College Football
Return Of The Old Swamp
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
We’re done with the first month of the college football season.
One big question I have is, are the Florida Gators back? They became an elite program when Steve Spurrier became the head ball coach in 1990.
He coached in Gainesville from 1990-2001 and had a record of 122-27-1. He also won six SEC championships, won a national championship and played in another. He averaged more than ten wins per season and coached a Heisman Trophy winner (Danny Wuerffel).
Urban Meyer had the second-best tenure after him from 2005-2010. His record was 65-15. He also won two national championships, two SEC championships and he also coached a Heisman Trophy winner (Tim Tebow).
They have struggled to find consistency after Meyer left. Their last head coach was Billy Napier (2022-2025). He had one winning season in 2024, when they went 8-5. He was fired during the 2025 season after starting 3-4.
Jon Sumrall was hired as the 31st head coach at UF on November 30, 2025. I thought he had a similar profile to Napier because he’s coming from a much smaller program. He coached at Troy (2022-23) and Tulane (2024-25). His record was 43-12 at both schools.
Napier mainly stuck around to start his final season because he had quarterback DJ Lagway returning. After Sumrall was hired, Lagway transferred to Baylor.
We’re only four games into Sumrall’s first season but the Gators are 4-0. They beat #4 Ole Miss, 52-28 in the Swamp. It tied Florida’s most points against a top-five team since beating Florida State 52-20 in the 1996 national championship game.
“It’s not asleep, but it ain’t fully awake yet. It’s being kind of stirred up a little bit,” said Sumrall, who became the first coach in Southeastern Conference history to lead his team to 200 or more points in his first four games.
“We’re going to get there. It’s coming.”
“I didn’t come here for us to be average.”
Junior running back and Atlanta native Jaden Baugh looks like the best back in college football. Last season he rushed for 1,170 yards, 8 touchdowns and averaged 5.3 yards per carry.
He also had 33 receptions, 210 yards and 2 scores.
After four games he has 600 yards, 11 TD’s and averages 7.2 ypc. He had 142 yards and 3 touchdowns against the Rebels.
Baugh became the third player in school history to top 100 yards rushing in five consecutive games, joining Emmitt Smith (1987, ’88) and Fred Taylor (1997). If he can sustain this, he could win the Heiman Trophy.
“That means everything to me, just having my name up there with those guys,” Baugh said. “They did so much when they were here. And just being able to follow their footsteps and excel, that just means so much to me.”
The Gators are now ranked #8. We will see if they can handle success.
I also want to talk about the impact the new offensive coordinator, Buster Faulkner is having. He was the OC/tight ends coach at Georgia Tech from 2023-25. He was the offensive quality control coach at Georgia from 2020-22. The Bulldogs won two national titles while he was there.
He got his QB, Aaron Philo (Georgia Tech) to transfer with him when he was hired at Florida. Philo has passed for 917 yards, 7 scores and 2 interceptions, while completing 72.4% of his passes.
The remaining schedule is @ #25 Mizzou, South Carolina, @ #1 Texas, #2 Georgia, Oklahoma, @ #24 Kentucky, Vanderbilt and @ Florida State.
I think the Gators will win ten games and make the College Football Playoff.
Group Of Six College Football Playoff Contenders
By: Capers Childs
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The College Football Playoff bracket is different for the 2026 season because there is no longer a guaranteed bid for a Group of Six conference champion.
Instead, the automatic bid goes to the highest-ranked team from the American Athletic Conference, Conference USA, Mid-American Conference, Mountain West, Pac-12 or Sun Belt, regardless of whether that team wins its conference championship.
With this change, the race for the Group of Six’s spot in the College Football Playoff becomes even more competitive.
With that being said, I think James Madison, Troy, Memphis and the University of South Florida have the best chance of earning that spot.
Starting with James Madison, the Dukes have gotten off to a strong start in 2026. The recent win over San Diego State is especially important because it came on the road against an FBS opponent.
JMU also forced two turnovers in the game and finished with 417 yards of total offense.
The Dukes also have several important games remaining, including games against Marshall, App State and Troy. If JMU can continue winning, especially against its stronger Sun Belt opponents, it could be a contender near the top of the Group of Six rankings.
