Is this Heaven? No, it's College Football

On a glorious fall afternoon on September 13, 2009, the Football gods decided to bless us with an amazing gift, NFL Red Zone. 

The intro rolled and there stood Scott Hanson, the face that would forever change Sunday afternoons.  One man offering football fans "Every Touchdown From Every Game."  It was to be a station like none other; no commercials, every score and live look-ins decided entirely by what games are the most intriguing at that moment.  No longer were football fans throughout the midwest forced to watch the St. Louis Rams get the business when they would have much rather been watching the Texans and Titans dual it out in an offensive slobber knocker.

And as myself and a few of my friends sat down on that glorious September afternoon with our jaws dropped in awe, you could just hear John Kinsella ask his son Ray, "Is this Heaven?"

We weren't in Iowa nor did we go have a catch, but for once, the corn field in Central Illinois this writer calls home seemed a little more tolerable. 

Now, with a new season under way and the Red Zone just a week away from it's triumphant return, everything seems right in the world.  But what about the NFL's younger brother, the NCAA.  The college game goes hand in hand with its professional version, after all, you can't have a football weekend with out college Saturday.

Games are being aired all day on the ESPN family of networks, Fox Sports has it's Big 12 and Pac 10 games of the week, the SEC and BigTen networks air every game the conference plays that week while the major networks show the weeks premiere match ups and, for some reason beyond me, still shows Notre Dame.

As a college purist, I find myself spending my entire Saturday glued in front of my television.  From the second College Gameday starts until the final whistle blows on the last west coast game I am riveted.  But what if the NCAA were to take a page from the NFL's book and start its own Red Zonesque station(s).

Imagine the possibilities. The NCAA "College Ticket," every college game as it's happening.   One second you could be watching Terrelle Pryor roll out in a naked boot for another Buckeye touchdown and then instantly be sent down to North Carolina where Robert Quinn and the bruising Tar Heel defense slam the door on a goal line stand.  Most importantly, you'll never again have to miss a stunning upset because you figured there was no reason to waste your time watching Michigan vs. Appalachian State.

And if that all seems to overwhelming to watch at one time, it can be easily broken down as well.  Break the games up and show them on regional stations.  Could conference sponsorships bar separation of certain teams in different regions?  Possibly, but that can be over worked by simply breaking the games up into a BCS Station and a Mid-Major Station.
 
As far as this writer is concerned, the only problem facing the college game is that it's just too big.  There's entirely way too much to watch without devoting your entire day to the game.  And trust me, you are still left catching up on everything you just weren't able to watch.  Imagine knowing who Ndamukong Suh was prior to the Big 12 championship game or being able to catch the rise of UCLA and Oregon State without having to see them play USC.
 
It's a problem the NFL realized and did an amazing job fixing and it would serve the NCAA well to figure out how to harness in the potential of a "College Ticket"