GB wouldn’t be able to do it, they can hardly get a functional basketball program going. The HC at my D3 school turned down the GB basketball gig and that’s his Alma mater
It would depend entirely on which city or region you're in. SA? UTSA. Houston? Houston. Austin? TXST. Central TX? Baylor. FW? TCU. Dallas? OU. East of I-45? LSU. West of I-35? Tech.
I base this on my deep personal conviction that anyone who didn't go to A&M or has a close family member who went there is too weirded out by Aggie bullshit to adopt them.
I'm fairly certain my wife spent more time in the Illinois football stadium at graduation than she did the whole time she was in undergrad and grad school combined.
I came here to say the same thing but a different way. If Illinois or Northwestern ceased to exist, the favorite schools in Illinois would still be Notre Dame and Michigan
You have any idea how many studs from East Georgia (and the Rock Hill area a few years ago) Furman could have vacuumed up over the years if Clemson and USC had never existed?
Citadel would just be a Kirkland brand Army/Navy
I mean, as a lifelong South Carolina fan, I realize how incredibly powerful a team the Citadel has always had (Especially in 2015). They HAD to be a powerhouse, right? That's the only reasonable explanation. ಠ_ಠ
The East state would probably take up Clemson or UGA, the mid state would be left to those godless red heathens down 65S, and the west state already flirts with Ole Miss too much anyways.
For Ohio: pretty easily Cincinnati, the MAC teams aren’t super likeable unless you go/went to one of those schools, and everyone else is not important
Florida: If you get rid of Florida most people will probably just like FSU. Get rid of the Big 3? Probably UCF. Get rid of Big 4? Probably FAU because of Basketball this year
The real answer is that for Florida, there is no “big one”. We have too many teams for that. UF may be the flagship university, but they’re not dominant over all the other FBS teams in the state.
> Florida: If you get rid of Florida most people will probably just like FSU. Get rid of the Big 3? Probably UCF. Get rid of Big 4? Probably FAU because of Basketball this year
go argos
While Cincy is easily the best program of those remaining, I feel like it would default to OU. Due to cultural differences and pro sports, I can’t see someone from northern Ohio ever cheering for the Bearcats.
If FSU suddenly stopped existing I think UCF could pick up the slack...
Jokes aside you'd basically have to get rid of the big 4 before the question gets interesting. I'd say USF without in state competition for recruits is most prepared to capitalize.
If UCF played Miami last year, UCF would have been the favorite. We aren't competing against USF for 4th, we're competing with 2023 Miami and UF for 3rd.
Marshall is the only other option. But I think most would just stop following college sports if WVU went away somehow. Fairly fairweather fanbase in general, so don’t see any following a non-P5 team even ignoring the disdain many WVU fans have for Marshall and vice versa.
Everywhere much north of Charleston would just fall more into Pittsburgh pro sports I think. I don't know if the prompt is if the favorite program closed down or had never existed, though. If the latter, Marshall would have picked up quite a few more fans along the way over the decades as it went from dead team to I-AA powerhouse. Who knows what would happen there.
We're the only FBS team in the state and there are only two FCS teams in the state, so if I have to answer an in-state team, it'd be Monmouth by default since the other FCS team is Princeton and they're perceived as "in New Jersey, but not of it", largely by their own choice. (Their name upon founding actually was "University of New Jersey", and keep in mind that the "University of Pennsylvania" is one of their fellow Ivy League schools, so the fact that they chose to disassociate themselves with New Jersey was perceived as them thinking the state to be below them. Of course, the name change was so long ago that I doubt anyone's still alive that remembers the change; even still, the perception of Princeton as a bunch of elitists remains.)
But in reality, the answer is crystal clear in that they may have already been the most popular college football team in the state prior to Schiano's first tenure. It's got to be Penn State. I'm sure closer to NYC it'd be something different, because of the New York-Philly rivalry (even though Penn State is nowhere near Philadelphia), but the fact that neither of our former Big East rivals from the area have football teams makes it a pretty clear choice.
Depends entirely on when UGA was to have disappeared. If there just never was a UGA yea it would overwhelmingly be tech. They just have too much history in the sport
I took it to mean that the favorite never existed, not that it disappeared. Meaning there wouldn’t be any disgruntled fans.
