Football season is just around the corner, and when you’re making your weekend plans, here’s why you should make sure your Saturdays are free to ensure you won’t miss any college football.
Let’s start with the crowds. National Football League crowds are outstanding, but the intensity does not compete with the utter craziness at the top-tier college football program games. The difference is the student section. No NFL game can mirror the impact a student section can make at a game. Nothing compares to thousands of students, often with direct connections to players on the team, screaming their faces off every third down. NFL games can get loud, but none have the same impact as a college student section.
Arguably, the biggest reason college football is better than the NFL is the impact each game has on the season. NFL teams can lose six games and can pretty much guarantee a playoff appearance. Teams in the past have posted 7-9 records and still made the playoffs. That is absurd. There isn’t the same sense of urgency in NFL games as there is in college football games. In college football, every game matters. If a team loses one game, their chances of winning a conference championship or making the College Football Playoff can be over. Lose two games? You don’t stand a chance.
Take Ohio State in 2015 for example. They were ranked in the top three for the entirety of the season until they faced Michigan State and lost on a last second field goal. They not only failed to make the playoff because of their one loss, but they didn’t even make the Big Ten Conference Championship.
Lastly, the majority of college football players are playing for the love of the game and not for the money. There are obvious exceptions to this. There are many NFL players who couldn’t care less about the money and simply love playing football, and there are certainly college football players who are chasing an NFL contract. But the bottom line is that less than 2 percent of college football players go to the NFL. Do you think walk-ons care about the money? No. They play for the love of the game. There aren’t walk-ons in the NFL, even the practice squad players make good money.
The NFL is widely seen as the most popular sports league in the country. Take the time this year to appreciate college football. It’s incredible. The student sections are wild. There is a must-win, championship atmosphere and intensity in every game. Everyone on the field is playing for the love of the game. Whether it’s at the Big House in Ann Arbor, Michigan or Blackstock Stadium in Greencastle, Indiana, check out some college football this year.