A Few Good-Looking Reasons for Women to Watch College Football

College Football Players Worth Watching in 2012 (not just because they can play)

Elite athletes, like today’s college football players, put a lot of effort into their bodies - lifting, running, eating right – so they’re at the peak of fitness during the season.

All the training makes them stronger and faster so they can compete against equally in-shape opponents, but the sculpted bodies and chiseled muscles are a welcome side effect.

Not only are football players’ nutrition plans and workout regimens more advanced than ever, but their uniforms are as well. Engineered to enhance performance, football uniforms fit snugly and often leave little to the imagination (which can be either good or pretty unfortunate, depending on who you happen to be looking at).

Lightweight, high-performance fabric covering muscles that would make a bodybuilder proud. Is it any wonder that more and more women are becoming sports fans? Who wouldn’t want to spend a Saturday watching impossibly fit and athletic men run, jump, tackle and sweat buckets?

Weightlifting and Nike’s newest technology can only do so much, of course. Good old-fashioned genetics also play a big role in who can ascend the ranks to become one of college football’s hottest players.

There are countless athletes who look pretty darn good on the field…until the camera cuts to them standing on the sidelines, helmet off, and destroys the fantasy.

That’s even more disappointing than the very attractive players who just aren’t that good, like Jeremy Bloom during his NFL phase.

Women who are truly fans of the game don’t want no scrubs. We don’t like it when other women try to skate by on their looks, and we’re not letting the boys get away with it either, no matter how good they look shirtless.

Even if they’re not the best in the game, we’ll still sneak a little peek (or openly ogle – it’s not like men own the market when it comes to objectifying the opposite sex).

Without further adieu, here’s a completely unscientific and definitely not comprehensive glance at a few of this year’s best looking college football players.

Aaron Murray, UGA

Talk about the quintessential good-looking All-American quarterback. Georgia's Aaron Murray looks like the lead in any number of sappy romantic comedies. Catch him at the right angle, and he could be the younger version of Kyle Chandler's Coach Taylor from Friday Night Lights.

He has the talent to back it up, too. He has 12 touchdowns and four interceptions on the year, and his only bad game was against South Carolina. After the loss, we learned that Murray's dad was diagnosed with cancer days before the game. I'm betting that the senior quarterback has no shortage of ladies willing to take his mind off it.

Jordan Poyer, Oregon State

Is the most surprising part of Oregon State's season that they're currently 6-0, or that this guy has somehow been hiding out on their roster for the last three years? The Beavers' standout cornerback is fun to watch as he snags interceptions (he's second in the nation with five) and earns defensive player of the week awards, but with those eyes (those eyes!) he's probably pretty fun to watch even when he's just standing on the sidelines.

Drew Alleman, LSU

Kickers get no love, and no attention, which might explain why LSU kicker Drew Alleman showed up for fall camp dressed to impress. I'm not complaining, although he'd have a little more allure if his field goal kicking percentage was higher than 73.3%.

Matt Barkley, USC

You can't have a list of good-looking football players without including Southern California golden boy Matt Barkley. The blue-eyed, blond-haired quarterback with the easy smile has been the face of the program through a coaching change and NCAA sanctions, and thankfully for female Trojans fans, that face has been incredibly camera-friendly over the last four years. He might not be lighting up the scoreboard in his senior year, but that just means there won't be enough media saturation to give us a chance to get tired of him.

Bennett Jackson, Notre Dame

Everyone on the Notre Dame defense has been overshadowed by senior linebacker Manti Te'o, but it's worth taking a closer look. You just might find someone like cornerback Bennett Jackson. The converted wide receiver has four of Notre Dame's ten interceptions and is tied for third in the nation in INTS. It's an eleven-way tie, but still. He's making things happen. And he's looking pretty handsome doing it.

Ryan Williams, Miami

Ryan Williams? Isn't that the Arizona Cardinals running back? (Yes.)

So who's this guy? The Miami Hurricanes' backup quarterback. Not bad for a backup, huh? And if starter Stephen Morris' sprained ankle isn't any better by game time this weekend, expect to know a lot more about this sophomore very soon. Williams was 9 of 13 for 80 yards in relief last week, but he wasn't facing the Florida State defense then, either. Even if Morris is healthy enough to play (unlikely), keep an eye out for the second-stringer. He'll be the one holding the clipboard, with his helmet off so we can admire those cheekbones.

Malcolm Brown, Texas

The Texas running back is out this weekend with an ankle injury which, if we're lucky, means lots of camera cutaways to this cutie on the sidelines. (Seriously, look at that face!) Brown has had a spotty season, with two 100-yard games and two games in which he had fewer than 10 carries. This will be the third straight he's missed due to injury. Fans hope he'll be back on the field soon so they can watch him do what he does best (other than make adorable faces).

Jordan Rodgers, Vanderbilt

Tip: When you're researching hot college football players, one tactic is to figure out which good-looking NFL players have brothers in college and start there. Vanderbilt's Jordan Rodgers is the younger brother of Green Bay Packers quarterback and awkward commercial actor Aaron Rodgers. The Commodores' QB isn't quite as solid under center as his big bro (but few people are), and unlike his brother, he looks better clean-shaven than scruffy. No word on how his touchdown dance stacks up.

Keith Price, Washington

When Washington hosted USC last weekend, the announcers made unusually frequent mention of Keith Price's big smile. It seemed a bit odd to comment on that, of all things, when the Huskies' quarterback was in the middle of fumbling away his team's shot at a win, but then I looked up photos. The announcers were right: that smile is absolutely worth mentioning. Here's hoping the Huskies' rack up a few more wins and give their quarterback more opportunities to show it off.

Morgan Breslin, USC

A lineman is a rarity on just about any list of hot football players. The junior college transfer came out of nowhere (or Diablo Valley College) to become a starter, a finisher, and a huge playmaker for USC. Breslin is definitely the strong, silent type. He declines interviews and doesn't speak much to his teammates or coaches, either, and it's hard to find photos of him without a helmet on because he rarely takes a play off.

Justin Halley, FIU

Some college football players are so hot they look like they could be models. According to OutSports.com, Florida International safety Justin Halley actually is a model. I haven't found any official confirmation that Justin Halley the model and Justin Halley the football player are, indeed, the same person, but they sure look pretty identical. (What's the NCAA's stance on football players who walk the runway for luxury brands like Dolce & Gabbana and Givenchy in the offseason?) If they're not really the same person, here's a photo of a male model in his skivvies. Enjoy.