A Season of Change

By Jim Gazzolo

This is expected to be a completely different-looking college football season. 

In just two weeks, the new campaign will kick off with far more questions than answers.

The biggest, especially in our parts of the nation, is just where does the mighty Southeastern Conference stand.

For the better part of two decades, the league was the dominant force in the sport, winning championships and bullying other conferences. That was on the field, where you could count on at least three teams still in the title chase come November first.

And off the field, the league was even more powerful, setting the standard through television deals as well as championships.

Those days are gone, for now.

Still a power, the conference is not quite as strong as the new season begins.

First, Texas looks to be the new power in the conference in just its second season in the league. That does not sit well with the former elite of the SEC.

In places like Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana, having Texas be the conference’s lead dog is about as enjoyable as walking on glass in their bare feet.

However, they have to take it. 

The only fact saving all this is the new leader of the Longhorns is the grandson of a SEC legend from Mississippi who spent most of his professional career in New Orleans. The name Manning gives the fans of this conference hope that they haven’t been left behind.

What really hurt the pride was watching two Big Ten powers win the last two national titles. Michigan and Ohio State achieved the unthinkable and flipped the sport’s power. Add that no SEC team even made it to the title game, and Texas was the last one standing last January, and you can see why this is such a big season for the SEC.

Making this all more cringe-worthy to fans of the South is that Ohio State played Notre Dame in the title game. The Irish, who LSU head coach Brian Kelly left because he said he could not win a championship there, beat Georgia in the playoffs. 

All this has SEC fans hoping for a bounce-back fall. Yet the top-rated team in the preseason is that pesky Texas squad, which means the Longhorns could once again be the last team from the league standing.

This is not what SEC fans have come to expect. They have been led to believe there is nothing better than their conference and that they will once again find their place as the big boys of the sport.

It’s almost as if they believe it is their birthright for this to be the case.

However, the landscape has changed. Thanks to money and expansion, the Big Ten has caught up to the SEC and might even be ahead of it heading into this campaign. 

A lot may change over the next five months, of course. Teams will rise and teams will fall as the heat of summer runs through the cool of fall and gives way to the cold of winter.

The SEC has some teams that can make a run, and maybe even a few who could become real surprises. LSU fits into that category.

But the days of total dominance by the league seem over for now, gone thanks to the transfer portal and NIL deals. 

Instead, it’s a year-to-year battle for supremacy which makes this season fun to watch.

Jim Gazzolo is a freelance writer who covers sports in Southwest Louisiana. He is also the host of Poke Nation, which airs weekly on CBS-Lake Charles.