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Six weeks into the season, the New York Jets already have lost more games than the Utah Utes did in defensive lineman Sione Pouha's senior year of 2004.
And they have the NFL's best record (5-1), so Pouha is thrilled.
Denver offensive lineman Zane Beadles has experienced more losses in September and October than he did in the full '08 and '09 seasons with the Utes.
And the Broncos (2-4) still like their chances in the AFC West, so Beadles is not feeling defeated.
The NFL is a different world than college football, to a degree that it hardly seems like the same sport sometimes. In contrast to a Bowl Championship Series ranking system that punishes the loser of even one game, there's considerable cushion at the professional level.
Which system is right? Is loving them both so wrong?
One method spikes and deflates interest each week, the other prolongs it as long as possible. One is harsh, the other forgiving.
Each makes me care, which is what matters.
For all the wonderful volatility of the college football regular season, there's something to be said for having so many NFL teams with championship dreams -- whether delusional or not -- remaining intact for so long, thanks partly to divisional alignment.
Only a few of the 32 teams appear completely hopeless at this point, in a league where only three of them have fewer than two losses, yet 21 clubs are .500 or better. The NFL is almost like the fictional town of Lake Woebegone, where every child is said to be "above average." And even the 1-4 Dallas Cowboys, losers of the so-called "Panic Bowl" against Minnesota, still could host the Super Bowl.
Parity practically has become a parody. But the salary cap, free agency and the draft enable downtrodden teams such as Kansas City to recover and become competitive, even if the likes of Buffalo and Oakland keep defying that theory.
In any case, everything sorts itself out over 16 games, which is long enough to create a true picture. "Last year, we were September and October champions ... and it didn't get us anywhere," said Denver coach Josh McDaniels, citing the Broncos' 6-0 start and failure to make the playoffs.
No college team has won anything yet, except minor-bowl eligibility. But roughly 110 of the 120 schools already are out of the national championship picture -- not that they all started the season with any reasonable chance, but that's another issue.
So there's no denying that the BCS formula enhances every Saturday of the regular season, creating weekly elimination games.
The comparison is not as elementary as Playoffs vs. No Playoffs, though. Even if college football does adopt a playoff system, there's obviously no way that one-third of the teams would qualify, as in the NFL. College football would lose some of its drama if the stakes in some big games were merely playoff seeding, as opposed to being knocked out entirely.
Yet if there are no make-or-break games in the NFL at this time of year, there are few, if any, automatic wins, either. "You can't just show up," Pouha said.
So even with 16 regular-season games, teams put full effort into each of them. One loss may not destroy a season, but it eventually could determine whether a team makes or misses the playoffs. Every victory is valued.
"We have five wins going into our bye week," Jets coach Rex Ryan said after Sunday's 24-20 defeat of Denver. "It's the top record in this league, the last time I checked, and we are right where we want to be."
The NFL rewards performance, without asking for perfection. That's the difference between the pros and the amateurs, but here's the similarity: They're both worth watching.
kkragthorpe@sltrib.com
Twitter: @tribkurt Alt Heads:
NFL or college? I love 'em both
