The 5 best moments of college football’s 2016 kickoff weekend

College football is the most appropriately American of things. It’s bombastic, it’s loud, it’s beloved, it’s divisive, it’s confounding, it’s plagued by ethical dilemmas, it’s innovative and, somehow simultaneously, it’s weighed down by a notion of “tradition” despite being more than a few generations old. It’s also incredibly fun to watch because it’s a sport with weird rules and a pointy ball played by stupidly young and remarkably athletic men, and cheered on by nothing short millions of crazy people.

We love it, and our love for it is why we’re going to be here every week to share with you the moments that we feel made this past weekend of football so great. These moments will mostly be individual plays on the field, but they could be anything loosely associated with college football so long as what we’re seeing is interesting, amusing, or significant. Angrily drunk fans, Lee Corso putting a mascot head on backwards, and any of the other things that make our fall Saturdays so special are fair game for this weekly feature.

So here you have it, our top five moments from this past weekend of college football:

5. Clang!

4. Clang!

3. Clang!

2. Clang!

1. Clang!

Ha! Just goofin’! We sure do love that .gif though, what with all the sad State fans and the Schadenfreude and whatnot. But there was a lot more to this week than just Mississippi State losing to South Alabama - so much in fact that the Clang heard ‘Round the Junction probably didn’t reverberate that much outside of the Magnolia State. For us though, it’s gotta make the cut because, c’mon, it’s totally hilarious.

So let’s call that our number five moment overall, but a strong number one if we’re measuring these events purely by the lulz.

4. Wisconsin players do the Lambeau Leap

The NCAA, being an organization that hates harmless fun, told Wisconsin and LSU players that they were not to attempt a Lambeau Leap during Saturday’s marquee matchup in Green Bay. If they did, they would have been penalized fifteen yards on some bullshit “flagrant having a good time” call or something. So Wisconsin players took advantage of their practical, Midwestern sensibilities and waited until they won and the game was over to hop into the stands and celebrate. Suck it, NCAA.

3. Texas and Notre Dame go to overtime

Three’s a slim chance you’re going to see a blocked PAT returned for a score again this year, and if you do the likelihood that you’re seeing one that ties a game and sends it to overtime is even slimmer. This play, though, was just one outrageous moment in a game full of them as No. 10 Notre Dame lost to unranked Texas on the road in Austin in a back-and-forth affair marked by huge plays from both sides.

2. Houston’s Kick Six

That’s pretty much perfect planning and execution right there, which should worry the hell out of Ole Miss fans for when Tom Herman coaches the LSU Tigers next year.

1. Nebraska pays Tribute to the late Sam Foltz

It is way too easy to forget sometimes that the guys under those helmets and pads, the guys who are out there playing their guts out and risking - literally - life and limb for the teams we love, are, simply put, people. They’re people with families, friends, hopes, dreams, fears, and regrets just like the rest of us. It sucks that it takes something like the sudden, tragic death of a young football player to serve as a reminder of that, but what a beautiful reminder it was.