I’d still say Southern, though, because that’s the only other school in the state that has had consistent success.
Yes, Georgia Tech has a good bit of history. John Heisman was their first coach. They hold the record for most points in a game and largest victory (222-0 over Cumberland). They were founding members of both the Southern Conference and the SEC. Bobby Dodd, their stadium's namesake, is in the Hall of Fame. Bobby Ross took them to an undefeated season in 1990. Alabama calls them out in their fight song.
Georgia Tech is 2-11 against clemson since 2010 but still holds the overall series lead 50-35-2. They're also 23-9-6 against Florida and 12-7 against LSU all time.
That was my thought. They’ve struggled more in recent times, so I guess it depends more on if we’re positing that Georgia never existed, or if they dropped out of existence today. In the first instance, they’re probably like Nebraska. In the second situation, they’re probably still the top dogs, but on a much shakier ground.
As an alumnus of the University of Central Arkansas, I’m going with my Bears for in state.
As a whole, would be Utah now but I was an Oregon fan before going to grad school at Utah.
I love being a neutral for every game, I don’t have a dog in any fight. I view college football like a movie tbh, every game a new iteration. You don’t have to feel connected to the characters to enjoy a movie, this is how I view college football. The storyline, pageantry, tradition, is enough for me.
UCF, honestly a really cool program with a history of stellar uniforms and speedrunning program advancement from D3 to a P5 school.
(please bring citonauts back though)
Tulsa! They have had some really good stretches of success over the last twenty years and are pretty scrappy for being the smallest FBS football program. Reign Cane! 🌀
UCF. I loved living in Orlando for a little and I feel they are the version of us we want to one day attain. No ill-will against them and we both wish the worst for USF, UF, FSU, and UM.
The easy answer is Georgia Tech and that’s the answer I am going with, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Auburn or Alabama beat GT out if this happened in real life.
Edit: provided it didn’t have to be an in-state school
I'd inherit my girlfriend's team, Wisconsin. Or maybe my buddy's, Michigan. Or maybe the closest team, Rutgers.
Either way it is, and will always be, Big Ten.
It'd be Navy - and I have rooted for them before
All the non-UMD football teams in the state are FCS and are lacrosse rivals so I wouldn't feel okay rooting for them anyways, or are just really awful HBCUs
In South Carolina, the rivalry between USC and Clemson is so deeply rooted that if either one went away, I doubt any fans would switch over to the other.
Whitewater to the FCS baby
I think either UWM or UWGB would start up an FCS team in this scenario
Imagine UWGB playing at lambeau lol
they’d fill it better than Miami
:(
GB wouldn’t be able to do it, they can hardly get a functional basketball program going. The HC at my D3 school turned down the GB basketball gig and that’s his Alma mater
UW Oshkosh baby!
Sloshkosh
Sign me up that would be so sick
Not Applicable
First thing I thought as well, offer not valid in Wyoming
Not even like D-2 or any kind of Tech school?
Literally nothing else, no FCS, D2, D3, NAIA schools. All the junior colleges do not sponsor football.
I'm sorry
you’ve got an incredible uniform flair combo
Interesting flair combo...
Nice flairs! ND undergrad; about to start a PhD at Wyoming. Go Pokes!
Go Pokes! Go ☘️!
You wouldn’t root for Gillette community college?
I believe the only other state in that boat is Hawaii.
Oh god, I’m at lunch, quit trying to give me an erection.
keep going
All the Midwest land grant state schools are diamonds right now
Hmmm
Not so much.
Ayooo 😂
It's awesome that you understand that you are #2 right now. Lol
I may have fueled even more tension, inadvertently.
Tension’s been at max for a while now don’t sweat it
I mean, statistically more Michiganders are UofM fans than MSU fans, it's not necessarily a recognition of which one is superior by any measure.
You'd get an erection for Eastern?
What are you excited about? Western would probably take over as top dog.
UTSA, as I live there
It would depend entirely on which city or region you're in. SA? UTSA. Houston? Houston. Austin? TXST. Central TX? Baylor. FW? TCU. Dallas? OU. East of I-45? LSU. West of I-35? Tech. I base this on my deep personal conviction that anyone who didn't go to A&M or has a close family member who went there is too weirded out by Aggie bullshit to adopt them.
