Ki Shio O Rōru

Itami is the only person in crimson and white who doesn't fear Nick Saban Photo Credit: Hideo Itami

College football and pro wrestling overlap demographics, so it's not strange to see wrestling personalities latch onto teams, whether as alumni or general fans. Jim Ross has Oklahoma. Titus O'Neil reps the Florida Gators. Hideo Itami is a fan of the Alabama Crimson Tide. Wait, what? Japan isn't necessarily known for its love of American football. Sumo, baseball, and futbol (soccer) are sports better associated with that country, but hey, no one said the Japanese can't like them some pigskin. And Alabama is a perennial winner, so it would make sense a new fan of the sport would latch onto them. People make fun of front-runners all the time, but if you were new to a sport and had no local team to bind yourself to, would you pick a shit-ass perennial loser, or would you ride with a winner? Thought so.

Itami's association with the Tide got me to thinking, which college football programs would other NXT wrestlers be associated with? Leaving out those with well-known alma maters (like former Maryland Terrapin Mojo Rawley) or low-hanging fruit (Finn Bálor and Notre Dame? C'mon son...), I have compiled a list of teams in major college football and what wrestlers they'd be associated with:

Sasha Banks - '80s Miami Hurricanes: Lots of glitz, glamour, and big-time results, derided by traditionalists because of various reasons

Samoa Joe - Penn State Nittany Lions: Former power fallen on hard times, only now just starting to get back on their feet

The Vaudevillains - Harvard Big Red: Look like a team that was much more relevant in the 1800s, still pack a punch in their niche division

Tyler Breeze - Clemson Tigers: Fantastic against lesser opponents and on smaller stages, but can never win that big one

Dana Brooke - Baylor Bears: Started out as a joke, but has proven in recent times that maybe they're a force to be reckoned with

Chad Gable - Oregon Ducks: Cool look with innovative offense, but most likely to be busted for marijuana

Marcus Louis - Rutgers Scarlet Knights: Had a brush with relevance earlier on, but now most known for anger issues

Asuka - Texas Christian Horned Frogs: Everything started out alright, but before you knew it, you were down by 80/got kicked square in the mouth with 12 roundhouses

Baron Corbin - Iowa Hawkeyes: You don't know how they got over/won, but they sure did in ugly fashion