Game ball this week goes to Tyler from Spartanburg, who did more in 5 minutes to motivate Clemson than Dabo Swinney has done all season.

Well done, Tyler!

Everybody needs that key volunteer assistant.

Michigan had a great one. Ohio State needs one. So does Texas A&M … the entire Big Ten West, and, my goodness, especially poor Billy Napier.

“Steve in Gainesville,” where you at?

Alabama? I know where the Tide are. They are back. All thanks to the guy they tried to get rid of but couldn’t.

Those are among the 10 things I’m absolutely overreacting to after Week 10 in and around the SEC.

10. The greatest what-if of the 2023 season …

What if Tyler Buchner had lit up USF for 340 yards and 4 TDs … instead of being benched after going 5-for-14 for 34 yards.

I know. He’d still be playing, Alabama’s QB situation would still be a mess, and the Tide damn sure wouldn’t be in the Playoff mix after a statement victory over LSU on Saturday night.

Alabama was ready to turn the page on Jalen Milroe after the Texas loss. And then Buchner played so poorly — and Ty Simpson worse than that — and Alabama had no choice but to go back to Milroe and figure it out.

Oh, Alabama has figured it out.

Milroe outplayed Heisman contender Jayden Daniels on Saturday, dominating a supremely athletic LSU defense and thrusting the Tide firmly into the Playoff picture.

Two questions remain: Why isn’t Milroe in the Heisman mix? And has a Heisman finalist ever been benched that same season?

9. Relax, those won’t be the 4 Playoff teams

Yes, I saw the initial rankings. No, I didn’t lose my mind.

These rankings are a drawn-out, month-long, made-for-TV tease. Nothing more.

The first set has never included all 4 eventual Playoff teams and won’t this year, either. Heck, last year, the first set included No. 1 Tennessee and No. 4 Clemson. Usually there are 2 misses. In some years, there were 3 misses.

Only the final set matters, and that will be revealed Sunday, Dec. 3 — the day after the conference championship games.

Between now and then, Joey Galloway, Joel Klatt and Co. will waste about a billion words espousing the virtues of certain (Big Ten) teams, carefully ignoring key facts that run counter to their marketing efforts.

Such as: It’s absolutely true that Ohio State beat Notre Dame and Penn State. Best resume in the country, baby! They’ll bang that drum until the lights shut off, but they’ll never, ever explain the how or why.

The fact is, Notre Dame is mid — and still should have beaten Ohio State. We’re not even having this conversation if Ohio State doesn’t convert 2 4th-down plays during that last-minute game-winning drive … or if Notre Dame sends the house like it should have on the decisive 3rd-and-19 … or has all 11 defenders on the field for OSU’s TD on the final play.

Credit Ohio State for that 17-14 win, sure, but please, provide some context instead of just counting it as some incredible victory over a top-10 opponent. I mean, Louisville hung 33 points in a blowout win over the Irish. Clemson — .500 Clemson, not Deshaun Watson Clemson — just scored 31 and beat the Irish on Saturday. OSU’s signature win had a shelf-like shorter than milk. 

Unfortunately, the B1G noise will only grow louder. Michigan will smack Penn State in Week 11, setting up the Gus Johnson Showcase in Week 13 at Ohio State, where, for 4 hours, we’ll hear about why the loser still deserves to be in the Playoff — just like last year.

Basically, to survive the next month, you have 2 options: Ignore the noise (which I highly recommend) or scream at the TV. (Reminder, they can’t hear you.)

Me? I’ll save the outrage until Dec. 3 — a couple of weeks after Michigan destroys Ohio State and ends this charade for good.

Until then, congratulations, Bucks, on overcoming a halftime deficit Saturday to beat Rutgers!

8. Mommy, Jimmy keeps hitting me!!

That was my immediate reaction to Big Ten coaches reportedly forming another “alliance,” complaining to commissioner Tony Petitti and asking the league to punish Jim Harbaugh and mighty Michigan.

I mean, crying to momma is Chapter 1 of the Little Brother Handbook.

As I wrote last week, the B1G has quite the situation on its hands. Michigan is going to pound Penn State and Ohio State and whatever team escapes from the Weakly West. (Seriously, East lightweights Indiana and Michigan State took out West contenders Wisconsin and Nebraska on Saturday. The B1G West is the worst division in Power 5.)

The Wolverines are going to be 13-0 on Selection Sunday — eyeing a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the College Football Playoff.

And you expect the Big Ten to interfere with that in any tangible way this season?

Are you new to college sports? The B1G isn’t about to ban Michigan from postseason play, and unless it has proof that Jim Harbaugh sent Conor Stalions everywhere except Iowa and Clemson — why waste time, right? — with explicit instructions to videotape signs, they have no legal grounds to come after Harbaugh, either.

B1G coaches need to stop whining and start winning.

7. Did Sam Pittman save his job?

To be clear, I wouldn’t fire Pittman, anyway. But there’s no denying his seat is hot.

He has been on buyout watch for a month. Maybe Saturday’s walk-off win at Florida will be enough to save his job.

He revitalized the program … and then ran into the ceiling. Just like almost every coach in Arkansas history.

Here’s the thing about Pittman, though, and it’s not something to be taken for granted: Even in the midst of a 6-game losing streak, his players did not quit.

They didn’t quit in a 7-point loss against BYU. They didn’t quit in a 3-point loss at LSU. Or a 7-point loss at Texas A&M, and certainly not during a 3-point loss at Alabama.

The Mississippi State game was a disaster, probably the worst of Pittman’s tenure, but they didn’t even quit after that, either.

