College Football

[Carey]

My early thoughts on all of this is if Oregon, USC, UCLA, and Washington all join the Big 10, it's a big deal, that conference is happy.  They'll have a giant grin, except mine could be TEN times bigger if/when Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Michigan State zoom down and over to the infamous SEC

[xaxat]

Gonna be weird if/when USC or UCLA represents the B1G in the Rose Bowl.

If there is still a Rose Bowl. 

[Just Here]

The Big Ten has released a statement confirming that UCLA and USC were both approved to join the conference.

Quote

The Big Ten Conference Council of Presidents and Chancellors voted unanimously today to admit the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Southern California to the Big Ten Conference effective August 2, 2024. Competition will begin for all conference sports in the 2024-25 academic year.

Also, both UCLA and USC have released statements officially announcing their planned moves to the Big Ten.

Edited July 1, 2022 by Just Here
added Big Ten statement quote and link

[Carey]

2 hours ago, xaxat said:

Gonna be weird if/when USC or UCLA represents the B1G in the Rose Bowl.

If there is still a Rose Bowl. 

It's sorta already weird right now.  Well, every 3 years with it being part of the rotation for the CFB playoff.  FWIW, Pasadena will be the site of one of the National semifinals following the final season with those California schools in the Pac-12.

IMO, there will always be a Rose Bowl.  Just not really exclusive to the Pac-12 & Big Ten.  Soon after their arrival East, the 12-year deal with the postseason finally ends.  It could've ended sooner, but it didn't.  As long as it's not extended (with 4 teams max fighting for the title).

As mentioned, we're probably seeing the beginning of the end of conferences and the rivalries too.  Times change, and things are different.

I think I'll be fine with it.  Especially since I'm hoping & wishing for the same in the pros .[The NHL has done it though not w/o criticism.  The NFL has not done anything in 2 decades.  All they did was extend the season and expand the postseason.  The NBA also expanded its postseason (which is rather nice) but probably will revamp things when they get to 32.  Major League Baseball is looking to go to 32, I guess.  We'll see how they'll restructure their leagues]

As is the custom, football is king, but it'll be a rather interesting B1G in 2024-2025 come hoops time!

[Bastet]

I know I just need to adapt to the fact conferences no longer mean what they meant for most of my life, and I will, but I still haven't wrapped my mind around OU and Texas going to the SEC, so USC and UCLA to the Big Ten is pretty much beyond my comprehension yet, even though I know it's a benefit to USC and thus I should be happy.

At least Urban Meyer is gone from the Ohio St. sidelines, but he's still there, and fundamentally I can't stomach that I'll have to have that "THE Ohio State" twaddle as a seasonal part of my life.  And put up with Jim Harbaugh in "my" conference again?

[JTMacc99]

This is fantastic news for the Big Ten Network. Once those teams official join, they'll be part of the basic cable lineup for all of California. 

So let's say they're getting an average of $0.20 for everybody who chooses a sports package that includes Big-10 in California now, and in 2024 they'll get $1.50 for everybody with basic cable.  (Both of those rates are probably low, by the way.)

According to Google, there are 14.2 million homes in California. Let's say 75% have cable, so 10.65 million. Big-10 Nework will insist that they be in the video packages for 80% of that, so 8.52 million homes times $1.50/month times 12 months = $153.3 million revenue, the vast majority of it new.  

Pretty sweet deal. 

[roamyn]

18 hours ago, Carey said:

As mentioned, we're probably seeing the beginning of the end of conferences and the rivalries too.  Times change, and things are different.

Rivalries won’t end.  Some might look different, tho.

But rivalries are most of the time familial.  They’re passed down from generation to generation.  Maybe on campus they’ll look different.  But families will always honor tradition.

For ex, my 10yr old grandson, being in S NJ is being raised a tOSU fan.  My niece & nephew, who are very young Floridians, and spend most of the summers in Brazil, are also die hard Buckeyes.

[Popples]

[Bastet]

Oregon TE Spencer Webb dead at 22; he was out on the rock slides at Lake Creek Falls, a popular cliff diving spot about an hour from campus, fell and hit his head. 

[PepSinger]

That’s heartbreaking 

[xaxat]

Did SEC Shorts invade the conference's media days?

"We know in time Vanderbilt football will be the best program in the country," he (Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea) said.

[Popples]

No more "Turnover Chain" at The U.

