The College football Portal
College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football first gained popularity in the United States.
Like gridiron football generally, college football is most popular in the United States and Canada. While no single governing body exists for college football in the United States, most schools, especially those at the highest levels of play, are members of the NCAA. In Canada, collegiate football competition is governed by U Sports for universities. The Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (for colleges) governs soccer and other sports but not gridiron football. Other countries, such as Mexico, Japan and South Korea, also host college football leagues with modest levels of support.
Unlike most other major sports in North America, no official minor league farm organizations exist for American football or Canadian football. Therefore, college football is generally considered to be the second tier of American and Canadian football; ahead of high school competition, but below professional competition. In some parts of the United States, especially the South and Midwest, college football is more popular than professional football. For much of the 20th century, college football was generally considered to be more prestigious than professional football.
As the second highest tier of gridiron football competition in the United States, many college football players later play professionally in the NFL or other leagues. The NFL draft each spring sees 224 players selected and offered a contract to play in the league, with the vast majority coming from the NCAA. Other professional leagues, such as the CFL and XFL, additionally hold their own drafts each year which see many college players selected. Players who are not selected can still attempt to obtain a professional roster spot as an undrafted free agent. Despite these opportunities, only around 1.6% of NCAA college football players end up playing professionally in the NFL. (Full article...)
Selected article
The 2008 Maryland Terrapins football team represented the University of Maryland in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football season. It was the Terrapins' (also officially known as the "Terps") 56th season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and its fourth within the framework of the ACC Atlantic Division.
Ralph Friedgen led the team for his eighth season as head coach and was assisted by first-year offensive coordinator James Franklin and third-year defensive coordinator Chris Cosh. It was the first season since the departure of Charlie Taaffe in 2005 that Friedgen did not call the offensive plays himself. Instead, those duties were handled by Franklin, a former Maryland wide receivers coach, who returned after a brief stint at Kansas State and in the National Football League (NFL). With him, Franklin brought a new system: the West Coast offense. Cosh, whose complex defensive scheme had been criticized as too passive, resigned at the end of the season.
The 2008 season in the ACC was described as chaotic, and for Maryland, there was no exception. The Terrapins were within grasp of the ACC Atlantic Division championship at the end of Week 12, but lost their final two games and fell to a four-way tie for third place. Maryland closed the regular season with a 7–5 record—including four wins against Top 25-ranked teams—which was enough to secure bowl eligibility. In the postseason, Maryland defeated Nevada of the Western Athletic Conference in the Humanitarian Bowl.
Quotes
- We need a playoff. — Bernie Machen, president of the University of Florida who supported creating a play-off for NCAA Division I-A
- I like to believe that my best hits border on felonious assault. — former Ohio State Buckeyes defensive back Jack Tatum, on the fierce quality of his play
- If anything goes bad, I did it. If anything goes semi-good, we did it. If anything goes really good, then you did it. That's all it takes to get people to win football games for you. — University of Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, on his motivational techniques
- When people used to see Wake Forest on the schedule, they used a pen to mark down a `W.' We're at the point now where we at least make them use a pencil. — Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe
Did you know...
- ... that the Harvard Crimson football team (home stadium pictured) has won 12 national championships and is the eighth winningest team in NCAA Division I football history?
- ... that American football running back Keith Elias graduated from Princeton University with 21 Princeton Tigers records and 4 National Collegiate Athletic Association I-AA records?
- ... that Vanderbilt's "Blonde Bear" supervised the ransacking of black households in the 1946 Columbia Race Riot?
- ... that Native American football player Peter Hauser has been credited with throwing the first spiral pass?
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- ... that the Yale Bulldogs football team (mascot pictured) has won 27 national championships and ranks second in wins in college football history?
- ... that Michigan's All-American 60-minute man Tom Johnson was the second African-American player for the Green Bay Packers?
- ... that Deputy National Security Advisor Denis McDonough played for Hall of Fame football coach John Gagliardi at Saint John's University?
- ... that the Wittenberg Tigers from Springfield, Ohio, have won more games than any other Division III college football team?
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Third quarter of the game between the visiting No. 5 Ohio State Buckeyes and the No. 1 USC Trojans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 13, 2008; USC would win, 35-3.
Calendar
| Dec 9 | Army–Navy Game | Army vs Navy |
| Dec 29 | Cotton Bowl Classic | #7 Ohio State vs #9 Missouri |
| Dec 30 | Peach Bowl | #10 Penn State vs #11 Ole Miss |
| Orange Bowl | #5 Florida State vs #6 Georgia | |
| Jan 1 | Fiesta Bowl | #8 Oregon vs #23 Liberty |
| Rose Bowl | #1 Michigan vs #4 Alabama | |
| Sugar Bowl | #2 Washington vs #3 Texas | |
| Jan 8 | College Football National Championship | #1 Michigan vs #2 Washington |
| 2023 season: FBS (Bowl games) • FCS • D-II • D-III | ||
|---|---|---|
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