College football is widely popular around the country. It brings with it great tradition, history and many great players that preform on a high level on the biggest stage. Many people prefer it over the NFL for those reasons. I however, do not, and have recently found college football extremely aggravating and not fun to watch recently, even with my favorite team (Georgia) having a pretty big rise recently.
So why do I hate it? The atmosphere is so authentic and unlike the NFL in a way that brings together so many people. Well there are several reasons. The predictable outcomes are one. Every year, its Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State. Those 3 teams have won 7 of the last 9 national championships, and have been historically dominant, with those teams being heavy favorites for this upcoming season as well. LSU was a nice breath of fresh air this year, but even they are a program with a pretty good track record over time. Since the CFB playoffs have been implemented, those 3 programs, have all consistently been in it. Alabama was not in this past year, but that was mainly due to the fact their star quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa got hurt, and because LSU was so dominant. Oklahoma has found their way into the playoffs, along with Notre dame, but they have gotten blown pretty much every time, which is common for most underdog teams that do find their way into big games. Lack of variety at the top has become a huge problem and a turn off for me in college football.
So why is there such a lack of variety? Why do the same teams just keep winning? The answer to that is recruiting, which is corrupt in it’s own way. Just think about what happens in the recruiting process, teams and coaches travel around the country, in a competition to prove to high school kids that other programs are terrible, while pouring in millions of dollars. The teams with the highest funding and best recruiting always land the top players in the nation while putting a tremendous amount of pressure on them. The whole process is terrible to me. Georgia spent 3.7 million dollars in recruiting this past year, which is a record.
Georgia and other teams such as Tennessee spend a lot of money in recruiting but don’t enjoy the fruits of their labor, so recruiting is all just the best teams right? Well kind of but that’s not the whole story. Programs like Georgia and Tennessee spend a ton of money in current recruiting classes, they do not forward spend on future classes, so when you look at the total spectrum, the leaders are always those 3 teams that I mentioned, Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State. Those top colleges also spend a lot on coaching, and often are the first to get guys that come from the NFL. With these teams consistently getting the best players and coaches, they’re able to create a strong culture and build off of it for years, thus creating dynasties.
In the NFL, there are great underdog stories, such as the Titans this season, and as I witnessed, the 2012 Ravens, and a lot of variety in team success. The only team with truly sustained dominance recently are the New England Patriots, who even now are potentially fading away. College football however, remains the same teams at the top, even though players are coming in and out every 4 years. Hopefully, LSU is a sign of things to come, with other programs breaking out and being able to have success at the national level, but for now, the college football I watch casually when not scouting for the NFL, will be very little.
