Jumbo Package: Alabama and Auburn speak out against the Protect College Sports Act
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Well well well, Alabama and Auburn agreed on something:
“Auburn University and The University of Alabama both appreciate Congress’s attention to these challenges and share the goals of creating opportunities for and protecting student-athletes, sustaining women’s and Olympic sports, and promoting fair competition through a single, clear national set of rules. But this bill does not meet that standard. In its current form, it solves little of what genuinely challenges college athletics and leaves the central questions to the courts, inviting the very litigation it claims to prevent,” the letter noted.
The Alabama officials said the bill would:
- Undermine the implementation and enforcement of the rules established under the House settlement, including narrowing and enforcement tools needed to hold every program to the same standards;
- Allow for new litigation that could undercut efforts to create uniformity and consistency in rules and enforcement due to inadequate antitrust protections. The bill would also create new forms of liability through expanded private rights actions, the school officials said.
- Establish a federal program that would “micromanage” college athletics, including roster decisions, game scheduling and internal governance.
- Allow private-equity interests, who stand to profit from a redistribution of media-rights revenue, to benefit from the change, pressuring institutions to involuntarily pool media rights in a way that punishes success rather than rewarding it.
In other words, it seems we are no closer to anything. Oh well.
The 1966 and 2016 teams are getting honored for their SEC championships next season:
The Alabama Crimson Tide are set to honor two of its 30 SEC football championship teams at Bryant-Denny Stadium during the 2026 season.
Alabama will honor its 1966 championship team on Sept. 19 when it hosts the Florida State Seminoles. The Crimson Tide’s 2016 SEC championship team will be honored on Oct. 24 when Alabama hosts Texas A&M for homecoming at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Additionally, Alabama’s annual Senior Day will be Nov. 21 when the Tide takes on Chattanooga instead of the following Saturday when Alabama plays Auburn in the 91st edition of the Iron Bowl at Bryant-Denny.
Alabama Athletics announced the news on Monday.
Cool stuff. That 2016 defense was a fun one.
The Crimson Tide’s receiver room lost several proven playmakers, opening the door for Morgan to compete alongside Ryan Coleman-Williams and others sooner than expected. One of the nation’s most polished pass catchers in the 2026 class, Morgan arrives with the size, ball skills and route-running ability to contribute immediately. He doesn’t need a full season to develop physically, and his ability to win contested catches should make him an attractive option in the Crimson Tide’s passing game. Fall camp development is key to Morgan cracking the two-deep.
I think the position battle for the #3 WR for Alabama isn’t getting talked about enough after transfer Noah Rogers went down with a brutal injury. Historically, the #3 receiver has been a major part of the offense for Kalen Deboer’s teams, so whoever wins that job is going to have a major role on the team. Cederian Morgan has been getting the hype after an impressive spring, but Derek Meadows brings a season of experience and a 6’5” frame, while Rico Scott was the starter there for the Tide for the season opener last year. Still, Morgan is as exciting as they come, so if he’s getting on the field in game 1, expect the hype to skyrocket.
No conference has produced more elite college football talent over the past decade than the SEC. The Big Ten is certainly close, and three consecutive national titles going North is evidence that the gap is closing. But over 10 years, the conversation still begins in the South.
Highlighted by the undefeated national championship teams of LSU in 2019 and Georgia in 2022, the conference has consistently set the standard for excellence at the team level. But individually, the conference has also produced four of the last seven Heisman Trophy winners.
Building an all-decade team for the SEC is no easy task. Several positions feature multiple players with legitimate claims, making PFF grading an all-important factor in separating the field. Using PFF data from the last 10 seasons, here is our SEC All-Decade Team.
The time period here is 2016-2025, so Derrick Henry didn’t make it. But Alabama easily led the way with 10 selections to PFFs SEC All-Decade article. Najee Harris, DeVonta Smith, Jerry Jeudy, Jonah Williams, Landon Dickerson, Quinnen Williams, Will Anderson Jr., Patrick Surtain II, Minkah Fitzpatrick, and Xavier McKinney were all listed as the tops at their positions in the SEC. It’s good to be an Alabama fan!
Chris Low listed off the top ten QBs in the SEC going into 2026, and he gave the list the caveat that it highly favors returning experience and production. So the top 8 QBs are all returning starters. Interestingly, though, is who is 10th:
10. Kenny Minchey, Kentucky
It was a close race between Kenny Minchey and CJ Carr for the Notre Dame starting quarterback job last year, a decision that wasn’t made until late in preseason camp. So obviously, Minchey made an impression on Marcus Freeman. Now, Minchey gets his shot to operate Will Stein’s “feed the studs” system at Kentucky, and while Kentucky doesn’t have the studs on offense that Stein did at Oregon, Minchey fits what Stein is looking for in a quarterback. The 6-2, 210-pound redshirt junior is plenty mobile, and his accuracy and quick decision-making were on display this spring. Minchey was at Notre Dame for three seasons, but he played very little. So, what he needs, as much as anything, is real-game reps. Stein said Minchey has “some Shane Buechele to him” in his point-guard-type approach. The challenge now is to package all of that up and do it against SEC defenses in meaningful situations, after attempting just 29 career passes in his three seasons at Notre Dame. Minchey was briefly committed to Nebraska after entering the portal, but the chance to run Stein’s offense was too enticing for him to pass up. The Wildcats are hopeful Minchey ends what has been a shaky stretch of unstable quarterback play. Stein thinks the offensive line can be one of the strengths of the Kentucky team, although there will be a lot of new faces at receiver. Minchey is the only quarterback on our top-10 list who’s never started a college game.
Minchey barely played in 2025, and he attempted less passes and scored three less touchdowns than Austin Mack did. Shoot, even Keelon Russell scored two more touchdowns than Minchey on a similar yardage output.
So I get that Low had to pick some unknown guy for 10th place… But the disrespect is still noted.
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