Well, it happened. LSU finally got tired of the mess it created and pulled the plug less than four seasons into the Brian Kelly tenure. A program where coaches of all quality win national titles, and a coach who has won everywhere he has ever been turned out to simply be the most overused of coaching hire cliches: a bad fit.

From his infamous fam-uh-lee introduction to the fanbase, to repeated bouts of being his generally unpleasant self in postgame press conferences, Kelly failed to endear himself to the Tiger faithful at every turn. 

How tired of BK’s antics were the LSU administration and boosters? Enough that an early morning meeting at the governor’s mansion (yes, really) finally shook loose commitments to pay up the $54 million buyout and move on to a coaching search with no immediately obvious frontrunner.

Welcome to the new era of college football, where James Franklin and Brian Kelly get paid the GDP of several Pacific island nations to simply not coach anymore. Massive buyouts, once a load-bearing excuse for Athletic Directors to give their golf buddy one more year after firing several position coaches, are no longer a mitigating issue of any kind for the sport’s elite.

In a year where we already have 12 FBS openings before Halloween, it feels like the chaos of the coaching carousel is just beginning. Two more coaches in the SEC feel firmly entrenched in the hot seat, but could we see even more turnover before the transfer portal opens in January?

No. 8 Ole Miss 34, No. 13 Oklahoma 26

Only Lane Kiffin hubris – going for it on fourth down from his own 25 up 12, things of that nature – kept this one decided by a single score. The Rebels were the better team throughout, and now might own the easiest road to a playoff bid in the country. Oklahoma, well, 7-5 is somehow still on the table if John Mateer doesn’t get healthier quickly.

Auburn 33, Arkansas 24

Auburn finally pulled the plug on the Jackson Arnold experiment, and backup Ashton Daniels provided the most life we’ve seen from the offense all season en route to a second-half comeback win. Is this a sign of things to come, or a last gasp from an embattled coaching staff?

Speaking of, time is running out for Bobby Petrino to make his case for the permanent job, even if the Hogs look much improved from a slow start to the season.

No. 4 Alabama 29, South Carolina 22

We finally got the good South Carolina game, up until the Gamecocks did a lot of Camecock things and let Alabama score twice in the final three minutes. LaNorris Sellers and company probably should have two wins over the SEC titan in two years now, but have nothing to show for it.

If this feels like more fireworks in games from the Crimson Tide than we’re used to, well they did hire Kalen DeBoer and he seemingly thrives on chaos.

No. 10 Vanderbilt 17, No. 15 Missouri 10

Take the rankings off the scorebug and this looked a lot like matchups between these two woebegone programs in years past. Both teams like to turn games against more talented programs into rockfights, and they managed to do it to each other in a game for playoff survival. Diego Pavia shrugged off a slow day to punch in the winner for Vanderbilt, before Mizzou came up literal centimeters short of an improbably Hail Mary that would have sent us to overtime.

Beau Pribula’s significant leg injury puts a big damper on the remaining hopes Missouri had for the rest of the season, even if fill-in freshman Matt Zollers looked pretty good down the stretch.

No. 22 Texas 45, Mississippi State 38 (OT)

The Bulldogs should probably now have three conference wins this season, but instead made critical mistakes down the stretch to extend their SEC losing streak to 15 games. After going up 17 points early in the fourth quarter, Jeff Lebby’s team gained negative yards the rest of the way, including a completely inept overtime drive that felt doomed from the start.

No. 3 Texas A&M 49, No. 20 LSU 25

Mike Elko, who notably used to work for Brian Kelly at Notre Dame, did not let off the gas until late and sealed his former employer’s fate with a blowout victory at night in Tiger Stadium. The Aggies are playing like a true national title contender, and made LSU look like a team destined for the Music City Bowl.

No. 17 Tennessee 56, Kentucky 34

The Volunteers are officially flying under the radar, and the schedule sets up nicely for a second-straight playoff appearance if everything stays on the rails. Meanwhile, Kentucky administrators are probably making phone calls to every program with an opening to promote Mike Stoops so they don’t have to pay that buyout at the end of the season.

Memphis 34, No. 18 USF 31

The Tigers came back from a 17-point deficit to reclaim favorite status for the G5 playoff bid. The Tigers still have Tulane and Navy to get through, but the 12-seed opening is officially in their hands (er, paws?) now.

No. 16 Virginia 17, North Carolina 16 (OT)

UNC has officially improved from Categorically Bad at Every Aspect of Football to Maybe Cursed By the Football Gods? This marks the second straight week the Tar Heels have been just inches from upset wins over really solid conference opponents.

FCS: Grambling 26, No. 12 Jackson State 24

In a really cool new annual event put on by the Raiders, we have the HBCU upset of the season so far as Grambling nailed a last-minute field goal to stun a really good Jackson State team.

Oh my god they ran the Carey Spear play!

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