Questions for EVERY SEC team after spring! | Always College Football

0:00Hey sports fans, the ESPN app has all of ESPN all in one place. The ESPN app is your home to thousands of live events, ESPN shows and originals across every ESPN network in service. And now you can check if you already have ESPN and limited as part of your TV package for no additional calls. Visit activate.esPN.com to learn how to access your account or sign up then start streaming in the ESPN app. So all of ESPN all in one place, sign up or activate now. So is the defense good or are they elite? Because that will be huge when determining the ceiling of what the crimson tide can do this upcoming fall. Hello and welcome in. It's always Kellogg's with me. I'm your host Greg McElroy. Look spring is over. The pads are off. If you've been listening to this show for any part of this offseason, you probably already know the big story lines. You know about the quarterback competitions. You know about the portal classes. You know about the coaching changes.

1:01We've covered all of that, right? We know that. But what we have not done is put it all together and take all 16 SEC teams and find just one question from each one. The single biggest thing that's standing between each one of these programs and a great 2026 season. Not a spring recap, not a power ranking. It's a question that if it goes wrong, unravels everything else. And we'll go in alphabetical order like we always do. So we will kick things off with Alabama. But before we do, I encourage all of you to go and subscribe to the podcast if you haven't already. If you want to subscribe to the ESPN College Football YouTube page, that'd be terrific as well. You'll see cut-ups. You'll see full episodes. You'll see stuff that is specific to your team. So you can do all of that. But we will kick things off. Talk at some spring questions here on Always College Football. The Alabama Crimson Tide. The question, can this defense be elite enough to carry the program while the offense figures itself out?

2:03Because we've talked about the Alabama quarterback competition in the show. Like, you'll know where that stands. We know that Keel and Russell had a really big day on A Day. We know that Austin Max kind of battling through something. And Keel and the board is not going to name anyone until fall. But here's the question that nobody is really talking about surrounding the Crimson Tide. What about the other side of the ball? Because we know about Alabama's offense. We know they ranked 125th last year in rushing offense. We know they got beat badly by Indiana. And everyone is focusing on the offense. But no one is focusing enough on the fact that the defense has also had some decent turnover. And David's coordinator, Kane Womack, terrific. He's one of the best in the country. He returns. But the continuity that they have on defense is a legitimate question. And we know that Alabama lost some serious pieces at several levels. And they're replacing them with a mix of transfers and some freshmen that haven't really proven that they have done it at that place together. But the silver lining from the A Day was real. The secondary, I think most of us agree as a chance to be one of the best in the country.

3:08You have some young players that are getting some real repetitions. Feels like the rotation was deep. It felt like the energy was right. And the honest calculus for Alabama in 26 is that the offense, it could have some growing pains. It doesn't matter which quarterback wins the job. You got a brand new offensive line. You got a first year starter at quarterback. You got a receiver room that is still trying to establish the pecking order. And that might not be a unit that can carry you all the way through October. The defense might have to be that unit. And the question coming out of the spring is whether Womack has enough talent and continuity to be able to shoulder that load. Because at the Alabama's defense is elite. We're talking a top 10 unit nationally. This is a 10 win football team. So is the defense good or are they elite? Because that will be huge when determining the ceiling of what the crimson tide can do this upcoming fall. The Arkansas razor backs. The question, can Ryan Silverfield build a winning culture fast enough to keep the players that he has from kind of getting a little uneasy

4:11as the season goes along? Because there's an aspect of this Arkansas situation that probably not getting enough attention, right? If Ryan Silverfield is not just rebuilding a roster. I mean, he's rebuilding kind of the trust. There's a lot of players that were lost to the portal under the previous staff. And the program had a bit of a, I don't want to see toxic roster situation, but there's a lot of new. And this is Silverfield's first opportunity at the P5 level. And beyond the exos and before the depth chart, you have to walk into Fayetteville. And you have to make the players believe that it was going to be different. Right? And here's the thing. The spring game was actually really encouraging on that front. It sounds like the energy was described as genuine. Sounds like the defense of players were competing at a really high level. You hear the names, Steven Souls, who transferred over from Kentucky. Sounds like he was visibly upset when he didn't get a third sack recorded. He just had two, but one of that third one. I mean, that competitiveness, that's a good indicator of culture.

