10 things I’m absolutely overreacting to after Week 5 in the SEC
By Chris Wright
Published:
The SEC revealed its new football schedule this week.
You know what else was revealed? Kalen DeBoer owns Kirby Smart. Also: Ole Miss doesn’t have a QB controversy; it has The Answer. Running backs deserve Heisman love, and the business side of college football is as brutal as transparent officiating is beautiful.
Those are just some of the 10 things I’m absolutely overreacting to after Week 5 in and around the SEC.
10. Kirby has a new Kryptonite … and his name is Kalen DeBoer
Until Saturday, only 2 college football coaches had defeated Kirby Smart 2 or more times in a row: Nick Saban and Coach O. Both won national championships during those streaks, by the way.
Kalen DeBoer joined the list Saturday night in Athens, defying the odds and logic, as Alabama stuffed Georgia 24-21.
The Tide exposed Georgia’s limited passing game and unleashed its own lethal passing game.
Georgia will lament how it could control the line — 6.9 yards per rush — yet falter in the red zone (0-for-3). In a 1-score game, o-fers lead to oh-nos!
Bottom line? I’m sorry, Paaaawwwlll! I take it all back. I wrote off Alabama and had Dabo replacing DeBoer.
All of that still might happen, by the way — unless DeBoer gets to play Georgia every game.
Roll Tide.
9. In Trinidad They Trust
Has a QB gone from the bench to SEC Offensive Player of the Year in the same season?
Only asking because, oh, my, Trinidad Chambliss showed he’s not only the best QB Ole Miss has, he might be the most dangerous quarterback in the entire SEC.
Chambliss capped his 3rd consecutive 300-yard passing game with a 4th-and-complete-trust completion to seal a narrative-changing 24-19 victory over No. 4 LSU. Chambliss threw 1 TD pass and added 71 yards rushing. He’s already topped 1,000 yards passing. Not bad for a D-II transfer.
It’s more than the numbers, though. It’s the way he impacts defenses. He literally is a game-plan changer.
If he keeps going, he might be a season-changer. He’s certainly changed Ole Miss’ national championship odds — as well as your opinion on Lane Kiffin‘s ability to win a big game.
8. Forget the offense, it’s time to worry about Brian Kelly
First things first: There’s zero shame in losing a road game against an undefeated top-15 SEC team.
However …
When does Brian Kelly actually win one of these games?
In 2023, Kelly’s LSU Tigers lost at No. 20 Ole Miss and at No. 8 Alabama — the only Top 20 SEC teams they faced on the road.
In 2024, Kelly’s Tigers lost at No. 14 Texas A&M — the only ranked SEC team they faced on the road.
In 2025, Kelly’s Tigers just lost at No. 13 Ole Miss.
More damning, Kelly’s Tigers were ranked inside the top 15 in each of those games. He’s not bringing SoCon players to an SEC fight. In some cases, he’s the alleged heavyweight.
LSU still has road games at Vanderbilt and Alabama this season, both of which could be in the top 15 at kickoff. How confident are Tigers fans that he’ll break through and win 1, much less both?
Now that’s a fair question — even at the beginning of a press conference, ahem — given the title-or-bust circumstances surrounding his arrival in 2022.
Now, about that offense … woof. Preseason, I Sharpied in Garrett Nussmeier as a Heisman finalist and lock to add to LSU’s list of 3,000-yard passers — and maybe become the first Tiger to top 4,000 yards twice.
That’s not happening. Nussmeier hasn’t topped 275 yards yet this season and was held to 197 against Ole Miss. He also tossed another interception, adding to his maddening total. Yes, leading rusher Caden Durham was out, but even my youngest child is old enough to remember when LSU was RBU. Besides, wasn’t Ole Miss without its starting quarterback? And, to further the point, LSU entered the game ranked 15th in the SEC in rushing even with Durham.
Different schools, but it feels like we’re beginning to enter Dan Mullen territory. Maybe 10 wins really is Kelly’s ceiling. If it is, he’ll eventually have an office in another football building.
He wasn’t hired to win 10 games at LSU. He was hired to win the next national championship.
7. Tennessee fans, I don’t know how you do it …
In Week 1, I crowned Tennessee while reminding myself, don’t overreact to Tennessee.
But the Vols are so much fun to watch, and their offense is dangerous enough to take out almost anybody.
Then comes a road trip to upset-capable Mississippi State, which, no matter how many times Josh Heupel reminded his players that this team was, indeed, capable of ruining the Vols season, all the Vols likely heard was: “Mississippi State has lost 12 consecutive SEC games and topped 30 points in only 1 of those.”
That’s exactly how you find yourself staring at a 7-point deficit late in the 4th quarter, needing 75 yards — and a spectacular/fortunate 4th-down conversion — just to keep your Playoff hopes alive.
Credit the Vols. Joey Aguilar didn’t play a clean game, but he was on point when it mattered most.
Great teams win these kinds of games. Merely good teams lose a lot of these 1-possession games.
