College Football Unfiltered

Seven teams will play in conference championship games this weekend with a realistic shot at College Football Playoff qualification, while an eighth (Ohio State) sits at home with a longshot avenue toward backdoor entry.

If the higher-ranked teams hold serve – Georgia, Michigan, Washington and Florida State – then it’s a tidy field of four undefeated teams from Power Five conferences.

If at least one of those undefeated teams fall, though, then the committee will face some hard choices.

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams unpack a series of hypothetical playoff scenarios in which Alabama upsets Georgia in the SEC Championship. Who's in, and who's out in each case? We explain the 2-step process for Alabama to earn playoff selection – and also how both Georgia and Alabama could qualify.

Stay connected on Twitter with Blake (@btoppmeyer) and John (@JohnAdamsKNS) and stay up to date on SEC football news by subscribing to KnoxNews: knoxnews.com/subscribe.

This isn't a banner season for the SEC. While Georgia and Alabama chase the College Football Playoff, two teams chase new coaches, and several teams are in danger of missing bowl games.

Welcome to rivalry week, which is a sideshow to the SEC's ongoing coaching searches before next week's clash between Alabama and Georgia.

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams provide one-sentence summaries of each SEC team's season or the state of the program.

From firings to flops, they summarize each SEC team in a handful of words.

Later in the episode, rivalry week picks against the spread!

Stay connected on Twitter with Blake (@btoppmeyer) and John (@JohnAdamsKNS) and stay up to date on SEC football news by subscribing to KnoxNews: knoxnews.com/subscribe.

Texas A&M is a top-20 college football job with top-five resources, and the job is vacant after the firing of Jimbo Fisher. Fire up the carousel, and bring on the big-name coaches!

The Aggies don't have a national championship pedigree, but they have the fertile recruiting terrain, financial support and facilities to make this a very appealing job. 

Money is no object for Aggies boosters, either. Texas A&M is the best job on the market.

Is it good enough to attract Lane Kiffin, Dan Lanning or... maybe even Jim Harbaugh?!

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams assess the Aggies' opening and consider nine candidates.

Stay connected on Twitter with Blake (@btoppmeyer) and John (@JohnAdamsKNS) and stay up to date on SEC football news by subscribing to KnoxNews: knoxnews.com/subscribe.

Alabama and Georgia are on a collision course for Atlanta, while the hot seat smolders elsewhere in the South, and at least one SEC quarterback has a chance at the Heisman Trophy.

Buckle up! These next four weeks leading up to Selection Sunday are about to get really, really interesting.

No SEC coaches have been fired, but the coaching carousel is begging to begin its motion. On the playoff front, Georgia, Alabama and dark-horse Ole Miss remain in the mix.

LSU's Jayden Daniels for Heisman? Don't forget Georgia's Carson Beck. (A couple of Pac-12 quarterbacks, plus Florida State's Jordan Travis and Michigan's J.J. McCarthy, may have something to day about that.)

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams engage in some fact-or-fiction debates regarding some of the SEC's hottest topics. Among them: They project the firings of two SEC coaches.

Also in this episode, we examine the playoff credentials of Alabama and make Week 11 picks against the spread!

Stay connected on Twitter with Blake (@btoppmeyer) and John (@JohnAdamsKNS) and stay up to date on SEC football news by subscribing to KnoxNews: knoxnews.com/subscribe.

Go ahead, watch Tuesday’s CFP rankings reveal rankings reveal. Become miffed if you think your team gets snubbed by the committee’s pecking order. But, remember, how you’re ranked on Halloween isn’t a great predictor of which team will win the national championship.

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams examine the résumés for the five remaining undefeated teams from Power Five conferences. They agree on who should be ranked No. 1. They also agree that the committee will rank Ohio State No. 1, rewarding the Buckeyes’ wins at Notre Dame and against Penn State. They disagree on just about everything else.

Later in the episode, a preview of Alabama-LSU, including Jayden Daniels' Heisman chances. Plus, Week 10 picks against the spread!

 Stay connected on Twitter with Blake (@btoppmeyer) and John (@JohnAdamsKNS) and stay up to date on SEC football news by subscribing to KnoxNews: knoxnews.com/subscribe.

Texas A&M faces two bad choices: Swallow Jimbo Fisher's monstrous buyout, or stomach Fisher's ceaseless mediocrity. Get a bunch of oil tycoons in a room, and let’s see how they react to this dilemma.

