College Football Unfiltered

If the Georgia football team is to win a national championship this season, it's not going to be through the arm of its quarterback.

These Bulldogs were fashioned as a throwback.

For 12 games, Georgia used a menacing defense and an offense built around its rushing attack to ascend to No. 1 in the nation.

But those linchpins didn't hold in a 41-24 loss to No. 2 Alabama on Saturday in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta.

On this edition of "SEC Football Unfiltered," a podcast from the USA TODAY Network, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams debate whether Georgia should change quarterbacks for the playoff.

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.

LSU opened the bank vault, stroked a big check, and got its man.

Southern Cal's moment in the spotlight after hiring Lincoln Riley from Oklahoma didn't last long. LSU seized the attention by lifting veteran Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly away from one of the sport's most iconic jobs for the chance at a richer paycheck and fertile recruiting ground on the Bayou.

Kelly received a 10-year contract worth $95 million, plus incentives.

But did LSU make a home-run hire or overspend in a panic buy to wrap up a coaching search that had entered its seventh week?

On this edition of "SEC Football Unfiltered," a podcast from the USA TODAY Network, host Blake Toppmeyer and guest cohost Nick Kelly of the Tuscaloosa News evaluate LSU's hire.

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

Florida became the third marquee college football job to open this season when the Gators fired Dan Mullen amid his fourth season on Sunday. The Gators join LSU and Southern Cal with openings considered to be among the top-15 jobs in college football.

Other Power Five jobs available include Washington, Washington State, Virginia Tech and TCU.

Suffice it to say that this year's coaching carousel will offer an even wilder ride than usual.

On this edition of "SEC Football Unfiltered," a podcast from the USA TODAY Network, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams each pitch three candidates for their cohost to evaluate for the Gators.

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.

Arkansas, Mississippi State and Ole Miss rank as the toughest jobs in the SEC West. 

Second-year coaches Sam Pittman, Mike Leach and Lane Kiffin are making them look relatively easy.

Each team secured an important victory on Saturday.

On this edition of "SEC Football Unfiltered," a podcast from the USA TODAY Network, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams evaluate the speedy program turnarounds being orchestrated by Kiffin, Pittman and Leach.

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.

If Florida is going to fire embattled coach Dan Mullen, it must consider two questions: Who can the Gators legitimately expect to hire? And is Florida confident it will outrank LSU and Southern Cal on the vacancy pecking order?

LSU and USC got a jumpstart on their coaching searches in October and September, respectively. Do the Gators really want to enter that brew now?

On this edition of "SEC Football Unfiltered," a podcast from the USA TODAY Network, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams examine Mullen's hot-seat status and debate whether Gators athletics director Scott Stricklin should retain Mullen or reboot.

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.

Georgia almost certainly will be ranked No. 1 when the first College Football Playoff rankings are unveiled on Tuesday night.

Sorry to spoil the surprise.

After that, it's going to get interesting. 

On this edition of "SEC Football Unfiltered," a podcast from the USA TODAY Network, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams debate how they'd order the top seven teams in this week's rankings.

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.

Kirby Smart is the man to beat for SEC coach of the year.

But if Smart’s Bulldogs (7-0, 5-0) stumble before the College Football Playoff, or if voters are just desperate for a plucky underdog story, other candidates would come into play.

On this edition of “SEC Football Unfiltered,” a podcast from the USA TODAY Network, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams debate the top candidates who could threaten Smart for SEC coach of the year.

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.

It's coaching search season for LSU football.

The Tigers will have a new coach in 2022 after Sunday's announcement that coach Ed Orgeron will be dismissed at the conclusion of this season.

This will mark the opening of one of college football's top jobs, and one of college athletics' most highly regarded athletics directors, Scott Woodward, is expected to swing for a big-name hire.

On this edition of "SEC Football Unfiltered," a podcast from the USA TODAY Network, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams offer potential candidates who should be linked to the search.

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.

On this edition of "SEC Football Unfiltered," a podcast from the USA TODAY Network, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams offer an SEC West reset and debate whether Saturday's upset in College Station, Texas, said more about Texas A&M and how it never should have lost to Arkansas and Mississippi State, or whether it revealed real concerns for Alabama.

Life is good if you're a fan of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky or perhaps a couple other schools within the SEC.

Elsewhere around the SEC, there's angst, especially after a weekend in which three favorites suffered upset defeats.

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.