Troy is another team that could enter the playoff conversation. The Trojans are also off to a good start. Troy’s only loss came against No. 20 Missouri, 27-17.
The Trojans actually started the game strong, scoring the first 10 points and holding Missouri scoreless in the first quarter. Although the loss keeps Troy from having a perfect record, playing a ranked SEC opponent provides them with a quality opportunity to strengthen its résumé. The Trojans also have important Sun Belt games remaining, including a game against JMU on October 29.
Memphis is another contender because of the strength of its nonconference schedule. The Tigers only have one loss and that was to Boise State.
The game against Boise State was particularly important because both teams entered the season as teams expected to compete for the Group of Six playoff spot.
Memphis still has several meaningful American Athletic Conference games remaining, including games against Tulane, Army and South Florida.
If Memphis can finish the season with a strong conference record, those games could play a major role in determining where the Tigers are ranked at the end of the season.
Finally, South Florida has also put itself in position to compete for the playoff spot. The Bulls are undefeated. One of USF’s victories came over Army and that was big because Army entered that game undefeated, making it a meaningful conference victory for South Florida.
The Bulls also have several important games ahead, including UTSA, East Carolina, Memphis and Tulane.
The November 12 matchup against Memphis could be a good contest because both teams are competing for position within the American and potentially for the Group of Six automatic bid.
Overall, James Madison, Troy, Memphis and South Florida all have paths to the College Football Playoff.
The new format makes the race more complicated because winning a conference championship alone does not guarantee a playoff spot for these teams.
Instead, they need to build the strongest overall résumé possible. As the season continues, wins against quality opponents, avoiding losses and performing well against other Group of Six contenders will be important.
The team that finishes highest in the final rankings among these conferences will earn the automatic playoff bid, and that makes every remaining game important.
Protect College Sports Act
By: Michael Spiers
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
For the past few years, I’ve written plenty about how college athletics has become almost unrecognizable.
The transfer portal has become free agency. NIL has evolved from athletes making money off their name, image and likeness into something that often looks a lot like recruiting payroll. Schools can now share revenue directly with athletes. And seemingly every few months another court ruling changes the rules again.
Something has to give. That is why the Protect College Sports Act (PCSA) currently moving through Congress deserves our attention.
The bipartisan legislation, sponsored by Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Maria Cantwell of Washington, cleared an important hurdle in early September when the Senate voted 77-22 to move it forward for debate and possible final passage.
At its core, the PCSA attempts to create one national set of rules, which is something college athletics desperately needs.
Among other provisions, the legislation would establish federal standards for NIL, place limits around revenue sharing, provide the NCAA and conferences certain antitrust protections to enforce rules, establish medical and health protections for athletes, and create protections for scholarships and roster spots in nonrevenue sports.
It also attempts to put some sanity back into the transfer portal by generally allowing athletes one unrestricted transfer without losing eligibility.
There are parts of that I really like. I’ve never had a problem with college athletes making money. If somebody wants to pay a Georgia quarterback to appear in a commercial or an offensive lineman to promote his business, good for them.
But what we’ve created isn’t really NIL anymore. When players are essentially being recruited from one school to another based on who can assemble the largest financial package, let’s at least admit what we’re watching.
That’s professional sports without contracts, salary caps or collective bargaining. College football needs rules, but the problem is deciding who gets to make them, and that’s where I’m a little uncomfortable with the PCSA.
One of the biggest criticisms is that it provides antitrust protection allowing the NCAA, conferences and schools greater authority to regulate compensation and enforce restrictions.
That deserves scrutiny. For decades, college athletics fought against giving athletes a larger share of the enormous amount of money they helped generate. The courts eventually forced much of the change we’re seeing today.
Now we’re being asked to give some of those same institutions greater legal protection to regulate the new system.
You can understand why athletes and their advocates might be skeptical. Critics such as Senators Chris Murphy and Cory Booker, the NAACP and athlete advocacy organizations argue the legislation places too many restrictions on players while doing comparatively little to restrain spending elsewhere in college athletics.
That’s a legitimate concern, but at the same time, doing nothing isn’t much of a solution either. I don’t believe the current system is sustainable.
Unlimited movement, constantly changing eligibility rulings, recruiting inducements disguised as NIL agreements and different laws from state to state aren’t good for the long-term health of college athletics.
