Let all the Bulldog faithful rally behind the men who now wear the red and black with two words, two simple words which express the sentiments of the entire Bulldog Nation: Auburn Sucks.
As we enter the bye week before the stretch run, here’s the SEC slate for later today:
The SEC storylines are pretty good this weekend:
Can Auburn build on an improbable upset in Athens last weekend at 11 am when the Kiffin Kancer and the Corn Dogs roll into the Loveliest Cesspool on the Plains? My bet is no.
The Poultry are a favorite at home against a Tennessee team knocking on the top 10 door. Will Tennessee fall to the enormous game letdown we’ve see elsewhere this season? Defense travels.
How quickly will the Bammer message boards meltdown if Texas 8&4 makes it a game?
Is Brent Venables living on borrowed time if the Sooners lose in StarkVegas?
In the one ranked matchup this week, could Sark be coaching for his job in Austin on Saturday night?
Is Kentucky a contender or pretender? I think pretender, but they win again this weekend.
Elsewhere:
Houston and Utah on Big 12 After Dark could be compelling. Right now, the Big 12 could be a 3 bid league if things break right.
I have USC on upset alert at Wisconsin. The Men of Troy are a 3 point favorite going into Madison.
Snoozer of the week … Boston College at the North Avenue Trade School at 3:30 on the ACC Network. You can throw on some red and get tickets for as low as $24 to go root against the nerds at Richt-Smart Field at Vince Dooley Stadium.
I found this interesting, and what’s worse, it came from Gator Analytics. With their upcoming game against Texas, they are desperate to get out of their slump and may have already shrugged their shoulders at upcoming games against two top ten teams and are eyeing the prize for a slump-busting win against their favorite slump buster…Kentucky.
Funny, Florida’s second favorite team to get them out of a slump is Tennessee. The way to read this is to understand what SEC team a fellow member team beats after a loss. For Georgia, our historical favorite team to whip up on after a loss is Mississippi State, by percentage, and Vanderbilt next. Alabama, on the rare occasion that they lose, is undefeated against Ole Miss and Kentucky. And also by the looks of it, Arkansas and Vanderbilt need to take a long, hard look in the mirror and question their existence.
Not surprisingly, if a SEC team has just lost a game, a bout with the Dawgs or Tide isn’t going to work any wonders for them.
71% of the time, an SEC team who lost their previous game can count on Vanderbilt to be their slump-busting win. Kind of surprised to see Missouri as high as they are, but it has been a relative short body of work in the SEC, too.
And how bad is the beat down? Well, they had numbers for that, too.
Georgia has cleared the Admiral by an average of two touchdowns after a loss, and the second team we have beaten after a loss by a wide margin has been Ole Miss at 11.3 average points. There was a time, not too long ago, where Ole Miss was that bad. I can remember it, and you can remember it, too.
Pity, the Gators are resorting to analytics to defend the idea that Texas is going to break it’s losing streak by hosting Florida this week, but that’s another game where the long-awaited meteor needs to just take care of things, for us. If it could take out the Yell Leaders in the blast radius, that would be appreciated, too.
A commenter yesterday mentioned that Mike Bobo is having a great time right now, as he’s finally getting a complete offensive line (did I hear somewhere the offensive line starters played every snap of the game without substitution…gawlee Pete!), a solid surrounding cast, and a comfortable, confident quarterback.
Mike Bobo, seen here receiving a round of applause from a Wisconsin defender en route to an Outback Bowl masterclass, completing 26 of 28 passes for 235 yards and a touchdown as the Bulldogs kill Ron Dayne and the Badgers 33-6 in 1997.
I also mentioned yesterday that we had some continued hesitancy around Gunner and his ability to see the field and hit the deep plays…well, lookie here:
Mike Bobo, probably: Put this in your pipe and smoke it.
