Trivia Tuesday – FBS Head Coaches

There are 128 FBS schools that will be playing football this fall, but there are 129 FBS schools with head football coaches due to the rather odd, one year hiatus being taken by UAB – fodder for another blog.

Today’s Trivia Tuesday focuses on the 129 Head Football Coaches currently leading the programs at those 129 FBS schools. Just let me remind you that the information provided here is solely based on SOD’s limited research capabilities as powered through the Internet. The information is based on what SOD was able to ascertain through Internet searches and is only as accurate as that data allows. If you find any information to be inaccurate, we would love to know what the truth really is. Thanks.

TRIVIA QUESTION #1.  How many FBS Head Coaches are coaching at their Alma Mater? How many can you name?

TRIVIA QUESTION #2.  What college has produced the most FBS Head Coaches?

TRIVIA QUESTION #3.  What is the most popular position played by Head Coaches in their collegiate careers?

TRIVIA QUESTION #4.  Who is the FBS Head Coach that played baseball in college, but not football?

TRIVIA QUESTION #5.  Who are the 5 current FBS Head Coaches who have been coaching the same school they are now with for 15 years or more? (Not counting 2015.)

BUFFER ZONE
You can join the SOD CFB College Football Poll by submitting your Top 25 to sodcfb@yahoo.com. Our Pre-Season Top 25 are:

ANSWER #1.  15. There are 15 FBS Head Coaches, including 3 who are new to their team this year, coaching at the same college where they attended college. They are: Terry Calhoun (Air Force); Scott Satterfield (Appalachian State); Bryan Harsin (Boise State); John Bonamego (Central Michigan); Ruffin McNeill (East Carolina); Paul Haynes (Kent State); Jim Harbaugh (Michigan); Pat Fitzgerald (Northwestern); Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State); David Shaw (Stanford); Kliff Kingsbury (Texas Tech); Matt Wells (Utah State); Sean Kugler (UTEP); Frank Beamer (Virginia Tech); Paul Chryst (Wisconsin).

ANSWER #2.  Iowa. There are 5 FBS Head Coaches that list Iowa as their Alma Mater. They are: Bret Bielema (Arkansas); Bob Diaco (Connecticut); Dan McCarney (North Texas); Bob Stoops (Oklahoma); Mark Stoops (Kentucky). Four Head Coaches list Alabama as their Alma Mater. Three Head Coaches come from BYU, Kent State and West Virginia.

ANSWER #3.  QB. 39 of the 129 FBS Head Coaches list QB as the position they played in college. A couple of them list QB as one of two positions they played. DB is the next most popular position played by FBS Head Coaches, followed by WR then LB.

ANSWER #4.  California’s Head Coach, Sonny Dykes, played baseball at Texas Tech.

ANSWER #5.  Frank Beamer (Virginia Tech, 28 years); Bill Snyder (Kansas State, 23 not-consecutive); Bob Stoops (Oklahoma, 16); Kirk Ferentz (Iowa, 16); Gary Patterson (TCU, 15). Both Gary Pinkel, at Missouri, and Mark Richt, at Georgia, are entering their 15th year as the Head Coach at their respective schools.

Trivia Tuesday – Wins and Losses

Here it is, already Tuesday again. Let’s try some more college trivia … are you ready?

QUESTION #1. Let’s start it off a little bit easy: Name the top 5 FBS winningest schools, all time in terms of number of wins.

QUESTION #2. Now, list the top 5 schools in terms of winning percentage. It changes a little bit and includes one relative newcomer to the FBS ranks.

QUESTION #3. Name the school that has the most all-time wins, without winning a National Championship.

QUESTION #4. List the 5 FBS schools with the most all-time losses.

QUESTION #5. List the 5 FBS schools with the poorest winning percent.

QUESTION# 6. Name the school with the most wins for a team that has a sub-500 winning percent.

QUESTION #7. Name the school with the most losses for a team that has a > .500 winning percent.

BUFFER ZONE

Some Other Dude in the off-season.

ANSWER #1. The top 5 Winningest programs are: Michigan (915 wins); Notre Dame (882); Texas (881); Nebraska (874); Ohio State (863).

