With the hyper focus on the playoffs, fan interest in the bowl games has rapidly diminished.
For example, attendance at these games is much lower than in the past (probably as an inflation work-around) - plus the fans can watch the games on ESPN.
I understand why the Committee kept SMU in the playoffs, a decision that helps ensure the the conference title games will continue to be played.
However, circling back to my “follow-the-money” maxim, I did note that the ACC championship game seemed to have 20,000 empty seats … in a stadium that seats only 75,000 fans.
That is, fan interest in attending the ACC title game has never been great - and wasn’t this year even though two berths in the playoffs were at stake.
I think I’m correct in stating that the only conference championship game that has been a hard sell-out every year is the SEC title game in Atlanta.
While the conferences make extra money from selling even 50,000 tickets, the real money comes from ABC/ESPN, which pays the conference members tens of millions of dollars for the rights to televise these extra games.
Conference expansion always seemed non-sensical to me …
I always considered it odd that fans of SEC teams (or any league) were so excited when “their” conference added blue-blood teams to their league.
Didn’t these fans realize this was going to almost guarantee that “their” team was going to suffer many more losses in future football seasons?
That is, adding more formidable teams would lessen the probability your team would experience a happy or memorable season and make the playoffs … or a bowl game (which, as mentioned, few fans care about anymore).
More guaranteed regular season losses almost guarantees playoff expansion - to keep the fans at the sport’s most passionate programs from crying “foul” every year.
Aggie alumni here. UT showed the country what we've known for decades - they're arrogant, spoiled children that throw a fit and cheat, ends justifying the means. After 40+ yrs following them some, I still can't tell you if they have any kind of national following. I do know that all the SEC pre-2024 expansion fans on Twitter put aside rivalries to hate on UT. One "other" UT fan (Vols) said it best, I think: I couldn't believe what y'all told us about Texas, but damn if you weren't right! "
UT doesn't care about anyone except UT. That's going to eventually cause riffs in the SEC.
That was my take on it exactly. Everyone is just going to beat each other up.
I'm curious if you agree with something a Vol fan told me (an Aggie alum): SEC football is home team wins most games except for 'Bama under Saban. I got this bit of wisdom after South Carolina knocked the snot outta my Aggies. At that moment, I had a hard time believing it could be SEC-wide b/c A&M has never won with any consistency away in SEC. Just figured that was our second-tier place in the mix.
And if and when the SEC goes to a 9-game schedule (which ESPN/Disney wants to happen), these league teams will suffer even more regular-season losses. However, I think the League Commissioner (who might as well work for ESPN) will sell the 9-game schedule ... as a way for the teams to make even more money (from ticket sales at more attractive games and from larger payoffs from Disney). The athletic directors know they have to have this extra money due to inflation and new NIL costs. So, again, "follow the money" or "the most important thing."
The portal and NIL are killing college football. Marshall had a great team and great year but now all the portal guys are transporting themselves back to the portal to get money. And the guys who are left to carry the team stand the chance of another portal “star” coming in and once again putting them on the bench next year. This must be very discouraging to those players who decide to stay and graduate from one college.
The best players for schools like Marshall and Troy will be poached in a hurry and will never stay three to five years at these programs any more. I actually wonder why coaches are still recruiting unproven high school players when they can get proven college players through the portal. Those players can help them win more games instantly ... and save the coaches' jobs.
One "metric" that probably hurt Bama in any Committee debate - or should have HELPED Alabama - was the metric of "wins against Top 25 teams."
Alabama was 3-1 in this metric, which was more than Ole Miss, SC and SMU. However, Alabama could have had FOUR wins in this metric ... If LSU had been ranked in the final two Top 25 rankings, which the Tigers were not.
However, LSU ended the year at 8-4 and, in my opinion, is certainly a stronger or better team than teams who did make the final Top 25 - like UNLV or Army. That is, LSU would be heavily favored to beat several teams that made the final Top 25.
