SEC
TOP 25

Gridiron Gumbo

Tag: Auburn Tigers

  • The 200 Club Meets the Midway: Tennessee’s 31-Game Ground Streak Walks Into a Run Defense Nobody Has Cracked

    The 200 Club Meets the Midway: Tennessee’s 31-Game Ground Streak Walks Into a Run Defense Nobody Has Cracked

    Under Josh Heupel, Tennessee is 37-2 when it runs for 200 yards and has won 31 straight of those games. South Carolina hasn’t let anybody run for even 136 this season. Add a 2-6 Vols record in Columbia since 2008, a point spread that flipped, and the State Fair across the street.

    By T-Rohn, Gridiron Gumbo · Posted Oct. 24, 2026

    CONFIRMED: No. 11 Tennessee (6-1, 3-1 SEC) at South Carolina (3-3, 1-3), 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday on ESPN; both teams’ rushing and run-defense numbers; Tennessee’s No. 11 ranking and SEC-best scoring defense; the DraftKings spread, total and moneylines in “The Line Flipped,” as of 1:25 p.m. CT Saturday, Oct. 24, with the spread also matching VegasInsider’s DraftKings column; Tennessee as the opening favorite at -2.5 (DraftKings favorite at open). Official school facts, each credited to the school’s own notes, release or site: Tennessee’s 37-2 record and 31 straight wins when it runs for 200, its Columbia record, series history and 2022 details (Tennessee’s game notes); the Gamecocks’ record under Beamer when they rush for 200 or more yards (13-3), their four rushing touchdowns allowed, the Sellers and Fuller yards per carry, and the 2022 yardage (South Carolina’s release); and the State Fair dates, game-day parking, Elvis listing, Pegasus ride and new food (the fair’s own announcement). Game-by-game rushing totals are Gridiron Gumbo math from ESPN box scores. REPORTED: Sports Illustrated’s Vols site carrying the same 37-2 and 31-straight numbers; the Army, Air Force and Navy comparison (Tennessee’s notes only); Heupel’s quote (Sports Illustrated); and Beamer’s quotes (247Sports, with the Knowles quote also carried by On3), each a media report credited by outlet in the text. Sources are listed at the end.

    TAKE (joke):Down in Cajun country, a man who makes a good roux all his life doesn’t change it for nobody. You stir it till it’s the color of an old penny and you don’t apologize. Josh Heupel’s Tennessee has a roux like that. It’s 200 rushing yards.

    Tennessee has had 39 games of 200 or more rushing yards under Heupel and is 37-2 in them, and the Vols have won the last 31 in a row.1 Sports Illustrated’s Vols site reported the same numbers this week.2 REPORTED (Tennessee’s notes only): Army, Air Force and Navy are the only teams to reach 200 rushing yards in more games since 2021.1

    TAKE (joke):The Vols don’t just run the ball. They run it like a service academy with an SEC recruiting budget.

    Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Central, that recipe goes into a kitchen where nobody has been able to cook so far. No opponent has run for more than 135 yards on South Carolina this season.

    TAKE (joke):Knoxville to Columbia is one mountain range, one road crew and about nine gas stations that each swear they’ve got the best boiled peanuts. The Vols have made the drive plenty of times. The 200-yard streak is the only thing that has ever shown up on schedule.

    The Wall in Columbia

    South Carolina’s run defense allows 103.7 yards a game, third-best in the SEC and 25th in FBS.3, 4 That’s the season average. The game-by-game numbers are wilder.

    Gridiron Gumbo went through ESPN’s box scores for all six Gamecock games.5 Here’s what opponents ran for:

    | Opponent | Rushing yards vs. South Carolina |

    | — | — |

    | Kent State | 100 |

    | Towson | 21 |

    | Mississippi State | 135 |

    | at Alabama | 124 |

    | Kentucky | 122 |

    | at Florida | 120 |

    Nobody has reached 136. The closest was Mississippi State at 135, and in four SEC games South Carolina has allowed 125.3 rushing yards a game. Tennessee’s magic number is 200.

    TAKE (joke):That’s not a run defense. That’s a crawfish trap. Plenty of things swim in. Nothing swims out with 200.

    The Gamecocks have allowed just four rushing touchdowns all season, all in SEC play, tied with Texas for second-fewest in the SEC.4 Heupel noticed. “They’ve done a really good job against the run game this year,” he said on the Mike Keith Show, crediting the Gamecocks’ safeties for playing close to the box and tackling well.2

    TAKE (joke):Mississippi State got to 135 and missed the line by one yard. That’s the football version of pulling into the fais do-do just as the band plays the last song.

    Tennessee’s Roux Has Been Thinner in SEC Play

    Tennessee averages 217.1 rushing yards a game, second in the SEC behind South Carolina’s 232.3.3, 1, 4 The split looks different in league play: Furman, Georgia Tech and Kennesaw State account for 896 of Tennessee’s 1,520 rushing yards this season, by Gridiron Gumbo’s count from ESPN box scores.5

    | Tennessee game | Rushing yards |

    | — | — |

    | Furman | 329 |

    | at Georgia Tech | 299 |

    | Kennesaw State | 268 |

    | Texas | 70 |

    | Auburn | 237 |

    | at Arkansas | 167 |

    | Alabama | 150 |

    Source: ESPN box scores (Gridiron Gumbo tally).

    In four SEC games, Tennessee has hit 200 exactly once, against Auburn. The Vols are averaging 156.0 rushing yards a game in league play. They are 3-0 in SEC games when they hit 150 or better and lost the only one when they didn’t, a 20-17 loss to then-No. 1 Texas when they ran for 70.

    TAKE (joke):Furman, Georgia Tech and Kennesaw State were the buffet. SEC play is a plate lunch: one scoop, no seconds, and somebody’s already eyeing your roll.

    That lines up with the bigger history. Tennessee’s notes say Heupel’s Vols are 44-7 when they run for 150-plus and 1-7 when they’re held under 100.1 So the streak is about 200, but 150 has been the dividing line in Tennessee’s results.

    TAKE (joke):Mawmaw always said if you can’t find andouille, smoked sausage will do. If Tennessee can’t find 200 in Columbia, 150 and a whole lot of defense is the substitute.

    The Vols’ leading rusher is senior DeSean Bishop. He has 837 yards and 10 rushing touchdowns, and Tennessee’s notes say 517 of those yards came in the second half, the most in the country.1 He ran 32 times for 159 yards and two touchdowns against Alabama last week.1 Bishop is also 23 yards from passing Montario Hardesty (2,391) for 10th on Tennessee’s career rushing list.1 Those yards would come against a defense that has allowed no opponent more than 135 rushing yards this season.

    TAKE (joke):Twenty-three yards is two first downs and one long argument with the fella holding the chains. Somewhere in Knoxville, a man has already done that math on a napkin.

    The Other Half of the Gumbo

    The flip side matters just as much. South Carolina has the SEC’s top rushing offense at 232.3 yards a game.3, 1, 4 LaNorris Sellers leads the SEC at 6.1 yards a carry and Matt Fuller ranks third at 6.0.4 And Tennessee’s run defense allows about 121 yards a game, 42nd in FBS.3, 1 The Vols’ defense also leads FBS with 30 sacks and has allowed the fewest points in the SEC (14.7 a game).6, 1

    TAKE (joke):Two kitchens, one stove. Somebody’s about to get a spoon across the knuckles, and Mawmaw’s not taking sides.

    But South Carolina’s own 200-yard magic has been a little less magic this year. The Gamecocks are 13-3 under Shane Beamer when they run for 200.4 They’ve done it four times this season.4 By Gridiron Gumbo’s count from ESPN box scores, those four were 278 yards against Kent State and more than 400 against Towson, both wins, then 216 in a 49-18 loss at Alabama and 232 in a 35-34 overtime loss to Kentucky.5 If that 13-3 includes this season, two of the three losses came on Sept. 26 and Oct. 3.

    TAKE (joke):South Carolina’s ground game is like a great Cajun two-step. Beautiful to watch, and it’ll still get you stepped on if the other fella’s got better shoes.

    Tennessee’s Columbia Problem

    Tennessee has won four of the last five meetings, though the NCAA vacated the 2019 and 2020 wins.1, 7 Columbia is a different story.

    TAKE (joke):Winning four of five meetings and still dreading one address is like winning every card game at the family reunion and still getting the folding chair by the bathroom door.

    Tennessee has gone 2-6 on its last eight visits to Williams-Brice Stadium,1 and South Carolina’s release says the same thing from the other side: the Gamecocks have won six of eight at home in the series, starting with a 27-6 win on Nov. 1, 2008.4 UT’s series list shows three of those six losses came by exactly three points: 38-35 in 2012, 24-21 in 2016 and 27-24 in 2018.1 One of Tennessee’s two wins in that stretch, 31-27 in 2020, is among the wins the NCAA later vacated.1

    TAKE (joke):Three losses by exactly three points. At some point that’s not bad luck, that’s a standing reservation.

    Then there’s the last visit. On Nov. 19, 2022, unranked South Carolina beat No. 5 Tennessee 63-38.1, 4 South Carolina’s release says the Gamecocks piled up 606 yards, and Spencer Rattler went 30-of-37 for 438 yards and six touchdowns.4 Tennessee’s notes call it the highest-scoring game in series history, at 101 points.1

    TAKE (joke):A hundred and one points in one night. Somewhere a scoreboard operator is still asking about overtime pay.

    Beamer said he barely brought it up this week. He told reporters Tuesday that Peyton Williams was the only one he thought was still around from that night, which he called “magical.”8 The more useful lesson, he said, is how well South Carolina played in all three phases, and he stressed that this week’s opponent is a completely different Tennessee team.

    Here’s one more wrinkle from UT’s notes. The last five Tennessee games in Columbia all kicked off at night. Saturday’s game is the first daytime kickoff between these two at Williams-Brice since Oct. 27, 2012. Under Heupel, Tennessee is 6-3 in road games played during the day and 7-8 in road games at night.1

    TAKE (joke):So Tennessee finally gets to see Williams-Brice in daylight. Whether that’s good news depends on whether you think the ghosts only come out after dark.

    The Line Flipped

    ESPN’s odds board flags Tennessee as DraftKings’ favorite at the open, and ESPN’s preview and VegasInsider’s opening-line column both list Tennessee -2.5.3, 9, 10 As of 1:25 p.m. CT Saturday, Oct. 24, DraftKings listed South Carolina -2.5 (-110) and Tennessee +2.5 (-110) on the spread, a game total of 50.5 (over -110, under -110), and moneylines of South Carolina -135 and Tennessee +114, per ESPN’s odds board.9 VegasInsider’s DraftKings column shows the same spread.10

    Lines can change before kickoff. These figures are a snapshot for context, not advice, and Gridiron Gumbo is not recommending a side or a bet. How Gridiron Gumbo handles betting content: https://gridirongumbo.com/picks-disclaimer/

    21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.

    That is a five-point swing from the open, toward a 3-3 team over a ranked 6-1 team. We don’t know what moved the number. South Carolina had an open date after its 38-19 win at Florida on Oct. 10, and Saturday is Tennessee’s eighth straight week with a game.1 The Vols are off on Halloween.

    Beamer was asked about that grind and didn’t oversell it. “Maybe you don’t want to stop,” he said of a team playing well, adding that he thinks the effect of a bye week gets blown out of proportion.8

    TAKE (joke):Rested team versus hot team. In my family, that’s the same fight as the cousin who slept in versus the cousin who’s been up since 4 a.m. stirring the pot. The one who slept in looks better. The one who’s been stirring knows where the spoon is.

    The Coach He Can’t Shake

    Tennessee’s new defensive coordinator, Jim Knowles, has been a recurring problem for Beamer, and Beamer said so himself at his Tuesday press conference. “I can’t get away from him,” he said.8, 11

    As Beamer told it, Knowles was Duke’s defensive coordinator while Beamer was an assistant at Virginia Tech, then Oklahoma State’s while Beamer was at Oklahoma, so they faced each other every year at both stops. He called Knowles “a nightmare” to prepare for. Now Beamer is at South Carolina, Knowles is at Tennessee, and they meet again.

    And Then There’s the Fair

    None of this happens in a quiet parking lot. The South Carolina State Fair runs Oct. 15-25 right across the street from Williams-Brice.12, 13 The fair’s own schedule lists Saturday as game day. It also lists “Matt Stone as Elvis” for Oct. 24 on the new Pepsi Plaza stage.12

    TAKE (joke):Elvis on the fair bill the same day as the game means plenty of folks in Columbia are going to be all shook up, and half of them will be holding something deep-fried.

