Georgia
Why Florida hiring Lane Kiffin could ruin Kirby Smart’s day
Georgia’s enjoyed a coaching advantage in rivalry with Florida since the day it hired Kirby Smart. Lane Kiffin would help level the scales.
Lane Kiffin: Ole Miss has ‘a lot to fix’ before Oklahoma
Lane Kiffin said Ole Miss needs to improve before what he called a big test in Oklahoma in Week 9.
Sunday turned just a bit sour for Kirby Smart, because it became a good day for Florida. By firing Billy Napier, the Gators got better. Maybe that sounds harsh, but it’s the truth. Napier’s coaching had been holding Florida back.
By firing Napier, Florida gave itself an opportunity to level the longstanding coaching mismatch inside the “Cocktail Party” rivalry Smart’s ruled.
By firing Napier, Florida gave itself a chance to chase Lane Kiffin. If you’ve watched the Georgia-Mississippi games the past two seasons, you know Kiffin can go toe-to-toe with Smart. The Gators haven’t had a coach capable of doing that since Georgia hired Smart.
Dan Mullen gave Florida a shot with X’s and O’s, but Smart ran circles around him on the recruiting trail. Mullen managed to beat Smart once in four tries. Florida replaced Mullen with its very own version of “Ray Goof,” as Steve Spurrier once called the former Georgia coach whom he beat seven straight times. Napier brought some talent into Florida, but coaching gaffes defined his tenure.
If Florida lands Kiffin, it finally would employ a coach capable of matching sideline wits with Smart and who also could counteract his recruiting prowess. Smart still rules the old model of signing high school talent, but Kiffin’s aced the transfer free agency roster-building strategy better than anyone.
With Kiffin, Florida could hope to field a team as talented as Georgia’s, while having a coach as savvy as Smart. It also would have one of college football’s best quarterback developers. That goes a long way anywhere. It goes miles with Gators fans thirsting for the second coming of Steve Spurrier.
Even in Ole Miss’ 43-35 defeat in Athens, Kiffin’s schemes and play-calling gave Smart’s squad fits for three quarters until his Bulldogs rallied late, as is their style.
“A lot of credit goes to Lane and his staff,” Smart said after his team overcame a two-score deficit, one year after getting smashed by Kiffin’s Rebels. “Their team was really prepared to come into this game and start fast, as they did.”
Smart labeled Kiffin “the best in the country” at clock management.
What a contrast that would be for Florida. It spent the past four seasons competing with the nation’s worst clock manager on the sideline, and also a coach who struggled to master how to get 11 men — and only 11 men — on the field.
Ole Miss scored touchdowns on five straight possessions against Smart’s defense, while Napier had his hands full with Jeff Lebby and Mississippi State. True, Kiffin’s Rebels failed to land the knockout blow, but X’s and O’s couldn’t be faulted, at least.
Everything matters in coaching nowadays. The boss man must be a good CEO, a steady recruiter, a keen evaluator of potential transfer talent, and a glorified grifter who can help attract booster bucks. Actual coaching matters, too, especially in this era of increasing parity.
It’s still a game of Jimmies and Joes, but any school with a billionaire or at least a few motivated millionaires can hope to land a five-star Jimmy and some four-star Joes or snag some value buys out of the portal.
They’re not all going to Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State.
Check out a typical Saturday inside the modern SEC. Vanderbilt whupped LSU, and it didn’t count as an upset. Texas needed overtime to survive Kentucky. Missouri bested Auburn in two overtimes. Georgia survived Ole Miss in a thriller.
On a day when eight conference games were played, six were decided by one possession. The days of Nick Saban assembling a three-deep of all-stars and routinely creaming the field on a run of dynastic dominance are finished.
The game’s changed, and this is no time to employ a sideline stiff, not when in-game coaching can swing the difference in these white-knuckle SEC games that unfold weekend after weekend. Ole Miss has a coach that’s buoyed it into playoff contention and onto Georgia’s level. He could be the solve to Florida’s problems.
From Florida to Auburn to Georgia Tech, Smart’s owned each one of his most important rivals. Kiffin in a Florida visor would make the “Cocktail Party” a fair fight.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.
Georgia
Ga. lawmakers propose changes to state’s early voting process
ATLANTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – State legislators are considering more changes to Georgia’s voting law, proposing a new bill that would alter the way early voters cast ballots.
State Sen. Greg Dolezal, a Republican from Cumming, introduced SB 568 this week. The proposal would assign early voters to one precinct in their county. Currently, voters can cast early votes at any precinct in their county.
It would also move early voting to a hand-marked paper ballot system, where voters use a pen to mark their selections, instead of the currently used touchscreen system.
“So that we would not have to print so many permutations at the paper ballots, we would assign voters to an early voting location,” said Dolezal. “Most people are going to vote to the at the early voting location closest to their home anyway.”
The bill was immediately met with backlash from democrats as a barrier to the vote.
“I have no idea how voting on a piece of paper, marking it down with your pencil in any way suppresses the vote,” said Dolezal. “For most counties out of, you know, 140 call it out of 159, they just have one location.”
Dolezal’s proposal would also require local clerks to publicly post their entire voting rolls ahead of elections.
“Making public every single voter who is qualified to vote is to some extent, a little bit of an invasion of privacy for each individual voter,” said state Sen. Sonya Halpern (D-Atlanta). “We need to have trust in our election officials to run those elections.”
It’s the latest change the legislature has proposed to Georgia’s voting system.
“You have dirty, dirty voting rolls, you’re going to have dirty elections,” Dolezal said.
