What happened to the college football season? Is there an age you hit when November as a college football fan doesn’t feel bittersweet? After getting 14 teams into the NCAA Tournament in basketball, would the SEC get 7 teams into the College Football Playoff if not for these pesky “auto bids”? If I put my Christmas tree up the day after Veterans Day, am I conceding that my favorite college football team is out of College Football Playoff contention? Is “The List” a place for such existential questions?
As we get closer to Turkey-eating season, the stakes at “The List” heighten.
There’s no new No. 1 for the third consecutive week. That means at this point, there’s a clear “favorite” for “List” champion. But it’s hardly over, and if Diego Pavia wants to keep saving Vanderbilt’s bacon like he did last weekend against Auburn well, you get the idea.
Pavia and the Commodores deserve better than they are getting from the College Football Playoff committee, too, for what it’s worth. No. 14? Why? Vanderbilt’s 2 losses, both of which occurred on the road, came against teams now ranked in the top 10.
It’s unreasonable for Vanderbilt to be anchored down by being well, Vanderbilt, while Notre Dame sits at No. 9, presumably for (checks notes) a nice win over a bubblicious Southern California team and a tough home loss to Texas A&M?
If Vanderbilt wins out, it should be in. Full stop.
Speaking of winning out, is Kirby Smart’s team going to stop playing with its food just in time for championship-winning season?
It sure looked like it on Saturday, when the Dawgs blitzed Mississippi State in Starkville to improve to 8-1. The Dawgs still need help to reach Atlanta and the SEC Championship Game, but playing your best game of the season just before a resurgent Texas visits Athens has the Georgia faithful energized about this team again.
Death, taxes, college football season being too short, and Kirby Smart’s Georgia in November and December. These are a few of life’s certainties.
This week won’t be a defining slate at the greatest “List” ever gifted the Harris Teeter regional media footprint, but it sure is interesting.
In addition to Texas’s trip to Georgia, Oklahoma visits Alabama, who has looked wobbly the last 2 weeks but weathered an upset bid from South Carolina and a game against LSU to stay unblemished in the SEC. Any dreams the Sooners and Longhorns have of the Playoff depend on an upset Saturday. Ole Miss is probably a Playoff team even if it stumbles against suddenly listless Florida Saturday night in the Grove. But Ole Miss fan fiction says Lane Kiffin beats the Gators 56-2 and signs a 201-year contract extension at the postgame press conference. Spot the Ball!
Here at “The List,” we’re always ready when they spot the ball. We also feel good about this week’s top 10, which features more defenders than any “List” in recent memory.
Last week’s “List” is here.
As always, honorable mentions are first, with a limit of 2 players per school.
Honorable Mention: Alabama: Bray Hubbard, S; Kadyn Proctor, OT. Auburn: Cam Coleman, WR; Keyron Crawford, DE. Arkansas: Mike Washington, RB. Florida: Jadan Baugh, RB; Devin Moore, CB. Georgia: Drew Bobo, C; Raylen Wilson, LB. Kentucky: Alex Afari Jr., LB; Daveren Raynor, LB. LSU: Mansoor Delane, CB; Harold Perkins Jr., LB. Mississippi State: Isaac Smith, S; Brenen Thompson, WR. Missouri: Chris McClellan, DT; Keagan Trost, OT. Oklahoma: Febechi Nwaiwu, OG; Tate Sandell, K. Ole Miss: Trinidad Chambliss, QB; Antonio Kite, CB. South Carolina: Dylan Stewart, Edge; Vicari Swain, PR/DB. Tennessee: Chris Brazzell II, WR; Wendell Moe Jr., OG. Texas: Anthony Hill Jr., LB; Colin Simmons, Edge. Texas A&M: KC Concepcion, WR; Ar’maj Reed-Adams, OL. Vanderbilt: Eli Stowers, TE; Jordan White, C.
10. Deontae Lawson, LB (Alabama)
Lawson was a force to be reckoned with in Alabama’s 20-9 win over LSU, collecting 9 tackles, including a tackle for loss, in the win. Lawson’s 47 tackles this season rank second on the Tide (Justin Jefferson), and he’s added 3 pass deflections and the season’s most important forced fumble to that list of contributions. Alabama ranks 13th in scoring defense this season, and the Crimson Tide have been prolific at home—surrendering 20 points in just 1 home game (a 37-20 rout of Tennessee).
