SEC Football

Ole Miss football head coach Lane Kiffin doesn't believe Nick Saban's Alabama dynasty is over despite the Crimson Tide's tough 2022 campaign.

Kiffin, who worked under Saban as Alabama's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2014 to 2016, said on The Paul Finebaum Show on Friday (h/t ESPN's Brandon Zimmerman) that the Tide aren't showing signs of decline yet.

Alabama entered this year as a national championship contender, but a pair of one-score losses, both on the final play of the game, have dropped the team to 7-2.

A last-second field goal sealed Tennessee's 52-49 home win over Alabama three weeks ago. Last Saturday, a two-point conversion in overtime put LSU over the top, 32-31.

Penalties, turnovers and a lack of takeaways have hurt Alabama, but the Crimson Tide still have superstars at quarterback in Bryce Young and edge-rusher in Will Anderson Jr. Alabama is also sixth in scoring and 14th in points allowed in Division I FBS.

This squad may not be on par with the six championship teams Saban has coached at Alabama since arriving in 2007, but it's a talented unit that could finish the season strong and earn yet another season of double-digit wins.

Also, their College Football Playoff hopes aren't dead yet, although it will be an uphill climb for the Crimson Tide to get there after the LSU loss.

Alabama will look to get back on track with another tough SEC road game against Kiffin's Rebels, who are No. 11 in the CFP rankings.

The Rebels' powerful offense is led by freshman running back Quinshon Judkins, who has 1,107 yards from scrimmage and 14 touchdowns.

Kickoff is 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Dan Lanning has no plans to use Oregon as a steppingstone.

The Ducks head coach offered an extended denial of rumors he'd be interested in taking the Auburn head coaching position Monday, telling reporters Oregon "has everything I could possibly ever want."

"First off, I'll say things like this are gonna come up when you have team success and when you do your job and things go the way they're supposed to go. That's credit really to our team. That being said, I think there's a little bit of a problem in society today with people looking for what's next and where there's an opportunity, and the reality is the grass is not always greener. In fact, the grass is damn green in Eugene, right? And I want to be here in Eugene for as long as Eugene will have me.

"This place has everything I could possibly ever want, my family could ever want. I've got an 11-year-old that's lived in eight states. The last thing I ever want to do is leave. I want to enjoy this opportunity here. It's been a phenomenal place for us. And when you talk about things that align, things that match your vision for what you're looking for as a head coach, Oregon checks every box for me.

"I think history maybe shows that this is a great place to be and not a great place to leave. I want to be here. Hopefully, that's the last time I have to really address it. But the reality is this is a destination, not just for me, but for elite players. And why is it a destination? Because reat administration, great fans, great support, and it's a good reason to be here and why we're having the success we're having."

Oregon has seen its last two coaches (Willie Taggart and Mario Cristobal) use the program to boost their resumes before leaving for what they perceived as better jobs (Florida State and Miami, respectively). Taggart lasted less than two seasons at Florida State before being fired, and Cristobal is 4-5 in his first season at Miami.

Lanning, meanwhile, is 8-1 in his first year in Eugene with a shot at making the College Football Playoff. The Ducks recovered from an ugly 49-3 loss to Georgia to open their regular season to reel off eight straight wins, scoring 40-plus points in each contest.

Lanning came to Oregon after working his way up from a high school special teams coach to being Georgia's defensive coordinator from 2019 to 2021, winning a national championship with the Bulldogs last season.

The combination of Lanning's age (36) and history in the SEC makes him a natural target for Auburn, which fired Bryan Harsin on Halloween.

While the program will have little trouble finding interested parties, the Auburn job isn't strong at the moment. The Tigers haven't won 10 games since 2017 and are looking into an uncertain SEC future that includes the impending additions of Texas and Oklahoma. By 2025, Auburn may be the seventh- or eighth-best job in the SEC.

By contrast, Oregon is the pillar of the Pac-12—especially with USC and UCLA set to join the Big Ten.

Your eyes may not be deceiving you if you think the Alabama offense is noticeably below the standard it has set in recent years.

ESPN's Matt Miller spoke with an NFL general manager who said Crimson Tide star Bryce Young is "the only player on that offense with a Round 1 grade."

Young was the No. 3 player off the board in Bleacher Report's most recent mock draft. He was the only member of the Alabama offense off the board in the first round.

Fans have grown used to Alabama reloading every year after losing its best players to the NFL. Head coach Nick Saban has been more than willing to dip his toe into the transfer portal as well. Ohio State transfer Jameson Williams made an immediate impact during his lone season in Tuscaloosa in 2021.