And my biggest concern isn’t Georgia football, Alabama football or Ohio State football.
Those programs will survive. I’m worried about wrestling, swimming, track, tennis, softball and all the other sports that don’t generate millions of dollars in television revenue.
The PCSA specifically attempts to protect scholarships and roster opportunities in those sports, and that may ultimately be one of its most important provisions.
So, count me among those who believe college sports desperately needs guardrails. I just don’t want those guardrails to become handcuffs for the athletes.
The goal shouldn’t be returning college athletics to the old days when everyone made money except the people actually playing the games.
But the answer can’t be pretending the current system is working perfectly either.
Best Of Bulloch
By: Joseph Stuckey
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
A lot of emphasis gets put on Bulloch County’s current collegiate prospects, but over the past few seasons there have been quite a few players who have made the jump and now play on Saturdays.
With college football in full swing, I thought it would be a good time to highlight some of these players. Below is a list of some of Bulloch County’s standouts at the FBS level organized by graduation year.
First, let’s start with the class of 2026, which produced current Alabama Crimson Tide offensive lineman Bear Fretwell. The 6-7 true freshman lineman was rated as a unanimous 3-star and the 47th-ranked player in the state of Georgia for the 2026 class. The Crimson Tide will look to contend for the SEC title as well as a berth in the CFP.
The class of 2024 was one of those once-in-a-generation classes that produced 3 Power 4 (P4) players at the time. To start with, Portal High School produced Amir Jackson, who took his talents to Gainesville, FL.
The 6-5 tight end was a consensus 4-star and was ranked as a top-15 player in the state of Georgia. Jackson has appeared in 15 games for the Gators and scored a touchdown last season against Texas A&M. Under new head coach Jon Sumrall, the Gators will look to make a run at the SEC title and potentially sneak into the CFP.
Also in the class of 2024, Statesboro High School produced Kam Mikell and Amontrae Bradford. They were a part of the Statesboro team that gave coach Matt Dobson his first postseason win as a Blue Devil.
Bradford was a consensus 3-star and the No. 41-ranked edge rusher in the country. He has appeared in 26 games for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and has accounted for 25 total tackles. He will be a big part of the Yellow Jackets’ defense that will look to bring the first ACC title to The Flats since 2009.
For Kam Mikell, his journey has been a little different. He committed out of SHS to Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes. During his time there, he appeared in 8 games and then decided to transfer this season to play for his hometown Georgia Southern Eagles.
Mikell was a consensus 4-star and was the number 31 player in the state of Georgia for the 2024 class. His commitment to GSU really energized the fanbase, as he was their highest-rated transfer this past cycle according to 247Sports.
Under head coach Clay Helton, the Eagles have set their sights on winning their first Sun Belt title since 2014.
The final Bulloch County native is from the class of 2023. Jordan Lovett has spent his entire collegiate career with the Troy Trojans.
Lovett came out of Statesboro High School, and picked Troy over Georgia State, Charlotte, and Georgia Southern, among others.
During his time at Troy, he has appeared in 25 games and has 700+ all-purpose yards. This season, the Trojans will be looking to claim their first Sun Belt title since 2023.
As you can see, Bulloch County has quite a few alumni at the FBS level, and the current group of prospects will only add to its growing reputation as a pipeline to the collegiate level.
Can Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Recover After Tough Start?
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets lost to #18 Tennessee at home, 45-24. They lost their first game to Colorado, so they are now 0-2.
Tech is one of only three Power Four conference teams to open this season with consecutive games against power-conference opponents.
The Vols are led by true freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon. I thought the Yellow Jackets had a chance to win the game because they were facing a young QB making his first start on the road. Brandon went 10 of 21 for 148 yards and 2 touchdowns.
RB DeSean Bishop rushed for 147 yards and 2 scores.
Tennessee also had 14 penalties for 142 yards.
Georgia Tech blocked a punt and scored a touchdown after Elgin Session returned it. It was their first blocked punt return for a score in 22 years. They led 10-7 after the first quarter. After that, UT scored 17 unanswered points in the second quarter.
The offense finally scored their first touchdown of the season in the third quarter on a 2-yard touchdown reception by RB Justice Haynes. The Michigan transfer had 117 total yards and two touchdowns. The offense needs to make him the focal point.
