Like it is

SEC West won't lose step with Saban around

In this Jan. 8, 2018, file photo, Alabama head coach Nick Saban leads his team on the field before the NCAA college football playoff championship game against Georgia, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/David Goldman,)

After more than seven long months, football starts tonight with seven televised games, including Northwestern (La.) State at Texas A&M on the SEC Network.

Yes, fans of college football are so desperate for a game that the Aggies playing the Demons of Natchitoches, La., has some sort of appeal. The ratings are expected to rival Big Brother's.

Since last season there are some new rules -- mostly about tackling and keeping players safe -- and as usual there are new players, new coaches and new challenges.

One thing that hasn't changed, and may not for a very long time, is the SEC is the best conference in the history of the game.

Read something the other day that the Big Ten East was the strongest division in college football.

Made me laugh out loud.

Sure it has No. 5 Ohio State, No. 10 Penn State, No. 11 Michigan State and No. 14 Michigan.

Does it have Alabama? Do any of those teams really want to play the Crimson Tide, then on other Saturdays take on Auburn, Texas A&M, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State and Arkansas. Don't forget Georgia from the East Division.

The only way anyone in the country wants to play Alabama is if that team has a chance to sneak out with the national championship trophy.

There is a chance six of those seven SEC West teams will be in a bowl game, and it would be seven if the NCAA hadn't been way too hard on Ole Miss.

Admittedly, the Big Ten did better in last season's bowl games by going 7-1, and it had five teams finish in the Top 25 rankings.

But the SEC had the two finalists for the national championship and five in the Top 25.

Football is Saturday's religion in the South.

It is the front door porch on an antebellum mansion.

This was not always true. Oh, the SEC has been competitive for years, but to become the best it took Alabama hiring Nick Saban.

He's like Kentucky's John Calipari in basketball: liking him isn't required, but respecting his coaching abilities, his eye for detail and the ability to motivate is a must.

Since Saban came into the SEC, every school has changed coaches at least once.

With everyone chasing him and the Crimson Tide, the SEC has become the powerhouse of the country. The icing on the cake was when the late, great Mike Slive, then commissioner of the SEC, struck a deal with ESPN for the SEC Network.

Every SEC game is televised, and that means recruits in both large cities and remote towns have a chance to like what they see.

This might be a crazy season in the SEC. LSU fans are not going to be happy with Ed Orgeron if he goes 7-5, but he has a schedule that starts Sunday with Miami and includes games at Auburn, at Florida, at Arkansas and at Texas A&M. The Tigers also have home games against Georgia, Ole Miss and Mississippi State.

Arkansas has a new coach and most of the same team.

Expectations are through the roof at Mississippi State with 17 starters back, including quarterback Nick Fitzgerald, but no team has an easy ride on the rough road known as the SEC West.

Auburn fans' expectations are Alabama high, but the Gus Bus does have 13 riders back from last season.

No doubt Georgia is on the rise and appears ready to stake a claim as king of the SEC hill.

Dan Mullen is looking to calm the waters at Florida, and Will Muschamp seems to have gotten South Carolina turned around.

The big constant though is Alabama. The Crimson Tide, under his direction, has slowly but surely made the SEC the most dominant conference in the history of college football.

Let the games, and the drama, begin.

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Sports on 08/30/2018