    Fair parking jumps from $10 to $20 a car on game day only.12 South Carolina’s fan guide says tailgating isn’t allowed in the fair lots, and all of the athletics department’s parking is sold out.13 It’s the 21st straight sellout at Williams-Brice.4

    Beamer told fans to “get here early” because traffic with the fair across the street is going to be a challenge.8

    TAKE (joke):Columbia traffic on a fair-and-football Saturday works like a roux. Nothing moves fast, everybody’s stirring, and one wrong turn makes the whole thing stick.

    One of the fair’s new rides is called Pegasus, and new fair food this year includes a Reese’s Donut Burger.12

    TAKE (joke):Pegasus: spins, flips and no idea where you’ll land. Cher, that’s not a carnival ride. That’s a Tennessee trip to Columbia since 2008.

    TAKE (joke):The Reese’s Donut Burger is the only thing near Williams-Brice with no trouble getting past the line of scrimmage, and neither defense is going to stop it.

    The Bottom Line

    The SEC’s top two rushing offenses meet on a day the fairgrounds next door will be serving a donut burger. One team needs 200 rushing yards to keep a 31-game streak alive, and it plays a defense that hasn’t let anybody get to 136. The other team wants 200 too, and it hasn’t always worked out lately.

    TAKE (joke):Two of the SEC’s best running teams, one fairground and zero patience. Back home in Cajun country we call that a family reunion.

    Both teams know the number they want. Kickoff is 2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.

    Sources

    1. Tennessee Athletics, Game 8 notes at South Carolina (39 200-yard games, 37-2, 31 straight; service-academy note; 150+/under-100 splits; day/night road splits; eighth straight week; series list and Columbia record; 2022 game and 101 points; 2019 and 2020 wins vacated by the NCAA (the 2020 win at Columbia is one of them); first day kickoff since Oct. 27, 2012; Bishop second-half yards and career list; 30 sacks; MacIntyre starts): https://utsports.com/documents/download/2026/10/19/G8_UT_Notes_SC.pdf ↩ Back to story
    2. Charles Mays, Sports Illustrated (Vols), “Josh Heupel previews No. 11 Tennessee at South Carolina on the Mike Keith Show,” Oct. 2026 (Heupel quote; 37-2 and 31 straight; 30 sacks): https://www.si.com/college/tennessee/football/josh-heupel-previews-no-11-tennessee-at-south-carolina-on-the-mike-keith-show-01m5k86sry3t ↩ Back to story
    3. ESPN (Data Skrive), “No. 11 Tennessee squares off against South Carolina in SEC play,” game preview (records, kickoff, ESPN, opening line Tennessee by 2.5, team rushing/defense stats and FBS ranks): https://www.espn.com/college-football/game//gameId/401856731/tennessee-south-carolina and https://www.espn.com/college-football/preview//gameId/401856731 ↩ Back to story
    4. South Carolina Athletics, “South Carolina Welcomes No. 11/11 Tennessee Saturday Afternoon,” Oct. 23, 2026 (6-of-8 at home since 2008; 2022 63-38 details; 21st straight sellout; State Fair across the street; SEC-leading 232.3 rush offense; No. 3 SEC rush defense; four rushing TDs allowed; Sellers and Fuller yards per carry; 13-3 under Beamer with 200+; four 200-yard games this season; Kent State/Towson/Alabama/Kentucky rushing totals): https://gamecocksonline.com/news/2026/10/23/south-carolina-welcomes-no-11-11-tennessee-saturday-afternoon/ ↩ Back to story
    5. ESPN box scores used for the Gridiron Gumbo rushing tally — South Carolina: Kent State https://www.espn.com/college-football/game//gameId/401856665 ; Towson https://www.espn.com/college-football/game//gameId/401856680 ; Mississippi State https://www.espn.com/college-football/game//gameId/401856691 ; at Alabama https://www.espn.com/college-football/game//gameId/401856696 ; Kentucky https://www.espn.com/college-football/game//gameId/401856709 ; at Florida https://www.espn.com/college-football/game//gameId/401856714 . Tennessee: Furman https://www.espn.com/college-football/game//gameId/401856666 ; at Georgia Tech https://www.espn.com/college-football/game//gameId/401856681 ; Kennesaw State https://www.espn.com/college-football/game//gameId/401856692 ; Texas https://www.espn.com/college-football/game//gameId/401856704 ; Auburn https://www.espn.com/college-football/game//gameId/401856710 ; at Arkansas https://www.espn.com/college-football/game//gameId/401856713 ; Alabama https://www.espn.com/college-football/game/_/gameId/401856723 ↩ Back to story
    6. Maura Carey, Associated Press (via Yahoo Sports), “SEC Week 8: No. 7 Ole Miss heads to No. 19 Texas…,” Oct. 23, 2026 (No. 11 Tennessee; Tennessee fewest points allowed, 14.7): https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/sec-week-8-no-7-003338959.html ↩ Back to story
    7. Tennessee Athletics, “FB PREVIEW: Streaking #11/11 Vols Visit South Carolina…,” Oct. 23, 2026 (2-6 in last eight trips to Williams-Brice; four of last five meetings; Bishop vs. Alabama; 23 yards from top 10): https://utsports.com/news/2026/10/23/football-fb-preview-streaking-11-11-vols-visit-south-carolina-for-challenging-road-tilt-against-gamecocks ↩ Back to story
    8. Patrick Brown, 247Sports, “What South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer said about playing Tennessee,” Oct. 2026 (Beamer comments on 2022, the bye week, Knowles and the fair): https://247sports.com/college/tennessee/longformarticle/shane-beamer-south-carolina-gamecocks-head-coach-tennessee-vols-game-preview-josh-heupel-jim-knowles-291578542/ ↩ Back to story
    9. ESPN odds board (DraftKings), Tennessee at South Carolina, checked about 1:05 p.m. CT and rechecked 1:25 p.m. CT Oct. 24, 2026 (SC -2.5 (-110), total 50.5 (-110/-110), SC -135 / TENN +114; Tennessee flagged as DraftKings favorite at open): https://www.espn.com/college-football/game/_/gameId/401856731/tennessee-south-carolina ↩ Back to story
    10. VegasInsider, college football odds, DraftKings column (Tennessee +2.5 -110 / South Carolina -2.5 -110) and opening-line column (Tennessee -2.5), DraftKings column rechecked about 1:26 p.m. CT Oct. 24, 2026 (spread unchanged), opening-line column fetched about 1:15 p.m. CT: https://www.vegasinsider.com/college-football/odds/las-vegas/ ↩ Back to story
    11. On3, “Shane Beamer says he can’t escape ‘nightmare’ in Jim Knowles,” Oct. 2026 (Knowles comments, second source): https://www.on3.com/teams/tennessee-volunteers/news/shane-beamer-jim-knowles-nightmare-cant-escape-tennessee-defense-south-carolina/ ↩ Back to story
    12. South Carolina State Fair, “South Carolina State Fair Announces 2026 Lineup, New Foods, Rides and More,” Oct. 7, 2026 (Oct. 15-25 dates; Oct. 24 game day; Matt Stone as Elvis Oct. 24; $20 game-day parking; Pegasus ride; new foods): https://www.scstatefair.org/media/south-carolina-state-fair-announces-2026-lineup-new-foods-rides-and-more/ and https://www.scstatefair.org/ ↩ Back to story
    13. South Carolina Athletics, “Know Before You Go: Tennessee 2026,” Oct. 19, 2026 (fair lots, no tailgating in fair lots, athletics lots sold out): https://gamecocksonline.com/news/2026/10/19/know-before-you-go-tennessee-2026/ ↩ Back to story
    14. Gridiron Gumbo, picks and betting disclaimer: https://gridirongumbo.com/picks-disclaimer/
  • Auburn: Practice Squad Players of the Week ⬇

    Auburn: Practice Squad Players of the Week ⬇

    CONFIRMED Tip of the cap: Auburn Football (official) posted: “Practice Squad Players of the Week ⬇”

    Source: Auburn Football (official) · 10/23 9:13 AM CT

  • Plugged In on the Plains: Auburn Hands Its 380-Piece Band a Microphone Just in Time for LSU

    Plugged In on the Plains: Auburn Hands Its 380-Piece Band a Microphone Just in Time for LSU

    Auburn’s marching band gets its own field-level speakers Saturday against No. 18 LSU. The volume goes up. The SEC rulebook still decides when the music stops.

    CONFIRMED: records and schedule per the official Auburn and LSU athletics schedules; the band announcement per Rhett Hobart’s public X posts; rule wording per the SEC bylaws as reported by AL.com and USA Today; Tennessee’s fine per the SEC and AP. REPORTED: kickoff time per AL.com; details credited to single outlets (AL.com, Sports Illustrated, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Tennessee Athletics) in text.

    Down here we’ve got a saying: If the music’s too loud, you’re too old.

    Auburn heard that and decided LSU is about to feel ancient.

    TAKE (joke): Auburn’s plan for LSU has three parts: a bigger sound system, a 380-piece band and a long nap for everybody in purple.

    Everybody’s writing about Auburn turning up the volume. We read the fine print on how loud it’s allowed to get, and when it has to hush.

    The Announcement

    On Tuesday night, Auburn deputy athletic director and chief revenue officer Rhett Hobart posted on X: “The band is being mic’d, beginning this weekend.”

    In a follow-up post Wednesday, Hobart clarified that the band will play through “new dedicated field level band speakers.” The main “house” system, he wrote, runs on roughly a 1-2 second delay, so it’s “not ideal” for a live band.

    AL.com also quoted Hobart saying his team “did a deep dive into music the last few weeks and has a great plan going in – created in direct partnership with our band.”

    There’s a throwback, too. Auburn plans to bring back an old crowd anthem, Maino’s “All the Above,” per Sports Illustrated’s Auburn site. SI reported Saturday will be the first time the band has been put in front of a microphone.

    Smart call, cher. Run a live band through a system with a 1-2 second delay and it turns into its own echo.

    My Uncle Boudreaux has been his own echo at family reunions for 40 years, and nobody ever gave him a speaker either.

    Who’s Getting the Mic

    This isn’t a garage band getting its first amp. Per Auburn University Bands, the marching band has 380 members, the largest in school history. Almost 85% of them aren’t music majors.

    The band won the 2004 Sudler Trophy, which its own site calls the nation’s highest award for college marching bands. It played two BCS title games, in 2011 and 2014. And, per the band’s site, it won the national Metallica Marching Band Competition.

    TAKE (joke): Almost 85% of them aren’t music majors, which means somewhere on that field an engineering student is carrying a sousaphone, a full course load and the loudest one-hour elective in Alabama.

    Read that again. Auburn’s band beat the country at Metallica, and until this week nobody had plugged it in. That’s like owning a Ferrari and keeping it in first gear because you’re scared of the neighbors.

    TAKE (joke): Now they get fifth gear, and the neighbors are LSU.

    What the Rulebook Says

    Here’s the part nobody else is serving: A microphone makes the band louder. It doesn’t buy one extra second of playing time.

    The SEC’s artificial-noise rule says bands, music and noisemakers must stop when the offensive center puts a hand on the football.

    The league adopted that trigger in 2018 because the old wording, noise had to stop when the center “take[s] his place over” the ball, was hard to enforce, AL.com reported at the time. The Advocate also reported the change, and USA Today reported the bylaws still use “puts a hand on the football.”

    TAKE (joke): The SEC spent years debating where a center “takes his place.” Cher, I’ve seen shorter arguments over whose mawmaw makes the darker roux.

    So the band can rattle Jordan-Hare’s fillings between plays. The second LSU’s center touches the ball, the trumpets go quiet and it’s all on the fans.

    That’s the sneaky-smart part: Get the crowd to a boil with the band, then let the crowd keep it boiling when the music stops.

    TAKE (joke): Think crawfish boil. The band brings the seasoning, the propane and the pot. The crowd just has to remember not to turn the burner off.

    The league takes the rule seriously. The SEC’s 2016 football regulations listed fines of $5,000 for a first offense, up to $25,000 for a second and up to $50,000 for a third or later one. That was a decade ago, and we couldn’t confirm today’s amounts.

    Either way, next to the $500,000 bill Tennessee just got for its fans storming the field after beating Alabama (per AP and the SEC), a band fine is sofa-cushion money.

    Just ask my Mississippi State Bulldogs. The SEC banned cowbells from 1974 to 2010, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, before Commissioner Mike Slive let Starkville ring them again, as long as they hush before the snap.

