LSU fans will be glad to hear WR Chris Hilton Jr. will be back on the field to take on Texas A&M.
As the No. 8 LSU Tigers face the daunting task of taking on the No. 14 Texas A&M Aggies on the road in Kyle Field, the team will welcome back deep-threat wide receiver Chris Hilton Jr., who is set to make his highly-anticipated season debut.
The big-time SEC matchup has major implications within the conference and the College Football Playoff race. Hilton Jr. could be a difference-maker in the matchup.
Hilton Jr. has been with the program since 2021, but has sparingly seen the field. Now in his fourth season at the collegiate level, Hilton Jr. has appeared in only 20 games and recorded 22 receptions for 415 yards and three touchdowns.
While his stats may seem underwhelming, he’s been plagued with injuries. However, it’s worth noting that he averages 18.9 yards per catch and will be a factor on LSU’s offense that the Aggies will have to account for.
When speaking on Hilton Jr.’s health, Tigers head coach Brian Kelly made it clear that this is not an attempt to rush him back from injury and risk losing him for additional time.
“More than anything else, you don’t bring a wide receiver back after this long out, unless he’s properly conditioned. Because then, (what if) you go pull a hamstring? We’re not concerned, and he’s not concerned about the leg,” Kelly said. “This is much more about a conditioning element relative to soft tissue. We think we’re in pretty good position. Now, it’s just about getting him game ready.”
Hilton Jr.’s 2024 season debut could not come at a better time, as both LSU and Texas A&M view this game as a must-win matchup to remain competitive within the SEC and at the national level.
College Sports Wire will continue to follow all things college football as the 2024 season progresses.
It could get ugly for a couple of teams in the SEC. Check out our best games on the Week 9 slate.
Despite the Georgia Bulldogs taking the week off, there are still plenty of massive matchups in the SEC. The week will be headlined by the top 15 matchup between the LSU Tigers and Texas A&M Aggies.
The Alabama Crimson Tide and Texas Longhorns are both looking to get back into the swing of things in Week 9. Alabama has a Missouri Tigers squad that is coming off an emotional comeback against the Tide’s in-state rivals. Texas has to play a red-hot team that is playing with house money at this point. A team picked to finish last in the SEC is a win away from bowl eligibility.
What about the Ole Miss Rebels? They have dropped two of their last three games and don’t look like the team many expected to be at the top of the SEC along with the likes of Georgia, Texas, and Alabama. They will host another struggling team, the Oklahoma Sooners.
Who has this edge in these four SEC showdowns in Week 9?
LSU Tigers vs Texas A&M Aggies
Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports
No offense to Indiana, but the LSU Tigers vs Texas A&M Aggies should have earned a visit from ESPN’s College Gameday crew. Not only are they the last remaining undefeated teams in SEC play but we get Brian Kelly facing his former assistant Mike Elko. What a difference a year makes after firing Jimbo Fisher and bringing Elko back to College Station. LSU has been a problem for every team since the opening weekend loss to USC. Keep your eyes on Garrett Nussmeier and this attacking defense.
Mike Elko is on the verge of doing something that Jimbo Fisher never did, well two things actually. After starting 6-1, the Aggies could win 10 games in a year for the first time since 2012. Ironically that was the season Texas A&M first joined the SEC. Elko also has this team believing in College Football Playoff aspirations. This will be a major test for the Aggies. As long as Conner Weigman stays healthy, they are a problem for a lot of teams.
Prediction: I will go with the visitors, just like the way the defense has played since Harold Perkins went down.
Texas Longhorns vs Vanderbilt Commodores
Jordan Prather-Imagn Images
If you had told me that the Texas-Vanderbilt game would be one of the ranked matchups in Week 9, I would have sent you to be drug tested. But here we are and the Longhorns need to get back on track this week. The good news is that they won’t face the Georgia front that made Kelvin Banks Jr look like a walk-on. The bad news is that Vanderbilt is a tough matchup this season. Texas just needs to get back to what they were doing the first six weeks of the season.
No one has meant more to their team than Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia. Based on what he has done for the program and college football, he should be one of the favorites to win the Heisman. It will be another major test this week at home against the Longhorns. The big question is which Commodores team shows up, the one who lost to Georgia State or the one that punched Alabama in the mouth for 60 minutes?
Prediction: Texas prevents Vanderbilt from becoming bowl-eligible for another week, Longhorns win by 14.
