Chaos is a ladder.
At least that’s what Lord Petry Baelish (AKA Littlefinger) told us in Game of Thrones.
I think there’s merit to the sentiment, though I wouldn’t wish Littlefinger’s fate on anyone.
Take the 2025 SEC.
The best team in the conference turned Paul Finebaum’s show into a statewide therapy session after a loss to Florida State in Week 1. The Seminoles, it turns out, are abysmal, so it would serve Kalen DeBoer’s team well to win out or win the SEC Championship Game, but the point remains that in college football in 2025, there are no certainties beyond uncertainty. Yes, Alabama can lose (handily) to Florida State. Yes, Alabama can look like a team with a Heisman candidate at quarterback that can beat anyone put in front of it.
What about Georgia, you ask?
Sure, there are times when Kirby Smart’s Death Star doesn’t quite look like the Evil Empire anymore. There are also times, like in Saturday’s furious come-from-behind rally over then-No. 5 Ole Miss when the Dawgs appear Vader-like in their ability to bend time and space to overcome defeat. And if Gunner Stockton is becoming an asset, not a question, at quarterback… well we’ve all seen that movie in Athens before. The Resistance doesn’t win.
Mizzou finally left CoMo. It took 2 overtimes, but Eli Drinkwitz’s team still controls its own destiny on the way to the College Football Playoff. So does Vanderbilt, by the way, who beat LSU and now hosts Missouri—and College GameDay—this coming Saturday in the “Chaos is a Ladder” bowl. The game will be Missouri’s first College GameDay appearance in over a decade (2014). It will be Vanderbilt’s third ever. Unbelievable.
“The List” is not immune to this season’s chaos.
We’ve had 6 different players in the top spot, which shifts again this week after Texas A&M’s defense no-showed against Arkansas. We’ve had nearly 20 different players in the Top 5, a record for what many (OK, at least one of my family members) in the Piggly Wiggly footprint are calling the greatest list ever born into the world of SEC football. Things are stabilizing among the top 4, but it feels like if ever there was a season where that would change, this is it.
If you are contrarian, you might point out that the chaos is simply a veneer of parity, obfuscating the fact that well, Georgia and Alabama are potentially on track for a SEC Championship Game rematch.
That’s fine, I suppose, except that Texas A&M (picked 8th by the preseason media) is still unbeaten and Vanderbilt (picked 13th) and Missouri (12th) are ranked in the top 15 and about to play a mid-October game on College GameDay. Did I mention that preseason league favorite Texas nearly lost to one of the worst teams Mark Stoops has ever fielded at 2-4 Kentucky?
What’s next? A Morgan Wallen song about Miami that’s such a bad trap beat disaster you can see it from space? Oh wait.
Speaking of Florida, man…happy trails to Billy Napier. We hardly knew you. A golden parachute averaging just under a million per win ($21 million buyout, 22 wins at Florida) is not a bad way to say goodbye, though, am I right?
Last week’s “List” is here for those of you who want to write me emails and tell me why I can’t stand your favorite team or player. I’m truly riveted by all your ad homs (err, arguments).
As always, “The List” begins with Honorable Mentions, limited to 2 per school.
Honorable Mention: Alabama: Zabien Brown, CB; Bray Hubbard, S. Auburn: Xavier Atkins, LB; Keldric Faulk, Edge. Arkansas: Taylen Green, QB; Mike Washington, RB. Florida: Jadan Baugh, RB; Myles Graham, LB. Georgia: Ellis Robinson IV, DB; Gunner Stockton, QB. Kentucky: Alex Afari Jr., LB. LSU: AJ Haulcy, S; Patrick Payton, DE. Mississippi State: Brenen Thompson, WR; Brylan Lanier, DB. Missouri: Keagan Trost, OT; Zion Young, DE. Oklahoma: Kip Lewis, LB; Febechi Nwaiwu, OG. Ole Miss: Kewan Lacy, RB; Diego Pounds, OT. South Carolina: Dylan Stewart, Edge; Vicari Swain, Return/DB. Tennessee: DeSean Bishop, RB; Joshua Josephs, Edge. Texas: Colin Simmons, Edge; Michael Taaffe, S. Vanderbilt: Langston Patterson, LB; Brock Taylor, K.
10. Drew Bobo, C (Georgia)
The big Georgia center reclaims a “List” spot after paving the way for 510 yards and 43 points in Georgia’s big win over Ole Miss. Bobo has allowed just 4 pressures all season on 491 snaps. He’s yet to surrender a sack. A Rimington Trophy nod may be next.