QB Alberto Mendoza, the transfer from Indiana and younger brother of #1 pick, Fernando Mendoza has struggled. He completed 26 of 40 passes for 221 yards, 1 TD and 2 interceptions. One of those was a pick-six.
“Yeah, they played, they went to more of a, not the entire time, but a good portion of the time, played a three down front to be able to change up their gaps in the front, but also to bring the edge pressure” head coach Brent Key said. “And that’s what was happening a couple of times, some of the balls that were batted down even as well. And then when you’re doing that and they’re showing and they played a floater-type guy in the middle that’s a down lineman that’s playing in a linebacker-type stance, and they’re dropping different guys into coverage.”
Key also spoke about the team’s identity after the game.
“Yeah, you know, you don’t really expect anything. You don’t live in that type of world. You know, I guess you say you do it. There’s what you want. There’s the standard that you have, right, and that you play to. I will say this, last week was nothing close to a standard, an identity, whatever fancy word, you know, culture, whatever word you want to put up on social media. It was not even close to it. It didn’t even resemble anything. I thought a lot of times tonight it was a lot closer to what we want to be.”
This might be a tough season. I thought they would win the first game before the season started. I believe it will be tough for them to get six wins and become bowl eligible.
The next game is at home against Mercer, an FCS team. The Bears are ranked #22 but they are coming off of a loss to Furman. This should be an easy win for the Jackets.
The remaining schedule is @ Stanford, Duke, @ Virginia Tech, Boston College, @ Pitt, # 23 Louisville, @ Clemson, Wake Forest and @ #2 Georgia. Where will the other five wins come from?
They should be favored against Stanford, Duke and Wake Forest. I think they’re evenly matched against BC and Clemson. It’s possible they might pull an upset and beat a team they aren’t supposed to. The opposite of that is also possible.
LSU To Be Ousted From SEC?
By: Michael Spiers
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Welcome to college football in 2026.
On Saturday night, LSU looked like one of the best teams in America, dismantling Clemson 51-10 in Lane Kiffin’s debut.
By Tuesday, the Tigers had climbed to No. 8 in the AP poll. And on that same day, the Southeastern Conference was preparing for a meeting that could potentially result in LSU being kicked out of the league. You can’t make this stuff up.
The dispute centers around Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris, two former Ole Miss players who signed NFL contracts and spent time with professional teams this summer before attempting to return to college football at LSU.
The SEC says they shouldn’t be eligible. A Louisiana judge has ruled, at least temporarily, that they can play. LSU didn’t use either player against Clemson, but the fight has continued anyway.
And naturally, Lane Kiffin couldn’t resist having a little fun with it.
With LSU leading Clemson 31-3 at halftime Saturday, Kiffin joked during his television interview, “Imagine if we had pro players.”
I’m guessing SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey didn’t find that nearly as funny as Kiffin did.
Now the situation has escalated to the point where SEC presidents and chancellors are scheduled to meet and potentially consider LSU’s future in the conference.
We’re talking about LSU here. A founding member of the SEC. One of the biggest brands in college football; Tiger Stadium, national championships and generations of SEC history.
Personally, I think kicking LSU out would be a massive overreaction. But I also understand the SEC’s position.
A conference has to be able to make rules and expect its members to follow them. If the schools agree on an eligibility rule and one member can simply go to court and have that rule blocked, how does the conference govern itself?
But that’s also why this story is about much more than LSU. College football has changed almost everything about itself in a remarkably short period of time without developing a system capable of governing what it has become.
NIL changed the financial landscape. The transfer portal changed roster building. Revenue sharing changed the relationship between players and schools. Eligibility rules continue to be challenged in court.
And every time the NCAA or a conference tries to draw a line, someone seems ready to file another lawsuit.
So, who’s actually in charge of college football? The NCAA? The conferences? The schools? The courts? I’m not sure anybody knows anymore.
I don’t blame the players for taking advantage of every opportunity available to them. I don’t necessarily blame LSU for challenging a rule it believes is wrong. And I certainly don’t blame the SEC for believing membership in its conference should require following conference rules.
But college football desperately needs some consistency. That’s the bigger story here.
