With the season just around the corner, I gathered some interesting facts and unique history belonging to the top 25 teams ranked in the opening coaches' poll.
No. 1 Georgia: Before the Bulldog became Georgia’s now famous mascot, their first unofficial mascot was a goat. That’s right—when Georgia played its first intercollegiate game against Auburn in 1892, they introduced the ferocious goat as their lucky charm.
No. 2 USC: A recent tradition at USC is if you want to wear the number 55 at USC, you’re going to have to earn it. Typically regarded as the anchor of the defense, the number cannot be picked by a player, but must be assigned by the head coach.
No. 3 Ohio State: Just about everyone knows Ohio State is famous for its band’s performance of dotting the i in “Script Ohio,” but the first band to perform the Buckeye tradition was...wait for it...Michigan.
No. 4 Oklahoma: The football team’s storied history began in 1895 when coach John Harts saw his team go 0-1 for the season, losing to Oklahoma City Town Team. Several members of the team were injured, including Coach Harts. Apparently, Coach Harts had had enough: He left after one season to prospect for gold in the Arctic. Seriously.
No. 5 Florida: Steve Spurrier, former legendary coach and Heisman trophy winner for the Gators, is known for his clever quips. An obscure one he once said: "Wuerffel is a New Testament guy. You slap him upside the helmet, and he'll turn the other cheek and say, ‘Forgive them, Lord, for they know not what they do.' I'm a little more Old Testament. If you spear our guy in the earhole, I think we're supposed to be able to spear your guy in the earhole."
No. 6 LSU: Before Gatorade was created on the campus of Florida to help replenish fluids for their football players, Bengal Punch was a sports drink first concocted in 1958 for the LSU team. It was created by Dr. Martin Broussard, the long-time LSU athletic trainer, and is believed to be the first sports drink ever created, pre-dating Gatorade by seven years.
No. 7 Missouri: Missouri is credited with establishing the tradition of Homecoming in the United States, which was then adopted by most colleges and high schools across the country. The tradition began in 1911 when athletic director Chester L. Brewer invited alumni to "come home" for the big football game against Kansas.
No. 8 W. Virginia: Of all the FBS (formerly Div. I-A) teams never to win a national championship, West Virginia is the winningest with 663 victories. Yeah, that’s all I got on this one.
No. 9 Clemson: Clemson shares its mascot with Auburn. Coincidence? The "Father of Clemson Football," Walter Merritt Riggs, brought the game with him from Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama (now Auburn University). Riggs let his players pick the team mascot, and even though he may have influenced their decision, the players chose Tigers because Princeton University had just won the national championship.
- B/R Ticket Guide
No. 10 Texas: The Longhorns' stadium has the largest high definition screen in the Western hemisphere. The Godzillatron was the largest high-def in the world up until Tokyo built one recently. So now you can watch Colt McCoy throwing interceptions on a 7,370-foot screen at a pixel resolution of 2064 x 848.
No. 11 Auburn: Auburn’s first bowl game was against Villanova in the Bacardi Bowl, held in Havana, Cuba. The game was played in a revolutionary atmosphere. Fulgencio Batista, the dictator who would be overthrown by Fidel Castro 22 years later, had just assumed power. The game was almost canceled because Batista’s picture was not in the game program. A quick trip to the printer saved the Bacardi Bowl and allowed Auburn’s bowl history to get off to a significant and historical beginning.
No. 12 Wisconsin: The Badger's home stadium has taken the traditional Wave to a whole new level. This goes beyond standing up and raising your hands in the air. The procedure at Badgers games generally follows a pattern (led by the student section) of sending the wave around clockwise twice, then once in slow-motion, then once at double the original speed, then once around counter-clockwise, and lastly, splitting it into two counter-rotational waves. Finally, after this dizzying array of wavedom, everyone pukes in unison.
No. 13 Kansas: Kansas has the distinction of holding the Division I-A record for tie games with 57. If a tie is like kissing your sister, as the saying goes, the Jayhawks need a psychological intervention.
