I don’t want to dismiss Week 0. As I sit here in May, who am I to criticize live tackle football games? I certainly would never do such a thing.
I would, however, remind you that the real season starts in Week 1. That’s officially 100 days away. Yes, that means we’re now approaching double-digit days from the first true glorious college football weekend. Cheers to that.
In honor of that, I thought it’d be fun to do a countdown of sorts. Instead of treating this as a 100-day process, it probably makes more sense to condense this into a 4-day deal. We’re all about efficiency here.
Each day this weekend, I’ll rank 25 of the SEC football things that I’m most excited to see in 2025. Here’s what that’ll look like:
Thursday: 100-76 Friday: 75-51 Saturday: 50-26 Sunday: 25-1I promise that my list is different than yours. In other words, prepare to disagree with my levels of excitement.
Let’s start the countdown:
100. Beau Pribula in the Kirby Moore offense
I’m fascinated to see if the Penn State transfer, who could’ve made a significant impact in that semifinal loss, will become the 2025 version of Will Levis. If Pribula can show that he can stretch the field with a new-look group of receivers, Mizzou‘s expected regression could be premature.
99. DJ Pickett’s true freshman season
I don’t want to make the Derek Stingley Jr. comparison, but there’s a hope that the 5-star corner can become an immediate contributor for an LSU secondary that’s begging for a ball-hawking star. The 6-3 true freshman could start from the jump and never look back.
98. The Beamer Bowl
It’s strange that it’s happening on a Sunday afternoon of opening weekend, but South Carolina-Virginia Tech in Atlanta will be surreal for the Gamecocks’ head coach. Facing the program that his dad put on the map will be bittersweet, and for Hokie fans who wish he was their head coach, it could prove to be just bitter.
97. Mark Stoops’ last stand … ?
With the lack of changes at key assistant spots on his coaching staff, I just don’t think Stoops’ actions the last 2 years suggest that he’s got another 4-5 years in him at Kentucky. Coming off his worst season since Year 1 back in 2013, this feels like the beginning of the end for the longest-tenured coach in the SEC.
96. The best returning tight end in America, Eli Stowers
For all the talk about Diego Pavia (more on him much later in this countdown), I thought one of the best under-the-radar stories in college football was watching Stowers convert from a Texas A&M quarterback into a star tight end at Vanderbilt. His surprising return should give Pavia as good of a safety valve as any in the SEC.
95. The Boo Carter usage
After there was late-season talk about Carter’s future in Tennessee, his 2025 role should be as a 3-way player. He could provide a boost to a receiver room that lacks proven weapons, and if he continues to play in the STAR role while also returning punts, Carter might not leave the field much. Some 2016 Jabrill Peppers vibes could await if he’s fully unlocked.
94. Mike Bobo’s response
By “response,” I mean how he handles a 2024 season that saw Georgia’s offense regress and look lost far too often in the first halves of games. Even the biggest Bobo defender can’t deny that schematic improvement in Year 3 is paramount if Georgia is going to get back to the semifinals after a long 2-year hiatus.
93. The September SEC-Notre Dame matchups
We’ve got not 1, but 2 SEC-Notre Dame matchups in September. The defending runner-ups will host Texas A&M in Week 3, after a hard-fought win to open the season in College Station last year, and 2 weeks later, the Irish will travel to Arkansas. There’ll be plenty of Playoff-hopeful fanbases who’ll be holding out hope that Notre Dame doesn’t go 2-0 vs. the SEC.
92. Can Malik Muhammad fill the Jahdae Barron role?
That might be a tall ask after Barron — not Travis Hunter — won the Jim Thorpe Award as the best defensive back in college football. Muhammad will be tasked with stepping into that role as Texas‘s lockdown corner with potential first-round NFL Draft potential, and if he can do that, the Longhorns will have a much better shot at reaching their third semifinal in as many years.
91. The Dallas Wilson-Tre Wilson duo
After Dallas Wilson went off in the spring game, there seems to be more excitement about the Florida receiver room than there has been since the Dan Mullen era. That’s also because Tre Wilson is set to return after a lost 2024 season, which almost feels like a transfer portal addition after DJ Lagway navigated that late-season slate without him.
90. Carson Beck’s SEC return
Speaking of Florida, circle Sept. 20 on the calendar. That’s when Florida will see a familiar face. Beck might be college football’s villain at Miami in 2025, but all that matters for the Gators is if they can force him into as many mistakes as he made in Jacksonville last year.
89. The Sherrone Moore Bowl in Week 2
Will Moore be suspended? I couldn’t tell you. What I can tell you is that as of right now, his Connor Stalions-related suspension is only set to sideline him in games 3-4, so he’s set to return to his alma mater (Oklahoma) in Week 2. Something tells me it won’t quite be as hyped as the Josh Heupel Bowl in 2024, but if it’s Bryce Underwood’s first true road game, that’ll be appointment viewing.
88. The new LSU receivers
I want a full season of Nic Anderson and Barion Brown with a competent passing game. Both of those things would be awesome to watch with Garrett Nussmeier at the controls. If Anderson can be the guy that he was at Oklahoma in 2023 while Brown looks like the 2022 version of himself when he had his best QB situation at Kentucky, LSU could have a top-5 offense.
87. Keelon Russell and Deuce Knight’s first snaps
Much like Ryan Williams and Cam Coleman before them, a pair of 5-star skill-players in the state of Alabama will get all sorts of comps throughout their college careers. I wouldn’t expect either to be starting early in their careers, but if either veteran signal-caller ahead of them struggles, the clamoring for the decorated true freshmen will be heard from the Gulf Shores to Huntsville.
