ESPN has a new series called "The Season". Each week they will have a whole show detailing a different SEC school and their game week preparations. It started last night with Auburn. It continues each Thursday at midnight. secsports.com article ESPN's The Season Chronicles SEC Football -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday, October 1, 2002 THE SEASON: SEC FOOTBALL A SEASON-LONG LOOK AT ONE OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL'S PREMIER CONFERENCES ESPN's The Season, which takes viewers behind the scenes with athletes and teams, will present a recurring, 12-part series chronicling college football in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), Thursdays at 12 midnight ET (9 p.m. PT) beginning October 3. The series, produced by ESPN Original Entertainment in conjunction with the SEC and Chicago-based media company Intersport, will feature a season-long look at the tradition of college football at SEC schools. The Season: SEC Football will focus each week on an SEC institution and its football program, providing an in-depth profile of the weeklong - Sunday through Friday - preparation for an upcoming game at the school. Beyond week-to-week game preparation, The Season will also capture the personalities as well as the loyalty of the school's alumni and fans. The SEC, celebrating 70 years of college football, is one of the sport's traditional powerhouse conferences. The SEC had the best non-conference winning percentage (.740) in the 1990s. A hotbed of college football rivalries, revenge and passionate fans, the conference is comprised of 12 of the largest universities in the Southeastern states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Weekly, 'The Season' will give the viewer an insider look at the following highlights: Preparing for Saturday - The series will highlight how each conference team prepares for a Saturday game with on-the-field practice, film sessions, coaches' strategy meetings as well as team meetings. The athletes - Will be profiled as they navigate and balance the demands of playing powerhouse college football with their responsibilities as student athletes. Pomp and pageantry - The band striking up the alma mater, the fight songs, the cheerleaders and the pep rally are all hallmarks of college football in the conference. Each school tells a story - Will Tennessee Volunteers end the season at No. 1? Will Florida continue its dominance of the conference under new coach Ron Zook? Will Lou Holtz continue the Gamecocks' remarkable turnaround? Playing under the specter of NCAA sanctions, will the pride of the Tide be enough for Alabama? Is Georgia SEC's sleeper team this year? And can Eli Manning lead the Ole Miss rebels to prominence this fall? The Season: SEC Football -- October Schedule (subject to change): Thursday, Oct. 3 at 12 midnight ET (9 p.m. PT) AUBURN: Coming off a 7-5 season in 2001 and two new - offensive and defensive - coordinators in the off-season, the Auburn Tigers under coach Tommy Tuberville were ranked by college football insiders as one of the top two teams in the SEC West Division. 'The Season: SEC Football' will focus on Auburn and its fans as the Tigers prepare to host Syracuse in a non-conference game Saturday, Sept. 28 at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. Auburn will be seeking revenge for its 31-14 loss to the Orangemen last year at the Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y. Thursday, Oct. 10 at 12 midnight (9 p.m. PT) ALABAMA: The Crimson Tide seniors won the SEC title game as freshmen. This season they are playing under the specter of NCAA sanctions. Undeterred by adversity and challenged by head coach Dennis Franchione, Alabama as a team is playing for the pride of one of college football's storied programs. The series will feature the team, its fans and student body on the week ending October 5 as they prepare to host the highest-ranked SEC team (No. 6) Georgia Bulldogs at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Thursday, Oct. 17 at 12 midnight (9 p.m. PT) KENTUCKY: With junior Jared Lorenzen at quarterback, the Wildcats remain an exciting team. A 4-1 record (to-date) and a high-scoring offense have earned coach Guy Morriss a contract extension guaranteed through 2007. The Season will chronicle the Wildcats as they await the game against intra-divisional (SEC East) rivals Lou Holtz and the South Carolina Gamecocks Saturday, Oct. 12 at home, Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington, Ky. Thursday, Oct. 24 at 12 midnight (9 p.m. PT) LSU: Picked in most polls to win the SEC West Division, the LSU Tigers opened the season with a non-conference 26-6 loss to Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. Despite that loss, coach Nick Saban has refocused the team for a return trip to the SEC championship game in December. The series will feature preparations in Baton Rouge, La., as the Tigers host the Gamecocks Saturday, Oct. 19 at Tiger Stadium. (***Additional schedule for "The Season: SEC Football" will be announced later)
