There are very few things in life that can stir emotions within you like college football. For four months a year, millions of Americans decide to put their mental well-being in the hands of a collection of 18- to 24-year-old men they do not know personally. All they know is that they've chosen to wear their preferred uniform.
Sometimes this decision brings joy. Other times it brings pain. But what it always brings as kickoff draws near every week is anxiety.
There's always the nervous energy of the unknown heading into a game. You can never be sure how things will go, and where the rollercoaster will take you. However, while we all feel it, some of us feel it more than others, and each week, The Anxiety Rankings aim to find the five most anxious places in the country.
You'll fail, but try all the same. This is about far more than one loss, as bad as Clemson's 51-10 defeat by LSU to begin the season was. This is the continuation of a trend for Dabo Swinney and his program.
It's the fourth consecutive season the Tigers have lost their season-opener, and it's the second time in three years they've had their doors blown off. This year it was LSU; in 2024 it was Georgia winning 34-3. You can try to hand-wave away the defeats by saying they're the first game of the season, and they're against elite teams.
After all, Georgia was the No. 2 seed in the College Football Playoff that year, and if not for a Carson Beck injury in the SEC Championship Game, the Bulldogs may have made a deep run, perhaps winning another national title. Well, it certainly looked like a playoff team against Clemson. One that can make a run of its own.
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