The initial reaction among fans and media to the SEC’s release of Week 1 games was that the conference pitted its new coaches against the SEC’s storied blue blood programs.

ESPN broadcaster Rece Davis, in an interview on The Paul Finebaum Show, called it a “baptism of fire.”

Davis pointed out that new Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz will face Alabama, first-year Arkansas coach Sam Pittman will meet his old boss in Kirby Smart and Georgia, and Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss will get a meeting with fellow offensive guru in Dan Mullen and Florida.

There were some rumors in recent days that the SEC might front-load rivalry games with the likes of Alabama-Auburn and Florida-Georgia, for example. But instead, the league stayed well away from any sort of rivalry game as the top game of the week discussion quickly shifted to Kentucky-Auburn or Mississippi State-LSU.

If you missed the Week 1 schedule release, here it is:

Alabama at Missouri

Florida at Ole Miss

Georgia at Arkansas

Kentucky at Auburn

Mississippi State at LSU

Tennessee at South Carolina

Vanderbilt at Texas A&M

Here’s a collection of initial reactions from fans and media: