It was only a day, but when the calendar rolled over from July 31 to August 1, well, apologies to the SEC, but it just meant more.

The arrival of August means it’s time to gas up the RV, shake the cobwebs off the grill, put a fresh round of paint on the cornhole boards, and generally get ready for college football. Here are 10 reasons we’re especially psyched that it’s finally August!

1. Because camp is already in (Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vandy) or about to be (Everybody else).

When the freshmen officially report and practice starts, it’s time to start putting aside the preseason magazines and start getting ready for actual football. Everybody is undefeated on August 1, and every team in the SEC, except for Ole Miss, has reason to be optimistic for a sterling 2017 season. For the moment, as the classic song proclaimed, it’s summertime, the living is easy, the fish are jumping, and the pile of incoming talent is high.

2. Time for the buildup of the Jalen/Tua two-headed QB monster.

A year ago, there was a big divide in opinion about whether Nick Saban would run a dulled-down system around a veteran QB or would trust talented true freshman Jalen Hurts. It took about two quarters to figure that one out. The wrinkle this year is that Hurts is back, but true freshman Tua Tagovailoa is ready to roll.

Will they split snaps? Alternate plays a la Spurrier at Florida? Will Tua wait his turn, or will he overtake Hurts?

How Saban manages his quarterbacks is probably the story of the fall in the SEC.

3. Reading the tea leaves about Stidham at Auburn.

If the story of the league isn’t Alabama’s QB situation, it’s Auburn’s. Not that there needs to be much mystery here. It’s Jarrett Stidham’s team, and if he can be 75 percent of what he’s expected by the War Eagles, Auburn’s offense is likely to be one of the most entertaining in college football.

Look back and notice, when Auburn is good offensively, it is in the national title hunt. Could 2017 be another one of those years?

4. Trying (thanks to LSU, can only be trying) to figure out what LSU is doing this fall.

LSU closed its camp, so who knows what they’re doing in there? They could be installing the A-11, or an Air Raid attack in which they’ll throw 70 percent of the time. Odds are that whatever the scheme is, that Derrius Guice will be an absolute monster this season. LSU is much less of a known quality than Alabama or Auburn, but there’s enough talent on the Bayou to make the West fascinating.

5. Just four more weekends until a great slate of Week 1 games.

Seriously, we’re not going through preseason to get to a whole set of games with Northwestern Directional State Teachers College for the Blind in Week 1. The league comes out swinging: Florida State vs. Bama, Michigan vs. Florida, Texas A&M at UCLA, Tennessee against Georgia Tech, these are some outstanding games we’ll be seeing. Soon.

6. Figuring out which team from the East steps into the upper echelon this year.

With the possible exception of Georgia, the East looks very much up for grabs in 2017. Odds are good that one of the traditionally weaker teams — South Carolina, Kentucky, maybe Vandy or Mizzou — can enter the mix, likely ahead of Tennessee, in the top three spots in the East.

There’s reason for optimism for all of those schools, with USC and UK being the two that are sporting the most mojo.

7. Wondering what the next shoe to drop can be at Ole Miss.

If you’re a Rebels fan, this is just an incredibly painful time. The NCAA hammer, the Freeze scandal, and the hits just keep coming. Historically, the odds are against the Rebels rallying to post a decent season. Most likely, it’ll be a year like a dumpster fire — which means everybody else in the SEC (and probably the country) is watching to see what comes next.

8. Watching for surprises on Eason vs. Fromm.

Georgia is the one team that looks like it might be above the fray in the East. Jacob Eason was more hit than miss as a true frosh QB in 2016, but Jake Fromm might be a viable threat. In many ways, this is Hurts/Tua in a different uniform — except that many around the Georgia program have been a bit cranky about Eason’s fairly sluggish development. A move to Fromm could signal that Smart is going all in on this season — or that he just lacks long-term confidence in Eason.

9. Wondering if Les Miles gets back into the league.

There are coaches who will be under fire sooner rather than later.  For instance, if A&M loses to UCLA in Week 1, and/or Tennessee falls to Georgia Tech, Kevin Sumlin and Butch Jones would be wise to start dusting off their resumes.

Of course, the unsettled Ole Miss situation lingers.

When and where does Les Miles come back into the SEC? The Mad Hatter could well be back in the league in 2018.

10. Finding the August star who will still shine in September.

Separating the coachspeak from reality is one of the biggest challenges and potential thrills of fall practice. Last season, everybody entered the fall knowing about Leonard Fournette and Nick Chubb.

But who had Damarea Crockett of Missouri or Benny Snell of Kentucky down for 1,000 yard seasons?

The coaches talked those guys up … but they also talked up plenty of guys who ended up redshirting or sitting the bench.

Just as the coaches try to separate the wheat from the chaff, the discerning fan or media member has to parse the coach-speak to see what’s really going down — and what it might mean next month.