The crazy part is that LSU might actually be really good. The Tigers just embarrassed Clemson and suddenly look like a legitimate playoff contender.
Yet only a few days later, we’re barely talking about football.
Instead, we’re wondering whether one of the SEC’s founding members could actually be thrown out of the conference.
That’s college football in 2026. LSU may be ready to compete for an SEC championship.
First, apparently, the Tigers have to make sure they’re still in the SEC.
Clemson Tigers: A Declining Program
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The college football season has officially kicked off. I want to discuss Clemson’s head coach, Dabo Swinney. He’s had a lot of success at Clemson but the current era of college football seems to have passed him by.
Clemson traveled to Baton Rouge to face #11 LSU recently. After that performance, LSU looks like the best team in the country. They beat up on the other Tigers, 51-10. This was Clemson’s worst loss since falling 41-0 to Syracuse in the 1996 Gator Bowl
“The best thing about that game is it’s over,” Dabo Swinney said. “Just really poor performance, not what we worked for or expected.”
They played in front of a sellout crowd of 102,000 at Tiger Stadium. The game was delayed almost two hours due to a weather delay.
Clemson did tie the game 3-3 in the first quarter. They briefly looked like they had a chance. LSU finished with 644 yards of offense. Clemson finished with 145 yards.
That led to LSU head coach Lane Kiffin taking shots at Clemson. “I didn’t expect their offense to be that dysfunctional,” Kiffin said after the game. “Our [scout] team scored more than they did against us.”
“We got our asses kicked,” Swinney said. “We gotta go win next week. It’s an embarrassing performance, coaching and playing. We’re going to have to own that. We can’t let that lead to another loss.”
LSU rushed for 309 yards. RB Dilin Jones, who transferred from Wisconsin, rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns. Arizona State transfer QB, Sam Leavitt, rushed for 113 yards and two scores. He also passed for 230 yards and a TD.
“You’re not going to win if you can’t stop the run,” Swinney added. “We just did a really poor job of setting the edge, especially versus the quarterback run, which really killed us.”
The Tigers (Clemson) struggled so much on offense they pulled starting QB Christopher Vizzina out of the game for freshman Tait Reynolds late in the second quarter.
“The start of the game was great for us, but we couldn’t truly capitalize on it,” Vizzina said, referring to his offense’s stumbles. “We’re not helping our defense at all.”
I have to start with the good things Swinney has done. He took over as the interim head coach in 2008. Since then, he’s gone 187-55, which includes two national championships in 2016 and 2018. He turned the Tigers into an elite program.
He’s competing against what he’s previously done. In the new era of college football, which includes NIL and the transfer portal, he’s been slow to adapt. He went several years without having a player transfer to Clemson.
He’s been adamant that he only wants to build his team through high school recruiting. That blueprint worked about 8-10 years ago.
They have been on a steady decline. After 12 consecutive seasons with double digit wins, they were 9-4 in 2023. They did bounce back in 2024, going 10-4 and making the College Football Playoff.
That season started with a 34-3 loss to #1 Georgia. That showed the talent gap between the Tigers and an elite program. #5 Texas beat them in the CFP 38-24 and the final score makes the game seem closer than what it was.
Last season the Tigers started the season ranked #4 in the AP poll. They returned senior QB Cade Klubnik and several starters from the previous year. They went 7-6, with one of the losses in the Pinstripe Bowl to Penn State.
The next game is against Georgia Southern. I think this will be another long season.
Mercer Bears 2026 Preview
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
There is one overlooked FCS football program in the state of Georgia.
Mercer reinstated their football program in 2013 after a 72-year hiatus. The Bears have been pretty successful since returning.
They won the Southern Conference championship the last two seasons.
In 2024 they finished 10-2, with one of those losses at #10 Alabama. The Bears were ranked #8 and they won their first-round playoff game against #10 Rhode Island.
The following week they were beaten by powerhouse, #3 North Dakota State. Of course, NDSU went on to win another FCS national championship that season.
Last season they finished 9-3. One of the losses was at Auburn, which is expected. They were ranked #7 and hosted a playoff game against #11 South Dakota. They were beaten 47-0.
They are looking to build on that momentum and win the SoCon again.