Alabama ended up getting no credit for beating LSU (decisively) on the road at LSU's home field. This was one of Alabama's best/most impressive victories all season ... but it didn't matter as the subjective polls said LSU was NOT a "top 25" team.
If LSU had been ranked (as they should have been), Alabama would have four wins against Top 25 teams. I don't think any team in America had more than four victories against teams that finished in the Top 25.
Basically, that impressive win didn't help Alabama at all.
Any selection of the now 12 “best” teams is, of course, subjective as nobody can know what team would win one or more games with each other unless they actually play the games. In fact, this is why a Committee was chosen in the first place - to make such subjective assessments.
Controversy DOES SELL. I note that ESPN sold a lot of commercials with their "Playoff Selection" shows and debates.
I actually don't think playoff expansion helped college basketball, where the regular season games (and even conference titles) hardly matter to fans. All they care about is if their team makes the Big Dance. Once you can tell you have a team that's not going to make the field, fans go head and write off the season and completely lose interest.
The TV ratings for a regular season basketball game are terrible. A "bad" college football game will have 5 to 10 times as many viewers as a good college basketball game.
I’m not an SMU fan and would definitely say that I’m more an Alabama fan, but Alabama was incredibly inconsistent and it would not shock me in any way for SMU to spank Alabama this year.
It is hard to tell with Alabama. They are like a box of chocolates, you never know which team will show up on Saturday. SMU might beat Bama or ... Alabama might blowout SMU and could have won four straight games and won the national title. I don't think there's any team in the playoffs that Alabama couldn't beat on the right Saturday.
I dunno. Bama laid an egg with Vandy and the Sooners. You just don't know which one will show up. Maybe they just wanted a little poodle for an underdog.
SMU is entertaining and very fast, probably as fast as Oregon. But they can't keep that speed up 4 quarters against the big dogs, and I suspect if they play a couple games against the big dogs they gonna have some injuries. SEC and Big 10 are brutal in the trenches.
I'm looking at this as a casual college football fan, who follows it more for the games my alma mater plays and the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry.
Surprisingly, the MAC where my Redhawks play has been pretty much unscathed by the realignment of college football - although that may change as a couple teams have been rumored to move to the Mountain West.
But, as I write in a future article of mine, much was made about the $20 million Ohio State put up to acquire its (losing) team. I’d be willing to bet that Ohio State and Michigan alone put up more NIL money for football (heck, for all sports) than the entire Mid-American Conference that Miami has played in since 1947.
Basically, the MAC is becoming a series of farm teams for bigger schools, and that's not exactly good for the game. They've already been relegated to weekday nights in the late season where a disinterested ESPN audience that doesn't mind less than exposed teams watch a game played in front of a half-frozen audience in a 3/4 empty stadium. That's not the college football I grew up with, watching at old Miami Field with the analog clock on a Saturday afternoon. That was a campus event, and who cared whether ABC was there or not - we had a MAC rival to beat.
My bet is that, in ten years, the MAC will be broken up as some of the smaller schools will drop back to a smaller division while a few migrate to the smaller conferences to try and build them up. We've already lost the traditional (and oldest west of the Alleghenies) rivalry with the University of Cincinnati as they look down their nose at us from the Big 12, so what else can happen to a team like Miami and a small conference like the MAC?
You’re so correct on all of it. All the $$ (and political/social bullshit) and overgrown “playoffs” have driven this once sports addict as far away from the radio, tv and venue for all sports. Yes that’s ALL.
You’re right on the money, Bill. I predicted the same outcome from “NIL” money the day it was announced. I was furious when SC, UCLA, BYU and Utah destroyed the PAC12. It was a great conference, with intense rivalries, excellent players and was a lot of fun. Sad days.
Yeah, when you nuke rivalries than have been played for half a century or longer and are still relatively competitive, it weakens the ties to the sport and teams. Exact thing that happened with Aggies and Longhorns, although I will say the Longhorns don't really consider us a rival on the football field (and are arrogant in how they say it). But we can out prank 'em, that's for damn sure! LOL
Some random thoughts... coaches and players will still like the bowl games. Everyone gets "gift baskets" and coaches get to keep practicing another 60 days, which they really want to do.
