2005 Texas

Ok, last night's opening game (LSU 45, Mississippi State 0) wasn't very good, but here's some good news. I'm going to be on ESPN Radio tomorrow (Saturday) at 9:20 a.m. (ET) during the Coast-to-Coast segment. It's one of the College GameDay shows that primarily previews games. I've been told they will mention the book.

So back to last night. Considering how lopsided the game was, here's a photo from one of the best college football games ever, the perhaps the least controversial championships, the 2006 Rose Bowl. Quarterback Vince Young set a Rose Bowl record with 467 yards of total offense by passing for 267 yards and running for 200 more, including the game-winning 8-yard touchdown on fourth down with 19 seconds remaining. The 41-38 victory made Texas the clear consensus national champion. Photo courtesy of the Tournament of Roses archives.

1959 LSU

In honor of tonight's unofficial kickoff to the season with LSU at Mississippi State (among other games), here's the most famous picture in LSU history. Although the 1958 team, including the high-profile Chinese Bandits, went 11-0 to win the national championship, Billy Cannon’s 89-yard punt return against Ole Miss is considered one of the greatest plays in college football history and might have secured his Heisman Trophy. Incidentally, Syracuse won the national title that year. Photo courtesy of Louisiana State University.

The Four Horsemen

So I heard from someone today who complained: "Hey, when are you going to get a Notre Dame photo on there?" Well, I guess we'll go with the most famous one, just for the sake of overkill.

Something else I've heard from various people is the question of how I came up with the idea for the book. Actually, it stemmed from another idea that hit me in the middle of the night (I'm not going to reveal what it was because I still may do it at some point), and got me out of bed wondering how many different ways a college football team could claim to be No. 1. One thing led to another and after finishing "Where Football is King: A History of the SEC," I settled in for the 2006 season, but pitched the idea to Rick Rinehart at Taylor Trade.

On January 3, Rick called to tell me the book was a go. It was also the day that Nick Saban arrived Tuscaloosa. “So, is anything going on?” he asked. He then told me that they wanted the book “yesterday.” ... No pressure ... Oh, I almost forgot. Although none of them stood taller than six-foot, or weighed more than 162 pounds, Notre Dame’s Four Horsemen of quarterback Harry Stuhldreher, left halfback Jim Crowley, right halfback Don Miller, and fullback Elmer Layden, might have been the greatest backfield ever. In 1924, Notre Dame was 10-0 and outscored the opposition 285-57 en route to the national championship. Photo courtesy of the University of Notre Dame.

1923 Illinois

My publishing house (Taylor Trade) tells me the book got a mention in the Publishers Weekly fall preview. It's, naturally, in the listing of sports books on page 122, loosely sandwiched between Rich Eisen's insider book on the NFL and Sal Paolantonio's book on the most overrated and underrared teams, coaches and moments in NFL history.

Yeah, but do they have a photo of the 1923 national champions from Illinois?

Red Grange, second row and third from the left, helped coach Robert Zuppke win his third national title as Illinois finished 8-0 and outscored opponents 136-20. In his debut against Nebraska, the Galloping Ghost had touchdown runs of 50, 35 and 12 years, to lead a 24-7 victory. Photo courtesy Illinois Sports Information Archives.

Beat that guys, yeah! ... actually, Sal and I have crossed paths many times, and I have met Rich once. I hope their books do very well ... even though we're probably all going to get killed by John Daly's book: "Grip It and Sip It."

1901 Michigan

This is the first week of the college football season, so it seems fitting that we look back at some of the sport's beginnings.
Among of my favorite things about doing books that involve the history of college football is coming across a photo like this one.
This is the 1901 Michigan team riding a carriage during the Rose Parade, before the festival's first football game that later became known as the Rose Bowl. Legendary coach Fielding Yost is at the top holding the flag. Star halfback Willie Heston is at the front next to the driver. Michigan went on to crush Stanford, 49-0. Photo by Walter Schneider. Courtesy the Bentley Historical Library (photo BL001129), the University of Michigan

2006 Florida

It's opening week of the college football season, so it's only right that we first pay tribute to defending national champion Florida. However, I have to admit, I cheated with this photo, which was going to be in my last book, "Where Football is King: A History of the SEC." Such is life.

One of the most recognizable mascots in college athletics is Albert Gator, who has recently been joined at Florida by Alberta. There's even a statue of both in Gainesville.

Photo courtesy of University of Florida Sports Information.

1980 Georgia

Tony Barnhardt of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution was at practice today (FYI, in case you don't know I cover Alabama football for my day job), so it seems only fitting that my daily entry is from Georgia (but I'll save Uga for another day).

As a freshman, Herschel Walker had 1,616 rushing yards and finished third in Heisman Trophy voting. Against Notre Dame in the 1981 Sugar Bowl, he had 150 yards as the Bulldogs won, 17-10. Photo courtesy of the Southeastern Conference.

1946 Army

World War II allowed the United States Military Academy to essentially recruit players from other college football programs and in 1946 Army was looking for its third straight national championships when it faced Notre Dame at Yankee Stadium. The 0-0 tie snapped a 25-game winning streak, but left the national championship unsettled. The final Associated Press poll had the Fighting Irish at No. 1. Photo courtesy of the United State Military Academy.

1975 Rose Bowl

One of the things I'll be doing on this blog is posting, almost on a daily basis, many of the 180-plus photos accumulated for the book, about half of which made the final cut.

Here Jim Obradovich scores Southern California’s first touchdown on a pass from Pat Hayden. USC won 18-17 in John McKay’s final Rose Bowl, on Hayden’s 36-yard touchdown pass to the coach’s son J.K., and the subsequent two-point conversion pass to Shelton Diggs. The Trojans split the national title with Oklahoma. Photo courtesy of the Tournament of Roses archives.

Here's the book cover!

Ok, by the end of September my latest book will be published (by Taylor Trade), and this is the cover. Personally, I think it captures the spirit of the book pretty well.

Oh, and the photo for the cover was staged, so no, it's not Notre Dame, Michigan State, Tulane, etc.

After the book is published I'll post interviews, signings, updates, and interesting tidbits on my blog, but I also hope to hear from fans as well.

The book includes a top 10 list of the most controversial champions (in Division I or Bowl Subdivision), which my publisher has told me not to reveal yet (so please don't ask), and there's an entry for just about every school imaginable.

What I want to know is which year or champion do you all think was the most controversial and why?

Here's the link to my publisher for those interested: http://www.rlpgtrade.com/Catalog/SingleBook.shtml?command=Search&db=^DB/CATALOG.db&eqSKUdata=1589793374

Have a great season!