and if you've watched the Blue Devils throughout the tournament, you know that's a fair projection.

So, which SEC team is better positioned to upset Duke in the nat...

Cinderella went home before curfew, and true madness never appeared this March. That’s fine by the SEC. The relative lack of chaos in this NCAA Tournament proved good for the conference that qualified the most teams.

The SEC advanced a record seven teams into the Sweet 16, and the conference retains an opportunity to sweep the Final Four spots.

In today’s basketball-themed episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams g...

The SEC has taken March Madness by storm, and the conference enjoys a strong chance for multiple Final Four berths due to its sheer volume of qualifiers and the lofty seeding of several of its teams.

It’s not all that far-fetched to consider the possibility of the SEC claiming every spot in the Final Four. Among the SEC’s top teams, which faces the toughest path to San Antonio? That might be Auburn. The No. 1 overall se...

The conversation of best active coaches without a national championship begins with Gonzaga's Mark Few. You won't get very far down that list, though, before arriving at Auburn's Bruce Pearl and Tennessee's Rick Barnes.

They're career winners. They've been great for their respective universities. Each owns a Final Four appearance. But, they continually come up short of the top prize. This could be the year one of those two coaches ...