First, it was branching out into broadcasting as an ESPN college football analyst. But now, Saban has decided to enter another sports world entirely, albeit in a familiar place for him. Saban, who controls Dream Sports Ventures LLC with Joe Agresti, recently finished the purchase of a minority stake in the NHL’s Nashville Predators.

Yes, the 7-time national championship college football coach who won 6 titles at Alabama and 1 at LSU before that is trying his hand at hockey now. Predators franchise chairman and majority owner Bill Haslam announced Nick Saban‘s newly purchased minority stake in his franchise on Tuesday afternoon. Saban and partner Agresti will become a piece of the Predators’ ownership pie that is made up mostly of team season-ticket holders and residents of the Nashville area.

Saban released this statement on Tuesday proclaiming the excitement surrounding his new sports venture:

Although I am now retired as a coach, I still possess a competitive nature and a great passion for sports. Being involved in a sports team in Nashville has always been a goal and the opportunity to partner in the Predators with a class act like Bill Haslam created the perfect scenario for us. The Preds are a great organization with a fantastic brand, and we are excited to be part of the future success of the franchise.

Saban has partnered with Agresti in many business ventures, including Dream Motor Group, which has turned into 1 of the most successful dealer groups in the southeastern part of the United States.

Now, the legend who made his name in Baton Rouge and Tuscaloosa will have a sports presence in Nashville, yet another SEC city that’s home to Vanderbilt. But this time, that presence won’t involve college football. It’ll be his new world of professional hockey.

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But Bateman, who joined Mike Elko‘s staff at Texas A&M in January 2024, will soon be joining another program and an SEC rival no less. Whenever the Aggies’ Playoff run ends, that will be the end of Bateman’s time in College Station. He’ll be heading to Kentucky to join new head coach Will Stein as the Wildcats’ defensive coordinator for the 2026 season.

Stein managed to lure Bateman away from Texas A&M to become part of a rebuilding program in Lexington that’s getting used to life without longtime former head coach Mark Stoops. This is a transition time for Kentucky football, and Bateman will be a big part of that hopeful transition from losing to winning.

On Tuesday, Bateman shared with reporters what he was thinking in deciding to move from a Playoff team to a program very much in rebuilding mode.

“I think I was really intrigued with Will Stein, the new head coach and when he reached out to me, just his vision. … It’s a really nice place. I think they’ve (got a) chance to be, you know, kind of autonomy as his defensive coordinator, was really important to me,” Bateman said.

The hard work is going on right now for Bateman in trying to get Texas A&M into the Playoff quarterfinals. But soon enough for Bateman, there will be a different kind of work in trying to build Kentucky into a relevant program in the SEC.

The post Texas A&M DC Jay Bateman explains why he’s leaving for same title at Kentucky appeared first on Saturday Down South.

With Miller once again on the mend after missing the SEC title game loss to Georgia, Grubb told reporters on Tuesday that the Crimson Tide leading rusher has a great chance to return to action when it absolutely matters most. Alabama will face Oklahoma in an all-SEC first-round College Football Playoff game, with the blue blood programs colliding in an 8 p.m. ET kickoff on ABC and ESPN.

The Crimson Tide’s rushing attack has been feeble this season even when Miller has been available, which hasn’t always been the case. But getting Miller back for the Playoff game would still be huge for Alabama, and the first-year coordinator who’s in charge of making Miller successful believes the Tide’s leading rusher will be available.

“Jam (Miller) looks great. He was out there running around (Tuesday) … I feel like he’ll be full go,” Grubb told reporters.

Miller has been through a ton this season, starting with a collarbone injury in fall camp that kept him out of the season’s first 3 games. He returned for the SEC opener against Georgia but was inconsistent to say the least throughout the year.

Then the injury bug struck again in the Iron Bowl when Miller suffered a lower leg injury, which kept him out of the following week’s rematch with Georgia in the SEC title game.

Miller has still managed to scratch out 493 yards rushing this season with 3 touchdowns, and judging by what Grubb said on Tuesday it appears that Miller has a great chance to be available when his team needs him the most.

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Lea led Vanderbilt to 1 of the best seasons in program history this fall, as the Commodores went 10-2, capping their outstanding regular season with a victory at rival Tennessee. That not only got Vandy to double-digit wins in 2025, it gave the Commodores a 6-2 final record in the SEC.

Speaking of SEC honors, Lea is adding the Eddie Robinson award to his back-to-back SEC Coach of the Year honors. He is the first Vanderbilt coach to win SEC Coach of the Year in consecutive seasons. Now, Lea has made more history for himself in Nashville, becoming the first Vandy coach to capture a National Coach of the Year award.

He is also the first SEC coach to win the Eddie Robinson award since Ed Orgeron did it with LSU during its magical 2019 national championship season.

Lea won the Eddie Robinson award among a group of 12 finalists, and he’ll receive the prestigious award named for the late Grambling coaching legend during a reception in Miami on Jan. 17 in the leadup to the national title game 2 days later.

The Vanderbilt coach has 1 more chance to add to his budding legend on the field this season when Lea’s Commodores face Iowa in the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa on New Year’s Eve (noon ET, ESPN).

The post Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea wins National Coach of the Year Award following 10-2 season appeared first on Saturday Down South.

The Tigers head coach revealed that starting linebacker Josiah Trotter and starting tight end Brett Norfleet will both miss the postseason matchup with injuries.

“Obviously, those are 2 significant injuries for us,” Eli Drinkwitz told reporters.

Trotter has been dealing with a knee injury that he sustained in Mizzou’s victory over Arkansas to end the regular season. He had surgery on the knee and will be forced to watch as the 8-4 Tigers try to finish with a victory later this month. Trotter’s future in Columbia is up in the air, too, with the sophomore being eligible to enter next spring’s NFL Draft.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ball, Norfleet also had recent surgery for a shoulder injury that occurred in early November. Like Trotter, he’ll be forced to watch as the Tigers and Cavaliers (10-3) kick it off later this month at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

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Trotter was a tackling machine for Mizzou this season, finishing with 84 total tackles, 43 of them solo. He also had 2 sacks.

The junior Norfleet finished with 31 catches for 254 yards and 5 touchdowns this year, so the Tigers will be without a mainstay on both sides of the football as they face Virginia in primetime in Jacksonville.

The post Eli Drinkwitz announces 2 key players who will miss Gator Bowl vs. Virginia appeared first on Saturday Down South.

According to a report on Tuesday morning by On3’s Pete Nakos, Oklahoma State transfer tight end Josh Ford has signed with Alabama for next season. Ford would be the Crimson Tide’s first transfer commitment for the 2026 campaign.

Ford entered his name into the transfer portal earlier this fall after the firing of Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy. The Cowboys players had a 1-month window to decide their future plans after the firing of Gundy, and Ford made his plans clear by choosing to leave Stillwater after the 2025 season.

Now, it appears he’s heading to the SEC and Tuscaloosa in 2026 for the opportunity to thrive with Alabama set to lose tight ends Josh Cuevas and Brody Dalton to eligibility.

Ford is a homegrown product from Stillwater, but that wasn’t enough to keep him around at Oklahoma State for next season. The 6-foot-6, 265-pounder made a visit to Alabama in November when the Crimson Tide played LSU, and a little over a month later Ford is reportedly set to make Tuscaloosa his next collegiate home.

He played in 16 games combined in 2 seasons at Oklahoma State, which included 12 games as a freshman. But Ford only played in 4 games this season before entering the transfer portal in October after that 1-month window was set following the firing of Gundy.

The post Alabama adds highly-recruited transfer tight end for 2026 season, per report appeared first on Saturday Down South.

On3 reported on Tuesday morning that Mizell is set to hit the transfer portal early next month when it opens instead of being a part of new head coach Jon Sumrall‘s new regime in Gainesville. Mizell was a redshirt sophomore this past season after coming to Florida as part of its 2023 recruiting class. A lot was expected out of the Orlando product, but his production said otherwise, as he totaled only 38 catches for 405 yards and 3 touchdowns for the Gators.

His 2025 season, which is reportedly going to be his last in Gainesville, was marred by injury. Mizell missed 4 games this year because of injury, playing in only 8 games. Not surprisingly, his production was minimal, with Mizell only catching 19 passes for 177 yards and 1 touchdown in that limited action.

Mizell will have 2 seasons of eligibility left with whatever program he joins for the 2026 season.

His time at Florida got off to a shaky start, setting a bad tone that has now reportedly led to his departure. He only played in 2 games as a freshman in 2023, catching 2 passes for 25 yards. Things picked up a little bit for Mizell during the 2024 season, when he caught 17 passes for 202 yards and 2 touchdowns.