The Vols are somewhere between good and great. My advice: Keep the outlook (and glass) half-full. Comes in handy.
6. Arkansas has a bye. Time to say, bye-bye …
The only positive thing you can say about Arkansas’ performance Saturday vs. visiting Notre Dame is this: At least the Hogs didn’t lose yet another 1-score game.
Giving up 42 points in the first half — 28 in the final 8 minutes, including 14 in the final 40 seconds — tells you everything you need to know about the state of this program.
I hate saying players have quit on Sam Pittman because I can’t pretend to know their mental state, but it’s pretty obvious they’ve turned the page. A quick glance at the stands in the 3rd quarter tells you fans have, as well.
It’s time for Arkansas AD Hunter Yurachek to do the same.
Forget worrying about technicalities in a an already-modest buyout saving you a few dollars.
The bye week is here.
Firing a defensive coordinator isn’t salvaging or fixing anything.
Thank Pittman, pay him, promote Bobby Petrino and move on.
5. Diego Pavia won’t win the Heisman, but he’s college football’s MVP
The Heisman Trophy is awarded to “the most outstanding player” in the country. Says so in the bylaws. Scan the list of Heisman winners, and it’s pretty obvious that “most outstanding” doesn’t always equate to most valuable.
Vanderbilt QB/Hype Man Diego Pavia isn’t the most outstanding player in college football — though he’s far better than you think.
Valuable? No question.
Think about what Pavia walked into, 2 years ago.
Fast-forward to how far Pavia has carried Vanderbilt fotball since.
Vanderbilt won 7 games last season — highlighted by the historic Alabama takedown.
Saturday, the No. 18-ranked ‘Dores improved to 5-0 with a thorough beating of Utah State. This is just the 2nd time Vandy has been 5-0 since WWII — and first time since the 2008 season. (The program record is 9-0, set in 1904, so, stay tuned ….)
Pavia, who tied a program record with 5 TD passes Saturday, now has 12 wins in 1 1/2 seasons — with more to come.
Vandy won 12 games — combined — from 2019-2023.
Again, perspective: He has completely changed the way you think about Vanderbilt football — or the fact that you even think about Vanderbilt football.
Next week, Pavia will try to become the first starting QB to beat Alabama 2 times since Nick Saban arrived in 2007. (Of course, those other QBs had to go through Saban, but we’re not about to rain on King Pavia’s parade. Cue: SEC Shorts.)
4. 4 takeaways from SEC schedule reveal
On Monday morning, Chris Low revealed the SEC’s 3 permanent opponents for the next 4 seasons. A couple of days later, the SEC confirmed Low’s reporting with an hour-long special on ESPN. By then, of course, Finebaum produced 2 shows, and SEC fans had overreacted to everything worth overreacting to.
I get one shot to overreact: Right here, every Sunday morning with you fine folks before we all head out for some much-needed saving.
My 4 biggest takeaways:
1. The SEC nailed it with Texas’ 3 permanent, err, “annual opponents.” It’s the most authentic, logical grouping in the league.
2. LSU got who? No Alabama? No Florida? Take your pick, but either the LSU vs Alabama or Florida vs. LSU rivalry has to be restored as an “annual” game, not an extra, occasional thrown into the rotation. I thought this was the biggest miss. It’s a puzzle, I get it. Remove one team, impact all of the others. It’s not as simple as just swapping LSU for Kentucky, but that’s what AI is for. Figure it out because this both matchups are among the best, high-stakes rivalries in the SEC.
3. Poor Auburn. No matter what happens, the Tigers can’t escape Alabama or Georgia. They’re still the only SEC team that has to play both every year. Obviously, the iconic Iron Bowl has to stay — even if/when the SEC expands to 32 teams and officially becomes the NFL (National Feeder League). And you can’t exactly get rid of the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, either. And now Vandy’s good, too? In football? Poor Auburn.
4. Georgia ain’t losing to its 3 annual partners, a’ight? It’s cyclical, Paaawwwlll! The Gators are a great head coach from reclaiming the East, err, um, getting back to Atlanta!
Given the current circumstances on those respective campuses, I’ll take Georgia going 12-0 vs. Florida, Auburn and South Carolina against whatever record you prefer — even your first choice: 1-11.
3. A non-QB Heisman ballot, just for Coach Drink …
Mizzou coach Eli Drinkwitz wasn’t wrong when he chided the media’s fasciation with giving quarterbacks more love than running backs, in general, but particularly when discussing the Heisman Trophy. A quick look at the Heisman odds proves his point: There isn’t a running back to be found — and Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith generally is the only non-QB in the top 10.
Overreactions readers might remember that I had Smith on my Week 1 Heisman ballot — and noted I liked his chances to win the award primarily because there isn’t a Joe Burrow-type QB this season.
“Sure, quarterbacks still lead the way in the 2025 race, but there’s no player in America capable of separating from his peers — or opponents — quite like Smith.”
In honor of Drinkwitz, here’s my all-non-QB Heisman ballot.
1. Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State: He’s the best player in America and might win it anyway.
2. Ahmad Hardy, RB, Missouri: Credit Drinkwitz for setting up an RB-friendly system that all but guarantees Mizzou a 1,000-yard rusher — usually with guys AP voters on either side of the country have never heard of. Hardy is the latest. Undersized and overlooked in every way imaginable, all the Louisiana-Monroe transfer has done thus far is run to the top of the SEC leaderboard in rushing yards. He had 130 yards (and 3 TDs) Saturday, giving him 730 yards through 5 games.
Here’s a fun fact: In the past 4 seasons, Mizzou has produced 2 1,600 yard rushers (Tyler Badie, 1,604 in 2021; Cody Schroeder, 1,627 in 2023). Hardy is on pace to become the 3rd Tiger to crack 1,600 yards — in 5 years.
Here’s some perspective on how ridiculous that is … courtesy of SDS’ trusty, exclusive database of every 1,000-yard rusher in SEC history:
Alabama has only produced 3 1,600-yard rushers in program history — and nobody since Derrick Henry set the SEC record with 2,219 yards in 2015.
Auburn has only produced 3 1,600-yard rushers (yes, Bo Jackson did it) — and nobody since Tre Mason (1,816 yards in 2013).
Georgia Heisman winner Herschel Walker is the only Dawg to top 1,600 yards — and he did it 3 times! In 1981, Walker set the SEC’s magic number of 1,891 yards — a single-season record that stood for more than 30 years until Henry broke it.
LSU’s most recent 1,600-yard rusher is Leonard Fournette (1,953 in 2015). Fournette and Charles Alexander are the only Tigers to top 1,600 yards in a season.
Arkansas’ Darren McFadden is the only Hog to top 1,600 yards, and he did it twice. (He should have won the 2007 Heisman, and he belongs on this list of the biggest Heisman snubs of all-time.)
Florida, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Vanderbilt haven’t produced a single 1,600-yard rusher — ever. Kentucky has produced 1 (Moe Williams). South Carolina has 2 — both by George Rogers before joining the SEC. Texas A&M has 3, but 2 were before joining the SEC.
Oklahoma (7) and Texas (6) have produced the most 1,600-yard rushers, but none of those rushers dealt with SEC defenses.
So, in sum, Mizzou has produced 2 1,600-yard rushers in the past 4 seasons and has a chance to do something in a 5-year span that most SEC teams have never done.
That’s worth your attention.
3. Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame: The Irish have fully recovered from the 0-2 start and are back in the Playoff hunt — thanks largely to Love, who added 4 more touchdowns (2 rushing, 2 receiving) in the 56-13 blowout at Arkansas. The Reggie Bush comps are legit: Love has now accounted for 8 TDs and is the dynamic playmaker in Notre Dame’s offense, capable of turning any touch into a Heisman moment.
2. He’s a man! He’s 40! He’s … outta here
Mike Gundy won a lot of football games in his 21 seasons at Oklahoma State. He won 170 to be exact. That’s not only the most in school history, it’s more than the Nos. 2, 3 and 4 Cowboys coaches won combined.
So why is it, almost 20 years later, every time we hear his name, we shout: “I’m a man! I’m 40!”
Gundy, of course, was in the news Tuesday because Oklahoma State unceremoniously fired him. In fairness, OK State had not been even OK for a few years. OSU lost 11 of its final 12 games under Gundy dating to last season.
Still …
It was a heck of a ride, Cowboy. Here’s hoping that this wasn’t his last rodeo.
1. SEC … follow the ACC’s lead — now
So, apparently, the ACC has been showing its replay review process all season. Who knew? I’m too busy watching SEC football to absorb anything other than ACC highlights.
Friday night’s primetime Virginia-FSU game was a revelation to me — and judging by the response on Twitter — most of the country. (Oh, Virginia was, too, and as we fully embrace the Portal-Parity Era of college football, I’m trying to prepare myself for Virginia vs. Indiana in a Playoff game.)
Back to the review process: It was fascinating, watching the ACC replay center scour video replays from numerous angles and discuss the findings with the lead official on the field. Viewers saw the same angles, heard every word of the conversation. Including the head of the replay review center finishing every review by asking the lead official: “Are in we all in agreement?”
Ultimate transparency. Zero conspiracy.
I mean, imagine the scenario in which Playoff-hopeful FSU got the benefit of an overrule without us hearing how and why a call was reversed? That’s how every other league does it — under the veil of secrecy. That’s how conspiracies start.
The SEC likes to lead the way, but they’re chasing badly in this instance.
The ACC showed everybody — from the SEC to the NFL — the value in transparency. With all the problems the SEC dealt with this past week, including the Auburn AD admonishing the SEC and its officiating during the Oklahoma game, the time is now.
Fix it.
Managing Editor
A 30-time APSE award-winning editor with previous stints at the Miami Herald, The Indianapolis Star and News & Observer, Executive Editor Chris Wright oversees editorial operations for Saturday Down South.