9. Mario Craver, WR (Texas A&M)
Craver continues to lead the SEC in receiving yards (674) and yards per reception (18.7) among players with 20 receptions or more. He’s become a focus for defenses, opening the way for his teammate KC Concepcion, who scored a touchdown in the Aggies’ thrilling win over Arkansas and now ranks sixth in the SEC in receiving yards in his own right. Craver’s PFF grade is the highest among all SEC wide receivers and ranks 5th in the Power 4.
8. Kadyn Proctor, OT (Alabama)
Keeping with the theme of honoring the hogmollies up front, Proctor earns his spot after another week of weathering a big time challenge as a pass blocker. The big man surrendered just 1 pressure against a talented Tennessee pass rush. His overall PFF grade of 80.9 is the best on the Crimson Tide’s offensive line, which keeps playing better as the season goes on.
7. R Mason Thomas, DE (Oklahoma)
The Sooners star returns to the “List” after picking up 1.5 sacks and 2 tackles for loss in Oklahoma’s 26-7 road smackdown of South Carolina. Thomas is the consummate stat-sheet stuffer, with 5.5 sacks, a forced fumble, 9 tackles for loss, 21 pressures, and 15 hurries this season. He rarely misses tackles as an edge-setter as well, and he’s doing all of it facing double teams on 35% of the 246 snaps he’s played this season. That’s an All-American résumé.
6. Ahmad Hardy, RB (Missouri)
Hardy gained just 58 yards on 24 carries in Missouri’s win at Auburn, but he found the end zone twice, pushing his season touchdown total to 11, good for second-best in the country. The sophomore remains the Power 4 leader in rushing yards this season, with 840 yards. That’s third in the country. Not bad for a back who didn’t appear on preseason All-SEC ballots.
5. Anthony Hill Jr., LB (Texas)
The All-American linebacker was masterful in Texas’s 16-13 escape from upset-minded Kentucky in Lexington. In addition to the interception below, Hill posted 12 tackles and a pass breakup in the victory.
On the season, he ranks second on the Texas defense in tackles and grades out as one of the nation’s best linebackers.
4. Mansoor Delane, CB (LSU)
The LSU corner did not allow a reception in coverage in LSU’s 31-24 loss to Vanderbilt. He did miss just his second tackle in league play, but finished with 3 tackles and a pass breakup despite the defeat. The LSU defense would love more big plays from Delane, but in fairness, offensive coordinators have essentially stopped attacking him. He’s faced just 5 targets, allowing only 2 receptions, in LSU’s last 4 SEC games.
3. Cashius Howell, Edge (Texas A&M)
Howell “went quiet” against a barrage of double teams and Taylen Green, a gifted runner, in Texas A&M’s narrow 45-42 victory over Arkansas. And by “went quiet” we mean he had 8 pressures, even if he registered only half a sack. Howell leads the SEC in pressures (32), hurries (23), and sacks (8) on the SEC’s last remaining unbeaten. He plays with passion and a chip on his shoulder, out to prove everyone who left him off the All-SEC preseason ballots wrong. An All-American season in College Station.
2. Diego Pavia, QB (Vanderbilt)
I’d be mad about Pavia doing a Heisman pose in the midst of Vanderbilt’s 31-24 win over then No. 10 LSU, but honestly, has a player since Manziel been as brilliant at making unscheduled plays as Pavia?
It’s not just that he had 246 yards of total offense and produced 3 touchdowns in Vanderbilt’s win over an outstanding LSU defense. It’s the fact that he consistently finds a way to make magic, even when things look doomed.
Pavia has a very good running back on this team in Sedrick Alexander and an extremely underrated offensive line. He leads the team in rushing yards anyway, averaging 5.7 yards per carry despite playing against defenses that consistently leave a spy at home in contain. But we already knew he could scramble. He doesn’t get enough credit for the improvement he’s made as a thrower. With a 70.5% completion percentage and 8.6 yard per attempt average—both career highs—it’s the improving passer in Pavia that makes the Dores a legitimate Playoff threat.
1. Ty Simpson, QB (Alabama)
Simpson beat Pavia head-to-head so he is at the top of “The List” this week after a 253-yard, 2-touchdown passing performance in Alabama’s 37-20 win over Tennessee. Simpson leads the SEC in touchdown passes and touchdown-to-interception ratio and ranks second in yards and yards per attempt among qualifying quarterbacks. In other words, he’s an efficiency machine leading a prolific offense whose defense seems to quietly get better every week. That’s a championship formula, which also means Simpson has a Heisman shot.
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.