No. 14 Texas Tech: Tech’s first intercollegiate football game, played in 1925, ended in a controversial tie. On what seemed to be the game’s winning 20-yard field goal by Elson Archibald, the referee ruled that the clock had run out before the kick. It was later reported that the referee made the call to get revenge because he wanted to be the team’s first head coach, but the job was instead given to Ewing Freeland.
No. 15 Virginia Tech: The Blacksburg school loves to change its names. First they were known as Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College, then Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute, and finally Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Institute, or Virginia Tech. The nickname “Hokies” was formerly the “Fighting Gobblers.” By the time my next article comes out, they will be known as the South Virginia Tech Turkeys.
No. 16 Arizona State: On September 14, 1987, Pope John Paul II came to Sun Devil Stadium to hold mass for 75,000 people as part of his American tour. For the Pope to agree to enter the stadium, all the Sun Devil logos and words with “devil” painted on the stadium’s façade had to be covered up.
No. 17 BYU: The Cougars won the 1984 National Championship, becoming the first team since the inception of the AP poll to win the title without beating an opponent ranked in the top 25 at season’s end. Oklahoma and Washington, two of the biggest critics of BYU’s '84 National Championship, turned down a chance to play BYU in the 1984 Holiday Bowl due to their desires to play a more nationally recognized opponent.
No. 18 Tennessee: Smokey, Tennessee’s mascot, has had its share of trials and tribulations over the years. Smokey II was stolen by Kentucky students in 1955 and was involved in an incident with the Baylor Bear's mascot Judge at the 1957 Sugar Bowl. Not to be outdone, Smokey VI was the first dog to make the Volunteer injury report after suffering heat exhaustion in the 1991 UCLA game.
No. 19 Illinois: Illinois claims to have hosted the first homecoming in the country. Have we heard this before? This declaration contradicts Missouri’s claim. Just another reason for these border schools to hate on each other.
No. 20 Oregon: Eugene, Oregon contains urban forest. The University of Oregon campus is itself an arboretum, with over 500 species of trees. The city operates and maintains scenic hiking trails that pass through and across the ridges of a cluster of hills in the southern portion of the city, on the fringe of residential neighborhoods.
No. 21 South Florida: The Bulls have never been shut out in a regular season football game. The only shutout they suffered was a 14-0 loss to North Carolina State in the 2005 Meineke Car Care Bowl, officially the Bulls' 100th game.
No. 22 Penn State: The school's official colors were originally black and pink, but the baseball team's uniforms faded to dark blue and white, so the school permanently changed the colors to the now-familiar blue and white. You read that correctly—pink used to be in the Penn State color scheme. Pink.
No. 23 Wake Forest: Originally, Wake Forest's athletic teams were known as the Fighting Baptists, due to its association with the Baptist Convention. However, in 1923, after a particularly impressive win against the Duke Blue Devils, a newspaper reporter wrote that the Deacons "fought like Demons," giving rise to the current team name, the "Demon Deacons."
No. 24 Michigan: Michigan’s famous fight song, “The Victors,” goes beyond the football field. UM alumnus Gerald R. Ford, the 38th President of the United States, selected the song to be played during his December 2006 funeral procession at the U.S. Capitol. Michigan’s marching band played this tune for him one final time, for his last ride from the Gerald R. Ford airport in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
No. 25 Fresno State: The green "V" worn on the back of the football players' helmets honors the agricultural industry of the San Joaquin Valley and the importance it plays in financially supporting Fresno State. Not V for Victory—V for agricultural valley. Go figure.
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3 months ago
Very entertaining.
3 months ago
Fun read. Good stuff.
3 months ago
this was awesome. i think i only knew about 3 of these. my POTD for sure!!!
3 months ago
Pink!?
3 months ago
great article, very interesting read.
