If you know anything about your boy Aaron Torres, you know that I really am a simple man, with simple pleasures. I like my sports (duh). And when I need a break from watching, covering and talking about sports - I usually take a quick $80 Southwest flight to Vegas to watch those some games... just in a sports book, instead of on my couch.
Seriously, that's how I blow off steam. Some people play golf. Some people fish. I go to Vegas, grab an overpriced Coors Light and sit in a sportsbook for the afternoon.
I bring this all up to say that I know the city well, and when the new Las Vegas Raiders stadium (official name "Allegiant Stadium") opened up a few years ago, I wondered: Will Vegas be a new hub for early season, neutral site college football games? Why do Atlanta, Dallas and Orlando get to have all the fun?
Well, on late Wednesday night we got the answer, as Allegiant Stadium was announced as the host for a mega showdown to open the 2024 college football season:
How about a little, LSU vs. USC, as first reported by Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger?
Would that interest anyone?
As Dellenger points out, the jokes kind of write themselves at this point. Just one day after the "alliance" between the ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 was announced, there goes a Pac-12 squad scheduling someone from the SEC. It's also totally on-brand for USC, which is completely oblivious to everything, and seemingly can't get out of its own way. Of course the same school that gave us major administrators in the center of the college admissions scandal and has a football coach that has been on the hot seat for the last seven years, is the school that blissfully doesn't realize the optics of this news coming out post-alliance, with the game broadcast on ESPN.
Speaking of which, its fascinating to think where these programs could be three years from now, with Clay Helton on his proverbial hot seat, and Coach O, Ed Orgeron entering what could prove to be a make or break year in 2021.
At the same time, it's still LSU and its still USC and no matter who the coaches are by 2024, as long as college football is played, both programs will remain interesting and relevant.
On a completely unrelated note, can you imagine all those LSU fans - a fan-base notorious for drinking bars out of alcohol - descending upon Vegas?
CAN. NOT. WAIT.