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Last month, the NCAA saw its first fair catch kick attempt in more than 85 years! On September 12, 2026, Division III Montclair State attempted one against Lycoming College with one second remaining in the first half.

This video starts with Lycoming punting from its own end zone, setting up the fair catch kick. Skip to 2:48 to see the fair catch kick attempt itself.

The fair catch kick is a holdover from football's rugby roots. It allows a team that has just made a fair catch to attempt an uncontested "free kick" from the spot of the catch. The free kick must be either a place kick or a drop kick, and if it goes through the uprights, it's worth three points.

While fair catch kicks have always been legal in the NFL^1, the NCAA eliminated the rule in 1950. As far as I can tell, the last attempt in college football before the ban occurred in 1939.

The NCAA brought the rule back for the 2026 season, and Montclair State is so far the first and only team to put it to use. Unfortunately, the kick sailed wide left, so the bragging rights for "first fair catch made since 1939" are still up for grabs.

¹ There have been 33 known fair catch kick attempts in NFL history since 1920. The most recent was made by Cameron Dicker in 2024.

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And both of those wins were both by Eli Manning while he was at Ole Miss. Peyton went 0-3, and now Arch is 0-2.

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….entirely by making it impossible for G6 teams to actually schedule P4 teams. Many P4 teams will continue to schedule in state FCS buy games as the 11th game… limiting the G6 even more.

24 team playoff with 1 G6 team. And G6 teams will have almost no chance to schedule P4 teams?! And they sure as hell won’t have P4 teams ever play at the G6 team’s home stadium. Can’t risk that when you only have 50 million advantages! Actually playing the games on the field? Too risky! The P4 teams invested too much money to take a chance at losing. In fact, how dare the G6 teams want to play the games on the field as equals?! How dare they!

This seems like some bullshit to me. Let’s stop playing the sport entirely and give the trophy to who has the most money. A&M now owns the crystal football! (Until an Ivy school wants it)

Edit: An FCS style playoff with at least champion spots guaranteed should be the compromise if P4 teams refuse to play G6 teams and then tell them their schedule is too bad to make the playoffs no matter their record.

100 million advantages and they still don’t want to risk playing it out on the field.

Double edit: This is going to kill a bunch of FCS programs that rely on long standing in state rivalry buy games as well. Think of that whilst drowning in money, ESPN!

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LET'S TALK FOOTBALL!

Bama has always hated Tennessee, but the following episode took the hate to a deeper level and inspired one of the best sermons in college football.

THEY LOW-DOWN

In the mid-'90s, the NCAA was on Tennessee's campus investigating payments to players and recruits. 

THEY DIRTY

The bag operation was financed since the '60s by notorious Memphis booster Roy Adams. 

How do we know this? Because Adams said so, telling the NY Times in 2013: "I knew the NCAA rules. I just didn't care for them."

THEY SOME SNITCHES

Caught red-handed, Tennessee coach Fat Phil Fulmer told the NCAA, "If you let us go, we will give you Alabama."

Tennessee was mad that a rogue Bama booster had outbid them for a recruit from Memphis -- the hometown of Roy Adams. By snitching, Tennessee gets off scot-free and in 2002 Alabama catches the near-death penalty for our 2nd major violation in 5 years.

The sanctions cause the deep fall of Alabama football and the embarrassing coaching carousel that some people in this sub may remember. 

AMEN

Fast-forward to 2007: Saban comes to Tuscaloosa. During Tennessee week, a reporter visits Bama's campus to take the temperature of students toward Tennessee.

*A Few Days Later*: Alabama emphatically stops Tennessee's 11-3 run in the series with a 41-17 beatdown and it felt so good.

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