To the true college football fans that “get it,” the thought of their favorite sport becoming another version of the NFL is beyond nauseating. Part of the reason that college football fans prefer their version of the game over the NFL is exactly because of what makes it different from the NFL. College football distinguishes itself with variety, tradition, passion, and the most meaningful regular season in all of sports.
So on New Year’s Day, with the first ever College Football Playoff in front of us, let’s be thankful for the things that set the college game apart.
Christmas Comes Every Saturday
Let’s begin with College football Saturdays, the best day of the week for three months each year. Fans wake up to around 40 games each Saturday during the regular season with action that begins in the morning and lasts nonstop until past midnight. College football Saturdays are like waking up as a kid on Christmas. Hopefully college football will avoid selling out its games with more weeknight games on ESPN to fill program content, at least on the Power Five level. Non-Power Five teams are filling those dates right now, but not filling seats as fans cannot make weeknight games to campuses that are an hour or more away.
Variety is the Spice of Life
College football offers a variety that the NFL cannot hope to match. There several different types of offensive styles in the college game that range from and include Arkansas’ power running attack, Auburn’s zone read, Alabama’s pro-style offense, the option of Georgia Tech, the spreads of Baylor and TCU, and the Xbox style of Oregon. Judged next to the monotonous offensive pace of the NFL, there really is no comparison.
It is that strategic variety that sets the college game apart, which gives each team a unique identity and character. College football should always ensure that the rules are such where such variety can continue to thrive.
The Team, The Team, The Team
The late great Michigan head coach Bo Schembechler said it best in his famed speech about “The Team.” In the NFL players play for themselves and their next contract. In college football, players more often than not play for the team. And that is a difference that shows noticeably each weekend.
Rivalries
Pro players laugh when “rivalries” such as the Packers vs. Bears are hyped by the media. The players rarely hate each other in pro rivalries as its more about the fan bases than the participants. That is not the case in college football with its ancient rivalries that are born out of the same recruiting bases. Auburn vs. Alabama, Ohio State vs. Michigan, and UCLA vs. USC are just some of the heated rivalries that go back generations and have major recruiting implications. Not many pro rivalries can sustain that historic level for any length of time.
Most Meaningful Regular Season
While there are the occasional rematches in college football due to the conference championship games, most college football matchups are one time and must win affairs. Compare that to the NFL where teams will clinch payoff spots early and then keep key players out of games late in the year, while charging the same prices to fans and advertisers for those meaningless games. College football’s regular season is universally acclaimed as the best and most important. In essence, the college football regular season is a three month playoff. That’s what makes it the best and most dramatic.
The Playoff Threat
The first ever College Football Playoff is not yet a threat to the most meaningful regular season in sports. But if those who want the college game to more resemble the pro game get their way the playoffs will expand to a point where the regular season means less. Imagine an Auburn vs. Alabama Iron Bowl in which both teams are 11-0 and assured of national playoff spots. There would be no do or die luster and the potential of a playoff rematch would also take away from the significance of the game.
Last season’s “Kick Six” play, in which Auburn’s Chris Davis returned a missed Alabama field goal for a game-winning touchdown to knock off the undefeated Crimson Tide, would not have mattered if it didn’t knock Alabama out of the national championship. Instead, it will always be seared into the lore of college football precisely because it carried so much weight. It’s hard to imagine a similar scenario in the NFL.
