It can be done. It just hasn't been done in a long, long time.
One of the many challenging aspects of this year's Southeastern Conference 10-game football schedule consisting solely of league opposition is that seven teams would own an 0-1 conference record staring at the potential of being 0-2. Ole Miss and Kentucky were competitive at times against top-10 teams last Saturday, but either Lane Kiffin's Rebels or the Wildcats of Mark Stoops will be 0-2 this weekend after their showdown in Lexington.
"It's going to be a long year, and you could have that same discussion with a lot of people every week," Stoops said Wednesday. "That's what I told our team in the locker room - that 50% of our league was on the same side as we were. None of us like it, and I'm sure Lane would answer the same way as I do.
"We're not interested in being competitive. We're interested in winning the games."
Kentucky trailed Auburn 15-13 through three quarters of its 29-13 loss, while Ole Miss and Florida each surpassed 600 total yards in the 51-35 win by the Gators.
Reaching Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium is an SEC-wide objective that hasn't been corralled by the coronavirus, but there hasn't been a program get to the league title game after an 0-2 conference start since Arkansas in 2002. The Razorbacks won a three-way tie over Auburn and LSU, with each going 5-3 in the league, but were shellacked by Georgia in Atlanta, 30-3.
The LSU-Vanderbilt game in Nashville is also assured of producing an 0-2 loser. Ed Orgeron's Tigers were not expecting an opening blemish but sustained one when Mississippi State quarterback K.J. Costello threw for 623 yards inside Tiger Stadium to hang a 44-34 loss on the reigning national champion.
"We want to get this taste out of our mouth and do better, so everybody has taken it upon himself to do better," Orgeron said Wednesday.
Vandy, meanwhile, was projected to get shellacked at Texas A&M but fell just 17-12.
"Outside expectations don't drive us," Commodores coach Derek Mason said. "That's not football. That's speculation from people who don't have a chance to see you, and that's OK. We're a blue-collar group, and we're not the ideal pick.
"We're not a Maserati. We're just a Ford truck rolling down the road trying to make sure we're playing good football."
SEC home teams, incidentally, were just 2-5 last weekend, with Auburn and Texas A&M accounting for the wins.
Pasquali's Pix
South Carolina at Florida: Kyle Trask and Kyle Pitts put on quite the opening show at Ole Miss last weekend, but "Third-and-Grantham" continues to be a very real issue after the Rebels went 9-of-14 on third-down conversions. Gators 38, Gamecocks 16.
Missouri at Tennessee: This is one of those rare matchups that actually takes place on the same day as originally planned prior to the announcement of the SEC's adjusted schedule due to coronavirus concerns. Vols 31, Tigers 23.
Texas A&M at Alabama: Crimson Tide safety Jordan Battle on Aggies quarterback Kellen Mond: "He's a great quarterback who can scramble outside the pocket. We play pretty good in the scrambling quarterback game, so we should play pretty well against this guy. Tide 40, Aggies 17.
Ole Miss at Kentucky: A Wildcats triumph would give Stoops a school-record 33 wins at Kroger Field, surpassing Jerry Claiborne's mark of 32 from 1982-89. Wildcats 33, Rebels 24.
Auburn at Georgia: The Tigers have not scored an offensive touchdown after the first quarter in Sanford Stadium since Brandon Cox's 12-yard pass to Mario Fannin in the third quarter of the 2007 Blackout Game. Bulldogs 19, Tigers 10.
Arkansas at Mississippi State: Mike Leach's debut for the Bulldogs yielded the highest-ranked win in a true road game in program history. Bulldogs 38, Razorbacks 23.
LSU at Vanderbilt: Quite the few interesting days in Nashville, as the Tennessee Titans shut down their facility and Vandy reopens its stadium to students. Tigers 27, Commodores 14.
Virginia at Clemson: Remember when everybody in ACC football annually existed just to haplessly give chase to Florida State? Tigers 41, Cavaliers 16.
Other picks:
Wake Forest 49, Campbell 16
BYU 38, Louisiana Tech 19
Texas 35, TCU 28
Pittsburgh 22, N.C. State 13
North Carolina 31, Boston College 12
Cincinnati 56, South Florida 21
Oklahoma State 33, Kansas 20
Memphis 30, SMU 17
Florida Atlantic 27, Charlotte 24
Virginia Tech 34, Duke 25
Florida State 45, Jacksonville State 22
Western Kentucky 32, MTSU 29
UCF 59, Tulane 31
Oklahoma 44, Iowa State 38
Kansas State 37, Texas Tech 34
Army 41, Abilene Christian 10
West Virginia 37, Baylor 36
Last week:
Winners - 21
Pelinis - 2
Pasquali is 21-2 overall (91.3%) this season.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.