A Year to Remember: College Football, Family, and Five Years of Saturdays Feed My Soul

Happy Christmas and Happy Holidays to you

As the festive season is upon us, I want to wish everyone reading Saturdays Feed My Soul a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. If you've read, shared, or supported my site this year, thank you. It's my passion and so it genuinely means a great deal, more than I probably share outwardly.

Austin Blyth Stuart Evans arrived on 3rd November 2025, the highlight of the year!

This has been a memorable year in more ways than one. We celebrated our fifth anniversary of the blog in Five Years of Saturdays Feed My Soul: My Journey Through College Football. Alongside another compelling college football season, 2025 will always stand out personally as the year our family welcomed our baby boy, Austin, on 3rd November. Becoming a parent for the third time has been an incredible experience. It has also meant I haven’t written as consistently as I would have liked over recent months. Thank you for your patience. There is more to come in the New Year as I get the hang of managing my time a little bit better!

A Look Back on the Year

Despite a quieter period toward the end of the year, Saturdays Feed My Soul still covered a wide range of college football stories in 2025. Much of the focus centred on the drama and unpredictability that defines this great sport.

Weekly recaps have shown how quickly the landscape can change. Early season shocks, shifting rankings, and major upsets reminded us why Saturdays remain so compelling.

Texas, the preseason No.1, were imperiously dispatched by defending national champion Ohio State. The Buckeyes remained anchored to the top spot, laid the ghost of four consecutive defeats by beating fierce rivals Michigan, before succumbing to the relentlessness of the rapidly emerging juggernaut Indiana, who snatched the Big Ten title and who enter postseason play as the top-ranked team in the country. Who could have predicted that at the start of the season?

Beyond weekly highlights, Saturdays Feed My Soul continued to explore college football culture and tradition. Articles on historic rivalries, iconic games, and long-standing rituals highlighted what continues to set the sport apart. Play For The 75 celebrated how Marshall University have turned tragedy into one of college football's most powerful traditions. The Red Bandana Game focused on the celebration of the life of the courageous Welles Crowther, a reminder how sport can play such an important role in remembering and highlighting extraordinary people and acts that go above and beyond what we can sometimes comprehend in our daily lives.

There was also attention on players and progression, including pieces looking ahead to the NFL Draft and analysing emerging quarterback talent. Throwback Thursday features and reflective pieces focused on the moments and stories that linger long after the final whistle. namely Devin Hester's touchdown kickoff return on his first play in college football, There will be more of these in 2026. They remain some of the most rewarding articles to research, write, and revisit.

Saturdays Under the Lights

2025 also saw the podcast Tony Boston and I record, rebranded to Saturdays Under the Lights. Episodes covered weekly action, conference races, and the playoff picture, while also allowing space for broader discussion and reflection.

The podcast has become as important to me as Saturdays Feed My Soul. A place for conversation rather than just commentary. Talking college ball to Tony every week is a privilege and has become an event to look forward to.

Thank you to our guests, Ian Boyd, the mind behind the substack America's War Game, Joey Kaufman, Ohio State beat reporter for the Columbus Dispatch, who joined for the first time. It was a pleasure to welcome back George Somerville, co-host of The College Chaps podcast and writer for The Touchdown, and Daniel Shirley, Senior Editor at The Athletic.

Thank You, Looking Ahead

Above all, thank you. Thank you for being part of this community and for spending time with the site and podcast throughout the year. Whether you’ve read one article or every post, listened to a few minutes of the pod or every episode, your support is greatly appreciated.

Looking ahead to 2026, the plan is simple. More regular writing. More stories and podcasts around tradition, rivalry, and the culture that makes college football special. And, of course, more Saturdays that feed the soul.

Wishing you a peaceful Christmas, a happy holiday season, and all the very best for the year ahead.

Gareth.