[Carey]

Meh.  I guess it'll be missed.  To be honest, Miami hasn't really won anything in the past couple of decades.  There was promise in 2017, but the result of a title was replaced by getting the hell beat out of them

[Danielg342]

On 7/21/2022 at 9:34 AM, xaxat said:

Did SEC Shorts invade the conference's media days?

"We know in time Vanderbilt football will be the best program in the country," he (Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea) said.

Hell will freeze over before Vanderbilt wins the national championship...

[Xeliou66]

So with the first college football games 3 weeks away, and the first full week 4 weeks away, I thought I would post some thoughts and predictions about the upcoming season. I’ll go conference by conference -

SEC - Alabama is the favorite to win the national title, they’ve got a team loaded with talent as always, the lack of experience at WR and RB is somewhat concerning but I’m sure guys will emerge like they always do at Bama, and they have a great QB and a great defense. The SEC West will be the best division in college football once again, I think Arkansas is the second best team in it and the biggest threat to beat Bama, I really like what Sam Pittman has done with Arkansas. In the East, Georgia is obviously the favorite again, and they have plenty of talent, but they lost the vast majority of their defense, as well as their top 2 rushers, so I think it will be an uphill battle for the Dawgs to make the playoff again. I think Tennessee may be back to being good, they have a strong offense, I’m not sure what to make of my team, the Florida Gators, they should have a winning record but the QB position is a real question mark.

Big 10 - Ohio St is the other favorite for the national title, and they have a great team with lots of talent and experience, and should dominate the Big 10. Michigan is going to fall some IMO, they lost a lot of talent, Michigan St should be strong again, and Penn St has talent but I’m never sure what to make of them. In the West, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa are all pretty good, Wisconsin will probably win the division.

ACC - The ACC will be interesting to watch as I’m not sold on Clemson at all, their QB sucks, and I don’t see them making the playoff unless he magically turns things around or is replaced by someone better. I like what NCST, Wake and Louisville have, they all have good QB’s and I could see any of them beating Clemson and winning the Atlantic. In the Coastal, I think Pitt is the favorite, I don’t think Miami is back yet.

Big 12 - Oklahoma will be the obvious favorite once again, they are always very talented. Also watch out for Oklahoma St and Kansas St, Oklahoma St is consistently very good and has a pretty experienced team, and Kansas St is an under the radar team that could be really good this year. No idea what to expect from Texas, they should have a winning record but you just never know with them now.

PAC 12 - Both Utah and USC are playoff contenders - Utah returns a lot of talent from a team that made the Rose Bowl a year ago, while USC will be the most improved team in the country as they add in a lot of talent and get a new head coach who’s a proven winner. It will be interesting to see which of those teams comes out on top. The North is weaker than normal, I think Oregon St may emerge and win the division, they have quietly become good again, and Oregon and Washington look to be having rebuilding seasons.

I have no idea who will emerge from the Group of 5 conferences.

Overall, I think Bama and Ohio St are the clear favorites to win it all and should definitely make the playoff. I’m not sure who the other 2 playoff teams will be.

Can’t wait for the season to start!!

[Popples]

It's so close and I'm so excited! Don't forget to turn on closed captions.

[Xeliou66]

The AP Top 25 has been released, here it is: 

1 - Alabama
2 - Ohio St 
3 - Georgia
4 - Clemson
5 - Notre Dame
6 - Texas A&M
7 - Utah
8 - Michigan
9 - Oklahoma
10 - Baylor  
11 - Oregon 
12 - Oklahoma St   
13 - NCST
14 - USC. 
15 - Michigan St
16 - Miami 
17 - Pitt
18 - Wisconsin
19 - Arkansas    
20 - Kentucky 
21 - Ole Miss     
22 - Wake Forest 
23 - Cincinnati
24 - Houston
25 - BYU

I have some disagreements with this poll -

Clemson is ranked way too high, they are only ranked there because of the past and not because of their current roster - their QB Uiagalelei is trash, unless he has a magical transformation, or is replaced, Clemson won’t make the playoff.

How in the flying fuck is Baylor #10?! They lost their whole team pretty much. Aranda is a good coach who will get the most out of Baylor but I don’t see them contending for the Big 12 Title/New Years Six this year.

I wouldn’t have Michigan in the top 10 either, they lost most of their team, I would have Michigan St ahead of them.

USC should be in the top 10 IMO, they added in a lot of talent including a dynamic QB and the reigning Biletnikoff winning receiver.

