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When you think of college football, what comes to your mind? The smell of the grass as the home team takes the field, the electricity of the crowd as the marching band plays your alma mater’s favorite fight song, or maybe it’s the 40,000 drunken fans, who have painted themselves silly in the name of school pride. For me, those memories are a little hazy, not surprising considering the fact that I attended college for eight years and I’m not a doctor.

That being said, I was extremely excited for the first edition of EA Sports NCAA Football 07 for the XBOX 360. It was our first look into what most armchair quarterbacks have been waiting for since Microsoft unveiled its Xbox 360 next-gen console.

I could sit here and play NCAA 07 against the computer and give you a run-down of what I liked about the graphics, or how the game play has changed, but that would be pretty much useless as far as what really makes this game amazing. It would be like staring at naked pictures of Bea Arthur and trying to pitch a tent: it just wouldn’t be enjoyable (except for those freaks out there with a Bea Arthur fetish. You know who you are).

There has been a lot of trash talking in the office over the past couple of weeks, over who would be crowned king of the college gridiron, and one wily challenger emerged who thought he could take on the one and only “Big Perm.” His name? Ryan McAfee, a die-hard Kansas State fanatic, also known to his friends as “Grape Nuts”.

The stage was set, and the stakes were high as Grape Nuts set out to wage a war against Big Perm. Of course he chose his beloved Kansas State Wildcats and I hunkered down with the crazy Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.

A lot of things have changed since Tecmo Bowl launched for Nintendo back in 1988 with its dinosaur graphics and two button controls. I missed so many field goals, and lost so many yards on the kickoff due to the fact that the controls were so sensitive, that I almost busted a hemorrhoid. You also need the skills of a fighter pilot in order to run, catch, pass, juke right, juke, left, spin and dive. It took me forever to get a handle on the controls, even when I reread the directions. Overall the details of the stadium were amazing as well as the realistic qualities of the crowds and mascots, and the game play was fast and accurate. Bottom line – NCAA 07’s not bad, but it’s not great either. I’m waiting for next week when the new Madden hits the stores.

Oh, and I bet you’d like to know what happened in my battle with Grape Nuts.

Grape Nuts was a strong adversary but when it was all said and done, I beat him (28-21) in the first of three games. But just as Rocky said in Rocky III, I guess Grape Nuts didn’t hear no bell. The next two games, I really don’t remember because most of the time I was either throwing my controller, or cursing at the heavens for letting me miss three easy field goals in a row. The football gods had ended my reign and I had to step aside and let a new champion claim victory.