How Many SEC Coaches Are Gone After 2024? Can The NCAA Back-Off Michigan? Fans Bring The Heat For CFB Mailbag

Congratulations to you all for making it through an eventful offseason in college football that mostly centered around changes coming from the NCAA, and players getting their money along with NIL lawsuits. 

But I can tell that you were getting sick of reading about all the massive changes coming to college athletics, and just ready to cheer on your favorite team, while hoping to not be letdown by Week 3 of the season. 

Either way, coming off the appetizer that was Florida State losing to Georgia Tech in Ireland, along with New Mexico blowing a 10-point lead late in the fourth quarter against Montana State, week one has finally arrived. And, as we will do all season long, I sent out the bat-signal for questions regarding your favorite team, or those you just love to hate. 

Let Me Know What You Think About The Upcoming Season, And Questions You Have About This Week's Massive Weekend In College Football. Send All Your Questions To Trey.Wallace@OutKick.com

By the looks of my DM's and email box, you folks are either very nervous about the season, or you're feeling lucky about how this season will go for your beloved team. 

So, let's dive into some questions and thoughts from this week's mailbag. 

I am a lifelong Oklahoma Sooners fan and with the Sooners and Longhorns entering the SEC, I couldn't be more excited about College Football!.

-Justin, from Oklahoma. 

Well Justin, you should be excited about the Sooners starting their next chapter in the SEC. Now, I will say that you should just enjoy whatever happens this season with Oklahoma, as I don't expect them to be contending for the conference championship. But, that doesn't mean Jackson Arnold can't make life miserable for some of these SEC defenses. That game against Tennessee in the month of September will be a monster test, with Josh Heupel coming ‘home’ to face his former squad. 

I imagine fans across the SEC are going to be fascinated with the ‘Red River Shootout’, more so that it's now a conference game. You also get Alabama in Norman, so that should be a fantastic environment. Also, make sure to go on the road, if you can, and visit some of these glorious SEC towns when the Sooners are playing. 

Have fun!

AUSTIN, TEXAS - OCTOBER 07: Head coach Brent Venables of the Oklahoma Sooners wears the Golden Hat as he poses for a group photo with the team at the Cotton Bowl on October 07, 2023 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)

It seems that the agenda is to nail Michigan because Harbaugh has thumbed his nose at NCAA and when he said that players should get part of the revenue, they nail Michigan. Seems like NCAA and presidents of universities don’t want to lose their cash cow and Harbaugh bailed.  

-William, from Michigan

Ok William, I know you added some stuff to your email about the NCAA not going after Tennessee harder during the Jeremy Pruitt era, but I got your drift, while also bringing up Ole Miss. Here's the thing about Michigan: They cheated-but I can promise you other programs around the country were ‘cheating’ during the Covid-era. So that's one part of the puzzle, which the NCAA has already levied penalties against the Wolverines. 

Let Me Know What You Think About The Upcoming Season, And Questions You Have About This Week's Massive Weekend In College Football. Send All Your Questions To Trey.Wallace@OutKick.com

Do I think the NCAA is wanting its pound of flesh regarding Jim Harbaugh? Absolutely, and a lot of it has to do with him not playing ball with the investigation, or not telling the whole truth at-first. Now, it doesn't help that this Connor Stalions nonsense occurred during a time when the NCAA was already looking into the Wolverines, so the former Jason Bourne acting analyst didn't help the Wolverines. I certainly think other coaches knew about the sign-stealing mess, but it's all about what you can prove. 

As for Harbaugh speaking out regarding players getting a cut, I don't think that played a part in the NCAA going after Michigan. I think folks inside the football building did a few dumb things, and now the NCAA is ready to make them a public example. At the end of the day, your Wolverines will be just fine, as I imagine they'll pay a hefty fine, and maybe have some restrictions imposed. But in reality, Michigan stuck it to the NCAA by winning the national championship, and that's the best response the team could've given after last season's non-stop hysteria. 

Thanks for the email, and I look forward to getting back up to Ann Arbor this season. 

HOUSTON, TEXAS - JANUARY 8: Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh raises the championship trophy after defeating Washington 34-13 during the national championship NCAA College Football Playoff game at NRG Stadium, Monday, Jan. 8, 2024, in Houston. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

Trey: Long time reader, first time emailer. Keep up the great work. Got a few questions for the mailbag:1.  At what point will the SEC go to a nine-game league schedule? It’s embarrassing that a 16-team league plays only eight conference games, and it doesn’t seem sustainable. As a Tennessee fan, I have to tolerate three absolute dog non-conference games that will tell me nothing about my team, and if only one of those were turned into a league game, it would not only be better for the fans, it would give the networks significantly more inventory. It has to happen soon, right?

2. Along those lines, with the advent of the expanded playoff, people are quickly going to realize how silly the two- and four-game systems of the past were, and the idea that the regular season won’t mean as much will be laughable in hindsight. It seems inevitable, but what is your prediction for the year in which we will see a super-division (a mini-NFL of sorts) where we no longer see the Akrons and Kent States on the schedules of the Ohio States and the Tennessee's?