But Mizell wasn’t able to build on that 2024 season as a redshirt sophomore this fall, and injuries didn’t help his cause in 2025.

Now, it appears he’ll be seeking greener pastures in 2026 after a rocky 3-year run in Gainesville.

The post Florida set to lose key receiver to transfer portal after 3 seasons, per report appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Justin Hokanson, who covers Auburn for On3, reported that Edwin is expected to hit the transfer portal after not seeing any game action in 2025.

It was the 2nd reported transfer portal defection along Auburn’s offensive line on Sunday alone, following Hokanson’s report earlier in the day that former 4-star prize DeAndre Carter is also expected to transfer.

If Edwin does transfer, he would leave Auburn without ever seeing any game action. In addition to not seeing any time this fall, Edwin did not see the field at all during his true freshman season in 2024. Now, it appears Edwin will hit the transfer portal when it opens on Jan. 2, seeking greener pastures just like Carter is reported to be doing.

Auburn had to fight hard to bring Edwin to the Plains as part of its 2024 recruiting class, beating out SEC rivals Alabama and Florida for his services. Edwin was a late bloomer, not playing his first season of organized football until his senior year at Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy in McDonough, Ga.

Edwin came a long way just to start that football career, since he’s originally from Nigeria, and it appears he’ll be traveling elsewhere again to continue his college career in 2026.

The post Auburn expected to lose another OL to transfer portal, per report appeared first on Saturday Down South.

But according to ESPN’s way-too-early Heisman Trophy contender list, he could be even better in 2026. Hardy transferred to Mizzou from Louisiana-Monroe after a banner first season in college football, running for 1,351 yards and 13 touchdowns. He did a little better than that this fall despite the step up in competition, rushing for 1,560 yards and 16 TDs in Columbia.

And Hardy also averaged a whopping 6.5 yards per carry this season in the SEC after only averaging 5.7 yards per carry at Louisiana-Monroe. So, being in the SEC didn’t bother Hardy 1 bit, and ESPN college football analyst Mark Schlabach expects that trend to continue for Hardy in 2026. That’s why on Saturday night, as Fernando Mendoza was winning the 2025 Heisman, Schlabach put Hardy on his Heisman Trophy candidate list for 2026.

Here is what Schlabach wrote about Hardy in his synopsis of the 2025 breakout star:

A transfer from Louisiana-Monroe, Hardy led the FBS with 130 rushing yards per game and was No. 2 with 1,560 total rushing yards. He had 8 100-yard games for the Tigers, including a whopping 300-yard effort with 3 touchdowns in a 49-27 victory against Mississippi State on Nov. 15.

Hardy became a star in college football this fall, and he did it in the SEC no less. But according to Schlabach, Hardy could become the star of stars in the sport next fall, and that could carry him to a Heisman Trophy when it’s all said and done in 2026.

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Mizzou will play Virginia in the Gator Bowl on Dec. 27.

The post Mizzou star makes ESPN’s list of way-too-early Heisman Trophy contenders for 2026 appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Justin Hokanson, who covers Auburn for On3, posted on his social media account that Carter is heading to the portal in search of another college destination in 2026. The 6-foot-4, 355-pound freshman is a California native who was a 4-star recruit in the 2024 recruiting cycle, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

Carter enrolled at Auburn on June 1, 2024, but after 2 years in the program Carter is reportedly heading elsewhere to continue his collegiate career. According to those 247Sports Composite rankings, he was the 197th-ranked player in the Class of 2024, the 10th-ranked interior offensive lineman in the class and the 17th-ranked player from the state of California.

He was recruited by Auburn out of football powerhouse Mater Dei in Santa Ana, Calif., but things didn’t go as planned for either the program or the player once Carter got to the Plains.

In 2024, Carter played just 40 snaps for the Tigers and was redshirted. Then this year during a redshirt freshman season that was supposed to signal a breakout for Carter, he played even less snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. Per PFF, Carter only played 26 snaps in 2025, with all of those snaps coming at the guard position.

Carter will reportedly seek greener pastures in 2026 as he seeks more playing time.

The post Auburn losing former 4-star offensive lineman to transfer portal, per report appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports reported on Sunday afternoon that Florida has its eyes on Auburn wide receivers coach Marcus Davis for the same post in Gainesville in 2026.

New head coach Jon Sumrall is piecing together his first staff at Florida, and according to Zenitz’s report it wants what Auburn already has at the wide receiver coaching position.

Davis happens to be a Florida native who has been at the forefront in making Auburn’s wideout room loaded in recent years. He has recruited and coached standout wide receivers at Auburn like Cam Coleman and was rated the No. 6 recruiter in the nation for his work in bringing in the 2024 recruiting class, according to Zenitz’s report on Sunday.

An Auburn alum, Davis has been the wide receivers coach there since late in 2022. He was a receiver himself on the Plains from 2013-16, helping the Tigers capture an SEC crown and make an appearance in the national championship game when he was a freshman. Auburn lost that national title game to Florida State, but Davis immediately made himself part of the fabric of the Tigers program. Davis was also the Auburn team captain as a senior.

Florida isn’t aiming to change Davis’s rich past at Auburn. It just wants what Davis brings to the table as a coach — and, just as important, a big-time recruiter.

Before he arrived back at his alma mater as wideout coach, Davis was the wide receivers coach at Georgia Southern.

The post Florida targeting WR coach from SEC rival, per report appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Mahomes was forced to leave the game with 1:53 remaining, missing the chance to help Kansas City pull the game out and save its season. Instead, the Chiefs had to turn to backup Gardner Minshew as Mahomes walked off the field with assistance.

The injury to Mahomes happened as he was rolling out to the right and looking to fire the ball downfield. He fell awkwardly to the ground after being yanked down by Chargers defensive tackle and Alabama product Da’Shawn Hand. As Hand was pulling Mahomes to the ground, his leg was bent in an awkward fashion.

Mahomes was down on the field for a long time as trainers took a look at his leg. Eventually, the former Texas Tech star got to his feet, took off his helmet and went to be examined in the medical tent.

Then there was this gruesome scene of Mahomes not being able to walk as he was assisted down the Chiefs tunnel for further examination:

The loss to the Chargers continued what has been a frustrating season for the Chiefs, who will not even get a chance to return to the Super Bowl for the 4th straight season. Instead, they fell to 6-8 on the year and will play out the string before missing the playoffs for the first time since 2014.

But Kansas City’s playoff plight was far from the only concern at Arrowhead Stadium by day’s end, as Mahomes was dealing with that gruesome injury.

The post Patrick Mahomes suffers apparent knee injury as Chiefs are eliminated from playoff race appeared first on Saturday Down South.

But there’s always next year, and after Manning’s Longhorns suffered 3 losses this season that kept them out of the Playoff, ESPN college football analyst Mark Schlabach believes there could be some great things in store in 2026. On Saturday night, right as Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza was winning the 2025 Heisman Trophy, Schlabach released his list of the way-too-early Heisman contenders for next season.

And Manning is squarely on that list of potential candidates.

After struggling to start this season with a forgettable performance in that Week 1 loss at Ohio State, Manning managed to improve as the season progressed. He ended up throwing for 2,942 yards with 24 touchdown passes and just 7 interceptions. His completion percentage was 61.4, and he showed some ability to hurt defenses with his legs, running for 244 yards and 8 TDs.

Schlabach thinks Manning can do even better in 2026, and he believes Manning could be in Mendoza’s shoes next year at this time, accepting college football’s biggest award in New York. Here was his synopsis of Manning’s situation going into next season when breaking down his Heisman chances:

Even after all the hand-wringing about Manning being overrated at the start of the season, the former 5-star recruit ended up putting together a good campaign, throwing for 2,942 yards with 24 touchdowns. The No. 13 Longhorns need to find some offensive linemen (he was sacked 23 times) and receivers to help him in 2026.

Manning merely scratched the surface of what he can be during his first season as Texas’s starter, so he could be in for a banner 2026 season and, just maybe, become a Heisman Trophy winner 12 months from now.

The post Arch Manning makes ESPN’s list of way-too-early Heisman Trophy contenders for 2026 appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Matt Zenitz and Chris Hummer reported Arkansas‘s latest expected hire with Silverfield taking over in 2026. Trickett will be coming to the SEC after a successful 2025 season as the offensive coordinator at Jacksonville State. He directed a high-powered offense this fall at Jacksonville State, which ranked No. 1 in the CUSA in total offense.

The Hogs are banking that Trickett’s coaching will rub off on their quarterback room in 2026. The Arkansas offense struggled so mightily this fall on the way to a 2-10 season and a winless SEC campaign.