Among SEC teams, UGA passing explosiveness:
No. 2 in 30+ yard passes No. 1 in 40+ yard passes No. 1 in 50+ yard passes
UGA rushing explosiveness:
No. 1 in 20+ yard runs No. 1 in 30+ yard runs No. 2 in 40+ yard runs
SEC presidents voted Monday to adopt uniform NIL and revenue-share contracts across the league, effective immediately, sources told CBS Sports.
The SEC joins the Big Ten as the second power conference to adopt standardized athlete contracts. Schools can share up to $21.6 million in revenue directly with athletes this academic year, the second year of the 10-year window under the House v. NCAA settlement. Players received nearly $1.8 billion in direct revenue-share payments during the 2025-26 school year, according to the College Sports Commission.
The SEC’s new NIL contract includes customizable sections, sources said, but CBS Sports was not given specifics.
The Big Ten drafted a standardized memorandum of understanding for its schools before the House v. NCAA settlement took effect in July 2025. The template allowed schools to tweak and customize the deals.
Public records requests in January 2026 revealed notable differences among member institutions in the Big Ten’s standardized agreements. For example, Washington added a liquidated damages clause for a player entering the transfer portal, making him or the new school liable for the remainder of the contract’s value, according to documents obtained by Kristi Dosh of Extra Points.
Multiple Power Four programs face College Sports Commission investigations over alleged NIL cap evasion
The documents also include provisions granting termination rights in the event of a head coaching change, medical disqualification or a violation of a morals clause.
Schools can claw back a prorated share of money already paid in Big Ten contracts, according to a January 2025 Sportico report. The Big Ten also added a clause titled “No Employment,” which requires the player to acknowledge he is not an employee and waive any claim that he is.
When athletes sign an NIL agreement with a school, they grant the school rights to their name, image and likeness for use by the school, which are typically also sublicensed to the conference, the NCAA, TV partners and sponsors.
The SEC circulated a suggested NIL contract template to its schools in 2025, according to ESPN, which obtained a copy at the time. That version barred athletes and their representatives from trying to “initiate, solicit, entertain, negotiate, accept or discuss” offers from other schools while under contract and required them to notify their school of any outside interest — otherwise known as tampering.
Now granted, it says – very clearly – that the B1G has already done this, and they set the precedent for this. However, if you’re trying to tell me that every B1G member institution is abiding by it – which the article clearly states they aren’t – then I might need you to sit down for this one.
What’s worrisome is that Sankey strikes me as the kind of guy who will actually enforce it and regulate it, while the B1G continues to allow its teams to run amok and win national championships while SEC programs are told to behave and wave bye-bye to players choosing to sign contracts with other conferences.
While we’ve seen the short-term effects play out on the field – lack of roster stacking, depth (I guess that’s why Alabama only had one receiver Saturday, right?), and maintaining consistency of the roster for multiple years – Kirby seems to have found a way to stabilize this in recent years, but this could add yet another wrinkle to the system. To make it worse, it adds another level of stress for coaching staffs and schools to figure out how to make it work.
What’s more concerning, in what’s becoming the NASCAR era of college football NIL deals with logos all over the place and college players inking deals with companies (look at any of a number of cringe-worthy ads featuring Arch Manning), will only further encourage more third-party deals and backroom shenanigans than ever before.
What’s worse, it might make some folks, like Kirby, decide to hang it up in frustration. Just when it seems like he’s got it down, they go and make another change.
Or, maybe, this is where teams decide to branch off from conferences and form their own league.
It could happen. Hell, Indiana won a national championship in football.
I don’t think we were the only ones who grew overly ill listening to Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit’s three hour fellating of Nick Saban and the glorious Alabama Crimson Tide. Apparently, it was so bad, it made the news!
Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit, pictured here preparing to fawn over a B1G team or Alabama, along with Kirk’s trusty emotional support dog, known as Saban’s Phallus.
‘You Guys Have Become Unwatchable’ — CFB Fans Grill Kirk Herbstreit, Chris Fowler for Being ‘Terribly Biased’ During Georgia-Alabama Matchup
Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler had a heavyweight SEC matchup to call Saturday night. Some viewers spent the evening wishing they could change the announcers without changing the game.
