The most iconic college football traditions

"Rammer jammer, yellow hammer, give 'em hell, Alabama." It's one of the most iconic chants in sports despite its nonsensical-seeming lyrics, and it's also, oddly enough, controversial. How can a chant named for a student newspaper (the Rammer Jammer) and the Alabama state bird (the yellow hammer) be controversial? Well, the line immediately before "rammer jammer" is "we just beat the hell out of you." It's also sung by fans of one of the most dominant college football teams ever, so it's no surprise that it ruffles a few feathers. The cheer was actually banned for pregame festivities in the early 2000s because it was deemed unsportsmanlike.

Much to the chagrin of Seattle Seahawks fans, the 12th Man is originally a Texas A&M institution and refers to the student section of Kyle Field. Fans there, in solidarity with the players on the sidelines, stand for the entirety of the game to demonstrate that, if needed, they are ready to take the field and play for their team.

Northwestern football fans will be the first to tell you that prior to 1995, the team was a joke. Before it started to thrive after hiring Gary Barnett in 1992, Northwestern University set the record for the longest losing streak ever in NCAA history during the 1981 season. When the 34-game losing streak was snapped after a 1982 victory over Northern Illinois, elated students rushed the field, literally tore the goal posts down and carried them a mile east to Lake Michigan before throwing them in. Since Northwestern wins were so few and far between before the Barnett hire, this became a tradition for fans of the struggling Wildcats, who would "lake the posts" after every home win. Once Northwestern started winning more games, the practice was banned due to cost considerations.

There are few things we can think of that set the mood for a football game better than a gigantic buffalo being led around the field before kickoff. Colorado fans can look forward to their live mascot, Ralphie, running the field twice during every home game — once right before kickoff and then again before the second half begins. And hey, since Ralphie and her handlers sometimes reach speeds of up to 25 miles per hour on the Ralphie Run, there's some inspiration to be had for the running backs as well.

Towering high over the north campus of the University of Georgia, the Chapel Bell is one of the university's most iconic landmarks. Over the years it has served many purposes, and unsurprisingly one of them is football-related. Back in the 1890s, the tradition was for freshmen to ring the bell until midnight after each UGA football victory. Now the tradition has evolved such that the bell is open and unguarded, available for any UGA football fan to ring after the team wins.

Though the Badgers' tradition of leaping into the air to the classic House of Pain song "Jump Around" has been around only since 1993 (and was only made an official Wisconsin tradition in 1998), it has quickly become one of the most well-known college football traditions in the country. Not to mention, it makes Camp Randall a notoriously difficult stadium in which to play due to the volume of the fans.

Another relatively new (and equally intimidating) tradition started 10 years ago when the Hawaii Warriors started performing a haka chant before all of their games. A haka is a traditional war cry and dance originating with the Maori, but the University of Hawaii has co-opted it and made it its own. Before the game, the entire team takes the field and performs the haka to both intimidate the other team and pump itself up.

Not many football teams are led onto the field by a 1930 Ford Model A. At each Georgia Tech home game at Bobby Dodd Stadium, the Ramblin' Wreck putters out onto the gridiron, accompanied by cheerleaders and mascots. Interestingly enough, the current Ramblin' Wreck has been around since 1961, and there is only one in existence — there are no backups. That must make it pretty tough, when, say, it's painted orange by fans of the Tennessee Volunteers.

Originating in 1981, the Gator Chomp has become the go-to gesture and cheer for fans of the Florida Gators. It's an iconic gesture, sure, but it definitely leads to a bit of cognitive dissonance since the band plays the theme from "Jaws" during the chomp. A song from "Lake Placid" would probably be more appropriate.

Few things in college sports are as awesome as live team mascots, and Auburn takes the cake here. The university has kept a live eagle as a mascot since the 1930s and allows it to fly, untethered, above and around the stadium before the Tigers begin to play. It's truly one of the most spectacular and majestic sights you're likely to experience at a football game.

There are many iconic team entrances across the NCAA, but one of the most simple, effective and striking traditions belongs to the Tennessee Volunteers. Before kickoff, the band arranges itself into a giant T shape, and the team runs through it as the band plays "Rocky Top" while the entire stadium sings along.