Trickett, who played the quarterback position in college at both Florida State (2010-12) and West Virginia (2013-14), is just the latest reported hire by Silverfield. Earlier on Saturday, Zenitz reported that Arkansas was targeting veteran defensive line coach Marion Hobby to be its new defensive line coach.

A Morgantown native, Trickett moved right into coaching after finishing his playing career at West Virginia. He coached quarterbacks at East Mississippi from 2015-16. In 2017, he joined Lane Kiffin at Florida Atlantic. He spent 2 seasons coaching FAU tight ends before moving to the quarterback room and taking on co-offensive coordinator responsibilities.

In 2021, Trickett coached receivers at Marshall. From 2022-23, he coached Marshall’s quarterbacks while serving as the offensive coordinator. He coached tight ends at Georgia Southern in 2024 before joining the Jacksonville State staff last December.

The post Arkansas reportedly hiring rising coordinator to Ryan Silverfield’s staff appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Faulk wrote a heartfelt message to the Auburn football community on his Instagram account to properly thank everyone for his 3 seasons on the Plains. He said the “last 3 years of my life has (sic.) been the best” and thanked Tigers fans for their “unwavering commitment to me and my team.”

His goodbye-to-Auburn Instagram post started with a warm “Dear Auburn family” and was filled with emotional tributes to the Auburn coaching staff and academic staff, as well as his teammates and family. Faulk singled out his mother and brother among his family support system.

The junior, who is an Alabama native, stayed in-state to star at Auburn, and he finished his career on the Plains with a bang, collecting 23 solo tackles and 2 sacks this fall. Faulk also had a fumble recovery and 4 pass deflections in 2025, and he was a bright spot for the Tigers in an otherwise disappointing 5-7 season.

During his 3-season run of excellence at Auburn, Faulk finished with 109 tackles, 19.5 tackles-for-loss and 10 sacks. With Saturday’s announcement, there will be no senior season at Auburn for Faulk, who instead hopes to be playing on Sundays come next fall.

Faulk was recently ranked 16th on Mel Kiper Jr.’s big board for the 2026 NFL Draft. He was the top-ranked defensive end in the class.

The post Auburn star Keldric Faulk announces NFL Draft decision appeared first on Saturday Down South.

It’s the era of the transfer player. Naturally, not every transfer works out for their new program, but Mendoza making good on his transfer from California to become Indiana’s first Heisman winner is now part of a narrative that is taking over the sport. Of the past 10 Heisman Trophy winners, including Mendoza, an astounding 7 of them were transfers. This now decade-long dominant run by the transfer player includes transfers winning the past 4 Heisman Trophies.

Mendoza is a Miami kid, but he played at Cal for 3 years before deciding to come to Bloomington and the Big Ten. Indiana and Mendoza both reaped the biggest rewards possible in his first season at IU, continuing that trend of transfer magic in college football.

Before Mendoza, there was Travis Hunter last season, Jayden Daniels in 2023 and Caleb Williams the year before that.

The other 3 transfers to strike Heisman gold in the past decade were Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and Joe Burrow.

Mendoza was just the latest, and judging by the past 10 years he likely will be far from the last transfer to capture college football’s grandest award.

The post Fernando Mendoza’s Heisman Trophy win continues trend of transfer dominance appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Indiana’s quarterback was the star of stars in New York City, becoming the first Heisman Trophy winner in Hoosiers history, and he delivered his acceptance speech with emotion and appreciation. Mendoza beat out another quarterback, Vanderbilt‘s Diego Pavia, to create his crowning moment to close a regular season when he led Indiana to a 13-0 record and a Big Ten title.

On New Year’s Day, Mendoza will quarterback the Hoosiers in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal. But that’s for then. Right now, he was immersed in his emotional moment on Saturday night, realizing the Indiana program history he had just made when giving his touching speech among the sport’s all-time elite.

“If you told me as a kid in Miami that I’d be here on stage holding this prestigious trophy, I probably would have laughed, cried, like I’m doing now, or both,” Mendoza said early in his speech. “Because this moment is an honor, it’s bigger than me. It’s a product of a family, a team, a community and a whole lot of people who believed in me long before anybody knew my name.”

Here’s his speech in-full:

Mendoza’s numbers in 2025 were off the charts. He threw for 2,980 yards and ran for 240 more, torching Big Ten defenses while leading Indiana to its first outright conference championship since 1945. He had a stellar 71.5% completion percentage this fall, threw 33 touchdown passes and was intercepted just 6 times.

He not only ran for those 240 yards, he showed an ability to get in the end zone using his feet, too, running for 6 touchdowns in addition to all those TD passes.

The 2025 season, at least the regular season, belonged to Mendoza, who transferred to IU from faraway California and made the absolute most of it. On Friday night, Mendoza captured the Maxwell Award and the Davey O’Brien Award, too. And on Saturday night, he added the biggest college football award of all, with the memorable speech to go with it.

The post Fernando Mendoza delivers emotional speech after winning 2025 Heisman Trophy appeared first on Saturday Down South.

The Bulldogs won the game, which was a memorable marathon that took 4 overtimes, outlasting Prairie View A&M in a 40-38 thriller. But for those who watched the endless battle from start to finish, there was that incredible moment late in the 3rd quarter when the South Carolina State wide receivers room showed just how close they are.

When senior Johnny Jones was injured and couldn’t come close to getting off the field by himself, 1 of his fellow wideouts came to the rescue. It was fellow senior Jordan Smith, who saw Jones limping badly and decided to take matters into his own hands — literally. Not only did Smith help Jones off the field, he carried Jones off the field like a soldier helping his wounded battle partner.

Not surprisingly, the moment of pure decency went viral.

Smith carried Jones all the way to the South Carolina State sideline, handed his hobbled teammate to a waiting coach and then turned and went back on the field for the next play.

His heroic work was done, Jones was safely out of harm’s way, and it was time to play football again. There was plenty more of that to come, too, with the teams going to those 4 overtimes to decide the bowl game winner.

So, Smith was a winner in multiple ways on Saturday when South Carolina State prevailed. By the way, Smith caught 9 passes for 152 yards and 2 touchdowns, but the moment many people won’t forget didn’t involve any of those catches or touchdowns.

The post South Carolina State player hilariously carries injured teammate off the field appeared first on Saturday Down South.

According to a report by Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports on Saturday night, Arkansas‘s target is veteran defensive line coach Marion Hobby, who would come to Fayetteville and join Silverfield’s first staff with the Hogs. Thie Razorbacks are trying to pick up the pieces in 2026 after a disastrous 2025 season that saw Sam Pittman get fired as head coach. Arkansas ultimately finished with a 2-10 overall record and went winless in the SEC.

The Hogs are trying to turn it all around next season under Silverfield, and they’re reportedly zeroing in on Hobby to run their defensive line.

Hobby wouldn’t just be bringing experience from the SEC with him to Arkansas, he just spent this season in the conference, coaching on Tennessee‘s staff.

He also has deep NFL ties as a defensive line coach for 8 combined seasons with the Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars and Cincinnati Bengals. Hobby was also a co-defensive coordinator at Clemson, so his experience in big-time college football also includes time in the ACC.

Now, Hobby reportedly could be staying in the SEC for a 2nd straight season as Arkansas tries to close a deal with the veteran defensive line mastermind.

The post Arkansas is reportedly pursuing defensive line coach with SEC, NFL experience appeared first on Saturday Down South.

The defending national champions got a season-high 24 points from Xaivian Lee and 19 points from Thomas Haugh to cruise past Georgia Washington, 80-70, in the 2nd game of the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic in Sunrise, Fla.

The neutral court was kind to 18th-ranked Florida, which improved to 6-4 and finally got back in the win column after disappointing losses on high-profile stages against ranked teams Duke and UConn.

The loss to Duke on Dec. 2 was a road game at hostile Cameron Indoor Stadium and the setback against UConn a week later was on a neutral court at Madison Square Garden in the Jimmy V Classic. Playing its 2nd game in a row on a neutral floor but being back in its home state with Saturday’s game in South Florida, the Gators went to work behind Lee, who went 4 for 8 from 3-point territory in leading the charge for UF.

Haugh added 7 rebounds while Boogie Fland chipped in 12 points and 5 assists for Florida, which only led 30-27 at halftime but got going immediately to start the 2nd half to take command. The Gators scored the first 11 points after halftime and didn’t look back, with Rueben Chinyelu’s dunk finishing off the run that gave UF a 41-27 cushion.

Florida’s lead swelled to 20 points with 12:30 left in the game on Micah Handlogten’s layup.

