My college dropped the intercollegiate football program after my sophomore year.

On the plus side, that means we haven't lost a football game in more than 30 years. On the other hand, it means my college is a bit of a wallflower on Saturdays when everyone else is playing football.

My wife and I never had a chance to see my son's university play a football game, either in person or on TV, but all that changed when my daughter enrolled at Fresno State. Their football program is strong, and, although they don't always win, they're fun to watch, and we've found ourselves caught up in the fever of college football and, what's more, we're not alone.

According to the NCAA, the 2007 college football season set records for attendance. A total of 619 schools combined for a total gate of more than 48 million, almost a million more than in 2006.

The top two schools for football attendance were the University of Michigan and Penn State. Michigan averaged 110,264 per game with Penn State just behind at 108,917. To put that in perspective, the city of Ann Arbor, home of the University of Michigan, lists its population at 109,592, meaning that, on game day, the football crowd is larger than the city's population.

The TV audience is no less staggering. On a recent Saturday, I counted 20 televised games available. The TV audience is most apparent during bowl season. Last year, almost 2 million people attended college bowl games, and 129 million households turned on their TVs to watch.

My daughter isn't about to turn on the TV if the Bulldogs are playing at home. While I'm willing to watch from the comfort of my sofa, my daughter wants to be in the middle of a teeming mass of red T-shirts and beer breath.

She has an impressive array of red clothing featuring blue accents and a snarling Bulldog. But on game day, she takes it up a notch. She has little paw prints painted on her face and pulls out every red accessory she owns.

For the game against Wisconsin this year (a loss), she took it one step further.

"Daddy, guess what I did?" she asked.

I hate that question. I never get the right answer, and it's always worse than I imagine. I just sighed, audibly, and asked, "What?"

"Well, I was having my fingernails done, so I had them add red and blue stripes."

I was relieved since I had been thinking "tattoo," so I was somewhat at a loss for words. Finally, I said, "I'm sure the team will find that very inspirational."

The truth is, they actually might. That's one of the great things about college football. School spirit counts almost as much as a win. Almost.

Sandwiched between Friday night high school games and the pros on Sunday morning, college football fills a special place for students, alumni and fans. The stadium becomes a communal center of competition, camaraderie and cheer. Memories and friendships are made. Rivalries renewed and bragging rights restored.

Packed stadiums, cheerleaders, mascots, painted faces (and fingernails) are all signs that there's more than just fall in the air — there are footballs. Major league baseball is about to begin its post-season play, professional football players take the field on Sundays, but Saturdays belong to college football, and that's just fine with me.

— Contact Star columnist Bill Nash at bnash805@aol.com.