Georgia
Georgia, Tennessee riding high at top of conference: SEC vibes rankings
There’s a scene from a “Simpsons” episode when an elephant is bearing down on a peanut factory, and inside the factory, a manager is feeling suddenly validated: “This is the moment we’ve feared, people. Many of you thought it would never happen. But I insisted we spend two hours every morning training for it. Many of you thought I was mad; many of you requested to be transferred to another peanut factory. But now …”
Then the elephant crashes through the door.
This is how those who kept wondering about the SEC tiebreaker procedures might feel this morning as they survey the conference’s landscape. In a world of mega-conferences, without divisions and with half the teams not playing each other, there was always a chance for a confusing muddle at the top of the standings, with an aeronautics degree required to explain who would make it to the championship game.
And right now, the elephant might indeed be heading toward the peanut factory.
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Only two teams remain unbeaten in conference play: Texas A&M and LSU, and they play each other Saturday, so that’s good. But five other teams have only one conference loss, and among those seven teams, most won’t have played each other. Georgia, LSU and Texas, play only two of the other six teams with one loss or fewer. Texas A&M and Tennessee play only three of the other six.
And in the event — not unlikely — that a two-loss team factors in, Alabama and Ole Miss are sitting there, capable of running the table the rest of the way.
Georgia’s Trevor Etienne had three rushing touchdowns in the Bulldogs’ win over Texas on Saturday. (Tim Warner / Getty Images)
So, yeah, brush back up on those tiebreaking procedures, which probably won’t come down to a random draw but could involve “capped relative scoring margin,” a stat given to the SEC by SportsSourceAnalytics.
That’s not a huge deal, you might say, thanks to the expanded College Football Playoff. Perhaps. But the SEC champion getting a bye is a big deal, and the bigger the muddle at the top of the standings, the better the chance for chaos: a Playoff bubble team squeezing into the championship game and stealing a bid, for instance.
Perhaps a better tiebreaker: If your student section throws debris on the field to get a call changed, you’re eliminated. If your coach shoves the other team’s quarterback, even if he didn’t mean to, you’re out. Easy fixes and surprising the SEC didn’t have the foresight.
GO DEEPER
UGA’s Smart on overturned pass interference call: ‘They tried to rob us’
So the vibes in the SEC office — getting ready for tiebreaking headaches, dealing with unprecedented officiating decisions — are stressed. As for the teams, we have another week of wildly fluctuating vibes, with a new basement dweller — hello, Oklahoma — another top program going in the very wrong direction, and a couple of others rocketing up after feel-good wins.
This a reminder that this is not a pure ranking of how good teams are but the feelings around the programs, both within the team and the fan base, and the perception outside, taking into account records, expectations, momentum and just the general mood:
1. Georgia (6-1, 4-1 SEC)
Won at Texas, 30-15
Last week: 8
For once, the vibes match the real rankings. Everything changed in a night, as the program whose fans were ready to pack this season in now can see the national title back on the table.
GO DEEPER
The fuel Georgia found to knock off No. 1 and flip a switch on its season
2. Tennessee (6-1, 3-1)
Beat Alabama, 24-17
Last week: 6
Last week: Well, Nico Iamaleava isn’t that good, it looks like other teams have figured out Josh Heupel’s offense, and Heupel peaked too early at Tennessee. This week: Hey, we’re back baby! Maybe that’s a bit overexuberant, but other than a trip to Georgia — which is winnable — the Vols’ only other game against a team with a winning record is the season finale at Vanderbilt. There’s a good path to 10-2 and a probable Playoff bid.
GO DEEPER
Tennessee proved against Alabama it’s not a one-hit wonder under Josh Heupel
3. LSU (6-1, 3-0)
Won at Arkansas, 34-10
Last week: 4
Ever since Brian Kelly’s table-pounding after the team’s opening loss, this team has gradually gotten better. That includes the defense, which still ranks second to last in the SEC but just held Arkansas to a season-low 10 points. The big test for the Bayou Bengals comes during the next two weeks: at Texas A&M and vs. Alabama at home.
4. Texas A&M (6-1, 4-0)
Won at Mississippi State, 34-24
Last week: 3
It was a pretty nice Saturday for the Aggies: They got an SEC road win — not a blowout, but whatever — then got home in time to see their rival have their welcome-to-the-SEC humbling. The schadenfreude was oozing out of College Station.
5. Vanderbilt (5-2, 2-1)
Beat Ball State, 24-14
Last week: 2
Save the points for SEC games, such as this week when Texas visits. It’s a smart move for a smart school, whose program is now one win away from bowl eligibility for the first time since 2018, but that’s almost an afterthought at this point.