    Thirty-six years of contraband cowbells. We were smuggling noise before smuggling noise was cool.

    The Speakers Already Had Muscle

    Jordan-Hare was no library before this. Auburn’s 2015 sound-system rebuild cost around $1 million and put 28 JBL loudspeakers in four vertical arrays behind the “AU” atop the videoboard, plus eight 18-inch subwoofers, AL.com reported. Fast and Wide reported the same 28-speaker, eight-subwoofer setup.

    The Daktronics engineer who designed it wouldn’t give AL.com a decibel number. “As far as output … it’s loud,” he said.

    TAKE (joke): An engineer who won’t give you a decibel number is like a Cajun who won’t tell you how much cayenne went in. You don’t ask. You just reach for the sweet tea.

    That same 2015 AL.com story listed “All the Above” among the songs getting heavy play at Jordan-Hare that season. Some songs, like some gumbo, taste better the second time around.

    TAKE (joke): A 2015 sound system, a 2015 anthem and a 2026 band plugged into both. Auburn isn’t rebuilding. It’s reheating.

    Auburn isn’t alone. Tennessee installed a new Neyland Stadium system this season with 15 subwoofers, where there had been none, and more than half a million watts of power, per Tennessee Athletics.

    The SEC arms race isn’t just in the weight room anymore. It’s in the speaker cabinets.

    Why Now

    The timing is no accident. Auburn (4-2, 2-2 SEC) is coming off a 27-24 win at No. 1 Georgia. Saturday is its first home game since beating Vanderbilt 21-15 in late September, per SI and Auburn’s official schedule.

    LSU (5-2, 2-2) hasn’t won a road game this season. Both losses came away from home, at Kentucky in overtime and at Ole Miss, and both were one-score games, according to SI and LSU’s official schedule.

    Lane Kiffin saw this coming. At SEC Media Days in July, the LSU coach called Jordan-Hare “a really hard place to play” and “a magical stadium that magical things happen in,” per the ASAP Sports transcript.

    He’s not wrong. LSU is 2-3 in its last five trips to the Plains, and six of the last eight meetings were decided by five points or fewer, AL.com reported.

    By AL.com’s count, LSU leads the overall series 33-24-1 and Auburn leads 13-9 at home. Other record books, like College Football Digest, count it differently because the NCAA vacated three LSU wins.

    TAKE (joke): Death Valley is famous for being loud at night. Getting outshouted on the Plains at 11 a.m. would be like a Baton Rouge crawfish boil getting outseasoned by a dentist’s office breakroom.

    Mais, when a man calls your house magical in July, the polite thing to do is turn the music up for him in October.

    The Fine Print, in Gumbo Terms

    Here’s how I’d explain it at the boucherie: Auburn got a bigger pot, not a longer cooking time. The band can make the place louder between snaps, but it stops when the center’s hand hits the ball, same as every SEC band.

    If LSU’s quarterback can’t hear himself think on third down, it won’t be the tubas. It’ll be the crowd they just whipped into a frenzy.

    TAKE (joke): The tubas light the roux, the fans stir it, and the center’s hand on the ball is the only lid in the kitchen.

    Up Next

    No. 18 LSU at Auburn, Saturday, Oct. 24, at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Kickoff is 11 a.m. Central, AL.com reported when the SEC set the Oct. 24 times. SI reported a win would likely put Auburn in the AP Top 25 before its Halloween trip to Ole Miss.

    TAKE (joke): An 11 a.m. kickoff? Cher, at 11 a.m. a Cajun is still choosing between boudin, cracklins and the boudin he forgot he already ate.

    Laissez les bons temps rouler, y’all. And LSU, bring earplugs. Just take them out when your center touches the ball. That’s when it’s all crowd.

    Sources

    • AL.com, “Lane Kiffin called Jordan-Hare Stadium magical, and Auburn just made it more intimidating,” Oct. 21, 2026: https://www.al.com/auburnfootball/2026/10/lane-kiffin-called-jordan-hare-stadium-magical-and-auburn-just-made-it-more-intimidating.html
    • Sports Illustrated Auburn (Griffin Barfield), “Auburn Football Adding This Home Advantage Ahead of No. 18 LSU,” Oct. 21, 2026: https://www.si.com/college/auburn/football/auburn-football-adding-this-home-advantage-ahead-of-no-18-lsu-marching-band
    • Rhett Hobart (@RhettHobart) on X, Oct. 20, 2026 (9:03 p.m. Central): https://x.com/RhettHobart/status/2112726450617147745 and follow-up, Oct. 21, 2026: https://x.com/RhettHobart/status/2112892258831814851
    • Auburn University Bands, Auburn University Marching Band home and general information pages: https://band.auburn.edu/aumb/index.php and https://band.auburn.edu/aumb/general-info.php
    • AL.com, “More cowbell? SEC amends rule pertaining to artificial noise,” June 2018: https://www.al.com/sports/2018/06/more_cowbell_sec_amends_rule_p.html
    • SEC Commissioner’s Regulations, Football, 2016 (noise-violation fines): http://assets.espn.go.com/SEC/media/2016/Football.pdf
    • Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “Kirby Smart not caught up on Mississippi State cowbells: ‘Noise is noise,’” Nov. 2025: https://www.ajc.com/sports/2025/11/kirby-smart-not-caught-up-on-mississippi-state-cowbells-noise-is-noise/
    • AL.com (Matt Wake), “The music of the Iron Bowl: What to expect in Jordan-Hare,” Nov. 25, 2015: https://www.al.com/entertainment/2015/11/the_music_of_the_iron_bowl_wha.html
    • Tennessee Athletics, “New Sound System Highlights Neyland Stadium Preserved by Pilot Fan Experience Enhancements,” Aug. 28, 2026: https://utsports.com/news/2026/8/28/football-new-sound-system-highlights-neyland-stadium-preserved-by-pilot-fan-experience-enhancements
    • Associated Press, “SEC fines Tennessee $500,000 for allowing fans to storm the field after beating Alabama,” Oct. 2026: https://apnews.com/article/tennessee-fined-500000-storm-field-72b768f566bda5e45e3c6bd69f6d0d8b
    • SEC, “Tennessee fined for violation of access to competition area policy,” Oct. 18, 2026: https://www.secsports.com/news/2026/10/tennessee-fined-for-violation-of-access-to-competition-area-policy-101826
    • Auburn Athletics, 2026 football schedule: https://auburntigers.com/sports/football/schedule
    • LSU Athletics, 2026 football schedule: https://lsusports.net/sports/fb/schedule
    • AL.com, “Kickoff times set for Texas A&M-Alabama, LSU-Auburn, other Oct. 24 SEC games,” Oct. 2026: https://www.al.com/sports/2026/10/kickoff-times-set-for-texas-am-alabama-lsu-auburn-other-oct-24-sec-games.html
    • USA Today, “Why do Mississippi State fans ring cowbells? Explaining SEC tradition,” Sept. 27, 2025 (current SEC rule wording): https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/sec/2025/09/27/mississippi-state-bulldogs-football-cowbells-tradition/86319308007/
    • Gridiron Gumbo, “Half a Million Dollars of Joy: Tennessee’s Field-Storm Bill Lands in Tuscaloosa’s Mailbox,” Oct. 20, 2026: https://gridirongumbo.com/tennessee-500k-field-storm-fine-alabama/
    • ASAP Sports, SEC Football Media Days transcript, Lane Kiffin, July 23, 2026: https://www.asapsports.com/show_interview.php?id=220739
    • College Football Digest, Auburn vs. LSU series history: https://collegefootballdigest.com/rivalries/auburn-vs-lsu
    • The Advocate, SEC spring meetings notebook, June 2018: https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/sports/lsu/article_9c06f9d6-65f6-11e8-a6f4-031473a8f97f.html
    • Fast and Wide, “Dante in control at Jordan-Hare Stadium”: https://www.fast-and-wide.com/faw-news/fast-news/8636-jordan-hare-stadium
  • 27-24, Three Times: The SEC Upset Recipe Nobody Wrote Down

    27-24, Three Times: The SEC Upset Recipe Nobody Wrote Down

    In eight days, three unranked SEC teams beat top-seven SEC teams by the exact same score. They all came from behind by double digits, and every one was sealed by a takeaway in the last two minutes.

    By T-Rohn, Gridiron Gumbo · Posted Oct. 21, 2026

    CONFIRMED: Oklahoma 27, No. 1 Texas 24 (Oct. 10); Auburn 27, No. 1 Georgia 24 and Florida 27, No. 7 Texas 24 (Oct. 17); the comebacks, the late takeaways and the back-to-back walk-off field goals, per AP/ESPN. REPORTED: details credited to single outlets in text.

    Every good Cajun cook has one recipe she never writes down. You just watch her make it until you can do it yourself.

    The SEC just made the same dish three times in eight days. I wrote it down.

    The recipe is 27-24.

    TAKE (joke): Mawmaw wrote hers on the back of a Piggly Wiggly receipt. The SEC wrote this one on a scoreboard. Same rule for both: nobody gets to see it until somebody’s already eating.

    Everybody covered the upsets one at a time. Put the three box scores side by side, though, and they look like the same game played three times.

    The Recipe Card

    Here’s what all three upsets had in common, checked against the AP, ESPN and the schools’ own game notes:

    • Same score. Oklahoma 27, Texas 24. Auburn 27, Georgia 24. Florida 27, Texas 24.
    • Same matchup. An unranked SEC team beat an SEC team ranked in the AP top seven, two of them No. 1.
    • Same hole. Every winner trailed by at least 10 points.
    • Same finish. Every winner’s defense took the ball away in the final two minutes.

    And two of the three ended on a field goal as time expired. ESPN Research says that’s the first time in AP poll history, going back to 1936, that the No. 1 team lost on the final play in back-to-back weeks.

    Three times is not a coincidence. Three times is a cookbook.

    Batch One: Oklahoma 27, No. 1 Texas 24 (Oct. 10)

    The Red River Rivalry, at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, in front of 92,100.

    Texas led 17-7 at halftime, and Oklahoma’s offense had been sputtering. ESPN reported the Sooners had 69 yards of offense in the first half, and 1 of those came on the ground.

    That’s not an offense. That’s a man looking for his truck keys.

    But Oklahoma scored in all three phases. Dakoda Fields fell on a blocked punt in the end zone. Peyton Bowen returned an interception 42 yards for a touchdown. Lloyd Avant ran one in from 2 yards.

    Texas tied it at 24 with 6:32 left. Then Courtland Guillory intercepted a pass at the Oklahoma 39 with 19 seconds to go. ESPN reported it was his first pick as a Sooner. John Mateer found Isaiah Sategna III for gains of 13 and 20, and replay let both stand.

    With no time left, Tate Sandell drilled a 47-yarder, per the AP. He’d already hit one from 53 earlier in the game.

    “I don’t know if I ever could have dreamed something like this,” Sandell told ESPN.

    Here’s the part I like. Sandell is from Port Neches, Texas, per Oklahoma Athletics. That’s Golden Triangle country, close enough to Louisiana to smell the boudin. He transferred from UTSA and won the 2025 Lou Groza Award as the nation’s best kicker, Oklahoma’s first ever.

    TAKE (joke): Norman has the trophy now. Port Neches has the bragging rights. Louisiana, as usual, has the boudin and will be taking partial credit.

    A Texas boy, raised a short drive from Cajun country, beat No. 1 Texas with one swing of his leg. Ça c’est bon.

    It was Oklahoma’s first win over a No. 1 team since 2007. ESPN noted that in 122 years of the rivalry, the Sooners had never beaten a No. 1 Texas team. The AP put their record against top-ranked Texas at 0-4-1.

    Batch Two: Auburn 27, No. 1 Georgia 24 (Oct. 17)

    Georgia moved up to No. 1 after Texas lost. It turned into what the AP called a “short one-week stay.”

    The Bulldogs led 14-0 in the first quarter in Athens. ESPN Research says that before this game, unranked teams trailing the AP No. 1 by 14 or more had lost 195 straight. Under Kirby Smart, Georgia was 65-0 against unranked teams when it led by at least 14.

    Then Auburn scored 24 straight points.

    TAKE (joke): Athens went quiet. Then it went very quiet. Then somebody in the upper deck asked if the hedges were still under warranty.

    Georgia came back to tie it at 24 with 2:58 left. With 58 seconds to go, Cody Sigler forced a fumble and Sylvester Smith-Reed recovered at the Auburn 44, per the AP and Auburn Athletics.