Instead, KJ Jefferson lowered his shoulder and bullied his way past Florida on Saturday.

Arkansas can do different, but I’m not sure it can do better than Sam Pittman.

Beating Florida, by the way, was worth $5 million because it guarantees that Pittman will not have a losing record at season’s end, which means his buyout would be about $16 million.

6. Georgia, this is why you schedule an early showcase game

Georgia escaped disaster Saturday.

They weren’t elite. They didn’t dominate. They damn sure didn’t make Mizzou quit.

The Dawgs simply escaped a quality opponent that tested them like no other this season.

I wouldn’t say Georgia was ill-prepared for Mizzou’s attack, but the Dawgs certainly looked like a team that hadn’t seen that combination of intensity and skill. That’s what happens when you back out of a Power 5 showdown and replace it with a cupcake.

In the same way batting practice doesn’t prepare you for 98 on the corner in the late innings, Georgia’s Charmin soft schedule did them absolutely no favors Saturday.

That schedule will come under fire Sunday and they will get dinged in Tuesday’s Playoff rankings.

5. 5 hottest seats in college football

The end could, maybe should be near for these Power 5 coaches, but buyouts might save the day …

1. Billy Napier, Florida: To be clear, I’m saying this, not Florida’s athletic department. Also to be clear, I’m hardly alone, especially after watching then 2-6 Arkansas rally for a 39-36 win at The Swamp. The volume is growing louder every week. Yes, the Gators are young, and the young Gators are really good. But this isn’t 2010. If you’re doing it right, your elite players leave after 3 years, anyway. Enough excuses. The Gators have lost 2 straight and are staring dead red at a season-ending 5-game losing streak. Napier is in over his head.

2. Dino Babers, Syracuse: Most believe Babers saved his job last season by making a bowl game. But he’s in danger of producing his 6th losing season in 8 years. When is enough, enough?

3. Zach Arnett, Mississippi State: Is it fair? Hardly. But this season has been disappointing … and Arnett’s $4.5 million buyout makes him an easy target, especially if the Bulldogs lose to Texas A&M and Ole Miss to finish 1-7 in the SEC.

4. Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M: A&M lost again Saturday. Nothing new there. Fisher’s Aggies have suffered at least 4 losses in 5 of his 6 seasons. The $76 million buyout obviously is the only reason he’s still there. It’s probably the only reason he survives, too. At some point, you would think pride would come into play and the 2 sides could negotiate a reduced resignation settlement. Both parties need a fresh start.

5. Tom Allen, Indiana: Allen has had time, but he’s also had just 2 winning seasons in 8 years. Saturday’s upset win over Wisconsin won’t change that. In his favor — and maybe the only reason he survives? Allen’s buyout is $20 million. Indiana isn’t going to become a top-half football program in the B1G anyway, so it might decide to just cut its financial losses and accept more football losses.

4. The 4 Playoff teams are …

1. Michigan, 2. Oregon, 3. Alabama, 4. Georgia

Let’s start with this: Outside of Oregon and Alabama, nobody in the top 10 looked great in Week 10.

But I laughed at Danny Kanell’s attempt to control the narrative after No. 4 FSU struggled in a 24-7 win over hapless Pitt.

I get it … FSU could have won 31-7 against hapless Pitt. I feel so much better about the Seminoles now.

These rankings are in real-time, and if they played tomorrow, Alabama would beat Georgia. The Tide have figured it out and their collective confidence is soaring. Jalen Milroe looks like a young Vince Young. The lines looked menacing Saturday night — which hasn’t been the case all season. They enter Week 11 — and beyond — as the most dangerous team in the country.

3. Now or never, Lane

For all of the good Lane Kiffin has done — and there is a lot of it — there is 1 large, nagging hole in his resume.

He can’t win the big game.

Next Saturday will be his biggest yet. Bigger, even, than any of his matchups with Nick Saban, all 5 of which he has lost as a head coach.

Saturday, Kiffin and Ole Miss head to Athens with a chance to end Georgia’s 26-game winning streak and set up the chance for complete chaos in the SEC East race. How?

If Georgia loses to Ole Miss, and Tennessee beats Mizzou, Tennessee has a direct path to Atlanta. All it would have to do is beat Georgia in Week 12.

Imagine that. Tennessee playing for the SEC title — all thanks to an assist from Kiffin. What a time to be alive.

2. It’s Arch Manning time in Texas …

Let’s get the caveats out of the way: Texas outlasted Kansas State in overtime Saturday to move to 8-1 overall and stay in Playoff contention. Its next 3 games are against unranked teams.

In other words, an 11-1 Texas team should roll into the Big 12 Championship Game, maybe even as the favorite.

The reality: They won 33-30 in overtime Saturday, but not because of anything backup-turned-starter Maalik Murphy did.

Murphy finished 19-for-37 for 248 yards and threw 2 interceptions, the 2nd of which helped Kansas State to close the gap to 27-21.

It also got the Texas crowd fired up … for Arch Manning.

Manning still hasn’t attempted a pass this season. That’s fine as long as Quinn Ewers was running the show. But we still don’t know when Ewers will return from his shoulder injury.

We’ve seen enough of Murphy to at least wonder why Manning isn’t playing.

Longhorns fans have seen enough of Murphy to ponder a far more serious question: If this continues, where will Manning be playing next year?

1. Dabo’s next gig …

I don’t know who will eventually replace Nick Saban at Alabama, but I definitely know who’s replacing Paul Finebaum.

Welcome to the Dabo Swinney Show!

Now, Dabo, do the right thing and give Tyler the game ball and let him lead the Tigers down the hill next week against Georgia Tech.