5:12And I think if you listen to Silverfield, they wish they probably had a few more weeks of practice. That's also a culture indicator. It's not like guys are all, man, I'm so glad spring is over. They wanted more. That's big. But here's the risk, right? There is only one portal window now. So if a player for whatever becomes kind of disillusioned between now and at the end of the year, on a team that's projected to win three or four games, well, that can be problematic, right? This locker room's got to hold together, because it could be tough. It's a brutal schedule. And the moment the scoreboard says that things aren't working, that's not good. So the question, I think, for Arkansas in 26, is not necessarily talent. It's about establishing a foundation. It's about creating a culture of resilience. And I'm optimistic that they'll be able to do that. I really am under coach Ryan Silverfield. Let's go next to the Auburn Tigers. The question, can Alex Goulish install this offensive identity fast enough to be competitive in year number one? So this is not about talent necessarily. It's kind of about timing, right? Alex Goulish, he's a really smart offensive mind,

6:15really built something special at South Florida. Byron Brown, his quarterback, we know he's legit. He's operated the system for four straight years. But the spring game didn't show us a whole lot. I mean, Brown was a little underwhelming. The offense is not quite where they need to be from a consistency standpoint. The receivers, they didn't create the consistent separation that we expected them to create. The defense, they looked like they were in a really good spot. And that's normal for the first year of an installation. The problem is that Auburn's schedule, it does not give Goulish a long runway to kind of get things going in the right direction. You got Florida, LSU, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama. And you got five big time defenses. And that'll be challenging. So a six and six season is possible. And we all know what's happened in Auburn the last few years, right? Five and second, five and seven years that have become kind of normal. And people are frustrated. So for whatever reason, it doesn't start really well for Goulish there in SEC play because the offense is still trying to find their identity.

7:17That's going to be a challenge. And they're going to have to be able, we know the scheme works. We know that. That's not a question. That's been established. The question is whether or not it works fast enough to make Auburn immediately competitive while this new era kind of installs itself. So that's the big question coming out of spring for Auburn. The Florida Gators question, can John Summerall and his staff fix the offensive line before September? Or is that asking for too much? Because we've talked about the Florida quarterback competition on the show over the last few weeks and the conversation's still going on. It's unresolved. Now here's the thing. The quarterback question and the offensive line question are actually kind of the same question, right? Because it doesn't really matter which quarterback wins the job. If that quarterback is running for his life behind a line that Summerall himself has called a genuine concern. Then he said directly after the spring game, he said, quote, those guys have to have a great summer or we got no chance end quote. That's what he said.

8:18That's a first year head coach giving you an honest scouting report on his own team. And here's the specific problem that the offensive line's been a little bit of a revolving door of roster construction the last couple years. And Summerall said that he's pretty uncomfortable with the death. So is everybody. That's not unusual. Now he overhauled the coaching staff on that unit. You bring in a veteran offensive line coach to rebuild an offensive line that shouldn't be a spring practice project. Spring is not when you have to show results. It should be a fall camp practice project. You don't need to be where you need to be yet. You need to get there though soon because week three, week four, week five, that's when the results start to show up. You can tell by protection time. You can see it through running lanes. And we all know what things look like for the Florida Gators on their schedule this year. With Georgia and Ole Miss and Oklahoma, this line, they have got to be better than it was under the previous staff because this matter if it's Tremel Jones or Aaron Filo, if they're getting pressured

9:19on nearly half their dropbacks, this will team that will struggle to be super competitive in those games. And if you look at Summerall's track record, it's excellent. It's been real. He's always built on giving his quarterback time to operate. Now, the question is whether he can rebuild the foundation fast enough to allow his system to take hold here in year number one. The Georgia Bulldogs. The big questions can Gunner Stockton make the explosive throws that have at times not really been attempted or does the passing game have a bit of a ceiling on it that would hinder their ability to chase a national championship? Look, we know that Georgia can and will compete for the SEC title. We know they do it almost every year. We know they make the college football playoff almost every year. We know that they're capable of getting to the quarterfinals and then that's where they've lost the last two seasons. But here's the thing about quarter final exits that nobody really wants to talk about. The Gunner Stockton was really, really functional and solid in those games. But sometimes when you have a super dynamic quarterback

10:21on the opposite side, Aalot turned into that chameless last year. You have moments where it's needed to have a quarterback that just takes over. And Gunner Stockton was not able to do that last year. Now, I thought it was really good. And in large part, the defense was disappointing for the dogs against the rebels last year. But I think if you look at it, even Kirby Smart is saying we got to be more explosive offensively. He said a lot of their explosive plays are going to come when it's a bit unscripted whether they're broken plays or quarterback improvised moments or scrambles. As opposed to designed vertical strikes. And they're going to have to have those designed in system, in scheme. That's the blueprint for I think taking the next step and beating those elite level playoff defense. So the question is not whether Georgia can and or will when the SEC, they probably will. When the SEC, they do it almost every year. The question is whether Gunner Stockton can become the guy who makes the throw that beats a team like Oregon or Indiana in the college football playoff.