-David, from Tennessee

Alright David, thanks for the questions. Let's discuss the first question. I'm in agreement that these non-conference games are pretty ugly. I get NC State, that's fine, whatever. But, the Vols playing Chattanooga and Kent State does nothing for the fans paying massive sums of money for season tickets. It's not just Tennessee, as you already know, with other fans feeling the same way. I think the SEC has to change this format following the 2025 season, and ESPN would certainly benefit from adding another conference game. 

It's going to happen, but unfortunately, some of these SEC presidents and athletic directors will take the cupcake games because it benefits the coaches: wins and losses-record. There are plenty of supporters for a nine-game schedule, and at the end of the day, ESPN is the one passing out the money, but the conference needs to pull-back the reigns on how much extra money they'd want. 

Let Me Know What You Think About The Upcoming Season, And Questions You Have About This Week's Massive Weekend In College Football. Send All Your Questions To Trey.Wallace@OutKick.com

As for your second question, I think we are at least four to six years from the possibility that college football looks more like the NFL in-terms of ‘divisions’ or ‘super-conference’. Thanks to this whole revenue-sharing stuff, schools will need time to sort through how they are going to pay these student-athletes, in all sports, and how they can put together a balanced plan. There will be lawsuits, Title-IX issues and more complications. So, before conferences start putting together this new strategy (NFL Divisions) they have to sort out their campus stuff first. But don't think it's not coming, as the foundation is already being laid behind-the-scenes. 

Thanks, David. Enjoy the season and I look forward to hearing from you. 

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey speaks to kickoff SEC Media Days

True or false: At least six SEC teams will have 10 wins or more at season's end (counting playoffs and bowls)? 

True or false: There will be at least three coaching changes in the SEC?

I'll hang up and listen.

-Chris, from Texas

Chris, I appreciate the question, and putting me on the spot. As for your first question, I think we will have at least seven teams (Georgia, Texas, Alabama, Tennessee, Ole Miss, LSU, Missouri) finish with 10 wins this season. I'm fascinated by some of these schedules though, like Georgia going to Oxford, Austin and Tuscaloosa this season. The Tigers from LSU have to play at Texas A&M and Florida, while opening the season in Las Vegas against USC. If they can win two of three in those, then yes, LSU will win 10 games, which includes a bowl game. 

The SEC office certainly did the Missouri Tigers a favor with this schedule, but I'd be pissed if I were a season-ticket holder. Home games against Murray State, Buffalo, Boston College, Vanderbilt, Auburn, Oklahoma and Arkansas. My goodness, I'd just hold-off on paying for a whole season, and just purchase tickets for the Auburn and Oklahoma games. 

I'm obviously going with the over here. 

Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz is hoping for another big season in Columbia (Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images).

As for the second part, this one is fascinating to me. We have talked about Florida's schedule enough, and Billy Napier's Gators will need to stack some wins before that gauntlet comes around. Florida needs to beat Miami and UCF, or this could end-up biting Napier in the ass toward the end of the season. The folks in Gainesville are sick of these excuses, and rightfully so. The whole ‘It Takes Time’ to rebuild a program excuse doesn't work when other teams are doing it with the transfer portal. 

Let Me Know What You Think About The Upcoming Season, And Questions You Have About This Week's Massive Weekend In College Football. Send All Your Questions To Trey.Wallace@OutKick.com

This could be it for Sam Pittman at Arkansas, even with Bobby Petrino returning to Fayetteville as the OC. Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek has to make a decision regarding the future, and he won't wait until the season is over to do it, if need be. I love Pittman, but I think this will be his final season, and he'll go enjoy some cold beer for a year, then someone will pay him a lot of money to coach offensive line. 

I'll give you a third one that you might not have predicted. What about Mark Stoops at Kentucky? We all saw the flirtation with Texas A&M, and he would be there if Aggie boosters didn't get cold-feet at the last second. He's made it clear that raising money for NIL is more time-consuming than coaching, and he's tired of the optics around Lexington. I could see Stoops moving on after the 2024 season and taking another job. Maybe Iowa opens up. 

STARKVILLE, MISSISSIPPI - NOVEMBER 04: Head coach Mark Stoops of the Kentucky Wildcats after defeating the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium on November 04, 2023 in Starkville, Mississippi. (Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images)

Keep Them Coming, As The College Football Season Gets Underway

Alright folks, we're going to be doing this for the entire season, and then into college basketball and baseball. I want your recommendations on places to visit around the country, whether that's restaurants, stadiums, breweries or hole-in-the-wall bars.

We're hitting the road in week one, heading to Atlanta for the Georgia versus Clemson matchup. In week two, we're headed to Lincoln, Nebraska for the Colorado versus Cornhuskers game. There will be stops all-across the college football landscape this season, and we'll announce our week-three location soon. 

So, keep the questions coming, sorry I couldn't answer all of them. But this is going to be a fun season, and I loom forward to having you all involved. 

We Ride!

Let Me Know What You Think About The Upcoming Season, Recommendations And Questions You Have About This Week's Massive Weekend In College Football. Send All Your Questions To Trey.Wallace@OutKick.com