ANSWER #2. The top 5 Winning Percentages are: Notre Dame (.732); Michigan (.729); Boise State (.724); Old Dominion (.722); Ohio State (.720).

ANSWER #3. The team with the most wins, but without a National Championship is West Virginia (719 wins).

ANSWER #4. The 5 FBS teams with the most all-time losses are: Indiana (651); Northwestern (649); Wake Forest (633); Kansas State (623); Iowa State (621).

ANSWER #5. The 5 poorest Winning Percentages are: Georgia State (.193); Florida International (.305); Kent State (.392); UNLV (.405); Wake Forest (.408).

ANSWER #6. The team with the most wins with a < .500 winning percentage is Kentucky with 587 wins and a .495 winning percentage.

ANSWER #7. The team with the most losses with a > .500 winning percentage is Rutgers with 620 losses and a .507 winning percentage.

Trivia Tuesday – Football and Basketball Championships

March Madness is now upon us and SOD gets just as caught up in the basketball hysteria as many others of you. I, too, will fill out a bracket that gets all busted before the end of the 1st weekend. It’s a yearly tradition in our house; my wife, who doesn’t follow the game very closely, and I, who watches intently all season long, will each fill out brackets and track our results. She has about a 15 year winning streak going on me – she always kicks my football lov’n backside. But, this is a College Football Blog and it is Trivia Tuesday; so, today’s trivia will focus on Football and Basketball.

QUESTION #1. You probably heard in the build up to the National Championship game the coincidence that Ohio State and Oregon also played in the first ever NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. The then called Webfoots from Oregon beat Ohio State, 46 – 33 in that game. But, do you know what other two teams made up the first Final Four?

QUESTION #2. This one is pretty easy. SOD looked to see how many times the same school was the reigning Football Champion and Basketball Champion. It has only happened once and that was pretty recently. What is the only school to be both Football Champions and Basketball Champions in the same off season? (It gets weird because the Football Champion is listed as the previous year – but, they would both be Champions over the same summer.) Not only that, but they achieved this feat by beating the same school in the championship for each sport.

QUESTION #3. Now here’s the tougher one. To make what the team that is the answer to Question #2 did so remarkable, there are only 10 schools that have ever won at least 1 of each national championships over all the years. Name the 10 schools that have at least 1 National Football Championship and 1 National Basketball Championship.

THE BUFFER ZONE

ANSWER #1. In the semi-finals of that first ever NCAA Championship Tournament, Ohio State defeated Villanova, 53 – 36 in the East Bracket and Oregon defeated Oklahoma, 55 – 37 in the West. The entire tournament consisted of only 8 teams and was played on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanstown, IL.

ANSWER #2. The Florida Gators won the BCS Championship Game over Ohio State to conclude the 2006 season and then won the 2007 NCAA Basketball Championship by beating the Buckeyes again on the hardwood.

ANSWER #3. The 10 schools to have at least 1 National Football Championship and 1 NCAA Basketball Championship are:

Arkansas – Football Co-Champs in 1964 (with Alabama and Notre Dame); Basketball Champs in 1994

California – Football: 1920, 1921 (with Cornell), 1922 (with Cornell); Basketball: 1959

Florida – Football: 1996, 2006, 2008; Basketball: 2006, 2007

Maryland – Football: 1953; Basketball: 2002

Michigan – Football: 1901, 1903 (with Princeton), 1904 (with Pennsylvania), 1918 (with Pittsburgh), 1923 (with Illinois), 1933, 1948, 1997 (with Nebraska); Basketball: 1989

Michigan State – Football: 1952, 1965 (with Alabama), 1966 (with Notre Dame); Basketball: 1979, 2000

Ohio State – Football: 1942, 1954 (with UCLA), 1957 (with Auburn), 1961 (with Alabama), 1968, 1970 (with Nebraska and Texas), 2002, 2014; Basketball: 1960

Stanford – Football: 1926 (with Alabama); Basketball: 1942

Syracuse – Football: 1959; Basketball: 2003

UCLA – Football 1954 (with Ohio State); Basketball: 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1995

NOTE: This information is from the NCAA List of recognized champions. SOD did not look at NIT Champions for the years that this was the premier end-of-season basketball championship.

The Coaching Carousel 2015

All in all, not a bad year for college football head coaches; out of a total of 128 FBS football teams, only 15 will have a different head coach roaming the sidelines in 2015 than who they had to start the 2014 season. That is a very manageable 11.7% turnover.

Of those 15 schools with new head coaches:
• 9 teams are getting new, new Head Coaches
• 7 teams play in Power 5 Conferences
• 6 teams had winning records in 2014
• 2 bring in coaches from the NFL
• 1 brings in a Head Coach from a Division III program
• 1 brings in a Head Coach from a High School program
• 0 promoted from within

* First time Head Coach
** Head Coach at Div III

There are a few surprises, caused by the ripple effect of a few surprises. Although, it wasn’t a surprise that Bo Pelini was asked to depart the Nebraska job (some might question the soundness of that decision, but it was not a surprise that he was asked to step down), it was a mild surprise that Mike Riley, at 61 years of age, decided to fill that void. That move lead to an even bigger surprise when, after only 2 years, Gary Andersen decided to leave destination job, Wisconsin, for the spot Riley vacated in Oregon State. Time will tell whether or not Coach Andersen’s move was a good one for him, but, SOD is still shaking his head over that one. Patt Narduzzi fills in the spot at Pittsburgh ending that chain of events that put 3 teams on this list that might otherwise have not been there.

Jim Harbaugh comes back to the college football ranks after wearing out his welcome in San Francisco despite having some very successful years for that NFL franchise. Some suggest that Jim’s abrasive personality is better fit for college programs where the roster turns over every four to five years. By the time his players have grown tired of his antics, they are already moving along. There might be some validity to that. Without a doubt, however, Jim Harbaugh’s hiring makes the biggest splash and comes with the highest set of expectations. When you are the Head Coach at Michigan, splashes and high expectations are what you should get.

It will be interesting to see what Lance Leipold can do at Buffalo after having just a ridiculously successful time at Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater, amassing a record of 109-6 with 6 National Championships in 8 years. Buffalo is a tough job; you might have wondered if Lance could have held out for a better first-time FBS gig, but this might just prove to be a nice stepping stone for Coach Leipold.

Central Michigan was a late-comer to this party after Head Coach Don Enos bolted for a spot on the Arkansas staff just two weeks before signing the incoming class of freshmen. That makes it rather difficult finding a quality Head Coach this late in the process, but the Chippewas found an alum in John Bonamego willing to take a chance at the Head Coach’s position coming from the Detroit Lions as their Special Teams Coach.

Exactly 0 coaches were promoted from within to fill the Head Coach vacancy at their school. I guess that can be expected when a coach is asked to leave the program, that sometimes tarnishes the whole staff, but when a coach leaves on his own choosing, it is sad to see that there is no natural progression to fill in his spot. Nonetheless, several well deserving Offensive/Defensive Coordinators are getting a chance to fulfill their Head Coaching dreams, albeit in new surroundings. Only Pat Narduzzi, Michigan State’s Defensive Coordinator in 2014, steps into a Head Coaching position at a program in a Power 5 Conference. The rest of the new, new head coaches will learn their trade outside of the Power 5 with, no doubts, dreams of coaching their way into a bigger program some day.

Good luck gentlemen, we will see you in the fall.

Trivia Tuesday – Power 5 Conferences

In recent years, there has been a lot of shuffling of College Football Conferences. And, if you believe Some Other Dude, there is more yet to come as we advance upon the age of the Mega-Conferences. But, SOD wonders, how well do you know the history of the current Power 5 Conferences?

THE TRIVIA CHALLENGE

Name the original teams in each of the current Power 5 Conferences.

THE BUFFER ZONE

THE ANSWERS

The Atlantic Coast Conference.  Even though we appear to be headed to 16 team Mega-Conferences, back in history there was an even mega-er conference; the Southern Conference.  The Southern Conference, at one time, consisted of 23 teams and eventually splintered into other, smaller conferences.  One of those splinter conferences was the ACC which officially formed as a conference in 1953.  The 7 charter members of the ACC were: Clemson, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, South Carolina and Wake Forest.  Only South Carolina no longer calls the ACC home as they eventually joined the other splinter conference with former Southern Conference brethren.  Link to information source.