Bama and OSU are clearly the 2 best teams IMO, they are almost certain to make the playoffs, behind them I really don’t know who the other 2 playoff favorites are.

I would have Kansas St and Tennessee in the top 25.

These polls are based so much on the past and not on the current talent. 

[PepSinger]

The crack pipe that must've been smoked before placing Notre Dame in the top 5...

[Danielg342]

So, is there something to this or are ESPN just looking for clicks?

(Or both)

College Football Playoff's board discusses possibility, potential of restructuring how college football is governed, sources say (espn.com)

The article notes that, in a five minute segment during a lengthy conference call, the CFP board discussed the idea of breaking away the top division of universities from the NCAA. In other words, the discussion wasn't serious, but it could lay the groundwork for more serious discussions in the future.

I don't know what to say. There's the obvious concern about the impact a breakaway league spearheaded by the CFP board would have with the rest of the NCAA, especially among the smaller schools who may no longer get games against the lucrative schools.

On the other hand, there's an air of inevitability regarding all this. When college football became all about the national championship- and not just about the end of season bowls- it would figure that the bigger schools, the ones who would actually have a chance at the championship, would want to come together and monopolize the opportunity for themselves.

With schools moving around and coalescing into a few "super conferences", this movement only picked up steam. Having four conferences removes the guesswork on who gets the four playoff positions- or at least it should, in theory.

So it feels inevitable that the schools may eventually decide to form their own league and craft their own rules and regulations, solidifying all the power they've consolidated. As the article itself stated, a new league could craft a system that's more conducive to the realities of their programs- Florida's needs and capabilities are far different than that of McNeese State.

There could be a benefit to this. A "major college football league" could work with the NFL and become a proper developmental territory for the league. They could synchronize the rules to ease the transition from the college game to the pro game. Plus, the players playing in the MCFL would sign up knowing they're actually preparing for the NFL, with the MCFL perhaps serving as a "preview" to the pro ranks.

I guess we'll see where it goes. The College Football Playoff board isn't yet at the planning stage for such an endeavour, but I don't think they're going to forget about this venture any time soon.

[AimingforYoko]

Big Ten finalizes $7b deal with CBS, NBC, Fox.

Edited August 18, 2022 by AimingforYoko

[Carey]

I'll be honest: I'm looking forward to it all (re B1G deal)

[Popples]

Now B1G fans have to put up with the awfulness of Gary Danielson.

[PepSinger]

1 hour ago, Popples said:

Now B1G fans have to put up with the awfulness of Gary Danielson.

MUAHAHAHAHAHA. Their time has come! I cannot wait to be rid of him!

[xaxat]

It's bullshit (but not surprising) how casually conference commissioners are committing unpaid kids (NIL is not a salary from an employer), primarily in football, to ever increasing workloads in the pursuit of profit. 

The expanded playoff for football is a given at this point. If the proposed sixteen team format is approved, that means the teams in the final will play 12 regular season games, a conference title game and 3 games to get to the final. 16 games. And that doesn't take into account the possibility of conference playoffs in the rapidly growing mega-conferences.

Edited August 19, 2022 by xaxat

[Danielg342]

5 hours ago, xaxat said:

It's bullshit (but not surprising) how casually conference commissioners are committing unpaid kids (NIL is not a salary from an employer), primarily in football, to ever increasing workloads in the pursuit of profit. 

The expanded playoff for football is a given at this point. If the proposed sixteen team format is approved, that means the teams in the final will play 12 regular season games, a conference title game and 3 games to get to the final. 16 games. And that doesn't take into account the possibility of conference playoffs in the rapidly growing mega-conferences.

I think college football having a bigger playoff is ultimately a good thing for the sport, though I would agree it should not come with games simply added on to the schedule. The biggest issue with the current format (and those that came before it) is that when you had a smaller school that made a run and could at least make a case they could hang with "the big boys" (see the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, which may be remembered for the wild finish but the Boise State Broncos did dominate Adrian Peterson and the Oklahoma Sooners for much of the contest) they never had a chance to prove it on the field. If the expanded playoffs allows those smaller tier FBS schools to have a real shot at the national title, I'm all for it.

Of course, this would be predicated on whether or not the major schools won't just eventually move to completely shut out the Boise States of the world entirely. I can't imagine this series of power plays eventually ends with nothing but the so-called "big schools" in a league all by themselves (as I posited in my previous post) just so they can monopolize the mega TV contracts as well as the major national championship.

Which would be sad, but how much can we fight it off at this stage?