This season they are led by 6’4, 210 lbs. senior QB, Jaylen King. He’s from Folkston, GA and he attended Charlton County High. He’s attended a different college every season. He started at Gardner-Webb, then transferred to East Tennessee State and Florida State.
He redshirted last year at FSU and played in one game. As a sophomore at ETSU in 2024, he started 10 games. King threw for 1,536 yards and 9 touchdowns on 116-for-221 (.525) passing with 11 interceptions. He also carried the ball 105 times for 422 yards and five additional scores. As you can see, he’s a dual threat quarterback.
Senior WR Brayden Smith is a Macon native. He’s attended Mercer all four years, which is rare in the transfer portal era of college football.
He’s been named the Southern Conference Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. He’s also one of 30 players named to the Walter Payton Award watch list.
In 2025, Smith accounted for 1,267 all-purpose yards, leading the team in return yards and finishing second in receiving yards (712 yards). He had seven games where he accounted for more than 100 yards.
The coaches also picked the Bears to win the SoCon. They received six first place votes from the ten head coaches.
They also have a few more players that were named to the 2026 Preseason All-Southern Conference First Team. They are OL Brody Balliew, OL Tyler Murray, DL Kobe McInnis and LB Jyarius Carter.
Mercer started the season ranked #21. Week 0 for FBS is the opening weekend for FCS. The Bears played East Texas A&M on ESPN. They won the game, 23-15. They had a 23-0 lead going into halftime and held on to win.
King threw a 12-yard touchdown to TE Jackson Kostmayer. Senior CB Cameron Goggins returned an interception 38 yards for a pick-6. Sophomore K Simon Zeidan made 3-of-4 field goal attempts. After the win Mercer has moved up to #19.
King passed for 177 yards and a touchdown, completing 53.6% of his passes. Smith had 9 receptions for 131 yards. RB Zahmari Palode-Gary had 8 carries for 87 yards.
The remaining schedule is:
9/5 vs Presbyterian*
9/12 vs Furman
9/19 @ Georgia Tech*
9/26 @ #20 Abilene Christian*
10/3 @ VMI
10/10 vs # 24 Western Carolina
10/17 @ Samford
10/31 vs The Citadel
11/7 @ Chattanooga
11/14 @ #12 Tennessee Tech
11/21 vs East Tennessee State
Non-conference games are indicated with an asterisk.
I think the best-case scenario for Mercer is finishing 10-2. One of those losses will be against Georgia Tech since they are a power conference FBS team. The schedule is pretty tough in addition to that, with three ranked opponents.
I think the more likely outcome is eight, maybe nine wins.
Georgia Players Commitments To Georgia Schools
By: Joseph Stuckey
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
As we are less than 100 days away from Early National Signing Day on December 2nd, I thought it would be a good time to examine the recruiting rankings of the 5 FBS teams in the State of Georgia.
To start with, the Georgia Bulldogs sit at number 14 in the country with two 5-stars and eight 4-stars.
Their class is highlighted by the #1 running back in the country, Kemon Spell, and the #1 tight end, Jaxon Dollar.
They also have a local verbal commitment from Abram Eisenhower, who is a consensus 3-star offensive lineman from Lowndes County.
Next are the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, who posted an impressive 9-4 record last season under head coach Brent Key. They currently have the number 26 overall recruiting class, which is headlined by nine 4-star recruits.
They do have local standout offensive lineman Jordan Dillon from Effingham County verbally committed to them; he is a 3-star. Also, 3-star wide receiver Antwan Lockett from Colquitt County is verbally committed to the Yellow Jackets.
Next, I will dive into the three Group of 6 Schools in the state. It is always interesting to see which of these 3 finishes on top each year. I say this because they are all in some of the highest recruited areas in the country.
Georgia Southern is in the 912 area code, which has produced a top-3 overall recruit for the past 2 recruiting cycles. Both Kennesaw State and Georgia State are in the Metro Atlanta area, which produces a top-25 overall recruit basically every year.
First is the Georgia Southern Eagles, who have the highest average recruit rating of the three. They do have a couple of local wide receivers verbally committed to them: 3-star MJ Knight (Calvary Day) and 3-star Billy Crider (Bulloch Academy).
They also have verbal commitments from 3-star tight end Elan Jones (Ware County) and 3-star running back Josiah Gibbons (Brunswick).