I think small college football could morph into something as entertaining as minor league baseball. Fans get to see talent that's significantly better than any high school team up close with low prices. It's not going to make anyone rich, but it's a good value.
NIL - Going rate for power 5 QB's is $1 million. One left LSU for a COLD school like Michigan or similar (forget details) was in the $10 million range. Elite lineman in senior year with high draft prospects are topping at $1 million. Each school has organized to offer NIL money in addition to alumni org's. For all players that will fall just short of making a pro team, they'll still make $1-$2 million or more. If the prospect is likely to go in round 1, he needs to ignore the money and find the team/coach that can develop his skill to perform quickly at the pro level. With NIL money, they can afford Tom Brady as a coach LOL.
I think they need to restructure the playoff and ensure teams that get the buy week are the top 1-X teams (1-4 this year). And then structure the tournament like they do pro tennis... where a top 2 seeds have the easier and similar paths. That crap they did this year screwed Oregon, who seems clearly to be the best team.
Lastly ("Whew, you say!"), remember the old rule from the NFL - we use ref's to mark the football because they can make mistakes we can't reverse, which ticks off one team and creates complaints that generate interest. They're not going to ever purposefully eliminate controversy because it's one of the key pillars of interest and hope for next year.
Cheers! I'm sure 'Bama will be back next year! Aggies... not so sure. But year 2 of a new coach always starts promising!
I can't abide the (necessity of?!) paid amateur athletes. Sad that money has infected sport, that this stadium Bread and Circuses really shows Rome is fallen.
Well, I mostly agree but the idea the NCAA and schools can rake in billions of dollars and the semi-pro athletes that ARE the sport don't get paid (but the coaches do)... you can't pay a few generational wealth and not the key talent, in my opinion. So take it all away or level it out. We are a victim of our own success.
I am an Alabama fan and am neither irate nor depressed. DeBoer is plowing another man's field and was bound to hit a few snags. Time will tell whether he is the right man to fill the GOAT'S shoes or not. But truth be told NIL puts the I in team and in doing so has changed the sport in ways not yet understood. Saban knew that. He said he had young players coming in telling him they expected $900,000 and guaranteed playing time. Throw in the transfer portal and recruiting is rendered pointless. Certainly for the long term. The game has already suffered. You simply do not see those well-oiled machine college teams anymore. As for the SEC, those teams knock each other out of contention and few survive unscathed in terms of injuries. That does not occur in other conferences. Some not at all and in others not to the extent it has in the SEC. My prediction is SEC teams will migrate to other conferences. In the meantime there is already talk about not taking on the more difficult teams in non-conference games. Which was always good for television. So ultimately following the money may kill the golden-egg laying goose.
LOL, as an Aggie my thought after watching SMU was can we change to a conference where we'll always be 10-2 or better and get in? Of course, wouldn't get the same ESPN/SEC pay day for TV rights...
How do you pick the best 12 if it is all subjective??? You have to make results matter. Teams can only play their own conference, we can’t pretend or assume what would happen if they were in a different conference. There are 4 major conferences, are they all exactly equal in terms of depth and quality of teams, no they aren’t. So this system seems the best to sort that out on the field. SMU will get there shot against the vaunted big 10 and be rewarded for a great season, as will Arizona state. Will they win, maybe not, will they get blown out, possibly. That doesn’t mean they didn’t t earn there spot in the tourney, they did, as did Clemson. Do we really need to see the SEC replay there schedule in the playoffs??? I for one have no interest in seeing Texas play Georgia a 3rd time if it comes to that, they’ve already lost to them twice. Reward teams for a great season and let it play out on the field, not for a 3 or 4 loss season, simply because they play in a perceived harder conference.
That's a good counter-argument. Thanks for making those points, which I'm sure are widely shared.
I still think economics will drive this train in the future. You're going to have a lot of disappointed fan bases (in the SEC) every year if the playoff fields aren't expanded.
