We did it folks. We made it to the 2022 college football season. A sincere thank you to everyone who joined us on this journey over the past 99 days. 99 Things started as a daily post but The Walk-On Redshirts has seen record success over the past three months and we cannot wait to show you the plans for our future. The final item we are excited about for this season is the opportunity to watch football for more than 12 hours on any given Saturday. College Football will be on every Saturday until January and I will be enjoying every possible minute (minus the two weddings I am attending).
College Gameday begins at 9:00 AM EST every Saturday morning with the final game concluding after midnight. One of my favorite things in life is waking up in the morning and having a fresh brewed cup of coffee and watching College Gameday. The morning of every Saturday is reserved for looking at the spreads for every game and also watching Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso and company. A good Saturday full of college football will also consist of tailgate food. During the College Gameday broadcast is the perfect time to start preparing food for the rest of the day. Slow cooking food or preparing food for later is typically part of my plans because typically I am intoxicated later in the day.
The noon timeslot has become the premier spot for Big Noon Kickoff. Fox has dedicated to putting their best game on a noon because of limited competition. Historically the earliest timeslot has been the home of the least competitive games. This used to be the main timeslot for games such as Illinois vs Eastern Michigan or Virginia Tech vs Georgia Southern. Fox has already selected Alabama vs Texas to be part of Big Noon Kickoff in week two. Rumors have already begun to swirl with which games Fox will be choosing. Penn State reportedly picked Minnesota as their Whiteout game because the game against Ohio State is expected to be a noon kickoff. This timeslot used to be when I would get chores done but Big Noon Kickoff has forced me to adjust my schedule.
The mid afternoon and evening time slots are typically reserved for some of the best games. Week one features Oregon vs Georgia and Cincinnati vs Arkansas at 3:30 PM followed by Utah vs Florida and Notre Dame vs Ohio State for the night slate. The atmosphere for games in these time slots are typically more intense and the crowd noise is usually louder. These games are the highlight of the day and why we love the sport. Fans wait around all day for some of the best college football games in hope they do not disappoint. The evening game is usually the site of College Gameday meaning the game has been hyped up by ESPN all week. Some of my best memories watching games and attending games have come for the evening slate of college football.
The late games will typically finish around 11:00 PM EST which would be the end of the day for the average fan. If you are reading this you are not an average fan. Pac-12 after dark plus a Hawaii home game is still in play. Pac-12 after dark is reserved for west coast teams playing a night game of their own. These games typically kickoff around 10:30 EST which means the games will finish well after midnight. Hawaii’s broadcast will also begin just before midnight at 11:59 PM. The truly dedicated fan will be up for the Hawaii game even if the game does not matter in the full scope of college football. Make sure to check your streaming services because not all Hawaii games are television.
99 Things is coming to a close but this is not the end of our content. The Walk-On Redshirts are just getting started. We have our first weekend of college football which means we have plenty of content still to come. Week zero is simply a preview weekend for college football but we still have more than 12 hours of college football. Most teams are playing FCS opponents but pick a few games to watch, make a few bets for the weekend. Most importantly, spend your weekend making food while having a cold drink and enjoying the greatest sport in the world because you survived the offseason.
