Austin Murphy, a long-time writer for Sports Illustrated, loves college football. He loves its traditions, wackiness, and big upsets. He loves its fun.

Saturday Rules is his evidence: a chronicle of the 2006 Division I football season. He travels the country and takes part in a wide range of rituals: the Salute to Troy, the rolling of Toomer’s corner, a drum line in South Bend. He recounts the stunts of the ever-creative (if sometimes too creative) Stanford marching band. The crown of the season, of course, is Boise State’s victory over Oklahoma—an upset the likes of which the NFL hasn’t seen since the AFC-NFC merger and will likely not see again.

So there’s lots of fun here. Murphy is less than forthcoming about exposing the NCAA underbelly. He makes no mention of academic cheating. (He’d probably call it a “scandal” with an attempt to glamorize it.) Boosters who essentially bribe athletic departments to land a recruit or fire a coach are nowhere to be found here. Hard-core recruiting violations—all of which involve grown men and 17- and 18-year-old students—aren’t here to crash the party.

That’s not to say that Murphy isn’t right on the essential point: college football is more dramatic and more fun than its professional older brother. The traditions surrounding the college game are often a much-needed antithesis to lifeless commercial-driven events. Murphy would do far more justice to a very interesting game by pointing out that the drive to win is a two-edged sword. It can result in great efforts (see Boise State) and great shame. Making that point doesn’t rob the game of its high points, but it could make it clear that football, like all pursuits of excellence, needs to be vigilant about itself.