The last weekend of September is here, and with it comes that first real hint of fall in Alabama. After the heat and the weather chaos in Tuscaloosa and Auburn last weekend, it feels like the state is finally inching toward something a little more manageable. It also means the SEC calendar is tightening its grip.
Conference games already carry that do-or-die feel, and the league’s nine-game slate is wasting no time making teams live with the consequences. It’s barely October, and the pressure is already loud.
South Carolina at Alabama is one of the stranger matchups on the board because of how ugly the recent meetings have been. The Gamecocks pushed Alabama as hard as they could over the last two seasons and still walked away with losses both times.
The 27-25 Tide win two years ago was a mess, with the home team nearly handing it away. Then Alabama had to rally in Columbia last year to escape with a 29-22 win over a South Carolina team that finished 4-8.
That collapse helped put Shane Beamer in a tough spot, and a 41-34 loss to Mississippi State only turned up the heat. South Carolina has already moved on from Mike Shula as offensive coordinator, so the list of easy fixes is getting shorter.
A road win over Alabama would be exactly the kind of lift Beamer and a program that has spent too long in the middle could use. LaNorris Sellers was supposed to be a breakout player last year, but that never took off.
The Gamecocks also have Dylan Stewart, an edge rusher who has had success against Alabama before, and he’s listed as probable for Saturday. South Carolina will need a lot from that side of the ball to matter.
The pick: Alabama 35, South Carolina 21.
Vanderbilt at Auburn brings its own odd history. Auburn’s recent trouble against the Commodores was enough to swing the all-time series in Vanderbilt’s favor, 23-23. That’s a bizarre sentence to type, but here we are.
A lot has changed since the last meeting. The teams played right after Hugh Freeze’s firing last year, which lined up with Auburn’s offensive spark. The Tigers came out of that strange stretch with momentum despite an overtime loss, and they had just scored 38 points against Vanderbilt after putting up only 3 in a loss to Kentucky.
Diego Pavia is no longer around to torment Auburn, but Vanderbilt is still unbeaten at 3-0. The Commodores opened with a 28-9 win over Austin Peay, slipped by Delaware 35-26, and then got the kind of break that only college football can provide in a 35-31 win over NC State. Five-star freshman quarterback Jarad Curtis is a boom-or-bust arm, and he showed both sides last week with three touchdown passes and two interceptions against the Wolfpack.
Auburn needs Byrum Brown and its offense to deliver a cleaner afternoon. The passing game has been uneven, and the USF transfer has five touchdown passes and four interceptions so far.
The Tigers also know what’s waiting after this: trips to Tennessee, Georgia and Mississippi. The schedule isn’t easing up.
The pick: Auburn 23, Vanderbilt 19.
It may not be pretty, but Auburn does not need pretty. If the Tigers’ secondary can make life difficult for Curtis, they should get enough stops to even their SEC record at 1-1.
The rest of the SEC slate is packed with ranked matchups and a few games that could get weird fast.
No. 1 Texas at No.
14 Tennessee at 11 a.m. CT on ABC is a strong quarterback matchup, but Arch Manning’s experience gives the Longhorns the edge.
The pick: Texas in a close one.
Oklahoma at No. 2 Georgia at 2:30 p.m.
CT on ESPN looks far less competitive after the Sooners’ offense again came up fraudulent. Georgia is nearly a two-touchdown favorite because Oklahoma may not score much.
The pick: Georgia by those two touchdowns.
No. 4 Mississippi at No.
21 Florida at 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC might be the most interesting game of the day.
Pete Golding’s group has to handle success, and so does Jon Sumrall’s. Florida left Auburn with enough momentum to enter the rankings and become favored over the No. 4 team in the country.
The pick: Mississippi because Trinidad Chambliss is elite.
No. 23 Texas A&M at No.
10 LSU at 6:30 p.m. CT on ABC is wild because one preseason playoff pick will already have a second loss before October.
Texas A&M was exposed by Kentucky last week, and both teams have questions at quarterback. The pick: LSU in a close one.
No. 19 Missouri at No.
24 Mississippi State at 6:45 p.m. CT on SEC Network has real momentum behind the Bulldogs, who have gone from 15th in the preseason SEC media poll to No. 24 in the AP poll.
Kamario Taylor has been the breakout name, and the cowbells should help. The pick: Mississippi State stays perfect with Alabama coming to town next week.
There are a few other games worth circling. Indiana gets its first crack at a Power 4 opponent this season when Northwestern arrives with a 2-0 record Friday night at 7 p.m.
CT on Fox. No.
17 Iowa and No. 18 Michigan meet in a ranked Big Ten game at 2:30 p.m.
CT on CBS. No.
20 Oregon and No. 12 USC face off in Los Angeles at 6:30 p.m.
CT on NBC, with both teams still trying to prove something after uneven showings. Oregon has to answer for the Oklahoma State fiasco, and USC struggled with lowly Rutgers last week.
Clemson at Cal Friday night at 9:30 p.m. CT on ESPN has its own sicko appeal.
And on a more personal note, this week’s reader recognition goes to Tom Babington of Montgomery, a loyal emailer who passed away recently at 85. His notes will be missed.
Also worth a shoutout is Karen Johns, whom I met at the Alabama-FSU game. She’s a softball coaching legend and the wife of former Alabama football standout Bobby Johns, the All-American defensive back and Alabama Sports Hall of Famer.
In Other News...
Alabama Has 3 Pressure Points Against South Carolina Fans Should Watch
Alabama heads into its Week 4 matchup with South Carolina at Bryant-Denny Stadium with a few areas that could shape the night, and the Crimson Tides improved running game is near the top of the list. Daniel Hill has helped give Alabama more life on the ground, and that added balance could matter against a Gamecocks defense that will be trying to make the Tide earn every yard.
On the other side, cornerback Dijon Lee Jr. faces a tricky assignment against South Carolinas receivers, while special teams could also swing field position if punt returner Vicari Swain gets space to work. Both Shane Beamer and Kane Wommack have already offered clues about how they view the matchup, and for Alabama, the key question is whether those pressure points become advantages once the game starts. [Read more 🡒]
Jalen Hurts Opened Up About The Quarterback Legacy That Shaped Him
Jalen Hurts paused to reflect on the kind of quarterback who helped shape his own path when he saw a banner honoring Steve McNair at Nissan Stadium. The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback spoke about McNair as a major influence and inspiration during his development, a reminder that the games history reaches well beyond what shows up in the box score.
Hurts also tied McNairs legacy to the broader story of Black quarterbacks and the obstacles they have faced over time. For a player whose rise has often carried added significance, the moment brought those connections into focus in a personal way, underscoring how much the trailblazers before him still matter. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Faces A South Carolina Defense With Two Big Unknowns
South Carolinas defense comes into the Alabama matchup with a few clear strengths and just as many questions. Under coordinator Clayton White, the Gamecocks have built a unit that can create problems with its scheme and its edge pressure, and Dylan Stewarts return from injury adds another layer of intrigue to the front. Even after a loss to Mississippi State, there is enough recent tape to suggest this group can still flash the kind of disruption that forces an offense to work for every clean look.
The problem is that the recent sample is thin, and the two biggest unknowns hang over both player readiness and how effective this defense will actually be once Alabama starts testing it snap after snap. Stewarts status is part of that uncertainty, but so is the broader question of whether South Carolina can turn its schematic ideas into consistent stops against a high-level opponent. For Alabama, that makes the assignment less about one star and more about figuring out how much of this defense is real, and how much is still waiting to be proven. [Read more 🡒]