Two college football games caught my attention this past Saturday and for those of you who read my column even on a semi-regular basis, you won’t be surprised.
The first game was the annual clash between Army and Navy. To me, this is probably the best rivalry in college football. I know people in this neck of the woods will talk about Alabama-Auburn or Georgia-Florida or Georgia-Georgia Tech or Clemson-South Carolina, but I’ll take the passion put forth by the Cadets and Midshipmen any day.
John Feinstein’s stellar book A Civil War: Army vs. Navy, A Year Inside College Football’s Purest Rivalry is not only a must read for anyone who calls themselves a college football fan but for anyone who is a red-blooded American quite frankly.
While fans can brag about the intensity of their favorite rivalry, I can assure you they all fall short of this one. No rivalry can compare to what this game means to the players on Army and Navy, the graduates of the two academies as well as the servicemen and servicewomen serving around the world. It’s centers on a college football game, but the passion runs so much deeper.
I’ve always been a fan of the academies and pull for them to win each time out. I long for the day when one finishes undefeated. I know I can forget about them being in serious BCS discussion but how great would it be to have Army, Navy or Air Force even among the topic?
As far as Saturday’s game goes, Navy won the annual clash once again. The players on these teams represent everything good about college football. You can keep your Heisman Trophy winners. I’ll take players from the service academies all season long.
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The other game which had my attention Saturday was the quarterfinal matchup between Georgia Southern and Wofford. You see, in Division I-AA (or Football Championship Series as it’s called today), the football national champion is actually decided by a playoff system.
I know it’s an odd concept to the big wigs who run major college football, but believe it or not, a playoff system can and does work. It’s been working for years at all levels of college football except one.
Led by first-year coach Jeff Monken, the Eagles held on for a 23-20 road win and will now face Delware in the semifinals this Saturday in a nationally televised game.
Georgia Southern has surprised many experts by getting this far but once you reach the semifinals anything is certainly possible.
There is a funny story about the Georgia Southern-Wofford contest this past Saturday. The game was not televised but was broadcast on an area radio station. As I ventured into town to pick up something to eat for my better half and myself, the game was in the closing minutes.
I got our dinner and began the short drive back to my house. The game went down to the wire, however, so I guess you could say I took the long way home. I took a couple of extra turns so I could hear the outcome.
The final seconds still had to be played as I pulled into the driveway. What I didn’t know was that my better half was wondering where I was and why it had taken me so long to get home. She was looking at me through the window as I sat in the car for several more minutes.
I finally emerged from the car and entered the house to the puzzled question and look of “Are you OK?”
“I was listening to the end of the Georgia Southern game,” I said.
“I wondered what happened to you,” Pam said. “You were just sitting in the car. I should have known.”
Playoff football will do that to you I guess.
Chris Bridges is sports editor of the Barrow Journal. You can reach him at cbridges@barrowjournal.com.
