There’s a very old saying attributable to Aristotle that says, “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” Actually, that’s not exactly what he said, but in this Wikipedia-world we live in today, who cares?

While I’m fairly certain he wasn’t talking about college football at the time, that phrase has now been usurped and routinely applied to team sports. It makes perfect sense, because the truth of the statement is also the essence of football. It’s more about the team than the individual.

Andy Graham is a co-host of Auburn Blitz and his column appears here weekly.