Brett Davis-Imagn Images
By Chris Marler
Which SEC team is facing the most pressure in Week 1?
Given the name of this site and the fan base closest to it, LSU feels like the obvious answer. And sure, no fan base is hungrier for a Week 1 win, that’s a given after how the last five openers have gone. But the most pressure? Nah.
LSU isn’t playing with house money opening weekend, but they are dang near close. A loss does not ruin their playoff chances at all. A win, however, could arguably put them at No. 1 and give them what will be considered one of the best wins of the year. They can carry that in their back pocket as an Uno reverse card to any argument about their schedule, record, etc. all the way until that first week in December when the 12 CFP teams are announced.
If not LSU, who?
Come with me down a rabbit hole of hypotheticals for a second and think about what would happen, or what the narratives would be, if any of these things happened.
- Alabama loses to Florida State after they went 2-10 last year.
- Arch Manning throws three interceptions in a loss at Ohio State.
- Tennessee loses to Syracuse.
- All three happen.
The SEC has spent a lot of the offseason defending its stature and standing in the college football world after they’ve been knocked down several notches over the last two years. Greg Sankey and writers like myself have countered Big Ten bragging with facts and stats that suggest declaring the SEC’s downfall may be premature.
Now imagine nine months since your last black eye and suggested failure on the field, the opening weekend gives you one to three more the first time you step back out there.
The conference camaraderie that happens in the offseason while jockeying for potential positions amongst all the future changes in the sport is fine from January to August. That ends the moment the season starts. SEC fans know that. Most of these fanbases won’t be cheering for anyone but their own.
A rough Week 1 could be catastrophic for the SEC’s reputation, at least in terms of optics. The irony? Plenty of fans from within the conference might be secretly pulling for it.
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