With Week 0 and Week 1 in the books for the 2024 college football season, narratives are starting to take shape around the major conferences and the teams that were expected to compete for a national title.
For the SEC, this past weekend was a mixed bag. Sure, Georgia obliterated Clemson while Texas, Alabama, Ole Miss, and others took care of business against inferior foes.
But in the conference’s other marquee matchups, they fell short. Notre Dame defeated Texas A&M in College Station, Miami destroyed Florida in The Swamp, and LSU left Brian Kelly very frustrated in their loss to USC in Las Vegas.
While there is plenty of season ahead and the SEC is sure to have a lot of crow about by the time the College Football Playoff gets here, it was hardly the conference’s best weekend ever.
Danny Kanell, an ardent SEC hater despite his prostrations, noticed something while watching the USC-LSU game on ABC. On the chyron at the bottom of the screen, it read: “SEC teams rack up the points in Week 1.” Underneath that, it read: Bama, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Auburn win by 60+vs. non-Power 4 teams.”
Kanell’s response? “This type of propaganda is usually only seen on Russian State television…”
This type of propaganda is usually only seen on Russian State television…. pic.twitter.com/Q8zDgpCayT
— Danny Kanell (@dannykanell) September 2, 2024
Now in a vacuum, there’s nothing inherently wrong with what it said on the ESPN scroll. It’s factually accurate.
But, as Kanell noted as well, that’s not the real takeaway from the SEC’s Week 1. And it’s certainly not the first thing you’d mention unless perhaps you had a vested interest in making sure the conference looked as good as possible (like, say, a TV deal).
You won’t hear this on any ESPN show but in the 4 marquee non conference games the SEC went 1-3.
— Danny Kanell (@dannykanell) September 2, 2024
Kanell might be reaching here, but a lot of people are going to be watching how the company discusses the SEC now that it’s so heavily invested in the league. Any kind of narrative that doesn’t quite jibe with reality is going to get picked apart, rightly or wrongly.
For their part, we’re guessing ESPN won’t mind, cause it means you’ll be talking about them and the SEC.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.