Here's why, even with all its problems, college football is still better than the NFL
It's been a tough offseason for college football, with discussions on expanding the College Football Playoff, Lane Kiffin's NFL-to-LSU pipeline, and the ever-expanding crisis of tampering and abuses in the transfer portal or in NIL.
While week zero has already come and gone, college football is officially and fully back for week one, starting Thursday evening and continuing without the long Labor Day weekend. And it's a reminder of the many reasons why there's so much more to like and enjoy in the collegiate ranks compared to its big NFL brother.
Here's just a few of them.
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It's the first full week of the season, but with the number of teams in major conferences and the limited spots in the College Football Playoff, each game means something for many programs. A whopping 14 teams reach the postseason in the NFL, out of 32, meaning an incredible 44% of the league makes the playoff.
In the NCAA, there are 68 teams between the Big Ten, SEC, ACC, Big 12 and Notre Dame. Just 12 teams reach the College Football Playoff, and one of those spots automatically goes to a Group of 6 team. Not every program in those conferences has realistic hopes of reaching the playoff, but with just 11 spots to go around, just 16.1% of those top teams can play meaningful postseason football.
In the 2025 NFL season, for example, the 9-7-1 Green Bay Packers and 8-9 Carolina Panthers made the postseason. Depending on the division or strength of your conference, teams that finish around .500 have a realistic possibility of making the playoffs. Yes, the games "matter," but a loss in week one of the NFL season carries little weight or meaning.
In college? It matters. The expanded playoff gives teams room for one or two losses, potentially three this year, depending on schedule, but one slip up in week one can remove any margin for error. Notre Dame in 2025, for example, lost their first game of the season to an eventual playoff team in Miami, lost in week two to another playoff team, Texas A&M, and were left out of the 12-team field.
LSU and Clemson both have realistic hopes of reaching the playoffs. And while the loser of Saturday's game isn't eliminated, the path gets harder. Clemson, given their fairly weak schedule, has to beat Miami when the two play next month. LSU plays Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Alabama, Texas, and Tennessee. An early season slip up makes finishing their season with two losses nearly impossible.
That's another element to it, upsets matter. Because of the importance of subjective rankings, not objective standings. The Los Angeles Rams are widely expected to be the best team in the NFL this year. If they lose to the New York Giants at home in week two, it doesn't matter more than any other loss in the regular season. Division tiebreakers notwithstanding.
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But if Wisconsin beats Notre Dame on Sunday? That changes the season. As unlikely as that outcome is, it's not impossible. Which, once again, makes college football more exciting.
There's no doubt that the NFL offers a higher level of quality football. The players are more athletic, physical, faster, and more developed. Coaching is generally better than at the collegiate level. And the draft ensures that only the best of the best reach NFL training camps and rosters.
But therein lies some of the problems. Defenses, in particular, are just too good.
The NFL has tried to mitigate some of this obvious disconnect with several rule changes. The new kickoffs have moved field position further up than in years past. Then they started allowing teams to manipulate the actual football that kickers use, the K-ball, allowing them to make increasingly lengthy field goals. With 65–70 yards now a realistic possibility, offenses in the NFL could be in field goal range after picking up just 15–20 yards after a touch back. These changes were clearly made with scoring in mind, because year after year, the offense keeps declining.
Those aren't the only rules; the laughable overprotection of quarterbacks was done to ensure that the league's stars stayed healthy and prevent backups from the 6-21 for 76-yard stat line that they're known for. Increasing the focus on illegal contact penalties was also done to give offenses more advantages.
While there are a handful of games each year in the NFL that are chaotic and exciting, they're few and far between compared to college. Why? Because college players aren't as good.
It's easier to move the ball. Higher scoring games are common. There are dozens of wild, unpredictable comebacks throughout the collegiate ranks. "Pac-12 after dark" became a running joke on social media, before that conference's demise, but the sentiment lives on.
Particularly in one specific type of match-up.
Yes, the NFL has rivalries, games like Cowboys-Commanders, Packers-Bears, or Chargers-Raiders that have elevated meaning for the fans of both teams. But the importance of those games pales in comparison to traditional college football rivalries.
Texas-Oklahoma. USC—UCLA or USC—Notre Dame. Alabama—Auburn. Michigan—Ohio State. Army—Navy. Florida—Georgia. Oregon—Oregon State. Texas—Texas A&M. Florida—Florida State. Utah—BYU. Cal—Stanford. There are many, many more.
While it's probably an overstatement to say that a disappointing season can be undone just by beating your rival, but it's not far off. And obviously far exceeds the importance placed on rivalry games in the NFL, playoffs aside. Nobody's getting fired in the NFL based on their record against rivals alone, but an Ohio State coach that can't beat Michigan? Or vice versa? That almost immediately puts them on the hot seat.
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The NFL has perfected the bland luxury box. The "glass box house" style of stadium building. There are exceptions, of course, like Lambeau Field, Arrowhead, and Lumen Field in Seattle, but is anyone falling over themselves to make a pilgrimage to Mercedes-Benz Stadium? Or MetLife? Or Levi's Stadium?
College football teams, meanwhile, play games at the Rose Bowl. The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Tiger Stadium in Louisiana. Beaver Stadium. Notre Dame Stadium. Washington's home stadium, literally on Lake Washington. Colorado plays its home games at the base of the Rockies. There are incredible atmospheres at places like Kyle Field, Autzen Stadium, Lane Field, Memorial Stadium in Nebraska, Sanford Stadium, Doak Campbell, "The Swamp," tailgating in The Grove. BYU, Utah, DKR, Appalachian State.
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There are iconic venues across the country, each with their own traditions, unique settings, and experiences. The NFL just can't compete, because the primary objective is ensuring that corporate sponsors have places for people to network while "watching" a game.
College football season is here, the sport's fans should remember how important it is not to take it for granted. The alternative is watching the NFL.