Everyone’s cooking up their final College Football Playoff predictions before the season kicks off, but here on “SEC Football Unfiltered,” we’re serving something unique.

Why not put two heads together to create the ultimate playoff projection?

On today’s episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams team up to create a single bracket. Each host gets to select six teams to create the 12-team field, while adhering to the playoff parameters that five conferences must be represented.

The selections begin in a chalky manner, before Toppmeyer surprises Adams with one of his ACC selections. Then, Adams leaves Toppmeyer speechless with his sleeper pick from the Big Ten.

Later in the episode, they make their Week 1 picks against the spread.

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College football is back. And its Week 1 lineup of games is as good as ever.

Arch Manning will try to deliver a road victory for No. 1 Texas at No. 2 Ohio State, and No. 9 LSU will aim to assert itself as a contender against No. 6 Clemson, in what will be a pivotal game for Brian Kelly. LSU has never won a season opener under Kelly, who’s entering a pressure-packed season. Hype and pressure surround Manning, too.

On today’s episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams debate whether Manning or Kelly faces more pressure in Week 1. The alarmists will be ready to pounce. In reality, either Manning or Kelly can recover from an opening loss, but Manning struggling or LSU losing would lay groundwork ripe for hot takes and overreaction.

Later in the episode, the hosts react to the SEC’s decision to add a ninth conference game beginning in 2026 and discuss why this decision helps the SEC in more ways than one, and why it might spur a scheduling change inside the Big Ten, too.

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Auburn will retire Cam Newton's jersey number this season, an honor for a quarterback who delivered one of the greatest individual seasons in college football history, complete with a national championship.

Newton's got company in the conversation for single-season greatness.

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams reminisce about some of the most stellar individual seasons they've witnessed.

Adams dials up the wayback machine with memories of Archie Manning, Herschel Walker and Barry Sanders. Toppmeyer highlights seasons supplied by Newton, Tim Tebow, Johnny Manziel and Joe Burrow.

With hype for Texas quarterback Arch Manning at a crescendo, can he produce on par with some of those past greats? Adams knows this: He'd rather have Manning starting in Texas' season opener against Ohio State than Quinn Ewers.

Later in the episode, the hosts weigh in on Joey Aguilar winning Tennessee's starting quarterback job and what that means for the Vols.

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Jon Gruden says he'd "die to coach in the SEC." We must assume he's being hyperbolic, but the former NFL coach sounds serious about wanting to coach again – and wanting to coach in college.

He's not the only former coach with an eye toward new opportunities. Former Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher says he's up for a return to the sideline, too. This projects as an active year for the hot seat, so would either Gruden or Fisher be a worthwhile consideration for an SEC athletic director?

That debate takes center stage on today's episode, featuring hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams. Their verdict: Neither Gruden nor Fisher would seem particularly appealing within the SEC, although Toppmeyer offers one SEC school that might make some sense, depending on its level of desperation.

Of the two possibilities, the hosts agree Gruden offers more intrigue than Fisher, who received everything a coach could want with the Aggies and couldn't make it work. Gruden would be the ultimate wild card.

Later in the episode, the hosts weigh in on Alabama naming Ty Simpson its starting quarterback and what that means for Kalen DeBoer's second season.

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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.