Top 10 College Football Traditions - Part 2

Now that you’ve had a taste of the rich and significant history of College Football, these next five traditions are sure to get you going. After sifting through stacks and stacks of college information and analyzing hundreds of millions of college reviews, here is what our panel has decreed as the best traditions in College football:

5. Painting the Helmets Gold - Notre Dame is perhaps the most storied and well-known team in College Football. Because of that, you better believe that the Fighting Irish have their fair share of traditions and rituals. And although most people think that this story is merely mythical - the helmets get a real coat of 24 karat gold before every week’s big game.

4. Howard’s Rock and the Hill - It’s a sight to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. For roughly 40 years, the Clemson Tigers have made their raucous entrance into Memorial Stadium after touching Howard’s Rock and storming down the hill. Symbolizing the players’ intentions to play with everything they’ve got, this awesome arrival never fails to get 83,000 screaming fans to their feet.

3. Dotting the “I” - Ohio State is a perennial powerhouse and competes for a spot in the National Championship Game each and every season. The half-time festivities at Ohio Stadium culminate with the sousaphone player, rambunctiously and fanatically dotting the “I” after the marching band spells out “Ohio” on the field. The display sends 102,000 fans into thunderous and gaudy applause and cheering that lasts the entire second half.

2. Chief Osceola and the Flaming Spear — At Florida State University, they have one of the best pregame traditions in the entire country. Representing the Seminole Tribe, Chief Osceola mounts his faithful steed, Renegade, and plants a flaming spear into the ground at the 50-yard-line. With the players watching from the sideline, Chief Osceola spikes the fiery weapon on the logo at mid-field and then stares the opposing captains down as they make their way to the center of the field for the coin toss.

1. UGA the Bulldog - So it’s not the special affects or fierce animals that get the top spot here today. Instead, it’s the loveable little pooch from the University of Georgia named Uga. The bulldog is the seventh in a long line of real dogs to don the Georgia jersey and represent the school on the sideline of every game. Fans and players alike share a special bond with Uga as he even travels to certain away games in order to cheer on his fellow Bulldogs. After 50 years, the university still gets its dogs from the same lineage and family. Don’t let his cute exterior fool you though - he has a tendency to go after members of the opposing team.

Well, there you have it folks - the Top 10 College Football Traditions. From buffaloes to bulldogs, the search for college info and superiority continues. I hope this list helps you find colleges with deep and intense traditions…and a good party scene also!

Top 10 College Football Traditions - Part 1

With the College football season getting more and more intense every week, we figured that we’d pump you up a little bit more with the top 10 College Football traditions in the nation. Our enormous panel looked at tons of college info and searched for colleges with the richest and deepest history - here is what we’ve come up with:

10. Running through the T - At the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, there is very little that excites students more than the pregame festivities. As kickoff approaches, the Volunteers gather in the tunnel and wait for the marching band to form the famous “T”. Then, all of a sudden, the team floods out of the locker room, through the “T” and onto their sideline - an intimidating site for any visiting squad.

9. The Tiger Walk - Keeping things in the SEC, Auburn University boasts the ninth best tradition in College Football. Roughly two hours prior to kickoff, the Auburn players walk between thousands of screaming fans trying to shake a hand or merely catch a glimpse of their favorite players. As the team makes their way to the stadium, players get emotional and excited as the big match-up approaches. While other teams may try and replicate this tradition, it started here and will die here.

8. The Ramblin’ Wreck — A restored 1930 Model A Ford Sport Coupe leads the team onto the field and has done so at every home game since September 30th, 1961. The vintage car is decked out in GT colors and whenever the engine is fired up, so is the crowd.

7. Midnight Yell - At Texas A&M, the anticipation is too much. Rather than waiting until right before kickoff to get rowdy, Aggie fans, also known as “The Twelfth Man”, gather at Midnight the day before the game to practice their cheering. Thousands of fans pack into the Kyle Field stands and, led by the “Yell Leaders”, they can be heard screaming the War Hymn and mocking their opponent. This tradition doesn’t end at home games either. When on the road, the “Yell Leaders” choose a location to gather and the yelling occurs there.

6. Running of Ralphie - At the University of Colorado at Boulder, they have a pretty intimidating tradition. Imagine being a player on the visitors sideline and seeing a 1,300 pound buffalo running straight at you. It’s not the most pleasant or comforting feeling in the world, I’m sure. It’s a real spectacle to watch - unless the animal runs you over…just ask that guy at the beginning of the clip!

Stay tuned for more! That’s just Part 1 of our 2 part series examining the best traditions in College Football. If athletics are critical in your college search, then this post will help you find colleges that meet your criteria.

So the marquee-matchup, Saturday night game of the week between USC and Ohio State didn’t exactly live up to the advance billing.  Ohio State fans will cite the absence of Beanie Wells, and USC boosters will claim a superior passing game and defense were responsible for their blowout 35-3 victory.  But at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is that USC has solidified their spot at the top of the rankings, and Ohio State has fallen all the way to #13, probably costing itself a shot at a third-consecutive National Championship appearance.
 
Even though the matchup between two of the top five teams in the country didn’t offer the excitement college football fans hoped for, there were plenty of other games on Saturday’s slate to keep us happy.  Number 13 Kansas and #19 South Florida got the weekend started early, with the Bulls’ 37-34 win on Friday night.  With the game tied at 34, South Florida intercepted a Todd Reesing pass and returned it 40 yards to the Kansas 27, putting the Bulls in range for a game-winning field goal. 
 
On Saturday, top-ten teams Georgia, Oklahoma, Missouri, LSU, Auburn, and Wisconsin all took care of business.  Georgia, Wisconsin, and Auburn were all played close by their opponents, and Auburn’s 3-2 victory (yeah, you read that right) over Mississippi State was a thrilling - and strange - defensive battle, with no touchdowns scored, and Mississippi State’s only points coming on a safety.  And Georgia needed a late touchdown from my early pick for the Heisman Trophy, Knowshon Moreno, to beat Steve Spurrier’s unranked Gamecocks.
 
Individual performance of the week has to go to BYU quarterback Max Hall.  He helped his Cougars to a 59-0 home victory over UCLA by throwing a whopping SEVEN touchdown passes.  Even more amazing, perhaps, are the numbers that tell the rest of the story: Hall threw 35 total passes, more than 25% of his completions were for scores, and he threw only one interception. 
 
Check back on Thursday for a preview of next week’s matchup between defending champion #6 LSU and #10 Auburn, and an update on the SEC, the new top-dog conference in college football.