College Counterpart: AFC North
Have you ever wondered who the “Alabama of the NFL” was, or the “New York Jets of College Football”? What is the college football equivalent of your favorite NFL team? Have they always been good, or have they been in a “rebuilding” phase for the past 50 years? In this article, I’ll be covering all of that in as much detail as possible. I’ll start off by listing the closest college by geography, and then comparing it to it’s NFL counterpart. Without further ado, lets begin with the AFC North.
Baltimore Ravens: Maryland Terrapins
Other than geography, there’s not much that these two teams have in common. The NFL’s Ravens have been a playoff-caliber team for the last decade. They’ve won a couple Super Bowls, and were known for their elite secondary with Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. Maryland on the other hand, hasn’t had the best of luck finding success in the postseason. They won the 2021 Pinstripe Bowl, and were consistently earning some sort of postseason bid throughout the 2000’s. Other than that, they haven’t made an appearance in a major bowl game since the Orange Bowl in 2002.
They’ve been lucky enough to have a few of their players get drafted and make a name for themselves in the NFL. Stefon Diggs, DJ Moore, Yannick Ngakoue, and JC Jackson all walked through the halls of Maryland at some point in time. If you look at skill and success alone, this pairing doesn’t make too much sense.
Maryland hasn’t been good enough to call themselves the “Baltimore Ravens” of college football. They’ve been mediocre at best, and draw closer connections to a team like the Washington Commanders. Both teams haven’t really been relevant for awhile. They haven’t had too many playmakers on their teams, respectfully, and have struggled staying afloat at ‘500. They’re also not too far away from each other, but would you rather play football at Maryland…or at Georgetown? I think I’m doing you guys a favor, Ravens fans.
Cincinnati Bengals: Cincinnati Bearcats
I really like this comparison. Not only are both teams from the same city, but both teams kind of blew up out of nowhere. The Bearcats came within one game from a trip to the National Championship. The Bengals nearly capped off their Cinderella season with a Super Bowl ring last year. Desmond Ridder lead an underdog team to the Cotton Bowl.
After years of watching teams like Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and Ohio State play in the national championship, it’s refreshing to see a team like Cincinnati finally get a chance. In the NFL, fans became so accustomed to seeing teams like the Patriots, Chiefs and Packers make the Super Bowl that Joe Sheisty was a breath of fresh air.
The Bearcats thrived off their dynamic QB/WR duo with Desmond Ridder and Alec Pierce. In the NFL, Bengals were virtually unstoppable with Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll see both teams turn themselves into a dynasty. Look how far both organizations have come, seriously. Before Ridder and Pierce and “Sauce” Gardner, there were the Kelce brothers, and that’s it.
I love Andy Dalton, but the Bengals never found success in the playoffs with him under center. To be fair, he was beaten to a pulp and given little to no offensive weapons during his time there. Without a doubt, this is my favorite comparison in the AFC North.
Cleveland Browns: Ohio State Buckeyes
Finally. FINALLY, Cleveland has something right going for them. Nothing will make up for all those years of losing, but this is a start. In no way, shape, or form do these two teams have anything in common other than being in the state of Ohio. One has built a legacy of winning, while the other has done the exact opposite. But hey, since this list focuses on geography, why not match up these two teams? I’m not even going to mention the Ohio Bobcats or Miami of Ohio. The Cleveland Browns deserve to have something good happen to them, and this is it.
They almost didn’t get this pick, however. Originally I had the Ohio State Buckeyes being the sister team to the Cincinnati Bengals. I was going to go off and draw this huge connection between Joe Burrow and Ohio State. Him wearing his #10 jersey for the Buckeyes was going to be the thumbnail for this article.
But then I remembered that Cincinnati had its own college football team, and that they would be a better fit. Historically, the Browns are of the most famous teams in NFL history. The foundation of the league began in Canton, which is really only a stone’s throw away from Cleveland. The Browns may not have been the most successful, but Jim Brown and Otto Graham were the true trailblazers for football in America.
Denzel Ward draws the perfect connection between the two teams. He grew up in Ohio, played for the Buckeyes, and then got drafted by the Browns. He’s a tremendous player, and is one of Cleveland’s best defensive players that they’ve had in a long time.
Realistically speaking, the Cleveland Browns remind me a lot of a team like Southern Mississippi. They’re a below average football team that hasn’t had a lot going for them in for a long time. They kind of just exist, and are seen more as a background extra than a reoccurring cast member.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Pittsburgh Panthers
Kenny Pickett. Really, do I need to go more in depth? These two teams even play on the same field. None of my buddies believed me when I said that Pickett would be “picked” up by the Steelers. He literally didn’t even have to move. Unlike most rookies drafted into the NFL, he does not have to look for another house. Having home field advantage can mean a lot for a team, but if your starting quarterback played on the same field in college, that’s a huge bonus. He’ll have a familiar work environment, and hopefully it’ll alleviate some of that pressure in his first few season.
But aside from Kenny Pickett, this school just makes sense. I could’ve said Penn State, but I couldn’t leave out Pittsburgh when they literally play in the same stadium. From a historical standpoint, Pitt and Pittsburgh are pretty similar as well. The Panthers have nine national championships, while the Steelers have six super bowl rings. Both teams aren’t nearly as good as they used to be, but they’re still a huge part of football history nonetheless. LeSean “Shady” McCoy, Larry Fitzgerald, Darrelle Revis, and Aaron Donald are all former Pittsburgh Panthers that found success in the NFL. Who’s to say that Kenny Pickett won’t be joining them?