College Football Is Back!

  As the saying goes, when one door closes, another opens. As summer fades, a new school year begins, bringing with it fresh opportunities, a stack of homework, and, of course, the return of college football. Yes, you heard that right—college football is back! While our Saturdays might sometimes be consumed by classes, it's essential to have something to look forward to at the end of the week. For me and many others, that something is college football. There's nothing quite like the excitement of college football (CFB) to kick off the fall season. If you had to ask me, my favorite aspect of college football is the unpredictability. On any given day, you might see an underdog like Northern Illinois beat Notre Dame, the team ranked 5th in the nation. Truly, anything can happen in college football. The excitement of gathering with friends to sit and watch games that can have point totals going up to the 70s just makes football all the much more exciting. With the season kicking off, here are some things to look out for: 

          Michigan: The reigning champs are tasked with the challenge of going back-to-back. Unfortunately for the team in Ann Arbor, the season hasn’t started so hot, losing big to Texas and starting the season off with a 1-1 record (1 win, 1 loss). Luckily for Michigan, senior quarterback Davis Warren still has time to turn the season around and lead this team to the playoffs. 

          12-Man Playoffs: New this year, the college football playoffs will contain 12 teams. The 12 teams will consist of the five  highest-ranked conference championships followed by the seven next highest-ranked teams remaining. The top four ranked teams will receive a first-round bye, whereas the other eight will play according to this style: #5 versus #12, six vs #11, #7 versus #10, #8 versus #9. The new playoffs should add an exciting twist to this year’s season.

          Texas: Entering this Saturday as the #1 ranked team in the nation, the Texas Longhorns play LA-Monroe in what should be a walk-in-the-park for the Longhorns. Looking ahead in the season, Texas has a scary matchup against the Georgia Bulldogs, ranked #2, on October 19. Because it's all but guaranteed Texas will make the playoffs, the only question remaining is can they win the championship for the first time since 2005?  Guess we’ll have to see to find out! 

          Colorado Buffaloes: It feels like everyone is talking about the Colorado Buffaloes right now. Coached by NFL Hall of Fame Inductee Deion Sanders, this Colorado Buffaloes team made a name for themselves last season despite their losing record. With players like Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, this Colorado team is not to be overlooked. Through three games in the season, Travis Hunter has accumulated 30 receptions, 342 yards, and five touchdowns. If that isn’t enough, he also has 11 total tackles on defense and one interception. Hunter’s two-way ability is unparalleled, and it’ll be exciting to see how his Junior season progresses. 

          Rivalries: Last, but not least, what’s college football without the rivalries? With every new season comes rivalry games, and let me tell you, they rarely disappoint. Debately the biggest rivalry in college football (and possibly sports in general),  Navy vs Army, happens on December 14. The next best rivalry game this year might be Texas vs Oklahoma on October 12. Lastly, the third rivalry game to look out for this year is Ohio State vs Michigan on November 30. College football games are exciting as is, but rivalry games take it to a whole new level.