Prepping for Gophers-San Jose State, one of best games of the day

Here's the good news for local college football fans: Two of the best games of the day are in Minneapolis and North Dakota.

Here's the bad news for national college football fans: Two of the best games of the day are in Minneapolis and North Dakota.

College football might be the most compelling and atmospheric sport in existence when it's good. Today is evidence that it's not very often good.

It's late September. The weather is beautiful. This is the best time of the year to be a college football fan, when you can sit in the stands on a gorgeous fall day even on our wintry tundra and enjoy a game.

So how can Gophers-San Jose State be one of the better games of the day?

Because college football, despite constantly threatening to reform itself, still packs its schedule with throwaway games.

Colorado State-Alabama? Please.

Georgia-UNT (and I'm not even sure which UNT that is, University of Northern Toledo? University of Nonsensical Theology?) Stop it.

College football is the rare sport that can be great and chooses often not to be.

So I'm lucky to be in the press box at one of the more interesting games in the country today, even if it shouldn't be.

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After two weeks on the road, I"m back in the 1500ESPN studio for Sunday Sports Talk tomorrow, 10-noon. We'll run the Gardenhire Show from 9:30-10 then move on to our show, with Scott Korzenowski and Tom Linnemann. Working on a surprise guest.