Win one for the clicker: Watching all 120 college football teams now possible on TV, Internet

The old college try: Seeing all 120 teams possible

MILWAUKEE — Some people climb mountains or compete in triathlons. My goal: Watch one quarter of a game involving every team in major college football — all 120 teams.

Whoa, Nellie!

First, some ground rules for my “U. Tube” experiment: I can watch the games live, on TV or even recorded, but I have to watch them in-season — meaning that I have to view them by the start of the Bowl Championship Series national title game.

Yeah, it’s a lofty goal. But with a digital video recorder, careful planning and an understanding wife, it can be done.

I began talking about how to watch all the major college teams in 2001 and actually started trying to do it four years ago. So far, I haven’t accomplished the feat — but at least I can give it the old college try.

Just the fact that I even attempt this, in addition to having a full-time job as a sports writer — says something about the state of college football.

There was a time not too long ago when just a handful of schools consistently got national TV coverage.

Those who grew up in the 1970s can probably run down the list: Nebraska, Oklahoma, Southern California, Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State, Alabama, Penn State, Florida, Texas and maybe a few others.

Now, every day really can be Saturday in a 24/7 cable TV world where college football programs have become willing to suit up whenever they’ll get exposure.

Whether it’s Miami on Monday (Sept. 7), Troy on Tuesday (Oct. 6), Hawaii on Wednesday (Sept. 30), North Texas on Thursday (Sept. 3) or Fresno State on Friday (Sept. 18), there’s a game on nearly every night.

“It’s your team’s time to shine because everyone is going to be watching it,” Colorado tight end Patrick Devenny said. “There’s not much else on TV when we’re on — when any team is on — any day besides Saturday.”

Devenny should know. Colorado will play five games on days other than Saturday, one of 27 BCS conference schools that have at least one game off the traditional day of the week.

Thirty-nine other non-BCS schools will skip Saturday for another day, led by Boise State, which will play six of its 13 games on weeknights.

How did everybody get to know the Broncos and their blue artificial turf? By watching them on weeknights.

The result is the Broncos and others have created a new road map to football relevancy with the recruiting boost that comes from playing on television.

“When you look at some of the schools who have taken a very active approach to football on nontraditional dates, Boise State and Louisville are two that really spring to mind right away,” said Middle Tennessee athletic director Chris Massaro, whose Blue Raiders face Troy on Tuesday, Oct. 6, on ESPN2. “Look at the success and the growth those programs have experienced. Those are two programs we model ourselves on trying to become.”

Massaro said the bump in coverage doesn’t end when the broadcast does. After Middle Tennessee beat Florida Atlantic on a Hail Mary pass on a Tuesday night last season, he watched the highlight rerun for several days. (I, of course, saw that game. Weeknights really make my quest easier).

“The exposure in the country’s newspapers and media outlets, let alone ESPN televising it because you’re the only football game being played that night, is much more meaningful,” he said. “You have name and logo recognition across the country.”

Other, bigger schools looking to re-establish themselves in the national conversation are using nontraditional dates to stay in the forefront.

Colorado’s schedule begins with Colorado State on Sunday, and ends with a traditional Friday matinee against Nebraska on Nov. 27.

But it’s still not the norm in BCS conferences. According to the Big 12 conference, out of the nine games featuring a conference team not playing on Saturday, Colorado (led by former Boise State coach Dan Hawkins) participates in five of them.

“It gives an opportunity for a lot of teams just to get out and get their face shown as a team and a program,” Devenny said. “It’s interesting and it makes it a lot of fun to play in games besides Saturday.”

Then there’s the proliferation of games streamed live on the Web.

ESPN360.com has the most, including some Mid-American Conference doubleheaders in November. CBS College Sports XXL offers monthly or yearly subscriptions to gain access to several other conferences. Some colleges even offer JumboTron feeds — what they’re showing on the big screen in the stadium — live, for a nominal fee.

“Having been in meetings with our football coaches recently, the thing they talk about is the television exposure and how important it is to them and what a difference it makes in their recruiting efforts,” MAC commissioner Jon Steinbrecher said. “Whether it’s the Big Ten, ACC or Mid-American Conference, parents want to be able to see their kids play.”

All the options allow fans to watch more than 80 major college teams on Labor Day weekend alone, beginning Thursday with South Carolina at North Carolina State and ending when Miami and Florida State renew their rivalry Monday night for the 54th time.

And yes, it’s theoretically possible to watch every major college team play this season. Working that schedule out felt like it took about as long as the roughly 60 hours in real time you’d spend watching one quarter of a game involving every team.

Steinbrecher acknowledges the nontraditional schedule can hurt attendance, and Devenny says the class time missed can be tough on student athletes. But both consider the problems necessary inconveniences to feature their conferences and programs.

“Sometimes you’re bringing homework on the road or whatever it might be in order to get it turned in,” Devenny said. “For young guys, it can be an awakening.”

And for fans like me, it couldn’t get much better.

I watched 113 teams two years ago and 106 last season — even while covering Wisconsin — which took up most of my Saturdays.

As it turns out, I didn’t need that day much anyway.