As Coach Saban and others have pointed out, one work-around for SEC teams is to not play any games outside the conference that might result in a loss. The thought being: You're team is probably guaranteed two or three losses in the conference schedule ... why risk another loss that could disqualify your team from playoff consideration.
But, by the same token, ESPN loves those big intersectional games - which create huge ratings. The teams need those big ratings to keep getting big checks from the networks - and to sell season tickets or produce a schedule that fans will still want to buy $125 tickets to.
So those games are probably going to remain on current and future schedules .... But, expanding the playoffs will mean that teams aren't punished for scheduling tougher games.
I think we'll ultimately end up with maybe 20 teams in the playoff - maybe four teams that get a first-round bye and then 16 other teams.
We are also going to see a lot more players suffer bad injuries from playing so many games.
For what's it worth, these extra playoff games are going to have to be on campus as the fans can't afford to travel to all these neutral site venues.
There won't be any "bowl game" type atmosphere where players can chill out and enjoy some R&R in Orlando or New Orleans or Miami. These are going to be just like regular season games. (I don't know when the "students" will study for exams, but I guess that no longer matters either).
I definitely expect it to keep expanding. Especially as the ratings plummet for the lesser bowl games that have become meaningless. Looking at this year's slate I was hard pressed to find a game or two worth watching, and thats assuming the star players would actually be playing, which I'm sure they won't. I think it will expand to 16 next go around. Eventually I see 3, maybe 4 super conferences of 20 plus teams each. The playoffs expanding further until it reaches 32 teams. If you follow the money as you say, that's where it's heading.
For the first time in a long time my Alabama friends and I have something to talk about. Interestingly, my Ohio State Buckeyes did the same thing Alabama did and lost games they clearly should have won and are now on the outside looking in.
It's unclear to me what did in Alabama, but in the case of Ohio State it comes down to coaching. I believe our coach is not suited to the task.
Both teams enjoy an incredible, rich history in college football. And both teams now wait for next year.
As for the playoffs/bowl formula, that remains to be seen. I'm undecided as to whether or not I'll like the changes.
I think Alabama's losses were total head scratchers, and perhaps the committee judged fans had Alabama fatigue. Might have figured they'd be back on their usual game next year, so let's let someone else play for a change.
In reality, who knows? The 'explanations' from the head of the committee are just regurgitations of known facts, no weighting or discussion of relative importance. Purposely vague, in my opinion.
I think there are two major issues that need to be resolved in the off-season otherwise college football will be permanently damaged.
The first issue is there should be no more than one transfer move in your eligibility. It is absolutely ridiculous that there are players that in four years are playing at three different schools And players who suffered injuries that are in their sixth year of eligibility. In the old days when I played if you got hurt then too bad.
The other issue is the NIL money. Yes it’s supposed to be for name image and likeness but I think there needs to be a rule that if you get over a certain amount of NIL money you need to play the entire season Otherwise you pay back your NIL money or you lose your eligibility. You were getting paid a lot of money and you need to continue the season and not think that I got a lot of money but I could get injured which would have me lose out on even more money. Too freaking bad if that’s the way you feel then don’t take any NIL money And feel free to not finish the season to protect your future.
They're probably already covered by insurance by the team at some level. I believe I read a comment about that pre-NIL. Might be totally different under NIL, but at the money they're getting now, just buy the damn insurance and play!
Bonus text 2 ...
With the hyper focus on the playoffs, fan interest in the bowl games has rapidly diminished.
For example, attendance at these games is much lower than in the past (probably as an inflation work-around) - plus the fans can watch the games on ESPN.
I understand why the Committee kept SMU in the playoffs, a decision that helps ensure the the conference title games will continue to be played.
However, circling back to my “follow-the-money” maxim, I did note that the ACC championship game seemed to have 20,000 empty seats … in a stadium that seats only 75,000 fans.
That is, fan interest in attending the ACC title game has never been great - and wasn’t this year even though two berths in the playoffs were at stake.