    Then Alex McPherson hit a 34-yarder as time expired.

    Auburn closed as a 19.5-point underdog at DraftKings for the Oct. 17 game (per LineGauge and GordStats). Auburn Athletics said it was the Tigers’ first win between the hedges since 2005.

    McPherson gave the credit to everybody but himself. “Hudson Powell and Hudson Kaak did a great job, great snap and hold,” he said, per Auburn Athletics. “Our entire line did a great job and made my job pretty easy.”

    Kicking runs in that family. McPherson’s older brother Evan kicks for the Cincinnati Bengals after starring at Florida. Their oldest brother, Logan, punted and held at Louisiana Tech, per Auburn Athletics.

    So a Louisiana Tech punter’s little brother knocked off No. 1. I’m counting that one for the state of Louisiana. Nobody can stop me.

    McPherson has never missed an extra point. He’s 106-for-106 for his career, per Auburn Athletics’ postgame notes.

    Batch Three: Florida 27, No. 7 Texas 24 (Oct. 17)

    Same Saturday. Same score. Same poor Longhorns.

    TAKE (joke): Austin has live music, breakfast tacos and, as of Oct. 17, a strong opinion about the number 24.

    Florida came into Austin off two straight blowout losses under first-year coach Jon Sumrall, per the AP. Quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. was making his first career start, in place of the injured Aaron Philo.

    Texas led 17-3 in the second quarter after Ryan Niblett took a punt back 63 yards for a touchdown, per Texas Athletics and the AP. It was his third career punt-return score, which ties a Texas program record, per Texas Athletics. Tip of the cap to the young man.

    Then Florida scored 24 unanswered points.

    Yes, 24 unanswered. Again. Auburn did the exact same thing in Athens that same day. Somebody’s passing notes.

    Jones threw two touchdowns, both to tight end Lacota Dippre, and didn’t turn it over. Patrick Durkin’s 28-yard field goal gave Florida its first lead, and Jadan Baugh’s fourth-quarter touchdown made it 27-17.

    Texas scored to make it 27-24 with 4:21 left. Then on Texas’ final possession, Myles Graham sacked the quarterback and forced a fumble, and Kanye Clark recovered with 1:58 left, per Florida Athletics.

    Florida Athletics said the Gators came in ranked 131st nationally in pass defense. Against Texas they had five sacks and held the Longhorns to 272 total yards.

    The AP said it was Florida’s first road win over a top-10 team since 2012.

    The Secret Ingredient: Nobody Flinched

    Listen to the two coaches who won on Oct. 17, and you’ll hear the same word.

    “The thing I’m most proud of is that nobody flinched,” Auburn’s Alex Golesh said, per Auburn Athletics.

    Florida’s Jon Sumrall, per the AP: “When things got tough, we flinched the last couple weeks.” Then: “Our team grew today … because we fought.”

    Two coaches, two stadiums, one word. If “flinch” were a spice, it’d be the one you leave out of the pot.

    TAKE (joke): Like raisins in a gumbo. Technically legal. Grounds for leaving the family reunion.

    Dear Longhorns: We Need to Talk About 27-24

    Texas has now lost by the same score in back-to-back weeks. It went from No. 1 to No. 19 in two polls.

    Sports Illustrated reported the Longhorns are the ninth team of the 25-team AP poll era (since 1989) to drop consecutive games to unranked opponents while ranked in the top 10.

    Somebody in Austin needs to check whether the scoreboard is stuck. Two weeks, same numbers. That’s not a losing streak. That’s a screensaver.

    TAKE (joke): Somebody unplug it, count to ten and plug it back in. That fixes the router, the TV and, we hope, the burnt orange.

    To be fair to Texas, it lost both games by a field goal to teams playing out of their minds, and one of those losses came on the final snap. That’s not a collapse. That’s a bad week at the casino.

    Speaking of the casino: ESPN’s David Purdum reported that a three-team moneyline parlay on Auburn, Florida and Tennessee on Oct. 17 paid about 156-1 at Hard Rock Bet. The book said it took at least two of them, the biggest for $10, which netted $1,565.

    Tennessee, by the way, ruined my whole theme by beating Alabama 26-10 that same Saturday, per the AP. Close enough, Vols. You get partial credit.

    Lagniappe: The Recipe Doesn’t Travel

    Before y’all start painting 27-24 on the side of your truck, here’s a warning.

    Oklahoma followed its 27-24 upset by losing 21-13 at home to Kentucky on Oct. 17, per the AP and Oklahoma Athletics. So the recipe works once. After that, you’re just a team that needs a new recipe.

    TAKE (joke): Kentucky brought the recipe for Kentucky. Turns out it’s mostly bourbon barrels and patience.

    Who’s Next to Get Served

    • Texas hosts No. 7 Ole Miss on Saturday, Oct. 24, per the AP.
    • Auburn hosts No. 18 LSU on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 11 a.m. CT on ABC, per Auburn Athletics.
    • Oklahoma visits my Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 2:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network, per Oklahoma Athletics.
    • Florida gets Georgia on Oct. 31, per Florida Athletics.

    About my Bulldogs. LSU just beat us 31-0 in Baton Rouge, per the AP, and we fell out of the poll. If Oklahoma wants to beat us 27-24, cher, I’ll take it. At least we’d have 24.

    TAKE (joke): Confession Booth: the Cowbell Counter is at “ringing it in the shower.” And LSU fans, quit grinning. Y’all kick off at Auburn at 11 a.m. CT, which in Baton Rouge is still breakfast.

    Every good cook knows: you don’t argue with a recipe that works. You just hope it’s not your turn in the pot.

    Laissez les bons temps rouler, y’all.

    Betting content is for entertainment only. See our picks disclaimer.

    Sources

    Correction (Oct. 22, 2026): An earlier version cited an opening line without naming a sportsbook.

  • Auburn: Chas Nimrod named Comeback Player of the Week

    Auburn: Chas Nimrod named Comeback Player of the Week

    CONFIRMEDTip of the cap: Auburn Football (official) posted: “Comeback Player of the Week: Chas Nimrod”

    Source: Auburn Football (official) · 10/20 3:11 PM CT

  • The One That Walked On: Bishop, Golesh and a Grudge Where Everybody Won

    The One That Walked On: Bishop, Golesh and a Grudge Where Everybody Won

    Tennessee’s former walk-on ran for 220 yards against the coach he says helped keep him off scholarship. Two weeks later, on the same Saturday, both men pulled off signature wins.

    By T-Rohn, Gridiron Gumbo · Posted Oct. 21, 2026

    CONFIRMED: results and records per AP/ESPN. REPORTED: details credited to single outlets in text.

    Down in Cajun country, we’ve got a rule about fishing: never brag about the one that got away, because somebody at the bait shop knows the real story.

    Alex Golesh doesn’t have that luxury. The one that got away from him grew up in Knoxville, carries the ball for Tennessee, and has started telling the whole bait shop about it.

    Everybody covered the games. We’re covering the grudge, and how it turned into the SEC’s strangest win-win.

    Some folks hold grudges. Some folks hold press conferences. DeSean Bishop held the football 34 times.

    The Kid From Karns

    Bishop was no unknown. At Karns High School in Knoxville, he ran for 8,347 yards, second-most in Tennessee high school history, and scored 102 rushing touchdowns, third-most, per the TSSAA record book as cited by 247Sports. He also won back-to-back Class 5A Mr. Football awards.

    Tennessee did offer him, in June 2021, right after he showed out at a Vols camp. The Knoxville News Sentinel reported it was his first Power 5 offer and that he was “first in line for every drill.”

    Michigan State, Purdue and Virginia Tech were his only other Power 5 offers, and people close to him pushed him toward a Group of 5 scholarship, according to 247Sports.

    He committed to Coastal Carolina in July 2022. When coach Jamey Chadwell left for Liberty, Bishop reopened his recruitment that December and took an official visit to Appalachian State.

    Then he bet on himself, picking a walk-on spot with his hometown Vols over a Group of 5 scholarship. “There was just something in me that always thought I was bigger than that,” he told 247Sports.

    He walked on in 2023, spent two seasons without a scholarship and was put on one before 2025, per 247Sports. Then he made second-team All-SEC with 1,076 yards and 16 touchdowns, according to A to Z Sports.

    The best part? Bishop said at SEC Media Days he didn’t even know it was a walk-on spot at first. “Tennessee came knocking on the door and gave me the opportunity to walk on there,” he said, per A to Z Sports. “And honestly, it’s funny because I didn’t realize it was to walk on when I got there.”

    Cher, I once showed up to a crawfish boil thinking I was a guest and found out I was the help. I know the feeling.

    Two Sides of the Same Pot

    Who was Tennessee’s offensive coordinator during Bishop’s recruitment? Alex Golesh, who ran the Vols offense in 2021 and 2022, according to Auburn’s official bio. His 2022 offense led the country in scoring at 47.3 points a game.

    So Golesh was on staff from the June 2021 offer through Bishop’s senior season. South Florida hired him in December 2022, the same month Bishop reopened his recruitment, so Golesh was in Tampa by the time Bishop walked on. He coached USF from 2023 through 2025, and Auburn hired him on Nov. 30, 2025.

    There are two versions of why Bishop walked on, and we’re serving both bowls.

    Tennessee coach Josh Heupel gave his at SEC Media Days in July. “His offers, we didn’t feel like, necessarily matched what his potential skill level was,” Heupel said, adding that “at that time, we were limited in some of the roster spots that we were able to have with some of the things that we inherited from the previous staff,” per A to Z Sports.

    Bishop’s version came out after the Oct. 3 game. We’ll get there.

    So it may have been roster math, not a talent judgment. But a man doesn’t need the whole recipe to remember who was standing at the stove.

    Oct. 3: The Receipt

    Auburn came to Knoxville on Oct. 3, and Bishop ran like the gumbo was getting cold.

    He carried 34 times for 220 yards and three touchdowns (25, 44 and 5 yards), all career highs, in a 24-14 Tennessee win in front of 101,915, according to Tennessee Athletics.

    The 220 yards rank 12th on Tennessee’s single-game list. They were also the most anyone had run for against Auburn since Alabama’s Derrick Henry put up 220-plus on Nov. 28, 2015.

    Derrick Henry, y’all. That’s the company a grudge keeps.

    After the game, Bishop didn’t tiptoe. “I’m not going to lie, I’m going to keep it real – like this game was very personal from just the mindset of Golesh, he was one of the reasons I was a walk-on at the University of Tennessee,” he said, per 247Sports. (FanSided’s Fly War Eagle printed a shorter version: “Golesh was a big reason I was a walk-on.”)

    Then he did the most Tennessee-boy thing possible: he thanked the man, sort of. “But in a sense, it was really a blessing in disguise,” Bishop said, per 247Sports.

    Half thank-you note, half receipt. Classiest shot fired in the SEC all year.

    Golesh didn’t take the bait. Fly War Eagle reported he didn’t respond to Bishop’s comments and talked only about his defense: “The missed tackles came from not getting a push up front and missing in the gap opportunities.”

    Smart man. When a fella just ran for 220 on you, you nod and go watch film.

    Oct. 17: Everybody Eats

    Auburn was 3-2 after that loss, with a bye week coming. That’s usually when the message boards light the torches.

    Instead, Golesh’s team went to Athens on Oct. 17 and beat No. 1 Georgia 27-24.

    Auburn scored 24 straight points after falling behind 14-0, per Auburn Athletics. Georgia tied it with 2:58 left. Then Cody Sigler forced a fumble, Sylvester Smith-Reed fell on it at the Auburn 44, and Alex McPherson hit a 34-yard field goal as time expired. Quarterback Byrum Brown ran 26 times for 115 yards, per the AP.

    Auburn Athletics said it was the program’s first walk-off field goal in regulation since Wes Byrum’s kick beat Oregon for the national title after the 2010 season. It was also just the second time Auburn has won on the road against a No. 1 team, and the first time since 1994.

    The AP noted Georgia’s 53-game win streak against unranked teams ended. Top-ranked teams had also won 93 straight home games against unranked opponents, dating to 2007.

    Ninety-three straight. That streak outlasted every diet I’ve started since 2007.

    “The thing I’m most proud of is that nobody flinched,” Golesh said, per Auburn Athletics. He told the AP: “We’re going to build Auburn back to where everybody wants it, one game at a time. Just hang with us.”

    Meanwhile, back in Knoxville that same day, the former walk-on was doing it again.

    Bishop carried 32 times for 159 yards and both Tennessee touchdowns, each from 5 yards out, in a 26-10 win over No. 6 Alabama, per Tennessee Athletics and the AP.