11:23And the addition of Isaiah Canyon from Georgia Tech is potentially the answer to that on paper. We know he's got length. We know he created big plays time and time again last year. And we know he was targeted a lot throughout their spring game and that Gunner Stockton has already been praising what Canyon might be capable of. But here's what we actually need to see. We need to see Stockton threading the needle on a back shoulder throw to Canyon on a third and a fourth quarter of a college football playoff game with the game on the line. We just see him make that designed throw not the improvised throw. That's the question. Can Gunner Stockton become that guy? I am super optimistic that he can. The Kentucky Wildcats. The question is will Stein's system different enough from what Kentucky has had to actually change the trajectory of this program? Because I think Will Stein's the best. I think he is awesome. Really, really good. Honest challenge though. I mean, Kentucky's had a lot of offensive coordinators that were supposed to fix the offense and it hasn't really worked very consistently. Part of that is because Mark Stoops

12:25they built the program's identity around the defense and ball control and physicality and they won a lot of games because of it. But the offense, there was always a little bit of a ceiling on the offense for Kentucky. So Will Stein now comes over from Oregon with a reputation for being tremendous when it comes to quarterback development. He's never been a head coach but the early signs from spring are really encouraging. Kenny Minchi transfers over from Notre Dame. Sounds like he has a really good feel for the system already and that Stein says that he's already feels like he's been in the office for years. You got some weapons and one in Wipen in particular in Willie Rodriguez at tight end that's really emerging and they're saying we got to feed this guy. So that's the kind of direct and enthusiasm that you hear about a player within the position group that has kind of been a little bit underutilized over the last few years. But the real test is that they have to be able to score. Like that's going to be a necessity. Whether it's against Alabama, Tennessee, LSU, Florida, Mizzou, Oklahoma, South Carolina,

13:26A&M, Louisville. Like this is going to be a big step for Minchi. He's never been a day one starter at this level. We've never seen Rodriguez carry the load and have to shoulder this kind of responsibility in the passing game. But the offense here, I think it's going to be very, very different. I really believe that because this program has been hovering above or just beyond 500, the offense now has a chance to take them to the next level. We know Stein has the credentials. Now they just need the results. The LSU Tigers are up next. And the big question around them is, can Lane Kiffin install a culture fast enough to hold this roster together? Ben, all the pieces get healthy and all come together, right? Well, we've talked about Sam Levitt in particular. We know he's had the Liz Frank injury. We've talked about the offensive line rebuild. Like those are real things. But the question, I think, is more fundamental for LSU entering in 26. Like Lane Kiffin has never really done what he's being asked to do this year.

14:26He's never just taken over a program and immediately they've been expected to compete for championships. That's different. I mean, that is different. Now, he's probably also never had access to the resources that he has now. Because this is a roster that has 39 new portal additions and they try to make it all function in 15 practices is really hard to do it. Because Kiffin, what we know about him at Ole Miss, he was working with a roster that was recruited and developed over the course of time. And yes, they used a lot of transfer portal success to bolster their opportunities every single year. But this entire roster for the most part is new. New offensive line that's never really played together. A starting quarterback who is yet to really practice with the first team. A defense that has some continuity under Blake Baker, but an offense that Kiffin himself called like a bit of an expansion team at the start of the spring. But the encouraging part is that Kiffin has kind of embraced this culture creation. His players at Ole Miss talked about the environment

15:27that he created, kind of the accountability, the competitiveness, the offensive identity that made everyone kind of feel like they were a part of something special. And one of the questions, how fast can that transfer to Baton Rouge? Because we know the LSU has Clemson on September 5th and Clemson's not gonna wait for this culture and this continuity to arrive, right? If the culture is real and Sam Levitt is healthy, then LSU's a genuine cultural ball playoff contender. But if the culture is still kind of being installed there the first week or two of the season, then it could be pretty revealing there in September in Baton Rouge. Up next, Mississippi State. And the question is, is Camario Taylor special? Or is he just really good in a wide open offense? Because Jeff Levitt is now in year number three. And this is the year we kind of need to know, right? Mississippi State had a decent year last year. When 5 and 7th, there was progress made. And the league is now going to nine games. There's a lot of talent all over the place. It's gonna be an uphill treadmill for sure.

