SEC Network Launch and Texas A&M vs South Carolina ATS

Last night was the initial launch of the SEC Network, just 14 days away from the first college football game of the year, which will be shown on the channel.   The party began with the first ever showing of SEC Now, followed by "SEC Storied," and overnight there were classic college football games, showcasing Alabama from the last few years.  The real start is today, when The Paul Finebaum Show starts at 1pm CT on the network.  The show has been on various ESPN channels over the last couple of weeks, as a precursor to what is coming today, but we'll really see how well the show (and its infamous callers) translate to a national television audience.  I'm sure it will be a sight to behold.


   I've been a fan of Finebaum's for as long back as I can remember.  He's got an incredibly unique show that is caller-based.  A lot of radio show hosts prefer to hear their own voice over their callers', but Finebaum has given the average college football fan a voice, and it's been working for years.  He's caught fire basically ever since Nick Saban started at Alabama, and it's all come full circle with his appearances last year on College Gameday, and now with the show being simulcast on the brand new SEC Network.  I've read books about the show, articles in the New Yorker and the Wall Street Journal, etc.  His ascent through the college football media world is quite the sight to behold, and is actually very interesting how things happened to lead to today.

   There are 91M+ households that are currently carrying the SEC Network.  The channel had the most successful television launch in history.  It has as many houses as ESPN2, and almost as many as ESPN.  That's intense.

   Which means that the first game on the channel, the Thursday, Aug 28th tilt between South Carolina and Texas A&M, should be heavily viewed.  I'll be curious to see the ratings after that first weekend.

   South Carolina opened up as an 11 point favorite in the game over A&M.  People highly overvalued Johnny Football last year (as I pointed out Vegas will do with the Browns this year), and A&M went a pretty blah 5-8 against the spread (ATS) last year.  I think the same thing will happen this year, only backwards.  People will undervalue A&M because Manziel is no longer there, which gives me a reason to bet against South Carolina in the first game.

   SC was 4-3 ATS at home last year, and as a double digit favorite at home 3 times in SEC competition last year, they only covered one, against Mississippi State.  It's difficult to cover double digit spreads in the SEC, and this is a game between two top 25 teams, both starting new quarterbacks with little experience, missing some big offensive weapons, but returning some really key pieces.  2 weeks out, I'm leaning toward taking the points with Texas A&M, because I think they'll keep it closer than people think.