It's here.
You know what I'm talking about. It's the helpless feeling you can't shake that returns each year around this time. It's your mental calendar, and it's telling you there are 114 days until the start of the 2017 college football season. (It's Aug. 26th, by the way.)
With spring practice over, the long summer days of the offseason have begun. Granted, those days are getting shorter. The sport we follow so closely is more year-round than ever before thanks to new recruiting rules and summer camps. However, since there's no free agency, draft or training camp/preseason like there is in the NFL -- that's a machine that never stops -- there's an overall lull from the months of May to July.
Personally, I find the offseason necessary because it serves as a hard reset for my brain. I'm here for board game nights, adult league kickball and a novice avocation (barbecue) thanks to my new smoker. I plan to perfect my grandfather's world-famous potato salad recipe. I exercise more. I travel when I can. I watch "The Bachelor." Most of these passions are impossible to fit in between the months of September and January when it's all football, all the time.
Still, an increase in personal plans will inevitably leave part of the week open. If you're a college football junkie, that's a lot of downtime.
I'm here to help you get through it.
The following list is full of ideas to make the malaise of the offseason go by as quickly and painlessly as possible. There are key college football dates to mark down, like conference media days, along with some college football-related fun. There are also other sports to which you can attach yourself. There are even non-sports things, because they exist, too.
Some of these suggestions are anchored to specific times and events, but you'll find that others can be moved around. The list is here to be played with. Add more or do less. Just do you and survive the next three months before preseason camp picks up in August.
May
Glue yourself to the NBA and Stanley Cup playoffs
Dates: Present-June
Don't worry, you're not cheating on anyone or anything. You're not the Chicago Bears (thank God) and college football isn't your Mike Glennon. And Mitchell Trubisky sure as hell isn't LeBron James. The NBA regular season is a lengthy grind, so the stigma is that it's irrelevant. But boy do the players turn it on in the postseason. The battle between Isaiah Thomas and John Wall in Game 2 of the Celtics-Wizards series was the greatest show on Earth for a night.
And there's no drama quite like playoff hockey, especially when it comes to a Game 7. The intensity, speed and physicality on display is compelling television and even more thrilling in person. College football is weird and wonderful, but it's little league compared to pro playoffs.
Go to a Kentucky Derby party
Date: May 6
I'm not proud to say this is the first year I'll be attending a Derby party, but it is just that. There's no bad reason to get dressed up in brightly colored, borderline gaudy clothing with the sole intent of drinking mint juleps. The Kentucky Derby is nothing like the Super Bowl, but both are an excuse to throw a party. Put it this way: At least one Saturday normally reserved for college football will feel way less empty.
Follow the spring meetings
Dates: Present- June 2
Spring meetings aren't as exciting as media days, but they are when a lot of important work gets done. CBS Sports' own Dennis Dodd is on the ground in Phoenix as we speak covering the Big 12, Big Ten and Pac-12. The ACC will hold its meeting later this month in Amelia Island, Florida, and the SEC holds its meeting the week of May 29th in Destin. One of the front-burner items for the SEC is re-examining its graduate transfer rule, which may affect former Notre Dame quarterback Malik Zaire and whether he transfers to Florida or not.
Binge YouTube highlights
Dates: Whenever
There's a breaking point for everybody. At some point, you will succumb to your need for college football and the only thing available are the previous season's highlights. It's OK to give in early. Start with your favorite team and/or player and expand from there. There's a good chance I'm going to lose count on the number of times I'll re-watch Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson hurdling a Syracuse defender to kick-start his Heisman run.
Also, I will never do anything in life as well as USC quarterback Sam Darnold did when he threw this touchdown pass in the Rose Bowl (look away, Penn State fans).
June
Choose a Premier League football club to support
If you have more room on your fandom plate, the Premier League is a fine side dish to add. The league's popularity over here has grown significantly over the last several years, especially with the access it has on NBCSN. This isn't old, boring soccer, either. Watching a match is a tense 90 minutes with momentary breaks of highs and lows in the middle.
What makes choosing a club fun is the path each person takes to arrive at his or her conclusion, and the path is rarely the same for two people. The concept is a bit unorthodox because college football fans are usually either born into their fandom through family and/or geographical connections or introduced to it by actually attending the school. The former bleeds into pro team affiliations. With an EPL team, a lot of people start from scratch. You can do as much or as little research as you want. Be warned: If you choose the former, be prepared to be sucked into a rabbit hole that could take days to escape.
Just don't pick Tottenham Hotspur, the one-time under-the-radar club that's no longer under the radar because too many people found them to be a trendy, but safe pick (thanks, Bill Simmons). As always, and with self-loathing, #COYG.
Follow the Elite 11 and The Opening finals
Dates: June 2-4 (Elite 11), June 28-July 3 (The Opening)
Recruiting coverage never stops and some of the best of the best in quarterback recruiting will be on display during the Elite 11 finals in early June. Among the quarterbacks to be named to the Finals list include USC verbal commit Matt Corral and Penn State commit Justin Fields. The Elite 11 has produced mixed results with quarterbacks transitioning to college, but some recent names include Jacob Eason (Georgia), Shea Patterson (Ole Miss) and Deondre Francois (Florida State). For a broader look at the blue-chip recruits across the country, The Opening Finals will be held later in the month extending into July. A full roster can be found here.
Go ahead and get lost in "NCAA Football" again
My typical video game policy is that they should not be played in June. Go outside instead. But we here at CBS Sports just conducted a sports video game draft, and it brought back all kinds of memories from the now-defunct franchise. As someone who has wasted entire weeks playing this game in the past -- there are advantages to working from home, folks -- I can say it is sadly missed. Of course, this game should never be brought back unless players are going to be properly compensated for the use of their name/image/likeness. Until that happens, we are not worthy of it.
Fun game, though.
July
Fire back up "Game of Thrones"
Date: July 16
I'll be honest, I've never watched "Game of Thrones." My roommate has -- three times through, I think. So, wait ... is that Jon Snow guy still dead or did they bring him back to life? All I know is there's a painting of him on our living room wall. Anyway, this is a show a lot of people enjoy and the start of Season 7 will be highly anticipated. Tune in if that's your thing. I hear there's a lot of violence.
MLB's Home Run Derby
Date: July 10
The baseball season is egregiously long, but the All-Star break and Home Run Derby are lighthearted ways to break things up. The raw power of the Derby makes for a fun evening on television or in person, especially with the chance of getting a ball. Watching Josh Hamilton plow through 28 home runs in 2008 was life-changing.
Take in the glory that is SEC Media Days
Dates: July 10-13
There are conference media days, and then there are SEC Media Days. It's a spectacle unlike any other of its kind. The sheer volume of media members in attendance coupled with the fans waiting for a picture or autograph turns Hoover, Alabama, into a mini Super Bowl site for the better part of a week. Commissioner Greg Sankey's state of the conference speech is a can't-miss and there are always a few hot-button items that produce great quotes. All that's missing now is former LSU coach Les Miles.
Plus, where else can you see the most powerful coach in the sport exchanging verbal jabs with the conference's most influential media voice?
There's other media days, too
Dates: July 13-27
The welcome part about July is that, while it's still technically the offseason, it makes the season feel like it's right around the corner. Conference media days have a lot to do with that. While the SEC's media circus stands on its own, there are plenty of other major storylines to be told throughout the landscape. The ACC's media days are on July 13-14; the Big 12's are from July 17-18; the Big Ten's Kickoff Luncheon takes place on July 24-25; and Pac-12 Media Days are from July 26-27.