Fiesta Bowl

5 Things To Know About This College Football Season

Say goodbye to your Saturdays because college football is back. Now you can join the college football conversation, which will save you from telling your college stories.

 

Some things are better left unsaid,

The Last Night’s Game Team

5 things to know about this College Football season

A little background - there are multiple divisions in college football. Today we’re going to talk about the FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) teams, formerly known as Division IA. This division includes the majority of college football programs, including all of the massive ones you tend to hear about in the news.

  1. It’s a 12-game season. For many teams the season ends with a bowl game (think Fiesta Bowl or Sugar Bowl). For the top two teams, the season culminates with the National Championship on Jan. 8th.

  2. The Clemson Tigers are the defending National Champions. Their coach Dabo (pronounced da-beau) Swinney has been in the news lately for his massive contract extension.

  3. Waking up to watch ESPN’s College GameDay is football's equivalent to Saturday morning cartoons. The crew, including 82-year-old Lee Corso, travels to different campuses for the big game of the week. In addition to talking football, they have other shenanigans during the show that make it fun for even the non-football fan to watch. More on College GameDay.

  4. Break out the beer pong and portable BBQs because it's tailgating time. If you could care less how your team does this season, here are the top 10 tailgating schools. (Hint – the top school dots the “I” at halftime).

  5. College players vie for the Heisman Trophy, which recognizes the best athlete on the field. Last year’s winner, Lamar Jackson, will return as quarterback at the University of Louisville. The odds are against him to win another Heisman as only one player has ever won the award twice – Archie Griffin.

But wait there’s more

  • Find out how the world of sports is contributing to the flood relief efforts and why a Chicago Cubs player becomes emotional while visiting a children’s cancer hospital. You can find today’s Overtime, Sideline stat and Coaches’ corner here.

The Rundown: NYE Edition - Baby You're A Firework

The big guns are coming out this weekend for New Years. From a woman looking for revenge, to a group of guys who need to prove themselves on the field, to a gal who needs more muscles to keep her left hand up, they're all going to end 2016 with a bang.

See you next year,

The Last Nights’ Game Team

 

PS - Today's tailgate treat is in honor of Robert Leo Hulseman, the inventor of the Red Solo Cup who passed away at age 84. He brought joy (and pain) for so many. Cheers to you!

NFL (NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE)

  • Over already? They say time flies when you’re having fun. That’s right, this weekend is the last weekend of the NFL regular season. The experts have overanalyzed the heck out of the team playoff scenarios. Should you wish to explore their rationale, check them out here. 

UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship)

  • Kind of a big deal. UFC 207 is tonight in Las Vegas. It will feature the first fight for female fighter extraordinaire Ronda Rousey since her devastating first career loss in November 2015. Rousey faces the current champion Amanda Nunes, who is a badass and the first openly gay UFC Champion.

NBA (National Basketball Association) 

  • Help a fella out. It’s time for fans to vote for the NBA All-Stars. Philadelphia 76ers rookie Joel Embiid needs your help. Embiid was told by his crush Rihanna that he needed to be an all-star to get a date. The game is February 19th so your vote could come just in time for Valentine's Day.

Overtime

  • Top ranked women’s tennis player Serena Williams (35) revealed that she is engaged to the co-founder of Reddit, Alexis Ohanian (33). Surprisingly, they announced their engagement on….Reddit.  

Sideline stat

  • Soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo rejected an offer from a Chinese soccer team that would have paid him over $105 million a year. His agent Jorge Mendes said “money is not everything; the Spanish club (his current team Real Madrid) is his life."

Coaches’ corner

  • This isn’t your normal New Year’s Eve party pre-game routine. The final four teams in college football will battle it out on Saturday for a spot in the National Championship game, which determines the best team in FBS college football. (FBS stands for the Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly known as Division One).

The Rundown: Hear Me Roar...Sports Talk

The playoff teams for college football were announced yesterday and unlike finding last year’s $20 bill in your coat pocket, there were no surprises here. Like spending your $20, the games are still going to be exciting.

Cha-ching!

The Last Night’s Game Team

NCAA Football (College)

  • One step closer. Yesterday was “Selection Sunday.” It’s not another commercialized Hallmark holiday but where the College Football Playoff Selection Committee determines the final four teams as well as the teams who will play in the various bowl games.
  • Bring it on. The final four teams will play each other and the winners of the two games below will play for the National Championship in January.

- Alabama (#1) will play Washington (#4) on 12/31 in the Peach Bowl (Atlanta)

- Clemson (#2) will play Ohio State (#3) on 12/31 in the Fiesta Bowl (Phoenix)

  • FOMO. Penn State handed Ohio State their only loss and won the Big 10 Championship, but they were left out of the Final Four. The Nittany Lions will have to settle for a spot in the Rose Bowl against USC.
  • Bowling for dollars. Here are the matchups for all 42 bowl games. Find your team and book your flights for an early holiday gift to yourself.

Soccer

  • Bittersweet. Last week we saw the unthinkable, the plane that was carrying the Brazilian soccer team, Chapecoense, to their championship games crashed. Their opposition for the championship started a campaign to give the team the championship title, without playing the game. The South American Football Confederation agreed and will name the Brazilian club as 2016 Copa Sudamericana Champions.

NFL (National Football League)

  • Homecoming. Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry calls Atlanta home and he returned home this week to play the Atlanta Falcons – nearly two years to the day he was diagnosed with cancer. Berry kicked cancer’s butt and he did the same thing to the Falcons’ offense during his homecoming.  

F1 Racing (Formula One)

  • Going out on top. Last week we reported that Nico Rosberg won the World Championship, the first of his career. Well it’s going to be his last because the 31-year-old shocked the racing community by announcing his retirement Friday.

Overtime

  • This weekend the NFL allowed the players to pay tribute to their favorite charity on their cleats. The cleats will be auctioned off to benefit the players’ designated charity. Need a unique gift for under the tree? You can bid on your beloved player’s cleats here. 

Sideline stat

  • NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) announced a multiyear deal with Monster Energy as its Premier Series title sponsor. Monster is replacing Sprint (i.e. the Sprint Cup). The dollars and cents of the deal weren’t released but it was rumored that NASCAR wanted 10-years, $1 billion for this sponsorship level. We want to win the lottery too.  

Coaches’ corner

  • Penn State’s mascot is a Nittany Lion. We’ve never seen a Nittany Lion in the zoo, what is it? The Nittany Lion refers to the mountain lions that are thought to have once roamed Mount Nittany, a University Park (where Penn State is located) landmark.

 

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