    “You look back at the start of my journey and I was literally watching this game at home, and now I’m making the plays that make the difference for my team,” he said afterward, per All For Tennessee.

    So on the same Saturday, the coach Bishop says helped keep him off scholarship beat the No. 1 team in America, and the former walk-on ran over No. 6. Nobody lost except Georgia and Alabama, and frankly, they can afford it.

    Mais, that’s a split decision where both fighters go home with the belt.

    The Punchline Writes Itself

    Here’s what cracks me up. After all that, Auburn still isn’t ranked.

    The Tigers got 61 points in Sunday’s AP poll, third among teams receiving votes, per NCAA.com. You beat No. 1 on the road with a walk-off kick, and the voters treat you like the cousin who showed up to the reunion without a dish. Tennessee, meanwhile, climbed to No. 11.

    My Mississippi State Bulldogs sat at 30 points in that same poll. Sixty-one and no ranking? Cher, we’d frame that and ring a cowbell at it.

    Bishop said it best: a blessing in disguise. If he’d taken the Appalachian State scholarship, he isn’t the hometown hero. If Tennessee had handed him a scholarship back then, maybe nobody’s writing this story.

    Some grudges are like a good roux. They take time, they need constant stirring, and if you do it right, everybody at the table gets fed.

    Up Next

    Tennessee visits South Carolina on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Eastern (2:30 Central) on ESPN. Auburn hosts No. 18 LSU on the Plains at 11 a.m. Central on ABC.

    Laissez les bons temps rouler, y’all. And if the local star wants a scholarship, maybe just give him one. It’s cheaper than 220 yards.

    Sources

  • Half a Million Dollars of Joy: Tennessee’s Field-Storm Bill Lands in Tuscaloosa’s Mailbox

    Half a Million Dollars of Joy: Tennessee’s Field-Storm Bill Lands in Tuscaloosa’s Mailbox

    Neyland Stadium emptied onto the turf after Tennessee’s 26-10 win over Alabama, and the SEC sent a $500,000 bill. It’s the Vols’ third home win in a row over the Tide that came with a fine attached, and Alabama’s 11th road loss in a row to end with the home crowd on the field.

    By T-Rohn, Gridiron Gumbo · Posted Oct. 20, 2026

    CONFIRMED: result, fine and records per SEC/AP/ESPN. REPORTED: details credited to single outlets in text.

    Down here in South Louisiana, when something good happens we throw a party, and somebody’s cousin usually ends up paying for the ice. In Knoxville, the ice cost $500,000, and the check is made out to the University of Alabama.

    Experts confirm it is the first party in recorded history where the guest of honor got the gift bag and the hangover.

    On Sunday, Oct. 18, the Southeastern Conference fined Tennessee $500,000 after fans rushed the field at Neyland Stadium following the then-No. 14 Volunteers’ 26-10 win over then-No. 6 Alabama on Oct. 17. The conference’s announcement said Tennessee broke its access-to-competition-area policy, and as RG.org reported, league rules send the money to the visiting school. So Alabama lost the game, had to get off a field filling up with orange, and then got a check in the mail. Cher, that’s not a consolation prize. That’s a settlement.

    Somewhere in Birmingham, we like to imagine an SEC office intern needed a bigger envelope.

    Everybody else is going to write about the game. We’re writing about the receipt.

    Our accounting department, which is my cousin Thibodeaux and a calculator from a gas station, has been briefed.

    The Price Is Flat Now, Like a Day-Old Beignet

    There was a time the SEC charged on a sliding scale, like a crawfish boil that sells by the pound. The ladder the league set up in 2023 started at $100,000 for a school’s first offense, climbed to $250,000 for the second and topped out at $500,000 from the third one on, with the visiting school collecting. Knox News and On3 both laid out that schedule when Tennessee was fined in 2024.

    Now it’s market price, like the lobster on a seafood menu, except the market never moves and the lobster is a goalpost.

    That’s gone. At its spring meetings in May 2025, the SEC scrapped the ladder and moved to a flat $500,000 fine for every field or court storming in any league-sponsored sport, per the Associated Press and CBS Sports. The league can waive the fine if the visiting team and officials get off the field before fans come on. Tennessee’s Oct. 18 fine was issued under that rule. So Tennessee’s rap sheet didn’t drive the number. Every field storm now costs the same, whether you’re a repeat customer or it’s your first time at the bar.

    Finally, an all-you-can-storm buffet. Same price for the regulars as for the first-timers who don’t know where the plates are.

    And Tennessee is a repeat customer. Each of the Vols’ last three home wins over Alabama has ended with a fine, RG.org noted. The 2022 storm cost Tennessee $100,000, and back then the money went to the SEC’s postgraduate scholarship fund instead of Alabama, according to Knox News. The 2024 storm cost another $100,000. Because the 2023 rules wiped the slate clean, it was scored as a first offense, and that check did go to Alabama. Add it up: three Third Saturday in October parties cost $700,000, and $600,000 of it lands in Tuscaloosa. That’s real money. That’s a lot of boudin.

    At this point Tuscaloosa should list Knoxville on its financial statements under “recurring revenue, seasonal.”

    The Two-Minute Drill Nobody Ran

    Here’s the part that makes this a story and not just a line on a ledger. Tennessee actually tried to do it the legal way.

    The SEC does leave a school a couple of outs, per RG.org. A school can skip the fine entirely by filing a plan with the league ahead of time that keeps fans in the stands until the visiting team and the officials are gone, and by telling its fans about that plan before the game. Commissioner Greg Sankey also has room to knock the bill down to $100,000 when the home school can show it worked hard to hold the crowd back, only a handful of people reached the field, and the visitors were barely touched.

    In other words, the SEC will forgive the stampede if you file the stampede paperwork in triplicate beforehand. Nothing says spontaneous joy like a pre-approved procedures memo.

    RG.org reported that Tennessee put security along the sideline late in the game, and the video board ran a message from athletics director Danny White asking the crowd for two minutes so the Tide could clear the field. Two minutes. That’s shorter than a commercial break, shorter than the line at Café Du Monde, shorter than it takes my Uncle Nonc to find his reading glasses.

    The crowd didn’t wait. Folks were on the grass the second the clock ran out.

    Danny White asked for two minutes. Neyland gave him roughly zero point four seconds, which, to be fair, is about how long any of us have ever waited for anything in our lives.

    I’m not going to judge them too hard. I’ve seen grown men in Baton Rouge cry over a 3-yard run. But that video is about to become the most expensive public service announcement in SEC history.

    We assume somebody, somewhere, is considering adding a laugh track to the video for next time, just so it gets some kind of response.

    Alabama, the SEC’s Favorite Party Host

    Here’s a stat that’ll make Tide fans pour something strong: Alabama has now lost 11 road games in a row that ended with the home crowd on the field, a streak that started at Auburn in 2013, according to an Associated Press report cited by RG.org.

    Eleven straight. At this point Alabama doesn’t lose road games so much as host traveling block parties with the field as the dance floor.

    For more than a decade, beating Alabama on the road has meant the whole stadium meets at the 50-yard line. It’s the biggest compliment in college football, and a bruising one. Alabama has lobbied the league for stiffer penalties on field storming, RG.org reported. You can see why. When you’re the program everybody wants to beat, every loss comes with a stampede.

    Of course, half a million dollars a pop starts to look like a fee schedule. If it keeps up, somebody in Tuscaloosa might start budgeting for it.

    TAKE (joke):Rumor has it the Tuscaloosa finance office has a whiteboard titled “Field Storm Futures” and nobody will say who wrote it. (We made that rumor up. That’s the joke.)

    What Actually Happened on the Field

    Credit where it’s due, because those fans had plenty to celebrate. Tennessee never trailed. Kicker Cooper Ranvier went 4-for-4 on field goals in the first half, running back DeSean Bishop ran for 159 yards on 32 carries with two second-half touchdowns, and the Vols forced four turnovers (two interceptions, two fumbles), according to Tennessee’s official game notes. Alabama was held scoreless in the second half and went 2-of-13 on third down, per the same notes.

    Four first-half field goals: the most a Knoxville crowd has ever cheered for something that wasn’t a touchdown, a fried bologna sandwich, or the sun coming out in the second quarter.

    Ranvier was named co-SEC Special Teams Player of the Week, sharing it with Auburn’s Alex McPherson, according to the conference’s Oct. 19 announcement and Tennessee’s game notes. When your kicker puts four on the board before halftime, that’s how it shakes out.

    CBS Sports’ Austin Nivison, who moved Tennessee from 11th to fifth in his SEC Power Rankings, called it “a physically dominant win over Alabama on both sides of the ball.” He also wrote that the way the Vols’ offensive line “leaned on the Crimson Tide in the second half was shocking.”

    RG.org reported it was Tennessee’s first win over an AP Top 25 opponent since 2024. Tennessee’s game notes confirm it was the Vols’ third straight home win over Alabama, their first such run since 1996-98-2000, and their largest margin in the series since a 35-18 win in 1998.

    The Fallout in the Polls

    The Vols (6-1, 3-1 SEC) moved up three places to No. 11 in Sunday’s AP Top 25 and sit at No. 11 in the coaches poll as well. Alabama (5-2, 3-2) has dropped two in a row and slid to No. 13 in both polls, per RG.org. Tennessee’s game notes confirm the Vols’ No. 11/11 ranking, and ESPN’s standings confirm both teams’ records.

    The broader SEC weekend was pure chaos, the kind of Saturday that makes a Cajun reach for the hot sauce. Unranked Auburn beat No. 1 Georgia 27-24, Florida beat No. 7 Texas 27-24, and LSU shut out Mississippi State 31-0. So Tennessee’s party wasn’t even the only one. It was just the only one the SEC sent a bill for… at least going by the reports we found.

    We picture the SEC office spending Saturday night refreshing scores like a man refreshing his flight status in a thunderstorm.

    Up Next

    The Vols visit South Carolina on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 3:30 p.m. Eastern (2:30 p.m. Central) on ESPN, per Tennessee and South Carolina athletics. Alabama hosts Texas A&M in Tuscaloosa, presumably with the $500,000 safely deposited and every bit of it earmarked for “emotional damages.”

    Columbia ticket holders, please note: the clock still says zero for a reason, and the reason is $500,000.

    So here’s T-Rohn’s free advice for Knoxville, and it costs less than half a million: next time Danny White asks for two minutes, try counting “one Mississippi, two Mississippi” all the way to 120. Or just accept the bill. Some parties are worth paying for. Ask anybody who’s ever been to Mardi Gras and then looked at their bank statement on Ash Wednesday.

    Laissez les bons temps rouler, y’all. Just don’t roll them onto the field until the clock’s run out for two more minutes.

    Related: Alabama and LSU report strong October earnings, thanks to bold new strategy of losing (the SEC Storm Fine Tracker, including Kentucky’s $500,000 fine after beating LSU)

    Sources

    Editor’s note (Oct. 23): This story was updated to credit RG.org for reporting on the fine.

  • Bowl Gumbo, Second Stir: Ole Miss Jumps in the Playoff Pot, Texas Falls Out, and Where Every SEC Team Is Headed

    Bowl Gumbo, Second Stir: Ole Miss Jumps in the Playoff Pot, Texas Falls Out, and Where Every SEC Team Is Headed

    Gridiron Gumbo original projections — Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, after the Oct. 17 games (Week 7). Second stir of the pot; last week’s Early Bowl Gumbo is here. Disclosure: your humble cook still bleeds maroon and rings a cowbell (Mississippi State). State got graded like everybody else, and after Saturday in Baton Rouge, that is not a favor.

    Last week we had four SEC teams in the Playoff Pot. Then the No. 1 team in the country lost at home to an unranked Auburn, Tennessee sat on Alabama for four quarters, and Florida walked into Austin and walked out with a win. The AP’s top team has now lost in back-to-back weeks to unranked opponents, which NCAA.com says has happened only five times ever. (CONFIRMED) So we dumped the whole pot out on the newspaper and started over.

