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College Football
Thursday, December 14, 2006
By Tovash Hatcher
What do Reggie Bush, Vince Young, Doug Flutie, Tommy Frazier, Maurice Clarrett, OJ Simpson, Barry Sanders, Deion Sanders, Michael Vick, Marshall Faulk, Charles Woodson, Doak Walker, Ricky Williams, and Mr. Heisman all have in common? All are great names that make college football one of the most adored games in the United States. There is nothing like a stadium full of hundreds of thousands of students, parents, and football junkies who look to spend their Saturday afternoons. It gets my adrenaline going when rivalries such as Michigan and Ohio meet up, Texas and Oklahoma square off, and Florida State and Miami duke it out. And you cannot forget about the Dallas Cowboys of college football… the fighting Irish of Notre Dame. College football is THE college sport and many people plan their week around this great game. Let's take a look at what makes college football what it is.
As a kid, I always had dreams of playing football for an NFL team someday. I never once thought about what college I wanted to go to. I'm a Texas boy and I watched many University of Texas football games on the tube. I declared that I DID NOT want to attend that school but that I did want to play college football. That was no shot at the Longhorn nation, but I just grew tired of watching nothing but UT football. Notre Dame was another school that got on my nerves because NBC decided that Notre Dame and the Chicago Bulls were the only two teams that they would air. As a result I became a fan of the underdog, and if you are a fan of NCAA football, very seldom would a no-named or unranked team knock off a powerhouse school. My interest grew because of that and the tracking of promising players with NFL futures. I loved that a Marshall Faulk could run wild on opponents while he was at San Diego State. It grabbed my attention that a young Peyton Manning could lead his band in playing the Tennessee fight song immediately after he just carved up a defense with his right arm. I was amazed when Tommy Frazier led the Nebraska Cornhuskers to a college football dynasty but did so by running past every defender on any team with regularity. By the way, he was a quarterback.
Always expect the unexpected in this game. When you think a team is good, there will be some team that jumps up and shocks the college football world. Just recently Notre Dame went into the hostile confines of "the big house" or Michigan and upset the Wolverines. And, instant replay has also reared its ugly head. Two weeks ago the Oklahoma Sooners took on the Oregon Ducks and one particular play has people in Sooner-nation on fire. An onside kick that did not travel the required 10-yards was recovered by Oregon. The play was reviewed by the replay official in the booth and was not overturned. Another play that was also later reviewed by the same official was also missed. As a result, Oregon won the game and that sent Oklahoma fans in a frenzy. Sooners' brass and coaching staff publicly expressed demise for the two missed calls. The sports media also had many opinions about the missed calls. Needless to say that the replay official that blew those two calls in the game, has been under scrutiny as well as the victim of many death threats. I think that it's silly that fans and school officials can get that angry over football. Why the severity? Well, it's as simple as the nose on your face. There is no playoff system in college football and that's where the problem starts. In college football, a loss on the field equals a loss in revenue for that particular University.
The BCS (bowl championship series) is how the college football champion is crowned. Take the defending national champion Texas Longhorns for example. Last season, they did not lose a game and were rewarded by playing in the championship game. The Sooner faithful were mad because with a loss on the record, it decreases the chances of Oklahoma getting to the championship game. I would even go out on a limb of saying that those chances look like...let's say 0%. Many people and followers of college football say that there should be a different method of crowning a national champion. Personally, I think that the controversy is a good thing for the sport because it compels you to stay tuned to see which high ranked team can continue the good fortunes, or fall out of champion contentions.
If you like the game or not, college football is an addiction in this country and it keeps getting better. Players do not get paid to play and you can see them giving their all to play this game. The passion, desire, intensity, and love for this sport will keep every football fan tuning in each and every Saturday.
I'm Tovash Hatcher
4:45 PM
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