College football is a merciless game.
If your team loses one game, its season’s goals may have just gone by the wayside. Even if that loss comes in the first week of the season.
And unlike the pros in the NFL, there are no preseason games to work out the kinks. The first time these guys get to hit someone wearing a different uniform than their own is the first game of the season.
That’s why Saturday’s matchup between No. 3 Oregon and No. 4 LSU is so important.
The winner stays in the driver’s seat toward a national title run. The loser is forced to sit back and hope for some help along the way.
The matchup between the Tigers’ vaunted defense and the Ducks’ prolific offense was a big enough draw to entice the nation’s premier college football pregame show, College GameDay, to open up its season in Dallas as well.
GameDay’s appearance will mark the third time in the past eight seasons it has been present for LSU’s season opener and the 15th time overall LSU has been featured.
The Tigers are 2-0 in season openers and 10-4 overall on GameDay.
GameDay led off the season in Baton Rouge in 2004, following LSU’s national title season in 2003, to see the Bayou Bengals defeat Oregon State, 22-21.
Last season, the GameDay crew traveled to Atlanta to again watch LSU walk away victorious, this time with a 30-24 victory against North Carolina in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game.
This year’s matchup is easily the most enticing of the Tigers’ season openers GameDay has been present for, with a heavyweight battle which pits LSU’s staunch defense against Oregon’s fast-paced offense.
The Tigers’ swarming defense is primed and ready to slow down the Ducks’ supersonic offensive attack.
This game, though, is about much more than just two teams battling it out on the gridiron.
After a tumultuous offseason for both programs, there is nothing more exciting than the anticipation of the season’s first game.
College football as a whole has been in tumult this summer, and finally getting the focus on what is going on between the white lines is a sight for sore eyes. The game is as good as it has ever been, yet too many people choose to focus on the negatives.
There is not a more exhilarating sight in sports than to see a college football team run onto the field with the marching band blaring the fight song in the background.
Chills run down my spine every time I hear The Golden Band from Tigerland play its first four notes during pregame. The song indicates the beginning of the best four hours of my week.
The game is also about conference pride.
The Southeastern Conference is home to the last five national championships, and is, without a doubt, the nation’s elite football conference. The Tigers will be putting that reputation on the line this weekend.
The PAC 12 is looking to gain ground in the race for top conference billing. With Oregon’s appearance in last season’s BCS Championship Game and its recent expansion, Saturday will be the first time it can start to prove to the nation that it belongs in the discussion with the SEC.
With the biggest pregame show and two of the country’s elite teams and conferences present, Saturday is sure to be as exciting a start to the season as anyone could have asked for.
There’s no question college football lives in Dallas this weekend.
 
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Contact Rob Landry at [email protected]