    How we cooked it

    These are our picks, not a copy or an average of anybody else’s bowl projections. Ingredients, all pulled Oct. 20:

    • Records and results through the Oct. 17 games (ESPN standings, cross-checked against the CollegeFootballData.com game log).
    • Ratings: ESPN FPI (updated Oct. 20) and SP+ (via CollegeFootballData.com). Both measure points above an average team.
    • The Gumbo Model: we average each SEC team’s FPI and SP+ rating, give the home team 2.5 points, turn every remaining game into a win probability and simulate the rest of the season 20,000 times. Projected records below are those simulated wins rounded, not a game-by-game “favorite always wins” list (that would have LSU going 10-2, which happens in only 14% of our sims).
    • The AP poll (Oct. 18). The CFP committee’s first rankings don’t come out until Tuesday, Nov. 3, so the AP poll and the ratings stand in for now. (CONFIRMED)

    The rules of the pot (re-checked this week):

    • CFP: Still 12 teams for 2026-27. The ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC champions get in, plus the highest-ranked champion from the other conferences, plus the next seven highest-ranked teams. The top four ranked teams get first-round byes. (CONFIRMED)
    • SEC ladder: The Citrus Bowl takes the best SEC team left after the Playoff. Next is the “pool of six” (ReliaQuest, Gator, Music City, Texas, Las Vegas, Liberty), which the SEC slots with the schools and bowls while avoiding repeat trips. Birmingham and Gasparilla pick after that. Bowl tie-ins were carried over from 2025 for this one season, and 2026 is the SEC’s turn in Las Vegas in its rotation with the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. (CONFIRMED)
    Cartoon critters fighting over a gold trophy in a giant gumbo pot under the words Playoff Pot

    The Playoff Pot (CFP summary)

    • Georgia — SEC champion, top-four seed with a first-round bye. We have Georgia beating Tennessee in Atlanta.
    • Tennessee — at-large after losing the SEC title game. Projected 9-3 in the regular season.
    • Ole Miss — at-large. Projected 9-3. New this week.
    • Alabama — at-large, the last SEC team in. Projected 9-3, and the bubble is right under its feet.
    • First team out: Texas. FPI and SP+ still rate the Longhorns as a top-eight team, but they’re 1-2 in the league. Saturday’s Ole Miss at Texas game is basically a trade: the winner probably takes the spot.

    TAKE: Four SEC teams is our call, same number as last week, with two new names. The SEC has nine teams in the AP Top 25, but the highest is Georgia at No. 5, behind Miami, BYU, Ohio State and Notre Dame. That’s a lot of competition for seven at-large spots, so a fifth SEC team would need chaos somewhere else.

    Who Moved

    • ▲ Ole Miss: Citrus → CFP at-large. Beat Missouri 31-3 and jumped to No. 7 in the AP poll. 63% of our sims end with 9 or more wins.
    • ▼ Texas: CFP at-large → Texas Bowl. Lost to Oklahoma, then 27-24 at home to Florida. Two league losses in a nine-game SEC schedule leaves no room for error.
    • ▲ Tennessee: last team in → SEC title game plus a safe at-large spot. Beat Alabama 26-10 and has the league’s second-best path to Atlanta in our sims (34%).
    • ▼ Alabama: 10-2 with a home playoff game → 9-3 and the last SEC team in. Lost back-to-back games, and our model makes the Tide an underdog at LSU on Nov. 7.
    • ▲ LSU: Gator → Citrus. Shut out Mississippi State 31-0. SP+ rates LSU No. 6 in the country, and our model makes the Tigers favorites in all five remaining games.
    • ▲ Auburn: Birmingham → Liberty. Won 27-24 at No. 1 Georgia and now projects to 7-5.
    • ▲ Florida: Liberty → ReliaQuest. The 27-24 win at Texas gives the Gators wins over Ole Miss, Texas and Auburn.
    • ▼ Oklahoma: Texas Bowl → Birmingham. Lost 21-13 at home to Kentucky and is 3-3, with six wins a 62% proposition in our sims.

    The Pot, Team by Team

    Georgia (6-1, 4-1 SEC; AP No. 5)

    Projection: 10-2, SEC champion, top-four CFP seed (bye). ■ STEADY on the destination, down from last week’s 12-0/11-1 on the record.
    The data: Lost 27-24 at home to Auburn. Still the SEC’s highest-rated team in both systems (FPI No. 3, SP+ No. 2). Our sims put Georgia in Atlanta 85% of the time, and it wins out 41% of the time. The toughest remaining game is Nov. 7 at Ole Miss (Georgia 67% in our model). FPI gives them a 78.1% playoff chance.
    TAKE: Kirby Smart’s sideline face Saturday could’ve curdled a pot of milk from across the stadium. Calm down, Athens. Y’all lost one game, not the deed to the house.

    Tennessee (6-1, 3-1; AP No. 11)

    Projection: 9-3, loses the SEC title game to Georgia, CFP at-large. ▲ UP from last week’s last-team-in.
    The data: Beat Alabama 26-10. The only loss is 20-17 to Texas. FPI No. 12, SP+ No. 13. Remaining games, with Tennessee’s chance in our model: at South Carolina (63%), Kentucky (76%), at Texas A&M (60%), LSU (43%, its only game as an underdog) and at Vanderbilt (86%). 79% of our sims end with nine or more wins.
    TAKE: Knoxville’s already printing “SEC Champs” shirts in that traffic-cone orange that makes Mawmaw’s eyes water. Josh Heupel, unplug the printer, cher. Atlanta’s still a month off.

    Ole Miss (5-1, 3-1; AP No. 7)

    Projection: 9-3, CFP at-large. ▲ UP from the Citrus Bowl.
    The data: Beat Missouri 31-3. The only loss is 52-28 at Florida. FPI No. 11, SP+ No. 14, FPI playoff odds 43.6%. The back half is no picnic: at Texas (31%), Auburn (75%), Georgia (33%), at Oklahoma (61%), Wofford and the Egg Bowl vs. Mississippi State (81%). Our projected losses are the Texas and Georgia games. Win either one and this goes from bubble to comfortable.
    TAKE: Grove folks are already pricing December hotel rooms in their Sunday seersucker. Pete Golding, keep ’em off the balcony until the committee actually says something.

    Alabama (5-2, 3-2; AP No. 13)

    Projection: 9-3, CFP at-large (last SEC team in). ▼ DOWN from 10-2 and a home playoff game.
    The data: Lost 20-17 to Georgia and 26-10 at Tennessee. Wins include 45-17 at Kentucky and 56-23 at Mississippi State. The ratings still love the Tide (FPI No. 6, 49.5% playoff odds; SP+ No. 12). Remaining: Texas A&M (81%), at LSU (39%), at Vanderbilt (91%), Chattanooga and Auburn (82%). A loss in Baton Rouge puts them at 9-3, with the committee doing the math.
    TAKE: Tuscaloosa’s call-in shows are running hotter than a crawfish pot with the lid clamped down. Kalen DeBoer’s gonna need a bigger net for all them complaints.

    LSU (5-2, 2-2; AP No. 18)

    Projection: 8-4, Citrus Bowl. ▲ UP from the Gator Bowl.
    The data: Beat Mississippi State 31-0. The losses are 32-24 at Ole Miss and 35-34 at Kentucky. SP+ No. 6 (second in the SEC only to Georgia) and FPI No. 8. Our model makes LSU the favorite in every remaining game (at Auburn 74%, Alabama 61%, Texas 58%, at Tennessee 57%, at Arkansas 92%), but stacking up that many 60-40 games still averages out to about 8.4 wins. Two SEC losses already make the Playoff a long shot (FPI: 28.5%). The highest-rated team left after the Playoff is the obvious Citrus pick.
    TAKE: Ten days ago Death Valley wanted Lane Kiffin’s head on a boudin platter. Now the same callers are booking Orlando condos. Fair-weather fans on the bayou? Never heard of ’em, cher.

    Kentucky (6-1, 4-1; AP No. 12)

    Projection: 8-4, Gator Bowl. ■ STEADY: still a pool-of-six team, but the bowl changes from ReliaQuest to Gator.
    The data: Tied for first, with five straight wins capped by 21-13 at Oklahoma. The only loss was 45-17 to Alabama. But the ratings aren’t buying it: FPI No. 26 and SP+ No. 45, the lowest of the top seven teams in the standings. Remaining: Vanderbilt (81%), at Tennessee (24%), Florida (53%), at Missouri (36%) and Louisville (50%). FPI gives them 39.4% playoff odds. Our blend is more skeptical because SP+ rates them so much lower.
    TAKE: Lexington’s tied for first in the SEC in late October, so every bourbon shop in town is down to the bottom shelf. Will Stein, the raccoon’s still on the bricks, but somebody just turned on the porch light.

    Texas (4-2, 1-2; AP No. 19)

    Projection: 8-4, Texas Bowl. ▼ DOWN from a CFP at-large.
    The data: Lost 27-24 to Oklahoma and 27-24 at home to Florida, after September wins over Ohio State (24-23) and at Tennessee (20-17). FPI No. 7 (41.0% playoff odds) and SP+ No. 8, so the talent is real. Our model favors Texas in five of six remaining games: Ole Miss (69%), Mississippi State (88%), at Missouri (69%), at LSU (42%), Arkansas (96%) and at Texas A&M (72%). Still, only 47% of our sims reach nine wins. Along with LSU, they’re the best-rated team we have outside the Playoff. Beat Ole Miss Saturday and the two programs likely swap spots.
    TAKE: Steve Sarkisian says everything in Austin is getting evaluated. Mawmaw says start with the seasoning, cher. That budget buys a lot of cayenne.

    Florida (5-2, 3-2; AP No. 20)

    Projection: 8-4, ReliaQuest Bowl. ▲ UP from 7-5 and the Liberty Bowl.
    The data: Won 27-24 at Texas. That gives the Gators three résumé wins (Ole Miss 52-28, at Auburn 44-39, at Texas) to go with losses at Missouri (45-17) and vs. South Carolina (38-19). FPI No. 19, SP+ No. 38. Remaining: at Georgia (14%), Oklahoma (58%), at Kentucky (47%), Vanderbilt (84%) and at Florida State (62%).
    TAKE: Gator Nation went from “fire somebody” to “book the bowl trip” in two Saturdays. That’s the fastest mood swing in Florida since the Publix deli ran out of sub rolls. Jon Sumrall’s roux is finally browning.

    Missouri (5-2, 2-2; AP No. 22)

    Projection: 7-5, Music City Bowl. ▼ DOWN a win (8-4 → 7-5), same bowl.
    The data: Lost 31-3 at Ole Miss. Still 4-0 at home. FPI No. 27, SP+ No. 20. Remaining: at Arkansas (77%), Texas (31%), at Georgia (12%), Kentucky (64%) and Oklahoma (61%). Nashville stays an easy drive.
    TAKE: The Show-Me State finally has a demand for Eli Drinkwitz: show us a touchdown from the 2-yard line. Bring a covered dish to Nashville anyway, y’all.

    Mississippi State (4-2, 2-2; receiving votes) (the cook’s team, graded fair)

    Projection: 7-5, Las Vegas Bowl. ■ STEADY on record and bowl, even though the computers now like State less.
    The data: Lost 31-0 at LSU and fell out of the AP Top 25 (was No. 16). FPI dropped to No. 38, the lowest of any SEC team we project to a bowl; SP+ has them No. 47. The early wins still count: at South Carolina 41-34, Missouri 31-24, at Minnesota 38-13. The path to 7-5: Tennessee Tech and Vanderbilt (77%) at home, plus one of two home coin flips, Oklahoma (48%) and Auburn (49%). FPI gives them a 92.2% shot at bowl eligibility.
    TAKE: Starkville’s cowbells went so quiet in Baton Rouge you could hear a crawfish sneeze. Jeff Lebby, when you’re inside the 40, Mawmaw says take the three points and say thank you. (Disclosure: the cook rang his into a pillow all weekend.)

    Auburn (4-2, 2-2; receiving votes)

    Projection: 7-5, Liberty Bowl. ▲ UP from 6-6 and the Birmingham Bowl.
    The data: Won 27-24 at No. 1 Georgia with a field goal as time expired. Losses are 44-39 to Florida and 24-14 at Tennessee. FPI No. 21 (96.2% for six wins), SP+ No. 40. The back half is brutal: LSU (26%), at Ole Miss (25%), Arkansas (83%), at Mississippi State (51%), Samford and at Alabama (18%).
    TAKE: Auburn folks rolled Toomer’s so hard after Athens that Lee County is rationing toilet paper like it’s hurricane season. Alex Golesh won’t buy his own supper till Easter.