The Big 12.  The history of the Big 12 is a little more convoluted than that of the other conferences.  The Big 12 itself wasn’t formed until 1994 when teams from the Big 8 merged with teams from the Southwest Conference.  The Big 8 Conference was originally chartered in 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association and eventually became known as the Big 6 and then grew up to become the Big 8.  The original members of this conference were: Iowa (two-timing with the Big Ten), Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Washington University in St. Louis.  Only Kansas remains as a current member of The Big 12.  Link to information source.  The Southwest Conference was first formed in 1912, consisting of: Arkansas, Baylor, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Rice, Texas and Texas A&M.  Baylor, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas remain as current members of the Big 12.  Link to information source.

The Big Ten.  The name “The Big Ten” was actually not officially incorporated until 1987, but the conference referred to as the Big Ten has been around since 1905.  The original conference was made up of 7 teams in what was known as the “Intercollegiate Conference Athletic Association”.  In 1917, when the conference had expanded to 10 teams, it was labeled the “Big Ten” by members of the media.  The original members of this so-called Big Ten Conference were: Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue, University of Chicago and Wisconsin.  Only the University of Chicago is not a member of that conference today.  Link to information source.

The Pac 12.  The Pac 12 Conference started off as a little seedling conference that eventually grew up into the Pac 12.  Forming in 1916 as the Pacific Coast Conference, its original members stood at only 4 schools: California, Oregon, Oregon Agricultural College (later known as Oregon State) and Washington.  All four schools still remain in the conference today.  Interestingly, Idaho and Montana were one time members of this conference and the conference was disbanded and re-assembled in 1959 due to a pay-for-play scandal.  The re-formed conference was called the Athletic Association of Western Universities, commonly known as the Big 5. After growing once again, the conference started being referred to as the Pacific 8 in 1964 and officially became the Pacific 8 in 1968, the Pac 10 in 1978 and the Pac 12 in 2011.  Link to information source.

The SEC.  The SEC preceded the ACC in splintering away from the huge Southern Conference when 13 schools left in 1932 to form their own conference.  The 13 schools that made up the first version of the Southeastern Conference were: Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Sewanee (University of the South), Tennessee, Tulane and Vanderbilt.  Georgia Tech now resides in the ACC; Tulane, although still an FBS school is no longer a member of a Power 5 Conference; and, Sewanee, after having decided to de-emphasize sports in 1940, currently competes in Division III athletics.  Link to information source.

Greatest College Football Games Never Played

As we sit in the off season and wait for August to roll around again, SOD likes to look ahead at the upcoming schedules. In so doing, I was wondering, “What are some great football match-ups that haven’t yet occurred?” What are the greatest games never played?

To answer this question, SOD looked at the schools with the all-time winningest records and identified which of these schools have never played each other.

Like all of SOD’s, unscientific research, the results are only as good as my internet search skills allow – so, my findings may contain some erroneous data, but, the following table lists those match-ups of current FBS schools listed in the top 30 of all-time winningest programs that have not matched up against each other, as best as I could discover.

Many of these unplayed games make geographic sense, but a few of them are surprising and, almost all of them, would make great match-ups in future schedules.

A few observations:

Probably the most surprising games not yet played are: Tennessee v West Virginia and Penn State v Virginia Tech. It is also surprising to see that Oklahoma has never played Georgia and Arkansas has never gone up against Clemson. All of these non-games should be played!

The one team that shows up most often on this list is Washington. The Huskies have not yet matched up against 8 of the 23 other teams on top of the list of winningest programs. I know that the Dawgs are tucked away in the Pacific Northwest corner of the US and many of these teams are Eastern and Southern schools, but, come on Dawgs, you need to get out more!

SOD looked over this list and tried to determine which game would most likely be a National Championship Game? I’d probably have to go with Oklahoma v Georgia.

