Opinion Roundtable: Which Team Will You Pull For This Fall?
Michigan won't be on the field this fall but teams from the ACC, Big 12 and SEC will be. I know I'll still watch whatever college football I can but it obviously won't be the same without that winged helmet out there on Saturdays.
Since Michigan and every other team I'm most familiar with won't play this fall, I'm going to need to pick a new team to follow. That's not an easy task, but it's kind of the natural way to consume a sport. All of us are going to be looking at teams in a different way without the Big Ten on the field, so who is going to become our new favorite?
Brandon Brown
It's funny...growing up a Michigan fan, they were the only team I actively rooted for, but I did like other programs for various reasons.
I always liked Oregon because when it came to playing NCAA video games, they usually had a fast, athletic quarterback and the most uniform combinations to choose from. Obviously with the Pac-12 season also cancelled, they're not available for me to choose. Also, my cousin went to Arizona State and I went out there for spring break once, but again...no Pac-12.
I lived minutes from Clemson's campus for about seven years while teaching and coaching but that actually turned me off of the Tigers. It was before they were as good as they are now, and being around their fans was super annoying.
I went to Central Michigan, but as we all know, MACtion has also been cancelled.
I liked various players growing up, which in turn made me like their teams a little bit. Guys like Warrick Dunn from Florida State, Michael Vick when he was at Virginia Tech and Rashaan Salaam from Colorado are just a few random players I liked watching as a kid. However since liking those programs as a youngster, they've given me reasons not to like them as an adult.
With all that said, if I have to pick one program to keep a closer eye on this fall, it's going to be Oklahoma. I like Lincoln Riley as a coach a lot and they play the brand of offense that I like to watch. Plus, even though they've been in the playoffs multiple times, I like the idea of a new school coming up and knocking Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State down a peg or two.
Kailen McKay
I think some of the most entertaining football, outside of the Big 10, can be found in the Big 12. Who doesn’t love to watch innovative quarterback play and fast-paced offenses? For that reason I’m going to be rooting for Oklahoma. Their games are exciting, they have “Blue Blood” rivals such as Texas and if recent history is any indication, Spencer Rattler (the projected starter at quarterback) will likely be a Heisman finalist. This fall I’ll don the Crimson & Cream and attempt to clap along to Boomer Sooner as their season opens against Missouri State on September 12.
Justin Roh
When it comes to picking a college team to root for, Florida has it all. In my opinion, they have one of the best color combinations in all of sports. The blue and orange make all of their jersey combinations pop, especially with the green of the Gator head as a complement. “The Swamp,” as they call their stadium is one of the best venues in college football with 88,000 fans doing the Gator Chomp in unison.
Whether in The Swamp or at home, the 2020 Gators will be fun to watch. Quarterback Kyle Trask has a shot at the Heisman Trophy after throwing for more than 3,000 yards in 2019. Head coach Dan Mullen has the offense slinging the ball all over the place, making it exciting every time they take the field. Where Florida will really make their mark, though, is on the defensive side of the ball. The Gators finished 2019 ranked No. 7 in the country in total defense, and could be even better this season.
Mullen is entering just his third season as head coach, and he has Florida on track to be one of the top teams in the country. Ranked No. 7 in the preseason AP Poll, the Gators hope to get back to the SEC Championship Game for the first time since 2016. It could be fun to watch them with a chance to dethrone Alabama in December. As they say, if you ain’t a Gator, then you’re Gator bait.
Eric Rutter
The only other team I've covered is South Carolina, so I have a soft spot for that program no matter what. After covering Michigan then Carolina and back again, it's impossible not to draw similarities between the two programs. The main link in my mind is that both SC and Michigan are marred by a dominant arch nemesis that is overwhelmingly arrogant and easy to hate. For Michigan, that team is Ohio State, and for South Carolina it's Clemson. So, SC has my secondary fanhood, but any team that beats Clemson will be considered a winner in my book.
Jack Scheel
My team to pull for will be the Texas Longhorns. They’ve been a team like Michigan that seems to be right there in the last few games of the season but just out of reach when it comes to being back in the mix for the College Football Playoff. Can Sam Ehlinger dominate his senior season? Will Tarik Black show the talent Michigan fans saw during his first few games of the 2017 season? Will Texas finally be back? Who knows, but I’ll be following the Longhorns to find out.
Michael Spath
I usually root for Clemson because of family connections but they’ve become so dominant that I can’t anymore. I’d like to root for an underdog that has a legitimate chance to make some noise and in North Carolina, you have exactly that, plus coach Mack Brown, who is easy to cheer for. At the end of the day, though, I just want to see good games so whether it’s the ACC, SEC or Big 12, I’ll be rooting for football.