The SEC’s hot seat is cooking, and Fisher has company. Arkansas’ Sam Pittman epitomizes how quickly a coach can descend from beloved to bewildered. Pittman froze up and goofed in a critical moment during the Razorbacks’ sixth straight loss, an embarrassing 7-3 defeat Saturday to Mississippi State.

Fan angst persists within other SEC locales, but the temperatures are hottest at Texas A&M and Arkansas.

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams examine who is at greater risk of being fired first – Fisher or Pittman?

Stay connected on Twitter with Blake (@btoppmeyer) and John (@JohnAdamsKNS) and stay up to date on SEC football news by subscribing to KnoxNews: knoxnews.com/subscribe.

Tennessee’s upset of Alabama became a defining moment of the 2022 season. Rivalries provide the backdrop for college football’s greatest games, and when the Vols beat the Crimson Tide for the first time since 2006, joyful fans lit cigars, tore down the goal posts, marched them out of the stadium and baptized them in the Tennessee River.

Show us an NFL scene that matches that.

Tennessee beat Alabama 52-49 in a game in which the quarterbacks combined for 840 passing yards.

Don’t expect a repeat of that.

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams examine the Third Saturday in October rivalry matchup.

The duel of Hendon Hooker vs. Bryce Young became an instant classic. This game projects to go much differently.

Later in the episode, Adams busts out his trusty panic-meter and applies it to struggling coaches Jimbo Fisher, Sam Pittman, Shane Beamer, Hugh Freeze and Zach Arnett, as well as on-the-upswing Billy Napier. Plus, Week 8 picks!

 Stay connected on Twitter with Blake (@btoppmeyer) and John (@JohnAdamsKNS) and stay up to date on SEC football news by subscribing to KnoxNews: knoxnews.com/subscribe.

As the SEC's season hits its midpoint, let's take stock of where things stand.

Who are the conference's top offensive and defensive players? Whose coaching performance deserves acclaim, and who is already in wait-til-next-year mode?

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams bust out some hardware.

They struggle to anoint a coach worthy of this prestigious midseason honor, before settling on Missouri's Eliah Drinkwitz. As for players, LSU's Jayden Daniels, Georgia's Brock Bowers and Alabama's Dallas Turner deserve recognition.

Now, what about those Aggies? What 'til next year. Texas A&M, Kentucky and Missouri enjoyed a chance for a signature moment on Saturday. The Wildcats got humiliated, while the Tigers and Aggies let prime opportunities slip through their fingers.

Also, our Week 7 picks against the spread!

Georgia is No. 1, but the Bulldogs aren’t dominating as if they’re the nation’s best team. Auburn’s offense is one-dimensional, but Georgia struggled to get past the Tigers.

Even so, Top 25 poll voters are reluctant to remove a team off the No. 1 spot unless it loses. That’s especially true for a two-time defending national champion.

But, should Georgia be ranked No. 1 entering its clash with No. 20 Kentucky?

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams share how they’d fill out the top of their ballot, if they were voting in the AP Top 25. Neither host ranks Georgia No. 1, but they disagree on how far down the Bulldogs should be slotted.

Later in the episode, they examine whether Texas A&M’s home game against Alabama is the biggest game of Jimbo Fisher’s tenure. Plus, a look at LSU's spiral from preseason darling to September pushover. And they offer Week 6 picks against the spread!

 Stay connected on Twitter with Blake (@btoppmeyer) and John (@JohnAdamsKNS) and stay up to date on SEC football news by subscribing to KnoxNews: knoxnews.com/subscribe.

Alabama regained a pulse, and the three-headed race for the SEC West is back on.

Yes, Alabama, LSU and Texas A&M have one loss apiece. Each came against a nonconference opponent, though, and the West’s projected frontrunners won their SEC openers to restore order to the division.

Big games loom in November, but we’ll gain clarity in the meantime. LSU is a slim favorite this week against Ole Miss before Alabama tries to atone for a 2021 loss to Texas A&M when it visits the Aggies in two Saturdays.

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams rank the SEC West’s favorites, in order from most likely to win the division to least likely.

The hosts aren’t backing off their preseason pick of LSU, but then the debate gets interesting. Later in the episode, Missouri and Kentucky are each 4-0, but we're only buying stock in one of these teams. Also, Week 5 picks against the spread!

 Stay connected on Twitter with Blake (@btoppmeyer) and John (@JohnAdamsKNS) and stay up to date on SEC football news by subscribing to KnoxNews: knoxnews.com/subscribe.