    Oklahoma (3-3, 1-2)

    Projection: 6-6, Birmingham Bowl. ▼ DOWN from 7-5 and the Texas Bowl.
    The data: Lost 21-13 at home to Kentucky. The other losses are at Michigan (17-10) and at Georgia (41-13), and the big win is 27-24 over Texas. FPI No. 22, SP+ No. 34. FPI puts six wins at 65.0%, and we have it at 62%. Remaining: at Mississippi State (52%), South Carolina (59%), at Florida (42%), Ole Miss (39%), Texas A&M (57%) and at Missouri (39%).
    TAKE: Last week Sooner Nation was planning a parade. Now Brent Venables’ parade route runs straight to Birmingham, and the band’s down to one kazoo.

    South Carolina (3-3, 1-3)

    Projection: 6-6, Gasparilla Bowl. ■ STEADY.
    The data: Had a week off. The SEC losses are 41-34 to Mississippi State, 49-18 at Alabama and 35-34 to Kentucky, and the win is 38-19 at Florida. FPI No. 29, SP+ No. 32. FPI puts bowl eligibility at 56.9%, and we have it at 62%. Remaining: Tennessee (37%), at Oklahoma (41%), Texas A&M (55%), at Arkansas (72%), Georgia (17%) and at Clemson (62%).
    TAKE: Columbia’s bowl hopes are a 6-6 coin flip, and somehow Gamecock fans already know which ref is gonna blow it. Shane Beamer, keep the visor on and the antacids close.

    Texas A&M (4-3, 1-3)

    Projection: 6-6, bowl TBD (SEC backup slot). ■ STEADY.
    The data: Beat The Citadel 41-0. The SEC losses are to Kentucky (31-21), at LSU (35-6) and at Missouri (27-6). FPI rates them better than their record (No. 20, 61.1% for six wins), and SP+ has them No. 33. They need two wins from at Alabama (19%), at South Carolina (45%), Tennessee (40%), at Oklahoma (43%) and Texas (28%), and they’re the underdog in all five. If all 14 teams get to six wins, the SEC’s tie-ins run out of seats, so A&M lands in a leftover bowl.
    TAKE: College Station’s got the budget of a Houston oil company and the October of a church-league softball team. Mike Elko’s kitchen still smells like burnt roux.

    Vanderbilt (3-4, 0-4)

    Projection: 4-8, no bowl. ■ STEADY.
    The data: Four straight losses, the latest 31-21 at home to Arkansas. FPI No. 66 (2.8% bowl odds), SP+ No. 71. They’d need three wins from at Kentucky, at Mississippi State, Alabama, at Florida and Tennessee, and our model doesn’t favor them in any of the five.
    TAKE: Vandy fans ran the bowl math, double-checked it, showed their work, and quietly bought basketball tickets. Clark Lea, at least the library’s open late.

    Arkansas (3-4, 1-3)

    Projection: 4-8, no bowl. ■ STEADY on the destination, up a win from last week’s 3-9.
    The data: Won 31-21 at Vanderbilt for their first SEC win of the year. FPI No. 58 (4.4% bowl odds), SP+ No. 82. They’re the underdog in all five remaining games: Missouri, at Auburn, South Carolina, at Texas and LSU.
    TAKE: Ryan Silverfield got his first SEC win and Fayetteville called the Hogs so loud the cows in Missouri stopped giving milk. In the Ozarks, cher, 4-8 counts as a rebuilding plan with a tailgate.

    The Tally

    4 CFP teams (Georgia, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Alabama), plus Citrus (LSU), plus the pool of six (Florida–ReliaQuest, Kentucky–Gator, Texas–Texas Bowl, Missouri–Music City, Mississippi State–Las Vegas, Auburn–Liberty), plus Birmingham (Oklahoma) and Gasparilla (South Carolina), plus Texas A&M in a backup slot. That’s 14 bowl-eligible teams, the same as last week. Vanderbilt and Arkansas stay home.

    Where the computers argue with us: FPI gives Texas (41.0%) and Kentucky (39.4%) playoff odds right next to Ole Miss (43.6%) and Tennessee (44.7%). We went with Ole Miss because of its schedule and SP+. If Texas wins Saturday, we’ll eat the crow, cher. It goes great with rice.

    Games that move the pot this week (Oct. 24): Ole Miss at Texas (a playoff spot is basically on the line), Tennessee at South Carolina, LSU at Auburn, Oklahoma at Mississippi State (a 52-48 coin flip in our model), and Texas A&M at Alabama.

    More from the pot: our Week 7 recap and why Georgia still deserves the SEC crown.

    Sources (data)

    Gridiron Gumbo: SEC football, seasoned in Southwest Louisiana. Projections are our own TAKE built on the data above. Records and ratings are CONFIRMED as of Oct. 20, 2026.

  • Gumbo’s Picks: SEC Week 8 (Sat. Oct. 24)

    Gumbo’s Picks: SEC Week 8 (Sat. Oct. 24)

    Updated Sat Oct 24, 2026, 6:16 a.m. CT: Agreed by The Gambler and JR Handicapper (Rohn approved via Chief of Staff, Sat Oct 24, 6:11 a.m. CT); posted here Sat Oct 24, 6:16 a.m. CT. Tennessee/South Carolina: our straight-up pick is now South Carolina 26-25 (was Tennessee 28-25); still no play on the spread or the total. Everything else in this post is unchanged by this note.

    Updated Sat Oct 24, 2026, 5:52 a.m. CT: Agreed by The Gambler and JR Handicapper Fri Oct 23 evening; posted here Sat Oct 24, 5:52 a.m. CT. Oklahoma/Mississippi State score moved to Oklahoma 25-22 (still a pass on the side and total); Ole Miss/Texas is now a pass on both the side and the total (Texas 29-25 unchanged); LSU/Auburn stays LSU 29-21, lean Under 51.5 (DraftKings); Texas A&M/Alabama stays Alabama 32-19, pass. Details in each game below. Older updates follow.

    Updated Oct 22, 2026 (Thu.), 8:39 p.m. CT: DraftKings lines refreshed for every game (as of 8:12 p.m. CT Oct. 22); Oklahoma/Mississippi State is now a pass on both the spread and the total, Vanderbilt/Kentucky stays No Play, and Ole Miss/Texas is back to a slight lean Over 53.5 (DraftKings, 8:12 p.m. CT Oct. 22). Earlier (Oct 21): both of our Plays got knocked down to NO PLAY after new SP+ ratings came in, and Texas A&M/Alabama became a Pass. Details below.

    Ça c’est bon, y’all. T-Rohn done stirred the pot, tasted the roux, and here’s what’s simmerin’ for SEC Week 8, Saturday Oct. 24. Six SEC games, four teams on bye (Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Missouri), and the weather looks dry and mild everywhere, so no weather adjustments. We posted two Plays, three Leans and one Pass; as of the Oct. 21 update, both Plays are downgraded to No Play and the A&M/Alabama lean is now a Pass, so as of the Oct. 24 update we’re at one Lean (LSU/Auburn) and three Passes (Ole Miss/Texas, Texas A&M/Alabama, Oklahoma/Mississippi State). Every fan base gets the same spoon here.

    The Plays (Downgraded: No Play)

    Tennessee @ South Carolina (2:30 p.m. CT): Over 50.5 — DOWNGRADED / NO PLAY (line as of Oct 20: 50.5 at DraftKings and FanDuel, 50-51 across books)
    Both offenses grade out above average, Carolina plays fast (about 74 snaps a game), and the Gamecock defense has been giving up points this year. Our number lands near 53. Fair warning, cher: Tennessee’s games have gone Under 6 of 7, so this one’s got a little cayenne in it.
    Update Oct 21: The roux thinned out. Fresh SP+ numbers rate Tennessee’s defense better, and our raw model total dropped from 59.4 to 55.8. That’s 5.05 points over the market’s 50.75 (best number 50.5 at DraftKings), but we only trust our model for 25% of the number and the market for 75%, so our projected total is 52.0 and the edge is down to 1.25 points. That’s a small tier-2 lean now, not a Play.
    Line update (Oct. 22): DraftKings has the total at 50.5 (South Carolina -2.5) as of 8:12 p.m. CT Oct. 22, via VegasInsider. Pick unchanged. Picks disclaimer.
    Updated Sat Oct 24, 6:16 a.m. CT: switched our straight-up pick to South Carolina 26-25 (was Tennessee 28-25). The model and the market (South Carolina -2.5, DraftKings, 4:02 AM CT Sat run) both favor South Carolina. Still no play on the spread or the total.

    Vanderbilt @ Kentucky (6:30 p.m. CT): Over 51.25 — DOWNGRADED / NO PLAY (line as of Oct 20: 51.5 at DraftKings, 50.5-51 at most other books; consensus around 51.25)
    Both defenses rate below average, and both teams have gone Over in 5 of 7. Our number sits about 52 (number updated 11:22 AM CT Oct. 24). Shop for the 51 if you can find it.
    Update Oct 21: Kentucky’s defense got a better grade in the new SP+, and the total ticked up to 51.5 at both books we track, DraftKings and Bovada (as of 4:02 a.m. CT Oct. 21). Our edge shrank to 1.5 points. Call it a tier-3 lean, not a Play.
    Line update (Oct. 22): DraftKings has the total at 52.5 (Kentucky -10.5) as of 8:12 p.m. CT Oct. 22, via VegasInsider.
    Update Oct. 22 (8:12 p.m. CT): Kentucky 31-21. Pass on the side and No Play on the total at DraftKings UK -10.5 / 52.5 (8:12 PM CT Oct. 22). Picks disclaimer.

    The Leans

    Ole Miss @ Texas (6:30 p.m. CT): UPDATED Oct 24: PASS on the side and the total (was: lean Over 53.) (line as of Oct 20, 4:20 a.m. CT: 53.5 at DraftKings, 52.5 at Bovada; the 53 we posted was the midpoint of those two books, not a single book line. Shop for the 52.5.) The Rebel offense is one of the best in the country, and Texas EDGE Colin Simmons is OUT, per Thursday’s SEC availability report (via On3/Inside Texas). We like it, but not enough to call it a Play.
    Update Oct 21: Lean Over 53.5, tier 1. The total climbed to 53.5 at both DraftKings and Bovada (as of 4:02 a.m. CT Oct. 21), and Ole Miss’s defense graded out better in the new SP+, so our edge is down to a thin 0.8 points. Still on the Over, just with a lighter hand on the pepper.
    Update Oct 22: No Play at DraftKings 54.5 (as of 1:07 p.m. CT Oct. 22, via VegasInsider). Pick was made at 53.5; the thin lean Over returns at 53.5 or lower.
    Line update (Oct. 22): DraftKings has the total at 53.5 (Texas -3.5) as of 8:12 p.m. CT Oct. 22, via VegasInsider.
    Update Oct. 22 (8:12 p.m. CT): Texas 29-25. Pass on the side; slight lean Over 53.5 (DraftKings, 8:12 PM CT Oct. 22). Thin edge, and it’s No Play again if the total climbs back to 54.5. Picks disclaimer.
    Update (agreed Fri Oct 23 evening; posted Sat Oct 24, 5:52 a.m. CT): After the SEC’s Friday availability report (posted 7:10 PM CT), Texas is without RB Hollywood Smothers, WR Kaliq Lockett, OL Jaydon Chatman and edge rushers Colin Simmons and Richard Wesley; Ole Miss C Brycen Sanders is probable (OL Jackson Christian is newly questionable for Texas). Keeping Texas 29-25, now passing on both the side (-3, DraftKings) and the total (53.5, DraftKings), lines per VegasInsider 7:29 PM CT Fri Oct 23.
    Line update (Sat. Oct. 24, 11:11 a.m. CT): DraftKings has Texas -3 (-115), total 54.5 (Over -105 / Under -115), moneylines Texas -155 / Ole Miss +130, per ESPN’s DraftKings odds feed (VegasInsider’s DraftKings column matched), pulled 11:11 a.m. CT. Pick unchanged. Picks disclaimer.