George Washington (8-4) didn’t go away completely, responding with a 9-0 run to trim the Gators’ lead to 11. But UF then had its own response, scoring the next 7 points to make things comfortable again.

Florida will finally return home to Gainesville on Wednesday night, when it hosts Saint Francis (6:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network).

The post Florida basketball snaps losing skid with win over George Washington appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Brandon Marcello and Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports reported that the Gators are set to hire Collins, and they would be simultaneously filling a spot on their staff and taking someone away from a rival SEC program. That’s because Collins has spent the past 5 seasons at Kentucky, where he’s worked most recently as a co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach.

According to another report by Marcello on Saturday, if Florida and Collins are able to agree on a deal, then Collins would coach the Gators’ safeties while recent hire Brandon Harris would shift to coaching the UF cornerbacks.

If the hire of Collins comes to fruition, it would be another spot filled by Florida for the 2026 season as incoming head coach Jon Sumrall continues to put together his own staff. Sumrall is a little busy right now with hands in multiple programs, as he’s getting ready to coach Tulane in next week’s College Football Playoff first-round game against Ole Miss.

But while he tries to finish his job as Tulane head coach in the best possible way this postseason, he’s also looking toward 2026 in Gainesville and trying to put together his new staff.

If Saturday’s CBS Sports reports are correct, he’s a little closer to doing just that.

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Let’s start with the 2 awards that Mendoza managed to take home as the headliner of Friday night’s plethora of awards that were presented to the best of the best in the sport in 2025. Mendoza captured the prestigious Maxwell Award, which is given annually to the Player of the Year in college football. He did a lot of incredible things this fall, but 1 of them was being the only quarterback at the Division 1 FBS level to toss at least 4 touchdown passes with 0 interceptions in 5 games.

Mendoza had 33 TD passes in all, and that number also helped him win the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback award earlier on Friday night. The Davey O’Brien is given each year to the best quarterback in the nation, and Mendoza was clearly that guy in 2025. He only threw 6 interceptions all year, and Mendoza piled up 2,980 yards passing in helping the Hoosiers outlast defending national champion Ohio State for the Big Ten title.

Indiana celebrated its new football hero on Friday night with this post after Mendoza took home the Maxwell:

Mendoza began the parade of award winners on Friday night by capturing that coveted Davey O’Brien honor:

And Mendoza might not be finished this weekend. In fact, he’s in line for college football’s biggest award of all, holding the best odds to capture the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night in New York City.

The college football world will be tuning in on Saturday evening to see if Mendoza can complete the hat trick of honors this weekend.

The post Double duty: Indiana star QB Fernando Mendoza wins Maxwell, Davey O’Brien awards appeared first on Saturday Down South.

With that luxury of having an elite punter, Georgia was able to pull off an SEC title repeat, taking down Alabama last Saturday in Atlanta. The senior Thorson was 1 of the main reasons for the Bulldogs’ continued success in 2025, and he was recognized in the highest way on Friday night by winning the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s best punter.

Thorson, a native of faraway Melbourne, Australia, rewarded Georgia after coming all that way to Athens, and he was rewarded after a stellar regular season by becoming the 2nd Bulldogs punter to win the Ray Guy Award. The other Georgia punter to capture the honor was Drew Butler in 2009.

In addition to winning the prestigious Ray Guy honor, Thorson was named a Walter Camp first-team All-American for his efforts in 2025. But the Ray Guy Award is what college football punters aspire to, and there was no better punter in the sport this fall.

Thorson averaged 45.2 yards on 42 punts this season, and his longest punt this year was a whopping 66 yards. He also had 21 punts inside the 20-yard line, which is a lot of moments when Thorson took the pressure off Georgia’s defense by pinning the opposition back deep in its own territory.

His talents will be on display again soon when Georgia plays its College Football Playoff quarterfinal. The Bulldogs are the 3 seed and earned a first-round bye.

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The junior will be kicking in front of his home fans in Norman, in primetime and on national TV, with everything on the line. And exactly a week before that grand opportunity, Sandell cashed in on an individual accomplishment, capturing the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s best kicker on Friday night.

Sandell booted multiple field goals of 50 yards or more this year for Oklahoma, helping the Sooners go 10-2 and snag the 8 seed in the upcoming Playoff. His total stat line for the 2025 regular season was sensational, with Sandell making 23 of his 24 field-goal attempts while drilling all 32 of his extra-point tries.

He went an astonishing 7 for 7 on field-goal attempts of 50 yards or longer, with a season-high distance of 55 yards. Sandell was also 8 of 9 from 40 to 49 yards out, which is the distance range where his lone miss of the season came. He was 5 for 5 from 20 to 29 yards out and a perfect 3 for 3 between 30 and 39 yards.

The Oklahoma football social media account celebrated Sandell’s achievement on Friday night with this post:

And in a week, the nation will get to lock in on Sandell as he tries to be clutch yet again in the biggest moments of the season. Sandell could very well be called upon to kick Oklahoma into the Playoff quarterfinals.

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That honor will be decided on Saturday night in New York, but on the eve of the Heisman announcement Vanderbilt had something else to cheer for. Its star tight end, senior Eli Stowers, was named the winner of the John Mackey Award on Friday night, being recognized as the top tight end in the country during the 2025 season.

Pavia had a certifiable stud to throw to all season in Stowers, who piled up 62 catches for 769 yards and 4 touchdowns in helping the Commodores to a 10-2 record. It was a magical season in Nashville for a program not used to such success, and Stowers was a huge part of making that success happen along with Pavia.

On a Friday night full of major award winners, Stowers gave Vandy something to be proud of as its fan base gets ready for Saturday night’s Heisman announcement.

The John Mackey Award wasn’t Stowers’s only honor this week. Earlier this week, Stowers was recognized on the academic side as the winner of the William V. Campbell Trophy, which was presented at the National Football Foundation Annual Awards Dinner in Las Vegas.

Plainly put, the Campbell Trophy is considered to be the academic version of the Heisman Trophy, so there is no higher honor in the collegiate academic world for a football player. Stowers is the first Vanderbilt player to win the Campbell Trophy and the 10th player from the SEC.

Fittingly, Stowers’s achievements this week have set the stage for Saturday, when Pavia will take aim at the biggest college football award of all.

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But the Black Knights football social media account can try to pretend Army fans will be able to catch just a little shuteye as Saturday’s stand-alone college football showcase gets set for another edition. Army and Navy, proud institutions disregarding football and proud football institutions, too, will clash on the gridiron for the 126th time on Saturday afternoon in Baltimore. The Black Knights and Midshipmen will kick it off at 3 p.m. ET on CBS in front of a nation that always tunes in to see the pageantry as well as the game itself.

And the buildup? Well, Army took care of that on Friday night, dropping a 2-minute, 22-second chilling hype video that is sure to get its fans’ juices flowing. Navy football fans might want to check it out, too, just for a little intensity pick me up on the eve of the historical matchup.

Navy leads the all-time series, 63-55-7, and the Midshipmen are having the better 2025 season, entering with a 9-2 record while the Black Knights sit at 6-5.

But records don’t matter when these 2 forces of nature collide every mid-December. It’s all about what happens between the lines for those 4 hours or so.

Army’s social media post was headlined, “One more sleep,” as in fans can sleep for 1 more night before it’s finally gameday. But being able to sleep is a big assumption for Black Knights fans and fans of the Midshipmen, too.

Here is the hype video, in all of its pride and glory:

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Juluke is heading to Austin for the 2026 season, but he’ll be sticking in the SEC after spending the past 4 seasons at Florida as the Gators’ associate head coach/running backs coach. While Juluke was in Gainesville, he oversaw the development of Florida star running back Jadan Baugh, who busted out in 2025 with 1,170 yards rushing and 8 touchdowns.

Texas, which went 9-3 during the regular season and narrowly missed out on making the College Football Playoff, hopes that Juluke can have a similar effect on its offense as he had on Baugh for the SEC rival Gators. Juluke brings a wealth of experience to Texas, with 30 years of coaching under his belt, including 13 years at the college level as a running backs coach.

Before Juluke’s time at Florida, he coached in similar roles at Louisiana from 2018-21 and Texas Tech in 2017. This will be Juluke’s 3rd stop in the SEC, as he also oversaw the running backs at LSU in 2016.

He has quite the background in the state of Louisiana aside of that season at LSU and those years at Louisiana, spending 3 years at Louisiana Tech from 2013-15. And before that, Juluke spent the first 17 years of his coaching career as a high school coach in Louisiana.

Now, Juluke will be taking on the challenges at yet another SEC school, as he begins another chapter of his coaching life at Texas in 2026.

