Games

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This afternoon I totaled up all of the FBS and FCS games that I have identified as potential games to talk about, both before the season and during the season.  The total currently sits at 748 (474 FCS and 274 (FBS).  And the number will climb slightly as I still have a few teams (about a dozen between the two divisions) to add so that I represent each team during the year.  When adding in Division II and III games, the total pool to select from will almost certainly reach 1,000!  That is a lot of games to look up, research, and write about...  

Posting

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I haven't been posting on this site for a while, but I have been spending my time researching which games to highlight this upcoming season - so I have been working on college football every day.  :)

Last night was going to be my first day back with posts, but I literally fell asleep on my keyboard.  lol

I do hope that I carve out a bit more time for writing on this site in the upcoming weeks despite the demands of work and my young man running around the kitchen...

Faithful Follower

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I have probably disappointed the most faithful of faithful followers because this is my first entry in four days, but I have had internet problems - which I hope to correct tomorrow afternoon with a visit from Spectrum (who in my opinion has offered weak internet connections thus far).  Meanwhile, I am hoping that he will be pleased that I have continued to find ways to work on my data collection for the upcoming season.  As proof - I have learned that I need to find rivalry/traditional opponents for 120 Division II and III schools in order to cover all college football teams next season.  It's more than I thought...

Bowdoin Renovations

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Yesterday I read some disturbing news regarding Bowdoin football - I found an article talking about expected renovations for the upcoming seasons.  They plan on replacing the grass field with artificial turf as well as adding lights.  I am not surprised that they are following in the footsteps of both Bates and Colby, but one of the biggest reasons I love their games so much is because of the natural field.  To bury the knife deeper, my daughter sent me an email telling me that soon they won't allow us to stand on top of the action!  UGH...........

Every team?

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As I contemplate how to highlight every team at least once this year in my game previews, I am thinking that some of the postings could be pretty weak.  I say that because some schools have poor websites (can you imagine that???) and other teams are newborns so they have very little history - which is key to any research.  I will probably have to scour local newpapers and tv stations for useful tidbits on some schools..   

Team Nicknames (Part One)

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Yesterday I mentioned that there are 671 college football teams spread across all four divisions.  And out of those 671 teams, here are the most popular nicknames:

Tigers:  25

Bulldogs:  22

Panthers:  19

Wildcats:  16

Bears, Eagles, and Pioneers:  14 each

Cardinals:  12

And the most popular color used in a nickname:  Gold (Bears, Bulls, Eagles, Flashes, Gophers, Gusties, Hurricane, Knight, Lions, Panthers, Rams, Tigers, Tornadoes)

More about nicknames will appear soon...

Teams

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After updating my lists of teams by division, here is the number of teams heading into the 2017 season:

FBS:  129 (added Coastal Carolina)

FCS:  123 (lost Coastal Carolina)

Division II:  170 (Brevard College went to Division III, Oklahoma Panhandle dropped to NAIA, and Stillman eliminated their program, while Davenport was added)

Division III:  249 (Marantha Baptist eliminated their program, and Brevard College was added from Division II)

In all there are 671 teams, with 305 unique nicknames from A to Z (less X) - but all that is for another entry...

Weekly Game Previews

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I was thinking last night, as I gathered more schedule information from schools across the country, that I should do my weekly game previews sooner than later so that it can be enjoyed throughout the summer.  Of course I would update my game notes the week before the game to ensure that I have all the latest data.

My other thought was that since hundreds of media outlets provide information on the "big" games, maybe I should put more time into the lesser known games.  Who knows - I might even include every Ncaa football team in my weekly previews...  

First Rivalry/Trophy Game of 2017

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Those who follow college football know that the last rivalry game of the regular season is always Army/Navy - as it should be every year.  But the first rivalry game of the season will change each season.  This year it seems very appropriate that the first rivalry game of the 2017 season is the Route One Rivalry between Delaware and Delaware State for the "First State Cup" on Thursday, August 31st.

For you history buffs, Delaware was the first state to ratify the new Constitution of the United States, so therefore Delaware was the first state in our great nation... 

UAB Football

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One of the "feel good" stories of the 2017 college football season will be the return of UAB football - which occurs in 157 days according to their official website.  Two years ago the program was cut for budget reasons, even though the team actually made money in their last year.  I just hope that they get some love from their fellow schools in Alabama in terms of some scheduling favors in the upcoming years.  For those who want to get a UAB preview, you can watch their spring game this Saturday on ESPN3...

Columbia's 2017 Season

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Columbia hasn't had a winning season since 1994, but I can't help but look forward to the upcoming season for the Lions.  They are returning 12 starters and their depth continues to improve with solid recruiting since Al Bagnoli was hired two years ago.  Speaking of Coach Bagnoli, he took Union to the championship game in his second year there, and he won his first Ivy League title with Penn during his second year in the city of brotherly love.  He didn't achieve either with Columbia, but he is steadily improving the team.  A favorable non-conference schedule, and a couple of Ivy League wins would get them to .500 this year...

Favorite Big Twelve Uniforms

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This conference is pretty easy for me to select my favorite uniforms...

My favorite is Texas, with the Longhorn emblem on the helmet.  Their all-white uniforms are classic, but their burnt orange jersey isn't bad.

Oklahoma's red uniforms and interlocking OU helmets are pleasing to the eye.  And again, their other combination of white tops and bottoms look great with the red helmets.

My third favorite uniform is the original green and gold of Baylor.  Over the years I have always thought they looked pretty sharp.  I'm just not a fan of their recent alternative outfits, but that's the way it goes.

I should mention that since Bill Snyder took over the K-State football program, their uniforms haven't changed, and they are beginning to grow on me.  I also like TCU's alternative white helmet.

Week 9 Schedule

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I have started to put together the list of games that I will be looking at this spring and summer, as I try to decide which games to post on the website.  I should have between 25-30 FBS games, another 20 FCS.  Add in another 25-30 Division II and III games, and I will have around 75 games to research.

Some good FBS games in week 9:  Penn State at Ohio State, Florida vs. Georgia, Tennessee at Kentucky, Kansas State at Kansas, Minnesota at Iowa, and Texas at Baylor...