On the V for Fresno State, I had heard it said that Pat Hill wanted it to stand for the domination of the Valley by Fresno while USC and UCLA dominate Southern California and Stanford and Cal dominate the Bay Area. Its about creating an identity for the school.
from 3 months ago
I thought it was worn by the kids that were from the Valley. Not to be worn by the LA and Bay area kids.
3 months ago
Thanks Brian and it is now official: I know much less than I even thought I did. Great stuff.
from 3 months ago
As a 27 year old, I didn't know that much either. After writing this article I feel like I just took a two semester class in unique college football history.
3 months ago
Very informative article (PoTD). Like most people, I only knew a few of these facts.
3 months ago
Purely excellent. Where did you find those facts? That was great.
from 3 months ago
I looked anywhere and everywhere. Internet, bookstore, media guides you name it. The Ohio St. selection as well as BYU's and Tennessee's I already knew but yes, I've lost a lot of sleep in the past few days.
3 months ago
If you can muster only 183 yds and 7 points vs 2007 4-7 Pitt, you deserve to win 663 games without a national title.
3 months ago
Number 20 Oregon. Ducks. Webfoot. Quack Attack. Yellow uniforms...and you wrote about 'hiking trails'?
Just joshin'. POTD
from 3 months ago
Ha, yeah I thought Oregon's selection was a little weak. I was looking at maybe talking about the Nike impact, hippietown. Wanted to find something that was a little obscure.
from 3 months ago
Oregon used to play football at legendary Hayward Field, the site of the 2008 track and field Olympic trials.
3 months ago
In Michigan's "Hail to the Victors", it also contains an interesting geological fact.
Lyrics of the fight song include the verse "champions of the west."
Before it was the Big Ten, Michigan played in the Western Conference. Everything west of the Ohio Valley was considered the Far West and had not yet been settled.
Good read. POTD
from 3 months ago
I almost went with that along with the fact they changed their fight song temporarily because of that.
3 months ago
I love learning new useless information! Good stuff!
3 months ago
this is the kind of stuff i like to see. tradition. it's what makes college football great. great article potd
3 months ago
The story I heard was after Bengal Punch was first concocted in 1958 for LSU by Dr. Martin Broussard he took the formula with him as trainer of the 1960 Olympic team. It was there that it was copied and actual became the basis for Gatorade. True credit was never given. Later in the 60's Bengal Punch became Quick Kick and was used at LSU at least into the late 70's
from 3 months ago
....Interesting, did not stumble upon that when researching. Fitting with the Olympics here.
3 months ago
Wisconsin is ranked #1 in the wave
from 3 months ago
something you may not know about me... since the wave was created at the University of Washington, I refuse to do it.
from 3 months ago
why do you refuse to do the wave?? Is is because it's nothing compared to Wisconsin's.
from 3 months ago
I think it's because he is an Oregon guy. They are not what you call "friendly" to each other.
from 3 months ago
Along with the fact it is a cheer for lemmings
from 3 months ago
Michigan does the same wave and does it better, I've been to both stadiums
3 months ago
Great article. I loved reading it. too bad i already gave my POTD vote to someone else.
3 months ago
Wow! Great research Brian. Most of us just snag our facts off the wire. Like Thomas, I also used my POTD, but maybe I'll catch you tomorrow. Good stuff.
3 months ago
Excellent article.
3 months ago
VT's full name is actually Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, so I guess they got you again.
from 3 months ago
...got me again....thanks for the catch, will change.
3 months ago
No. 7 Missouri: Missouri is credited with establishing the tradition of Homecoming in the United States, which was then adopted by most colleges and high schools across the country. The tradition began in 1911 when athletic director Chester L. Brewer invited alumni to "come home" for the big football game against Kansas.
Coincidentally, before the 2007/08 season, this was Kansas' last big football game.
from 3 months ago
ha, I'm sure Jimson would love that one.
3 months ago
POTD. I love this kind of stuff. It's one of the things that makes college football so much better than any other sport. All of the off-the-field stuff makes it even better.
3 months ago
Great article Brian. Very good research for an excellent read! Good job!
