SKU: 31147781383

Bowls, Polls & Tattered Souls: Tackling the Chaos and Controversy That Reign Over College Football

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Bowls, Polls & Tattered Souls: Tackling the Chaos and Controversy That Reign Over College FootballSI. com ""College Football Mailbag"" author Stewart Mandel tackles the ten issues that confound college football fans with a new chapter on the 2007 season ""An intricate tour through the ills of the college football world (and there are many), but still manages to take on a breezy, airy tone."" The Quad, NYTimes. com ""Stewart Mandel writes about college football's major controversies with a wit and depth of knowledge that will impress even the most

SI.com ""College Football Mailbag"" author Stewart Mandel tackles the ten issues that confound college football fans--with a new chapter on the 2007 season
""An intricate tour through the ills of the college football world (and there are many), but still manages to take on a breezy, airy tone.""
----The Quad, NYTimes.com
""Stewart Mandel writes about college football's major controversies with a wit and depth of knowledge that will impress even the most obsessed fans. And because he's both fair and objective, there is something in this book to infuriate nearly everyone.""
----Warren St. John, author of the bestselling Rammer JammerYellow Hammer: A Road Trip into the Heart of Fan Mania
""In a book dripping with sarcasm, Stewart Mandel plays tour guide on an interesting ride through the college football nuthouse.""
----Bruce Feldman, author of Meat Market and senior writer for ESPN the Magazine
""If you're confused by the world of college football, particularly the BCS and how the present polls are conducted, then I will recommend to you Bowls, Polls & Tattered Souls.""
----Football Outsiders
""Presents history and insights on all aspects of the sport, from recruiting to the bowl system to why certain teams play in certain conferences. A great read for fans with thirty days or thirty years of experience.""
----Orlando Sentinel
If your heart beats faster on Saturday afternoons as your team takes the field, this book will give you new insight into the fanaticism and chaos that characterize college football today. Stewart Mandel takes a provocative, hard-hitting look at the hot-button issues: the controversial BCS; the polls and their largely arbitrary rankings; the ego-inflating recruiting craze; cheating and recent scandals; the huge pressures and salaries heaped on coaches; the Heisman hype-fest; the NFL draft; the clunky conference expansions; privileged Notre Dame, college football's greatest juggernaut; and the proliferation of bowl games. You'll get behind-the-scenes insights on how the issues evolved and why some are almost impossible to resolve in a book that's as entertaining, passionate, and thought-provoking as the game itself.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 08/01/2008
ISBN: 9780470373552
Pages: 284
Weight: 0.66lbs
Size: 8.16h x 5.72w x 0.80d
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SKU: 31147781383

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4.3 ★★★★★
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DL
Lowell, US
★★★★★ 5
Permission to Help My Child Find Joy
Format: Hardcover
As a parent starting the college search process, I've really come to appreciate Jeff's insights in his previous books, podcast and newsletter. So pleased to finally have this book at my disposal, and less than a month in, it's already dog-eared and marked up! Like most parents out there, I'm fighting my own internal inertia to align my child's accomplishments against the "metrics" (real or imagined) of admission, and gravitating towards the big names. If you are in that stage, I'll say from personal experience that now is a great time to pick up this book. It's a quick read (for someone who's not a "reader"), and it plants the right questions and data in your head to open your perspective. Its funny, every good parent I know just wants their kid to be happy, to find their joy in life. When it comes down to it, our only equating of big name to their happiness comes a derivation that success brings happiness, and big school brings success. As Jeff suggests, this book doesn't say DON'T seek the big name... It just gives permission to look more broadly, that the same success, and perhaps even greater happiness, can be found elsewhere. Now we just need need to make sure our kids see that too, and they are empowered to seek their joy with our full support. There is still data in here that confirms name schools do convey certain advantages. Whether those advantages align with a child's success and happiness is the question we can chase in this process. I, for one, really appreciate Jeff's efforts to make the case for the broader search and taking the time to do it with excellent, fresh analysis of the data in hand. Maybe this book and others generate the momentum to continuing these unique data streams to break the US News/Naviance overload of the process. Good luck to everyone in a similar boat, and I hope you find this as useful a reference as I did.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2025
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Verified Purchase
Udo F
Pawtucket, US
★★★★★ 4
Good Book!
Format: Hardcover
Pretty insightful book! I don't read college books too often but Selingo has very very good ideas that can easily transfer to college.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2026
L
Verified Purchase
Lauren Feltner
Belleville, US
★★★★★ 5
Great read to start on the college search journey
Format: Hardcover
Highly recommend for high school parents and students!
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2026
M
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Melanie R.
Omaha, US
★★★★★ 5
Good advice
Format: Hardcover
Good advice for my younger relatives
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Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2026
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Pirate Radio
Carnegie, US
★★★★★ 5
Works well
Format: Hardcover
I learned a lot about current college selection process. I still recommend urging your kids to apply for stretch colleges. Don't limit to safe schools. But this book helped me understand the nature of current college student selection process, i feel less crazy re contradictory results.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2026

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