I think I’m correct in stating that the only conference championship game that has been a hard sell-out every year is the SEC title game in Atlanta.
While the conferences make extra money from selling even 50,000 tickets, the real money comes from ABC/ESPN, which pays the conference members tens of millions of dollars for the rights to televise these extra games.
Conference expansion always seemed non-sensical to me …
I always considered it odd that fans of SEC teams (or any league) were so excited when “their” conference added blue-blood teams to their league.
Didn’t these fans realize this was going to almost guarantee that “their” team was going to suffer many more losses in future football seasons?
That is, adding more formidable teams would lessen the probability your team would experience a happy or memorable season and make the playoffs … or a bowl game (which, as mentioned, few fans care about anymore).
More guaranteed regular season losses almost guarantees playoff expansion - to keep the fans at the sport’s most passionate programs from crying “foul” every year.
How are Oklahoma and UT in the Southeast?
How is SMU on the Atlantic Coast?
Aggie alumni here. UT showed the country what we've known for decades - they're arrogant, spoiled children that throw a fit and cheat, ends justifying the means. After 40+ yrs following them some, I still can't tell you if they have any kind of national following. I do know that all the SEC pre-2024 expansion fans on Twitter put aside rivalries to hate on UT. One "other" UT fan (Vols) said it best, I think: I couldn't believe what y'all told us about Texas, but damn if you weren't right! "
UT doesn't care about anyone except UT. That's going to eventually cause riffs in the SEC.
That was my take on it exactly. Everyone is just going to beat each other up.
I'm curious if you agree with something a Vol fan told me (an Aggie alum): SEC football is home team wins most games except for 'Bama under Saban. I got this bit of wisdom after South Carolina knocked the snot outta my Aggies. At that moment, I had a hard time believing it could be SEC-wide b/c A&M has never won with any consistency away in SEC. Just figured that was our second-tier place in the mix.
And if and when the SEC goes to a 9-game schedule (which ESPN/Disney wants to happen), these league teams will suffer even more regular-season losses. However, I think the League Commissioner (who might as well work for ESPN) will sell the 9-game schedule ... as a way for the teams to make even more money (from ticket sales at more attractive games and from larger payoffs from Disney). The athletic directors know they have to have this extra money due to inflation and new NIL costs. So, again, "follow the money" or "the most important thing."
The portal and NIL are killing college football. Marshall had a great team and great year but now all the portal guys are transporting themselves back to the portal to get money. And the guys who are left to carry the team stand the chance of another portal “star” coming in and once again putting them on the bench next year. This must be very discouraging to those players who decide to stay and graduate from one college.
The best players for schools like Marshall and Troy will be poached in a hurry and will never stay three to five years at these programs any more. I actually wonder why coaches are still recruiting unproven high school players when they can get proven college players through the portal. Those players can help them win more games instantly ... and save the coaches' jobs.
One "metric" that probably hurt Bama in any Committee debate - or should have HELPED Alabama - was the metric of "wins against Top 25 teams."
Alabama was 3-1 in this metric, which was more than Ole Miss, SC and SMU. However, Alabama could have had FOUR wins in this metric ... If LSU had been ranked in the final two Top 25 rankings, which the Tigers were not.
However, LSU ended the year at 8-4 and, in my opinion, is certainly a stronger or better team than teams who did make the final Top 25 - like UNLV or Army. That is, LSU would be heavily favored to beat several teams that made the final Top 25.
Alabama ended up getting no credit for beating LSU (decisively) on the road at LSU's home field. This was one of Alabama's best/most impressive victories all season ... but it didn't matter as the subjective polls said LSU was NOT a "top 25" team.
If LSU had been ranked (as they should have been), Alabama would have four wins against Top 25 teams. I don't think any team in America had more than four victories against teams that finished in the Top 25.
Basically, that impressive win didn't help Alabama at all.
