A revelatory account based on the authors' unprecedented access to the NCAA's highest-level programs throughout the 2012 season describes its high-powered system of billion-dollar television deals, high-priced coaches, football "hostessing, " castoff athlete-students and paid test takers.

"Doeden takes readers on a journey from the disorganized games of the early years to the most recent playoffs to determine the best college team in the nation. Along the way, discover some of the most incredible moments, games, blunders, and statistics in the history of college football championships"--Amazon.com.

"Every Saturday in the fall, it happens: on college campuses, in bars, at gatherings of fervent alumni, millions come together to watch a sport that inspires a uniquely American brand of passion and outrage. It's a sport that so often hinges on the unpredictable: a hook-and-lateral, a Hail Mary, or a play so implausible that it is only known as The Play. It's a sport that, in these moments, feels a bit like life and death, if only slightly more important....

The ghost of the once-blackhearted pirate scoundrel materializes in a small New England town, cursed to wander in limbo until he performs a good deed. He gets his chance when he decides to help a local college track team that hasn't a ghost of a chance of winning.

A richly illustrated survey of American college football captures some of the most memorable moments and athletes in the history of the sport in compelling action photographs, biographical profiles, statistics, and essays from the pages of Sports Illustrated.