Whatever Happened to “Did You Know?”

Why do the good things vanish?  How come we are deprived of those itty-bitty tidbits of information that make us all seem smart?

There are so many “Did you Know’s” in college football.  Learning the background of the “Did you Know’s” only makes the sport more inviting and intriguing than what it already is.

Come with me as we begin an endless walk through the wonderful world of the “Did you Know’s” of college football

The Trophy games…The Old Oaken Bucket, The Little Brown Jug, Paul Bunyan’s Axe But Did You Know what the oldest Trophy is:  The Territorial Cup!  (Was that a collective “huh?” I just heard)  The Territorial Cup began in 1899 and is awarded to the winner of the Arizona-Arizona State game.

Did You Know that tiny Bowdoin College in Maine has only one official school color?  Yep, and it’s WHITE!  (And here y’all thought Penn State’s uniforms were boring?)  I wonder how the numbers are distinguished on the uniforms…braille?

Did you know that the oldest interstate rivalry west of the Mississippi is…Colorado State vs Wyoming?  (No comments please…this is a Did you Know column, not a Do you Care article)

Did You Know that the first two point conversion was made on September 13, 1958 by Florida State in a 22-7 win over Tennessee Tech.  (I don’t know why they went for two, but they did…maybe they wanted to be first, personally I would have been happy with a couple of Field Goals vs Miami)

Speaking of the ‘Noles…Did You Know that Florida State has played in the inaugural game of four different bowls.

1956 Bluegrass Bowl, 1968 Peach Bowl, 1971 Fiesta Bowl and the 1990 Blockbuster Bowl.  They won the Blockbuster Bowl, but lost the others.

Any Seminole buffs out there…that 1968 Peach Bowl is a Did You Know in itself.  Ya Buddy…Did You Know that the 1968 Peach Bowl is the only game in Florida State history where the Seminoles wore Garnet Helmets?

Did You Know that between 1896 and 1934 UCONN did not have an official school nickname?  For those 38 years they dubbed themselves either Statesmen or Aggies.  (I’m trying to figure out how they got Huskies out of Statesmen and Aggies…Hmmm, I guess that would also be a Did you Know…huh?)

Did You Know that even though Ga Tech was unbeaten in 1916 they won a game where they didn’t even make a first down?  Correct…that was the game where they beat Cumberland College 222-0.  (I wonder if Cumberland lists that as one of their records?  LEAST FIRST DOWNS ALLOWED IN ONE GAME:  0 vs Ga Tech 1916)

Did You Know that the first Homecoming Game was held on October 13, 1910 when Illinois hosted Chicago.  (And the phone has been ringing at La-Monroe ever since)

Did You Know that Maryland QB Frank Reich led the Terps to the biggest comeback in College Football history when they rebounded from a 31-0 halftime deficit to defeat Miami 42-40?  That ain’t nothing…9 years later, Frank Reich came off the bench to lead the Buffalo Bills to the greatest comeback in NFL history.  He entered the contest early in the third quarter with the Bills trailing the Houston Oilers 35-3 and led them to a 38-35 win.

While we’re discussing Maryland, Did You Know that the University of Maryland is the only school with four official school colors?  Red, White, Black and Yellow.  (Anybody out there know what the Crab State has against blue and green?)

Did You Know that Syracuse wore Pink Uniforms in their first season of football?  (Considering the current state of football in the dome, I believe they should break out the throwback uni’s for a game or two…what do you think?)

I love the Did You Know’s…Got about a thousand more…but not today…Later!