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.

High Impact Freshman in 2015

There are several “perfect storm” factors that come into play resulting in a “high impact” freshman in big time college football. First, of course, you have to be good … real good. But, being good is not enough¸ you also have to have opportunity. There are plenty of real good freshman football players who, not only will not make an impact in year one, but will never even see the field in year one because there are better, more experienced football players ahead of them. Even though we, as fans, love to see that high impact freshman come into our program, it is often the sign that our favorite team has a “depth” problem at that position. It isn’t always a good sign that those highly touted, incoming freshmen are in the starting lineup in year one.

These young men also must make an adjustment, not just to the differences between high school and college football, but also an adjustment in their living environments, social lives, scholastic lives, etc. This life changing experience can make it difficult for some young men to assume the role of football superstar in their first year away from home. The ability to and time it takes to adjust to these all around changes have an impact on the first year football field performances of some of these young men. That is why many “high impact freshmen” are really red-shirt freshmen with 12 or more months under their belt adjusting to their new world order. Now, the newly popular, early enrollment path many college football players are taking helps prepare some of these young men to assume a starting role in their true freshman year, but that “opportunity” ingredient still needs to be there.

So, any list of “Potential Top Impact Freshmen” should not be confused with a list of “Best Incoming Freshmen”. Some of the best incoming freshmen will just have to wait their turn before making an impact. Having said all that, here is the short list of young men SOD is expecting to make a high level impact in the FBS.

The 3 young men whose names rise to the top of almost everyone’s list are:

• Byron Cowart, DE, Auburn
• Malik Jefferson, LB, Texas
• Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA

I suspect Byron and Malik to be monsters on the defensive side of the ball, but, given the position he plays, I am most curious about how Josh Rosen makes out in his freshman year at UCLA. The opportunity, it appears, is there for all three of these ballers, but, how they adjust to college life and how quickly they learn the system and earn a spot in the starting lineup is yet to be seen.

Three more young men that also appear likely to have an immediate impact in 2015 are:

• Trent Thompson, DL, Georgia
• Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama
• Martiz Ivey, OL, Florida

Like noted earlier, the fact that these three are all on SEC teams either indicates that the SEC has a recruiting advantage (which, they probably do) or that SEC teams have more holes to fill (which, they probably do).

SOD believes those 6 names above have the most likely chance of being first year stars in 2015, but significant playing time and significant impact could also come from any or all of these young men, as well:

• Iman Marshall, DB, USC
• Kahlil McKenzie, DT, Tennessee
• Canton Kaumatule, DL, Oregon
• Derwin James, S, Florida State
• Solomon Thomas, DL, Stanford
• Daylon Mack, DT, Texas A&M
• Kevin Tolliver, CB, LSU

Now, the chances are that the real impact freshmen come from out of the blue and off of this list. Those less highly recruited young men that outperform their expectations or that are afforded opportunities to excel due to injuries, suspensions or other reasons that put them into the starting lineup. Those stories will develop as the season plays out. And, those are the stories we will be looking for.

Whereas, we do expect big things from the names on our list, just by being names on the list puts high expectations on these young men, some of whom might not be ready for that pressure. But, we will see and we can’t wait to watch.

And, don’t be upset of your rooting interest does not have a name on this (or anyone else’s) list – it may simply mean you’ve already got the talent on your team to win today without a new freshman superstar contributing a high impact to the results.

Pipelines to the NFL

I realize that with the start of the Free Agency period yesterday this is a fluid situation, but SOD took a look at every NFL Team’s active roster to see if there was any evidence of a “pipeline” of sorts from one college team to one NFL Team. What we found is not too surprising.

Most NFL teams, of course, have a pretty diverse mixture of players from all over the place. Atlanta, Baltimore, and Cleveland, in fact, had no more than 2 players from the same school listed on their active roster on 3/10/2015. Fourteen other teams had no more than three players from the same school listed as part of their player profile. But, 1 team had 7 players who played on the same college team in their collegiate career; can you guess which NFL Team and which college has this connection?

