Talk of college football and other major sports having an East Coast bias is nothing new, but Washington defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake believes the first week of games proved how much of an issue it truly is.
The SEC, which is annually viewed as the toughest conference in college football, saw five teams lose their first game of the season. Some of those losses came against weak opponents like Georgia State and Wyoming. When asked about the lack of credit the Pac-12 gets every year, Lake said he understands what it’s like to live on the East Coast and not be able to stay awake for West Coast games, but he said that creates a “bigger microscope every time we lose a game against an opponent from anywhere else.”
When asked about the Pac-12's national image problem, Huskies defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake didn't pull punches — particularly when it came to the SEC. pic.twitter.com/7Gb4RABuwB
— Matt Calkins (@Matt_Calkins) September 3, 2019
Lake was clearly referring to the SEC’s rough opening weekend, as he said there would have been “article after article about how bad football is out west” if the Pac-12 suffered some of those bad losses.
The SEC obviously has some of the best teams in the country, but Lake is not alone in his thinking. There is less national attention on teams out West because of the time games are played. That’s just a fact. Lake has never been afraid to speak his mind, so it’s no surprise he got started early this season.
