Annual College Football Kickoff Post

At last! That most glorious time of the year is finally upon us.

In addition to the Liturgical Calendar, I generally mark the seasons by which sport just happens to be played at that particular moment. By that measure, the autumnal quarter of the year must easily be judged the grandest of them all by virtue alone of the sumptious bacchanalia of pigskin served up across college campuses (campi?) every Saturday afternoon.

In a feast that is almost religious by nature, Every Saturday in Autumn, Americans in every walk of life go on pilgrimages to Saturday Shrines and Autumn's Cathedrals to participate in the Rites of Autumn:

Saturday afternoons in autumn. For more than a century they have stood as the showcase for what has become a true American ritual, a time reserved for one of the most richly colorful, spirited, and vibrantly exciting sports in all the world - college football.

Baseball has its summer, pro football its Sundays and Monday nights, basketball its winters indoors, but tradition and college football's passionate following have indisputably claimed that first day of each autumn weekend.

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There are few spectacles in the sporting world to match the ceremony of an Army-Navy game, the color of a Rose Bowl pageant, the emotion when a chorus of thousands rings out with the Notre Dame fight song, the splendor of a tailgate party at a Texas-Oklahoma game, the beauty of the USC cheerleaders, or simply the great games that have been played and the extraordinary performances that have been given on college football fields over the years.
~ Richard Whittingham, Introduction to Rites of Autumn


College football has always been something very special, with its heritage, its pageantry, and especially with the intensity of competition found on all levels. It has a spirit to it that lives; it has tradition that is unshakable.

As a boy in Cincinnati I followed college football, especially Ohio State and Notre Dame. I had my heroes: Hopalong Cassady at Ohio State, Johnny Lujack and Johnny Lattner at Notre Dame, Pete Dawkins at Army, Joe Bellino at Navy. I dreamed of playing in college myself, and the dream came true.
~ Roger Staubach, Foreword to Rites of Autumn

And so, as we prepare for this evening's official college football kickoff, followed by this Saturday's fare of fall-flavored football festivities, I leave you with some links to the coverage of the 2007 college football season by two of the more prominent players in the sports media. Enjoy the season.

Sports Illustrated's coverage:

With college football's first game less than 24 hours away, SI.com's Stewart Mandel provides 10 burning questions for opening weekend, talks about ND, West Virginia, USC and more.

SI.com's experts make their '07 predictions

Top 20 games to watch this season

ESPN's coverage:

ESPN U - 2007 College Football Preview

Weis, Irish have plenty to prove this season

Top 25 Overview

The Nation's Best: Seventh Annual Herbie Awards (ED.: Must read)

UPDATE
Eric Scheske of The Daily Eudemon has compiled a great list of college football quotes.


UPDATE #2 (31 August)
Fearless Prognostications - Making Fun of America's Colleges and Universities for Years
(Hat tip: RobK at Kyrie Eleison)


Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Some Fine Quality Student Athletes at "Big Blue"

Bo Schembechler, Rest In Peace

BS* ... errrr ...BCS Poll Comes Out - Ohio State # 1

Sports Illustrated: Who's Got the Best Fight Song?

QB Jimmy Clausen Commits to Fighting Irish

Great College Football Weekend

College Fight Songs - Comments Requested