Think of a NFL Team with a head coach who recently came over from a successful college program. That’s right – the Philadelphia Eagles have 7 players on their active roster who played college ball at Oregon. Like I said, not surprising.

No other team has any more than 5 players from the same school. Cincinnati has 5 players each from Alabama and Georgia – could make for a fun locker room following a certain SEC football game. Dallas lists 5 players from Oklahoma State on its roster; Arizona has 5 former Clemson players on its roster; and, with Russell Wilson listing the Badgers as his collegiate tie, Seattle has 5 from Wisconsin.

Colleges that have placed 4 players on the same NFL team include: Utah with 4 players at Miami; Illinois and Rutgers each have 4 players on New England’s roster; Stanford has 4 Cardinal currently listed on Indianapolis’ roster; there are 4 players from Miami-FL playing for Jacksonville – makes sense; there are currently 4 players from Tennessee playing for Kansas City; 4 Orange from Syracuse are listed as New York Giants; Notre Dame has 4 each with Minnesota and Detroit; USC also has 4 players with the Vikings; the Crimson Tide has 4 ex-Alabama players listed on Green Bay’s active roster; and, 4 players from Auburn are currently getting paid to play for St. Louis.

Based on the high numbers of players some of the big-time schools have playing in the NFL, you would expect to see some clumping on NFL Teams just through the law of averages, but, for the most part, they are pretty evenly spread throughout the league. The further Chip Kelly gets removed from his personal ties with the players from Oregon, you might expect to see that one existing, prominent “pipeline” start to dwindle.

So, no real surprises, but it was fun looking into it.

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.

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.

2015 Playoff – SOD’s 1st Predictions

Here it is, February 23, way too early to make predictions about the 2015 College Football season, and yet, it seems, everyone already has.  So SOD, with his brand new college football blog, has decided to enter the fray with my very first college football prediction.  No better way to earn or tarnish your credibility than to make predictions that prove, by way of luck, to be accurate or, by way of misfortune, to make you look like an idiot.  So, here we go, SODs prediction of the four teams to land in the second FBS playoff.

Two of my picks show up on many other prognosticators’ picks and two picks are much less popular.

Ohio State.  This is an easy pick to make.  The reigning champs and winners of the inaugural FBS playoffs almost didn’t make it into the 2014 format.  But, the Buckeyes proved to be deserving of the selection and won out with a third string QB leading the way in two rather dominating performances.  Urban Meyer’s squad returns lots of experience on both sides of the ball and just seems built to repeat.  The one concern about the Buckeyes is … complacency.  After riding a year on the Champions horse, it is sometimes hard to get that motivation and drive to where it needs be.  That is Coach Meyer’s job – to make sure that doesn’t happen.  The schedule looks to be in Ohio State’s favor and they will enter the season odds on favorites for a repeat selection to the playoffs.

TCU.  Like Ohio State, the Horned Frogs are returning a very seasoned football squad, all wearing that “we should have been in the 2014 playoffs” chip on their shoulder.  No concerns about complacency here; the Horned Frogs will come into the 2015 season with something to prove and the bitter taste of being left out of last year’s party in their mouths.  SOD likes TCU’s chances this year and their schedule looks pretty manageable for achieving that end.

And now, here is where SOD varies from the beaten path.  Alabama and USC appear to be the next two teams showing up on the majority of the playoff prediction pages, but, although solid picks, SOD believes that Alabama is just losing too much talent, again, and SOD is not yet a Sarkisian believer.  Whereas, it will not be a surprise to see Alabama and USC fill out the remainder of the 2015 playoff slate, SOD is going with a couple of long shots.

Georgia.  Although the Bulldogs will be breaking in a new QB and they have a way of disappointing their fans year after year with high expectations, SOD is going to roll the dice and predict that the bad luck and injuries of previous seasons abandon the Bulldogs and pave the way for a surprising trip to the playoffs.  The SEC West teams will continue to beat each other up throughout the regular season and limp into the SEC Championship Game against an SEC East winner that is less beat up.  The East Champion will win the Championship Game and sneak into the playoffs after going all year outside of the Selection Committee’s top 4.