The broadcast duo caught criticism after Georgia’s trip to Alabama, with fans accusing them of favoritism. Even one viewer who normally considers them the best in the business wanted a little self-reflection before their next assignment.
Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler Draw Harsh Reviews
The Georgia Bulldogs beat the Alabama Crimson Tide 20–17 at Bryant-Denny Stadium, taking the lead on Peyton Woodring’s 23-yard field goal with 5:25 remaining. Georgia improved to 6–0 with the victory.
Anoverturned Alabama interception with the game tied at 17 became a major talking point. Fans also took issue with the voices guiding them through a tense night.
“You guys have become unwatchable. It’s embarrassing,”one fan wrote.
You guys have become unwatchable. It’s embarrassing.
There are several other examples out there of even uninvested fans from other programs pointing it out. Will they get called out on it? Will they change?
Of course not! Kirk’s had an axe to grind ever since he threw an interception to Mike Jones in 1993 Citrus Bowl, and he hasn’t been shy about it, even going so far to flip Dylan Raiola (actually, thanks for that, Herbie) from Georgia during the former Buford star’s recruitment.
I agree with most of you from yesterday’s Mumme Poll, that the default color commentary options for the game is the mute button, especially whenever I see Herbstreit doing anything during a football broadcast.
Interesting, given yesterday’s Fodder post, but if facemasks, holdings, balls hitting the ground, and referees not being whiny little bitches, where could we have been?
A referee here is holding a penalty flag, commonly thrown whenever the fuck they want to to disrupt and influence a game, not when it actually applies to infractions to the rules.
I appreciate the referee in the first clip just being a man and trucking the idiot staring at the Jumbotron instead of absorbing the experience on the field. If you wanted to watch TV, stay the hell at home. If I had to pay good money for being at a game, being on the sideline would be a privilege, or even if I was there with the team.
Anyway, just another footnote in the rich history of us getting screwed by penalties.
The ratings are in after five weeks of college football, and it’s safe to say this wouldn’t be a good year for the Montana Project.
Total viewers of college football programs, accumulated over the course of the start of the 2026 college football season. Image credit to Danny Neckel on Snapchat.
First off, tell my why we should take the BigXII seriously. Nearly three-quarters of the SEC has more viewers that the BigXII’s top pull, which is Coach Amazon Prime and Colorado, and I dare say that was boosted by their game with Georgia Tech and possibly Northwestern. The Atlanta and Chicago viewer markets are pretty big, and people also watch Colorado with the same interest as they would watching an actual train wreck or infrared videos of war footage from military helicopters.
Also of interest is the relative lack of appetite for Indiana, which should startle the hell out of the television money machine, being that they, and NIL, propped up the Hoosiers to a National Championship to only yield yawns and indifference from their viewership. The Indiana-Northwestern Friday night game was great watching, but it didn’t help Indiana that much, and, let’s face it, they aren’t playing anyone for another couple of weeks, anyway.
Ohio State is, I’m sure, claiming another trophy, but let’s be fair, people are watching for the same reason they watched Alabama for so many years…they are praying for the Suckeyes to lose, and two games – versus Texas and Iowa – were prime watching for that very thing.
I’m sure Georgia’s viewership will rise after this weekend and moving forward. I’m just hoping that 9 million eyes will be watching Georgia officially break the Alabama curse, and not another iteration of the 2024 debacle featuring the first 17 year old to yadda yadda yadda.
So Tennessee has benched their wunderkind quarterback Faizon Brandon (or is it Faton Bauta?) for a guy named George, they struggled against Auburn, lost to Texas, and they’re wondering who should win Saturday night (or Sunday afternoon?) as they prep for the SECCG.
You can’t spell Volunteer without overlent, which is giving away more money than one possesses. You don’t have house money, and you factually don’t have any dog in the fight at all.