3 months ago
The Pink fact was embarASSing, i would never be caught dead wearing pink on a baseball field; a very good article.
3 months ago
POTD! "South Virginia Tech Turkeys" for the win!
3 months ago
Great article. Good information for sure.
3 months ago
I DONT SEE HAWAII, HAWAII IS IN THE TOP 25 I THOUGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
from 3 months ago
ha, maybe last year. Hawaii didn't even get a receiving vote, they lost their quarterback and head coach.
3 months ago
Awesome article. POTD easily!
"So now you can watch Colt McCoy throwing interceptions on a 7,370-foot screen at a pixel resolution of 2064 x 848."
ROFL
3 months ago
BEWARE OF THE GOAT!!!!!!!!
3 months ago
great article, man
3 months ago
"Badger Stadium" = Camp Randall. Never, ever, Badger Stadium. Possibly "The Camp" if you really must shorten it.
3 months ago
you b*stard! don't make fun of Colt McCoy. He's a good qb, who had no O-line last year. He did set the record for TDs thrown by a freshman qb, and will walk away with all UT QB records if he stays 4 years and continues on this pace. so shut up punk!
from 3 months ago
Yeah, you shouldn't hate on Colt McCoy...It's too easy!
3 months ago
that came off more harsh than I wanted it to. sorry. but still punkish to hate on Colt. I guess I shouldn't expect much from a fan of the fake UT.
from 3 months ago
ha, I actually like the guy, he'll get it together this year I"m sure. I'm a Tennessee guy, Erik Ainge had an absolute horrific sophomore season and came back to play exceptional his junior and senior seasons. Oh and by the way our school is almost 100 years older than yours, not a very good comeback but I'm not that big on "dissing".
from 3 months ago
..just in my articles I am, ha
3 months ago
Nice article overall. A couple of small trivia errors (like the name of Camp Randall Stadium, and the full name of Virginia Tech), but I like these kinds of pieces. But I am a geek.
3 months ago
Good article.
3 months ago
Great post. Can't wait for the season to start.
3 months ago
Ya out of the 25 teams in your article, you have something negative to say about a student athelete like Colt McCoy. Of all the interesting facts and traditions surrounding one of the premier programs in American football- Texas you chose to make a joke about a young man who has won 20 games in two years. I find it truly distasteful, that you singled out one particular individual that happens to be a leader on one of the top teams in this great nation.
Jouralist should exersize better judgement and not direct negative comments about a young man who is not a professional. This was the only negative comment about a top 25 team and the other 24 got by without your offensive , detestable , and irresponsible report. You should be ashamed of yourself and owe this young man and The University of Texas an apology. Its this type of inappropriate reporting that has created problems for student atheletes and universities who are trying to compete at the highest level both with academics and athletics.
from 3 months ago
I'm not writing to become a better expert "Journalist". I'm writing for the fun, it's just a hobby of mine. Nothing against McCoy, I would have inserted any quarterback or other player. If let's say Tennessee had added this "Godzillatron" to their stadium two years ago, I would have probably said "So now you can see Arian Foster fumble at a pixel resolution......." Take this with a grain of salt and don't get so bent out of shape.
3 months ago
Great article, only knew a couple of those including the Ohio State one :\
What if it never changed and one of these days we saw the Georgia Goats playing Joe Pa's pink and black Nittany Lions... haha now that would be a sight...
Or if instead of UGA trying to bite players in the endzone it would be a goat kicking them!
3 months ago
Almost a 100 years older and yet you still haven't figured things out.
3 months ago
Classic article. So much knowledge.
3 months ago
Great article. One thing though; the song is called "The Victors", not "Hail to the Victors". I'm in the Michigan Marching Band, and right after the 2007 Rose Bowl, about an hour after the game, they flew half the band to Grand Rapids to play at Ford's Funeral. Unfortunately, I stayed in Pasadena (they only took seniors and juniors, mostly, I was a sophomore then).
from 3 months ago
You're right, I even read that in Wikipedia and still missed it. Thanks
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