Stanford.  Like Georgia, Sanford will start from back in the pack of ranked teams and slowly play their way into contention behind QB Kevin Hogan and a strong defense.  The Ducks will still be competitive with a very capable QB moving in from Eastern Washington to replace Marcus Mariota, but the Cardinal will win the head to head and face a very competitive Pac 12 South Team in the Championship Game as the springboard into the playoffs.

In 2015, the ACC will be left sitting on the sidelines moaning that their champion deserves to be in – but that team will not stand out enough to win over the selection committee.  There are plenty of other teams that will sit at or near the top of the selection committee’s list throughout the year, but, once the conference championships are over, these four teams will be the ones left standing, or, at least, that’s the way SOD sees it on February 23.  Two front-runners and two long-shots.  A credible pick or proof that SOD is an idiot.  Now we just have to sit back and watch the cake bake.

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.

A Fun College Football Trivia Question

Some Other Dude had a fun time with the first week of this new blog.  I have resisted the temptation to pester family and friends to come visit this site and tried to just let it grow organically.  That’s a slow process which might try my patience, but I am sooooo grateful for the few of you who found me here and especially, to those of you who have come back a time or two.

I got through the first week in pretty good shape; the articles were fun and easy to write and I still have a couple topics on my list to cover, but the challenge of posting regularly with fresh, interesting and, sometimes informative topics is going to be a tough one as we wait for September to roll around again.  SOD will do his best.

So, SOD is going to end the first week with what I think is a fun little trivia question.  No cheating!  Don’t look up the answer (the answer is at the end of the post, anyway) – just rack your brain to see how many you can list.  Have fun.  Here goes.

FUN COLLEGE TRIVIA QUESTION

Name the 6 FBS/FCS schools whose team name …

1. Does not end with an “s”.
2. Does not include a color in it.
3. Does not include the name of an animal in it.

For example, Ohio State’s team name is Buckeyes (but, it ends with an “s”) and Alabama’s team name is Crimson Tide (but, it has a color in it).

BONUS POINTS

If we include Division I basketball teams, which team gets added to the list.

BUFFER TO KEEP YOU FROM SEEING THE ANSWER TOO SOON

Here is a picture of SOD’s son posing with Kirk Herbstreit when College Game Day visited the campus of University of Washington.  Although SOD now lives in the Pacific Northwest, I grew up in the same small town that Kirk grew up in, Centerville, Ohio, although I do have a few years on Kirk.  When we passed Kirk in Red Square on our way to the game, I asked if he could take a minute for a picture for a dude from Centerville and he graciously complied.  Thanks, Kirk.  My son is now a big fan.

THE ANSWERS

Okay, here we go, the 6 schools are …

  Illinois Fighting Illini

Marshall Thundering Herd

Massachusetts Minutemen

  Navy Midshipmen

  Notre Dame Fighting Irish

 William and Mary Tribe

BONUS POINTS ANSWER

No longer with a football program, the Hofstra Pride is the team that would be added to this list.  Interestingly enough, Hofstra recently changed their team name to “Pride”, but the old name would also have kept them on this list – “The Flying Dutchmen”.

NOTES

Kudos to those of you who thought of the Elon Univeristy Phoenix.  It’s a toss up as to whether or not they belong on the list.  The phoenix is a mythological bird, so it could be considered an animal.  But, if you thought of it and want to count it when you repeat this question to the amazement and amusement of your friends, go right ahead.

Georgia Tech’s official team name is the Yellow Jackets, although they are often referred to as the Ramblin Wreck.  I happen to like Ramblin Wreck better – I think they should just go ahead and make the change.

And, yes, SOD knows that the Stanford Cardinal does not end in an “s” and is not named for the bird – but, it is a color.  Sorry.

So, that was fun.  Thanks for stopping by this week and feel free to help SOD out by spreading the word about the new blog.  Go ahead and share this question through Twitter, on Facebook, or wherever.  Now, what to write about next week?