As we venture deeper into the new world order of the FBS playoff and schedule strength starts to play a bigger and bigger role in who gets selected to participate in the playoffs, SOD believes that we will see fewer and fewer cupcakes on FBS teams’ schedules. As a result, the list of unplayed games shown above would be a great place to start in finding non-conference games to play. Really – which one of those games would you not want to see played and have your team go up against some patsy instead?

Oh well, a guy can dream can’t he?

Black History Month – The College Football Edition

In honor of Black History month, SOD decided to take a look at some of the early black pioneers in college football – especially those young men who played outside of Historically Black Colleges and helped integrate football in traditionally “white” conferences.

William Henry Lewis was the first black football player to be honored as an All-American while playing center at Harvard in 1893. Lewis had also played football at Amherst College as early as 1889 before moving on to Harvard in 1892. Lewis was elected captain of the football teams at both Amherst and Harvard, marking the first time that an African-American was so named at either school. After graduating from Harvard, Lewis stayed on as a paid coach for the Harvard football team for 11 years. Lewis also published a “Primer of College Football” in 1896.

William H. Lewis’ college football career however, as historically significant as it was, paled in comparison to other achievements this remarkable man reached in his lifetime as a successful lawyer and politician.

Joining Lewis on the Amherst football teams was another young, black football player named William Tecumseh Sherman Jackson. These two men are recognized as the first black football players on white teams when they played for Amherst in 1889. There is not as much historical data on the young Mr. Jackson. This photograph of the 1891 Amherst squad shows Jackson in the back row with Lewis immediately in front of him, holding the football.

Meanwhile, in 1890, at the University of Michigan, a young black man by the name of George Jewett was the starting halfback/fullback and field goal kicker for the Wolverines in 1890 and 1892. Jewett was the first black football letterman for any Big 10 school. He later transferred from Michigan to Northwestern and became the first black football player for the Wildcats, as well.

In an earlier blog post, SOD recognized Jack Trice, from Iowa, as the only black man to have an FBS Stadium named after him. You can read that story here.

In 1961, Ernie Davis, RB, Syracuse, became the first black man to be awarded the Heisman Trophy. Ernie’s life was tragically cut short after being diagnosed with leukemia before starting an NFL career. Ernie Davis died on May 18, 1963 at the young age of 23.

In 1979, Willie Jeffries became the first black man to be named head coach at a predominantly white school when hired to that position at Wichita State. Jeffries was followed by Dennis Green who coached at Northwestern from 1981 – 1985.

As we celebrate Black History in the United States throughout the month of February (although as part of our history, it should be celebrated every time we pick up a history book) we need not overlook the role these pioneers played in the great sport of college football. Some of the history has been buried, but the stories behind these young men are remarkable and worth the effort to discover.

Can Urban and Jim be Another Woody and Bo?

Woody Hayes coached football at the Ohio State University for 27 years, from 1951 – 1978.  Bo Schembechler coached football at the University of Michigan for 20 years, from 1969 – 1989.  The ten years that these men shared in common at their respective universities, helping solidify an already heated rivalry, is known as the Ten Years War.  The drama played out between these two coaches and these two teams during that time is legendary.  Teacher and student, squaring off against each other in a season ending game that usually would determine the Conference Champion, a trip to the Rose Bowl, and, in some cases, the National Championship.

Although there was a kinship, respect and admiration that these two men shared for one-another, these traits were masked by the theater of the rivalry and the typical significance of the outcome of this end-of-the-year clash.  The Big Ten, during these years had become the Big Two and the Little Eight.  It seemed the Ohio State / Michigan game was looked forward to every year as soon as the previous year’s game had ended with roses in the teeth of the victor and tears in the eyes of the defeated.  The games played prior to this matchup each year, were just warm-ups to the game that really counted.

During the Ten Years War, this rivalry achieved national prominence and helped turn these two coaches into legends who will remain linked to each other throughout the pages of history.  Buckeye fan, Wolverine fan, or just college football fan, you hear the name of Woody Hayes or Bo Schembechler and you cannot help but think the name of the other.