Whether it's down to coaching or a relative lack of talent, the 2022 Alabama offense simply lacks its usual explosion.

At times, Young's singular creativity has been the team's saving grace.

His 20-yard run inside the final minute set up Will Reichard's go-ahead field goal in a 20-19 win over Texas. Last Saturday, he somehow evaded the LSU pass rush to find Ja'Corey Brooks for a 41-yard touchdown pass, which gave Alabama a 21-17 lead over LSU in the fourth quarter.

Young's value was evident in the Tide's 24-20 victory over Texas A&M. With the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner sidelined, Jalen Milroe went 12-of-19 for 111 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

Saban was questioned about offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien on Monday but declined to offer much insight. Blaming O'Brien for the state of the offense would be a bit harsh because the comment from the NFL GM speaks for itself.

There isn't a wealth of game-breaking talent in the passing game. This isn't 2019, when Alabama had a wideout room that included DeVonta Smith, Henry Ruggs III, Jerry Jeudy and Jaylen Waddle.

All Saban can do is course correct once the season is over.

When it became clear a run-heavy pro-style offense wasn't cutting it any more, Saban hired Lane Kiffin and watched as Alabama adapted to an uptempo spread style. In this case, it may not be a strategic shift but rather taking a different approach toward recruiting and the transfer portal.

Vanderbilt defensive backs coach Dan Jackson will be away from the football team while the university conducts an internal review of a recent post Jackson made on Facebook in support of rapper Kanye West.

According to ESPN, Vanderbilt athletic director Candice Lee said the following about the situation:

"It is important the university follow its standard process and conduct a thorough review of the complexities of this incident. Coach Jackson and I have agreed that he will step back from his responsibilities with the team during the Equal Opportunity and Access office's review."

West, who is now known as Ye, made multiple antisemitic comments on social media and elsewhere, including amplifying the conspiracy theory that Jewish people wield outsized control in the media. As a result, Adidas terminated its relationship with West, and he had his accounts suspended on both Twitter and Instagram.

In the wake of the punishments, Jackson wrote on Facebook that West is "two steps ahead of everyone else."

Jackson offered an apology Friday night on Twitter and said he is opposed to antisemitism:

After apologizing, Jackson was allowed to coach in the 3-6 Commodores' 38-27 loss to South Carolina on Saturday.

Jackson, who was a linebacker at South Dakota State from 2003 to 2005, had extensive collegiate coaching experience before joining Vandy's staff this year.

He was part of the staff at his alma mater for eight years, helping South Dakota State establish itself as one of the premier programs in FCS.

Jackson then spent two seasons at Northern Illinois and was part of a turnaround that saw the Huskies go from winless in 2020 to MAC champions in 2021.

Jackson is currently not in line to be with Vanderbilt when it returns to the field Saturday for a road clash against Kentucky.

Vandy is 0-5 in the SEC this season, and it is looking to avoid a third consecutive season with no conference wins.

Nick Saban has said in the past that too much positive press for his Alabama team is like "rat poison," but Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin is afraid the legend is receiving just the opposite of that following the Crimson Tide's 32-31 loss to LSU at Tiger Stadium on Saturday.

"I texted [Paul] Finebaum on the way over here when I saw his quotes when he normally does and he says the Nick Saban dynasty is over and all that," Kiffin told reporters Monday. "Every time he says this—which I tell him—all he does is, I call it, like, GOAT fuel. The opposite of rat poison. You're just like, giving the GOAT fuel, which for him, that works. He goes and proves them wrong every time.

"So really appreciate you Paul saying that right after the game. I'm sure that was on his desk Sunday morning."

Kiffin doubled down on his comments on Twitter:

The Ole Miss head coach, who previously worked for Saban as an assistant at Alabama, also pointed out the Crimson Tide are "two plays" that "could have went either way" from being either No. 1 or 2 in the country.

Saban's first loss this season came to Tennessee when Will Reichard missed a potential go-ahead field goal with 15 seconds remaining and gave the Volunteers just enough time to use solid field position to get their own winning field goal.

Then his loss to LSU happened in overtime when the Tigers elected to go for the two-point conversion after pulling within one with a touchdown and converted.

Both were also road games in front of raucous crowds.

The problem for Alabama, though, is its College Football Playoff chances are now in serious jeopardy. It is in third place in the SEC West at 4-2 in the conference, while LSU (5-1) and Ole Miss (4-1) are in better position.

