The submergence into college football

“No way; he’s definitely not going to be drafted! His performance against Oregon was so awful!”

As I walk up to my friends, who are engaged in an intense discussion about the college football draft, I cannot help but join.

“Forget that one performance and he’s bound to be a first round draft based on his other games,” I tell them, shaking my head.

Rather than discussing the latest test or quiz, my friends and I are often immersed in heated discussions about the latest games and stats.  

As football season begins to heat up, many people turn their complete attention to the NFL and the chase for the playoffs. However, college football is slowly coming to dominate my life, with several new superstars arising from the pack of teams from around the nation and showing pro-level skill.

I’ll admit that before this season, my knowledge of college football was strictly limited to the two most famous local matchups: UCLA vs. USC and Stanford vs. Cal.

In fact, my interest level in college football was quite low until I watched the highlights of last year’s rivalry match between the University of Alabama Crimson Tide and the Auburn University Tigers. Auburn cornerback Chris Davis returned a missed field goal for a 100-yard touchdown to win the game as the game clock expired to give Auburn a famous and much needed victory.

Not only was it impressive because of the length of the run or the fact that it was the last play, but it was also spine-tingling to see the pure joy of the players and the crowd as they crashed the field to celebrate the victory.

Seeing the stadium and players’ excitement sent chills through my body. I was hooked; I had entered the world of college football, and I couldn’t leave.

The one thing that stands out in college football is the unpredictability of the games’ outcomes. There is rarely a game where one can say with complete confidence who is going to win, since teams are constantly changing due to the graduating seniors and income freshmen. With offensively strong teams like Stanford, Oregon, UCLA and Cal all facing off in the same PAC-12 division and extremely athletic teams such as Auburn, Alabama, LSU, and Georgia all competing in the SEC division, there is no telling what can unfold in one game.

In contrast, the NFL has two distinct camps: the good teams and the bad teams. The predictability of most of the games leaves viewers less excited because the divisions stay the same year after year.

But college football is just the opposite. Only two months ago, I sat down on my couch to watch the Stanford Cardinals take on the USC Trojans, fully expecting the Cardinals to win, because of their superior athleticism and size.

By the end of the second quarter, Stanford held a very unconvincing 10-7 lead, with their kicker Jordan Williamson missing two seemingly simple field goals. USC was leading by the end of the fourth quarter, although Stanford fought to make a final comeback.

However, USC regained possession of the ball after a fumble by Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan, clinching their victory. As the clock ticked to the last second and USC celebrated a close victory on the field, I looked at the screen in awe. Even though I wasn’t happy with the result, it was this kind of excitement that I yearned to experience, an excitement unlike that of the NFL where the games seem to end predictably.

Even with such detailed discussions with my passionate friends about each week’s game upsets, there is no telling of what will happen in college football; it is a world where everyone must expect the unexpected, an element that makes a sport great to follow.