College Football Unfiltered

Don’t go to Auburn for a taste of fruit punch. 

“We don’t even have red Gatorade," Auburn center Cole Best told USA TODAY Sports.

That's the Iron Bowl rivalry for you.

No red Gatorade (or red ink pens), as Auburn emphasizes its rivalry with Alabama.

Whatever it takes to reverse Auburn's fortunes. The last five seasons were pretty miserable on the Plains. Auburn hasn't beaten either Alabama or Georgia, its top rivals, since Gus Malzahn was its coach.

On today's episode, host Blake Toppmeyer of USA TODAY is joined by the Montgomery Advertiser's Adam Cole as they examine the start of Alex Golesh's tenure and whether this new hire can spark an Auburn upswing. Toppmeyer shares some details of his offseason visit to Auburn, and Cole explains why quarterback Byrum Brown's ability couldn't be judged properly from Auburn's spring game.

They finish by weighing in on whether they're buying, selling or holding stock in Auburn under Golesh.

The Big Ten rules college sports.

That's the brass tacks. The SEC no longer can hide from reality. 

The Big Ten won the last three college football championships. The SEC hasn't reached the national championship game since 2023 Georgia won it all. Now, as insult to injury, the Big Ten sent two teams to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament, while the SEC sits at home.

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams address the SEC's reality and just how dire the situation is. They also suggest a new motto for the SEC, now that the Big Ten is on top.

Also in this episode, the hosts react to Tennessee being the last SEC team standing in March Madness, and they weigh in on Will Wade's hire at LSU.

Alabama's Nate Oats and Florida's Todd Golden established themselves as top-tier SEC basketball coaches. Oats has Alabama in the Sweet 16 for the fourth straight season. Golden's stock remains red hot despite Florida's surprising second-round loss to Iowa.

So, what happens if the North Carolina job opens? UNC's Hubert Davis is on the hot seat. Golden and Oats have proven they can win at the highest level. They enjoy ultimate job security and high favorability ratings at their current school. Would they trade that in for the chance to coach a blue blood, where basketball reigns supreme?

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams debate the merits of leaving a stable SEC job for a premier opportunity like North Carolina, where the pressure is high but so is the ceiling. Adams thinks a coach with Golden's swagger or Oats' appetite for a national championship might trade in a secure situation for the ego stroke of a blue blood, but both hosts outline multiple reasons to stay put.

If Golden is open to leaving Florida, Adams thinks he'd be better off waiting for another SEC job to open. 

Think Kentucky could use some of Golden's swagger if Mark Pope flames out in 2027?

Also in this episode, the hosts examine the four SEC teams remaining in March Madness and highlight one team they think could advance to the Elite Eight via an upset.

The SEC led all conferences with 10 NCAA Tournament bids. Perhaps, there was a case for 11 bids, although if any SEC team got snubbed, it wasn't Auburn — despite what you might have heard from Bruce Pearl. 

Oklahoma had a better NCAA case than Auburn.

As for the SEC teams that made the bracket, which one faces the most pressure, and which will be the last SEC team standing?

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams weigh in on the bracket, offer first-round upset picks and highlight a sleeper team from the SEC that could reach the Elite Eight.

Plus, they offer their Final Four picks! 

In a surprise twist, neither host picks an SEC team to reach the Final Four.

If Indiana can be a football school, then why can’t Florida be a basketball school? Todd Golden is looking to emulate Billy Donovan and coach the Gators to back-to-back national championships. As the SEC Tournament arrives, Florida has won 11 straight and is making a beeline for a No. 1 seed in March Madness.

In the meantime, can anyone stop Florida in Nashville?

On today’s basketball-themed episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams discuss top threats to Florida in the SEC Tournament and debate whether it’s hyperbolic to claim Florida is a basketball school, for the moment.

Later in the episode, they weigh in on Bruce Pearl’s vendetta against Miami (Ohio). To wrap up the upside, the hosts discuss the latest on March Madness expansion talk, and Adams explains why he likes the idea of a 76-team NCAA Tournament even less than he likes the idea of a 24-team playoff.

By now, you're quite familiar with the big names. Arch. Trinidad. Gunner.

The SEC is stocked with an impressive collection of quarterbacks for 2026. But, even as the headline stars suck up a lot of oxygen, we detect a handful of quarterbacks flying below the radar who could be poised for big seasons.

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams highlight four SEC quarterbacks who are not being talked about enough. Allow us to generate some hype.

The list includes three transfers, plus a young quarterback who became a starter toward the end of last season.

Later in the episode, the hosts react to Tennessee's Josh Heupel saying he'd support at 24-team playoff. Is that really a champion's mentality, or do coaches who like a 24-team playoff just crave extra job security?

The last round of SEC expansion re-established the Texas-Texas A&M rivalry, but conference realignment has taken more than it's given on the rivalry front. Not only that, but the SEC's elimination of divisions also will stop some rivalries from occurring annually. Both inside and outside of the SEC, games that were once part of the fabric of college football are no longer played every year.

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams highlight eight rivalry games that they'd wish to save on an annual basis. These are games that have either already gone away or series that will be interrupted in the near future. Several of the rivalries have SEC ties, but they also dip into Big Ten and Big 12 terrain to restore some lost rivalries.

Also on this episode, Toppmeyer and Adams react to Joey Aguilar losing his bid for another season as Tennessee's quarterback. One host takes up for the NCAA's quest to enforce its eligibility rules, while the other host has less sympathy for the NCAA.

Say this for the Big Ten’s quest to expand the College Football Playoff: It doesn’t become fixated with any particular idea.
While the SEC remains stuck on a 5+11 playoff plan the Big Ten refuses to accept, the B1G’s playoff think tank has devised yet another proposal.
This one centers on 24 teams.
On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams play a round of fact or fiction and debate whether the SEC should embrace the Big Ten’s plan for a five-round, 24-team playoff.
They also weigh in on Trinidad Chambliss getting another season of eligibility and whether he’s the Heisman Trophy frontrunner — or is it Arch Manning?
Finally, they make a surprising prediction about Kirby Smart and Georgia.

Can the SEC put an end to the Big Ten's national championship streak? That quest begins with four SEC teams, although one ACC team might be the most dangerous threat to the Big Ten's string of dominance in 2026.

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams go head-to-head drafting their top six national championship contenders.

Adams, with the first pick in the draft, plucks a frontrunner from the SEC, but Toppmeyer ventures outside the SEC for his first two picks. Adams stealthily steals one team that Toppmeyer badly wanted on his lineup of national championship contenders.

In the end, they each select two SEC teams among their six-pack of national championship contenders.

When the Big Ten refused to compromise on the 16-team playoff that the SEC desired, that left the SEC with a choice: Go to 24 teams, or stay at 12? The SEC chose 12.

Did it make the right call?

On today’s episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams unpack the inability for the SEC and Big Ten to reach a compromise on playoff expansion.

Also, a debate of whether the SEC erred by adding a ninth conference game, in light of the playoff not expanding. Stiffening the schedule will make it more difficult for SEC teams to reach at least 10 victories, which appears to be a key number toward at-large playoff qualification.

Finally, the hosts consider this question: Will a team from the ACC or Big 12 win a national championship before the SEC gets its next one?