Austin Mack may be getting a rare chance to put himself on display for Alabama this Saturday against Vanderbilt.
With Keelon Russell dealing with an ankle injury from the Crimson Tide’s win over LSU, Alabama could turn to Mack if Russell is not ready to go. Russell is listed as day-to-day, and on Monday, Kalen DeBoer opened the door for Mack to play.
That possibility gives Mack something he has not had much of in Tuscaloosa: a real opportunity. He has thrown just 39 passes in his college career, so any extended action would be a meaningful look for a quarterback who has spent most of his time waiting behind Russell.
Mack’s path to Alabama started long before this season. He was once a five-star recruit for DeBoer at Washington before following him to Tuscaloosa in 2024. At 6-foot-6 with tremendous arm strength, he still has the kind of tools that make him hard to ignore, even if his stock has changed since those earlier days.
Russell won the starting job in camp, and that decision has paid off for Alabama. He has guided the Crimson Tide to a 7-2 record through nine games and has delivered multiple second-half comebacks, including last Saturday against LSU. His mobility has also mattered behind a shaky Alabama offensive line, helping separate him from Mack in the competition.
Still, Mack has not lost the intrigue. Many had him pegged as the favorite to win Alabama’s quarterback job heading into 2026, and if he gets the start against Vanderbilt, teams looking for quarterback help will be paying close attention.
With Russell viewed as the long-term starter, Mack is almost certain to transfer this winter. If he takes the field Saturday, it could serve as his first real audition for what comes next.
In Other News...
Rare FAA Shutdown Put A Major South Carolina Sports Weekend On Edge
A rare nationwide FAA ground stoppage briefly put one of South Carolinas biggest sports weekends in an uneasy holding pattern, with departing flights delayed across the country because of a telecommunications error tied to safety concerns. The most immediate impact in the Palmetto State centered on the womens basketball showdown in Greenville, where No. 3 Southern Cal was grounded in Los Angeles on its way to face No. 1 South Carolina.
For Clemson fans following the broader state sports scene, the good news was that the disruption did not spill over to the football programs. South Carolina football and Clemson football were not affected, with their travel either completed before the stoppage or handled by bus, leaving the airline mess to hover around the basketball spotlight instead of turning into a wider college-sports headache. [Read more 🡒]
South Carolina Walks Into A Dangerous Spot Before Georgia
With bowl eligibility already secured and a winning streak still building, South Carolina is trying to keep its attention on the next step rather than the bigger picture. Players and coaches have spent the week talking through the idea of a trap game ahead of Arkansas, a label that can creep into a locker room whenever a team starts looking past an opponent and toward what comes next.
The message from the staff has been to stay locked in on improvement and on the challenge Arkansas brings, not on the temptation to treat this one as a formality. For a team with College Football Playoff hopes still in the conversation, the margin for a slip is thin, and South Carolina knows the danger in letting a manageable spot turn into the kind of game that changes the feel of a season. [Read more 🡒]
Clemson Faces One Senior Day Concern Fans Will Be Watching Closely
Senior Day at Clemson brings the usual mix of ceremony and urgency, and this one carries a little extra edge with Georgia Tech coming to town for the Tigers final ACC home game of the 2026 season. Clemson enters as a 13.5-point favorite, but the pregame picture is shaped as much by the injury report as by the spread, with several players on both sides listed as injured or questionable. Add in a weather forecast that could influence how the game unfolds, and it feels like the kind of November afternoon where the details matter almost as much as the matchup itself.
For Clemson, the bigger concern is less about the odds and more about how cleanly it can navigate a game that should, on paper, be manageable. Senior Day always brings an emotional layer, and the Tigers will be trying to handle that while keeping an eye on health and availability heading into the stretch run. The prediction points to a 27-13 Clemson win, but the more immediate question is whether the Tigers can get through the day without adding any more names to the list of players fans are already watching closely. [Read more 🡒]