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According to the On3 report, Pope will be adding to his coaching responsibilities going forward. Low reports that Pope is adding pass game coordinator to his duties as receivers coach. Low also reported that “several other” SEC programs were after Pope’s services for the 2026 season, but Tennessee was able to lock down Pope for an extended period.

Meanwhile, Halzle directed 1 of the top offenses not only in the SEC but in the country in 2025, despite the Volunteers having an up-and-down 8-4 regular season. Halzle is set to make $1.45 million per year now under this new extension, while Pope will make $825,000 next season and $850,000 in the 2027 season, according to the On3 report.

Halzle and Pope oversaw that high-octane Volunteers offense in 2025, with first-year starting quarterback Joey Aguilar lighting it up in Knoxville. Aguilar threw for an eye-popping 3,444 yards during the regular season with 24 touchdown passes, and he developed an incredible connection with wideout Chris Brazzell II, who caught 62 passes for 1,017 yards and 9 touchdowns.

A lot of that Aguilar-to-Brazzell magic was due to the coaching brain power of Halzle and Pope, and now Tennessee has reportedly made sure that those 2 coaches will be working in Knoxville for the foreseeable future.

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Texas A&M is the 7 seed and will host 10 seed Miami next Saturday at Kyle Field in a noon ET kickoff on ABC and ESPN. Elko’s Aggies take an 11-1 record into the Playoff, but it could’ve been even better. Texas A&M won its first 11 games of the season and was primed for a spot in the SEC title game before it suffered that first and only loss of the year against hated rival Texas on Black Friday.

Naturally, Elko didn’t want to lose that game. He wanted to be 12-0 and headed to Atlanta. It didn’t happen, of course, but Elko said Friday the loss to the Longhorns is something his team can use as motivation going into the Playoff. He’s a very confident head coach going into the biggest game of the season in 1 week.

“I think our guys are fired up. It’s hard to run the table. Unfortunately for us, (the loss) happened in the last game with a chance to go to Atlanta on the line, against our rival. That’s not what you want,” Mike Elko said. “In our minds, we feel like we got (the loss) out of the way. Now it’s time to go get it. We’re excited to have Miami in here.”

And 1 week from now, College Station will be bracing for Playoff football, with the Canes coming to Kyle Field and Texas A&M trying to make sure that Texas loss doesn’t spill into a game that will mean much more.

It’ll mean everything for Elko and his guys as they try to bounce back and go on a postseason run.

The post Mike Elko says Texas A&M is ready to bounce back from Texas loss: ‘Our guys are fired up’ appeared first on Saturday Down South.

Would it still get its shot in the College Football Playoff after getting shot down hard by Georgia in that forgettable SEC title game loss? Would the terrible numbers like, say, the hideous minus-3 yards rushing that the Crimson Tide mustered in Atlanta outweigh the good numbers and leave Bama on the outside looking in for the 2nd straight season under Kalen DeBoer?

Everything Alabama had worked for this fall, 8-game winning streak and all, was in danger of being for naught as that Playoff committee glossed over the evidence and delivered its verdict. For the Tide, that verdict was a sort of stay of execution, because the committee decided they were still worthy of being a Playoff team, slapping Bama with the 9 seed and a trip to Norman on Dec. 19 to face 8-seed and SEC rival Oklahoma.

As a program and a fan base exhaled while shaking their heads for the predicament they were in, Alabama gets a chance to wipe the slate clean and know it is 4 victories away from winning another national title. Way easier said than done, right? Absolutely right, considering the shaky level of play Bama has shown over the past several weeks, especially on offense.

But no matter how they got here, the Tide are here. They are 1 of 12 teams with a shot at this thing in 2025, and as they start preparation for an Oklahoma team they just lost to at home a month ago, here are some of those aforementioned numbers to ponder. We’ll go with 5 of them, as Alabama gets back to work trying to become the best version of itself when it truly matters most:

493 

This is the stunning number of yards for an entire regular season for Alabama’s leading rusher. Look, we’re not trying to pick on Jam Miller, a senior who’s been through the wars in a Crimson Tide uniform. The battle scars have been as real and raw as ever this season for Miller, who never really got a chance to have the season anyone envisioned back in the summer after he dislocated his collarbone during fall camp and missed the first 3 games of the year.

While that miniscule season yards total is a bit misleading, coming in only 9 games and not 13, Miller was never himself for any extended stretch this fall, managing just 1 100-yard game against Vanderbilt in early October. There was an anemic 4-game stretch from mid-October to mid-November when Miller combined for just 81 yards on 39 carries. You don’t even need a pencil to do the quick math — it’s about 2 yards per carry, and Miller only found the end zone 3 times in those 9 games.

Then he couldn’t make it to the SEC title game in 1 piece, getting injured again in the Iron Bowl and being seen on crutches that night at Jordan-Hare Stadium. It was a shame, too, because he actually had a rhythm going, rushing for 83 yards and averaging 5.5 yards per carry before the injury bug bit him once more. It was a lower leg injury, according to a report by ESPN’s Pete Thamel, and it sidelined him in Atlanta while the running game sunk to historic depths, managing minus-3 yards on the ground.

Naturally, Georgia’s defense pounced on the 1-dimensional Tide and cruised to a 3-touchdown victory. That Thamel report on the day before the SEC title game also proclaimed that Miller was expected to return for the postseason and that the injury wasn’t considered serious. That positivity appeared to be backed up on Monday by head coach Kalen DeBoer, who told reporters that he feels Miller has “got a really strong chance of being, not just available, but ready to go at a level he can compete and do some good things for us.”

It would be hard to imagine Alabama making any kind of Playoff run without those encouraging words from DeBoer coming true. In the regular-season home loss to Oklahoma a month ago, Miller had just 9 carries for 27 yards, so his return next week in Norman would guarantee nothing for the Tide except having the mere threat of their leading rusher back on the field in their most important game. 

Which causes us to circle back to that number, 493, and the notion that Bama even making the Playoff with its leading rusher having less than 500 yards is a stunning accomplishment in itself.

65% 

Crimson Tide kicker Conor Talty has made every last 1 of his extra-point attempts this season, all 44 of them, and that’s great and all. When Alabama has scored a touchdown in 2025, it has been secure in the knowledge that the sophomore will step up and boot that point after right through, with no issues. But the Tide haven’t always scored touchdowns, of course, and TDs can be a lot harder to come by in the Playoff against other elite teams.

That’s where the 65% comes into play. Take a wild guess what that 65% signifies? Yep, that’s Talty’s very shaky field goal percentage this season as Bama gets ready to hit the road for a first-round Playoff game in the very hostile environment of Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. It doesn’t necessarily guarantee failure on that first field goal attempt on Dec. 19, assuming Bama doesn’t pull a miracle and score all touchdowns against that stiff Sooners defense.

Talty could prance into Norman next week and pull off a primetime heroic kicking act. He could try 3 field goals and make all 3, including the game-winner to send Alabama to the quarterfinals against Indiana. That could happen, because field goal kicking can be such an inexact science and kickers can often be weird football creatures. But Talty’s percentage is what it is, and it’s not particularly good, with 2 of his 7 misses this season coming from the chip-shot territory between 20 and 29 yards.

He’s just 3 for 5 from that range, which doesn’t inspire a ton of confidence, even if Kalen DeBoer and every one of his teammates professes supreme confidence in Talty. His 4-for-5 clip from 30 to 39 yards out is fine, but then there’s the 6-for-9 stat line from 40 to 49 yards, which is the clutch range of many kicks that decide games and, in next Friday night’s case, the fate of seasons. 

Talty missed his only attempt this season from 50-plus yards out, which isn’t anything to really criticize, and he does have a long of 48 yards, so it’s not like we don’t know if he can convert from anywhere close to 50 yards. He has done it. But Bama has reached the spot where having a dependable kicker is pretty necessary, because you can hide a percentage like Talty’s during a long season filled with a lot of extra point attempts and no chilling moments that called for game-winning kicks.

But not now. And don’t forget in the home loss to the same Oklahoma team last month, Talty missed his only field goal try, having a 36-yarder blocked at the end of the first half. The final score was 23-21 Sooners, so do the math. At least right now, as the Playoff approaches, Talty’s field goal numbers just don’t add up.

212 

Now, this is a number Bama fans can get behind. Because 212 is the anemic amount of total yards that Oklahoma managed against Kane Wommack’s defense on Nov. 15 in Tuscaloosa. Yes, the Sooners still won the game, and that’s all that matters, but giving up just a hair over 200 total yards on your home field is almost always a recipe for winning, especially for Alabama.

