America is addicted to football, so we’ll take it no matter the dosage. Everyone is eager for Week 1, with games starting on Thursday and continuing through Monday. But before you turn on the television or sweat it out at the stadium, ask yourself the following:
Is this the best we can do?
There will be 96 FBS games in Week 1. How many will be worth watching? Three matchups will feature both teams ranked in the Associated Press preseason Top 25 poll. Top-ranked Georgia plays No. 14 Clemson in Atlanta, No. 7 Notre Dame travels to No. 20 Texas A&M, and No. 13 LSU takes on No. 23 USC in Las Vegas. That’s good. However, there are only nine games where a power school plays a major-conference opponent.
That’s bad.
Let’s look at the SEC, where they routinely remind us that “It Just Means More.” Excluding Georgia, Texas A&M, and LSU, here is the Week 1 schedule for the rest …