Won at Oklahoma, 35-9
Last week: 11
The offense, and the overall team results, are bizarro, but South Carolina’s defense is legitimate: The Gamecocks held Alabama, Ole Miss and LSU below their season yards-per-play averages, including Alabama more than 2 points below its average.
7. Texas (6-1, 2-1)
Lost to Georgia, 30-15
Last week: 1
The one concern about the Longhorns had been that their dominance was a product of their schedule, and now that’s a big, Stetson-hat-sized concern. The next four games — at Vanderbilt, Florida, at Arkansas and Kentucky — all have the potential to be interesting. Then, of course, there’s the trip to College Station, which sets up to be well beyond interesting. Could this team still win the national championship? Sure. But national title teams don’t usually get beat at home like Texas did Saturday.
GO DEEPER
Steve Sarkisian created Texas QB controversy with Arch Manning, even if he says he didn’t
Beat Kentucky, 48-20
Last week: 15
(Looking around.) So we’re doing this? Yeah, we’re doing this. The vibes basement dweller early in the season, the team with the dead coach walking, is still hanging around and improving. By lasting this long, Billy Napier now gets an awkward reunion with Jaden Rashada before or after the team’s game against Georgia in Jacksonville. Hug it out, fellas.
GO DEEPER
Billy Napier and Florida won a game they couldn’t lose, but a rugged path is still ahead
Beat Auburn, 21-17
Last week: 9
Per Adeen Rao of Rock M Nation, Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz spotted a bowl rep after Saturday’s game and blurted out: “Uh, oh, Cheez-It Bowl.” By record, Drinkwitz should have nothing to worry about. By look, however, this is the worst 6-1 team in the country, by far: barely skating by in home games against Boston College, Vanderbilt and now Auburn, getting clobbered at Texas A&M. Still alive for the Playoff? Sure. Looking like it will stay that way much longer. Ehhhh …
10. Ole Miss (5-2, 1-2)
Bye
Last week: 10
The Rebels had to be happy with how their bye week went because their faint Playoff hopes reside in beating Georgia and that being a resume-building win. First up, Oklahoma and Arkansas, which should be no problem, but when a team can’t beat Kentucky at home, a lot could be a problem.
11. Mississippi State (1-6, 0-4)
Lost to Texas A&M, 34-24
Last week: 16
Is this too high? Maybe, but the vibes keep steadily improving in Starkville, even in defeat. There have been three straight weeks during which Jeff Lebby’s team acquitted itself well as a heavy underdog, to the point when it’s probably time to stop making the Bulldogs heavy underdogs every week. Arkansas, which goes to Starkville this week, needs to be wary.
12. Arkansas (4-3, 2-2)
Lost to LSU, 34-10
Last week: 5
Oof. Saturday was the worst loss of the season, and it came at home, a big hit to what had been such positive vibes. This week in Starkville needs to be a win, and that along with a later game against UTEP would at least mean bowl eligibility, with games against Texas, Ole Miss and Missouri offering more upset chances. But if the Razorbacks mess around and lose to that improving Bulldogs team, things will get dicey again.
GO DEEPER
Smith: Alabama’s season isn’t over, but it’s time for some hard truths
13. Alabama (5-2, 2-2)
Lost at Tennessee, 24-17
Last week: 7
Let’s not overreact too much. Kalen DeBoer’s two losses each have come by one possession, and the team’s win over Georgia looks good. But … yeah, there are two losses, and the win over Georgia was almost a catastrophic loss. DeBoer went to Tuscaloosa and embraced the pressure. Well, here it is.
GO DEEPER
Rexrode: Kalen DeBoer’s Alabama program lacks the discipline, mystique of Nick Saban era
14. Auburn (2-5, 0-4)
Lost at Missouri, 21-17
Last week: 13
At this point, you almost wonder whether Hugh Freeze is throwing games so Auburn doesn’t have to play a meaningless bowl game and can spend December concentrating on the transfer portal. In fact, the perfect scenario might be going 5-7, but the fifth win being in the Iron Bowl, and that’s very much on the table.
15. Kentucky (3-4, 1-4)
Lost at Florida, 48-20
Last week: 12
Your obligatory, “Well it’s almost basketball season” reference, this time with Mark Pope offering new coach excitement. As for the other Mark, the Stoops one coaching football, this has gotten back to the early-season, post-South Carolina feeling. It’s not good, but it’s hard to tell whether it’s leading to anything.
Speaking of which …
16. Oklahoma (4-3, 1-3)
Lost to South Carolina, 35-9
Last week: 14
As a general rule, when people are looking up a coach’s buyout number, things aren’t great. A further general rule, when the reaction to seeing that buyout could involve profanity, things really aren’t great.
This summer, for reasons that weren’t entirely clear, Oklahoma gave coach Brent Venables a two-year contract extension, with a buyout that would cost the school about $44.8 million.
