Commentary: College Football – ‘Who Do You Love’ Saturdays Are Here Again

In the words of the NFL Films narrator, John Facenda, “The autumn wind is a pirate.” It captivates and energizes the soul bringing the excitement of a new year. If you think about it, our lives reboot every fall – not on New Year’s Day. Alfred Lord Tennyson hyped up the spring season in the poem Locksley Hall, but for my people, our life awakens from the summer slumber to the sounds of the fall kick-off. Since the first grade, September has ushered in the new season while bidding farewell to summer vacation. In college, the lads dream in anticipation of the ladies that will adorn the new freshman class. But the true active ingredient in the mix this time of year is football, and for me, it’s NCAA College Football on Saturdays. That’s right, College Game Day Saturday! The NFL is fine, but it ain’t Saturday Football. The proof is in the pre-game. Unlike the pros, every college game matters. You lose 2 games, and you’re through. We all get a chance to tell the greatest story ever told each autumn.

College tailgating, college cheerleaders, and college bands blow the pros away. The excitement of college football brings everybody together around the TV sets, packs the taverns and coliseums, and fills the interstates with flag-flying cars moving towards the sound of the drums. American college football is unique to the States. It’s our thing. It doesn’t matter if you brandish the ‘VA Tech’ colors or Cavalier costume, it’s all good. Each week there are approximately 250 odd tail-gate outings throughout American campuses that provide annual reunions in a manner unlike any other season. So, get your grilling on don your team’s ball cap, and start talking noise. Labor Day ends the summer madness. It’s time to crank it up. College football season has arrived.

What’s new this fall? This year we’ve got a new sheriff in Boulder with Coach Prime, The Georgia Dawgs are going for an unprecedented three consecutive titles, there’s a potential Heisman repeat, and we celebrate the swan song of the storied PAC 12 Conference.

 As George Thorogood says, “Who do you love?” Who is your team? Do you ‘Jump Around’ like Wisconsin fans, or do you bounce down in Blacksburg to “Enter Sandman” when the Tech boys run on the field? Each year there’s hope that our school has assembled the best bunch of nineteen-and twenty-year-olds to beat the hated rival. The folks from Athens, GA, think they’re on a roll. All you hear are Dawg fans hollering “Three-Pete,” and let’s face it, Kirby Smart has brought some magic down there, and except for Tennessee, there doesn’t seem to be any opposition on their horizon till December. Expect to see Georgia hanging out in the number one position for the next 3 months.

Keep in mind, the Dawgs bring back Brock Bowers – a multi-dimensional player on par with Heisman winner Caleb Williams as one of the best talents in the nation. My prediction says the Dawgs will arrive undefeated in Atlanta for the Conference Championship and experience their first defeat at the hands of Bama or LSU. That said, they will still get into the Final 4 despite the crying from Columbus, Ohio after OH IO falls short in Ann Arbor. Last year two Big Ten teams got in but not this year. The SEC will send two teams. Be patient. I’ll give you a glimpse of the final four in a few minutes.

For those of us over half a hundred, the college traditions are fading little by little as change seems to be the only constant variable. Despite our love of the game, college football is morphing into something different from that which we are accustomed. Teams build their rosters by dangling NIL riches to lure top-shelf talent out of high school and from the ever-evolving portal. The traditional matchups in the Big 12 are disappearing with the exodus of Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC, while the entire PAC 12 Conference will vanish from the scene by year’s end. For someone like me who toured the West Coast stadiums for years, that’s hard to imagine.

The crumbling of the PAC 12 Conference trims the Power Five to four conferences en route to what many pundits think will be a Power 2 conference akin to the AFC and NFC template in the NFL. Interestingly, the PAC 12 is stacked with more talent this year, especially quarterback talent, than we’ve seen in years. Half of their teams are in the Top 25. It’s a shame they are going away. And what about the crying from Palo Alto and Berkeley? Will they find refuge in the ACC? According to one ACC coach, heck no, “Nobody listens to techno, so let’s go … Stanford and Cal can die on the vine.” It’s harsh but accurate, but that doesn’t seem like the final word. The ACC board of directors is still considering it. Now why would a basketball conference want those 2 liberal losers?

