If you've ever wondered about Austin Peay, then wonder no more

Tennessee Gov. Austin Peay

The college football season will officially get underway this week and there are 14 games on tap featuring SEC schools.

With that said, here are my predictions on how I see those games turning out. I like Alabama over Louisville, Auburn over Washington, Miami over LSU, West Virginia over Tennessee, Texas Tech over Ole Miss, Vandy over Middle Tennessee State, South Carolina over Coastal Carolina, Florida over Charleston Southern, Georgia over Austin Peay, Kentucky over Central Michigan, Missouri over UT-Martin, Arkansas over Eastern Illinois, Mississippi State over Stephen F. Austin and Texas A&M over Northwestern State.

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Looking over this slate of games, I’m left wondering where a lot of these colleges are located. Middle Tennessee State is located in Murfreesboro, Tenn., and Coastal Carolina University is in Conway, S.C. Austin Peay State University is in Clarksville, Tenn., and Central Michigan is in Mount Pleasant, Mich.

Eastern Illinois is in Charleston, Ill., and Stephen F. Austin State University is in Nacogdoches, Texas. Last, but not least, Northwestern State University is located in Natchitoches, La.

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While I’m on the subject, I’ve always kind of wondered who Austin Peay was, but I’d never taken time to look him up prior to Monday. Austin Peay State University was established in 1927 and was named after Austin Peay, who was the sitting governor of Tennessee at that time. For this reason, the school’s sports teams are known as the Governors.

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I haven’t watched much NFL football for about two years, and I didn’t watch one second of last year’s Super Bowl because of all the controversy over the national anthem.

Like most years around this time, I start getting the urge to watch the pros, especially the New Orleans Saints. I haven’t watched any of their preseason games this year, but I did see on Monday where they were 2-1 so far in preseason games. Their final preseason game is scheduled to be played tonight (Thursday), and then they will open their regular season schedule on Sept. 9 when they play the Bucs in New Orleans.

At this point, I’m willing to let bygones be bygones and give the NFL another chance, but my feeling is that this won’t last long. I imagine that about 10 minutes into the first game I watch, I’ll be so ticked off that I’ll just switch it over to the Atlanta Braves-Arizona Diamondbacks game.

Most fans that I’ve talked to seem to feel about the same way about the NFL. If the players and media would just play the game and leave the politics out of it, we’ll all be better off. I seriously doubt that will happen though, so thank the good Lord for Major League Baseball.

Studies have shown that the NFL has lost millions of viewers over the past two years as its popularity continues to dip into unchartered waters. In a classic case of cutting their nose off despite their face, the protesters are destroying the very thing that gives them an opportunity to display their talents and make millions in the process.

If things don’t change, the NFL will eventually die on the vine as it becomes financially unable to support itself.

Last one out, cut the lights off.