Bonus or "cutting-room floor" text:
Any selection of the now 12 “best” teams is, of course, subjective as nobody can know what team would win one or more games with each other unless they actually play the games. In fact, this is why a Committee was chosen in the first place - to make such subjective assessments.
...which generates controversy which generates interest which generates audience eye balls which generates money like the Fed prints every day.
Controversy DOES SELL. I note that ESPN sold a lot of commercials with their "Playoff Selection" shows and debates.
I actually don't think playoff expansion helped college basketball, where the regular season games (and even conference titles) hardly matter to fans. All they care about is if their team makes the Big Dance. Once you can tell you have a team that's not going to make the field, fans go head and write off the season and completely lose interest.
The TV ratings for a regular season basketball game are terrible. A "bad" college football game will have 5 to 10 times as many viewers as a good college basketball game.
It comes down to this: what Committee member would bet even money on SMU agst Bama?
No one.
I’m not an SMU fan and would definitely say that I’m more an Alabama fan, but Alabama was incredibly inconsistent and it would not shock me in any way for SMU to spank Alabama this year.
It is hard to tell with Alabama. They are like a box of chocolates, you never know which team will show up on Saturday. SMU might beat Bama or ... Alabama might blowout SMU and could have won four straight games and won the national title. I don't think there's any team in the playoffs that Alabama couldn't beat on the right Saturday.
I dunno. Bama laid an egg with Vandy and the Sooners. You just don't know which one will show up. Maybe they just wanted a little poodle for an underdog.
SMU is entertaining and very fast, probably as fast as Oregon. But they can't keep that speed up 4 quarters against the big dogs, and I suspect if they play a couple games against the big dogs they gonna have some injuries. SEC and Big 10 are brutal in the trenches.
I'm looking at this as a casual college football fan, who follows it more for the games my alma mater plays and the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry.
Surprisingly, the MAC where my Redhawks play has been pretty much unscathed by the realignment of college football - although that may change as a couple teams have been rumored to move to the Mountain West.
But, as I write in a future article of mine, much was made about the $20 million Ohio State put up to acquire its (losing) team. I’d be willing to bet that Ohio State and Michigan alone put up more NIL money for football (heck, for all sports) than the entire Mid-American Conference that Miami has played in since 1947.
Basically, the MAC is becoming a series of farm teams for bigger schools, and that's not exactly good for the game. They've already been relegated to weekday nights in the late season where a disinterested ESPN audience that doesn't mind less than exposed teams watch a game played in front of a half-frozen audience in a 3/4 empty stadium. That's not the college football I grew up with, watching at old Miami Field with the analog clock on a Saturday afternoon. That was a campus event, and who cared whether ABC was there or not - we had a MAC rival to beat.
My bet is that, in ten years, the MAC will be broken up as some of the smaller schools will drop back to a smaller division while a few migrate to the smaller conferences to try and build them up. We've already lost the traditional (and oldest west of the Alleghenies) rivalry with the University of Cincinnati as they look down their nose at us from the Big 12, so what else can happen to a team like Miami and a small conference like the MAC?
MU of O alum. Right there with you :(
Lost my appetite when they did the renaming woke thing.
Speaking of... Miss those toasted rolls. At Shriver not Armstrong. :(
Wow. 2 frownies in one reply.
You’re so correct on all of it. All the $$ (and political/social bullshit) and overgrown “playoffs” have driven this once sports addict as far away from the radio, tv and venue for all sports. Yes that’s ALL.
You’re right on the money, Bill. I predicted the same outcome from “NIL” money the day it was announced. I was furious when SC, UCLA, BYU and Utah destroyed the PAC12. It was a great conference, with intense rivalries, excellent players and was a lot of fun. Sad days.
Yeah, when you nuke rivalries than have been played for half a century or longer and are still relatively competitive, it weakens the ties to the sport and teams. Exact thing that happened with Aggies and Longhorns, although I will say the Longhorns don't really consider us a rival on the football field (and are arrogant in how they say it). But we can out prank 'em, that's for damn sure! LOL
Some random thoughts... coaches and players will still like the bowl games. Everyone gets "gift baskets" and coaches get to keep practicing another 60 days, which they really want to do.