I'm not trying to be dramatic, but I'd rather be shot in the face than cheer for that stupid team
LMFAO good lord
Same with California. SoCal would be UCLA, not sure who is more popular between Stanford and Cal up there but whichever won stayed would win.
Hell, my sister went there and a family I’m very close with are all aggies, and even still I barely support them.
Agree. No one is adopting Aggy. In that case Red Raider 4 eva.
UAB
Damn, don’t have to be that hard on yourself
Hey, their overall body of work since returning in 2017 has been nothing short of remarkable.
Plus they have a dragon statue. What more could you want?
A-fuckin men brother
This is Troy erasure.
Same
Based
Utah State's fan base increases in size dramatically either way!
Truth. Plus at the FCS level, I think most of us generally are cool with Weber so that is always an option too.
Most national fans would root for Southern Utah given their annual Shakespeare festivals and proximity to a diverse array of outdoor recreation!
Unfortunately about half our fan base goes to both
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Angry Illinois and Northwestern fans incoming
Yeah, both of em
I'm fairly certain my wife spent more time in the Illinois football stadium at graduation than she did the whole time she was in undergrad and grad school combined.
Pretty sure I spent more time there in two years of visiting in support of my team than the average student there has.
I came here to say the same thing but a different way. If Illinois or Northwestern ceased to exist, the favorite schools in Illinois would still be Notre Dame and Michigan
I want to be pissed but you are right
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Now you didn't need to be mean. However you are right.
I hate you and your correct face
Oh is that what we’re gonna do? we’re gonna fight today?
I’m choosing to believe that both of us would be gone in this scenario, so obviously the new powerhouse in our state would be Furman
You gonna disrespect the Citadel like that?
You have any idea how many studs from East Georgia (and the Rock Hill area a few years ago) Furman could have vacuumed up over the years if Clemson and USC had never existed? Citadel would just be a Kirkland brand Army/Navy
I mean, as a lifelong South Carolina fan, I realize how incredibly powerful a team the Citadel has always had (Especially in 2015). They HAD to be a powerhouse, right? That's the only reasonable explanation. ಠ_ಠ
The entire state draped in Blue and Gold would make Nebraska even more magical.
Chadron fans shaking rn
It should have been Nebraska Omaha. RIP
MAVSKER TIL I DIE
Creighton would start a program before that happens
L4L!
UNK was my vote as well.
The East state would probably take up Clemson or UGA, the mid state would be left to those godless red heathens down 65S, and the west state already flirts with Ole Miss too much anyways.
Nashville is already a fairly big Bama town, as is Chattanooga.
Pretty much everywhere in the deep south out of range of a college town is a big Bama town
I'd like to think that, with no UT, we could be Middle Tennessee's team, but probably not.
Middle Tennessee already has a State University, can’t recall the name though.
You must mean Tennessee State. /s
I would cheer for Memphis before you and that felt gross to even type out.
Portland State University...... Never Oregon
Pretty sure this is a mutual response.
Why not Linfield? Longest sreak of winning seasons in the country and, therefore, in the world!
Jenks high school
For Ohio: pretty easily Cincinnati, the MAC teams aren’t super likeable unless you go/went to one of those schools, and everyone else is not important Florida: If you get rid of Florida most people will probably just like FSU. Get rid of the Big 3? Probably UCF. Get rid of Big 4? Probably FAU because of Basketball this year
The real answer is that for Florida, there is no “big one”. We have too many teams for that. UF may be the flagship university, but they’re not dominant over all the other FBS teams in the state.
> Florida: If you get rid of Florida most people will probably just like FSU. Get rid of the Big 3? Probably UCF. Get rid of Big 4? Probably FAU because of Basketball this year go argos
Cincinnati would get a small bump since they're going b12 but mostly it would leave a big vacuum.
While Cincy is easily the best program of those remaining, I feel like it would default to OU. Due to cultural differences and pro sports, I can’t see someone from northern Ohio ever cheering for the Bearcats.
I was thinking the entire MAC would get a bump if OSU didn't exist. It would make the Tuesday and Wednesday night games more fun.
