A Louisiana judge has sided with the players in the fight over fifth-year eligibility, and the ripple effect is already reaching LSU. With rosters due today and LSU set to play Clemson on Saturday night, the players involved said after the ruling that they planned to be added to the LSU roster today.
The twist here is that the SEC isn’t just watching this one play out. The league has filed suit against Lane Kiffin and LSU in federal court in Alabama, and the language in that filing makes the conference’s position crystal clear. The SEC said:
“The SEC has endured and thrived for nearly a century because its members have adhered to that common set of rules, which each member institution, and every coach at those institutions, has agreed to follow,” the SEC’s federal lawsuit said. “Among the most fundamental of those rules are the longstanding provisions that prohibit individuals who have entered a professional draft, signed professional contracts, or been rostered on a professional athletics team from returning to compete in college athletics (the “Professionalism Rules”).
“These rules are built upon an essential principle: college athletics is reserved for students who are actively pursuing an education while competing for their universities. The Professionalism Rules preserve competitive fairness, protect opportunities for high school students and current college athletes, and maintain the distinction between college and professional sports.”
That broader fight is why Missouri’s situation with former DePaul guard C.J. Gunn is still murky.
Missouri has confirmed Gunn is enrolled and on the team, and he’s waiting on medical clearance. But his eligibility path is not as straightforward as Mark Mitchell’s, because Gunn signed with a pro team in Canada and appeared in a few games.
Gunn signed with the Calgary Surge, played in two games, scored 5 points, and was later cut. The comparison being made is to the players who were in NFL training camps, and there’s at least a reasonable argument that Gunn’s case fits the same bucket.
Mitchell, by contrast, played in the Summer League but never signed a contract, which is why he appears to be in the clear if fifth-year players are ultimately allowed to compete. Missouri had already dealt with the SEC’s stance on the intra-conference transfer rule, and that was part of what pushed Mitchell to re-up with the Tigers.
For now, though, the answer is the same as it’s been all week: we’ll see what happens.
Elsewhere, the day around Mizzou football kept moving. In pregame coverage, Jaden Lewis said, “I’m really excited to see how all the new elements on offense look for Mizzou on Thursday night.
I think they get things rolling offensively. Mizzou 58-13.”
There was also a nod to defensive coordinator Batoon, who has drawn praise for not fitting the usual SEC defensive stereotype. He works with a calmer style, valuing serenity over volume, and there’s at least a thought that could matter if early-season defensive issues stay contained instead of lingering into later Saturdays. At the same time, that’s still just speculation.
The note on Batoon also came with a bigger compliment: maybe the most underrated hire of the Drink era has been Batoon.
And yes, football is back. More coverage is coming, along with more podcasts as the season rolls on.
In Other News...
Drinkwitz Sends Mizzou An Early Warning Before Kansas
Missouris 54-14 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff looked comfortable on the scoreboard, but Eli Drinkwitz still came away with a mixed read on his teams performance. The coach said he was disappointed to miss out on meeting Sheryl Crow, then shifted quickly to the football itself, pointing to a second half that did not match the standard Missouri needs as it heads into a much bigger week.
Drinkwitz said the Tigers need to tighten up the details before Kansas arrives, and he did not soften the list of concerns. Penalties, a lack of pressure on the quarterback and a missed chance at a takeaway all stood out, along with the kind of intensity lapse that can linger if it is ignored. For Missouri, the opener was a reminder that a lopsided win still can leave plenty to fix. [Read more 🡒]
Mizzous New Era Just Raised The Pressure On Eli Drinkwitz
Missouri football has spent much of its modern history trying to outrun old problems, from coaching turnover to facilities that lagged behind the programs ambitions. That backdrop is what makes the current moment feel different. The Tigers now have a $250 million north end zone stadium project on the way, and they backed up the momentum with a dominant win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, a reminder that the program is trying to project both stability and ambition at the same time.
Eli Drinkwitz is right in the middle of it all. His tenure has already included a contract extension, which says plenty about how Missouri views the direction of the program, but it also comes with the natural downside of raised expectations. When a school starts investing like this, the conversation changes fast, and Drinkwitz now has to manage not just wins and losses, but the pressure that comes with a program finally acting like it expects more. [Read more 🡒]
Mizzou's New Offense Just Created A Bigger Question For SEC Play
Missouris season opener at Faurot Field went about as cleanly as it could have in a 54-14 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, with the new-look offense looking comfortable from the start. Transfer quarterback Austin Simmons was efficient and sharp before the break, completing 17 of 19 passes for 252 yards and four touchdowns in the first half before sitting out the second half, while a defense that controlled the line of scrimmage kept Arkansas-Pine Bluff to limited yardage early and gave the Tigers plenty of short fields.
The production was spread around, too, with Donovan Olugbode and Jamal Roberts among the players who got in on the scoring. For Missouri, the opener offered an encouraging first look at how the offense might function, but it also left the more relevant question hanging over the rest of September: what happens when this version of the Tigers has to prove it against SEC defenses that wont yield nearly as easily? [Read more 🡒]