Missouri Tigers vs Alabama Crimson Tide
Syndication: The Knoxville News-Sentinel
One week after the epic second-half comeback against the Auburn Tigers, Mizzou gets to go for the Alabama state title against the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa. Despite the shortcomings this season for Bama, winning at Bryant-Denny Stadium is no easy task. However, this might be Missouri’s best chance to do so. They just need to avoid falling behind early as Alabama is a lot better defensively than Auburn by a long way. The Tigers haven’t bested the Tide since Aug. 8, 1975.
It hasn’t looked like Alabama football as of late. Following the emotional win over the Georgia Bulldogs on Sept. 28, it has been rough going for the Tide. They have lost to Vanderbilt and Tennessee and narrowly escaped with a two-point win over South Carolina. Kalen DeBoer needs to get things right this weekend against Missouri and work on the kinks in the open week before they travel to Death Valley.
Prediction: Alabama gets a critical win to keep their fading playoff dreams alive, but it will be a close game.
Oklahoma Sooners vs Ole Miss Rebels
Bryan Terry-USA TODAY Sports
It will be “put up or shut up” for Billy Bowman and the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday in the Sip. Bowman is no stranger to the microphone and even took to social media to rip on Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart during the offseason. If he isn’t careful he might have to eat his words once again. But if the Rebels win, he can always claim they “didn’t earn” the win as he did with Texas right?
As Dart said in his response to Bowman back in June, “Yeah okay buddy we gone see.” We might need to see some life from the Ole Miss Rebels this weekend after suffering losses in two of the last three games. They fell to Kentucky in the last home game, 20-17. Fortunately for the Rebels, the OU offense has posed much of a threat in recent weeks with a combined 12 points in the last two losses.
Prediction: Ole Miss handles an overmatched Oklahoma team by 17, 31-14
Barry Switzer joined the Paul Finebaum Show to discuss his beloved Sooners and how they measure up to Texas on the NIL front.
The college football world isn’t that far removed from the Texas 34-3 thumping of Red River rivals, the Oklahoma Sooners. This is the second time in three seasons under head coach Brent Venables that OU failed to score a touchdown in their biggest regular season game of the year. In 2022 and 2024, Texas outscored Oklahoma 83-3. That is a tough pill to swallow.
The Sooners did get a measure of retribution last season handing the Longhorns its lone regular season loss of the year. Texas would eventually go on to win the Big 12 and earn a spot in the College Football Playoffs, while Oklahoma was relegated to playing in the Alamo Bowl.
These Sooners don’t look like the teams under head coach Bob Stoops or Barry Switzer.
On the “Paul Finebaum Show” Switzer alluded to the fact that the Texas Longhorns are far ahead of Oklahoma and it may be difficult for the Sooners to catch up.
“We’re short in a lot of areas, Paul,” Switzer stated on the show. “We need help all across there. Defensively, we’re probably better than we are offensively. We’re short offensive line, with running backs, receivers, quarterback. Every area of the offense needs help, and it’s gonna take a while to get there. But I think they can. I don’t know. I question sometimes with NIL whether we can or not, whether we can compete against Texas every year. They can raise more money than we can. We’re a small state, we’ve only got 3.5 million people and it’s gonna be more difficult than it is for the University of Texas, where they’ve got 35 million people. A wealthier state and people to be able to support the programs. We’ll have to wait and see.”
Dawgs back on top of the SEC in latest FBS re-ranking from Paul Myerberg of USA TODAY Sports.
After watching newcomers, the Texas Longhorns take over the SEC in recent weeks, the Georgia Bulldogs are back on top returning order to the conference.
Georgia built a 23-0 halftime lead against the Longhorns in Austin before ultimately winning 30-15. The game didn’t come without some controversy, but in the end, UGA took back the crown.
In other action, the Tennessee Volunteers took down the Alabama Crimson Tide for the second straight time at Neyland Stadium. The fans rushed the field again but couldn’t figure out how to get the goalposts out of the stadium this time around.
As is customary every week after Saturday’s games, we are checking in with the latest power rankings in college football.
Here is how Paul Myerberg ranked the SEC in his latest FBS re-rank:
No team saw their stock climb like the South Carolina Gamecocks, coming off the 35-9 win over the Oklahoma Sooners. The game was over just six minutes in after South Carolina built a 21-0 lead thanks to three turnovers by quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr.
