You mad, bro?

Why you mad, bro?

That was my reaction to Tennessee fans’ overreaction after TCU jumped ahead of the Vols in the 2nd set of Playoff rankings. I wasn’t mad or surprised. I predicted the exact top 4 (actually the top 6) last Sunday.

But the Playoff drama is just 1 of 10 things I’m absolutely overreacting to after Week 11 in and around the SEC.

10. Can we please stop the Oregon Playoff nonsense, now?

I eliminated Oregon in Week 1, midway through their 46-point beatdown against Georgia.

Others were far more forgiving. That never made sense.

Only 2 of the 28 Playoff teams suffered a loss by more than 17 points. No Playoff team has suffered a loss by more than 24 points.

Still, the “comeback kids” narrative gained steam as Bo Nix and Oregon “steadily improved” and raced through most of the Pac-12.

Then came Saturday night — and a brutal 37-34 home loss to hated rival Washington.

In case you missed it, Oregon fans will be talking for the next 20 years about a controversial call in the final seconds that cost them a chance to kick a tying field goal and force overtime.

They might have a case, too.

But the Ducks never had a Playoff case. Because as long as Georgia stayed at No. 1, nobody wanted to see a Playoff semifinal rematch against the No. 4 Ducks.

Fortunately, we were all spared of that possibility when Nix’s final pass fell about 5 yards short of an intended receiver — and another 10 yards shy of the end zone as the horn sounded on the Pac-12’s Playoff bid.

The Pac-12’s Playoff drought will extend to 6 years — even though the focus now will shift back to USC.

9. Tennessee vs. TCU for No. 4

Vols fans, I understand the angst. To a point.

But you had your chance. You were absolutely convinced you weren’t just going to beat Georgia. You were going to deliver a double-digit beatdown. Heck, I thought the Vols would win, too.

Keeping that margin to 14 mattered and it’s the biggest reason the Vols stayed ahead Oregon in the most recent Playoff rankings. But don’t kid yourself. The Georgia game wasn’t close. And I certainly didn’t see anything that led me to believe a potential Round 2 would end any better or different.

Advantage, TCU.

The unknown always offers more intrigue than the known.

But don’t think this is a charity act, either. TCU has 5 quality wins over then-ranked teams — including Saturday night’s 17-10 win at rival Texas.

Was it dominant? Not really.

Was it good enough to stay at No. 4 in next Tuesday’s rankings? Absolutely.

8. By scoring 66, Tennessee just showed … exactly how dominant Georgia is

Tennessee set a program record Saturday, scoring 66 against Mizzou — the most any Vols team has scored against any SEC team.

It was every bit as impressive as you would think. Vols fans, no doubt, pointed to this most recent pummeling as evidence that Week 10 was simply a bad day in bad weather.

Please don’t.

Tennessee’s offense isn’t “back” because it was never broken.

They ran into the best defense in college football — by a wide, wide margin. All that Saturday proved is that the Vols still are a threat to hang 50 on everybody not named Georgia.

It was not proof that they could get anywhere close to 30 against the Dawgs, if a rematch presents itself in the College Football Playoff.

7. Georgia vs. LSU will set the point-spread record for an SEC title game …

… And Georgia still might cover.

The largest opening line, by the way, was Alabama (-23.5) vs. Florida in the 2016 SEC title game. Alabama won by 38.

6. Illinois’ Chase Brown is having a great year, but …

This is the overreaction of the week.

Brown struck the Heisman pose after finding the end zone against Purdue. Maybe if he would have found the end zone more than 5 times before Saturday, he might have had a realistic chance to be a Heisman finalist. Or maybe if his team hadn’t lost to Indiana and Purdue, which, while perhaps not written as an automatic disqualifier, definitely produces the same result.

He’ll have to settle for leading the Big Ten in rushing. That’s still an honor.

With 1,442 yards, he’s also closing in on Mikel Leshoure’s school record of 1,697, set in 2010.

5. 5 notable numbers

1: That’s how many consecutive SEC games Vandy has won. The ‘Dores ended their 26-game conference skid by rallying to upset CFP No. 24 Kentucky on a last-minute TD Saturday.

55: That’s how many TD passes Hendon Hooker has thrown at Tennessee. Saturday, he moved past Josh Dodds (53) and into 5th-place all-time in Vols history.

4: That’s how many sacks LSU true freshman Harold Perkins had in Saturday’s 13-10 victory over Arkansas. That tied a single-game program record — and exceeded Perkins’ total of 3.5 coming into the game.

6: That’s how many consecutive losing seasons Nebraska has had after suffering their 7th loss Saturday. From 1962-2016, the ‘Skers only had 3 losing seasons.

7: That’s how many losses Texas A&M already has, guaranteeing the Aggies a losing season in Year 5 of the Jimbo Fisher era. You can talk about youth — and, wow, was that an overplayed excuse repeated all day Saturday — but please remember: This is Year 5. And other freshmen — in the SEC and beyond — are playing a heck of a lot better than the Aggies’ touted class.

4. The 4 Playoff teams are …

1. Georgia, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Michigan, No. 4 TCU.

Tennessee is No. 5 and poised to grab the No. 4 spot in the final rankings.

The Vols need 3 things:

  • Finish 11-1 with 2 more 30+point victories against lowly South Carolina and Vandy.
  • A double-digit outcome in the Michigan-Ohio State game, which would be enough to eliminate the loser.
  • A TCU loss. The Horned Frogs’ résumé is too impressive to keep them out if they finish 13-0.

3. Hey, Auburn, why not Cadillac Williams?

Overnight, interim coach/former Auburn legend Cadillac Williams has re-energized everything about Auburn football.

It’s unbelievable the vibe he has created in just 2 short weeks, but it’s tangible.

Auburn will go through the process and new AD John Cohen will find somebody who checks the 58 boxes he has listed.

Cohen might find a better, more proven candidate than Cadillac Williams, but he won’t find anybody who believes in Auburn as much as Williams.

2. The million-dollar question …

Anthony Richardson reportedly has NIL deals in excess of $1 million this season.

Which leads to the most important question surrounding Florida football: Did Richardson just play his final home game in The Swamp on Saturday (pretty spectacularly, by the way) … or will there be so much NIL money available that he’ll return next year as a heavy Heisman favorite and potential No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft?

There’s no questioning his tools and how well-suited they are for the NFL.

There’s also no questioning the fact that he’s not ready to step in and start next year.

Guess what, naysayers: Players don’t decide when to declare; they declare when the money says to declare.

Richardson has top-10 upside. And there isn’t an NFL head coach who doesn’t think they can groom him into a superstar.

1. I have only 1 question about Alabama …

Do you want the same Citrus Bowl hotel you had in 2019?