College Football Is Back And None Too Soon

We finally made it. College football is back and, as usual, it has been a long wait during the offseason.

Personally I’m about the games on the field. I’m not into recruiting and all the preseason talk and hype gets tiring after a while. Fortunately we have made it and the talk about who is going to do what is over. We actually get to see what plays out on the 100-yards of playing surface.

As will always be the case as long as Nick Saban is directing the program, Alabama is my preseason choice for No. 1. Nothing is guaranteed of course but for the Crimson Tide not to be in the playoffs again this season would be as shocking as anything that may play out before the season ends.

Saban is tied with legendary Alabama coach Bear Bryant with the most national titles (six) since the debut of the Associated Press poll in the 1930s. All of Bear’s came at Alabama while Saban has earned one elsewhere.

Things are so different from the landscape that Saban coaches in to what Bryant did that one really has to say the current Tide coach is probably the best of all time at the college level. That is still blasphemy to some but it is really the case.

The other top playoff contenders will likely be Clemson, Georgia, Oklahoma, Penn State, Washington, Stanford and Auburn. They are all familiar names and the chance of someone out of this group getting in will be thin.

It should be noted that the current four-team setup needs to be expanded immediately. It won’t be (not for a while) but going to eight or 12 or even 16 teams would allow us a better indicator of who is actually the best team in the land.

Please don’t tell me it “can’t work.” It has worked for decades at all other levels of college play. The so-called big boys of college football are way behind in the playoff game and are still catching up.

Some Georgia fans are still barking about the officiating in last year’s national title game but with a new season here it is time to move on. The Bulldogs were actually fortunate they didn’t play Alabama in the SEC title game last December. UGA, at this point any way, is not going to get into the playoffs without winning the conference. Only Alabama has that power currently.

Some may have noticed Ohio State was not on my list of playoff contenders. Certainly the Buckeyes are talented enough to be one of the Final Four but there has been such controversy surrounding the program in recent weeks one has to wonder how it will affect the 2018 team.

As is usually the case the players on the Ohio State team have done nothing wrong but they could end up paying the price. NCAA powers-that-be probably don’t want Ohio State on the national playoff stage. Rest assured one loss during the regular season will keep the Buckeyes out (unlike in previous efforts.)

Labor Day weekend is always known for the start of college football (although the season has actually already kicked off before then with Hawaii and Wyoming among those earning victories). Numerous more teams begin their season this week with contests from this Thursday all the way through Monday.

There are plenty of storylines to follow during the upcoming campaign. There will be upsets (view my Facebook page for weekly upset predictions) and there is a good chance at least one team will make it to the playoffs that probably shouldn’t have.

Still, it’s great to have college football back. While Georgia may be the dominant team in terms of coverage in this state, there are actually great collegiate programs at various levels. Kennesaw State is a rapidly rising I-AA team and will face Georgia State, a higher level foe on the rise, in its opener.

Georgia Southern is looking for success by going back to the option. Georgia Tech is flying under the radar—just as coach Paul Johnson likes. And don’t forget state programs like Valdosta State, Mercer, Shorter, LaGrange, West Georgia and others. These teams actually allow a fan to experience college football without spending an entire paycheck.

Let’s get it started. Pass the popcorn and a slice of pizza. It’s time for college football once again.

Monticello native Chris Bridges is a long-time newspaper columnist. He welcomes feedback from readers of The Monticello News at pchrisbridges@gmail.com.