Berry Tramel
Tulsa World Sports Columnist
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Alabama-Georgia has become college football’s most consequential rivalry.
The Bulldogs and Crimson Tide have met in five of the last 13 SEC Championship Games, including four of the last seven. Georgia and Alabama also collided in two national title games.
The 2024 Bama-Georgia in Tuscaloosa was an instant classic. The Crimson Tide zipped to a 30-7 lead, but the Bulldogs came roaring back, took a 34-33 lead, then Bama’s Ryan Williams 75-yard touchdown reception from Jalen Milroe restored the lead with 2:15 left in the game. Georgia drove to the Tide 20-yard line, but Carson Beck’s pass into the end zone was intercepted by Zabien Brown with 43 seconds left. Bama won 41-34.
Your heart rate will rise just recalling that crazy game.
Alabama-Georgia is what Alabama-Louisiana State was for a decade. What Miami-Florida State was in the ‘90s. What Oklahoma-Nebraska was in the ‘70s and ‘80s.
Alabama and Georgia play Saturday in Athens, and it’s a special game. But it might not be the game of the day in the Southeastern Conference.
LSU and Ole Miss play Saturday in Oxford, and LSU-Mississippi is the game that matches unbeatens.
Alabama’s season-opening loss to Florida State has raised questions about the Crimson Tide’s prowess. Those same questions will pop up on most teams, but they hit Bama early.
Meanwhile, LSU and Ole Miss meet with potentially more on the line. LSU is ranked ahead of Georgia (4-5 in The Associated Press poll) and Ole Miss is ranked ahead of Alabama (13-17).
Georgia could put Bama on the brink of missing the College Football Playoff for the second straight year. No three-loss team made the 12-team bracket in 2024; every two-loss (or better) SEC and Big Ten team made the playoff. Alabama is 3-1; lose to Georgia, and the Tide might have to run the table to make the playoff.
Meanwhile, in Oxford, LSU and Ole Miss have more wiggle room. Mississippi has had an easier schedule; its best win might be Tulane, a 45-10 thumping last week. LSU has beaten Clemson and Florida, but those are two of college football’s most disappointing teams.
And get this. Ole Miss is favored against LSU. That’s the beauty of the SEC schedule. Most Saturdays are going to bring games like this, which will shift the standings in dramatic ways.
“You fight until the very last play, and that’s whether you’re ahead or whether you’re on the wrong end of it at that time,” said Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer. “Last year (against Georgia) was exactly one that we lived out. It was great. Then it was hard. Then we found a way. You play because crazy things happen.”
Crazy would be Alabama, before October even arrives, being two losses down to anywhere from six to eight SEC teams chasing playoff berths.
Upset special: Auburn over Texas A&M
Maybe it’s recency bias, but Auburn looked strong in its 24-17 loss at OU. The Tiger running game is meager, but Jackson Arnold is playing solid at quarterback, and the Auburn defense is stout.
Now comes a game at Kyle Field, where the ninth-ranked Aggies, 3-0, are riding high, coming off a 41-40 victory at Notre Dame two weeks ago.
This A&M team is counter to Aggie tradition and counter to the 2025 SEC — offensively strong, with quarterback Marcel Reed, but a little squishy on defense.
Arnold was sacked or flushed from the pocket 19 times in Norman. If Arnold gets time to throw, receiver Cam Coleman and Company will do some damage. A&M is a 6½-point favorite, but let’s go War Eagle in the upset.
Coach on the hot seat: Shane Beamer
Beamer is immensely popular in South Carolina, so this is not a job-in-jeopardy week for Beamer. But when the Gamecocks host Kentucky on Saturday, they desperately need a victory.
Vanderbilt manhandled South Carolina 31-7, and the domination ensued long before star quarterback LaNorris Sellers left the game with concussion symptoms. Carolina played much better last week at Missouri but still lost, 29-20.
The Gamecocks were a College Football Playoff contender last season and figured to be the same this year. But after Kentucky comes five straight games: Louisiana State, OU, Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas A&M. Only OU and Bama are home games for South Carolina.
Kentucky is the Gamecocks’ last relatively easy SEC game. Games with Coastal Carolina and Clemson finish out the season.
Not even a bowl game is assured for the Gamecocks. To get the season back on the rails, Beamer must rally his trips past Kentucky.
Ranking the SEC games
1. Louisiana State at Ole Miss, 2:30 p.m., ABC: Rebels will go with Ferris State transfer Trinidad Chambliss at quarterback. He’s been quite impressive in relief of previously-injured Austin Simmons.
2. Alabama at Georgia, 6:30 p.m., ABC: Since Nick Saban turned Alabama into a powerhouse in 2008, the Crimson Tide is 9-1 against Georgia.
3. Auburn at Texas A&M, 2:30 p.m., ESPN: Rough early schedule for the Tigers. This is their third road game in 30 days, including trips to Waco and Norman.
4. Tennessee at Mississippi State, 3:15 p.m., SEC Network: This will be just the third series meeting since 2012. On November 1, OU will play Tennessee for the fourth time during that span, and the Sooners joined the conference just 14 months ago.
5. Notre Dame at Arkansas, 11 a.m., ABC: What a day in the Ozarks. The Fighting Irish join Southern Cal as the biggest non-conference names to visit Fayetteville. OU, Nebraska, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Florida State, Clemson. None have played in Razorback Stadium.
6. Kentucky at South Carolina, 6:45 p.m., SEC Network: UK redshirt freshman Cutter Boley started at quarterback last week, because Zach Calzada was injured. This week, Boley will start even though Calzada is good to go.
7. Utah State at Vanderbilt, 11:45 a.m., SEC Network: Vandy’s Diego Pavia is making a push to be the all-SEC quarterback. Don’t count him out.
8. Massachusetts at Missouri, 6:30 p.m., ESPNU: Coach Eli Drinkwitz has a 42-24 record at Mizzou. In the last 100 years, Drink’s winning percentage of .636 is bested by only Dan Devine’s .697.
berry.tramel@tulsaworld.com
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Berry Tramel
Tulsa World Sports Columnist
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