The Margins of Victory: SEC Any Given Saturday Episode 1 Recap

The fever is real for the upcoming football season, and both the SEC and Omaha Productions know this, taking full advantage of the end of the football drought to release their Hard Knocks-style documentary series on Netflix, SEC Football: Any Given Saturday.

We’re podcasters and sports fans who don’t unquestioningly give in to the hype of SEC football — but the reasons why the conference and its teams stay relevant go beyond regional pride. This is an exploration into the psyche of these Southern states, with cities built for nothing more than playing college football on Saturdays.

Each week, we’ll dive deep into an episode as we get set for the long-awaited return of NCAA football games.

Opening Kickoff

The title for the pilot episode works well as a double entendre, orienting our minds back to the beginning of last season and the end of LSU’s fall camp last August. Baton Rouge might be the stadium that releases the most mojo in the nation.

Louisiana already has a history steeped in voodoo and strange magic, plus this city produced the most outstanding college football season in history — quarterbacked by the most incredible man ever to play the sport (No Bengals fan bias here). 

For me, the issues with LSU stem from their head coach. I never liked Brian Kelly, returning to his time at Notre Dame with Manti Te’o. He never comes across as genuine. One only needs to look at his introduction at the Tigers basketball game — with that infamous fake Southern accent — and ask, Does this seem like a guy in his early 60s who grew up just outside of Boston? Add what appears to be a penchant for passing the buck of losses to his players while he rolls around in millions of dollars, and this is not someone I trust to run a big-time program.

The other issue with LSU is that their coaches win, then get spit out by the fan base. Nick Saban won a national title and left for the NFL’s Miami Dolphins before becoming the GOAT at Alabama. Les Miles battled Saban and won championships with Tyrann Mathieu, then was fired. Ed Orgeron went undefeated and attempted to navigate COVID restrictions following his title — only to be fired within three seasons. So, while Brian Kelly isn’t my favorite coach, LSU fans and administration may want to look in the mirror and ask themselves: Why do I sabotage my happiness?

The first segment ends with the season kickoff featuring LSU taking on USC in Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, home of the Raiders. As mentioned in the filming, LSU was anchored by a terrible defense, even as Jayden Daniels won his Heisman Trophy. This was what we call subtle foreshadowing in the biz. Just like in 2023, LSU let a USC Trojan team behind Miller Moss finish a double-digit comeback and steal the season’s first game.

Trip Toward the Coast

After Week 1 in Vegas, the series shifts to Columbia, South Carolina. We join the Beamer family for breakfast before school as Shane and his kids discuss their superstitions and rituals before games. Shane Beamer, son of legendary Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer, has been a breath of fresh air for the Gamecock program.

People were initially surprised he decided not to stay in Blacksburg on his dad’s staff, but as Shane explains, trying to get out from under the shadow of someone who, in 29 years as Hokies head coach, amassed a 238-121-2 record and a streak of 23 straight bowl seasons, is not as appealing as you’d think. He wanted to be somewhere he could make his name — not be known as “Frank’s son” — and not have to walk past his dad’s statue to play his home games.

The team is quickly established as perennial underdogs. Outside of a few seasons with Steve Spurrier as head coach, South Carolina is a flyover program in the SEC, akin to Vanderbilt and Kentucky. Quarterback LaNorris Sellers wants to change that. Sellers, now known for his iconic rec specs under his helmet, had a strict recruiting process that left him feeling undervalued — much like how the Gamecocks have been perceived.

Unlike LSU, South Carolina opened the season with two decisive wins: one at home against Old Dominion and another dominant road win over Kentucky. All sights were set on the episode’s climax — the Week 3 game between South Carolina and LSU in Columbia.

Ain’t Over Till It’s Over

Things started fast for South Carolina at home. Before everyone in the 100,000+ crowd could find their seats, the Gamecocks were up 17–0 on the visiting Tigers. Credit to Brian Kelly — he got his team back under control and started clawing back into the game.

By halftime, LSU’s offense began to find itself, only for what everyone in the stadium thought would be the nail in the coffin for this bad Tiger defense. LaNorris Sellers, untouched from behind midfield, ran it all the way home. But as the title suggests, things can change quickly.

Later in the quarter, Sellers went down with an ankle sprain while trying to run the four-minute drill and close the game. This was the momentum flip the Bayou Bengals needed. They ground and pounded their way into the end zone for the lead.

Give Beamer’s boys credit — they fought their way into long field goal range behind their backup quarterback. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be, as South Carolina missed the game-winner as time expired.

LSU was lucky, and South Carolina did too much to return this game. But it also reinforces why these two programs are looked at the way they are: LSU is a powerhouse that can take time to figure out, while South Carolina is a gritty team that still can’t overcome factors outside their control.

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