Honorable Mention: Florida Gators (+11)
Biggest Loser
It was a rough showing for the Kentucky Wildcats after getting blasted 48-20 by the Florida Gators. The game was all but over with 1:44 left in the first half after they fell behind 27-6 thanks to Jadan Baugh’s third touchdown of the half. He ended the game with five as Florida won their third game over the last four.
Honorable Mention: Auburn Tigers (-7)
A look ahead to Week 9’s games
Oklahoma Sooners at Ole Miss Rebels (Noon ET on ESPN)
Arkansas Razorbacks at Mississippi State Bulldogs (12:45 p.m. ET on SEC Network)
Missouri Tigers at Alabama Crimson Tide (3:30 p.m. ET on ABC)
Texas Longhorns at Vanderbilt Commodores (4:15 p.m. ET on SEC Network)
LSU Tigers at Texas A&M Aggies (7:30 p.m. ET on ABC)
Auburn Tigers at Kentucky Wildcats (7:45 p.m. ET on SEC Network)
The Oklahoma Sooners are making a change at offensive coordinator.
After just seven games as the offensive coordinator for the Oklahoma Sooners, Seth Littrell and the football program have parted ways, according to recent reports. This news comes just a day after Oklahoma lost to South Carolina 35-9.
Littrell, a former Sooners running back, played for the program from 1997 through 2000. After nearly two decades of coaching, he returned to Norman, Oklahoma as an offensive assistant in 2023 and was promoted to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach before the start of the 2024 season.
The team has a quality quarterback in Jackson Arnold and talented players around him, but the team’s offense has fallen flat. Heading into the second half of the 2024 season, the Sooners are 4-3. Looking ahead, Oklahoma’s five remaining games feature four opponents who are currently ranked in the top 25.
Perhaps a change was needed, as the team had expectations of competing in the SEC and potentially making a push for the College Football Playoffs. Hopes of having a successful season may seem fruitless, but the opportunity to impress the CFP committee and create a strong resumé remains possible.
There’s no telling who will permanently fill the position moving forward. However, co-offensive coordinator Joe Jon Finley will be calling the plays in the meantime, according to ESPN insider Pete Thamel.
College Sports Wire will continue to follow the Oklahoma Sooners and other college football news throughout the 2024 college football season.
A pair of SEC programs received fines for what transpired on Saturday.
On Sunday a pair of SEC programs were fined by the conference for what transpired during and after games on Saturday.
The Texas Longhorns received a fine for fans in the student section throwing bottles onto the field after a player was flagged for pass interference. The call was reversed following the delay to clean the debris off the field.
The Tennessee Volunteers were fined for fans rushing the field for violation of access to competition area policy. For the second straight time at Neyland Stadium, Vols fans rushed the field to celebrate with their team after knocking off the Alabama Crimson Tide. This wasn’t a normal occurrence while Nick Saban patrolled the sidelines for the Tide from 2007 until his retirement at the end of the 2023 season. Tennessee only beat Alabama once during the Saban era, which came in the 2021 season.
University of Texas fined for bottle throwing
“The throwing of debris and resulting interruption of play that took place Saturday night cannot be part of any SEC event,” said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. “The SEC is assigned responsibility by its membership to enforce its sportsmanship and game management policies and these actions are consistent with that oversight responsibility, including the financial penalty and mandated reviews.”
Under the sportsmanship, game management and alcohol availability policies established by the Southeastern Conference, the University of Texas will:
Be assessed a financial penalty of $250,000;
Be required to use all available resources, including security, stadium and television video, to identify individuals who threw objects onto the playing field or at the opposing team. All individuals identified as having been involved in disrupting the game shall be prohibited from attending Texas Athletics events for the remainder of the 2024-25 academic and athletic year;
Review and update its Athletics Department game management procedures and alcohol availability policies to prevent a recurrence of Saturday night’s disruption, which shall include an evaluation of agreed upon SEC Sportsmanship, Game Management and Alcohol policies to verify full compliance with existing standards, and
Following completion of this review, the University shall provide a report to the Conference Office to summarize its efforts to identify and penalize offenders and its plan to enact policies to prevent future similar incidents while ensuring compliance with Conference standards.
The actions taken by the Conference are consistent with SEC Bylaws and Commissioner’s Regulations related to the availability of alcoholic beverages at athletics events which states, “If cans or plastic bottles are used as projectiles or otherwise cause game management issues, the institution is subject to an immediate fine and suspension of the alcohol sales privilege.”