I think small college football could morph into something as entertaining as minor league baseball. Fans get to see talent that's significantly better than any high school team up close with low prices. It's not going to make anyone rich, but it's a good value.
NIL - Going rate for power 5 QB's is $1 million. One left LSU for a COLD school like Michigan or similar (forget details) was in the $10 million range. Elite lineman in senior year with high draft prospects are topping at $1 million. Each school has organized to offer NIL money in addition to alumni org's. For all players that will fall just short of making a pro team, they'll still make $1-$2 million or more. If the prospect is likely to go in round 1, he needs to ignore the money and find the team/coach that can develop his skill to perform quickly at the pro level. With NIL money, they can afford Tom Brady as a coach LOL.
I think they need to restructure the playoff and ensure teams that get the buy week are the top 1-X teams (1-4 this year). And then structure the tournament like they do pro tennis... where a top 2 seeds have the easier and similar paths. That crap they did this year screwed Oregon, who seems clearly to be the best team.
Lastly ("Whew, you say!"), remember the old rule from the NFL - we use ref's to mark the football because they can make mistakes we can't reverse, which ticks off one team and creates complaints that generate interest. They're not going to ever purposefully eliminate controversy because it's one of the key pillars of interest and hope for next year.
Cheers! I'm sure 'Bama will be back next year! Aggies... not so sure. But year 2 of a new coach always starts promising!
Red shirt portal freshmen?!
Who ARE all these peephole? (Channeling Seinfeld)
I can't abide the (necessity of?!) paid amateur athletes. Sad that money has infected sport, that this stadium Bread and Circuses really shows Rome is fallen.
🤡
Well, I mostly agree but the idea the NCAA and schools can rake in billions of dollars and the semi-pro athletes that ARE the sport don't get paid (but the coaches do)... you can't pay a few generational wealth and not the key talent, in my opinion. So take it all away or level it out. We are a victim of our own success.
You have a three point play there...
Raking in money from advertising revenue, where should that money go?
And the unholy amount of money (imo) to buy tickets to events,, that's insane, right?
And the exorbitant cost of an 'education' (?!)
It's a raquet!
All or nothing is sadly true. The NCAA panders with this grooming system that views itself as a means to the professional ends.
I am an Alabama fan and am neither irate nor depressed. DeBoer is plowing another man's field and was bound to hit a few snags. Time will tell whether he is the right man to fill the GOAT'S shoes or not. But truth be told NIL puts the I in team and in doing so has changed the sport in ways not yet understood. Saban knew that. He said he had young players coming in telling him they expected $900,000 and guaranteed playing time. Throw in the transfer portal and recruiting is rendered pointless. Certainly for the long term. The game has already suffered. You simply do not see those well-oiled machine college teams anymore. As for the SEC, those teams knock each other out of contention and few survive unscathed in terms of injuries. That does not occur in other conferences. Some not at all and in others not to the extent it has in the SEC. My prediction is SEC teams will migrate to other conferences. In the meantime there is already talk about not taking on the more difficult teams in non-conference games. Which was always good for television. So ultimately following the money may kill the golden-egg laying goose.
LOL, as an Aggie my thought after watching SMU was can we change to a conference where we'll always be 10-2 or better and get in? Of course, wouldn't get the same ESPN/SEC pay day for TV rights...
I understand completely.
How do you pick the best 12 if it is all subjective??? You have to make results matter. Teams can only play their own conference, we can’t pretend or assume what would happen if they were in a different conference. There are 4 major conferences, are they all exactly equal in terms of depth and quality of teams, no they aren’t. So this system seems the best to sort that out on the field. SMU will get there shot against the vaunted big 10 and be rewarded for a great season, as will Arizona state. Will they win, maybe not, will they get blown out, possibly. That doesn’t mean they didn’t t earn there spot in the tourney, they did, as did Clemson. Do we really need to see the SEC replay there schedule in the playoffs??? I for one have no interest in seeing Texas play Georgia a 3rd time if it comes to that, they’ve already lost to them twice. Reward teams for a great season and let it play out on the field, not for a 3 or 4 loss season, simply because they play in a perceived harder conference.
