The College Football Championship, by Matt Doeden

Ahhh, the most wonderful time of the year--college football season!  Starting this week, Saturdays will begin to be dominated by college football, with everyone's eyes, even from week one, on the question, Who will make the four spots in the college football playoff?  In The College Football Championship, Matt Doeden covers the history of the college football championship.  From the early polls, to the growing number of bowl games, to the BCS, to the playoff, which began with the 2014 season, the question of who is the best team in the land has never, really and truly, been satisfactorily answered.

Doeden tells the history of how the champion has been determined, and the many controversies over that determination.  He covers memorable championship games and memorable plays in championship games.  He describes some of the dynasties that have dominated the game.

My big disappointment with the book is that, due to Baylor's losing a game they should have won in West Virginia, plus a few other teams winning a game or two against the odds, Baylor did not get to play in the first college football playoff.  (Five major conferences, four places in the playoff.  Someone will always be disappointed.)  I would have liked the book much better if Baylor would have been on the cover instead of Ohio State!

That quibble aside, this is a great resource, gathering some highlights of college football history and whetting my appetite for football season.  With lots of pictures and short sections, his target audience is probably elementary and middle school audiences, but football fans of all ages can appreciate looking back at these championship highlights.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!