Friday Night Lights, college style
It is that time of year. A hint of Fall in the air. Shorter days. Schools are back in session, and a certain rhythm seems to fall in place following the carefree Summer days. And then, of course, it is the start of football season.
Coach Steve Spurrier once said that football in the south was a religion and that Saturday was a holy day. That has largely been true with high schools playing on Friday, colleges on Saturday, and the pro teams on Sunday. Of course, we drifted into Monday night football and then Thursday night football.
This weekend, college football made its largest debut Friday evening alongside their high school brethren. My Auburn Tigers, in search of a good season after four straight duds, played a pretty good Baylor team in Waco, Texas. It was 90 degrees at kickoff, which proves that those that schedule these games work in air-conditioned offices.
Several games were on television on Friday night, including a couple of high school games on our cable lineup. I like watching high school football, but deep down I am a college football fan, driven in part by living in a football crazed college town.
Auburn had a great opening night victory, a huge momentum builder as they confront a tough schedule on their way back to relevance in the tough SEC. When I woke up on Saturday morning, looking forward to a full day of college football, I was happy that I did not have to worry about whether Auburn was going to win or not. It was already in the bag.
Others were not so lucky. In Auburn, they call a football weekend when Auburn wins, and Alabama loses a “Double Eagle”. Alabama ran into an unexpected buzzsaw on Saturday as the Florida State Seminoles dominated in an unexpected way. Predicted to lose by two touchdowns, they won by two touchdowns. The phone lines on Paul Finebaum will be on hold for the next two weeks.
Texas also found bit of a brick wall against the reigning national champs, Ohio State Buckeyes. The hype around Arch Manning was so over the top as to be unattainable. No one can survive so much pressure. I like the Mannings and wish Arch well. However, there is a certain burden that comes with receiving NIL proceeds of over $6 Million. People want their money’s worth, even if they did not donate a penny.
Georgia had no problem against the Marshall Thundering Herd, which proves that cupcake games are still alive and well, at least until the SEC nine game schedule comes into effect next year.
On the other hand, Georgia Tech had a nice Friday night opening win against the Colorado Buffaloes and Coach Prime.
More college games to follow on Sunday and even Monday. Throw in the US Open Tennis, along with a dozen other high school and collegiate sports, and there is no reason to say there is nothing to watch on television, at least if you are a sports fan.
Some say that football is like life. It requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority. Of course, that quote was made before 18-year-olds were given more money than most of their coaches and began driving cars more expensive than their parents’ home.
It is hard to predict how collegiate sports will evolve over the next few years. Do not get me wrong. I believe that college athletes deserve to be compensated and rewarded. However, you can expect things to become more expensive as schools try to compete at the highest level. For many schools, they will be trying to figure out how to compete at all.
Money is king, and that is why you see Friday night lights, college style. My guess is you have not seen anything yet.
Dan Ponder can be reached at [email protected]