16:27But Camario Taylor is the player that everyone inside the program is really, really excited about. I mean, there are guys that are calling him from within the locker room, a guy that could contend for the highest patrophium. That's extreme. But it is interesting that they're saying that internally. And Levitt runs a really exciting wide open offense that can make quarterbacks look really good when the matchups are correct. And the question for Taylor, and really for the program as a whole, is what happens in the hard matchups? What happens when Mississippi State goes and takes on LSU? What happens when you take on Alabama? When the defense on the other side that you're having to go against is totally zoned in on Taylor and might be the best defense the Taylor's ever seen. That's what we got to find out if Taylor is special, and then they're gonna be in a really good spot. And if the system, we know the system's gonna make them look good, right? We know that. But if he can take the system and take it to the next level with his own talent level, then that's a pretty big opportunity. A special quarterback wins those big upset games and a system quarterback

17:29if he doesn't play up to their potential against the top level competition. So Mississippi State needs Taylor to be special this year if they're gonna try to contend. The Missouri Tigers are next. The question, can Austin Simmons give Mizzou the consistent quarterback play it needs? Or does the turnover issue that we saw early in his Ole Miss career follow him to Columbia? Because Eli Drinkwoods, though he made Austin Simmons the official quarterback one on March 19th, right? That's probably the fastest public commitment of any starter of any SEC program this spring outside of an incumbent and tells you something. I mean, Drinkwoods wanted this to be resolved. He wanted the roster to know who the quarterback was going to be so everyone kind of build up around him. But here's the challenge with Simmons. In the six games that he was at Ole Miss last year, he threw four touchdowns against five interceptions. That's not great. And they did see some questionable decision-making there at times early when he was a starter, maybe pressing just a little bit. Now there's a different system,

18:30different offense coordinator, different receivers, and he got hurt in week two. All of that is context, right? But here's what we have to know about the Missouri schedule. He's at Georgia, he got Texas, you're at Oklahoma and those three games, turnovers don't just cost you drives, they cost you the season potentially. He's got a great offense coordinator in Chip Lindsey, came down from Michigan, and they are gonna specifically build an offense around what Simmons does well. One big difference is the fact that Simmons is a lefty, whereas this offense, based on how they cut the field in half, it's predominantly always had righties. So that's a difference in and of itself. The supporting cast is real too. We know a mod hearty at running back is unbelievable. When the end room is really underrated, and we know the drink which is track record, you gotta feel like he's gonna maximize the talent. A maximize in the talent requires a quarterback that doesn't make pivotal mistakes by putting too much trust and too much faith in his arm. And that's the question Simmons has to answer. And Missouri has to answer it too without a spring game.

19:31So we're gonna be going in, kind of knowing what they have in fall, but taking care of the football and game management will be important for Austin Simmons this season. The Ole Miss Rebels are next. And the question is, can Pete Golding build a defense that's good enough to continue to protect a program that just made it one game away from the national championship because we know the offense gonna be just fine? Like, let me just say this about Ole Miss. And the thing that just keeps getting buried, I mean, everyone keeps talking about the, oh well, no Kiff and no Kiff, like that narrative is so gone, right? The offense is not the question. The trade-out channelist is gonna be successful through for nearly 4,000 yards last year. He was in the top eight in the highest trophy voting. There are new offensive coordinator, John David Baker. He comes down, knows the system, channels knows the system. Their portal class was outstanding. I'm just not worried about their offense. The big question is really on the deep it's the side of the ball. You lose Prince Wellum on Miellen. He's now at LSU. You have five new additions along the deep it's of line. I really actually like their deep it's of line additions. I didn't think they had a ton of depth last year

20:31in the front seven. Hopefully they're deeper now. And part of the uncomfortable truth last year is they really weren't great last year. They ranked outside the top 30, but they had some holes in the secondary. They had some holes in the front and in times. They had some defenders that had to play 80 plus snaps in the game because they weren't comfortable substituting because their backups and their starters there was a pretty decent size gap there. The reason why they made the fiestibles because Chambles was unstoppable there for a little while. But to take that next step to beat the teams yet to beat in January, that defense has to be outstanding as well. And Golding has built his reputation as a defense coordinator. This is his chance to prove that reputation translates to running the whole operations. Because if the defense can somehow find them or maybe in the top 20, top 25, and Golding is gonna have this team in contention to maybe win an Asher Championship. But if the defense kind of stays where it's at or maybe regresses in some spots, that could be really different. But they're gonna be a really fun offensive team.