University of Tennessee fined for fans rushing the field
The Southeastern Conference announced today that the University of Tennessee will be fined for violation of the league’s access to competition area policy due to fans entering the field following its football game vs. the University of Alabama on October 19.
Tennessee will incur a fine of $100,000 for a first offense under the league’s current access to competition area policy that was revised at the SEC Spring Meetings in 2023.
For Conference contests, fines are paid to the opposing institution.
The policy states that “institutions shall limit access to competition areas to participating student-athletes, coaches, officials, support personnel and properly credentialed or authorized individuals at all times. For the safety of participants and spectators alike, at no time before, during or after a contest may spectators enter the competition area.”
Financial penalties are imposed for violations in all sports sponsored by the Conference. Institutional penalties range from $100,000 for a first offense, $250,000 for a second offense and $500,000 for a third and subsequent offenses.
The policy was originally adopted by a vote of Conference members in 2004 and financial penalties were increased by action taken by the membership in 2015 and again in 2023.
On Saturday night in the Georgia-Texas showdown the officials injected themselves into the game with a controversial decision.
If you were like millions of others on Saturday night, you had your eyes locked on the first SEC meeting between the Georgia Bulldogs and Texas Longhorns. They have met on the field before but this time it was all about getting a leg up in the conference race.
The game wasn’t going the way of the home team as they found themselves down 23-0 before they would respond in the second half. After finally getting on the board at 23-8, Texas turned the ball over on downs giving Georgia the ball back. However, on third and 10 Carson Beck threw an interception that was waved off due to a pass interference call.
The Longhorn fans believed they were jobbed and the student section began throwing debris onto the field causing a stoppage in play. When both teams were ready to resume play the officials changed course and waved off the penalty and award Texas with the ball. Less than a minute later the Longhorns scored their second touchdown of the night to cut it to a one-score game.
With 3:12 to play in the third quarter of the Georgia at Texas game, Texas intercepted a pass at the Texas 46-yard line and returned it to the Texas 9 yard line. Texas was flagged for committing defensive pass interference on the play which resulted in Georgia maintaining the ball with a first down.
The game officials gathered to discuss the play, which is permitted to ensure the proper penalty is enforced, at which time the calling official reported that he erred, and a foul should not have been called for defensive pass interference. Consequently, Texas was awarded the ball at the Texas 9 yard line.
While the original evaluation and assessment of the penalty was not properly executed, it is unacceptable to have debris thrown on the field at any time.
The disruption of the game due to debris being thrown onto the field will be reviewed by the Conference office related to SEC sportsmanship policies and procedures.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart also weighed in following the 30-15 win over Texas in his postgame press conference. “I will say they’ve established a precedent that if you throw a bunch of stuff on the field and endanger athletes, that you’ve got a chance to get your call reversed. And that’s unfortunate, because to me, that’s dangerous. That’s not criticizing officials. That’s just what happened.”
Alabama is no longer the Gold Standard, which marks just another change in a transitional era of college football.
For nearly two decades, the Alabama Crimson Tide was the gold standard in college football. With Nick Saban at the helm, it was safe to say that any team that wanted to win a national championship had to either be Alabama or beat Alabama.
Now, the tides are shifting and the future appears uncertain in Tuscaloosa.
Head coach Kalen DeBoer is in his first year with the Crimson Tide, being hired after a brief, yet successful, two-year stint with the Washington Huskies. While comparing him to Saban feels unfair, it’s reality.
DeBoer joined the program and had to deal with numerous players entering the transfer portal and a few commits entertaining offers from other top programs. However, he largely inherited a talented roster that had just won an SEC championship and took the eventual national champions, the Michigan Wolverines, to overtime in the Rose Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal.
Some growing pains were expected entering the season. No matter who the new Alabama coach was, he’d have to deal with the nearly impossible task of trying to fill the massive shoes left behind by the greatest college football head coach of all time.
A loss here and there was expected, but what we have seen from Alabama so far as the second half of the 2024 season gets started is surprising.
The Concerns in Tuscaloosa
Syndication: The Knoxville News-Sentinel
On the surface, the performance of some key players and positional groups gives minor cause for concern. Quarterback Jalen Milroe has seemingly regressed since an impressive first half against the Georgia Bulldogs. The secondary hasn’t been too impressive. The defensive line is not meeting expectations.
