Our weekly dispatch from the nation's foremost mustache expert. (You might have noticed there were two this week.)

As the playoffs near in the battle for the Capital One Mascot of the Year, the 16 large, fuzzy, overachieving behemoths of the character world are digging deep to support the universities they represent.

Old Dominion's "Big Blue" had been tearing it up, but the race has tightened, and stretch-run voting will decide the winner. (You can vote here.)

The standings, somewhat surprisingly, have been a reflection of immense school spirit, as opposed to football power.

The leader board includes:

1. Old Dominion University's "Big Blue"
2. University of Texas-El Paso's "Paydirt Pete" (who earned the mustache lobby's vote)
3. University of Montana's "Monte"

Ohio State's "Brutus the Buckeye" and Oregon's "Puddles the Duck" are lurking in fourth and fifth place, respectively. The biggest shock, however, may be which schools' mascots are bringing up the rear.

In the last three spots sit UCLA's "Joe Bruin," University of Miami's "Sebastian the Ibis" and the University of Maryland's "Testudo." Maryland alumni Norm Chad and Scott Van Pelt must be weeping in their turtle soup.

So, with the regular season coming to a halt on Nov. 22, the top eight teams will enter the playoffs, which will separate the bears from the ducks, cats, turtles and bearded warriors and determine the Capital One Mascot of the Year. That honor will be bestowed on Jan. 1 at the Capital One Bowl in Orlando.

Have your voice heard. Go vote now.

Oh, and check out these boys and girls' mad hip-hop skillz. They ain't bad.


The preceding was a sponsored post. The opinions, and good looks, are entirely those of Dr. Abraham Jonas Froman and several of his imaginary friends. For Dr. Abraham J. Froman's mustache perspective, check in every Wednesday on Asylum.