[Bastet]

35 minutes ago, Danielg342 said:

(see the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, which may be remembered for the wild finish but the Boise State Broncos did dominate Adrian Peterson and the Oklahoma Sooners for much of the contest)

I root for OU out of family loyalty, but I always had a problem with the worship of Bob Stoops because he consistently coached teams to look past lesser opponents and would thus wind up having to try and fight back from their arrogant asses on the ground when they shouldn't have; in that game, I legitimately switched to rooting for Boise State (not a single player or coach of which I could pick out of a line-up, despite their undefeated season, because they were in the WAC) in the second half because they were playing their asses off while the Sooners were sitting on theirs.

I was genuinely pleased for this random-to-me program when they held off the fourth quarter "gee, I guess we should actually play this game" surge from OU to pull off the much-earned upset in OT.  That was one hell of a finish, with a bunch of trick plays OU wasn't ready for, from taking it to OT on a 4th and 18 TD to the two-point conversion in OT to put it away.  I enjoyed it in spite of my usual loyalty, and if I was a Boise St. fan I'd probably watch it annually.  What a great game!

[Xeliou66]

This is the last Saturday of the year without college football, as there are a handful of games next week and everyone gets started in 2 weeks!! I can’t wait, football season is the best!!

[Carey]

Can't wait either.  Actual games, not the talk.  First Thursday in some time there are several decent games in advance of the BIG Saturday kickoff!

[mojoween]

On 8/6/2022 at 3:25 AM, Danielg342 said:

Hell will freeze over before Vanderbilt wins the national championship...

I’m saving this so I can give it to Freezing Cold Takes.  I might have to bequeath it to my heirs in my will, but by golly odds are it has to come true someday.

[xaxat]

I see that Fox worked hard to create the ultimate college football atmosphere for their open by pitting historic rivals Nebraska and Northwestern in front of the football rabid fans of Dublin Ireland.

[Xeliou66]

Northwestern beats Nebraska 31-28 in the first big CFB game of the year. Nebraska fell apart in the second half and choked, 2 INT’s did them in. Both offenses moved the ball well. 
I think Scott Frost will be gone by the end of the year, every year we hear that Nebraska is supposed to turn things around, and every year they suck. Another bad loss for Nebraska and I have a feeling they are on their way to another losing season, Frost has been an epic bust. 

[Popples]

That onside kick was such a momentum changer. To think Scott Frost was bragging last week how much Nebraska's OL were vomiting during practice due to the style of the new OL coach. He's a terrible coach and it looks more and more like UCF succeeded in spite of him.

[Xeliou66]

7 minutes ago, Popples said:

That onside kick was such a momentum changer. To think Scott Frost was bragging last week how much Nebraska's OL were vomiting during practice due to the style of the new OL coach. He's a terrible coach and it looks more and more like UCF succeeded in spite of him.

Yeah I couldn’t believe that quote from Frost about how the O-Line was vomiting all the time, as if that was something to brag about. Frost has been a huge bust and I’ll be shocked if he isn’t fired at the end of this season, I don’t see Nebraska making a bowl. 

[Popples]

[Stats Queen]

On 8/27/2022 at 1:13 PM, xaxat said:

I see that Fox worked hard to create the ultimate college football atmosphere for their open by pitting historic rivals Nebraska and Northwestern in front of the football rabid fans of Dublin Ireland.

And in Atlanta the local Fox Affiliate broke away from the game to air the Flacon’s preseason game, - not happy as we were gone and were looking forward to watching it….

[Xeliou66]

Well the first full week of CFB starts tonight - a couple of good games tonight, the Backyard Brawl between WVU/Pitt being played for the first time in a decade, and Penn St/Purdue is a good game as well. Tomorrow there are a few games, TCU/Colorado late night game is interesting. Decent slate of games Saturday, the early games suck, but at 3:30 there is Georgia/Oregon and Cincinnati/Arkansas, and at night we have Notre Dame/Ohio St and Utah/Florida, and the late night game between Boise St and Oregon St is interesting also. Sunday night we have Florida St/LSU from the Superdome, and Monday night we have Clemson/GA Tech. It’s great to have football back, let’s go! 

[Carey]

I can't wait for the Backyard Brawl.  It's been a very, very, long time.

PSU/Purdue should be great as well.

