So, you want to be a college football fan, huh?
Well, I hate to tell you this, but if you’re late to the party you’ve got a lot of catching up to do.
College football is an entity like no other. The passion, the intensity, the school spirit, the desire to kick the living **** out of your school’s rival and the sheer number of games taking place at the same time is unmatched.
It is not like the NFL where athletes can go through the motions, still get a game cheque, and drive their $500,000 car to their multi-million-dollar mansion regardless of if they perform well or if their team wins or loses.
These college players – read: these kids – are embarked in a journey that could have them go from potential nobodies at the college level – to potential somebodies if they can perform and get noticed. Every single play matters and with a short 12-game season it’s now or never for these players.
So, you still want to be a college football fan, eh? Well, you’ve come to the right place. I will guide you through the do’s and dont’s of watching/talking college football.
DO NOT cheer for Alabama.
Unless you are from there, or you have a friend or family member that goes to that school, you must root for anyone OTHER than the Crimson Tide. Without sounding too dramatic, Alabama is like Darth Vader. They must be defeated at all costs and unfortunately, they very rarely are. If you have no issues being called a bandwagoner (which is a bad thing) by other college football fans Alabama is your team and you also probably cheer for the Cowboys, Yankees, and whatever team LeBron James plays for.
DO clear your schedule on Saturdays.
Look, there are 131 college football programs that compete in the FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) and on any given Saturday you will have upwards of 60+ games slated to take place. The first batch usually start at 12 pm eastern and the last batch of games are West Coast games that start at around 10:30pm eastern. It’s a full 12+ hour day of watching and consuming college football and if you want the full experience of the madness, clearing out our schedule for nothing but beverages, food and some bets is the way to go.
DO NOT underestimate the power of unranked opponents.
Remember when I said College Football is an entity like no other? Well, standings kind of matter and they kind of don’t, because there is a committee of old men that rank teams on how good they are from 1-25 and its essentially Gospel. However, unranked teams – those deemed unworthy of a little number beside their name – must not be ignored. There is no scarier place on earth for a ranked team to go than heading into an unranked team’s home venue for a prime-time game. That is generally when chaos ensues, and it serves as a reminder as to why we play the games in the first place.
DO learn what teams belong to what conference.
Of the 131 FBS teams, there are just seven that do not belong to a conference. Those teams are Army, Brigham Young, Liberty, New Mexico State, Notre Dame, Connecticut and Massachusetts and they play in the FBS defined as “independents.” The remaining 124 teams belong to the following conferences: AAC, ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Conference USA, MAC, MWC, Pac-12, SEC, and the Sun Belt. I highly suggest knowing that Colorado and Colorado State play in two different conferences despite being in the same state. The same goes for Iowa and Iowa State.
DO NOT ever declare a game finished before the clock hits 0:00.
College Football thrives off the chaos theory. Unpredictability and uncertainty are the backbone of the sport. There will always be a comeback you have to see to believe or a comeback for the ages that you could have never fathomed possible. The rules in place, especially in the fourth quarter do nothing but aid the trailing team, no matter how many points behind they are. I’m sure you’ve heard the expression, “it ain’t over until the fat lady sings” well, college football has no fat lady, just triple zeros.
DO make a few wagers to add another level of intrigue.
Let’s face it, watching sports is simply better when you have a wager on it. It adds another level of excitement that just isn’t there when you decide to watch a random game between North Texas and UTEP on a Thursday night. The best part about this is that you can control how much you want to wager and what you want to wager on. It could be as simple as a few bucks on who you think is going to win or cover the spread, or a larger sum on the total or some player props. Either way, the decision is yours.
If you want more insight on how to bet on college football, check out the link below for all the breakdowns you need.
Enjoy the rollercoaster that is college football. See you on the other side.