That's a good counter-argument. Thanks for making those points, which I'm sure are widely shared.
I still think economics will drive this train in the future. You're going to have a lot of disappointed fan bases (in the SEC) every year if the playoff fields aren't expanded.
As Coach Saban and others have pointed out, one work-around for SEC teams is to not play any games outside the conference that might result in a loss. The thought being: You're team is probably guaranteed two or three losses in the conference schedule ... why risk another loss that could disqualify your team from playoff consideration.
But, by the same token, ESPN loves those big intersectional games - which create huge ratings. The teams need those big ratings to keep getting big checks from the networks - and to sell season tickets or produce a schedule that fans will still want to buy $125 tickets to.
So those games are probably going to remain on current and future schedules .... But, expanding the playoffs will mean that teams aren't punished for scheduling tougher games.
I think we'll ultimately end up with maybe 20 teams in the playoff - maybe four teams that get a first-round bye and then 16 other teams.
We are also going to see a lot more players suffer bad injuries from playing so many games.
For what's it worth, these extra playoff games are going to have to be on campus as the fans can't afford to travel to all these neutral site venues.
There won't be any "bowl game" type atmosphere where players can chill out and enjoy some R&R in Orlando or New Orleans or Miami. These are going to be just like regular season games. (I don't know when the "students" will study for exams, but I guess that no longer matters either).
I definitely expect it to keep expanding. Especially as the ratings plummet for the lesser bowl games that have become meaningless. Looking at this year's slate I was hard pressed to find a game or two worth watching, and thats assuming the star players would actually be playing, which I'm sure they won't. I think it will expand to 16 next go around. Eventually I see 3, maybe 4 super conferences of 20 plus teams each. The playoffs expanding further until it reaches 32 teams. If you follow the money as you say, that's where it's heading.
You're so right my fellow graduate of Troy State.
Great analysis. Totally correct. Nice job. Last year, Florida State got "f'd" this year, Tide. Your prediction will be right "on the money"
For the first time in a long time my Alabama friends and I have something to talk about. Interestingly, my Ohio State Buckeyes did the same thing Alabama did and lost games they clearly should have won and are now on the outside looking in.
It's unclear to me what did in Alabama, but in the case of Ohio State it comes down to coaching. I believe our coach is not suited to the task.
Both teams enjoy an incredible, rich history in college football. And both teams now wait for next year.
As for the playoffs/bowl formula, that remains to be seen. I'm undecided as to whether or not I'll like the changes.
I think Alabama's losses were total head scratchers, and perhaps the committee judged fans had Alabama fatigue. Might have figured they'd be back on their usual game next year, so let's let someone else play for a change.
In reality, who knows? The 'explanations' from the head of the committee are just regurgitations of known facts, no weighting or discussion of relative importance. Purposely vague, in my opinion.
I think there are two major issues that need to be resolved in the off-season otherwise college football will be permanently damaged.
The first issue is there should be no more than one transfer move in your eligibility. It is absolutely ridiculous that there are players that in four years are playing at three different schools And players who suffered injuries that are in their sixth year of eligibility. In the old days when I played if you got hurt then too bad.
The other issue is the NIL money. Yes it’s supposed to be for name image and likeness but I think there needs to be a rule that if you get over a certain amount of NIL money you need to play the entire season Otherwise you pay back your NIL money or you lose your eligibility. You were getting paid a lot of money and you need to continue the season and not think that I got a lot of money but I could get injured which would have me lose out on even more money. Too freaking bad if that’s the way you feel then don’t take any NIL money And feel free to not finish the season to protect your future.
They're probably already covered by insurance by the team at some level. I believe I read a comment about that pre-NIL. Might be totally different under NIL, but at the money they're getting now, just buy the damn insurance and play!