9. Ahmad Hardy, RB (Missouri)
The SEC’s leading rusher went over 100 yards in a 38-17 loss to Texas A&M, but much of that damage was done after the Aggies built a big lead. Hardy still ranks third in Division I in rushing yards (and second in the Power 4). With Missouri’s Playoff hopes extinguished, he’s playing for accolades now — and shouldering a heavier load with freshman quarterback Matt Zollers at the helm.
RELATED: Fans in Missouri will be able to bet on Hardy this bowl season. Missouri sports betting promos will go live on Dec. 1, 2025. Be sure to learn more about Underdog Sportsbook Missouri ahead of launch day.
8. Xavier Atkins, LB (Auburn)
The sophomore linebacker was excellent against Vanderbilt, posting 9 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss, in a heartbreaking overtime defeat. Atkins is the SEC’s leading tackler (78), and he ranks in the top 5 in the SEC in tackles for loss (15.5) and sacks (7.5).
Even in a lost season on the Plains, Atkins has emerged as one of the SEC’s brightest young stars.
7. Kewan Lacy, RB (Ole Miss)
The SEC’s leader in rushing touchdowns (16) grabbed 3 more in Ole Miss’s 49-0 win over The Citadel. Lacy has rushed for 912 yards on the season, edging closer to 1,000-yard season status. With a touchdown against the Gators, Lacy will break the single season record for rushing touchdowns at Ole Miss, set by Quinshon Judkins in 2022. As good as Trinidad Chambliss has been, “it’s the consistency of Lacy that makes them a better offense this year than last,” one SEC defensive coordinator told me this week.
6. R Mason Thomas, DE (Oklahoma)
The Sooners had a bye to prepare for a Playoff-hope defining trip to the Capstone to tangle with Alabama. Thomas will key any hopes to a Sooners upset. His 25 pressures and 18 hurries lead Oklahoma’s defense, which continues to be one of the nation’s best units, ranking 7th in total defense, 6th in yards allowed per play, and 8th in success rate defense.
5. Ty Simpson, QB (Alabama)
The Crimson Tide quarterback played well enough to win against LSU, throwing for 277 yards and a touchdown on a night when Alabama struggled to get the run game going and provide Simpson needed balance. Other than another lost fumble (Simpson’s fourth this season), the junior played mistake-free ball, too, which was good enough on a night Alabama’s defense dominated. Simpson is more than a game manager, as he’s shown in electric performances against Vanderbilt and Tennessee. He’s also still making stupendous plays like this one.
But we haven’t seen that guy consistently for a couple weeks, and the Tide will need him if they intend to stick around the College Football Playoff for a few weeks.
4. Trey Zuhn III, OL (Texas A&M)
Zuhn III spent most the season protecting Marcel Reed’s blindside beautifully for the unbeaten Aggies. On Saturday, on the road against one of the nation’s best defenses, Zuhn was forced into duty as a center. Easy peasy, right? Zuhn sure made it look easy, surrendering 0 pressures and grading out as Texas A&M’s best lineman on the afternoon (for the 5th time this season). The Aggies need midseason All-American Ar’maj Reed-Adams to be healthy to win a SEC or national championship but having a captain and deserving All-American like Zuhn on your team sure helps.
3. CJ Allen, LB (Georgia)
The Bulldogs’ stalwart defender collected 6 tackles, including a tackle for loss and sack, in Georgia’s 41-21 rout of Mississippi State. Allen grades out as the SEC’s top linebacker, per PFF.
His 75 tackles are second in the conference, behind only the outstanding Auburn linebacker Xavier Atkins (78). The best player on a defense that is starting to play like the championship-caliber units we’re accustomed to in Athens.
2. Diego Pavia, QB (Vanderbilt)
Pavia played his best collegiate game, in this writer’s view, in rallying Vanderbilt past Auburn 45-38 in overtime last Saturday. Pavia threw for 377 yards, averaging 11.4 yards per completion, including 3 touchdown passes. He also rushed for 112 yards and a touchdown in the victory. The 489 yards of total offense were a career-high and Pavia became the first Vanderbilt player with back-to-back seasons of 3,000 yards of total offense in the win.
1. Cashius Howell, Edge (Texas A&M)
Howell made 5 tackles and added yet another sack to his season tally, which is now at 10.5, good for second in the country. Howell and the Aggies lead the nation in third-down defense (24% conversion rate against) and rate 18th overall in SP+ defensive efficiency. Howell’s 36 pressures and 24 quarterback hurries are the SEC’s best in both categories, and his havoc rate leads the country. The best defender in America’s best conference.
Neil Blackmon covers SEC football and basketball for SaturdayDownSouth.com. An attorney, he is also a member of the Football and Basketball Writers Associations of America. He also coaches basketball.
