by Adam Spence
I want to preface this by saying my purpose is not to bash the NFL, it is simply the reasons why I enjoy college football more than the NFL. In conversations with friends, I have always been met with a lot of odd looks when I say I like college football better than the NFL, so instead of just saying it's due to personal preference I have come up with 5 concrete reasons why I do.
5. Pageantry and Traditions.
Whether it's the constantly changing neon colors of Oregon, or the classics such as those of Penn State and Alabama, uniforms in college football are just cool. This pageantry of uniforms get college football nerds like me in a frenzy. When one school announces it will unveil a new uniform, I have to go and give them a look. Different traditions across college football are another factor that just makes it fun. You can go to any stadium in the country on a Saturday and never see the same thing. Entering the field, or exiting it after a win is a different tradition and experience for every college team out there.
4. Rivalries.
Texas/Oklahoma, Ohio State/Michigan, Auburn/Alabama, Florida/ Georgia are just a select few of the rivalries that make college football so riveting. You can feel the emotion and hatred that the players and fans feel during the other team during a rivalry game. Seemingly every college football team in the country has at least one rival, which often stems from schools who are in the same state and battling for state supremacy. Yes I realize NFL teams have rivalries too, but it is a bit different from college football rivalries. When you consider that most colleges recruit players in state (or surrounding states) the players on the team have a better appreciation of the rivalry and what it means. A player could get drafted out of a southern school to the Patriots, and have no clue what the Jets and Patriots rivalry means.
3. Regional Battles
Since college football is broken up into conferences based on geographical location, and as stated before the majority of players come from the region that their college is located in, you get to see which region of The United States produces the best football talent. Conference games determine who is the best team in that region, non conference and bowl games often pit The North vs The South and The East Coast vs The West Coast. It's just intriguing to me to see how different the talent level is in different regions.
2. Coaching Schemes
Unlike The NFL, where the same general offense is run across the board, college football offers a plethora of different coaching styles. It allows for match-ups between the spread offense vs perhaps a more pro style NFL offense. Some teams run the ball every down, some teams throw the ball every down, but almost every team has a different coaching style. Coaches stick to their schemes and put them to the test against other schemes. You get to see how the option running attack (like at Auburn or Georgia Tech) fares against an "air raid" offensive attack ( Texas Tech and Texas A&M). Seeing these coaching schemes working against each other provides a lot of excitement to me because you never know which one could work best against another coaching scheme.
1. Every Game Matters
This is reason number 1, it's what keeps all of us fans tuning in every Saturday. Prior to this season, the top 2 teams in the country would play for the National Championship. This year there is a 4 team playoff, however in both systems every game has implications. It is almost impossible to be in contention for a National Title unless you go undefeated. This means that you must bring your A game against every team you play. If you do lose a game, you can only hope that the teams ahead of you lose so that you can take their spot. This to me is what makes college football: the upsets, the close games, the overtime games, and the blow outs all have meaning. You cannot clinch a playoff spot and sit your starters to give them rest. Every single game on a teams schedule matters.
I want to preface this by saying my purpose is not to bash the NFL, it is simply the reasons why I enjoy college football more than the NFL. In conversations with friends, I have always been met with a lot of odd looks when I say I like college football better than the NFL, so instead of just saying it's due to personal preference I have come up with 5 concrete reasons why I do.
5. Pageantry and Traditions.
Whether it's the constantly changing neon colors of Oregon, or the classics such as those of Penn State and Alabama, uniforms in college football are just cool. This pageantry of uniforms get college football nerds like me in a frenzy. When one school announces it will unveil a new uniform, I have to go and give them a look. Different traditions across college football are another factor that just makes it fun. You can go to any stadium in the country on a Saturday and never see the same thing. Entering the field, or exiting it after a win is a different tradition and experience for every college team out there.
4. Rivalries.
Texas/Oklahoma, Ohio State/Michigan, Auburn/Alabama, Florida/ Georgia are just a select few of the rivalries that make college football so riveting. You can feel the emotion and hatred that the players and fans feel during the other team during a rivalry game. Seemingly every college football team in the country has at least one rival, which often stems from schools who are in the same state and battling for state supremacy. Yes I realize NFL teams have rivalries too, but it is a bit different from college football rivalries. When you consider that most colleges recruit players in state (or surrounding states) the players on the team have a better appreciation of the rivalry and what it means. A player could get drafted out of a southern school to the Patriots, and have no clue what the Jets and Patriots rivalry means.
3. Regional Battles
Since college football is broken up into conferences based on geographical location, and as stated before the majority of players come from the region that their college is located in, you get to see which region of The United States produces the best football talent. Conference games determine who is the best team in that region, non conference and bowl games often pit The North vs The South and The East Coast vs The West Coast. It's just intriguing to me to see how different the talent level is in different regions.
2. Coaching Schemes
Unlike The NFL, where the same general offense is run across the board, college football offers a plethora of different coaching styles. It allows for match-ups between the spread offense vs perhaps a more pro style NFL offense. Some teams run the ball every down, some teams throw the ball every down, but almost every team has a different coaching style. Coaches stick to their schemes and put them to the test against other schemes. You get to see how the option running attack (like at Auburn or Georgia Tech) fares against an "air raid" offensive attack ( Texas Tech and Texas A&M). Seeing these coaching schemes working against each other provides a lot of excitement to me because you never know which one could work best against another coaching scheme.
1. Every Game Matters
This is reason number 1, it's what keeps all of us fans tuning in every Saturday. Prior to this season, the top 2 teams in the country would play for the National Championship. This year there is a 4 team playoff, however in both systems every game has implications. It is almost impossible to be in contention for a National Title unless you go undefeated. This means that you must bring your A game against every team you play. If you do lose a game, you can only hope that the teams ahead of you lose so that you can take their spot. This to me is what makes college football: the upsets, the close games, the overtime games, and the blow outs all have meaning. You cannot clinch a playoff spot and sit your starters to give them rest. Every single game on a teams schedule matters.