The contract extension might have been a stroke of genius by longtime athletic director Joe Castiglione, who is one of the most respected ADs in the country, and he might have looked at the 2024 schedule and decided to stave off any hot-seat talk. But did Castiglione foresee it would be this bad?
Yes, Oklahoma is down its top five receivers. And yes, the hope is that Venables can fix the quarterback situation during the offseason and that can turn things around. But the way this team is losing, falling behind 21-0 to South Carolina a few minutes into the game and looking overmatched, doesn’t inspire confidence. Venables is trying to stop the bleeding by firing offensive coordinator Seth Littrell, whom he just hired this year.
It’s one thing to be struggling, which Oklahoma is. It’s another to feel stuck. That’s called purgatory.
(Top photo of Kirby Smart: Tim Warner / Getty Images)
Georgia residents have rallied against a new Chick-fil-A to be developed in Smyrna, saying it will bring too much traffic to the neighborhood.
Earlier this month, the Smyrna City Council approved the development of a Chick-fil-A and 45 townhomes at South Cobb Drive and Oakdale Road in a close 4-3 vote.
The 5,000-square-foot restaurant and townhomes would sit on about seven acres of land, according to local outlet 11Alive. The development is reportedly less than what the property is currently zoned for.
Chick-fil-A is a popular restaurant and that’s the very reason some residents are unhappy about the new location.
“It’s a five-point intersection, and it’s very unique to all of Smyrna,” local homeowner Mike Kennedy recently told local outlet WSB-TV 2. “We just feel that the high intensity traffic generated, like a Chick-fil-A restaurant, is not suitable for the neighborhood or the land use itself.”
Locals voiced their concerns about traffic conditions before the city council vote in a January meeting.
“Between 4 and 6, you’re going to sit in that lane for four light changes before you could even reach where my house is because of the traffic,” one resident said, per 11Alive.
“You start running people through there going to Chick-fil-A and believe me, they’re popular. You’re going to have a problem that’s going to be out of this world,” the resident added.
Chick-fil-A led its quick-service restaurant rivals for the 11th straight year in the American Customer Satisfaction Index Restaurant and Food Delivery Study 2025.
The Independent has reached out to Chick-fil-A for comment.
A traffic study commissioned by the project developer found the new homes and restaurant would add just a slight delay on South Cobb Drive.
“South Cobb Drive is already failing. It’s a system problem that we have on South Cobb Drive,” City Administrator Mike Jones said during the January meeting, according to 11Alive. “This would add about eight seconds of delay there.”
The new development project is not a done deal. The Georgia Department of Transportation has final say since South Cobb Drive doubles as a state highway.
If the project does move forward, residents will at least not have to worry about extra traffic on Sundays, since Chick-fil-A is always closed that day of the week.
Your daily jolt of news and analysis from the AJC politics team.
U.S. Sen. Cory Booker speaks to a crowd during a visit to Atlanta in 2019. (Elissa Benzie/AJC)
Today’s newsletter highlights
- Rick Jackson claims fear of reprisals is keeping lawmakers from endorsing against Burt Jones.
- Could there be a Sine Die stall?
- Still no deal to pay TSA workers.
Battleground state
A 2017 file photo of U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (left) and U.S. Rep. John Lewis, who died in 2020. Booker invokes Lewis early in his new book, “Stand.” (Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images 2017)
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Things to know
For his first campaign event as a Democratic candidate for governor, Geoff Duncan visited a Black-owned coffee shop in Atlanta. (Patricia Murphy/AJC)
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- While Geoff Duncan’s candidacy for governor might be naturally tailored to white, college-educated suburban voters, he still needs the support of Black voters to win the Democratic nomination, writes Greg Bluestein.
- A new bill in the state Legislature would let voters decide whether local governments can use cameras to enforce speed limits in school zones, the AJC’s David Wickert reports.
- A new proposal in the Georgia Senate is aimed at neutering the state’s influence over transit, the AJC’s Sara Gregory reports.
Legislative leverage
Lt. Gov. Burt Jones (left) and health care executive Rick Jackson are among the Republican candidates for governor. (Arvin Temkar and Miguel Martinez/AJC)
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Sine Die stall?
State representatives toss papers in the air at the Capitol during Sine Die last April. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)
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Not so fast
State Sen. Brian Strickland, R-McDonough, speaks on Senate Bill 482 during a House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee meeting this week. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)
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Ad watch
Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his wife Tricia appear before filing paperwork to run for governor at the Capitol earlier this month. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)
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Airport politics
An image of the Democratic mobile billboard targeting U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter and other GOP contenders for U.S. Senate. (AJC File)
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Under the Gold Dome
The House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee listens to a presentation on Senate Bill 482 on Tuesday. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)
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- 10 a.m.: House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee meets to discuss Senate Bill 572, which would prohibit people from using force in self-defense against police officers if the officers properly identified themselves.
