There’s nothing like seeing national championship aspirations squashed early in the season, sometimes in your team’s first game.

See South Carolina, last August.

Thanks to the improved four-team Playoff used in determining college football’s best team at the end, many early-season defeats are passable if you can get hot down the stretch. Still, leaving yourself little margin for error is a bad precedent in the nation’s most competitive conference and often leads to the start of disappointment.

The Gamecocks, as the preseason East favorite, suffered five additional losses before concluding the season in Shreveport.

Here’s a couple early-season games to watch in the SEC this fall that could hinder a perceived contender’s rise to the top and lead to a flop:

Auburn vs. Louisville, Sept. 5 (Atlanta)

Will Bobby Petrino have any tricks up his sleeve offensively for the Tigers’ revamped defense under Will Muschamp? That’s an intriguing storyline approaching one of opening weekend’s must-watch games from inside the Georgia Dome. Louisville facing quite a challenge as well defensively, going up against Heisman candidate quarterback Jeremy Johnson and one of the SEC’s top receivers Duke Williams. The tandem will be one of college football’s best this season and could disintegrate a secondary that’s replacing that nation’s leader in interceptions last fall, Gerod Holliman. Louisville has this game marked as a matchup that could spring the Cardinals into the Top 15 with a victory and hold water at the end of the season in Playoff talks if Louisville is in the ACC Championship conversation. The Cardinals are even wearing special uniforms for the occasion. For Auburn, as a near two-touchdown favorite, it’s the perfect tune-up for the real opener two weeks later in Baton Rouge.

Alabama vs. Wisconsin, Sept. 5 (Arlington)

Right out of the gate, many questions concerning the defending SEC champs heading into the 2015 season will be answered against an upset-minded Power 5 that took out Auburn last time out. The Crimson Tide have played in a made for TV kickoff game four consecutive years, dissecting Michigan, Virginia Tech and West Virginia up to this point. The Badgers may present the stiffest challenge yet, despite losing their anchor in the backfield, Doak Walker award winner Melvin Gordon. As a preseason Top 5, this one’s a must-win for Nick Saban’s team since the SEC gauntlet only allows for one loss or fewer in terms of staying in Playoff contention.

Oklahoma at Tennessee, Sept. 12

Part of the tricky puzzle for the Vols this fall is navigating through one of the league’s toughest schedules which includes this non-conference showdown at Neyland in Week 2. The Sooners aren’t considered a Big 12 threat thanks to co-preseason faves Baylor and TCU, but we know the way Bob Stoops, one of the SEC’s primary villains, gets up for games against a league he loathes publicly. A loss to Oklahoma scales back expectations a bit and would prove Tennessee’s still a year away from being labeled a legitimate contender nationally. It’s the most important game in Butch Jones’ tenure up to this point and they’ll only get bigger the rest of the way should the Vols prevail.

South Carolina at Georgia, Sept. 19

Georgia’s the clear-cut preseason favorite in the East and has the talent to make a run at a College Football Playoff berth, but not if the Bulldogs fall flat between the hedges in September against division rival South Carolina. The Gamecocks have won four out of the last five games in the series, averaging 33 points per game. Steve Spurrier has Mark Richt’s number and it’s starting to annoy Georgia fans. Looking at the Bulldogs’ schedule the rest of the way, it’s far too challenging to absorb an early-season loss to a team expected to finish near the bottom of the SEC. Falling to South Carolina would take Georgia out of the Playoff picture early and gives Tennessee and Mizzou an early edge in the race to Atlanta. Despite being a double-digit favorite at this point, taking care of business at home won’t be easy for Richt’s squad.