David Paschall

After several incredibly trying months amid this COVID-19 pandemic, Southeastern Conference football returns Saturday with seven head-to-head matchups that will start the league's 10-game schedule consisting solely of conference contests.

Tennessee is opening its 2020 college football season Saturday night against South Carolina inside Williams-Brice Stadium, so why is tape of Alabama, Colorado State and Georgia being studied so intently?

Georgia freshman receiver Ladd McConkey may not be an instant sensation at Georgia, but the former North Murray standout is winning over the person who matters most.

Nearly 10 months after Alabama succumbed in last season's Iron Bowl and missed out on the College Football Playoff for the first time, Nick Saban's Crimson Tide have never seemed more driven and unified.

Midway through this extended preseason for the Tennessee Volunteers, third-year football coach Jeremy Pruitt threw out the staggering number of 44 players having to miss practice, with COVID-related issues accounting for a majority of those absences.

Georgia fifth-year football coach Kirby Smart didn't reveal the new Bulldogs starting quarterback or their new kicker during Monday afternoon's weekly news conference, but he didn't lack for praise when it came to new Arkansas coach Sam Pittman.

For the last several years, Alabama football coach Nick Saban has been outspoken about the Southeastern Conference shifting from eight league games to nine to provide more good matchups for players and fans.

Former Dalton High School running back Jahmyr Gibbs had a 75-yard kickoff return on his first collegiate touch for Georgia Tech during Saturday's 49-21 loss to UCF in Atlanta.

The Georgia Bulldogs have displayed plenty of college football success this century. Consistency at quarterback has played a prominent role in such stability.

Has the number zero ever been so celebrated as it has in 2020?

Georgia's 26-14 defeat of Baylor in last season's Sugar Bowl was relatively bland compared to other recent postseason showdowns involving the Bulldogs.

The Cade Mays saga of 2020 has cleared a huge hurdle toward reaching a successful conclusion for the Tennessee Volunteers.

Jay Graham doesn't have a problem commanding attention from his players after a career in Knoxville in which he rushed for 2,609 yards, including 1,438 in 1995, when he was an All-SEC selection on an 11-1 squad.

The Eli Drinkwitz era at Missouri will begin a week from Saturday night with a visit from perennial national powerhouse Alabama that will be televised by ESPN.

Tennessee senior left guard Trey Smith has a lengthy list of accomplishments during his time in Knoxville.

Jake Fromm already had cemented himself as Georgia's starting quarterback at this point three years ago, with the true freshman having guided the Bulldogs to a memorable win at Notre Dame.

There are not a slew of pleasant memories to recount from Tennessee's 2017 football season, when the Volunteers sustained eight losses for the first time in program history and endured their first winless run through Southeastern Conference play.

By amassing 246 rushing yards against Vanderbilt and earning Gator Bowl MVP honors, Eric Gray provided an undeniable late-season impact on Tennessee's 2019 football team.

On a Tennessee Volunteers roster that has quality experience returning at every position group, the team's senior kicker takes a back seat to nobody.

Staging the Kentucky Derby and the NBA playoffs in September as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic certainly has produced a different sports calendar in 2020, but the most unique rearranged athletic event will be the Masters in mid-November.