College FB '14 House Calls

Listen to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-4HFr33d6g .......

Ah yes, that little tune, played by the Wisconsin band whenever the Badgers score a touchdown, is always music to my ears - but especially so during the 2014 season, because more often than not it meant that a player with dreads scored the touchdown. Far more often than not that player was junior RB Melvin Gordon; but Gordon was not the only Badger player with dreads to take one to the house. And it was those small but valuable contributions by his teammates that lifted Wisconsin to the team crown for the most TD by players with dreads this season. 


Gordon and Boise State junior RB Jay Ajayi finished in a dead heat for the individual crown with 32 TD each. That number not only led all of Division 1 this season but also is a new record for the most TD ever scored in a season by any D-1 player with dreads (surpassing the 30 scored by Ricky Williams for Texas in 1998).

College FB '14 Dread News - Bowl Review (Part 1)

It's better than nothing - I guess; but as far as I'm concerned, the new 4-team College Football Playoff that concluded the 2014 season still falls way short when it comes to crowning a true champion. It just doesn't make any sense to me to have only 4 teams in it. There currently are 5 major conferences in the FBS of Division 1, so that means by simple math that every year the best team from one of those conferences automatically can't be included. And if two teams from one conference are good enough to be selected? Well then the champion of two of those conferences won't be playing for the title. I mean, to have a real playoff shouldn't you at least include all of the teams that are capable of winning it all? You certainly don't get that with four. I believe eight teams would be adequate, but what I'd really like to see is a 16-team playoff. That way, just like in basketball, every team in the FBS would know when they begin preseason practice that they had a chance to be playing for the championship and that they wouldn't be excluded from consideration for the playoffs just because they're a member of a certain conference.

Hopefully the excitement generated by the three playoff games this season will convince College Football's decision makers that having more playoff games would create even more interest and excitement. The inaugural College Football Playoff created the most excitement for Ohio State fans, who enjoyed watching the Buckeyes roll to the title by defeating Alabama and then Oregon - even though they were playing with their third string quarterback.

College FB '14 Dread News - Bowl Review (Part 2)

In Part 2 of my final dread news report for the 2014 season we'll look at the final dread stars list of the season as well as have a season recap of the weekly honors. But before then let's continue the dread gallery section.

The stats sheet may say that Notre Dame QB Malik Zaire and LSU RB Leonard Fournette were the stars of the Music City Bowl at Nashville on Dec. 30; but as we all know the real star was Jalen Collins' dreads. Frustratingly Collins kept his long dreads bottled up one way or another throughout the season; but in his final game in an LSU uniform he finally unleashed them.

11. As he fights off a block by sophomore WR Will Fuller with one hand, junior CB Jalen Collins tries to stop RB Tarean Folston with the other near midfield on 4th play of Notre Dame's opening drive. Collins was able to help slow Folston up, but LB Kwon Alexander (#4) got credit for the tackle after a gain of 9. Watching the play from behind is junior LB Lamar Louis (#23), who had no tackles in the game. The drive ended 11 plays later with a 12-yard TD reception by Fuller, giving the Irish a 7-0 lead.