With the season underway after Florida’s win over Miami on Saturday night, this week’s Top Ten Tuesday goes over the best mascots in college football. Sebastian the Ibis and Albert and Alberta Gator were on the sideline to open college football’s 150th season, and they are among the mascots that narrowly missed the cut.
10. Ralphie
This list is a mix of live animal mascots and cartoonish costumed mascots, and it starts off with Colorado’s Ralphie the Buffalo. Ralphie is actually a female bison, and she leads the team out of the tunnel along with the “Ralphie Handlers”. Because of Ralphie, it’s a must-watch event whenever Colorado takes the field at home.
9. Stanford Tree
The Stanford Cardinal don’t have an official mascot, but the Stanford Tree makes the Top Ten Tuesday. The basicness of the mascot—a goofy face on a simple tree—is part of what makes it funny. Also, the Tree might remind some of a Christmas tree, which could be a bonus for those that love the joyous holiday.
8. Smokey
You’ll be hard-pressed to find someone that doesn’t like dogs, and Tennessee’s Smokey is the first pup to make the list. The Vols also have a costumed version of Smokey that works in tandem with the live animal. Smokey is a Bluetick Coonhound.
7. Brutus
Brutus Buckeye is a perfect representation of Ohio State’s logo—he’s just a giant anthropomorphic buckeye nut. The face of Brutus gives him a friendly appearance, which has proven to be harder than you’d think when developing a mascot.
6. Reveille
“The First Lady of Aggieland”, Reveille is also known as “Miss Rev” on Texas A&M’s campus, and she is the highest-ranking member in their Corps of Cadets. Reveille is a Rough Collie, and if she barks in class, the professor is supposed to end class because she is bored.
5. Bevo
There must be something about the mascots from the Texas schools, as Bevo showed that he does what he wants in last season’s Sugar Bowl when he decided to attack the bulldog Uga to set the tone for the Longhorn’s victory. Bevo is a massive longhorn steer that fits both the color scheme and logo for the University of Texas.
4. Sparty
Aside from the No. 1 mascot on the list, there arguably isn’t a better name for a college football mascot than Sparty, which gets the Michigan State mascot up at the No. 4 spot. Additionally, there isn’t a more jacked mascot than Sparty, and the Greek attire including a spartan helmet looks great.
3. Mike the Tiger
LSU’s “Death Valley” is already intimidating enough, but a live tiger at the stadium can be really frightening for the opposition. The live animal mascot, Mike the Tiger, also has a costumed mascot to compliment him. (But in terms of a costumed Tiger mascot, Clemson and Auburn might have LSU beat.)
2. Oregon Duck
The Oregon Duck has to be in the top three among college football mascots, and he lands at No. 2 here. The Duck probably has the most personality out of all the anthropomorphic mascots, and it certainly helps that he’s based on Disney’s Donald Duck—the similarities are obvious—via a licensing agreement.
1. Uga
Starting in 1956 with Uga I, the Georgia Bulldogs have had an absolute classic mascot that tops the list of college football’s best. The “Uga” name is the acronym for the University of Georgia, and the line of succession has gone all the way to Uga X. The English Bulldogs always look happy, and they’re truly part of the team with a custom-made jersey and a spiked collar along with an air-conditioned doghouse with a bag of ice to stay cool.
Mike the tiger is very overrated.
King Uga!!
Uga is a boss.