    LSU @ Auburn (11 a.m. CT): lean Under 50.5 — UPDATED Oct 24: lean Under 51.5 (DraftKings). (line as of Oct 20, 4:20 a.m. CT: 50.5 at DraftKings and Bovada) The ratings line up with the spread almost exactly, and the totals model sits about a point low. Auburn’s coming off a huge win over Georgia, and the game after one of those can come out a little flat. Small lean only. Injury note (Oct 20, 7:15 PM CT): LSU WR Jackson Harris, who left the Mississippi State game with an ankle injury and was later seen in a walking boot, said Tuesday, "we'll be all good for this week." He expects to play; that is CONFIRMED as his on-record quote, not an official status (SEC availability report comes Wednesday). Sources: Tiger Rag, 247Sports.
    Update Oct 21: Lean Under 51.25, tier 2. The total went up to 51.25 (51.5 at DraftKings), which hands us a better number on the Under. Auburn also dismissed All-SEC LB Xavier Atkins Monday night (AP), and we docked the Tigers a half-point for it. Edge is 1.05 points.
    Line update (Oct. 22): DraftKings has the total at 51.5 (LSU -7) as of 8:12 p.m. CT Oct. 22, via VegasInsider. Pick unchanged. Picks disclaimer.
    Update (agreed Fri Oct 23 evening; posted Sat Oct 24, 5:52 a.m. CT): After the SEC’s Friday availability report (7:10 PM CT Fri Oct 23), Auburn DL Saint Farrior is out. Keeping LSU 29-21, lean Under 51.5 (DraftKings, LSU -7, VegasInsider 7:29 PM CT Fri Oct 23).
    Line update (Sat. Oct. 24, 11:11 a.m. CT): DraftKings has LSU -7 (-115), total 52.5 (Over -105 / Under -115), moneylines LSU -285 / Auburn +230, per ESPN’s DraftKings odds feed (VegasInsider’s DraftKings column matched the total and moneylines and showed LSU -7 at -118), pulled 11:11 a.m. CT; kickoff was 11 a.m. CT. Pick and lean unchanged as posted above. Picks disclaimer.

    Texas A&M @ Alabama (2:30 p.m. CT): lean Over 50.5 — UPDATED / PASS (line as of Oct 20, 4:20 a.m. CT: 50.5 at DraftKings and Bovada) Our side number is right on the market, and the total comes out about a point high. Mild lean, nothin’ spicier.
    Update Oct 21: Now a PASS. Alabama’s SP+ rating fell after the loss at Tennessee, and our total edge is gone (0.4 points). Nothin’ left in the pot here.
    Line update (Oct. 22): DraftKings has the total at 50.5 (Alabama -13.5) as of 8:12 p.m. CT Oct. 22, via VegasInsider. Pick unchanged. Picks disclaimer.
    Update (posted Sat Oct 24, 5:52 a.m. CT): After the SEC’s Friday availability report (7:10 PM CT Fri Oct 23), Alabama’s Zabien Brown, EJ Crowell and Racin Delgatty are doubtful; A&M’s Mario Craver, DJ Hicks, Daymion Sanford and Trovon Baugh are probable. Keeping Alabama 32-19, pass at -13.5 / 50.5 (FanDuel and DraftKings, VegasInsider 7:29 PM CT Fri Oct 23).
    Line update (Sat. Oct. 24, 11:11 a.m. CT): DraftKings has Alabama -13.5 (-112), total 49.5 (Over -115 / Under -105), moneylines Alabama -575 / Texas A&M +425, per ESPN’s DraftKings odds feed (VegasInsider’s DraftKings column matched), pulled 11:11 a.m. CT. Pick unchanged. Picks disclaimer.

    The Pass

    Oklahoma @ Mississippi State (2:30 p.m. CT): PASS, pending QB status (lean MSU +4) — UPDATED Oct 24: Oklahoma 25-22, pass spread/total (line as of Oct 20, 4:20 a.m. CT: MSU +4 at DraftKings and Bovada) This whole game depends on Bulldog QB Kamario Taylor, REPORTED day-to-day with turf toe. The line went from MSU +2 (midpoint of the DraftKings and Bovada openers) to +4 (DraftKings and Bovada, 4:21 a.m. CT Oct. 20), so the market’s pricing him out, but our ratings see a near coin flip. No Play until the official availability report. Disclosure: T-Rohn leans Mississippi State here, so take that lean with a grain of Tony’s.
    Update Oct 21: Our call is Oklahoma 23-20. We pass on the spread (OU -4.5 at DraftKings and Bovada, total 44.5 at DraftKings, as of 4:02 a.m. CT Oct. 21) and on the total, with a slight lean to the Under 44.5. OU’s elite defense against a better State offense, plus home field, makes this about a field goal, and Taylor’s questionable status (Wednesday report) is the whole edge. We re-decide after Thursday’s availability report.
    Update Oct. 22 (8:12 p.m. CT): Still Oklahoma 23-20. We pass on the spread at DraftKings OU -3, which lands right on our 3-point projection, and we pass on the total, dropping the slight Under 44.5 lean. Pick made Oct. 21 at OU -4.5 (DraftKings and Bovada), total 44.5 (DraftKings); DraftKings now OU -3 / 46.5 as of 8:03 PM CT Oct. 22 (via VegasInsider; DraftKings had moved to -5.5 Thursday afternoon). Picks disclaimer.
    Update (Sat. Oct. 24, 5:52 a.m. CT): Moved the score to Oklahoma 25-22 to match the 47.5 market total (DraftKings OU -2.5 / 47.5, seen at the 4:02 AM CT Sat run); still a pass on the side and total. Injury update (official SEC availability report, posted 1:00 p.m. CT Sat Oct. 24; added here Sat Oct. 24, 1:39 p.m. CT): Mississippi State QB Kamario Taylor is available. Oklahoma DB Eli Bowen and WR Elijah Thomas are out; OL Heath Ozaeta and OL Michael Fasusi are available. Our pick and score are unchanged.
    Line update (Sat. Oct. 24, 11:11 a.m. CT): DraftKings has Oklahoma -1.5 (-112), total 48.5 (Over -108 / Under -112), moneylines Oklahoma -122 / Mississippi State +102, per ESPN’s DraftKings odds feed (VegasInsider’s DraftKings column matched), pulled 11:11 a.m. CT. Pick and score unchanged. Picks disclaimer.

    Update Oct 21: T-Rohn’s full preview made the call at Oklahoma 23-20, pass spread/total (our score moved to Oklahoma 25-22 on Sat Oct. 24, see the Oklahoma update above; Under 44.5 lean at DraftKings dropped Oct. 22; pick made Oct. 21 at OU -4.5 (DraftKings and Bovada), total 44.5 (DraftKings); DraftKings now OU -3 / 46.5 as of 8:03 PM CT Oct. 22) → https://gridirongumbo.com/oklahoma-at-mississippi-state-preview-2026/.

    Honest note from the kitchen: five of our six totals leans point Over, and our totals numbers have run a little high this year. Treat these as small edges, not locks.

    For entertainment only, not betting advice. Injury info is REPORTED unless marked official. These picks may be updated until each game’s kickoff.

    Correction (Oct. 22, 2026): Texas EDGE Colin Simmons’ status changed from doubtful (Wed.) to out (Thu.). Updated (Oct. 22, 2026): Ole Miss–Texas total moved to 54.5 at DraftKings (1:07 p.m. CT, via VegasInsider); pick changed to No Play. Updated (Oct. 22, 2026): DraftKings lines refreshed for every game as of 8:12 p.m. CT (via VegasInsider); Oklahoma-Mississippi State now a pass on both the spread and the total (Under 44.5 lean dropped; pick made Oct. 21 at OU -4.5 (DraftKings and Bovada), total 44.5 (DraftKings); DraftKings now OU -3 / 46.5 as of 8:03 PM CT Oct. 22). Updated (Oct. 22, 2026, 8:32 p.m. CT): The Gambler and JR re-decided two picks. Vanderbilt–Kentucky: Kentucky 31-21, pass on the side and No Play on the total at DraftKings UK -10.5 / 52.5 (8:12 PM CT Oct. 22). Ole Miss–Texas: Texas 29-25, pass on the side, slight lean Over 53.5 (DraftKings, 8:12 PM CT Oct. 22), replacing the No Play above. We also named the sportsbook and time for every line in this post. Picks disclaimer. Updated (Oct. 22, 2026, 8:39 p.m. CT): the Oklahoma–Mississippi State pick line now names the book for each number: the Oct. 21 spread (OU -4.5) was at DraftKings and Bovada, and the 44.5 total was at DraftKings. The pick is unchanged. Updated (Sat. Oct. 24, 2026, 5:52 a.m. CT): agreed by The Gambler and JR Handicapper Fri Oct. 23 evening, posted 5:52 a.m. CT Sat. Oklahoma–Mississippi State score moved to Oklahoma 25-22, still a pass on the side and total (DraftKings OU -2.5 / 47.5, 4:02 AM CT Sat run); Ole Miss–Texas total call changed from slight lean Over 53.5 to Pass, with the side still a pass (DraftKings -3 / 53.5, VegasInsider 7:29 PM CT Fri Oct. 23), Texas 29-25 unchanged; LSU–Auburn total corrected to 51.5 (DraftKings, VegasInsider 7:29 PM CT Fri Oct. 23), lean Under and LSU 29-21 unchanged; Alabama–Texas A&M availability note added, Alabama 32-19 and pass unchanged. Updated (Sat. Oct. 24, 2026, 11:11 a.m. CT): DraftKings lines refreshed for Oklahoma–Mississippi State, Ole Miss–Texas, LSU–Auburn and Texas A&M–Alabama (market numbers only, per ESPN’s DraftKings odds feed, cross-checked with VegasInsider); no pick, lean or score changed. Picks disclaimer.

  • Auburn Dismisses Star Linebacker Xavier Atkins, Multiple Outlets Report

    Auburn Dismisses Star Linebacker Xavier Atkins, Multiple Outlets Report

    UPDATE (Oct. 20, 2026, 8:47 AM CT) — CONFIRMED: Xavier Atkins says he will enter the transfer portal. In a post on X early Tuesday, Oct. 20, he wrote: "I have nothing but respect [for] Auburn University and will continue to support my teammates this season," adding that his focus is on his health, his family and finishing the semester, and that he will be entering the portal "at the appropriate time," per ESPN (Pete Thamel) and Pete Thamel on X. He did not address the dismissal itself. He is no longer listed on Auburn's online roster, per Auburn Wire (USA Today). Pete Nakos of On3 reported the portal plan first. Auburn still has not put out a statement.

    The first-team All-SEC linebacker, who sat out Saturday’s upset of No. 1 Georgia, is no longer with the program. LSU, his former school, visits the Plains on Saturday.

    By T-Rohn, Gridiron Gumbo · Posted Oct. 19, 2026, late night CT

    The news, straight up

    CONFIRMED: Auburn has dismissed linebacker Xavier Atkins from the football program, according to several outlets that reported it independently late Monday night, Oct. 19. ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported it first, at about 10:36 p.m. CT, citing sources. On3’s AuburnSports (Justin Hokanson), 247Sports’ Auburn247 (Jason Caldwell) and AL.com (Peter Rauterkus) each confirmed it through their own sources within minutes, and WSFA’s Davis Baker said he could confirm the reports.

    Not yet official: At press time we had not found a statement from Auburn or from Atkins. Head coach Alex Golesh has kept the reasons in-house.

    How we got here

    CONFIRMED: Golesh announced on Oct. 12 that Atkins would not play against Georgia. “We’ll keep it in house,” Golesh said. “He won’t be available for us this week for the game.” Atkins did not travel for Auburn’s 27-24 win in Athens on Saturday.

    CONFIRMED: At his Monday press conference, hours before the reports, Golesh said, “We’re still working through it. I don’t have an update right now.”

    REPORTED (On3, Oct. 12): Sources told AuburnSports that Atkins’ discipline this season was mostly about showing up late to, or skipping, required meetings, and at times about how he practiced. Auburn has not commented on that.

    What Auburn loses

    CONFIRMED: Atkins was a first-team All-SEC pick in 2025 and earned All-American honors from several publications. He led the SEC with 17 tackles for loss last season, with 84 tackles and nine sacks. This season he had 37 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and three sacks in five games.

    CONFIRMED: Auburn’s defense held up without him at Georgia. Bryce Deas started in his place and made eight tackles, and Elijah Melendez had nine tackles, a sack and an interception. Georgia ran for just 113 yards.

    What’s next

    CONFIRMED: Auburn (4-2, 2-2 SEC) hosts LSU on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 11 a.m. CT on ABC. Atkins transferred to Auburn from LSU, so the Tigers from Baton Rouge will see a familiar name missing from the other sideline.

    The Gumbo Take

    (TAKE, not news.) This is a tough one, and there’s nothing funny about a young man’s career taking a hard turn. Golesh made a call about his locker room, and his defense just proved at Georgia it can cook without its best ingredient. We wish Atkins the best wherever he goes from here. We’ll update this story if Auburn or Atkins comments.

    Labels: CONFIRMED = verified by two or more reliable sources or official records. REPORTED = from one reliable outlet. TAKE = T-Rohn’s opinion.

    Sources

Report an error

Tell us what we got wrong. An editor will check it.

We use your name and email only to follow up on this report. Leave them blank if you like.