What is the advantage of playing another ranked school for your first game? Wisconsin and South Carolina have diminished their chances greatly to make it to the playoffs with a first game loss. Money?
Props to the schools who do so but it's better to play a creampuff first game to get the kinks out. South Carolina normally opens up with ECU before playing Georgia in their 2nd game. They just weren't ready to start off against a legit team and now they are completely out of the picture.
It's not like SC had a choice. It's a conference game. LSU/Wisconsin opening up in Houston helps with recruiting. High profile SEC conference games early put the spotlight on the conference right from the start.