The bill would also shift responsibility for voter challenges from the counties to the State Elections Board. In addition, it would also move the threshold for an automatic recount in the state from a 1.5% margin to 2%.
Copyright 2026 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
Georgia
No. 3 Georgia to Host Top-Ranked Auburn for Regular Season Finale – University of Georgia Athletics
Georgia fell at Auburn 14-6 to wrap up the fall slate of their season. The overall record against the Tigers currently stands at 31-31, including a 13-7 record in Bishop.
During their National Championship run in the 2024-25 season, the Mane Dawgs faced off against Auburn on three separate occasions. Georgia was victorious at home, 11-9, before falling on the road, 11-8. In the quarterfinals of the NCEA National Championships in Ocala, the Bulldogs stunned the second-ranked Tigers, 13-4, en route to their eighth National Championship title.
Georgia returns to action following a trip to Blythewood, South Carolina, to take on the third-ranked Gamecocks.
Top-ranked Auburn travels to Bishop after hosting No. 4 SMU at home the prior weekend. The Tigers defeated the Mustangs 13-7 and swept all four MOP honors.
Following the conclusion of the meet, Georgia will honor their seven seniors for their dedication and contributions to the program.
The meet will be streamed on SECN+ at https://gado.gs/e7v, and live scoring will be available at https://gado.gs/e7w.
HOW TO FOLLOW GEORGIA EQUESTRIAN: For complete information on Georgia equestrian, follow the team on its social media channels via @UGAEquestrian on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
JOIN OUR MANE DAWGS FUND: Mane Dawgs Fund contributions make a direct impact in supporting our student-athletes and equines at the Georgia Equestrian program. A gift to the Mane Dawgs fund helps provide resources such as equipment upgrades for our student and equine athletes, travel assistance, and enhance overall team experiences. Contributions to the Mane Dawgs provide benefits such as membership gifts and information about upcoming special events. Click here for more information.
Georgia
Georgia OC Mike Bobo gets giant pay raise, salary matches DC Glenn Schumann
Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo and defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann will be paid equally in 2026 after receiving raises, according to an Athens Banner-Herald report.
Coach Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs are coming off a second consecutive SEC championship season and College Football Playoff Sugar Bowl quarterfinal appearance.
lliw ot eht eht ees .nosaes nosaes deviecer yap raey-eno noillim noillim edam tsal esaercni sih eh morf rof noisnetxe tcartnoc dna a oboB 6202 )%64( 2.2$ 305.1$
saw ot tes suoiverp rep ekam ni ni sih ,noisnetxe tcartnoc .yluJ ,oboB 6202 306.1$
.raey htiw ,raey-eerht eht eht taht yldetroper rep evisneffo noillim noillim si ni diap-tsehgih rotanidrooc tcartnoc segareva a sieW CES s’USL .rJ eilrahC 5.7$ 5.2$
hcihw saw pot ot emit driht eht eht eht eht s’noitan ni eh sah seog rof rof tsilanif tsilanif .hcaoc reerac neeb ,drawa tnatsissa a a s’tI selyorB s’oboB oboB .drawA 5202
eerht eht eht gnitrats .sretrats htxis ,gnirocs deknar kcabretrauq stniop rep evisneffo esneffo wen noitan enil ni ni ni ,emag raey-tsrif gnirutaef dniheb gnigareva dna dna na ehT notkcotS CES rennuG ’sgodlluB 1.23 ht82
gnitov rednu siht eht htneves .nosaes ni dehsinif noitcerid yhporT notkcotS namsieH s’oboB
enoz htiw saw deit deit nwod-driht driht eht eht eht gnirocs der yalp egatnecrep egatnecrep egatnecrep fo noitan noitan noitan ni ni ni ni ni .)slaog nwod-htruof rof rof dleif noisrevnoc noisrevnoc ,gnillac tub dna dna ,osla AGU s’oboB dn23 ,02 ht01 )057. snwodhcuot( 51(
lliw pu ot nosaes noillim noillim tsal og morf tcartnoc osla s’nnamuhcS .)%01( 2.2$ 300.2$
ot taht taht gnitrats tes deviecer esiar ylsuoiverp ylsuoiverp noillim ekam ekil dedulcni mih dah dah rotalacse esualc a a ,nnamuhcS yluJ ,oboB .1 301.2$ 000,001$
sdray siht eht eht dnoces gnidne-nosaes ,nosaes gnirocs deknar stniop stniop rep noitan ssol ni ni ni ni ni ,emag retrauq-htruof neve esnefed dna dna gniwolla gniwolla retfa a CES .snaelrO elO weN ssiM aigroeG 374 ,43-93 02 75.71 ht01
.raey htiw ot raey-eerht eht taht taht noitisop rep diap noillim si ni tsehgih evisnefed rotanidrooc tcartnoc hcaoc deveileb eb segareva a lliW ’saxeT pmahcsuM 8.2$
-
World3 days agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Massachusetts3 days agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Montana1 week ago2026 MHSA Montana Wrestling State Championship Brackets And Results – FloWrestling
-
Louisiana5 days agoWildfire near Gum Swamp Road in Livingston Parish now under control; more than 200 acres burned
-
Denver, CO3 days ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Technology1 week agoYouTube TV billing scam emails are hitting inboxes
-
Technology1 week agoStellantis is in a crisis of its own making
-
Politics1 week agoOpenAI didn’t contact police despite employees flagging mass shooter’s concerning chatbot interactions: REPORT