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Verne Lundquist’s appearance in SEC Championship pregame has fans getting emotional

By Josh Yourish

Mar 20, 2014; Buffalo, NY, USA; Sportscaster Verne Lundquist works in the second half of a men's college basketball game between Saint Joseph's Hawks and Connecticut Huskies during the second round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament at First Niagara Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 20, 2014; Buffalo, NY, USA; Sportscaster Verne Lundquist works in the second half of a men's college basketball game between Saint Joseph's Hawks and Connecticut Huskies during the second round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament at First Niagara Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports /
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A lot of change is coming to the SEC in 2024, not just new teams, but a new network. The SEC on CBS will be no more, and there was no person more synonymous with Saturday afternoon over the years than Verne Lundquist.

For the finale to the 2023 SEC season and CBS’s run with the best conference in college football, the network brought back Uncle Verne to preview a familiar matchup. The No. 8 Alabama Crimson Tide and the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs, meeting the SEC championship game for the third time in the last six seasons.

Lundquist’s appearance has fans getting understandably nostalgic. Uncle Verne only came back for pregame, to preview this matchup, and put a bow on a great era of SEC football.

Verne joined the CBS crew to reflect on the memories over the years, which brought up even more emotions, for them and everyone watching.

The most notable part of the intro was Verne literally passing the microphone and figuratively passing the torch to Brad Nessler, who has been the voice of the SEC on CBS since 2017. Verne was the voice of the network from 2000 until 2016. Nessler is joined by Gary Danielson in the booth for today’s matchup.

The stakes couldn’t be higher for this matchup, with not just and SEC title, but also a potential spot in the final four-team College Football Playoff on the line for the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide. Still, the game will need to be pretty great to live up to the emotional pregame with an icon of college football.

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