At its core, college football is about the connection between the actors on the field and the devotees who watch them. There’s something more than zone reads and blitz schemes at work when millions of people choose to spend their Saturdays firing up the grill nine hours before kickoff or working their remote from the couch. Certain elements of our love affair with college football remain impervious to NCAA bylaws and bloated television contracts.

At its core, college football is about the connection between the actors on the field and the devotees who watch them. There’s something more than zone reads and blitz schemes at work when millions of people choose to spend their Saturdays firing up the grill nine hours before kickoff or working their remote from the couch. Certain elements of our love affair with college football remain impervious to NCAA bylaws and bloated television contracts.

—Stewart Mandel and Andy Staples