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With seven weeks gone in the college football season, a quick look at some of the craziest stories that have dominated the SEC airwaves thus far this season:
10. Those crazy Lane Kiffin stories
Nobody actually knows where this started or why, but at some point in the lead-up to Alabama’s home date against Louisiana-Monroe in September, the internet pegged the universally loathed Tide offensive coordinator as either resigning, physically fighting Nick Saban in the locker room, sleeping with the wife of a prominent booster, or sleeping with Saban’s daughter. The stories never materialized into anything more than some fun on Twitter and quickly faded away, and were mostly forgotten after Alabama’s thumping win over Georgia in Athens the following Saturday.
9. Arkansas turtles in consecutive weeks
Before the season, one radio interview I heard noted that, since every SEC West head coach now makes at least $4 million per year, someone was going to finish this season and say, “We paid $4 million for that?” Arkansas entered that particular sweepstakes early in 2015, with consecutive home losses to Toledo and Texas Tech. The latter of those was particularly humbling, since it led to head coach Bret Beilema getting sonned in the postgame press conference by TTU head man Kliff Kingsbury. Arkansas is currently 2-4, and most recently made news because its head coach reacted like Ric Flair to draw a flag from an official.
8. Nick Chubb’s knee
This one is as painful to write as it was to watch: UGA’s Nick Chubb, a week after churning out 100 yards vs. Alabama for the 13th consecutive game, opened his team’s game at Tennessee by … well, I don’t really know how to describe it. But it was bad.
The extent of Chubb’s injury — as well as its impact on his career in football — is still not known, though he’s definitely done for this season and most likely at UGA. The injury will hopefully serve as yet another example of the NCAA’s idiotic “mission” to artificially inhibit its athletes’ earning potential while putting their bodies very much at risk for the everyone else’s profit.
7. Alabama’s QB issues
The Tide entered yet another season with an unknown at quarterback — it opened in Dallas against Wisconsin without a clear starter at the position, and actually continued that way through half of its titanic home date with Ole Miss. Kiffin and Saban elected to go with sophomore Cooper Bateman vs. the Rebels, and he rewarded their confidence by playing so well they removed him in the second quarter in favor of senior Jake Coker. Coker didn’t fare much better in the second half, but has since led Alabama to two road victories at Georgia and Texas A&M, and is now solidified as the starter as long as he is healthy.
6. Auburn’s QB/offense issues
A presumed national title contender when the season started, Auburn fans watched their once potent offense go shockingly in the tank behind starter Jeremy Johnson. Johnson — who we all thought would be scalding hot and might even be a Heisman candidate — instead played like someone who wandered onto the field by accident: 59.7 completion percentage, 5 TDs, 6 INTs, and a passer rating of 121.6. Auburn replaced him with backup Sean White prior to its home game with Mississippi State, a 17-9 loss; White went all the way last week at Kentucky in a 30-27 victory.
5. Tennessee’s second-half sadness
The Vols’ presumed breakout season has mostly been a disappointment thus far — UT surrendered second-half leads vs. Oklahoma, Florida and Arkansas (Arkansas!) and is currently out of the running for the SEC East (probably). The Florida loss was probably the most painful of those — Tennesse led 27-14 in the fourth quarter and lost the game because it simply couldn’t keep the Gators from converting on fourth down. For what it’s worth, they finally appeared to break through vs. UGA, coming back from 24-3 down to win 38-31.
4. Ole Miss. Just, all of Ole Miss
There haven’t been many victories in all of college football more monumental than Ole Miss’ shocking Week 3 victory over Alabama in Tuscaloosa. It was the Rebels’ first win at Alabama since 1988, their first victory in consecutive seasons over Alabama ever, and one of two times a Nick Saban coached team lost to the same team in consecutive seasons. It was supposed to signal a changing of the guard in the conference, a sign Ole Miss was and is here to stay.
The Rebels confirmed all that by getting housed at Florida 38-10, and on Saturday were embarrassed in the Liberty Bowl by Memphis. Yes, Memphis. You figure it out.
3. Leonard Fournette becomes LEONARD FOURNETTE
It’s not like we didn’t know about this dude (sorry for the double negative). He struck the Heisman pose on his first career touchdown — presumptuous, maybe, but nobody is quibbling now. Fournette long since has surpassed 1,000 yards for the season, averages more than 8 yards per carry this season and just dusted one of the league’s best defenses, Florida, for 180 yards and two scores in 35-28 win. More than that, though, has been his general demeanor and running style — he looks like someone who runs with malicious intent, and generally terrifies every defender in his vicinity. It’s only going to get better, too — the Tigers still have trips to Tuscaloosa and Oxford coming in November.
2. Florida’s emergence … and then Will Grier
Nobody really knew what to expect from the Gators in 2015 — they replaced hard-luck head coach Will Muschamp after four mostly disappointing seasons, with offensive guru Jim McElwain (Alabama OC, and most recently head coach at Colorado State). But most everyone agreed McElwain had a massive rebuilding project ahead of him, and that the Gators would be fortunate to reach a bowl.
Consider the Gators ahead of schedule — even after Saturday’s loss in Baton Rouge, Florida remains in the driver’s seat for the East Division crown, with the only real challenge remaining a trip to Jacksonville to take on a wheezing Georgia team.
Of course, any discussion of Florida should probably include the small matter of starting quarterback Will Grier, who was one of the conference’s breakout stars right up to the point at which Florida announced Grier’s suspension for a calendar year, owing to a positive test for performance enhancing drugs. Replacement Treon Harris was serviceable enough vs. LSU in his stead, but Grier’s absence may be massive in the Gators’ final two major tests vs. UGA and Florida State.
1. Steve Spurrier walks away
Not much to say here about Spurrier that hasn’t already been said — the guy is one of the best college football coaches of all time, one of the game’s true innovators, and one of the more reviled figures in the history of the game. He is probably the best head coach in the history of two different programs — Florida and South Carolina — and he struck fear into the heart of his opponents simply by showing up.
And now he’s gone — Spurrier announced his resignation last week (only a few months after throwing a public tantrum about media reports that this would be his last year, but whatever), leaving a team that was 2-4 overall and winless in conference (the Gamecocks did beat Vanderbilt in the debut of interim head coach Shawn Elliott).
Too bad, really. The game needs more guys willing to play the villain like the OBC.
Will Heath is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football.
