Happy Birthday to the Sport We Love: College Football Turns 146 Today

Oh, hey there, college football. A little birdie—which may or may not be Facebook...or the NCAA—told us it's your birthday and you're 146 years old. But, if we're being honest, you don't look a day over 125.

According to NCAA.com's Sam Richmond, it was this day in 1869 that Princeton and Rutgers faced off in what would be known as the first college football game. Granted, it didn't look anything like the game today, and there were no alternate uniforms, but it laid the groundwork for the sport we've all come to love:

"

The game’s rules were far different than they are today. The teams were made up of 25 players and the goal of the game was to kick the ball in the opponent’s goal. Aside from kicking, players were allowed to bat the ball with their hands, feet, heads and sides. Carrying or throwing the ball was not permitted.

Also, there were 10 games played within the whole game, hence the 6-4 final score. Each time a team scored a goal, they were awarded a point and a new game began.

"

Richmond wrote that a crowd of roughly 100 people were in attendance. Combine that with an odd, low score, and it sounds an awful lot like a Big Ten noon game.

I guess Rutgers does fit in after all.

Low-hanging fruit aside, it's crazy to think about what college football used to be. But then you think about what college football is today and, well, it's still pretty loony. That part hasn't changed.

The last three weeks have provided the most heart-pounding, miraculous endings the sport has seen in some time.

It started in Week 7 with Michigan State doing the unthinkable, blocking a mishandled Michigan punt and returning it all the way for the game-winning score in front of a floored Big House crowd:

No one said it better than Spartans quarterback Connor Cook. “What the hell just happened?” he asked, per Forbes.com's Roger Groves.

The following week, however, Georgia Tech one-upped the Spartans.

Facing a would-be game-winning field goal from college football's best place-kicker, Roberto Aguayo, the Yellow Jackets blocked the 56-yard attempt. Despite pleas from head coach Paul Johnson, they scooped up the ball and ran it back for the victory over Florida State.

Yet somehow, those two endings were upstaged by the unlikeliest—and most egregiously illegal—ending of them all.

After giving up a go-ahead touchdown to Duke with six seconds remaining, Miami's only hope was to lateral its way to a kickoff return for a touchdown. Eight passes later, that's exactly what the Hurricanes did as Corn Elder took the return 91 yards—or so it said on the stat sheet—for the score:

Of course, we came to find out the touchdown should never have counted. The ACC released a statement (h/t CoachingSearch.com) on Sunday documenting the errors that occurred, which included failing to rule that a Miami player's knee was down before pitching the ball and failing to penalize the Hurricanes for a block in the back.

The officiating crew was suspended for two conference games, but the result of the game was (rightfully) not overturned:

Amazingly, and despite all those dramatic moments, college football is only now entering its critical month. As Paul Myerberg of USA Today tweeted this week, the best games between the top opponents have really yet to be played.

It starts on Saturday with TCU at Oklahoma State, LSU at Alabama and Florida State at Clemson. The sorting-out process—or the chaos—begins in earnest:

So despite it being college football's birthday, it's been the one bestowing gifts to the rest of us. Let's hope the generosity doesn't stop any time soon. Here's betting it won't.

Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football.