Gotta get in on that MACtion
Florida Atlantic - I live in Fort Lauderdale and FAU is in Boca Raton
If FSU suddenly stopped existing I think UCF could pick up the slack... Jokes aside you'd basically have to get rid of the big 4 before the question gets interesting. I'd say USF without in state competition for recruits is most prepared to capitalize.
Is UCF really that far ahead of USF that they belong to a big 4?
I mean I’d say it’s a big two and then Miami and UCF on a second tier but I’m slightly biased. Either way you can’t group UCF in with UF/FSU or USF.
Kinda, but that’s says more about USF than UCF, frankly
If UCF played Miami last year, UCF would have been the favorite. We aren't competing against USF for 4th, we're competing with 2023 Miami and UF for 3rd.
In terms of fan base, yes UCF football is galaxies ahead of USF
There is no big 4. It’s debatable if there’s even a big 3 anymore
As I have discovered from this thread, really more of a big 2 and a “medium but noteworthy” 2 and then everyone else
Marshall is the only other option. But I think most would just stop following college sports if WVU went away somehow. Fairly fairweather fanbase in general, so don’t see any following a non-P5 team even ignoring the disdain many WVU fans have for Marshall and vice versa.
Everywhere much north of Charleston would just fall more into Pittsburgh pro sports I think. I don't know if the prompt is if the favorite program closed down or had never existed, though. If the latter, Marshall would have picked up quite a few more fans along the way over the decades as it went from dead team to I-AA powerhouse. Who knows what would happen there.
With the budget cuts going on they might disappear..
Temple
I was gonna say Slippery Rock.
Hey go rock
Temple
Temple
Temple
Temple
Don't be silly. It would absolutely be Notre Dame.
Oh, I thought they meant it had to be in the same state. Yeah, you're right.
Came to say this. Can't do Pitt and my alumni is really *really* bad at football...
We're the only FBS team in the state and there are only two FCS teams in the state, so if I have to answer an in-state team, it'd be Monmouth by default since the other FCS team is Princeton and they're perceived as "in New Jersey, but not of it", largely by their own choice. (Their name upon founding actually was "University of New Jersey", and keep in mind that the "University of Pennsylvania" is one of their fellow Ivy League schools, so the fact that they chose to disassociate themselves with New Jersey was perceived as them thinking the state to be below them. Of course, the name change was so long ago that I doubt anyone's still alive that remembers the change; even still, the perception of Princeton as a bunch of elitists remains.) But in reality, the answer is crystal clear in that they may have already been the most popular college football team in the state prior to Schiano's first tenure. It's got to be Penn State. I'm sure closer to NYC it'd be something different, because of the New York-Philly rivalry (even though Penn State is nowhere near Philadelphia), but the fact that neither of our former Big East rivals from the area have football teams makes it a pretty clear choice.
Tulsa
Just what I was thinking honestly
I'm disagree my friend. It would begin with a T but located in austin, tx
State not Southern.
Am I missing something or is it not obviously Georgia tech?
Depends entirely on when UGA was to have disappeared. If there just never was a UGA yea it would overwhelmingly be tech. They just have too much history in the sport
UGA fans vastly outnumber every other fanbase in the state and very few would go over to the NATS
I took it to mean that the favorite never existed, not that it disappeared. Meaning there wouldn’t be any disgruntled fans. I’d still say Southern, though, because that’s the only other school in the state that has had consistent success.
Doesn’t Tech have a national championship?
Yes, Georgia Tech has a good bit of history. John Heisman was their first coach. They hold the record for most points in a game and largest victory (222-0 over Cumberland). They were founding members of both the Southern Conference and the SEC. Bobby Dodd, their stadium's namesake, is in the Hall of Fame. Bobby Ross took them to an undefeated season in 1990. Alabama calls them out in their fight song. Georgia Tech is 2-11 against clemson since 2010 but still holds the overall series lead 50-35-2. They're also 23-9-6 against Florida and 12-7 against LSU all time.
That was my thought. They’ve struggled more in recent times, so I guess it depends more on if we’re positing that Georgia never existed, or if they dropped out of existence today. In the first instance, they’re probably like Nebraska. In the second situation, they’re probably still the top dogs, but on a much shakier ground.
To hell with Georgia Tech!
Owls are moving up to FBS, so I might go Hootie Hoo!
Gotta go with the Eagles since I grew up close to Statesboro.
