SEC Nation announces destination for Week 8

SEC Nation, the traveling college football show airing on SEC Network, announced on Sunday its location for Week 8 of the college football season: Oxford, Mississippi, where Ole Miss will host LSU.

SEC Nation last week was in Athens, Georgia for the top-15 showdown between Georgia and Kentucky, marking the first week this season that SEC Nation and College GameDay broadcasted from the same campus. This week, Ed Orgeron’s impending departure from LSU did not faze SEC Network, as the ESPN affiliate still opted to travel to the game, perhaps in part because of No. 12 Ole Miss’ pull.

Although reports surfaced on Sunday that Orgeron and LSU would soon part ways, the Tigers still managed to pull off a substantial upset victory on Saturday. The unexpected, 49-42 upset over the No. 20 Florida Gators was a much-needed victory for the skidding program, though it didn’t secure Orgeron his job. However, the losses were starting to pile up for Orgeron and LSU, as the Tigers had no answer for Kentucky last week, so the Tigers will head into its contest with Ole Miss with some form of momentum.

Unfortunately, for LSU, that momentum may not prove to be enough as they prepare to face Ole Miss. The Ole Miss Rebels, led by Heisman Trophy frontrunner Matt Corral, are coming off back-to-back conference wins against Arkansas and Tennessee. Though the Tennessee contest ended with some controversy, the Rebels still managed to prevail and solidify its spot in the nation’s top-15.

Ole Miss sneaks past Tennessee despite fan outburst

Paul Finebaum was appalled by the actions of Tennessee Volunteers fans inside Neyland Stadium last night. On SportsCenter Sunday morning, Finebaum eviscerated the fanbase’s behavior.

“I thought it was classless and unconscionable behavior,” stated Finebaum. “It was an absolute disgrace. And I realize this — as everyone does, in a stadium of 100,000-plus — this was not just a handful. It was maybe a couple hundred. But that’s one too many.

“The idea that somebody would throw a golf ball and nearly hit Lane Kiffin. … It’s hard to wrap your arms around what a bad and ugly look that was for the University of Tennessee.”

Like Finebaum, the rest of the world was in shock and awe over the behavior witnessed last night. It harkened back to when Cleveland Browns fans threw beer bottles onto the field in 2001, following a home loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

It was a perfect storm of chaos last night in Knoxville. First, Kiffin‘s return and the hunger to defeat him ran wild throughout the university. Additionally, a nail-biter of a game featuring multiple momentum shifts had everyone on edge.

However, as Finebaum mentions, there’s no excuse for the behavior we witnessed last night. While the thrill of a big-time SEC matchup was on display, so was the ugly side of intense fandom.