The Ohio State / Michigan rivalry has survived the retirement and subsequent passing of these two coaching giants, but the luster of the Ten Years War and the personas behind the campaigns has not since been matched.  Each university has had 5 coaches since the throne was passed on by each legendary coach, but, even the greatest fan would have a hard time naming the counter-part to the coach from the rival school.  Some success was achieved by Earl Bruce, John Cooper and Jim Tressell, at Ohio State; and, Gary Moeller, Lloyd Carr, Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke at Michigan – but, certainly nothing to make you forget the names of Woody and Bo.  And, throughout the years, the Big Ten has caught up with Ohio State and Michigan – and, is no longer the Big Two and all the rest.

Here lately, Ohio State has become the bell-weather program and Michigan has hit some program lows, but both programs still have the promise of regained glory shone on top-notch programs.

Urban Meyer was coaxed out of a short retirement to replace a lost season with Luke Fickell at the helm following the crash and burn end of Jim Tressell’s coaching career at Ohio State, just when it looked like Tressell was on his way to his own legendary status in Columbus.  Meyer’s three years at Ohio State, so far, have been nothing short of spectacular, culminating with the National Championship trophy in the inaugural year of the FBS Playoffs format and a cumulative 38 – 3 record in that time.

It seems every one of Michigan’s coaching hires since Bo’s retirement has been met with a tinge of controversy sprinkled with lots of high expectations only to end in disappointment – although Lloyd Carr had a pretty good, 12-year run at the helm.  The two most recent regimes, however, have been nothing short of catastrophic.  So, in rides Jim Harbaugh on a horse of high expectations, with the moxy and  pedigree to pump hope back into the hearts of all good Wolverines.  And, one might wonder, do we have the potential of the next version of Woody and Bo on our hands?

Both Woody and Bo made names for themselves at Ohio State and Michigan.  Neither coach entered their position with fame and fanfare.  Their reputations and their place in football lore were earned during their time at the respective universities.  Urban and Jim, on the other hand, arrived at Ohio State and Michigan already having earned a high degree of success and accompanying fame – but, such is the way of the world today as opposed to the football landscape back in the 1960’s.  And, the Meyers / Harbaugh relationship does not include any path-crossing, teacher/student kinship along the way.  I think that the animosity these two coaches are sure to develop along the way will be rightfully earned and not simply a façade created by the rivalry.  But, the potential is there to rekindle a Bo/Woody-like mystique and allure with these two.

We are far from it today – but it is an interesting comparison to fantasize about.  Urban has already shown his appreciation for the rivalry, even with Michigan suffering lean years during his short time with the Buckeyes.  Having QB’ed the Wolverines from 1983 – 1986 when the rivalry was still riding high, there is no question Jim Harbaugh appreciates the intenseness of this rivalry, although it would be just like him to downplay it a bit while he tries to get the Wolverines back in championship form.

It will be interesting to watch.  Whereas, I don’t think you can ever recapture the dynamics and intrigue that Woody and Bo created during their Ten Years War – a newer version of the Ten Years War has some appeal and some promise with these two personalities in charge.  Of course, the rest of the Big Ten will have something to say about that, too.  And, the landscape has changed quite a bit.  With Ohio State and Michigan now playing in the same division, the best the rivalry game can do is determine the East entry into the Big Ten Championship Game – no more roses in the teeth – although tears in the eyes is still possible.

I, for one, will never forget Woody and Bo – but, I do want to see Urban and Jim restore the luster to this rivalry and do so for a long time – at least ten years, any way.

2015 Week 1 – Too Soon?

So, here it is, February 12; Week 1 of the 2015 College Football Season is still over 6 months away, and, I wonder, is it too early to start looking forward to the Week 1 schedule? … HELL, NO!

Besides, what else do good, respectable, young college football fans have to do? Well, I might not be good, respectable or young, but I am a college football fan, so, here goes – the look ahead to Week 1.

The 2015 FBS College Football Schedule kicks off on a Thursday Night, September 3, with a couple intriguing match-ups.

The Carolinas, North and South will tangle at a, somewhat, neutral site, Bank of America Stadium, in Charlotte, NC, to get things started. Both teams are trying to get back into the thick of things in their respective conferences and this game should be a good indication of which team is poised to make a move. Steve Spurrier will be debuting a new signal caller in this game and the Tar Heel defense is a tough first-game assignment. The Tar Heels are currently ranked #35 in the ESPN PreSeason FPI Rankings and the Gamecocks weigh in at #40.

