I flipped my TV to ESPN at 11:21 p.m. Saturday to see the University of Colorado beating the University of Oregon just before halftime.
It highlighted something on my brain all day — the 2015 college football season is unbelievably weird but equally and unbelievably awesome.
This year is so strange, I don’t even need to look beyond this weekend to make my case.
Oregon ended up winning the game, but when I saw Colorado leading Oregon, 17-14, I thought to myself, “We live in a college football world where Colorado, a team that went 10-39 the last four seasons, is going toe-to-toe with Oregon, a team that went 48-7 during the same span.”
How is that possible? I have no idea.
But man, isn’t it fun?
That was just one strange scoreline on a strange day of football with a bunch of strange occurrences.
The University of Florida was nothing more than a meme in 2014. Twitter was unforgiving regarding everything Jeff Driskel or Will Muschamp did, and the Gators were still blocking each other.
Saturday night, they moved to 5-0 by trouncing then-No. 3 University of Mississippi, the team many had anointed the best team in the Southeastern Conference, 38-10. Florida freshman quarterback Will Grier was playing with the flu, but you couldn’t tell with him going 24-of-29 for 271 yards and four touchdowns.
A year ago, you threw your phone around the living room to various friends to show them the latest picture or gif mocking the Gators. Now, you have to respect them as a legitimate contender to play for the SEC Championship.
Isn’t it fun that a team can turn it around so quickly and unexpectedly?
In East Lansing, Michigan, Michigan State University, the then-No. 2 team in the country, barely survived a scare from Purdue University.
The Big Ten is full of weirdness because Northwestern University and the University of Iowa play each other in a couple weeks, and the winner of that game has a chance to play in the conference title game. Northwestern and Iowa both have College Football Playoff hopes five games into the season. Let that sink in.
Imagine a College Football Playoff with the Wildcats or Hawkeyes. That is “Twilight Zone” strange.
I assumed Ohio State University would be nearly unbeatable after watching a third string quarterback win the Buckeyes a national championship last season. Saturday, Ohio State couldn’t put away a pesky Indiana University team.
This is college football we’re talking about, not basketball.
Not so long ago, the University of Texas was the pride of the state. But on Saturday, Texas Christian University beat them mercilessly. The 50-7 thrashing wasn’t exactly a surprise, but it displays the shift in power in Texas.
But let’s shift the focus back to the SEC.
After the first weekend in October, LSU, Florida and Texas A&M University are the remaining unbeatens. Just like we all expected, right?
If you had those three teams as the last teams in the SEC with an unblemished record, I give you serious props because I sure didn’t.
There’s been weird stuff happen before this weekend, like Brigham Young University winning back-to-back games with hail marys, and there certainly will be more weird stuff to come.
It’s okay, though, because weird is good. Weird is what makes college football exciting. Never change, college football. Stay weird forever.
Jack Woods is a 22-year-old mass communication senior from Ruston, Louisiana. You can reach him on Twitter @Jack_TDR.