Long and Suite Preview: The SEC

Thanks to great recruiting by coach Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss suddenly boasts stars like receiver Laquon Treadwell. Can the Rebels contend in the loaded SEC West?

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

There are rumblings that the era of the SEC may be ending, but I wouldn't bet against the conference that has dominated college football for the past decade plus quite yet.

The SEC West still boasts four teams that can play with anybody in the country, and the top of the East looks to be as talented as ever, though there are some definite wild cards.

With the two Alabama powers and South Carolina chasing a national title, and the potential emergence of, gulp, Ole Miss, the SEC should have an exciting, if not traditionally dominant season. Replacing a boat load of quarterback talent will be the top priority conference wide, but the defense, and most importantly, speed are still there for some good ole fashioned SEC footbaw!

Your College Football Weekend Primer: Can The U Get Its Swag Back?

The U may have invented Swag back in the day, but the Canes need a win over UF Saturday to get their's back.

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

This weekend will deliver two "rivalry" games that really exemplify where college football is going. In case you didn't know, the game, along with the population of the country at large, is moving south.

Let's begin with Notre Dame's soon ending "rivalry" with Michigan, a feud downplayed by Irish coach Brian Kelly this week (Because his school is the one that opted out of the series), and talked up/exaggerated by pundits all across ESPN (Because the annual matchup is a ratings bonanza for them every time it's played in the Big House).

Let me be the first to say, as someone who attended a Big Ten school, that I personally don't care if Michigan and Notre Dame ever play again. Is it a significant rivalry? Sure, I suppose. It's two of the all-time winningest programs that reside within 150 miles of each other. It's a battle of two of the best programs in the midwest, but if college football's recent history has taught us anything, it's that geography is overrated.

Your College Football Kickoff Primer

Jadeveon Clowney (leaping) and Aaron Murray (holding ball nervously) will each represent the SEC against stiff non-conference competition this weekend.

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

You know, people love to hate on ESPN.

Fans and bloggers just love to beat up on the worldwide leader for its programming (TIM TEBOW HOUR) and its ability to control the sports landscape by acquiring the television rights to pretty much everything.

Well, ESPN is proving to be a benevolent dictator for college football (At least for fans watching at home), as the network is delivering one heck of an opening weekend. While there are certainly a lot of things wrong with college football, ESPN setting up marquee matchups to kick the season off isn't one of them. The network's pairing of Alabama and Virginia Tech in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic is just one example of an ESPN ratings move that is beneficial to everyone involved.

Oh, and that night's late game between LSU and TCU in Dallas… Also an ESPN creation.

Anyways, here is what else you should be watching for on college football's opening weekend which, like every good college weekend, begins Thursday night.