Which SEC Team Could Face Same Fate as Florida State?

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — There aren’t many notable games to open the regular season SEC slate outside of Clemson-Georgia, Notre Dame-Texas A&M and USC-LSU.

All three matchups are between AP preseason top-25 programs. The Aggies are the lone underdogs although they’ll host the Fighting Irish next Saturday.

Georgia heads into the season as No. 1 in the poll, respectively and will host No. 14 Clemson at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. With holes throughout its roster and Dabo Swinney hard balling the transfer portal there is absolute doubt the Tigers upset the Bulldogs.

After seeing Florida State lose to Georgia Tech in its season opener in Ireland in Week Zero, all eyes will be on teams around the country notably in the SEC to see if a top-25 falls off its perch. The Seminoles were blazingly hot this offseason signing not only the No. 12 high school class but also No. 7 ranked transfer portal haul.

Compared to Georgia Tech’s No. 51 high school signing class plus No. 65 ranked portal haul, the Yellojackets should’ve been overmatched. However, there is the coaching aspect of the game that was slightly overlooked. Development and belief in a program matters which is why Brent Key’s team won Saturday.

POTENTIAL UPSET ALERT

Now, the showdown in Las Vegas between No. 14 LSU and No. 23 USC could be an upset in the making. The Tigers look to take its next step as a program by reaching a double digit win total under Brian Kelly for the first time.

Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier now has to follow up Heisman winner Jayden Daniels and help LSU to national title contender. Former offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock moved onto Notre Dame which could limit the Tigers explosiveness.

LSU hasn’t been very good in season openers as of late. The Tigers have lost to Florida State the last two seasons, dropped the ball against UCLA in 2021 and were run out of the stadium against Mississippi State to start 2020.

The only saving grace for the Tigers is Blake Baker coming over from Missouri to coordinate defense. Baker has plenty of standouts as his disposal which could be LSU’s saving grace this fall.

The Skinny

Coach Lincoln Riley’s team will be hard to gauge going into 2024 but the Trojans had an under the radar recruiting class and transfer haul.

There’s immense pressure for USC in year three under Riley to make a College Football Playoff appearance. His offenses will always be a challenge to stop after finishing in the top ten in yards and points per game last season but that was with former Heisman quarterback Caleb Williams.

Now, starting QB Miller Moss is tasked with keeping the trend of high-level passing production in Riley’s scheme. He threw for nearly 400 yards and six passing touchdowns against a stout Louisville defense in the Trojans bowl game.

USC has spent all season heading its a fringe top-25 program, overrated and will miss the playoffs again. A season culminates over time but there’s a reason there’s a saying ‘any given Saturday.’

Perhaps USC’s offense causes Baker fits and his defense can’t keep up. Recent history suggests the Tigers’ struggle with speedy offenses and the Trojans have plenty of mouths to feed at skill positions.

If the Trojans offense can avoid turnovers while keeping opposing offense off the field (allowed 295 first downs in 2023) then LSU should be on upset alert.

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