In many ways, the SEC Network is like a freshman on orientation week: confident with tons of potential, but saddled with the underlying feeling that they don’t know what they’re doing.
The network kicked off on Aug. 14, and so far, the reviews range from intrigued to confused. In one sitting, you are blown away by the number of games the network will deliver but also puzzled at the apparent need for analysts for nearly every SEC school. 
I’ll offer ESPN the same advice I’d offer those freshmen who spend this week trying to find their classes: Make mistakes and learn. If you don’t throw everything you have against the wall, you’ll never figure out what sticks. 
One thing that will work is the live coverage of football games all around the conference. There’s a large portion of SEC schools, like Mississippi State, Vanderbilt and Tennessee, that are only shown nationally when it’s their turn to get stomped by Alabama. This new network is a godsend for fans of those teams.
For college football’s opening weekend, 14 SEC teams will be shown on one of ESPN’s networks, something no other conference can claim. The SEC Network made this possible. It will show eight of those teams                             beginning Thursday. 
I’m unsure how well-received live broadcasts of volleyball and soccer will be, but numbers are going to soar in the spring when the network begins showing baseball. College baseball isn’t loved nationally enough to be shown on ESPN all the time, but most SEC schools adore it. 
The next best thing in the network’s arsenal is a show made for this generation of television. If shows like “Bachelor Pad,” “The Real Housewives” and “First Take” taught us anything, it’s that lunacy sells, and “The Paul Finebaum Show” majors in the bizarre. 
Finebaum takes in calls from SEC fans, usually from Alabama, and lets them proclaim why their schools are the best and why the SEC stands alone in greatness. Finebaum serves as moderator, letting the callers rant about their teams being cheated on Saturday.
It isn’t the most intelligent programming, but it’s a great show to attract more viewers. The show can be used to lure people into watching higher value                     productions such as the “SEC         Storied” documentary series. 
The big problem I have with the network so far is the studio shows, a device that is essential for any news channel’s success. So far, the program seems all over the place, bringing in a new analyst every time and lacking a set formula.
In the next few months, ESPN needs to figure out which talking heads work and make the first round of cuts. Then, once they’ve found the best personalities, the networks should give them their own 30-minute shows.
It’s a formula ESPN used before, giving shows to Tony Kornheiser, Michael Wilbon, Dan Le Batard and Keith Olbermann, which have all succeeded. The reason “Pardon the Interruption” has been on the air for more than a decade isn’t because of the debate — it’s because of the                       personalities.
Wherever the network goes, I’m looking forward to its freshman year. 
Tommy Romanach is a 22-year-old mass communication senior from Dallas, Texas. You can reach him on Twitter                                                        @troman_28.