Ohio State has 100,000 people at its *spring game*, breaking its own record

Spring football games are not really games, as teams keep score loosely and weirdly, and the top priority for coaches is to keep players healthy and not put too many plays on film for real-life opponents to watch. The outcome doesn’t matter at all, and the story lines are mostly the same for every team.

And yet, some programs take these things very seriously. Ohio State set a spring game attendance record last year, and then the Buckeyes went ahead and did it again this year. Those are some passionate fans. Elsewhere this year, Georgia met new coach Kirby Smart’s challenge, filling its 93,000-seat stadium.

If you’re not a college football fan, that might sound weird, but it’s really the only way to “win” spring football.

Spring game attendance is even less scientific than the numbers announced at ordinary games. Entry is often free, and that means a lack of accounting for how many people are actually at stadiums.

So we’re largely taking programs at their word when they announce 2016 attendance figures, and otherwise using estimates from local media along the way.

(Hat tip to NBC Sports for some of these numbers, which we’ve confirmed.)