It wasn’t that day, only because Bama turned it over 3 times, paving the way for short fields that Oklahoma converted into just enough points to pull out a 2-point victory. That was so unlike this Tide team though. And if Alabama’s defense can even approach that same stat level on Dec. 19, after also holding OU to just 12 first downs, then the Tide have an excellent shot to break hearts in Norman and advance to the quarterfinals.

The oddsmakers see stuff like this, which is probably 1 of the reasons why Bama is a slight favorite, even on the road and in primetime. The Tide defense was still dominant against the Sooners, despite what the final scoreboard said, and that reality has got to be encouraging as the rematch nears in Norman.

3

Let’s make this 1 short and sweet, at least for Alabama, because the number 3 is 3 losses this season for the Tide after laying an egg in the SEC Championship Game. And despite those 3 losses, including the Week 1 fiasco against a Florida State team that would crash and burn at 5-7, Bama still squeezed into the Playoff field kicking and screaming.

Some would label it Bama bias, or SEC bias, but the Tide will roll into Norman on Dec. 19 as the first 3-loss team to qualify for the Playoff in the new 12-team format as a non-conference champ. And some would label that being gifted a new lease on life, with that clean slate and the opportunity to prove to everyone that you belonged in the Playoff all along.

In this 1 special case, 3 strikes didn’t mean you were out. Whatever its controversial Playoff berth looks like from the outside, Bama now has the chance to reach deep inside and try like heck to make sure that 4th loss of the season never arrives.

9 

The saga of Ryan Williams’s sophomore season gone mostly wrong dragged Alabama down all fall but never knocked the Tide out. Because here Bama still is, with Playoff life and a chance to do something special despite Williams’s struggles. His regular season stat line of 42 catches for 631 yards and 4 touchdowns was extremely underwhelming, with all those drops included.

But Williams was particularly unproductive down the stretch, and that’s where the number 9 comes in, as in 9 combined catches in his past 5 games. So, not only did he not build on those 2024 numbers after a breakout freshman season, Williams will enter the Playoff with no individual momentum to turn it all around when it suddenly matters most.

The low point came in the Iron Bowl a few weeks ago, when Williams didn’t just not catch 1 pass, he wasn’t even targeted. Kalen DeBoer has said all the right things, that Williams prepares really well for each game and that there’s nothing to see here regarding his role, or lack thereof, in the Ty Simpson-led offense. 

Can it really all suddenly change on Dec. 19? And if not, can Alabama expect to be playing for a title on Jan. 19?

The post 5 numbers to ponder as Alabama starts Playoff preparation for Oklahoma appeared first on Saturday Down South.

The honor that’s given annually to the most versatile player in major college football had Concepcion’s name written all over it after a regular season when he helped Texas A&M go 11-1 and reach the College Football Playoff. Concepcion is the first Aggies player to win the Hornung award and the 5th player from the SEC to capture the honor.

Concepcion’s versatility is wrapped in his special individual statistics. He ranks in the top 10 nationally in 6 different categories, which is hard to do for any player, and he ranks in the top 10 in the SEC in receiving and punt returns. Concepcion is 1 of only 9 FBS players who has a touchdown receiving, rushing and returning punts to his credit in 2025, and making him even more valuable to the Aggies is that he can stretch the field, registering 40 catches of 10 yards or more.

On special teams, Concepcion is a dynamo, ranking 3rd nationally with a punt return average of 20 yards to go with his 2 punt returns for touchdowns.

And on offense, he’s dynamic, too, tying for the SEC lead with 9 touchdown catches. Concepcion caught 57 passes in all during the regular season for 886 yards.

Put that production on special teams and offense together and it’s not a surprise that Concepcion ranked 4th in the SEC in all-purpose yards and all-purpose yards per game. His stretch-the-field ability was shown by his 15.5 yards per catch this season, which ranked 8th nationally.

The Paul Hornung Award was started by the Louisville Sports Commission in 2010 as a way to honor Hornung, who was born in Louisville. The award was meant to recognize the best in versatility among college football players that would otherwise go unnoticed.

On Wednesday, 1 of the SEC’s own from Texas A&M was recognized for his versatility, which he’ll be trying to show off later this month in the Playoff.

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Hamdan has been around the coaching block a few times, with 17 years of experience in college football and the NFL to his credit. Bulldogs head coach Jeff Lebby announced the hire and will lean on Hamdan’s strong reputation for being a mastermind in coaching up quarterbacks and wide receivers.

Lebby will also draw on Hamdan’s bevy of experience in the SEC, as well as his Power 4 coaching experience and his time in the NFL. Included in Hamdan’s past SEC portfolio are stops at Kentucky and Mizzou. Hamdan has also been on the staffs at Boise State and Washington, and his dip into the pro football waters came with the Atlanta Falcons.

The Mississippi State football community officially welcomed Hamdan to Starkville with this post on Wednesday morning:

Hamdan didn’t leave the SEC too long ago, having spent the 2024 season as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Kentucky. That came after Hamdan’s landmark 2023 season at Boise State, where he directed 1 of the best offenses in recent Broncos football history, which is saying something.

During that magical 2023 season under Hamdan, Boise State scored 30 or more points in 9 consecutive games.

Three seasons later, Hamdan will be using his talents in Starkville, where he hopes to have the same success in the world of the SEC.

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The locker room is where Kirby Smart was unleashing a fiery speech to his winning team after it took down Alabama, 28-7, to capture the program’s 2nd straight SEC title. The 1-minute, 20-second-long post from the SEC Network social media account on Tuesday night was an example of the burning intensity that goes along with Smart’s job.

Yes, Smart has coached Georgia to 2 national championships, so this wasn’t the biggest victory of his coaching career in Athens. But you would have never known that from the way he spoke to his players after the win that locked down an automatic bid to the College Football Playoff and a first-round bye, too.

“It begins here. And you know why you were able to do that? Because you believed in each other, you believed in your coaches,” an emotional Smart said. “We got better because you kept working. It’s special. … When you work hard for something, you have to appreciate it. We’re not finished yet. We’re not done yet. We’re going to keep getting better.”

Smart inspired his players to win the game and the conference title, and then he did it again in that postgame speech. Here is the full clip of the intensity he showed:

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With No. 8 seed Oklahoma getting ready to face the 9th-seeded Crimson Tide in a primetime clash on ABC and ESPN that will kick off at 8 p.m. ET, the school didn’t waste any time in announcing some very important changes that should help Sooners fans better get ready for the experience. On Monday, the day after the College Football Playoff schedule was unveiled, the university unveiled its own adjustments to its academic and campus operations.

With the OU-Bama battle kicking off at 7 p.m., Norman time, the Norman campus will suspend its normal academic and campus operations for both its students and employees on Dec. 19. That way, the path is cleared, so to speak, for the people who care so deeply about the result of the game on that Friday night.

The university announced that in-person classes on the Norman campus will be canceled on Dec. 19, and that the final exams schedule for that day will be adjusted, too.

Oklahoma’s social media account released this post on Monday explaining the details of all the changes that will be made on the day of the big game:

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But while the 7th-seeded Aggies have both eyes on the 10th-seeded Hurricanes, they have coaching staff holes to fill going forward, and on Wednesday morning On3 reported that Texas A&M has filled a hole at tight ends coach. With current Aggies tight ends coach Christian Ellsworth heading to Kansas State to coach under new Wildcats head man Collin Klein, Texas A&M is hiring Kentucky tight ends coach Derek Shay to fill Ellsworth’s spot, according to the On3 report.

Klein was introduced last Friday as the next head coach at his alma mater, but he is expected to stay with the Aggies throughout this upcoming Playoff run, however long it lasts, of course. But when the 2026 season dawns, Klein will be back at Kansas State, where he played and was a longtime assistant coach. And Ellsworth will now reportedly be there with Klein, who has been the Aggies’ offensive coordinator for the past 2 seasons.

Shay would be continuing a long coaching journey in the SEC by landing at Texas A&M in 2026. He was also part of the coaching staffs at LSU and Mizzou in addition to his time at Kentucky.

So, this would be Shay’s 4th SEC school already in his coaching life, as he is reportedly set to head to College Station, where there is still business to take care of for the 2025 season, starting in a little over a week.

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It might be College Football Playoff time right now, but college basketball is in full swing, and Lunardi gave fans some new projections to pour over in early December. For LSU fans, it might be a treacherous path to the NCAA Tournament, according to Lunardi, who on Tuesday had the Tigers as 1 of his First Four Out.

That wasn’t the only SEC team that might be sweating things out, according to Lunardi, who also had another Tigers from the SEC, the Mizzou version, as 1 of his First Four Out. Oklahoma is yet another SEC team that might be walking the tightrope to a possible NCAA bid, with Lunardi having the Sooners as 1 of his Next Four Out.

