We’ve reached Championship Week, which used to mean something extra in the land where it just means more.
Now? I suppose it means Duke could make the College Football Playoff as the ACC champion, but I’m not sure anyone on that campus would notice, what with Duke basketball off to a 9-0 start. But let’s not touch on the full chaos scenario just yet.
The more fascinating scenario is in the SEC, where Alabama’s fate will be in the Committee’s hands should it lose a rematch to No. 3 Georgia in Atlanta on Saturday afternoon. Then what?
We know the 5 highest-ranked conference champions in the CFP make the Playoff. The Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC champions are guaranteed to be in that group. The American seems destined for inclusion as well. Spot 5? That’s the Duke path, unless Virginia wins.
But Alabama? At 10-3 with an albatross of a loss to FSU, would the Crimson Tide be in jeopardy? Probably not if quality wins matter. The Crimson Tide have a win over fellow bubble team Vanderbilt and the best win among contenders with their victory in Athens. Would the committee still value the Georgia win if Bama loses the rematch? We are about to find out.
How many teams will the SEC get in the field? Are the days of the SEC Championship Game numbered, especially in a world where conference champions continue to get automatic Playoff bids? If we’re punishing teams for posting elite regular seasons, what are we even doing here?
These were the questions that raced through your faithful scribe’s mind during Rivalry Week, while most of the world was wondering what a 50-year-old man child who woke up on third and thought he hit a triple would do next with his coaching career. I’ll spare you the moralizing on Lane Kiffin if you stop insisting he’s winning big at LSU.
Kiffin’s never won a conference title as a Power 4 coach and his most talented team, the 2024 Ole Miss Rebels, missed the Playoff entirely. Furthermore, thanks to Keith Carter’s bizarre power play in the face of player dissent (this is about the players, right?), the next College Football Playoff game Kiffin coaches will be his first Playoff game. Perhaps it all comes up aces for LSU. It’s a top-5 job in the sport and a place where you can win a national championship as a head coach even if you eat grass or star in the world’s most awkward Hummer commercial (Tell ‘em about it, Jo Jo!).Or maybe Lane will get fired in 5 years or less like the last 2 hires in Baton Rouge, including the national title winning Ed Orgeron. No LSU coach since Nick Saban has left the job willingly. Kiffin feels unlikely to buck that trend.
Will a defensive player buck the trend of offensive stars winning “The List?” Texas’s rivalry week victory over Texas A&M renders that unlikely, what with Cashius Howell out of the SEC Championship Game picture.
“The List” is a regular season and Championship Week award, much like the Heisman. When it’s close — as it is this season — an SEC Championship Game matters immensely. Howell doesn’t enter Championship Week No. 1. He won’t finish there, either.
But that doesn’t mean all hope is lost for defensive players this season. In fact, the only player playing on Saturday who can likely win at this point is Georgia LB CJ Allen. A Butkus Finalist, Allen has been limited by a knee injury for the past 3 weeks. If healthy and a force in a Georgia win on Saturday, perhaps he catapults to the top.
As for Alabama, it’ll have 1 player in “the List” this week and 3 others, Deontae Lawson, Bray Hubbard, and Ty Simpson, who spent time on the greatest list ever born into southern football earlier this season. But while the margins are smaller between spots 1 and 5 this season than any year in “List” history (2019 is when we started this thing), there’s still a sizable gap between honorable mentions and spots 6-10 and the top 5 contenders.
After a stirring rivalry week filled with upsets, heartache, and Arch Manning and Jadan Baugh touchdowns, here is the penultimate “List” of 2025. As always, honorable mentions, limited to 2 per school, start us off below.
Honorable Mention: Alabama: Bray Hubbard, S; Deontae Lawson, LB. Auburn: Xavier Atkins, LB; Keyron Crawford, DE. Arkansas: O’Mega Blake, WR. Florida: Myles Graham, LB. Georgia: Drew Bobo, C; Gunner Stockton, QB. Kentucky: Alex Afari Jr., LB. LSU: AJ Haulcy, S; Harold Perkins Jr., LB. Mississippi State: Isaac Smith, S; Brenen Thompson, WR. Missouri: Ahmad Hardy, RB; Chris McClellan, DT. Oklahoma: Gracen Halton, DL; Kip Lewis, LB. Ole Miss: Princewill Umanmielen, Edge; Jayden Williams, OT. South Carolina: Dylan Stewart, Edge; Vicari Swain, DB/Return. Tennessee: Chris Brazzell II, WR; Wendell Moe Jr., OG. Texas: Anthony Hill Jr., LB; Arch Manning, QB. Texas A&M: KC Concepcion, WR; Trey Zuhn III, OL. Vanderbilt: Eli Stowers, TE; Jordan White, C.
10. Colin Simmons, Edge (Texas)
The former 5-star recruit has lived up to the billing and more down the stretch in 2025, collecting at least 1 sack in each of the last 5 Texas games, including Saturday’s win over A&M. On the season, Simmons has 11 sacks, ranking second behind only Bednarik Award finalist Cashius Howell. Simmons has 53 pressures and 30 hurries in 2025, both of which rank first in the SEC. Because his star turn came later in the year, All-American honors may not be in Simmons’s grasp, but the data says this is a budding superstar and he’s “List” worthy.
9. Jadan Baugh, RB (Florida)
Baugh ran over, past, and around Florida State on Saturday, piling up 266 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns in Florida’s 40-21 rout of the hated Noles.