Next is fellow Sun Belt school Georgia State, which has the highest-rated overall class of the three schools on both On3 and 247Sports.
Head Coach Dell McGee was able to reel in a verbal commitment from 4-star athlete Justin Murphy, who plays at nearby North Clayton High School.
They also do have a couple of local verbal commitments: 3-star wide receiver Jamarian Mingo (Valdosta) and 3-star running back Donterrius Mincey (Toombs County).
Last but not least is the defending Conference USA Champion, the Kennesaw State Owls.
Right now the Owls are basically tied with Georgia Southern in both overall recruiting class ranking and average recruit rating.
They do have a local verbal commitment from 3-star Braylon Cone (Bulloch Academy), who is the highest-rated defensive lineman in the 912 area code for the 2027 cycle.
There is not much of a surprise with where these teams currently sit in the rankings. If you look at last year’s recruiting cycle rankings, it is very similar to this year’s rankings.
UGA is normally near the top, and Georgia Tech is trying to crack the top 25.
For the G6 schools, they usually finish close together in the rankings, so it will be interesting to see which of the 3 ends up on top this recruiting cycle.
Alabama Crimson Tide 2026 Preview
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Alabama has been a perennial power in college football for decades. Any season where they don’t win a national championship seems like a disappointment.
Nick Saban coached the Crimson Tide from 2007-23 and was arguably the greatest coach of all time. He led them to six national championships and 9 SEC titles. As you can see, he’s a tough act to follow.
Kalen DeBoer stepped in as his replacement in 2024. He led Washington to the national championship game the year before that and had a record of 25-3 with the Huskies. So far, he has not met the expectations of Alabama fans.
They were 9-4 in 2024. In 2025, they were 11-4 and won a road College Football Playoff game against Oklahoma. They were obliterated in the Rose Bowl by Indiana, 38-3.
The Crimson Tide finished 125th in the nation in rushing in 2025, averaging 104.1 yards per game. Bama has been known for their physicality so that is surprising. The question is will that change in 2026?
They enter this season ranked #13. The offensive line has improved in Fall camp. Adrian Klemm is the new position coach and they are starting an entirely different o-line from last season.
“You can just see there’s more and more confidence,” DeBoer said. “I would just say, generally speaking, this week you are not having busts like we would have week one. You are seeing a gel. Now you are seeing holes open up for the running backs to run through, and we broke down what an explosive run play is and what it take sat the beginning of fall camp. And that’s the yards you get before contact. That’s making a missed tackle, you know? There is a formula to that when you play the percentages. And I think you are seeing more and more of that happen, but it starts all up front with the offensive line.”
The QB competition is between Keelon Russell and Austin Mack. We should find out who the starter will be in about one week.
The team is hoping talented junior WR Ryan Coleman-Williams can be more consistent in 2026. As a freshman he had 48 catches, 865 yards and 8 touchdowns. He also had 2 rushing scores. Last season, he had 49 receptions, 689 yards and 4 scores. He also had a lot of drops.
Bama lost over 20 players in the transfer portal and brought in 19 players. Some of the key players are OT Jayvin James (Miss State), Edge Desmond Umeozulu (South Carolina), IOL Nick Brooks (Texas), DL Terrance Green (Oregon), WR Noah Rogers (NC State), LB Caleb Woodson (VA Tech), TE Josh Ford (Oklahoma State), OL Kaden Strayhorn (Michigan) and DL Devan Thompkins (USC).
They also signed the top running back in the class of 2026, EJ Crowell.
Here is the schedule:
9/5 vs East Carolina
9/12 @ Kentucky
9/19 vs Florida State
9/26 vs South Carolina
10/3 @ Miss State
10/10 vs #3 Georgia
10/17 @ #20 Tennessee
10/24 vs #8 Texas A&M
11/7 @ #11 LSU
11/14 @ Vanderbilt
11/21 vs Chattanooga
11/28 vs Auburn
Alabama should start the season strong. They should get revenge against FSU after losing the season opener to them. After the first five games, the schedule gets tough.
The four game stretch against UGA, Tennessee, Texas A&M and LSU could make or break the season. I think they have to win at least two of those games to make the playoffs.
I predict Alabama to win nine regular season games.
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