While those SEC squads are on the bubble, at least right now with plenty of basketball still to be played, Lunardi has a bevy of SEC teams safely in the NCAA Tournament. Like, for instance, Georgia, which is in the middle of football frenzy right now in Athens but could have something to really cheer about in March, according to Lunardi. He has the basketball Bulldogs seeded 8th in the East Region and playing Wisconsin in their first-round game.

What about Alabama? Well, Lunardi has Nate Oats’s team seeded 3rd right now in the Midwest Region and playing Northern Colorado in the first round.

Among the other SEC teams Lunardi has in the tournament is, of course, defending national champion Florida, who he sees right now as the No. 5 seed in the West Region.

This is all for fun right now, in early December, for these SEC hopefuls, but it’ll start to get very serious very soon, as teams jockey for position to try to squeeze their way into the NCAA Tournament.

The post ESPN’s Joe Lunardi updates bracketology projection for 2026 NCAA Tournament appeared first on Saturday Down South.

The news of Hutzler heading from Starkville to Auburn was reported on Tuesday afternoon by Matt Zenitz and John Talty of CBS Sports. But Hutzler, who directed the Bulldogs’ defense the past 2 seasons, wouldn’t be leading Auburn’s defense in the same role after he was fired by Mississippi State over the weekend. Instead, the CBS Sports report said Hutzler would be serving under Golesh as the Tigers’ edge rushers coach.

While Hutzler was at Mississippi State in 2024 and 2025, that is just the tip of the iceberg to his SEC background. He’s also been a part of the coaching staffs at Alabama and Ole Miss, and South Carolina and Florida are a part of his coaching past as well.

Hutzler was an assistant at Texas in 2020, long before the Longhorns joined the SEC, but the point is that he would be heading to Auburn with quite an extensive knowledge of the conference.

The Plains is reportedly set to be just the latest stop in his SEC tour, with Golesh trying to start his time there with a bang after being hired away from South Florida.

The post Alex Golesh set to hire former SEC defensive coordinator to Auburn staff, per report appeared first on Saturday Down South.

But not right now and not on Tuesday, when Bobo was honored for his work with the Bulldogs’ offense by being named 1 of 5 finalists for the prestigious Broyles Award, which is given annually to the top assistant coach in the sport. The 51-year-old who played quarterback in Athens from 1993-97 returned to his alma mater as Georgia‘s offensive analyst in 2022 before being elevated to offensive coordinator the following year.

Bobo is feeling the love right now of a fan base that’s been hard on him at times since he took over the Bulldogs’ offense, and his work this season with first-year starting QB Gunner Stockton helped Stockton become a Heisman Trophy contender and helped Georgia capture its 2nd straight SEC title with last Saturday’s victory over Alabama.

The other 4 finalists for the Broyles Award are Miami defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman, Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, Texas Tech defensive coordinator Shiel Wood and Indiana defensive coordinator Bryant Haines. So, Bobo is the lone offensive coordinator on the Broyles finalist list.

Bobo will find out if he’s the last assistant standing when the winner of the award is announced on Feb. 12 in Hot Springs, Ark.

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The former NC State star retired following the 2020 COVID season, which he ironically spent with the Colts after starring for the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers from 2004-19. Now, he’s going to give it another go with the Colts, signing with the team’s practice squad on Tuesday afternoon after a workout with Indianapolis on Monday night.

ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter reported sources that confirmed Rivers was indeed returning to play football despite having been retired since that 2020 season and despite being a grandfather. Rivers has been coaching high school football in Alabama since 2021, but he saw an opportunity with the last franchise he played for and wants to see if he can help the Colts’ suddenly-dire quarterback situation.

The Colts are still firmly in playoff contention in the AFC at 8-5 despite a recent slide, but they are really banged up right now behind center, with the latest domino to fall being previous starter Daniel Jones, who suffered a torn Achilles on Sunday and is done for the season. Riley Leonard, who came in for Jones in Sunday’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, also was injured, suffering a knee injury, and his availability for this week’s game against the Seattle Seahawks is in doubt.

With all of that drama circulating, Rivers doesn’t seem so far away from actually seeing the field this season. The No. 4 overall pick of the 2004 draft also has a deep connection with Colts head coach Shane Steichen, who was Rivers’ position coach and offensive coordinator during his dominant days with the Chargers.

Interestingly, if Rivers eventually signs with the Colts’ active roster, his Hall of Fame clock resets to 5 years, so his wait to be inducted into Canton would be a lot longer.

The post Philip Rivers, 44, set to join Colts practice squad appeared first on Saturday Down South.

One day after appearing on The Dan Patrick Show and proclaiming that the ACC has “done permanent damage in the relationship between the conference and Notre Dame,” Bevacqua was back on the attack toward the conference. He told reporters on Tuesday that he believed Notre Dame was the victim of a smear campaign by the ACC on social media, and that helped result in Notre Dame being on the outside looking in for the Playoff despite its 10-2 record with 10 straight wins to end its season.

Bevacqua said that he didn’t mind Miami going on the attack toward a longtime rival football school like Notre Dame in its pursuit of a Playoff spot, citing the “spirit” of that rivalry. It was the ACC he was truly upset with.

“What we were really surprised by and disappointed (with) was how the ACC conference went on a social media campaign, in my opinion, attacking our program,” Bevacqua said.

He was shocked that the ACC “chose to go down that road” of being on the attack toward Notre Dame in the leadup to Selection Sunday.

“This raised a lot of eyebrows. We made our feelings known that we didn’t particularly understand it,” Bevacqua said.

All Bevacqua can do now is air that frustration on behalf of the university he represents, and all Notre Dame can do now is looking toward next season, with the Fighting Irish declining a bowl bid after being denied a Playoff berth on Sunday.

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The Aggies almost completed an undefeated regular season, winning their first 11 games. They were awarded the No. 7 seed in the Playoff on Sunday and a matchup with 10th-seeded Miami in College Station on Dec. 20. Elko was a huge reason for all of the Aggies’ success, and he is now 19-6 as Texas A&M coach over his 2 seasons there. He’ll get a chance to add to that win total during a possible postseason run to a national championship.

For now, Mike Elko is being honored individually for all of Texas A&M’s success this year. Being named an Eddie Robinson finalist was his 2nd such honor in as many days, after he was named a finalist for the George Munger Coach of the Year award on Monday.

The Texas A&M football social media account celebrated Elko’s latest finalist honor on Tuesday with this post that carried the headline, “Best in the business.”

Elko will have a chance to prove his Aggies are the best in the business in 2025 over the next month and then some, but right now he’s reaping the rewards of 1 of the best regular seasons in program history.

In 11 days, his team will be back on the field against the Hurricanes, trying to force their way into the Playoff quarterfinals with Elko leading the charge as he has all season.

The Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year award is given annually by the Football Writers Association of America. The award is named for legendary coach Eddie Robinson, the longtime coach at Grambling State University.

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Golding learned with the rest of his coaching staff and players on Sunday that the Rebels are the No. 6 seed for the College Football Playoff and will face No. 11 seed Tulane in a first-round game on Dec. 20 in Oxford (3:30 p.m. ET, TNT). Last Sunday, Golding was promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach when Kiffin said goodbye to Ole Miss and hello to LSU.

And a week later, as the Rebels begin preparations for the Green Wave and Golding starts preparing for his first head coaching job, the new man in charge in Oxford wasn’t shy about taking a jab at the man who used to be in charge in Oxford.

According to a social media post on Sunday afternoon by Ben Garrett, who covers Ole Miss for On3, Golding is quite familiar with the fact that Kiffin practiced a good bit of yoga during his days at Ole Miss. And the guy who served as Kiffin’s defensive coordinator since 2023 took the opportunity to call on that hobby of Kiffin’s.

“I’m not changing who I am. I ain’t changing what the hell I wear. I’m not going to yoga,” Golding said. “I ain’t doing any of that s—. I am who I am. We’re going to roll.”

And with that burst of intensity and honesty, Golding was off to do a job in a few weeks, which is try to get Ole Miss past Tulane and into the Playoff quarterfinals.

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The 6-foot-3, 290-pound product will be leaving the West Coast to head to SEC country in 2027. He’s an Inglewood, Calif., product who has chosen Oklahoma over fellow proud programs USC, Nebraska and Oregon, with that Big Ten trio losing out on Harmon. SEC rival Texas A&M was also in the mix for Harmon.

“ALL IN!! Home sweet home!” wrote Harmon on social media in announcing his decision to play at Oklahoma.