That being said, the team has managed to overcome those woes in a few key situations and games.
Losing to Vanderbilt was one of the most shocking in-conference losses in recent history, but it seemed like something the team would be able to move past. Losing to the Tennessee Volunteers stung on another level, considering the tension between these two teams in the historic rivalry. It also exposed issues that run deeper within the program that need to be addressed before the hole they’ve dug themselves into gets even deeper.
Through a full four quarters against the Vols, Alabama had 15 penalties for a total of 115 yards. No one was expecting DeBoer to mimic Saban, but there was still hope that he’d be able to maintain some level of discipline.
While there are a plethora of examples that could be honed in on, the one that stands out the most in the team’s most recent loss was wide receiver Kendrick Law’s unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Tide’s penultimate offensive drive.
Though it was believed there should have been offsetting unsportsmanlike penalties, Law’s emotions got the best of him and pushed Alabama back 15 yards as the team was preparing to go for it on fourth down deep in their own territory. The team did go for it and completed a questionable screen pass that came nowhere near to reaching the first down.
It feels cliché to pose this question, likely because it is, but would something like this happen under Saban? Perhaps. Having him on the sidelines wasn’t like having some sort of spell on the team that prevented them from committing penalties.
However, I will say that Law likely would not have been on the field to possibly return the next kickoff under Saban.
It’s not just about preventing the penalties. DeBoer can’t hold his players hands out on the field. What it is about, though, is responding to a situation like that.
No, I don’t think DeBoer will be fired this season or after this season, nor should he be. This is uncharted territory for many Crimson Tide fans. A coach can have flaws and can be criticized without being immediately placed on the hot seat.
There’s a list of issues that need to be addressed with this team, but these issues can be overcome and will not render the program doomed. In fact, at the time this is being written, the Tide’s College Football Playoff hopes are still alive.
Only time will tell how the team improves or adapts. Conversely, fans could also grow impatient and frustrated if the team remains stagnant and doesn’t show a willingness to correct the course it’s currently on.
How much would Oklahoma have to pay Head Coach Brent Venables to buy him out of his contract?
The Oklahoma Sooners are not off to the hot start they would have hoped for in the first half of the 2024 college football season. In the Sooners’ first season in the SEC, the program is 4-2 entering Week 8 and had an unimaginably ugly first half against South Carolina, going into halftime down 32-3.
Head Coach Brent Venables joined the program in December of 2021 and earned a contract extension and raise in pay in the 2024 offseason. The newest deal has him tied to the program through the 2029 season and has a total value of $51.6 million.
If things continue to sour for the Sooners throughout the 2024 season, the call from fans to make a change at the head coaching position will grow, and the Oklahoma Athletics Department may feel pressured to appease the fans.
How much is Oklahoma football head coach Brent Venables’ contract buyout in 2024?
It’s a whopping $44,808,333 to part ways with the head coach.
Massive contract buyouts are not uncommon in college football. Numerous programs have committed to paying former coaches copious amounts of money to have them leave their positions. the Auburn Tigers, Texas A&M Aggies and LSU Tigers know a thing or two about that.
Nothing is certain with Venables and Oklahoma, perhaps they manage to turn things around. However, that massive number will loom over their heads in the meantime.
Watch Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne return after taking a big hit to throw a 47-yard touchdown pass to take a lead over Missouri in a crucial SEC matchup.
The Auburn Tigers came into Saturday’s matchup against the Missouri Tigers 2-4 on the season and 0-3 in SEC play, but are holding their own thanks to strong play on the defensive side of the ball.
Neither team scored a touchdown in the first half, but Auburn managed to find the end zone on its first drive in the third quarter, thanks to a remarkable sequence of events from quarterback Payton Thorne.
Thorne advanced the ball 16 yards on a pair of completions to Robert Lewis before a nine-yard gain on the ground ended with a vicious hit – sending the quarterback to the sideline.
Many thought he would be out for the rest of the game, but instead he returned just a few plays later and immediately completed a 47-yard touchdown pass to Cam Coleman to give the Tigers a 10-3 lead with 12:34 remaining in the third quarter.
Missouri is 5-1 on the year and 1-1 in conference play, suffering a 41-10 road loss to Texas A&M two weeks ago. The team’s slim chances of making the College Football Playoff drop to 0.0% if they can’t find a way to come back and knock off Auburn in this one.