Baugh did all this by forcing 13 missed tackles and averaging 3.47 yards after contact per carry on the afternoon. The former is the most missed tackles forced by a SEC running back in a game this season. On the year, Baugh rushed for 1,170 yards at a 5.3 yard per carry clip despite facing 7 and 8 man fronts consistently thanks to the inconsistency of DJ Lagway. Consider retaining the incredibly productive Baugh priority 1 for new head coach Jon Sumrall.
8. Mansoor Delane, CB (LSU)
The LSU senior graded out as the nation’s third-best coverage corner this season, per PFF. He allowed completions on just a stingy 37% of targets against (15% better than the SEC average) and broke up 9 opposing passes. Delane was the unquestioned leader of one of the nation’s best secondary units — helping bring respect and rep back to the place that used to define what it meant to be DBU.
7. Keagan Trost, OT (Missouri)
Trost graded out as the nation’s best offensive tackle this season, per PFF. His tremendous run blocking (90.5 grade!) paved the way for Ahmad Hardy to capture the SEC rushing crown with 1,560 yards rushing and 16 touchdowns on the season. The Tigers roll into bowl season ranked 8th nationally in rushing offense, which is 2nd best (Utah) among Power 4 football teams. Trost doesn’t receive the national acclaim he’s warranted — logo bias, I guess — but he’s undoubtedly posted one of the best seasons for an SEC lineman in recent memory, and Hardy and Mizzou are better for it.
6. Kadyn Proctor, OT (Alabama)
Alabama kept its College Football Playoff and SEC Championship hopes alive on Saturday with a thrilling 27-20 win at Auburn. Proctor was terrific, allowing 0 sacks for the 12th-consecutive game and surrendering just 2 pressures against a stout Auburn front 7. In addition to being a human highlight reel with the football in his hand, Proctor surrendered just 13 pressures all season in passing situations, keeping Ty Simpson’s pocket clean from the blind side on 99.4% of snaps. For his efforts, Proctor has been named a finalist for the Lombardi Award, honoring the nation’s best offensive or defensive linemen.
5. Trinidad Chambliss, QB (Ole Miss)
From Ferris State to All-SEC. What a journey for Trinidad Chambliss, who saved his best for last in Ole Miss’s resounding Egg Bowl win last Friday. Chambliss connected on 23-of-34 passes for 359 yards and 4 touchdowns, marking his 7th 300-yard passing game in 10 starts this season. He became just the 7th Ole Miss QB to pass 3,000 yards in a year in the process.
Keith Carter’s pride and Lane Kiffin’s ego will keep Chambliss from having his head coach in the College Football Playoff. But it might not matter if he’s dropping dimes like this one.
4. Cashius Howell, Edge (Texas A&M)
Howell’s 11.5 sacks lead the SEC, but he was relatively quiet against Texas (3 pressures, 1 hurry) and didn’t register a single hurry or pressure against Samford the week before the rivalry defeat to the Longhorns. Howell hasn’t graded out in the 70s since the month of October, per PFF, struggling to be as impactful against an array of double teams and blocking schemes designed to minimize his strength as a pass rusher. There’s value, of course, in being the centerpiece of your team’s game plan, but Howell needs to produce sacks, too, if the Aggies hope to stick around the College Football Playoff.
3. CJ Allen, LB (Georgia)
The Georgia captain has played through an injury the past 3 weeks, fighting to help the Dawgs constantly improving defense, which now ranks 8th in the nation in SP+ efficiency and 10th in success-rate defense. Allen ranks 6th in the SEC in tackles and has 12 pressures, 4 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles this season. A near-lock All-American, Allen was named a Butkus Award finalist late last month. The SEC Championship looms next.
2. Kewan Lacy, RB (Ole Miss)
Lacy rushed for 143 yards and a touchdown in Ole Miss’s 38-19 win over Mississippi State last Friday. On the season, Lacy has 1,279 yards rushing (second in the SEC) and 20 touchdowns, which leads the conference and ranks second in the country (Caleb Hawkins). Lacy’s 3.31 yards per rush after contact also third in the SEC, behind only Jadan Baugh and Ahmad Hardy. A splendid season that will end in the College Football Playoff.
1 Diego Pavia, QB (Vanderbilt)
My SEC Player of the Year vote narrowly goes to Pavia, who has led Vanderbilt to unthinkable heights in 2025, helping the Commodores win 10 games and threaten to crash the College Football Playoff party. In Vanderbilt’s 45-24 rout of Tennessee at Neyland Stadium last Saturday, Pavia was his usual brilliant self, gashing the Volunteers with 268 yards passing, 165 yards rushing, and 2 total touchdowns (1 rushing, 1 passing).
If Pavia played for almost any SEC program other than Vanderbilt, would he be a lock for the Heisman Trophy? It’s a reasonable enough question. Pavia’s 3,192 yards passing are easily a career high, and his 9.4 yards per completion is almost a full 2 yards over his 2024 campaign, when he first took the SEC by storm. He’s also Vanderbilt’s leading rusher, with 826 yards and 9 rushing touchdowns. That feat is all the more impressive because, as Tennessee found out this weekend, Vandy running back Sedrick Alexander is really good at football. It’s just that Pavia is better.
Should Vanderbilt be in the Playoff? It’d be a lock if it was named Ohio State. Let’s leave it there.
What “The List” can control is the respect it affords Pavia. Heading into SEC Championship week, he’s the leader in “the List” clubhouse. How about that for an underdog story?
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.
