Week zero is here

If you hear the phrase “Week zero” on sports channels it just means that a bonus week of college football is starting Saturday. The season really does not get going until next weekend but there are a dozen games Saturday that say otherwise. It’s not quite week one but you can call it week zero.

Does week zero matter? To me it does but I’m in the minority. If you want to see the big name schools you have to wait till next week. Nebraska and Northwestern are playing a game in Ireland Saturday as that is the big draw. Now if you can’t get excited about Vanderbilt taking on Hawaii then chances are we are not friends.

It is strange how college football in Indiana is not a big deal like it is in Kentucky and Tennessee. Radio stations are devoted to college sports talk with just a sprinkle of pro ball. Those stations are harder to find in Indiana. College football is the main course of the weekend south of the Ohio River. The NFL is a bigger deal north of it.

To love college football you have to know the aristocracy of it. For me, I look forward to whenever a power conference school from the Big Ten Conference falls to a tiny member of the Mid-American Conference. The big powers rarely lose but when they do it’s special. Last year, mighty Texas lost to lowly Kansas and the internet exploded. Florida State lost to tiny Jacksonville State of the Football Championship Subdivision. Powerful Notre Dame nearly lost to, gulp, Toledo.

College football is changing rapidly and it is hard to follow who plays in what conference anymore. Yet the experience of flipping channels from game to game is pretty much the only incentive to have a television package these days.

For college sports fans, week zero and week one are another Christmas. Heck it’s a better holiday than Halloween as even the tricks are treat for us. Remember, life is too short to not stay up and watch Hawaii football.

Nathan Pace is the Sports Editor of the Greene County Daily World and can be reached at npace@gcdailyworld.com. His “Low Budget Sports Show” Airs weekly on Facebook Live.