SEC Football Unfiltered

Greg Sankey says the SEC is 16 strong today and will remain at 16 strong tomorrow.

What about the day after that? How about next year? Sankey has less to say about that subject.

Meanwhile, fissures linger in the ACC. Florida State wants out of the ACC. The Seminoles and Clemson are both suing the ACC. That's not the sign of a league in harmony.

If FSU, Clemson and others defect, where would they go?

On today's episode, hosts Blake ...

If Georgia is No. 1 in the SEC, then who's No. 2?

The media who cover the SEC will vote to predict the standings next week. The elimination of divisions adds intrigue to the vote. The Bulldogs likely will be picked to win the conference.

But, will the media go with newcomer Texas at No. 2? Or, maybe blue blood Alabama? Others like Ole Miss shouldn't be ignored, either.

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams weigh ...

The move that put the realignment carousel into motion three years ago finally is complete. Oklahoma and Texas are members of the SEC, and the nation's most powerful conference literally partied for days in celebration.

The realignment of this conference and these brands was enough to shake up college sports. This marks the third SEC expansion in the past four decades. Oklahoma and Texas are the SEC's best-ever expansion prize.

But...

As a 16-team conference with Oklahoma and Texas on board, the SEC is an undeniable super league.

The SEC doesn't need to expand again. But, don't rule out the SEC wanting to, especially if the ACC fractures.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey says the conference is focused on its current membership, but he didn't entirely shut down the idea of further expansion, when asked directly.

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adam...

You’ve heard of hot takes. You’re probably familiar with cold takes.

But, do you know of lukewarm takes?

They might be the truest predictions of all, and hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams are serving a helping of those lukewarm SEC football takes on today’s episode.

What constitutes a lukewarm take? It’s an against-the-grain prediction that doesn’t rise to the piping-hot level of a hot take.

A surprise SEC team will be ranked co...

The first 12-team College Football Playoff projects to be an SEC party. Nine SEC teams profile as playoff hopefuls, but not all of them can qualify.

Four playoff teams from the SEC seems reasonable. What about five? That’s a stretch, but doable if the SEC catches a few breaks.

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams unpack the SEC’s playoff outlook and handicap the hurdles standing in the way of the SEC qualifying ...

Georgia's backup quarterback is suing an SEC coach. Welcome to college football in 2024.

In a lawsuit filed this week, Jaden Rashada is suing a top Florida booster, a former recruiting staffer and Gators coach Billy Napier after Rashada's NIL deal with Florida unraveled while the quarterback was a blue-chip prospect.

Rashada's attorney says the quarterback was defrauded. He's seeking millions in damages. 

On this edition of "SEC Fo...

Either Georgia or Ohio State will be preseason No. 1. But just how heavily are those teams favored to win the national championship?

The SEC will be even more of a juggernaut than usual, following the arrival of Texas and Oklahoma. Georgia's schedule will include games against Clemson, Texas, Alabama, Ole Miss and Tennessee. That's a rugged road before the playoff arrives. Ohio State is loaded but will transition to a new starting ...

The SEC is as strong as ever. That’s what a preseason top 25 from 247Sports suggests, anyway. The website updated its rankings while spring practice concluded. Nine SEC teams are ranked in the top 25, including eight inside the top 15.

Those rankings indicate that about half of the conference enjoys realistic aspirations of contending for the College Football Playoff. The SEC and Big Ten account for each of the top nine spots in th...

Brian Kelly says there’s “no doubt” his 2024 LSU Tigers can contend for a national championship.

Pardon us, but we have some doubts.

Start with: How much better is LSU’s defense? LSU led the nation last season in scoring while finishing 10-3, but it lost three offensive stars to the NFL Draft's first round, including quarterback Jayden Daniels.

The offense is almost bound to regress. To become a true championship contender, the def...

Arch Manning stole the show at Texas' spring game, while Quinn Ewers played sparingly.

What does that mean? Well, for first up, let's slow the idea of any Texas quarterback controversy. Ewers didn't play much because he's got a grip on the starting job. This spring game became more focused on developing backup quarterbacks.

Manning's 355 passing yards were a sign of abilities and his growth and evidence that Texas possesses more th...

Georgia's Carson Beck and Alabama's Jalen Milroe rank among preseason Heisman Trophy frontrunners.

But, forget awards for a moment. Does one of these quarterbacks have to battle to retain his starting job?

At Georgia, that's not the case. Beck remains Georgia's QB1. End of discussion.

What about Milroe? A new coaching staff adds uncertainty to the quarterback competition, but, to hear Milroe tell it, he's hitting it off with Kalen ...

John Calipari's whopper buyout saddled him to Kentucky. Not anymore, though, as Calipari prepares to exit out the side door to Arkansas.

This looks like a potential win-win-win for Arkansas, Kentucky and Calipari, and one of the nation's biggest basketball jobs is now on the market.

Where will Kentucky turn?

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams weigh in on Kentucky's search to replace Calipari. Each host offers ...

Can we agree Kirby Smart is the SEC's top football coach? A better debate: How to rank SEC schools by football coach plus their men’s basketball coach. Would Georgia remain No. 1 in such a ranking? What about Alabama? Where does Tennessee factor into the mix?

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams rank their top eight SEC schools in terms of football plus men’s basketball coaches.

In some instances, the school's f...

The ball tipped, and the upsets began.

Then the second round tipped, and chalk held strong. Each of the four No. 1 seeds remains in the NCAA Tournament in the Sweet 16, but does that mean we think it'll be all favorites in the Final Four? Nope.

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams revisit their March Madness predictions.

Three of Toppmeyer's Final Four picks remain in the tournament, while two of Adams' picks we...

Get your brackets finalized. Decide whether you want to lean into that No. 13 over a No. 4 upset pick. Lock in your Final Four.

The Madness is nearly here.

With eight SEC teams in the NCAA Tournament, including four that are either seeded No. 2, No. 3 or No. 4, could this be the year the conference produces a national champion for the first time since the 2012 Kentucky Wildcats?

On today's episode, Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams ar...

In the spirit of March Madness, we're ready to seed the SEC – but here's the twist. We're seeding for football.

Now, you might be thinking, "This sure sounds like an SEC football power ranking, doesn't it?" Well, yes. It's exactly that. But, this is the time of seeds, brackets and upsets, so why call this a power ranking? It's seeding, darn it!

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams offer their 2024 power ran...

Steve Spurrier weighed in on the state of Florida football under embattled coach Billy Napier, and the HBC's assessment came off as anything but a ringing endorsement.

Florida Times-Union columnist Gene Frenette quoted Spurrier questioning the direction of Napier's Gators in a recent column. The most biting quote?

“There’s a feeling around the Gators of, 'What the heck are we doing?'” Spurrier said.

Yes, indeed: What the heck is go...

The contract originates in the state of Texas, and the deal is a big one.

In those two ways, the contracts for Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian and former Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher are similar. Maybe it's true that everything is just bigger in Texas – even the paychecks. Sarkisian's salary now jumps to $10.3 million, while Fisher enjoys his record-breaking $77 million buyout.

Peel back the layers, though, and you'll see sever...