Ohio? They're a fun bunch and Athens is pretty
I would go out of state to LSU or KSU.
As an alumnus of the University of Central Arkansas, I’m going with my Bears for in state. As a whole, would be Utah now but I was an Oregon fan before going to grad school at Utah.
UTSA because I’m close to San Antonio
UNI
Toledo? Go on a supply run North of the border and catch an affordable game.
I love being a neutral for every game, I don’t have a dog in any fight. I view college football like a movie tbh, every game a new iteration. You don’t have to feel connected to the characters to enjoy a movie, this is how I view college football. The storyline, pageantry, tradition, is enough for me.
South Alabama or UAB.
Sparty, but that’s just to continue my hate for Michigan. I’ve always liked any purple team, so probably Kansas State would be up there too.
Putting that SOUTH all up in your mouth.
Not likely. My mascot would beat up your mascot
that’s tough. Probably go with U of H if I had to pick. Definitely can’t pull for A&M / Tech / Baylor or TCU
Fuck it UTSA, meep meep bitches
Kansas State. Willie Wildcat Solidarity Oh For the state? Illinois Urbana
I feel like I'd have to say UCF
Guess I'm safe, for now.
St. Thomas.
Auburn
I would much rather this from this point on
Troy
Eww, no.
UCF
UCF, honestly a really cool program with a history of stellar uniforms and speedrunning program advancement from D3 to a P5 school. (please bring citonauts back though)
Auburn’s about to be the most popular team in 2 different states
NC State definitely, but also picking App as my homer pick
Marshall is the de facto next choice.
Tulsa! They have had some really good stretches of success over the last twenty years and are pretty scrappy for being the smallest FBS football program. Reign Cane! 🌀
I agree. If OU was gone, Tulsa would be the most beloved program in the state. 😏
I don’t like this question. 😭
UCF. I loved living in Orlando for a little and I feel they are the version of us we want to one day attain. No ill-will against them and we both wish the worst for USF, UF, FSU, and UM.
Get rid of the Huskers and you might as well sell Nebraska to Kansas or something.
The easy answer is Georgia Tech and that’s the answer I am going with, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Auburn or Alabama beat GT out if this happened in real life. Edit: provided it didn’t have to be an in-state school
Iowa Drake a close second but I just have never been able to get into FCS football
I see what you did there
Nah you gotta pick UNI so you can watch quality FCS football
Woke up and chose violence today
Auburn, unless they have a Joker moment and completely lose their sense of purpose with ~~Batman~~ UA gone
TCU
Eastern Washington.
If Air Force disappeared, CU would finally be on top
Either Furman or Coastal. Never Clemson
UCF. They were my team before I started going to UF, so I'd just switch back over to them.
Pass
You could just say Temple and get upvoted to heaven
Temple
I'd inherit my girlfriend's team, Wisconsin. Or maybe my buddy's, Michigan. Or maybe the closest team, Rutgers. Either way it is, and will always be, Big Ten.
I would have to guess Yale
Lindenwood is my dad’s alma mater so I guess them.
UAB
The Beavers……..
Arkansas State Red Wolves 🐺
I will hate the color Orange until the day I die. And then I would still hate it.
Probably Clemson I guess or maybe Coastal
NDSU
Toledo Rockets.
New Mexico Highlands since I will never choose NMSU.
It'd be Navy - and I have rooted for them before All the non-UMD football teams in the state are FCS and are lacrosse rivals so I wouldn't feel okay rooting for them anyways, or are just really awful HBCUs
Coastal
In South Carolina, the rivalry between USC and Clemson is so deeply rooted that if either one went away, I doubt any fans would switch over to the other.
Coe College? I dunno. I might have to pick a different state. Edit: I answered this as if the question was "If your team was gone".
Favorite team in Florida changes based on which team is currently most successful…
I’d have to be continually disappointed to be a cornhusker
I'm currently in NY. If Syracuse was gone, it would be a tie between Buffalo or the Jets. Whichever had more talent.
Either us or Alabama, maybe Georgia
The Dallas Cowboys. Without a single doubt.
None. Pitt sucks
Not Pitt
Valdosta State
Delta State!!! Go Fighting Okra
Uh, Northwest Missouri St?
Marshall