Tony Barnhart
By Tony Barnhart
Yes, I will admit it. I am still one of the dinosaurs who has to read
the morning newspaper with my first cup of coffee.
And I’m not talking on line. I’m talking ink stains on my fingertips.
And this morning as I began my 50th and final season of covering
college football, I was given a lovely reward.
It was about 7:30 am when I walked up the driveway to grab the AJC
(Atlanta Journal-Constitution), which was my home base for 25
years. I had gone just a few steps away from the house when it hit
me.
A cool—almost cold—breeze. It was one of those breezes that
reminds us how lucky we are to live in the South.
And here’s something else that makes us proud to live in the
South. We are about to begin one of the most highly-anticipated
college football seasons in my memory.
After a summer spent babbling about NIL and the transfer portal
ad nauseum, the games are mercifully here again. And once the
games begin no one cares who gets what. It’s all about the game.
You know. My team against your team.
Bragging rights.
My cousin Mel’s tailgate.
Or, as the late great Lewis Grizzard once said of a Georgia-
Clemson game: “our way of life against yours.”
Thanks to our friends at the Football Writers Association of
America (FWAA), each week I will post my five favorite story lines for the
weekend to come.
I’m not going to pick the games. There are plenty of places that
do that. College football is about stories and I’ll share some
stories that I will be following during the course of the weekend.
So welcome back college football, my old friend. I am looking
forward to our final ride together.
On to the stories:
1. Texas vs.Ohio State will be most hyped game of the day. But
LSU at Clemson is the best game on the board. Two franchise
quarterbacks in Garrett Nussmeier (LSU), who threw for 4,000
yards last season, and Cade Klubnik (Clemson), a fifth-year
senior who is poised to have a great season. The winner gets to
claim their status as “the real Death Valley.”
2. Arch Manning in The Shoe. No pressure here.
He is the grandson of Archie Manning one of the greatest players
to ever lace them up in the SEC. The nephew of Peyton and Eli,
who each have a couple of Super Bowl rings.
All he has to do to meet expectations this season is win the SEC
championship, win the CFP national championship, win at the
defending national champions (Ohio State) on Saturday and win
the Heisman Trophy.
But if anyone is built to handle this situation it is Arch Manning.
Hey, it’s the family business.
3. One last headgear for Coach Corso: In 1994 I was hired by
ESPN to do some reporting for College Game Day. As I was
boarding my flight for a meeting at ESPN’s studios in Bristol, CT, I
ran into the one and only Lee Corso. We had a nice conversation.
He wanted to know about my family. He said some nice things
about my work.
When we landed Coach Corso said “Hey, kid you’re riding with
me.” For over an hour he shared stories of what it was like to work
for ESPN and how to navigate my new world of television.
On Saturday Coach Corso will don his final headgear for College
GameDay. He is, simply put, one of the most generous people I
have met in my 50 years in the business.
Thanks, Coach. You touched a lot of lives. I am grateful mine was
one them.
4. Kalen DeBoer, year two. Alabama won nine games last
season but the Crimson Tide did not make the 12-team playoff.
Anything less than the playoffs will simply not do for the Alabama
fan base. DeBoer gets his OC (Ryan Grubb) back after a year in
the NFL and I was told that Grubb’s return was “a really big deal”
when I was on campus. On the other sideline Florida
State’s Mike Norvell has to put last season’s 2-10 record in the
rearview mirror. A hungry Alabama team is not the best way to get
well.
5. Carson Beck makes his Miami debut against Notre Dame after
the 'Canes gave the Jacksonville QB 4 million reasons to leave Georgia. Beck
faces a Notre Dame defense that is ranked in just about
everybody’s pre-season Top 10 going into the 2025 season.
Remember that Beck is coming off an injury to his right elbow
suffered in the College Football Playoffs.
The game is on Sunday, at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.
Note: Tony Barnhart announced on May 1 that the 2025 season
would be his last covering college football on a full-time basis. He
is making one last tour around the SEC and will turn it into a book.
“Mr. College Football: 50 Years of SEC memories.” The book will
be published by UGA Press with a release date of late November,
2026.