21:32But the defense is the depth better than what it was a year ago. The Oklahoma Sooners are up next in the question. Is John Matier healthy enough and has he fixed enough to be the quarterback that this offense needs for them to collectively be elite? Now, we've talked about this on the show for a while. Now, Matier's thumb injury in week four last year, fundamentally altered how things happened for Oklahoma. I mean, his arm slot kind of dropped, his accuracy suffered. He, as a result, kind of led to him making some so, so decisions. And here's what's new. If you look at the spring game, it's probably the most encouraging public evidence yet that Matier has been working very, very hard on his mechanics this off-season. The numbers were pretty good, 12 and 19 for 192 and a touchdown and zero turnovers. The release looked pretty clean. Even Bob Stoops, the Hall of Famer, went to practice and kind of endorsed what he saw that the offensive line,

22:32which returns mostly intact, they're gonna really protect Matier, probably better than he's ever been protected before. You have some really good personnel coming in at wide receiver. There's a lot of guys excited about this wide receiver group. I remember the name Mackenzie Elaine, the lot of buzz about him. And here's what I keep coming back to. If you look at the three healthy games that Matier played in 25, he was outstanding. You look at what he did the year before at Washington State. He was really, really good. He's capable of being one of the best quarterbacks in college football when everything's going right. So the question's never been about town. The question is whether or not he can somehow avoid trying to do too much. The question is whether he's maybe adjusted his mechanics just a little bit, knowing that Thumb was hurt for part of last season and now he can maybe be a little better on some of the deep balls, be a little more accurate, maybe not try to do too much. You gotta see that interception rate drop down significantly because it was just under 3% last year. That's not gonna be good enough. If the answer to all those questions is yes,

23:33then the spring game suggests it might be by the way. Well, Oklahoma's not just a 10-win team, it's a college football playoff national championship threat. So a lot of buzz, but it all centers around Matier. They're in Norman, Oklahoma. The South Carolina game cocks, the big question, does Kendall Briles have enough time to rebuild the Norse cellars confidence and is that fixable before things get going in September? And that's the question that kind of keeps me up right now about South Carolina because they have talent, the schemes good, the confidence could be important. Because the Norse cellars, he entered 25 as a real Heisman trophy candidate and then he took 42 sex. He didn't have a ton of great performances in those first three quarters of the season. They decided to fire the offensive coordinator and he kind of watched season that you thought was gonna be man to break through. It just never really got going. Well, now he has Kendall Briles. This is his third different offensive coordinator in three years and his system is really built

24:36for the Norse cellars. I mean, Briles wants to run it up. He wants to utilize some quarterback run. He wants to create some space with RPO. He wants to utilize play action. All of that stuff really fits what the Norse cellars does well. And if you listen to Shane Beamer, he has really pleased with the progress that's been made by the Norse cellars. And he also really talked about how important it was for the relationship between Briles and sellers to continue to be mended, to be long, strong and to have a really good understanding of how each other think. But here's what I'm curious about. I need to see sellers in a tight game in September with the game on the line make that throw. Not the improvised scramble. I want to see him stand in there and throw because that's kind of what disappeared at times in 2025. That willingness to just trust himself with the ball in his hands, stay in the structure of the offense. And if Ken and Briles has rebuilt that, if sellers could come out those first couple of weeks

25:39and play confident and free, is a dangerous team. But if there's a little bit of hesitation in there and then the game starts to speed up for him, then it could be another up and down season offensively for the South Carolina game box. We'll go next to the Tennessee volunteers. And the big question surrounding Tennessee is can Jim Knowles build an elite defense in year number one or does his system take a year or two to really fully take hold? Because we've talked about the quarterback competition at Tennessee between Brandon and McIntyre. I mean, you know the story by this point, right? But here's the question. It actually determines whether Tennessee is a college football playoff team or a seven-win team. And it's Jim Knowles. The Knowles left Penn State where he built one of the better defenses in the country over the last couple years, really, Dayton, back to his time at Ohio State, right? Now he's come to Knoxville. He brought some familiarity with him, brought a few of his own players. And the defense is clearly more polished than what we anticipated here coming into the season.

