From the American Athletic Conference Championship to Stillwater: Eric Morris navigates starting his career at Oklahoma State, while trying to punch North Texas' ticket to the CFP
Buckle up, College Football diehards—this week's Jones Report is a full-on fever dream as championship weekend crashes into the wildest coaching carousel in years.
Host Tyler Jones (Roundtable Sooners publisher) and Thomas Bridges (Roundtable OkState editor) unpack the seismic shifts rocking the SEC and Big 12, from brutal bracket battles to hires that feel like straight-up heists.
And joining the fray? None other than Roundtable College Sports editor Maddy Hudak, who's trading her cozy studio for the electric sidelines in New Orleans, broadcasting the American Athletic Conference Championship for the Tulane Green Wave Radio Network on Friday night.
Hudak didn't hold back, dropping a nuclear take that's got Sooner faithful firing up their keyboards already: If Alabama pulls off the unthinkable and topples two-time defending champ Georgia in Saturday's SEC title clash at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the Crimson Tide absolutely deserve to vault past Oklahoma for the No. 8 seed in the final College Football Playoff rankings.
Picture it—Bama snags a plum first-round home playoff gig in Tuscaloosa, while OU gets shipped out for a hostile-road grudge match in the 9-vs-8 or worse.
It's poetic injustice for Boomer fans, especially since the Sooners just gutted out a gritty 23-21 road W over the Tide last month in Bryant-Denny.
The committee preaches "reward head-to-head," right? Tell that to Miami, whose beatdown of Notre Dame got shrugged off like yesterday's trash as the Irish surged ahead in the polls.
But Hudak's intel went way beyond the SEC squabbles. She dissected the AAC's coaching bloodbath, a league hemorrhaging talent faster than a punctured NIL fund.
Tulane's Jon Sumrall? Bound for Florida's swamp revival. North Texas' Eric Morris? He's the fresh blood rebooting Oklahoma State after their own carousel spin. Memphis' Ryan Silverfield's packing for Arkansas, and South Florida's Alex Golesh inked a monster deal at Auburn.
Sumrall and Morris will face off in the American Athletic Conference Championship on Friday, with a spot in the College Football Playoff on the line.
Of course, no episode would be complete without Jones and Bridges dissecting the Lane Kiffin Bombshell that's left the SEC reeling. Lane Kiffin—fresh off transforming Ole Miss into an 11-1 juggernaut and CFP darling—just stunned the world by ditching Oxford for LSU on November 30, trading Rebel red for Tiger gold amid a saga of leaked texts, player pushback, and even wild claims of a highway near-miss on his way to the airport. (Spoiler: Mississippi State Police debunked that one quick.)
They debated the ripple: Does this tank Ole Miss's seeding (currently hovering top-5-ish) or light a fire under Golding? And LSU? Kiffin's $90M war chest could flip the script on a program still stinging from Brian Kelly's abrupt exit, but good luck recruiting against that "rival raid" stink.
Wrapping the SEC preview, Jones and Bridges locked in their bold calls: Georgia holds serve in a high-scoring affair, but no matter the outcome, the conference locks five squads into the CFP—Georgia, Texas A&M, Ole Miss (pre-Kiffin heartbreak), Oklahoma, and Alabama.
Over in the Big 12, the title tilt between Texas Tech and BYU has a dominating win for the Red Raiders written all over it. The guys are all-in on Tech as a playoff lock—their explosive attack's too lethal to fade—but they torched the committee for underranking BYU (sitting at No. 12 despite that lone blemish).
Tune in for the full fireworks, including Hudak's sideline dispatches. The Jones Report—where the takes are hotter than championship lights. Subscribe now; next week's playoff reveal is gonna be nuts.