By Chris Marler
It’s almost the weekend, and I need a drink. If you’re an LSU fan, you probably do, too. Here’s exactly what you’ll need to be drinking at three of the biggest tailgates in the league on Saturday. Cheers y’all!
Arkansas at LSU
There’s no reason that Arkansas should win this game considering the talent gap between the rosters. Not to mention that Arkansas has one of the worst defenses in the country. They’re rush defense is not just the worst in the conference, but it’s the third worst in the last four years combined.
For an offense that’s struggled as mightily as LSU, this Arkansas defense should be the remedy they need.
I’m excited to see the revamped offense this weekend with Michael Van Buren getting more involved, and I’m praying that thanks to this defense, and his past several games, we see Harlem Berry get more than 12 touches before he’s banished to the sideline for whatever unknown reason.
Harlem Berry 37 Yard Run (Bama) pic.twitter.com/HIohwp4Z81
— bob (@BobOnTheGeaux) November 9, 2025
It’s a brunch time kick from Tiger Stadium, which sucks. It’s also not the Friday after Thanksgiving, which sucks even more. It’s hard to watch these two play without the built in excuse of eating leftovers and taking a tryptophan induced nap.
There are so many “out of my comfort zone” things surrounding this game, it’s hard for me to think LSU is suddenly going to morph into the team everyone thought they’d be. Even against a horrid defense like Arkansas.
The Winning
Arkansas 34, LSU 30
The Boozing
Das Boot with Abita The Boot.
There are a ton of great beers in this state, and even before I moved here in July, I had been a fan of Abita for years. The Boot is one of my favorites. It’s a light 4.8% ABV lager brewed with a Kölsch yeast, giving it a clean, crisp, and refreshing finish.
Maybe that’s the biggest thing for LSU fans this weekend, finding something refreshing. Not just in the beer, but also at quarterback. I love Garrett Nussmeier, but there’s no denying that this year has been a struggle. Backup Michael Van Buren will get more reps this week and see more action against Arkansas.
Whit Weeks is a “gameday decision.”
He says Garrett Nussmeier is “probable” for the game with a “nagging injury” that was reaggravated.#LSU pic.twitter.com/vR1JOEMi0H
— Cory Diaz (@ByCoryDiaz) November 13, 2025
Regardless, grab a case of these and pull out enough to fill up a two liter glass boot. How many will it take? No clue. I’m American and don’t use the metric system. Why? Because it’s stupid.
Fill up the boot. It’s time for another edition of LSU Tiger football and drinking to forget.
Texas at Georgia
The new “big dogs” of the SEC were turned into puppies last year. Twice, to be exact.
Georgia showed everyone in Austin and Atlanta last year that Texas was all bark and no bite. That was the last dog pun I promise.
Georgia comes into this game off their best performance of the season. They put up over 300 yards rushing on Mississippi State and 41 points. The defense has been shakier than years past, but they’ll be facing an offense who has underperformed for most of the season. That changed the last two weeks as Arch Manning has finally turned a corner and put up nearly 700 yards of offense, leading Texas back into the top ten.
The Texas students just got a call reversed by throwing trash on the field 💀
This is now a good strategy pic.twitter.com/V3dbhM3MJu
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) October 20, 2024
My feeling for this game is simple. It will be a close game, and I expect Texas to come out with their hair on fire to start the game. They’re off a bye week and few people are better on script than Steve Sarkisian. This game is being played in Athens, Georgia, though.
It’s between the hedges at Sanford Stadium, where the only things louder than the pads popping and the adults barking are the opening notes of Baba O’Riley echoing before kickoff, a perfect reminder to the wine and cheese crowd from Austin that it’s Saturday in Athens.
The Dawgs don’t lose in Athens. They’ve lost twice in eight years by a combined six points. Expect a close one, but at some point Mike Bobo is going to show a wrinkle in his playbook of roughly eight million screens and release Noah Thomas downfield for six. Book it.
The Winning
Georgia 24, Texas 23
The Boozing
Creature Comforts Tropicalia.
One thing about me is I hate IPAs. They’re right up there with yellow Starbursts and people who pronounce the L in salmon. They usually taste like socks and a condescending attitude. But, not Tropicalia. Tropicalia is awesome.
It’s the perfect drink for Saturday and you can find it at Athens’ very own Creature Comforts Brewery. It’s light enough to not feel like an IPA, but its 6.6% ABV will still pack a punchl. It’s got a fruit forward flavor and its orange and sky blue can will remind you of the tropics and a beach trip to forget your troubles. That’s exactly where both of these teams are headed in the postseason, too.
Well …. Hello new night game experience inside Sanford Stadium. 🤩 pic.twitter.com/SCFHuccieD
— Jeff Sentell (@jeffsentell) September 27, 2025
Just different beaches.
Georgia may very well end up in Miami for the national title after beating Texas this weekend. Texas will also spend the holidays in Florida, but it will be in a much lesser bowl, and probably in Tampa or Orlando.
Florida at Ole Miss
The storyline surrounding this game and whether or not Lane Kiffin is leaving Oxford for Gainesville is probably the only interesting thing we’ll have to talk about on Saturday. This feels like a blowout in the making.
Everything points to Ole Miss. There’s a revenge factor. There’s the fact that they’re playing at home. There’s the fact that Florida is the most beat up team in the SEC and will be down nine players again. And, most importantly it feels like Lane Kiffin’s maturity is translating into a more focused and dialed in effort from his team to make sure they close out this season and don’t have a repeat of last year.
No. 16 Ole Miss knocks off No. 3 Georgia 28-10. pic.twitter.com/ybl4Eb0Zgp
— The Buckeye Nut (@TheBuckeyeNut) November 10, 2024
I feel like we’ve seen Kiffin take steps forward as a professional (and person, to be honest) each year in Oxford. He’s always had an offense. But, in 2024 the next step was figuring out how to beat Kirby Smart.
He, admittedly, spent most of the offseason consumed with how to do that, and last November he dominated Georgia when they came to town. In the end, the lack of focus and ability to not overlook lesser opponents cost the Rebels a playoff shot. A loss at home to 4-8 Kentucky, and an inexplicably bad offensive performance at Florida sent them to the Gator Bowl instead of the 12 team playoff.
Not this year. Lane is locked in, and so is this team.
The Winning
Ole Miss 34 Florida 13
The Boozing
An Irish Goodbye.
It’s a local brew from Gnarly Barley in Louisiana. An Irish Stout named after someone sneaking out in the middle of the night. And you know damn well why.
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