The SEC buried the Big Ten in the US LBM Coaches Poll. Fire up the preseason chants of superiority, but that will mean squat come College Football Playoff selection time.

In fact, the SEC's poll takeover could be a sign of a playoff path filled with landmines, while Big Ten frontrunners Ohio State, Penn State, Oregon and Illinois enjoy cleaner routes to the postseason.

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams react to the SEC's poll blitz and explain why this should be viewed cautiously for the conference's playoff contenders.

They also point to two overrated SEC teams, plus an unranked team that they'd place in the top 25. And they explain why one Big Ten team faces just as much pressure to produce a championship as No. 1 Texas.

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Since the College Football Playoff’s inception, Alabama has never gone consecutive seasons without making the field. By missing the playoff last season, the Crimson Tide missed the program’s standard in Kalen DeBoer’s debut. He knows it. Now, Alabama has retooled with effective offseason maneuvering, but is it enough to make the playoff in the face of a tough schedule, with a new starting quarterback?

On today’s episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams engage in a fact-or-fiction debate regarding several possible scenarios this season, such as whether Alabama will make the playoff, and whether Arch Manning will win the Heisman Trophy.

They also rate the top six games involving SEC teams in Week 1. And they weigh in on the fizzled bromance between the SEC and Big Ten.

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No SEC football coaches were fired a year ago. What's the encore to that? Well, buckle up for a particularly spicy hot seat this season.

Proud programs like Oklahoma, Auburn and Florida starve for success at a level their current coaches haven't proven they can supply. The hot seat doesn't stop there, either.

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams identify their top five SEC coaches on the hot seat. Their lists each feature the same quintet of coaches, although they differ on the ordering.

At the top of the list, though, they agree on the coach sitting on the SEC's hottest seat. That's Sam Pittman of Arkansas. And the firings realistically could begin as soon as October.

It was a matter of time before a media member introduced the rumor that Nick Saban wants to return to coaching. Greg McElroy did the honors this week, saying that someone "in the know" told him that Saban will coach again.

McElroy later denounced the rumor he started. By then, it was too late. The rumor had gained oxygen and made the rounds at SEC media days. Never mind the veracity of this speculation.

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams react to the rumor McElroy sparked – that Saban wants to coach again. Neither host gives much credence to the idea of Saban returning to college coaching. They suggest that, if he did return, Alabama would not be the likeliest landing spot.

Adams also considers this hypothetical: If Saban and Urban Meyer returned to college coaching, which would fare better? 

Later in the episode, the hosts respond to Texas being named the overwhelming favorite in the USA TODAY Network's predicted order of finish for the SEC, and Toppmeyer points to a few teams that were underrated in the voting.

Auburn’s athletic director says the Tigers are determined to do things "the right way." Never mind that Auburn’s recruiting class ranks last in the SEC. Have patience. Athletic director John Cohen’s words echo the sentiments of coach Hugh Freeze, who admits Auburn's recent approach is "not really to our advantage."

Who cares about rules nowadays? Insisting on doing things "the right way" tends to be the battle cry from the basement.

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams examine the situation at Auburn, where Freeze's offseason golf handicap looks better than his recruiting class. Auburn's recruiting stall comes on the heels of four straight losing seasons. More than the losses from yesteryear, though, Adams says he's concerned about Freeze's recent rhetoric, and he compares Freeze to a former SEC coach who's since been fired.

Still, this is the kind of offseason storyline that can be smashed into irrelevance with a slew of August commitments, plus a Week 1 win against Baylor.

Later in the episode, the hosts explain why Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti keeps getting the College Football Playoff format debate wrong.

The SEC became the nation’s best conference because of its strength at the line of scrimmage, punishing running backs and perimeter speed. Somewhere along the way, though, this conference began attracting the best quarterback talent, too.

That’s especially reflected this season. The SEC's crop of quarterbacks includes a crowded top tier, resulting in a heated debate about who's the No. 1 man.

On today's episode, host Blake Toppmeyer of the USA TODAY Network and the Gainesville Sun's Kevin Brockwaydebate Toppmeyer's SEC quarterback rankings.

Toppmeyer pegged Arch Manning as the SEC's top quarterback, banking on the upside of a player who's poised to break out in his third season at Texas. Brockway, though, picks a different quarterback as his No. 1.

Later in the episode, Brockway updates the injury status of Florida quarterback DJ Lagway, and he takes the temperature of Billy Napier's hot seat. Finally, he projects Florida's record.

The company line within the SEC is that no other conference matches the gauntlet of its conference schedule. Perhaps, but it's also true that no other conference plays as many cupcake games as the SEC.

That's a sticking point for the Big Ten as the conferences try to reach an agreement on a College Football Playoff format for 2026 and beyond. The Big Ten wants the SEC to join it in playing nine conference games. The SEC, so far, keeps standing its ground at eight. That difference in conference scheduling remains a hurdle in playoff negotiations, according to multiple reports.

Can a compromise be struck to end this stalemate?

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams dig into the latest on the playoff format squabbling, the SEC's scheduling debate, and the battle of rhetoric between the SEC and the Big Ten.

Would the SEC be smart to stay at eight games, or should it give in to the Big Ten? Also, is the Big Ten's request reasonable?

Later in the episode, were we a little too quick to write off Dabo Swinney? Clemson looks loaded up for a run at national championship contention.

If the Tigers wore an SEC logo patch, would they be the preseason No. 1 team? Adams says yes.

Tennessee’s mid-April quarterback swap damaged the Vols’ chance of making the College Football Playoff, but did the Nico Iamaleava for Joey Aguilar swap make the Vols one of the SEC’s weakest teams? That’s what one preseason publication thinks.

Lindy’s magazine picked Tennessee 11th in the SEC in its conference picks. Might want to take a peek at that schedule, though, before predicting such a freefall for the Vols.

On today’s episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams wade through Lindy’s SEC hierarchy and identify a few underrated and overrated teams.

Several SEC coaches enter this season facing an inflection point in their tenures. That doesn't necessarily mean each of these coaches is on the hot seat (not yet, anyway), but this projects as a defining season for coaches like LSU's Brian Kelly, Florida's Billy Napier and Auburn's Hugh Freeze.

Kelly says he's got his best LSU roster to date. No argument here. Napier's Gators finished last season on a hot streak. Auburn hasn't shown much bite yet under Freeze, but he's got a new quarterback.

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams play a round of buy, hold or sell on 10 SEC coaches. They share an opinion on Kelly and Napier but take separate paths on Freeze.

They also consider the buy-or-sell case for other SEC coaches like Alabama's Kalen DeBoer and Kentucky's Mark Stoops. 

Battle lines are forming in the ongoing debate for the College Football Playoff's future format. The Big Ten wants to rig the playoff. The Big 12 and ACC fight against that.

The SEC hangs out in the middle, unsure whether to side with the Big Ten or the other power conferences.

To rig, or not to rig? That is the question.

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams unpack the leading playoff formats under consideration.

The hosts reject one potential playoff format, while keeping an open mind to two others. And they explain why the SEC holds the trump cards in this negotiation.