College Football Spring Games: How important are they?
With most of the college football spring games finished, let’s ask the burning question, do spring games even matter?
Another Saturday afternoon has come and gone with a number of college football teams holding their annual spring game under sunny skies and the team’s fans flocking into the stadium. It’s a great time for fans to get a chance to see their team for the first time in their uniforms, in their immaculate stadium under picturesque conditions, but does a spring game really matter that much to the team?
The short answer is yes and no.
Below you will see the case why spring game matters and the counterarguments why they don’t matter.
Spring Games Matter
Spring games, and by extension, the 15 spring practices most definitely matter to incoming freshmen who enrolled early in January with the hopes of competing for some early playing time their first year on campus.
They matter for players recovering from injuries, fighting for playing time and especially, the quarterbacks competing for a starting spot. They matter for teams like South Carolina, Illinois, Maryland, Virginia, Miami and the 20-plus schools who hired new head coaches this offseason.
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Installing a new offense and defense takes multiple weeks to carry out and if you’re a coach at one of those programs, you also have to begin changing the culture. Putting on a fan-friendly environment at the spring game is the first tangible step in that direction, because all the witty one-liners and inspirational quotes at press conferences aren’t going to cut it.
The spring game also matters to the teams coming off disappointing campaigns the year prior. That awful taste that lingers in your mouth after a 5-7 (or worse) season or a season that saw your favorite team come up a few plays shy of a championship season. Getting back on the field, even for a glorified exhibition, can begin to wash out that metallic taste in your mouth.
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Spring games also matter when it comes to recruiting and bragging rights. Ohio State set a national record with 100,178 people to see Urban Meyer’s next wave of great Buckeyes. Kirby Smart’s first spring game as the head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs saw them set a spring game record with 93,000.
Their fans will take bragging rights into the season because of their fan support and it will help persuade some recruits to pay attention to the program.
If a recruit picks a school based on spring game attendance, that’s a youthful mistake, but it can be a part of the process for a recruit who may be in attendance for the game to see the overwhelming amount of fan support.
Spring Games Don’t Matter
How important can a spring game be if the best players in the country aren’t playing? This is synonymous with the first preseason game in the NFL or the first few spring training games in MLB. You’re not going to see Leonard Fournette toting the rock during LSU’s spring game because Les Miles really would get fired if the franchise gets injured in a meaningless exhibition.
You’re not going to see the things that makes football, football.
Tackling is taken out of the game at many spring games, so you won’t see Myles Garrett doing what he does best and taking down quarterbacks. Before the Texas A&M pass rusher can get to the quarterback there are 10 coaches blowing whistles to stop him in his tracks before hitting a quarterback in his non-contact jersey.
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What is football if there is no tackling?
And what is football if there is a modified scoring system? Some schools award points for various things like stopping the offense on third down or converting on third down. Knock down a pass? Give him a point! Stay in bounds on a catch near the sideline? Give him a point. It’s just silly.
Lastly, you’ll see heartwarming stories about programs paying tribute to former players like Arkansas did on Saturday with Clint Stoerner recreating the touchdown pass he threw in 1999 to beat Tennessee at the Razorbacks spring game. And the moments of triumph like Leah Still cheerleading at the Penn State spring game after beating cancer. It’s an incredible moment, tear-jerking moments fans will forever cherish and hold dear.
But it’s not going to help the team win their rivalry game in late November and take the conference crown. The spring game is a fan-first event. Players and coaches are just trying to make sure they get out healthy. There is no game planning, no blitzing, no halftime adjustments and nothing that will matter come September when the real games start.
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— So weigh in on your thoughts on college football spring games in the comments section. Do you think they matter? Are they a waste of time? Sound off and let your voice be heard.