Apologies for this week’s Around the SEC being a day late – I had too big of a day hating Bama yesterday. While we are all in the middle of Bama Hate Week, let’s check-in on the league and see who is making headlines, starting with the biggest league news we’ve seen in a minute.
SEC Schedule is Set
The big nine game conference schedule reveal happened on Tuesday, were all 16 SEC teams found out their three annual opponents as well as the rest of the conference opponents from 2026-2029. The league will readdress the three permanent opponents every four years with hopes of keeping competitive balance while maintaining traditional rivalries.
Heisman Favorite Hurt
The unofficial September Heisman Winner, Oklahoma QB John Mateer, underwent hand surgery on this throwing hand after injuring it against Auburn. He is expected to miss a month, unfortunately derailing his Heisman hopes. The Sooners will turn to Michael Hawkins Jr. as their QB in Mateer’s absence.
Lagway Out?
Florida QB DJ Lagway was seen in a walking boot after the Gators’ loss to Miami. Florida head coach Billy Napier has downplayed the injury as well as poured cold water into opt-out rumors for the Gators’ QB. As always, things are going swimmingly in Gainesville.
Texas is Back!
The narrative around Texas has been comical all season after an equally funny offseason. After rebounding from their opening week loss against Ohio State by beating some tune-ups and flexing on future accountants and engineers, it seems people are back to believing the Longhorns and Arch Manning are elite once again. We won’t truly know the answer to that until the Red River Shootout, and even then they’ll be facing a Sooners squad without Mateer under center.