26:39The secondary was praised throughout spring. They are really excited about the defense that Knowles is installing. And if you look at Ohio State, Knowles's first defense ranked 10th nationally. At Penn State, his first defense ranked 6th nationally. So his track record says year one can be elite. But Tennessee's defense was a bit of a mess last year. Not just personnel-wise, but kind of fundamentally, schematically. Knowles is not just installing a new scheme. He's kind of replacing habits and some of the communication and some of the technique that the unit lacked at times last year. And sometimes that's a little harder than kind of inheriting a clean slate. So the question for Tennessee, is whether Knowles can compress what might, in some cases, take a couple of years into one year. When the defense can be good enough in year one to carry a young quarterback through some of those difficult weeks. Because if Knowles is elite in year one, the Tennessee is a team that could win 8, 9, 10 games. And even though they're projected total right now is seven and a half.

27:40But if it takes a couple of years, then you're looking seven-eight. So the defense is really the key for the volunteers heading into this season. The Texas Longhorns are up next. And the big question for them is pretty obvious. Does the offensive line hold up against Ohio State early in the season? And if it doesn't, does the whole season kind of unravel and unravel to the point in which they maybe are on the edge of the playoffs? But no quarterback in the SEC faced more pressures last year than Archmantic. Think about that. Arguably the best quarterback in the conference, on arguing with the best team with the most resources. And he was getting hit like crazy in the first five, six, seven games in the season. And Steve Sarkies had fixed in the offensive line. Was the number one priority this off scene. So they bring in some transfers. They got some encouraging spring reports on pass pro and depth. We know that Cam Coleman being a Texas is big out on the outside. And the chemistry that could be built up there. So the supporting cast and the weaponry

28:41will be the best that Manning has ever had. But here's what defines everything. It's week two, Ohio State, and Austin. This is big, a relentless defense, a well-coached defense, coming at Archmantic with a rebuilt offensive line. It made it at that foot procedure this off season and was a little limited and Texas didn't hold a spring game. So we don't really have a public evaluation of the live under pressure that we saw since the bowl game. Which means the first real answer for us is the offensive line? Are they going to be in prime time game shape, going against the national championship contender in the first two weeks of season? Because if that line holds and Manning has a clean pocket against Ohio State, this Texas team is arguably the most dangerous team in the country. But if the line struggles and Manning gets hit 10 times against the buck guys, well, the narrative surrounding the offense becomes kind of much of the same. And that could change the entire shape of the season. So the old line is of the utmost importance for the long horns this off season.

29:43The Texas A&M Aggies, the big question, can Marcel Reed eliminate the turnover problems in big games? Or is that just kind of who he is? Because we've covered this A&M offensive line. We've covered how this offense now has a new coordinator. And we know that the offensive line showed better than most people expected on the 18th. It says it sounds like things are above average in the spring game. That's progress, that's big. But the question that might keep Mike Elko up at night is Marcel Reed. Because look, he was 11 and 0 in those first 11 games. He was at one point in the Heisman conversation. And then an A&M's last couple of games against Texas and Miami read through four picks and zero touchdowns. He had 10 turnovers in the five biggest games of the season. And that is the number that defines the question. Because we know Reed's dynamic. He's dual threat. He makes him really difficult to scheme against. And the spring game showed that he's sharp. He's connected multiple times with Craver and new receiver Isaiah Horton. Looks like a legitimate big body option

30:43that can go and get it out of the year. But the real question is whether, it's not really whether Reed can be good. We know he can be good. The question is whether, can he be good when the game is on the line? When the defense knows that he is going to be dropped back and needing to have a pass when the pressure is real. Because in 2025, when those moments arrived, he made some occasional mistakes. For you to schedule, add LSU, add Alabama, add Oklahoma, add Missouri, Texas is a tough schedule. And Reed has the answer. If he's the guy and makes the right decision, then TANM will be in the playoff again. If he doesn't, then they're kind of right back in the talented but frustrating category that is to find the program for the better part of a decade. Finally, the Vanderbilt Commodore. The question, can Clark Lee keep this thing going without Diego Pavia and does Jared Curtis arrive fast enough to make 2026 matter? Like this is a program that's at a bit of a crossroads, right? I mean, Vanderbilt is, they're a real team now.