86. The Year 2 Jeff Lebby offense
In his time as a Power Conference coordinator, Year 2 of the Lebby offense gave us 2021 Matt Corral and 2023 Dillon Gabriel. Both of those guys were studs. I’m not saying that the same is in store for Blake Shapen after his injury-shortened 2024 season, but Mississippi State could at least have some 2018 Ole Miss vibes.
85. CJ Baxter’s post-ACL tear return
I predicted last summer that Baxter would lead the SEC in rushing, so to say I was bullish on the second-year back would be a massive understatement. He’ll be sharing a backfield with the SEC’s lone returning 1,000-yard rusher in Tre Wisner, but there’s reason to believe that the former 5-star recruit could get back to the force he was late in his true freshman season during Texas’s Playoff run.
84. Jermod McCoy’s return … whenever that is
What a weird offseason it’s been on Rocky Top. Lost in the shuffle of the Nico Iamaleava drama was that the Vols’ best returning player tore his ACL during offseason workouts in Texas. Fortunately, that happened in January, so there’s reason to believe that the Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist can make a recovery and play in 2025. When he gets back to locking up SEC wideouts — especially in the red zone — remains to be seen.
83. A healthy Deion Burks
Burks had All-SEC upside last year as Jackson Arnold’s go-to target, but much like the rest of the Oklahoma receiver room, he couldn’t get back on the field. He was somewhat of a surprise returnee for a new-look Oklahoma offense, which had to be a huge plus for new quarterback John Mateer. Burks becoming one of the best slot receivers in the sport and looking like Oklahoma’s version of Luther Burden III would be monumental.
82. The Jackson Arnold reset
Again, all his receivers got hurt, he had a new offensive line that shuffled rotations like playing cards and his offensive coordinator got fired mid-season. That was a lot for a first-time starter to take on. At Auburn, Arnold’s getting a chance to start over, albeit in a situation that has a high level of urgency. Plenty of eyeballs will be on the former 5-star recruit in his new home.
81. Will Ahmad Hardy be the next great Mizzou RB?
The Louisiana-Monroe transfer might not be a household name in the sport just yet, but he could be after a year in the Eli Drinkwitz/Kirby Moore offense. He ran for 1,351 yards in 2024, and only Cam Skattebo and Ashton Jeanty forced more missed tackles than he did. In a year in which the SEC lacks elite returning backs, Hardy could soar past the competition like Cody Schrader did in 2023.
80. KC Concepcion reverting back to his freshman self
At NC State, Concepcion was a freshman All-American who had sky-high expectations with Coastal Carolina transfer Grayson McCall heading into 2024. Then McCall got hurt and Concepcion saw his production fall off in a lost season that ended with him hitting the portal. In an A&M offense that’s desperate for help at receiver, he’s got all the makings of a go-to target for Marcel Reed.
79. The last Cocktail Party in Jacksonville until 2028
Maybe I’m in the minority, but I don’t ever want to see Georgia-Florida moved out of Jacksonville. College football’s traditions are worth preserving. Having said that, no, I’m not looking forward to the 2026-27 move to different neutral-site games while EverBank Stadium is under construction. In 2026, the game will be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and in 2027, it’ll be played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. We don’t need to go full “I will remember you” montage for the 2025 matchup in Jacksonville, but we should at least enjoy the last game at EverBank Stadium before a weird 2-year stretch.
78. Joey Aguilar’s 2025 arc
I probably should’ve put this one higher. Oh well. It’s on the list. Aguilar was the quarterback that UCLA traded to Tennessee in the Nico Iamaleava deal. OK, it wasn’t a “trade” or a “deal,” but that’s how it played out. Aguilar can be a deal for Tennessee if he cuts down on his interceptions and leads the Vols to a top-30 offense with late-season Playoff hopes. That’ll be easier said than done for the post-spring transfer. It’ll be fascinating to see if Aguilar can help the Vols win the Iamaleava breakup and get back to the Playoff.
77. A bounce-back year for Jaydn Ott
Ott, along with basically the rest of the Cal offense, decided that it didn’t want to play for Bryan Harsin’s offense. Oklahoma made a post-spring splash by adding the former 1,000-yard rusher, who had a lost 2024 season due to injuries. Ott will be operating behind an experienced offensive line with a new-look offense, but the question is if he looks like the same guy who was 11th in FBS with 833 rushing yards after first contact in 2023. Along with the aforementioned Burks, Ott’s emergence would quiet any questions about Brent Venables‘ future in Norman.
76. Year 2 of Taylen Green-Bobby Petrino
I’ve been calling Green “The Four Loko Quarterback” because he’s chaos in a can. One play, he’s using his 6-6 strides to turn upfield and hurdle a guy, and the next play, he’s throwing across his body into double coverage. Green was a bit of everything in Year 1 with Petrino. In Year 2, he’s got a bunch of new pass-catchers, but he’s got the benefit of understanding what he can get away with and what he can’t get away with at the SEC level. If Green can embody Sam Pittman‘s favorite beer and become “The Miller Lite Quarterback,” Arkansas will be in for a much smoother offensive season.
We’ll continue with 75-51 on Friday.
100 days until SEC football Saturdays, here are 100 things I can’t wait to see in 2025 (100-76) Saturday Down South.
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