- 10 a.m.: House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee meets to discuss Senate Bill 482, which would require people to identify individuals by name in police photos and videos when requesting copies of that footage.
- 11 a.m.: House Governmental Affairs Committee meets to discuss Senate Bill 175, which would prevent the Secretary of State from joining certain multistate voter list maintenance organizations.
- 1 p.m.: House Banks and Banking Committee meets to consider Senate Bill 424, which would make gold and silver legal tender in Georgia.
Listen up
State Rep. Saira Draper, D-Atlanta, at the Capitol in Atlanta earlier this month. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)
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Make or break
Morning travelers wait in long lines on Thursday at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport amid the ongoing partial government shutdown. (Ben Hendren for the AJC)
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Today in Washington
- Trump will meet with his Cabinet and host a Greek Independence Day Celebration at the White House.
- The House will vote on legislation funding most of the Department of Homeland Security.
- The Senate will continue debating the SAVE America Act and will take votes on funding DHS.
Who is Jack Brian?
U.S. Rep. Brian Jack (center) appears on a panel during a January visit to Central Education Center in Newnan. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)
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Shoutouts
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Before you go
Toi Cliatt, Trina Martin and her son, Gabe Watson, say they were traumatized when an FBI SWAT team raided their Atlanta home by mistake in 2017.
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Greg Bluestein is the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s chief political reporter. He is also an author, TV analyst and co-host of the Politically Georgia podcast.
Tia Mitchell is the AJC’s Washington Bureau Chief and a co-host of the “Politically Georgia” podcast. She writes about Georgia’s congressional delegation, campaigns, elections and the impact that decisions made in D.C. have on residents of the Peach State.
Patricia Murphy is the AJC’s senior political columnist. She was previously a nationally syndicated columnist for CQ Roll Call, national political reporter for the Daily Beast and Politics Daily, and wrote for The Washington Post and Garden & Gun. She graduated from Vanderbilt and holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.
Adam Beam is the deputy politics editor.
Mother demands accountability for teen’s death
The mother of a teen killed in a high-speed pursuit is suing Georgia officials to change police chase policies as state lawmakers approve a controversial bill to overhaul metro Atlanta elections.
ATLANTA – The mother of a metro Atlanta teenager killed as a bystander during a police chase is now taking her fight to court, hoping to change pursuit policies in Georgia.
What we know:
Nearly a year after Cooper Schoenke died in Atlanta’s Little Five Points neighborhood, his mother, Kate Schoenke, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Georgia Department of Public Safety and Faduma Mohamed, the woman accused of causing the crash.
“This is about accountability,” Kate Schoenke said.
The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday, just weeks before the first anniversary of her son’s death.
Investigators say Mohamed led state troopers on a high-speed chase that began on Interstate 20, reaching speeds of more than 100 miles per hour before exiting onto Moreland Avenue.
According to investigators, dash camera video shows Mohamed running a red light at Moreland and McLendon avenues and crashing into Cooper Schoenke’s car, killing him.
The lawsuit alleges a state trooper acted with reckless disregard by continuing the pursuit off the interstate and into congested city streets and busy intersections.
While Schoenke said the driver behind the wheel, who was out on bond at the time, is largely to blame, she believes state troopers should also be held accountable.
She is seeking $1 million in the lawsuit.
Mohamed remains behind bars awaiting her day in court.
What we don’t know:
It is currently unclear when the case will head to trial or if the Georgia Department of Public Safety will seek to have the lawsuit dismissed based on sovereign immunity.
Mohamed remains in jail, but a specific date for her criminal trial has not been released.
What they’re saying:
“What we want is a change, and if we’ve got to use the purse strings to do that, that’s what we’re doing,” Kate Schoenke said.
Before filing the lawsuit, Schoenke said the state was given a chance to come to the table but declined, saying it was not responsible for her son’s death.
“To say that they have no responsibility whatsoever and a high-speed chase through a highly populated, dense community of Atlanta that ended in tragedy just does not make sense,” she said.
She said her goal is not the money, but to change how and when high-speed chases happen in Georgia.
“I’m not saying don’t pursue, but to pursue it 100 miles an hour, 90 miles an hour, 80 miles an hour. No one’s even going to hear the siren coming at you,” she said.
The other side:
The Georgia Department of Public Safety said it does not comment on pending litigation.
Mohamed’s attorney said he had no comment.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from the wrongful death lawsuit filed in DeKalb County, interviews with Kate Schoenke, and previous reporting on the March 2023 crash.
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