Now to the Big 10. Look for Big Blue to roll early by tuning up on hapless East Carolina (ECU) Saturday and ending with a three-pete of their own against the Buckeyes at the Big House on Thanksgiving Weekend. Harbaugh has finally got Michigan styling again. Go Big Blue, Go. Talk about not playing anybody – that’s Ohio State. Each year they are postured in the Top 4 and bully the lackluster competition from Rutgers, Youngstown State, Purdue, Maryland, and Indiana. Now that Michigan State has no game, they beat up on them routinely too. We must wait all year for them to play somebody ranked. Alas, Michigan has been resurrected to offer them some competition. But now, as I look into the future, I see the land of my brother and my father before me from SC. That’s right. The Buckeyes ain’t seen Bad yet, but it’s coming. USC and Santa Claus are coming to town next year, and unlike Texas and OU, the Trojans will arrive as the class of the Big 10 as opposed to a doormat in the SEC. In rounding out the Big 10 news, Penn State will disappoint again but look for Wisconsin to raise some eyebrows. Man, how I wish Notre Dame would sign up for that conference.

In a couple of weeks, we’ll see Texas and ‘Bama square up. That will speak volumes for Texas. The entire Lone Star State will be backing the Longhorns that day. Come on, Sarkisian, you got Peyton Manning’s nephew now. It’s time to do something. Unfortunately, I’m not big on Sark. He fashioned mediocrity at Huskie town and was drunk at USC and then lost the Natty to Clemson as Saban’s O-Coordinator a few years back. This is it. If he can’t beat Saban this year – he will be sporting the scarlet letter L on his varsity sweater for life.

And what about the ACC? Clemson maintains its status as the class of the conference, but the Florida State folks have resurfaced. We’ll get a glimpse of Florida State against the SEC’s finest on Sunday night. NC State and Wake Forest saw both of their talented QBs disappear in the portal, and Mack Brown’s Tarheels have the conference’s best thrower. The Miami Hurricanes have talent but just marginally more than the rest of the pack. Unfortunately, the ACC’s strength of schedule will prevent Clemson from getting a bid to the big dance, and the remaining teams will kill each other off doing battle over the next three months.

Meanwhile, I’m kicking off the season in Florida, watching the LSU brothers smash into the Noles in Orlando on Sunday night in the wake of the hurricane. Unlike Georgia tuning up on high school teams in September, these two top 10 powers are banging it out on day one. Both teams are accustomed to 98-degree balminess. Those conditions would frankly ruin a Big 10 team. If your summer practices are held in 75-degree heat, don’t venture south of the Carolinas in September. You’ll die.

My prediction. Caleb Williams will repeat as Heisman, with Brock Bowers as runner-up. This will be Lee Corso’s last season with Game Day – of course, I’ve been saying that for 15 years, but I’ll eventually get it right. ESPN fired a platoon of folks and kept Lee. Unglaublisch, as the Germans say (Unbelievable). Bama’s schedule is a bit too difficult this year. They play 4 top-15 teams and two others that routinely give them headaches. Motivating a bunch of teenagers each weekend is a challenge for every coaching staff. In Bama’s case, it’s hard to get 22 All-Americans to jell together as a team. With everyone trying to get their NIL up, Saban’s main task is forging unity out of all those 5-star prima donnas. Meanwhile, LSU, Auburn, Tennessee, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M have one goal in mind – Beat Bama. You do that, and your coaching job is secure for another year.

It’s time to put the cards on the table. For the finale, we’ll see Michigan, the SC Trojans, the LSU Tigers, and Georgia in the finals. In their final curtain call, the PAC 12 will take a bow with one of their teams among the final four. Their board of directors will have something to cheer about while watching their teams run off to other conferences to start new traditions. As for the rest of us, it’s time to make some noise, jump around and fly the flags. If you need a quick attitude adjustment, spin the House of Pain song around for a bit. It will get ya moving. It goes something like this, “Pack it in, I came to win, so get out your seat and jump around. Jump up, jump up, and get down.”