I was hoping to post my season picks today.  I might have to wait until Friday, which might be cheating.  Though I guess it would technically be cheating anyway since I should've had them in by Saturday morning

[xaxat]

One of the things that makes the Backyard Brawl a great rivalry game is the proximity of the two schools, about 80 miles apart so this rivalry is really personal. A lot of the kids have played against each other since Pop Warner. There are a lot of WVU alumni in Pittsburgh so you've got divided loyalties in neighborhoods, workplaces and even families.

In a world where college football is increasingly becoming a product strictly for TV broadcast, the Brawl is real.

[Xeliou66]

This Pitt/WVU game has had much better defense than I expected, given that both teams have good QB’s, but both defenses have been strong and neither offense has been particularly impressive. Great atmosphere at the game.

Purdue ahead of Penn St, should be a good one.

[Xeliou66]

Pitt wins the Backyard Brawl thanks to a late game pick six that bounced off the WVU receiver’s hands and was picked. Thrilling game, Pitt came alive late and won, Slovis played well, JT Daniels played well also but Pitt’s defense got great pressure on him late. Excellent game.

[Xeliou66]

Penn St escapes with a win against Purdue, Sean Clifford redeems himself after a pick six with an excellent game winning drive. 

[mojoween]

12 teams feels like too many.  Is this how they are going to phase in their mega-conferences?

[Xeliou66]

45 minutes ago, mojoween said:

12 teams feels like too many.  Is this how they are going to phase in their mega-conferences?

12 teams is too many for the playoffs, I’m not happy that’s how they’re going to do it in a few years, it’s going to become like college basketball where the regular season means very little. One thing I’ve always loved about CFB is that every game matters, and that won’t be the case as much with the expansion to 12 teams, and you will have teams in the playoffs that don’t belong in the playoffs and will just get thrashed by the likes of Alabama, Georgia etc. Since the playoff began in 2014, there have been more blowout games in the playoffs than close games, and I’m afraid this will just get worse with the expansion. I just don’t like how college football is going, between the playoff expansion and the ridiculous conference re-alignments with no regard for geography or historical rivalries, it’s just becoming too commercialized and nothing like the sport I grew up with. 

[AimingforYoko]

3 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

you will have teams in the playoffs that don’t belong in the playoffs and will just get thrashed by the likes of Alabama, Georgia etc.

Well, the top 4 seeds will have byes, so the teams that "don't belong" will have to fight it out amongst themselves.

[xaxat]

It's a money grab. More games = more revenue for the leagues and ESPN (or whichever network bids billions for the rights)

NIL aside, I hope the players (who don't get any of that school/conference revenue) start demanding a piece of the pie off of that huge pile of money that schools are making off of their labor.

[AimingforYoko]

As a side note, this might be the beginning of the end for ND as an independent. The top 4 seeds will be awarded to "The top 4 conference champions". Leaves ND on the outside looking in, as far a CFP bye is concerned.

[Carey]

Gotta agree re: no more ND independent stuff.  For the most part; maybe something happens where an undefeated Notre Dame bypasses one of the conference champions, especially if one of them has a loss (they will).  If the Irish "fight it" or just "simply have a conversation" they could keep their independent status.  On the other hand, Notre Dame might not care before running the table to knock off 4 teams for the title.

The NIL is overrated.  I also agree that the players should ask for more money here.  Or they could have a conversation to where the margin between High School graduation and NFL eligibility goes from 3 years to 2.  The expanded playoff makes it more difficult to justify players sitting out.  Therefore, if someone gets hurt in an early playoff game & their teams loses early, that player in year 3, just simply sits out to get better.

Total money grab, but I have no problem with 12 teams.  Unless you have action on the games, most of the (glorified) bowl games lack purpose

[Xeliou66]

NCST escapes with a win against ECU, ECU’s kicker cost them the game. Not an impressive start for NCST, who I thought coming in might be the ACC’s best team. 

[Xeliou66]

Great start for the defending champion Georgia, up 14-0 early in the second quarter over Oregon. And Bo Nix is still a turnover machine.

Edited September 3, 2022 by Xeliou66

[Carey]

3 minutes ago, Xeliou66 said:

NCST escapes with a win against ECU, ECU’s kicker cost them the game. Not an impressive start for NCST, who I thought coming in might be the ACC’s best team. 

And good thing too.  Was nearly going to be pissed for the rest of the day (except not LOL).  Nearly went 0-2 for the North Carolina teams.  App State fell short, and NC State escaped thanks to a missed FG.

If you have great defense, or very good defense, teams should be able to beat UNC (easily if one has a decent ground and/or air game on offense)