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.

The summer tradition is for college football scribes to make predictions about the upcoming season.

And the fall tradition is to realize we were wrong about many of those predictions.

We're no exception, and we're willing to confess our mistakes.

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's Ed Orgeron is the only active SEC coach with a victory over Nick Saban.

But judging by No. 1 Alabama's 31-29 victory over Florida on Saturday, the Crimson Tide aren't invincible this season.

Alabama (3-0, 1-0) should enjoy a bit of a breather this week against Southern Miss before back-to-back showdowns with No. 13 Ole Miss (3-0) and No. 5 Texas A&M (3-0). Plus, the SEC Championship likely will feature either a clash with No. 2 Georgia (3-0, 1-0) or a rematch against No. 11 Florida (2-1, 0-1).

On today's episode, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams debate which team is the biggest threat to Alabama this season: Ole Miss, A&M, Georgia or Florida (assuming Alabama will face Georgia or Florida in Atlanta)?

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

There was a time, a time not that long ago, when the Southern Cal football job was the coaching job in America.

USC has the history, with 11 national championships, and a nationally recognized brand. It can recruit within a state that has a good talent base or recruit nationwide to its Los Angeles location. Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is one of the most venerable stadiums in the country. 

But USC's mighty image has taken a hit in recent years, and the Trojans on Monday fired coach Clay Helton, launching a coaching search that will be one of the hot topics, from coast to coast, throughout the 2021 college football season.

How does the USC job compare to SEC jobs?

Just how hot is the seat under LSU coach Ed Orgeron?

That's the storyline the Tigers had hoped to avoid this season, but it's the storyline they face after a 38-27 loss to UCLA on Saturday.

LSU got whipped in the trenches, Max Johnson played flustered, a coordinator change didn't solve LSU's defense, and the Tigers need more playmakers than just Kayshon Boutte on offense.

LSU didn't play with a lot of fire, either, and now Orgeron's long-term future with the program is being questioned just 18 months after leading the Tigers to a national championship behind Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Joe Burrow.

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

The SEC has provided its members with the perfect cop-out to suffering a beatdown at the hands of No. 1 Alabama.

Claim a COVID-19 forfeit.

On Wednesday, the SEC announced that teams will be assessed a forfeit loss if they are unable to compete in a game this season because of roster limitations brought on by positive COVID-19 tests or quarantines.

Perfect.

USA TODAY Network hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams embrace using the COVID forfeit as a strategic move.

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