The Tigers also have the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Just reaching the SEC Championship Game at this point seems like something of a long shot, and accomplishing that would likely mean a date with powerhouse Georgia. Defeating the Bulldogs and benefiting from losses elsewhere with undefeated Ohio State, Michigan and TCU, plus a number of one-loss teams, all hanging around in the playoff race seems like something of a long shot.

For now, Saban's attention is surely on the upcoming contest with Kiffin's Ole Miss team, which gives the Crimson Tide a chance to earn a head-to-head tiebreaker with another SEC West contender.

The macro discussions about the potential end to the Alabama dynasty could be a motivating factor heading into that game, and Kiffin recognized the last thing he needs is an even more daunting matchup with the Crimson Tide.

Five-star linebacker Anthony Hill is re-opening his recruitment.

"After further difficult discussions with my family, I will be decommitting from Texas A&M and opening up my recruitment," Hill said in a statement to Hayes Fawcett of On3.

With Hill's recruitment back open, he will visit Texas for the Longhorns' game against TCU, which was reported by Jason Suchomel of OrangeBloods.com ahead of the linebacker's decommitment.

Hill initially announced his commitment to Texas A&M in July. Ranked as the No. 17 overall prospect and top-ranked linebacker of the 2023 class by 247Sports' composite rankings, Hill now plans to wait until national signing day to sign a letter of intent.

The 6'2", 225-pound linebacker has all the tools to be an instant-impact player at the next level and already has scouts discussing him as a potential second-round pick. He'll have no shortage of suitors after opening his recruitment, with Texas, Alabama and USC among the schools to have already offered him and hosted a visit.

Many had pegged Texas as the favorite to land Hill before he first announced his commitment to A&M. It's possible, if not likely, the Longhorns will ascend back into the lead following Monday's announcement.

Coach Steve Sarkisian has remained in pursuit of Hill despite his verbal commitment, and the linebacker is slated to be at Saturday's Texas-TCU game.

Texas linebacker Jaylan Ford is already hard at work putting in his own recruiting pitch for Hill on social media.

Odds are Ford won't be the last player to make his attempt at wooing Hill to their campus in the coming months.

Arkansas football players Anthony Brown and Myles Slusher have each been suspended at least one game after being arrested Sunday for disorderly conduct, per Alyssa Orange and Elena Ramirez of KNWA/FOX24.

Brown and Slusher will miss Saturday's game against the LSU Tigers—who are likely to move up from 10th in the College Football Playoff rankings after beating No. 6 Alabama last week—as a result.

Head coach Sam Pittman issued a statement, per Orange and Ramirez: "We are aware of the incident involving Anthony Brown and Myles Slusher. We are in the process of gathering information from the proper authorities. Once we have that information, we will determine their status with our team."

Police in Fayetteville, Arkansas, said an officer attempted to get a group of people off North West Avenue at 2 a.m. ET on Sunday. The officer claimed Brown "intentionally" stood in the road and then "pushed me away from him" when the officer grabbed him by the sleeve.

Slusher then allegedly reached for the officer and "attempted to pull him away from Brown."

Both players were released from custody Sunday morning and are due in court Dec. 1.

The incident occurred hours after Arkansas' 21-19 loss to Liberty, which dropped the Razorbacks to 5-4 for the season. Slusher had five tackles and one sack in the defeat.

The junior defensive back has 20 total tackles, four tackles for loss and one pass breakup in five appearances. An undisclosed injury kept him out for wins over South Carolina and Missouri State, and a calf problem left him unavailable as Arkansas lost to Mississippi State and beat BYU.

Brown, a freshman defensive back, has yet to make his Razorbacks debut. He was the No. 48 safety in 247Sports' composite rankings for the 2022 class.

The No. 6 Alabama Crimson Tide were upset by the No. 10 LSU Tigers 32-31 in overtime on Saturday at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, and the loss dropped Nick Saban's squad to 7-2 on the season.

Quarterback Bryce Young completed 25-of-51 passes for 328 yards and one touchdown against one interception in the loss. He also had four carries for 10 yards.

Jahmyr Gibbs led all running backs with 15 carries for 99 yards. He also caught eight passes for 64 yards. Ja'Corey Brooks, meanwhile, led all receivers with seven catches for 97 yards and one score.

The Alabama offense put together a respectable evening, but the team's defense could have been much better as it allowed 367 yards of total offense and essentially fell apart in overtime.

