The SEC enters the 2026-27 college football season with no shortage of pressure points, and the biggest ones all seem to circle back to the same theme: who can answer the quarterback questions, and who can handle the spotlight once the season starts.
At Alabama, Kalen DeBoer is staring down another quarterback decision after Ty Simpson left for the NFL as a 1st round pick. The Crimson Tide still haven’t named a starter, and the timing of that call could matter as much as the choice itself.
Austin Mack has the edge of having stepped in for Simpson in the Rose Bowl, and he flashed in limited action. Keelon Russell, the 5-star DeBoer brought in during his first recruiting cycle, made his own case with a strong Spring Game.
Alabama could settle the job early in the summer, later in the summer, or even begin the season using both. However it plays out, the College Football Playoff hopes in Tuscaloosa are tied to that room.
Tennessee is in a similar spot, only with a little more urgency attached. Josh Heupel has to replace Joey Aguilar, and unlike last year, he’s working with more runway after Nico Iamaleava’s departure came at the end of the spring.
Even so, the pressure is heavier after a disappointing season. Redshirt freshman George MacIntrye and true freshman Faizon Brandon are the names at the front of the race, while Colorado transfer Ryan Staub brings experience without quite pushing himself into favorite status.
If one of the young quarterbacks hits, Tennessee could push into Playoff contention. If not, Heupel’s seat only gets hotter.
Ole Miss is moving into a different kind of transition. The Lane Kiffin era is over, and Pete Golding now has to prove he can keep the Rebels rolling without the shadow of his predecessor hanging over everything.
Golding did a strong job in the College Football Playoff, but Kiffin’s departure and the roster he built were always part of the larger story. A lot of the important pieces are back, including the QB-RB pairing of Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy, both of whom enter the year with Heisman potential.
Golding also added major defensive transfers in Luke Ferrelli, Jay Crawford, and Joenel Aguero. The real test is whether he can sustain the momentum in his first full season as head coach.
Vanderbilt faces its own post-star transition after Diego Pavia helped drive one of the biggest stories in college football over the past two seasons. Clark Lea now has to replace the undersized quarterback with the huge personality, and he’s doing it with the nation’s top ranked quarterback recruit, Jared Curtis.
The true freshman is set to start, and the expectations come bundled with his 5-star status and the idea of being a hometown hero. Still, the bigger question may be whether the rest of the roster can keep doing what made Vanderbilt so tough to deal with: controlling the line of scrimmage.
If that part holds, the Commodores may not need Pavia’s exact brand of magic to stay on track.
Then there’s LSU, where Lane Kiffin’s move from Ole Miss was the offseason’s defining storyline. He left while the Rebels were headed to the College Football Playoff because he believed LSU offered a better path to championships.
The school backed that belief with real investment, giving him the room to spend on retention, staff, recruiting, and the transfer portal. In most places, that would come with patience.
At LSU, the expectation is different. The Brian Kelly era fell short, the fan base wants results now, and Kiffin will be judged from every angle - LSU supporters, Ole Miss supporters, and the sport at large.
A Playoff run is the standard if he wants to quiet the noise.
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Why Ole Miss Fans Are Suddenly Watching This Transfer Closely
Johntay Cook II arrives in Oxford with the kind of rsum that makes a coaching staff pay attention and a fan base lean in. After stops at Texas, Washington and Syracuse, the wide receiver is expected to play a major role in Ole Miss 2026 offense, giving John David Baker another experienced option to work with as the Rebels continue shaping their passing game.
Cooks next step is as much about fit as it is about talent. Ole Miss has plenty of room for a receiver to carve out a bigger role, and Cook is trying to build early chemistry with quarterback Trinidad Chambliss while proving he can be more than just another transfer in the room. For a player with NFL ambitions, the opportunity is there, but so is the pressure to turn flashes into something more consistent. [Read more 🡒]
Pete Golding Faces Five Ole Miss Questions He Cant Dodge
Pete Golding heads into his first season as Ole Miss coach with plenty of momentum after a 2025 run that put the Rebels back in the national conversation, and the expectations around Oxford are already high. The opener against Louisville will offer an early measuring stick, but the bigger picture is even more interesting: Ole Miss is projected to start in the top 15, and it brings back two of the biggest names in the SEC in quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy.
The questions Golding will have to navigate are the kind that come with staying near the top. John David Baker is stepping in as offensive coordinator after Charlie Weis Jr. left for LSU, the defense still needs to show real progress after its issues a year ago, and the schedule will soon bring Lane Kiffin back to Oxford with LSU on Sept. 19. Golding will get plenty of chances to address those storylines, but the most revealing answers may not come until the season starts to force his hand. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss May Have One Edge That Could Save This Season
Pete Golding inherits an Ole Miss program that has been through a lot of turnover, but not every change has been a clean break. After Lane Kiffins departure, Golding moved quickly to steady the room, bringing in 10 new staff members while also keeping some important pieces in place. Bryan Browns promotion to defensive coordinator and John David Bakers return to a familiar offensive role give the Rebels at least a little institutional memory as they get ready for an SEC schedule that will punish any team still trying to find itself.
For Ole Miss, the overlooked advantage may not be a headline-grabbing hire at all. Golding already knows the roster, the program and what worked and what did not under Kiffin, and that kind of continuity can matter when the margin for error is so thin. The Rebels still have plenty to sort out, but in a league that exposes uncertainty fast, having coaches who understand the place from the inside could be the edge that keeps the season from sliding off course. [Read more 🡒]