Sit this one out, Vols. You’ll lose to Alabama, regardless.
And what I wouldn’t give to actually face Tennessee in a year where they were supposed to get a pass from the annual misery of losing to Georgia.
This week’s recent release of the AP and Coach’s Polls are a bit of a head-scratcher, but let’s face it, they almost always seem to be, and the CFP Polls are likely to be worse.
Mind you, if you disagree with any of it, make sure you show how in this week’s Mumme Poll:
Firstly, Missou moved up quite a bit from “why are they ranked” last week at 25 all the way up to 14, while Florida was Free Fallin from 8th to 16th.
Oddly, Mississippi State got walloped by Alabama and only went down one place to 17th, while Alabama’s beating didn’t impress enough to move them ahead of Miami and Notre Dame, and let’s recall Ohio State already has one loss to their name, so what gives?
Northwestern is on a tear and beating folks pretty handily, yet it was Pitt that they decided should debut in the poll this week after eeking out a little over 200 yards and benefitting from a missed Virginia Tech field goal, where Pat Narduzzi took the gift and used it as his pulipt to whine about the polls.
Pitt HC Pat Narduzzi after defeating Virginia Tech and improving to 5-0:
“We’ve got a helluva football team. If any of those [AP] voters wake their a**es up, they might figure that out.” 🥶
Disregard that Pitt beat UCF 12-7 and a hapless Syracuse team 27-13.
Nebraska is undefeated with a nearly similar resume to Pitt and UCLA, yet remains unranked. Kentucky, on the other hand, has the 7th hardest schedule in the country, is 4-1 with a “good loss” to Alabama, yet sits outside the polls.
BYU, meanwhile, snuck out a win against TCU (now 2-3), 17-10, and remains in the top 10, despite being 16th in ESPN’s FPI and 21st in the Sagarin Rankings.
And people are screaming about Duke…but they have only played four games, two against P4 teams, which was a 28 point win against Stanford and a four point win against an Illinois team that just lost to *checks notes* PURDUE. Not exactly a resume to write home about…but let’s look at the Coaches Poll:
The Top 9 is pretty much the same as the AP (they give Indiana more credit in the Coaches Poll), but how is LSU ahead of Ole Miss and how is Florida ahead of Missouri? And look…there’s Duke at 23, formerly at 21…WHY?
And let’s pause for a second and ask ourselves the question…what is so damned appealing about the Men of Troy?
USC played their first three games against G6 teams, barely beat Rutgers by 7, lost to Oregon lead by Dylan Raiola, and took everything they had to beat Washington, who is currently 3-2.
Another oddity in the polls is SMU. It took a power outage unusual game in Tallahassee to beat FSU by 3, they lost to unranked Louisville, beat Boston College, arguably the worst P4 team in the land, by 9, and only beat Missouri State by 10. They have no quality wins on their resume, yet they occupy the bottom of both polls.
Why argue and bitch about it? Well, because they’re doing their damndest to make something out of nothing:
The ACC is utter shit, and that’s the nicest I can be about it. Outside of Miami, who frankly is a question mark given they’ve played exactly nobody thus far, who else in the ACC is really that good? By ranking Duke and Pitt, they’ve added two more ranked teams to Miami’s already lousy schedule. That’s Miami’s resume booster for you.
BYU at 8 is also odd, until you realize they play Notre Dame here this weekend. By inflating the BYU brand, it helps Notre Dame in the rankings by saying “they beat a quality BYU team” since the rest of their schedule is crap…except for
Miami versus Notre Dame COULD be the meteor game for both teams. Whoever loses would be questioned relentlessly for the rest of the season, and grounds for keeping them out of the CFP at season’s end. By giving them a few other needless high ranked opponents, they’re helping them out in the polls.
The B1G and the SEC have a host of quality teams. The ACC and the Big XII do not. But man, they’re going to make them seem that way in the polls, aren’t they?