This is the earliest a Saban-led team has put up two losses in a season since 2007, and his team will likely not be making an appearance in the College Football Playoff this year, which sparked shock among those on Twitter:

If Alabama doesn't make the College Football Playoff, it will make an appearance in a bowl game.

The Crimson Tide will face No. 11 Ole Miss next weekend before closing out the season against Austin Peay and Auburn.

We begin with the punter. Yes, the punter.

To understand Georgia’s thorough domination of Tennessee on Saturday—a 27-13 triumph over the Vols that never felt that close—we begin in an unlikely place.

Sure, quarterback Stetson Bennett cemented himself as a legitimate Heisman candidate after accounting for three more touchdowns. And, yes, defensive lineman Jalen Carter, who has battled injuries this season, showcased glimpses as to why many NFL scouts feel he’s in the running for the No. 1 overall pick in next spring’s draft.

But the depth and talent run deep on this roster, all the way to the punter. That punter, Aussie Brett Thorson, unleashed a 75-yard punt that ultimately ducked out of bounds by its lonesome, on the opposing one-yard line.

It was a majestic boot—one of the greatest in recent memory. It should have resulted in a safety a few plays later, although it ultimately didn’t, thanks largely to some peculiar officiating surrounding a Tennessee fumble.

Still, Georgia used that field position to score a quick touchdown a few minutes later. The game never felt competitive from that point.

From the quarterback to the punter, the full arsenal of Georgia’s potential was on display in the biggest college football game of the season to date.

All year long, we’ve openly wondered what team deserves the No. 1 ranking: Alabama, Ohio State, Tennessee and Georgia all have made legitimate pushes throughout the year.

After Saturday, however, that discussion ends. The answer is Georgia, and there’s not much to it. Well, at least for now.

That sentiment, of course, hasn’t always existed this season. After winning the national championship in January, expectations for the program were enormous despite the exodus of impact players.

A blowout victory over Oregon in the opening weekend only fanned the flames. But along the way, Georgia injected some doubt into the season. The Bulldogs allowed Kent State to score 22 points, only to barely beat Missouri on the road the following week.

From that point on, the questions surrounding Georgia have persisted despite a solid string of wins (albeit against inferior opponents). On Saturday, those questions dissipated quickly.

Coming into this week, Tennessee was the hottest team in college football and the No. 1 seed in the first College Football Playoff rankings. Entering Saturday, the Vols were averaging more than 49 points per game.

Georgia held Tennessee, the nation’s No. 1 scoring offense, to one touchdown, and it came with a little more than four minutes remaining in the game. That about sums it up.

The scoreboard didn’t necessarily read like a blowout, although the actual football game never truly felt all that close. Georgia held a 24-6 lead at half, and then the Bulldogs essentially ran out the clock as the rain finally came from that point forward.

The ramifications that will emerge from this game will be sizable in the SEC and beyond. On Tuesday night, Georgia will be a runaway choice as the selection committee’s new No. 1 choice for the College Football Playoff.

No drama. No debate.

Moving forward, it will likely take a loss to remove the Bulldogs from that position. Tennessee will move down, although probably not too far. And earlier on Saturday, Ohio State, another team in consideration for this No. 1 spot, struggled in a win against one-win Northwestern.

The Bulldogs’ remaining schedule is not without intrigue. Well, perhaps that depends on what you view as “intrigue.”

Georgia will play road games at Mississippi State and Kentucky before heading home to play Georgia Tech. From there, Kirby Smart’s group is likely SEC Championship Game bound. If the Bulldogs get to the title game unbeaten, they are likely a lock for the playoff regardless of the outcome.

Sound familiar? It should.

The very scenario played out last season when Georgia lost to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. From there, the Bulldogs cruised through to the playoffs and to the national title.

This team, the best football team in America, does not possess the same talent that last year’s group did. That is not a controversial opinion; given all the meaningful players Georgia lost, it’s just the reality.

The fact that Georgia has been able to mold a legitimate title contender this quickly is a testament to the years of brilliant recruiting and development that Smart has constructed in Athens.

Still, back-to-back national titles are not a given for Georgia. Saturday’s result against Tennessee, as significant as it was, guarantees nothing moving forward.

It reminded, however, just how talented this roster is from the very top to the very bottom. It also put the Bulldogs in an unbelievable position moving forward as college football’s home stretch begins.

More immediately, it ended the debate surrounding the nation’s No. 1 team.

That answer is clear. The answer is Georgia.