According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Harmon is the 206th-ranked player in the Class of 2027. He’s also the 25th-ranked defensive lineman in the class and the 21st-ranked player from the state of California.

Harmon is now the 11th commit to Oklahoma’s 2027 recruiting class, the 4th defensive player and the 2nd defensive lineman to pledge his commitment to OU for the 2027 season. Oklahoma has now landed 3 recruits from California in its 2027 recruiting class.

Oklahoma’s 2027 recruiting class is currently ranked 1st in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, with Harmon’s commitment elevating the Sooners’ class to the top of those rankings on Sunday.

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Calling the action from College Station will be play-by-play man Sean McDonough, with former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy serving as the analyst. Working the sidelines will be Molly McGrath and Taylor McGregor.

The first-round showdown between the 7th-seeded Aggies and 10th-seeded Hurricanes will kick off at noon ET and be broadcast on both ABC and ESPN. Kyle Field will likely be rocking a little extra from its normal insane level, considering the Playoff stakes, after Texas A&M turned in a memorable 11-1 regular season.

Miami takes a 10-2 record into the matchup, having to sweat out Selection Sunday but ultimately slipping into the Playoff bracket that was revealed. A little less than 2 weeks later, the Hurricanes will try to pull the upset in SEC country and advance to the quarterfinals.

The Aggies and Canes will battle to keep their dream alive of playing for the national title on Jan. 19 in Miami, where ESPN will also be when this Playoff journey comes to a dramatic conclusion and a championship trophy is on the line.

But before Texas A&M and Miami can get to that end point, they will have to begin the journey with a victory just to advance to the Playoff quarterfinals.

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The Hurricanes head coach shared an injury update with reporters regarding Scott’s status for UM’s first-round Playoff game at Texas A&M on Dec. 20 (noon ET, ABC/ESPN). Scott is nursing a right foot injury and didn’t play in Miami’s last 2 regular-season games. The senior hasn’t played since the Nov. 15 game against North Carolina State.

“We’re not sure. We’re very hopeful,” said Cristobal of Scott’s status going forward. “We know he’s going to be back here in the near future, expected near future. I cannot say exactly, but we do feel like he’s trending in the right direction.”

Cristobal didn’t want to overstep in talking about Scott, knowing patience will be key.

“As it relates to everybody else, we feel really, really good about it. So, that’s the one guy that we’re waiting,” Cristobal said.

Despite missing the past 2 games, Scott has still piled up 44 total tackles this season, 30 of them solo. Scott also has 3 sacks this year, with 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries and 1 interception, so his value to Miami’s defense is huge.

Cristobal hopes that in a couple weeks, Scott will be able to show off that value at Kyle Field with everything on the line.

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He’ll be back at Virginia Tech as the defensive coordinator for newly hired head coach James Franklin, who Pry used to work under at Penn State, according to a report by On3’s Pete Nakos on Sunday morning.

Pry, who was fired by the Hokies in September after an 0-3 start to the season, was Franklin’s defensive coordinator in State College from 2016-21 before taking the Virginia Tech head coaching job in 2022. After Pry went just 16-24 during his tenure at Virginia Tech and was let go, he’ll be reversing course and coming right back to Blacksburg, according to the On3 report.

According to Nakos’ report, Pry pushed Virginia Tech to hire Franklin to replace him as head coach, and the school did exactly that, hiring Franklin last month after Franklin was fired himself earlier this season by Penn State.

Pry tasted success under Franklin at Penn State, so their reunion in 2026 isn’t a total surprise, even if it is extremely rare for a fired head coach to end up back in the same place the following year as an assistant. In 2021, Pry was a nominee for the Broyles Award, which is given annually to the top assistant coach in the country.

Penn State’s defense was a force that year under Pry, ranking 4th nationally in red-zone defense (66.7%), 7th in scoring defense (16.8 points per game) and 8th in defensive pass efficiency (111.98) while holding its opponents to 4.7 yards per play.

Now, Pry will reportedly have a shot to have that same success again under Franklin, and he’ll reportedly get another shot to have that success in the same place that let him go as head coach just a few months ago.

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Kyle Field will be rocking, because when is it not? But the Aggies and Canes will kick it off at noon ET on ABC and ESPN with everything at stake, and Elko is well aware that Miami will be a tough team to move the ball against. He spoke to reporters on Sunday in the aftermath of the CFP selections, when the Hurricanes were seeded 10th and in a direct path with his 7th-seeded Aggies.

Elko had nothing but praise for Miami’s defense.

“They’re a challenge. I don’t know that it’s possible to pick them apart,” Mike Elko said. “They’re really big and physical up front. They’ve got NFL talent all over the place on that defense, especially in the front four. They’re big, they’re fast, they’re athletic.”

Elko’s task over the next few weeks will be to try to find a way to counter what Miami’s defense brings. He’ll be a busy man, no doubt.

“I think they’re going to present a ton of challenges to us,” Elko said. “I don’t know if I’m at anywhere near a point where I’m talking about picking them apart. We’re just trying to figure out how to find yards right now.”

And finding yards against Miami won’t be easy, as Elko is well aware.

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According to a report by On3’s Brett McMurphy on Sunday afternoon, Notre Dame was invited to play BYU in the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando on Dec. 27 but declined that invitation. That report came minutes after the news that Notre Dame had decided to sit out the postseason and not play in a bowl game after not being selected to the CFP.

Meanwhile, college football fans and media had their own takes on Notre Dame’s decision to not go to any bowl game following what the Fighting Irish perceived as a massive Playoff snub. Notre Dame lost its first 2 games of the season by a combined 4 points to Playoff teams Texas A&M and Miami, which got in on Sunday over the Irish. But Notre Dame responded by winning its next 10 games, all by double figures, to finish 10-2.

Still, it wasn’t good enough for Marcus Freeman’s team, which was hurt by the head-to-head factor against the Hurricanes and didn’t get the benefit of the doubt when compared with a 3-loss Alabama team. Rather than play in a bowl game in the aftermath of not getting in the Playoff, Notre Dame decided to leave well enough alone and skip the postseason.

Here is just a sampling of the reaction from fans and media:

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This time around, the junior had a starring role from start to finish as the starter, tossing 3 touchdown passes in Georgia’s dominant 28-7 victory over Alabama and capturing the MVP award for his supreme efforts in Atlanta. Stockton was incredibly efficient, completing 20 of 26 passes on Saturday inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and though he only threw for 156 yards he helped control the pace for the Bulldogs, who repeated as SEC champions thanks to their quarterback who has a knack for coming up big in this spot.

Stockton replaced the injured Carson Beck in this game last year, as the Dawgs defeated Texas in a thriller. He was Georgia’s quarterback in the College Football Playoff last season, too, with Beck out, and that’s exactly where Stockton will be taking his team again this year as it chases its 3rd national championship in 5 years.

After Georgia blocked an Alabama punt in the 1st quarter, Stockton went to work, throwing a 1-yard touchdown pass to Roderick Robinson II to give the Dawgs a 7-0 lead and set the tone for the rest of the day.

Stockton, who has received Heisman Trophy consideration this season, helped Georgia pour it on with a 5-yard TD pass to Dillon Bell in the 2nd quarter that helped the Bulldogs take a commanding 14-0 lead at halftime.

But Stockton wasn’t done. After Alabama finally got on the board in the 4th quarter to pull within 21-7, Stockton put the finishing touches on his performance and Georgia’s, finding Zachariah Branch on a 13-yard scoring connection with 6:51 left.

It wasn’t technically over yet, but for all intents and purposes it was, and Stockton sealed his place in Georgia football lore, this time leading an SEC title game victory from beginning to end. And this time, he got the ultimate reward afterward.

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Thamel reported that the school and Arnett have completed the details on a 3-year deal that brings the former Mississippi State head coach and assistant back to the program yet again. Arnett will return to the program he led as the head coach in 2023 to be the defensive coordinator under current head coach Jeff Lebby.

Arnett went 5-6 as the head coach in Starkville before being fired in November 2023 with 2 games still left in the regular season. But Arnett’s history with the program goes way beyond that. He was the defensive coordinator at Mississippi State from 2020-2022, and now it appears that Arnett is heading back to that same position in 2026 after spending the 2024 season as an analyst at Ole Miss and the 2025 season as an analyst at Florida State.

He will be replacing Coleman Hutzler, who according to another Thamel report on Saturday morning was informed by Mississippi State that he wouldn’t be returning to the program next year.

Thamel also reported on Saturday morning that the school was targeting Arnett to be the new DC, and later on the same day it appears Arnett is heading back to a very familiar place for the 2026 season.

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