It’s the most wonderful time of year for me (and many other folks)–college football season begins Thursday. DC isn’t exactly a hotbed of this sport, but there are plenty of transplants from around the country that enjoy cheering for their alma maters or  home state teams.  Bringing together my love of college football and DC bars, I’ve compiled a list of area bars (MD & VA bars are in [brackets]) that host game watches for each of the teams in the pre-season Associated Press Top 25 poll, along with a few others of interest to Barred in DC readers, though there are plenty of other bars to catch games.  For watching games not at a bar, I highly recommend you bookmark this great website for TV listings that is updated all year: http://www.mattsarzsports.com/Season/Contents?sportYear=football2013

1. Alabama – Old Dominion Brewhouse (Mt. Vernon Square)
2. Ohio State – Rhino’s Bar & Pumphouse (Georgetown) [Union Jack’s (Bethesda) & Mister Days (Clarendon)]
3. Oregon – Irish Channel (Chinatown) [The Greene Turtle (Ballston)]
4. Stanford – Mackey’s (Dupont/Midtown)
5. Georgia – Mason Inn (Glover Park), Public Bar (Dupont) [Crystal City Sports Pub]
6. South Carolina – [The Greene Turtle (Ballston)], unofficial satellite at Mason Inn (Glover Park)
7. Texas A&M – Penn Quarter Sports Tavern (Penn Quarter)
8. Clemson – Southern Hospitality (Adams Morgan) [O’Sullivan’s in Clarendon]
9. Louisville – [Crystal City Sports Pub]
10. Florida – Pour House (Capitol Hill) [Mad Rose Tavern (Clarendon) & BlackFinn (Bethesda)], unofficial satellite at Mason Inn (Glover Park)
11. Florida State – Union Pub (Capitol Hill)
12. LSU – Molly Malone’s (Eastern Market/Barracks Row) [Bailey’s (Crystal City)]
13. Oklahoma State – Penn Quarter Sports Tavern (Penn Quarter)
14. Notre Dame  – The Exchange (Downtown)
15. Texas – [Rhodeside Grill (Courthouse)]
16. Oklahoma – [Buffalo Wild Wings (Crystal City)]
17. Michigan – Buffalo Billiards (Dupont), unofficial satellite at Kangaroo Boxing Club (ColHi), [Bailey’s (Ballston) & Tommy Joe’s (Bethesda)]
18. Nebraska – Union Pub (Capitol Hill)
19. Boise State – TBD
20. TCU – Rocket Bar (Chinatown/Penn Quarter)
21. UCLA – Laughing Man Tavern (Downtown)
22. Northwestern – BlackFinn (Downtown)
23. Wisconsin – Hamilton’s (Capitol Hill), Lou’s City Bar (ColHi)
24. USC – The Gryphon (Dupont)
25. Oregon State – N/A?

Other Teams of Interest

• West Virginia – [Ragtime (Courthouse)]
• Virginia – [Arlington Rooftop Bar & Grill (Courthouse)], unofficial satellite may be at BlackFinn (Downtown)
• Kansas State – Molly Malone’s (Eastern Market/Barracks Row)
• Tennessee – BlackFinn (Downtown)
• Virginia Tech – [A Town Bar & Grill (Ballston), unofficial Hard Times Cafe (Clarendon)
• Penn State – The Mighty Pint (Dupont), Rhino Bar & Pumphouse (Georgetown), [Tortoise & Hare (Crystal City), Carpool (Ballston)]
• UNC – Buffalo Billiards (Dupont), Ventnor’s Sports Cafe (AdMo)
• THE U (Miami) – Penn Quarter Sports Tavern (Penn Quarter)
• Syracuse – Sign of the Whale (Dupont)
• Cal – Sign of the Whale (Dupont)
• Michigan State – Capitol Lounge (Capitol Hill)
• Washington – Lou’s City Bar (ColHi)
• SEC Football – Mason Inn (Glover Park)
• More schools may be found at this link, though it may not be up-to-date