Jim Harbaugh will debut as the Head Coach for Michigan in Utah as the Wolverines try to pay back the Utes for embarrassing them in the Big House in 2014. A pretty tough assignment, to go on the road for your first game with a new program, and Wolverine expectations will be through the roof, but the Utes will be in no mode to be gracious hosts. An interesting match-up, indeed. Michigan currently stands at #28 in the ESPN PreSeason FPI Rankings while the Utes hold down the 38th spot.

After a nice double-dose of intriguing games on an opening Thursday night, football fans will get a couple of days rest to prepare themselves for the first Saturday of the new season and a handful of additional games that will merit some attention.

After leaving the program in 2013, Chris Petersen will head back to Boise State with his new team, the Washington Huskies. The Broncos will be anxious to show that his old, non-Power 5 program is still better than his new, PAC-12 squad. There will be a new gunslinger for the Broncos tossing footballs on the blue turf, but Boise State returns a good team coming off of their Fiesta Bowl victory over another PAC-12 team in #10 Arizona. Boise State is likely to be ranked in the Top 25 and Washington is likely to be one of those, “also receiving votes” teams coming into the game. Both teams will enter with a chip on their shoulder and one team will have it knocked off. Boise State is currently ranked #31 in the ESPN PreSeason FPI Rankings and Washington sits at #46.

The first Saturday also has Virginia travelling coast to coast to complete the home and home series against UCLA. The Cavaliers played a close, but losing game against the Briuns in their Virginia home in 2014. Going out west, however, the Cavaliers will be facing a Briuns’ squad that has a new QB at the helm, replacing the early departed Brett Hundley. It’s not easy going coast to coast for your first game of the season, as UCLA discovered last year; it will be interesting to see how this game kicks off the 2015 season for both teams. UCLA is currently ranked #12 in the ESPN PreSeason FPI Rankings while Virginia is ranked #56.

In what might be dubbed the Brainiac Bowl, the B1G Ten’s academic leader, Northwestern will make a trip out west to meet the PAC-12’s academic leader, Stanford. The Cardinal is likely to be a heavy favorite in this game, but an interesting matchup nonetheless between two of the finer educational institutions that happen to also field pretty good football teams. Stanford sits at #17 in the ESPN PreSeason FPI Rankings and Northwestern is down at #68.

The Badgers of Wisconsin are proving that they like to start off their seasons with a bang and do not shy away from tough scheduling challenges. Last year the Badgers started things off in a high-profile game against LSU, blowing a big lead in eventually losing the game, and will start off the 2015 season back in SEC country against the reigning SEC Champs in Alabama. The Crimson Tide does turnover a large portion of their starting lineup, but this seems to be something that Alabama does well. A good test for both teams to start the new year and a game that is sure to get most of the first Week spotlight going into the season. Alabama is currently ranked #2 in the ESPN PreSeason FPI Rankings and the Badgers fall in at #36. But, preseason polls are likely to have both teams in the Top 25.

In another intriguing contest with an SEC powerhouse, Louisville squares off against Auburn in the Georgia Dome. The Tigers will be replacing Nick Marshall at QB while Louisville brings in an experienced Will Gardner. Another early season measuring stick for two programs poised to make a run at their respective conference championships. Auburn is currently ranked #18 in the ESPN PreSeason FPI Rankings and the Cardinals sit at #44.

In a contest between two of the better teams in two of the best conferences, Arizona State and Texas A&M match up in NRG Stadium in Houston.  This is another good match-up that could be an early indication of which team is ready to vie for a top spot in their respective conferences.  Texas A&M is currently ranked #11 in the ESPN PreSeason FPI Rankings and Arizona State is a respectable #20.  All in all, a pretty good Week 1 for the SEC West top teams to send a signal to the rest of the college football world that they are still the cream of the crop.