31:45I mean, they are, they are a big time. They've won 17 games over the last two seasons. And Diego Pavia was kind of the engine of it all and now Pavia's gone. And Clark Lee was pretty clear about it. His team's not gonna go about it trying to replace Diego Pavia. That's good instinct. I mean, I think most people know that. You can't replace that. You have to build something new. And here's what we've seen. Jared Curtis is the highest rated recruit in Vanderbilt program history. And he's got a real, real weapon for an arm. I mean, this guy can launch deep balls and did it in the first spring and appearance that people go into social media immediately. But there are also a few rush throws. I mean, really hunted the big play as opposed to, all right, getting through the progression, taking the check down. He went five of 13 for 89 yards and they rotated all over the place. And those are freshmen. Those are expected numbers. I mean, it's these freshmen in the SEC, they're gonna have some ups and downs. That here's the risk for Vandy in 26th. The program has built something real and has a real chance to build on it. But if Curtis is still trying to find himself by October

32:46and if the offense is inconsistent while the defense carries the load, then Vanderbilt could easily drop into the 5, 6, 7 win range down from 10 a year ago and losing some of that momentum kind of matters. Not just for this upcoming season, but for recruiting for the NIL conversation for everything that Lee has built successfully over the last few years. So Jared Curtis, he's got to grow up really fast, right? This is a freshman quarterback and he's probably got to grow up faster than most any freshman quarterback and recent SEC memory. Not because the program demands it but because the moment demands it, right? Like he's got to be able to continue to build on what's been already built. And if he can, Vanderbilt's got chance to play the spoiler again. A couple of hot takes before we get out of here, right? I think Tennessee's gonna be pretty good. I think we're looking at a team that's gonna win eight games. I really do. I think Noel's defense is good. I think the spring game showed me some progress there. I think the quarterback in this style of offense is gonna be just fine. Win total right now about 7.5. I kind of lean towards the over right now for Tennessee. I think they're being slipped on a little bit as well.

33:49Hot take too. Ole Miss is probably one of the more complete teams in the SEC and no one's really talking about them. We have a Heisman Trophy contender in Trinidad Chameless. The portal class was really, really good. And I think the defense collectively, I think they're gonna be deeper than they were a year ago. Hot take number three. I'm still leaning Georgia in the SEC right now. It's early. It's early that the defense could be the best in the conference. I think you have a legitimate deep threat in Isaiah Canyon that gives Stockton a real vertical threat. Last year they were very catch and run heavy team. Now you really have that vertical threat. And I think Georgia's still right now in the preseason is the team to beat in the league right now. Hot take number four. The NM story in 2026 is not gonna be about anything other than Marcel Reed taking that next step. I mean, that's the step. Because I think the align will be fine. The defense will be fine. They'll be extremely well coached. It's all about them finding that quarterback that can take that step and win those games when they gotta have it against top-tier competition.

34:49Where games are often lost, he's gotta be able to make that play and not make the critical mistake. And then hot take number five. Meg Lane Kiffin's first season at LSU is gonna be better than some people think, but I'm not sure they're quite national championships you've attended just yet. I mean, there's just so much new. The talent is there. There's no doubt. I just think there's a lot of new. So I could see a nine win season where everyone's like, oh, what the heck? The first year, nine wins is pretty dang impressive. So we'll see what happens. I'm a believer in LSU, but I got to find out more before I'm going to insert them into the college football playoff and insert them into the SEC championship conversation. That'll do it. We did all 16. Every single question is a little different. Every answer might change what a program's trajectory looks like and that's what makes the league what it is. The SEC does not give you a soft landing. It gives you a schedule. It gives you a clock. It gives you a verdict. That's it. And we'll have ours by December.

35:50Now, I'm Greg Mackle. We're glad to have you with us as always. Go ahead, subscribe to the podcast. Wherever you get the podcast, you can also subscribe to the ESPN College Football YouTube page. And we always appreciate your support by following us on our social media page at Always CFB. So for all of us here at Always College Football from Mark Jake, Jack, the other Jack, intern Sam, I'm Greg. We hope you have an amazing day. Remember, it's always college football. Hey guys, it's Greg Mackle Roy. Thanks for watching Always College Football. Make sure you like, rate, and subscribe to ESPN's YouTube channel and wherever you listen to your podcast.