SEC show shapes up as a success

The core on-air roster and the first five campus stops for the SEC Network's traveling Saturday morning college football show were announced this past weekend, and the first-year network seems set to provide a top-notch program.

That's not really a surprise with ESPN's backing and muscle, but expect "SEC Nation" to immediately rank as one of the stronger studio shows in sports, with personalities that evoke a response and provide insights.

Poor Fox Sports 1 -- which, according to Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated (LINK), is considering a Friday night move and personnel changes for its college football pre-game show -- fell another notch in the TV show hierarchy (and there's not much farther to go) simply because the SEC Network announced its plans. The "SEC Nation" lineup, with host Joe Tessitore and analysts Paul Finebaum, Tim Tebow and Marcus Spears, is that strong.

Tessitore brings proven skills and passion. He's a pro capable of directing studio traffic, although you have a sense "SEC Nation" might be a little less calm and paced differently than its big brother, "College GameDay," on ESPN. After Tessitore, and honestly before him in the minds of viewers and fans at the respective sites, the show boasts Finebaum (losing him hurts "GameDay") and Tebow. They'll have opinions and they'll generate reaction, which will make the show worth watching.

Really the only thing that can slightly hamper "SEC Nation" is its appropriate and necessary commitment to visiting all 14 campuses for shows. So, some weeks the show might not originate from the most important game in the conference that week. Of course, a satellite set and a heavy dose or reporters would provide an obvious solution to that situation.

The first five weeks of the season have been set. Here's the initial schedule of campus visits: Aug. 28, South Carolina; Aug. 30, Auburn; Sept. 6, Vanderbilt; Sept. 13, Florida; and Sept. 20, Alabama.