And, the first week of the season is capped off with a Monday Night affair between the Buckeyes of Ohio State and the Virginia Tech Hokies. Last year, the Hokies hung an albatross around the Buckeyes’ necks almost big enough to keep them out of the playoffs. Ohio State overcame that “bad” loss on their journey to the National Championship, but will be looking to avenge the loss in Blacksburg. One thing for sure is – whichever QB is under center for the Buckeyes this time, it will be one with a lot more experience than JT Barrett had going into last years’ game.  Ohio State currently sits atop of the ESPN PreSeason FPI Rankings at #1 while Virginia Tech is ranked #25.

So, yes, it is over half a year away, but the intrigue these games promise will only grow brighter and brighter as the season gets closer and closer. There will also be some interest in games that appear less fairly matched as the nation watches to see how new QBs perform under center – like the Eastern Washington vs Oregon game in which Oregon’s new QB just might be Eastern’s old QB; and, the Texas State vs Florida State game in which famous Jameis will likely be watching from an NFL camp somewhere.

For now, however, its nearing time for college football fans to go into their summer hibernation, dreaming of the sounds of whistles to ring in an interesting Week 1.

College Football National Champions Trivia

Most of us know that Oregon participated in the National Championship Game in January seeking their first ever College Football National Championship title. Unfortunately for Duck fans, they are still seeking their first title. But, this got SOD to thinking – What was the last team to win a National Championship for the first time? Researching this answer led to the discovery of some other interesting (or, at least, SOD thinks they are interesting) facts. So, SOD thought he would see if any of you wise-crackers and college football aficionados know the answers to these National Championship related questions. All of these questions are based on AP/Coaches/USA T/ESPN Poll Rankings since 1936 (as recognized by the NCAA), the BCS Championship format from 1998 – 2013, and the Playoff Championship format for the 2014 season:

Q1. When was the last time that a Division I team won a National Championship for the 1st time?

Q2. When was the last time that a Division I team won a National Championship for their one and only time?

Q3. Of the teams that have won 4 or more National Championships since 1936, which team has gone the longest since their last title?

Q4. Of all the teams that have won a National Championship since the start of the AP Polls in 1936, which team has gone the longest without winning their 2nd Championship?

Q5. Which team expands the longest period of time between their first Championship and their most recent Championship (1936 – present)?

Q6. Which team that has won 2 or more National Championships had endured the longest gap between two Championships?

Q7. Of all the teams that have won a National Championship since 1936, only 3 of them do not currently play in a Power 5 Conference – name those three teams.

Q8. Who was crowned the 1st National Champion by the AP Poll in 1936?

Q9. What was the last team to win the National Championship prior to the start of the BCS? HINT: There were two-champions – It was a split title.

Q10. Who won the first BCS Championship Game? And, who did they beat?

ANSWERS

A1. 1996 – Florida. Florida won its 1st National Championship in 1996. Every team that has won the National Championship since 1996, including Florida’s two additional Championships, had won a previous Championship earlier than 1996.

A2. 1991 – Washington. The Huskies won a share of the National Championship with Miami-FL for its only National Championship in 1991. Washington was named Champion in the Coaches Poll and Miami was #1 in the AP Poll.

A3. Minnesota. Minnesota has 4 National Championships to its name, but hasn’t won one since 1960. There are 8 other teams with 4 or more championships, and they have all won at least one of them since 1960.

A4. TCU. TCU won the National Championship in 1938 and is still looking for the next one.

A5. Ohio State. Having won their 1st National Championship in 1942 and their most recent Championship in 2014, the Buckeyes expand 72 years between 1st and most recent.

A6. Auburn. The 53 years between Auburn’s National Championship in 1957 and the one they won in 2010 represents the longest gap between Championships of any Division I team.

A7. Notre Dame (8 Championships), Army (2), and BYU (1). All three teams are currently Independent football teams.

A8. Minnesota. The Golden Gophers were also recognized as the National Champions by the NCAA for the two years prior to the existence of the AP Poll (1934 and 1935) as determined by the polls then recognized by the NCAA.

A9. Michigan and Nebraska. In 1997, Michigan was crowned Champion in the AP Poll; Nebraska was ranked #1 in the USA/ESPN Poll.

A10. Tennessee / Florida State. Tennessee triumphed over Florida State, 23-16, in the first BCS Game held on January 4, 1999, ending the 1998 College Football season.