The Yellow Jackets aren't the only team that gets led out on the field by an old-timey vehicle. The Oklahoma Sooners are introduced by a scaled-down Conestoga wagon led by two ponies named Boomer and Sooner. The Sooner Schooner has been around since 1964 and has been an official mascot of the school since 1980.

Ohio State is proud of its marching band, and rightfully so. Dubbed the Best Damn Band in the Land, the Ohio State University marching band has created one of the NCAA's most beloved football traditions. Since the 1930s, the band has kicked off home games by arranging itself in a stylized, script Ohio formation, with either a sousaphone player or special guest dotting the "i." Previous i-dotters have included Jack Nicklaus, Bob Hope and John Glenn.

One of the newest traditions on this list comes courtesy of LSU and its tiger mascot, Mike. Since 2014, for certain important football games, Mike's meals are carefully arranged into the logo of the opposing team, allowing Mike to literally take a bite out of the competition before the game even starts. Lindsey Clemons, one of Mike's caretakers, began the trend by creating a meat W in advance of LSU's game against Wisconsin. But since then, Trevor Davis has been in charge of creating "meat art" for Mike to chow down on.

Every year, pregame festivities in the Army-Navy rivalry game begin with one of the most jaw-dropping displays in college, as Army Cadets and Navy Midshipmen march on the football field in formation — not just the football players, the entire student body. The sight of thousands of our nation's best, brightest and bravest marching on the field as one is, for lack of a better word, stunning.

Seminoles fans have something special to look forward to after they get to their seats from their tailgates in the parking lot of Doak Campbell Stadium. Each FSU home game is introduced by the school's two mascots: Chief Osceola and Renegade. Since 1978, Osceola has introduced home games by riding out on Renegade, then planting a burning spear in the ground at midfield to get fans and players alike pumped up for the game.

The inspiration for Notre Dame's iconic "Play Like a Champion Today" locker room sign came in the late '80s, when Lou Holtz saw a photo in an old campus book that featured it. Holtz asked colleagues and friends if they had any idea what happened to the sign, and after coming up empty, he had South Bend native Laurie Wenger paint a new one in the fall of 1986. Since then, it has been a tradition for players to touch the sign as they exit the locker room and take the field.

Clemson has a storied entrance tradition of its own. Before each home game, Tigers players touch the rock atop the hill on the east end zone and proceed to storm the field. Howard's Rock made its debut at Memorial Stadium in 1966, a gift to then-head coach Frank Howard by his friend Samuel C. Jones. Jones found the piece of flint in Death Valley and gave it to coach Howard, who then told one of his boosters to "get it out of my office" when his office was being cleaned. Well, the booster, Gene Willimon, did get the rock out of Howard's office…and he had it mounted on a pedestal and put it on display near the east end zone.

Though its real name is Charter Hill, fans of the California Golden Bears know the hill to the east of California Memorial Stadium as Tightwad Hill, so named because it's a popular spot for students to watch home games without paying, given that you actually get a decent view of the field. When plans for a stadium renovation were made back in 2006, Tightwad Hill was put into jeopardy as a new seating structure would block the view. But eventually, Cal acquiesced and has allowed Tightwad Hill to exist and thrive to this day, much to the delight of students looking to save a buck or two.

Just to be clear right at the outset, Purdue's 10-ish-foot drum isn't the world's largest. The current Guinness record is held by a drum in South Korea that clocks in at a towering 18-foot-2. That said, the gigantic Purdue bass drum is iconic, and watching the skillful way in which it's maneuvered during the All-American Marching Band's performances is incredibly impressive.

Since 1972, home games at Mountaineer Field have begun with a sing-along of the West Virginia theme song, "Take Me Home, Country Roads." In 1980, after work on the Mountaineers' new stadium was complete, singer John Denver actually visited and christened it by leading the Mountaineer faithful in the West Virginia anthem that he wrote.

Nobody seems to know exactly what started the trend of MSU fans ringing cowbells loud and proud for their team, but legend has it that a stray cow wandered onto the field during a game between MSU and Mississippi. After the cow was ushered off, MSU routed the opponent, and the cow became a good luck charm. Eventually, bringing an actual cow to the game got cumbersome, so students just brought bells instead. Since then, Bulldog fans have annoyed fans and players of opposing teams nationwide with the bell's iconic clang.