Disclaimer: Bandwagoning is not a ranking of the best or worst teams, the biggest wins or the worst losses. Rather, it is an inaccurate assessment of the emotions different fan bases felt after their most recent match. There’s nothing scientific about it. Nothing.

JUMP TO: We haven’t yet seen how he plays against South Carolina this weekend, but we already know that Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia is living rent-free in Auburn coach Hugh’s head Freeze.

He is undefeated against Freeze, defeating him each of the last three seasons while playing for two different teams. A Pavie-led New Mexico State won at Liberty 49-14 in 2022, Freeze’s final season with the Flames. Freeze moved to Auburn a year later, only to have the scheduling gods send the Aggies to the Plains last November. New Mexico State won 31-10.

More luck this year when Pavie, a grad short on options, ended up at Vanderbilt (6-3, 3-2 SEC). He led the Commodores to a 17-7 victory last weekend at Auburn (3-6, 1-5), their first-ever victory at Jordan-Hare Stadium. This victory also made Vanderbilt bowl eligible for first time since 2018.

But this is where it really becomes problematic for Freeze: Pavia totaled 744 yards and 11 touchdowns in these victories which were decided by an average score of 31-10. To make matters worse, the average margin in each of these matches was 19 points in favor of Team Freeze.

No wonder Freeze said he was “sick of watching this quarterback” in his weekly presser the Monday before the game.

Pavie, in his final season of eligibility, completed 127 of 205 passes for 1,677 yards and 15 touchdowns against three interceptions. He also directs No. 24 Vanderbilt on the ground with 563 yards and four touchdowns.

JUMP : Louisiana-Monroe (5-3, 3-2 Sun Belt) offensive line coach Cameron Blankenship is taken to task after chase then push one of his players. It happened near the team’s bench during the Warhawks’ 28-23 loss at Marshall (5-3, 3-1).

Video of the incident — which occurred after second-year offensive lineman Drew Hutchinson was mistakenly introduced into the game — went viral, sparking criticism from far and wide. The school responded with a written reprimand and the old “because this is a personal matter, discipline will be handled internally.” Blankenship issued a public apology; Hutchinson showed grace by agreeing and saying that “coaches are humans too.”

Blankenship looks like a wild man in the video, frantically stalking Hutchinson behind the bench before shoving him. But it wasn’t like Ohio State coach Woody Hayes punched Clemson linebacker Charlie Bauman in the 1978 Gator Bowl. That incident ended Hayes’ iconic career.

Still, it’s a bad image in an increasingly sensitive environment where coaches are criticized even for the old face mask when trying to get a player’s attention. And this is exacerbated by the sight of Blankenship chasing Hutchinson so he can push him.

But his vague punishment is probably nominal, anyway. And there’s a good chance that soon it won’t be a problem anymore.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart pushed Mississippi State quarterback Michael Van Buren just a few weeks ago. Smart considered it unintentionalthat Van Buren was collateral damage as he argued with a referee and that the sidelines are “pandemonium”. It was not flagged, although SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said it should have resulted in a 15-yard penalty.

This sends a mixed message; Touching an opposing player is prohibited, but it doesn’t matter if it’s one of yours.

And if that’s the case, why is anyone upset to begin with?

THE SEATS GO FAST: Chaos fans rejoice because things are lining up for a wild, wild November.

Thanks to South Carolina wins 44-20 against Texas A&Mthere are now five teams with one loss each, the best in the SEC. And without divisions, the league might have to resort to a list of very low tiebreakers to determine who plays in the SEC Championship. Let’s all hope things work out until the final tiebreaker method which reads: “draw of tied teams”.

Oh, and it’s a six-step tiebreaker plan that the league didn’t even release until Aug. 21 — months after announcing it was eliminating divisions. But that still beats the Big 12, which revealed how it would handle ties in September after the season began.

For the record: eight teams are mathematically alive to play for the Big 12 title four weeks before the end of the regular season. While competitive, the downside is that it will likely prevent the Big 12 from having multiple teams in the final College Football Playoff field.

On the ACC side, things calmed down a little last Saturday with Clemson and Pittsburgh both lose their first championship games. Fourth-ranked Miami (9-0, 5-0 ACC) and No. 13 SMU (8-1, 5-0) just need to take care of business to meet in the ACC Championship.

HOT TICKETS: South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers… Arizona State… Marshall at home… #ACCForBreakfast… Ohio State coach Ryan Day: Big game winner (finally)… UConn coach Jim Mora Jr.… UAB: Not as bad as Tulsa …Army’s Michie Stadium…Ohio State’s offensive line… Tim Lester, Iowa offensive coordinator …Navy after Week 8.