August 30, 2018

“SEC ON CBS” KICKS OFF THIS SATURDAY, SEPT. 1 WITH
NO. 17 WEST VIRGINIA VS. TENNESSEE

The SEC ON CBS returns this Saturday, Sept. 1 (3:30 PM, ET) as No. 17 West Virginia takes on Tennessee at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.

Brad Nessler, Gary Danielson and reporter Jamie Erdahl, CBS Sports’ lead college football announce team, call the action. Erdahl begins her first season as lead reporter for the SEC ON CBS after previously serving as a reporter for THE NFL ON CBS.

Craig Silver, the Network’s coordinating producer of college football, produces and Steve Milton directs.

Studio coverage is again anchored by Adam Zucker along with analysts Rick Neuheisel and Brian Jones, who cover all the day’s news and hot topics in college football throughout the season. Coverage begins at 2:30 PM, ET this Saturday.

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AUDIBLES with CBS Sports’ Lead College Football Analyst

Gary Danielson

(On Tennessee and New Head Coach Jeremy Pruitt)
I appreciate the foundation that Jeremy Pruitt is building at Tennessee. I give a lot of credit to Athletic Director Phillip Fulmer, who had a vision and wanted to bring back toughness and discipline to the program. What they’re doing at Tennessee is a very similar blueprint to the one that Kirby Smart put together at Georgia. They feel they’re putting together a winning program and a lot of credit goes to the staff and returning players. It’s a magnificent job what Jeremy and his staff have done. This team is looking forward to representing Tennessee and playing tough, SEC-brand football.

(On West Virginia vs. Tennessee and Keys to the Game)

I’m really looking forward to this game. I’m excited for this opener. West Virginia really has a chance for a special season. They have the right combination of skill players, an elite quarterback in Will Grier and a schedule that could propel them into a possible College Football Playoff bid. I think West Virginia’s pass offense is going to be a tough matchup for Tennessee’s newly-emerging defense. So that means Tennessee’s offense is going to have to play a big part in this game to keep that West Virginia offense off the field.

Additionally, in these opening games, coaches don’t want to get beat by “disaster plays.” You don’t want to get beat by a huge mistake that costs you the ballgame. Something that you don’t even draw up – whether it’s not having enough men on the field or a sack/fumble that gets returned for a touchdown – is usually what happens in these opening games.

(On the Favorites in the SEC)

Alabama and Georgia have the two best teams, the best group of quarterbacks in a quarterback-strong league and the best schedules in the Conference. When you put all of that together, it’s going to take an upset to not see them in the SEC Championship Game. Auburn also is in that upper echelon and can clearly play with Alabama and Georgia but their schedule this year is brutal. They’re really good but I don’t know if they can get through that schedule.

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CBS Sports Contact:
Randall Liu, 212-975-5936, randall.liu@cbs.com