Ranking the Schedule: Mascots. Miami will see some historic mascots this year.

There are some great mascots out there. Some schools go with the live mascot, which I trend towards, and others have giant Disney looking costumes, which I respect tremendously. Sebastian is the greatest mascot in college football to me and he is just a giant Ibis with swag. But there are some other great mascots around the country and Miami will have a chance to encounter some of the most respected mascots in college sports. This isn't really a football article, but I must say that winding down and looking at schools from this perspective was a blast.

5. Rocky (Toledo)

I put Rocky from Toledo in here because the “glow-up” is tremendous. The original Rocky from 1968 looked terrifying. I can’t imagine late 60’s and early 70’s student actually being able to focus on a sporting event while this thing walked around:

University of Toledo

I dare to say it got worse from 1981-2003. Rocky looked like a metallic banana with a white top-hat. There is just no way anybody took these people seriously.

University of Toledo

But NOW. Now Rocky looks how a Rocky should look. It could not be further away from the previous two Rocky’s and I’m sure everybody in the MAC and in Toledo, Ohio are extremely grateful. Rocky looks like a modern Rocket Man that can be taken seriously as a mascot. He has a cool space suit and a sweet helmet. It may just look nice compared to what they had before because my god it was terrible. Absolutely terrible. So, Kudos to Toledo for doing what had to be done to get their mascot situation resolved. They are being rewarded for that today.

Photo by Andrew Weber/Getty Images

4. The Hokie Bird (Virginia Tech)

Props to the people in a giant turkey looking mascot for doing bench presses, sit-ups or pushups for every point that Virginia Tech scores in a game. As a guy who does little to no weight lifting what so ever, I have to respect the grind that comes with being the Virginia Tech Hokie Bird. It’s not always a physical toll, however. Sometimes they get to crowd surf from the bottom of the Corps of Cadets all the way up to the top and that sounds like a good time.

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Hokie Bird is probably one of the most demanding jobs in the ACC. I sympathize for the man that is on duty for those cupcake games and has to do a bunch of bench presses or pushups throughout a massacre of an inferior team.

3. Ramblin’ Wreck (Georgia Tech)

The Ramblin’ Wreck is a Ford Model A Sport coupe that has represented Georgia Tech since 1914. It is one of the oldest traditions not only in college sports, but in sports period. Bobby Dodd Stadium was in its elementary stages in 1905 and became a complete stadium in 1913, making it the oldest stadium in the FBS. The Ramblin’ Wreck was introduced just one year after the stadium was complete. I can’t think of many programs that have traditions of 104 years, but I tip my cap to Georgia Tech and their commitment to keeping that wonderful tradition alive.

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2. Chief Osceola (Florida State)

You may all bash me for saying this, but from a completely unbiased point-of-view, a guy decked out in full make-up and costume riding a beautiful horse at full-speed and tossing a flaming torch into the field is pretty cool. You can’t get that type of action from many, if not any, mascots around college football. Yes, I know it’s Florida State and, to be honest, I hate seeing Chief Osceola march out with the football team as much as the next guy. But if we take off the blinders for just a minute you can appreciate how cool of a tradition it actually is compared to other schools.

Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports

1. Mike the Tiger (LSU)

A live Tiger on a college campus might be one of the coolest things anyone has ever thought of. There are the Auburn Tigers, Clemson Tigers, Missouri Tigers, Memphis Tigers and Savannah State Tigers, but the LSU Tigers have a living breathing Tiger as their mascot. A Tiger that has prowled behind and then jumped at human beings behind a thick layer of glass that keeps him confined inside his 15,000 square foot, three-million-dollar habitat:

To me, personally, nothing beats a live mascot. I love the Eagle at Auburn, Uga at Georgia, and Ralphie at Colorado. It just shows a true commitment to the university. If you really want to have a Tiger as your mascot then go full throttle and have a Tiger on campus. Go big or go home.

We don’t now if Mike will make his way to Arlington, Texas, but regardless LSU has the coolest mascot of any team on the Hurricanes schedule.