It is May, which means college football is technically not happening, and yet somehow the SEC has produced a full week's worth of content for people who absolutely need to touch grass. Let's get into it.

First, the Greg Sankey Cinematic Universe continues to expand. While the rest of college football — the Big Ten, the ACC, and increasingly a loud chunk of SEC coaches themselves — pushes for a 24-team College Football Playoff, the SEC commissioner is standing in the schoolhouse door at 16 teams like it's his personal Thermopylae. His argument is that a bigger bracket turns November into a participation-trophy month. That is, frankly, a reasonable argument. It is also being made by a man whose conference has gone 5-8 in CFP games over the past two seasons while the Big Ten has won three straight national titles. Georgia's Kirby Smart, Tennessee's Josh Heupel, Missouri's Eliah Drinkwitz, and basically everyone in the SEC who has touched a headset is now publicly in the 24-team camp. Sankey's response? He cited Oklahoma's late playoff push last year as proof the current system works. The Sooners, by the way, went 9-3 in the regular season. Bold blueprint, king. The ACC piled on Tuesday, saying there is outright "consensus" for 24 teams. At some point Greg Sankey will be the last man alive defending 16, standing alone on a hill in Destin while everyone else parties at the 24-team bracket bonfire.

Meanwhile, in Baton Rouge, Lane Kiffin — who bolted Ole Miss mid-College Football Playoff run for a seven-year, $91 million contract — is already doing his favorite offseason activity: managing down expectations. "Expectations can be really scary," Kiffin said this spring. Sir, you LEFT A PLAYOFF TEAM. You took the money, you raided the portal to the tune of 40 transfers, LSU is reportedly spending around $40 million on its roster, and now you're out here whispering "process over outcomes" like a freshman philosophy major. National analyst David Ubben put it plainly: "They don't love Lane Kiffin. He's got no relationship with LSU." If the Tigers stumble to 7-5, the same fanbase that foamed at the mouth to hire him will be foaming at the mouth for a different reason entirely. The clock is ticking, the price tag is enormous, and September 5 against Clemson in Tiger Stadium is arriving whether Kiffin's vibes are aligned or not.

And then there is Auburn, God bless them, entering yet another New Era under yet another new coach. Alex Golesh arrives from USF promising a warp-speed offense, bringing along his quarterback Byrum Brown and four of his top five receivers from Tampa — essentially an entire AAC offense being dropped into the SEC like a foreign exchange student who does not yet understand the grading curve. Auburn has not had a winning season since 2020. They have lost seven games in five straight seasons. USA Today already predicted another 5-7. The fanbase, bless their hearts, remains cautiously optimistic. Auburn fans polling on their expectations this offseason still want eight wins in Year 1. These people have been through Bryan Harsin and Hugh Freeze back-to-back and they STILL believe. That is not delusion. That is faith. Painful, beautiful, Auburn faith. War Eagle or whatever.