Category: Columnists

Texas and Oklahoma To The SEC? It Just Doesn’t Mean More To Everyone: Daily Cavalcade

Daily College Football Cavalcade: Texas and Oklahoma might leave for the SEC, but there are a few key things missing in the speculation.

Daily College Football Cavalcade: Texas and Oklahoma might leave for the SEC, but there are a few key things everyone is missing in the speculation.

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Because the possibility of Texas and Oklahoma going to the SEC is all anyone wants to talk about right now, this week will feature a series of Daily Cavalcades with different views on what could be a seminal moment in college sports.

Sorry if this take sucks, it’s not my fault …

I’m trying to get fans in other parts of the country to care about reading it.

– Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC? What if it’s no big deal?

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The players still aren’t going to get a cut of the revenue, but that NIL thing is a nice cookie thrown their way. But I digress …

I’ve always been Mr. College Sports Business Progressive guy.

I’ve been screaming for 20 years that players should be able to take money, gifts, and benefits from anyone who wants to provide them, and now Name, Image and Likeness is here.

And it’s … okay. Maybe.

I’ve been screaming for 20 years that the NCAA’s influence needs to be deemphasized, with more power going to the conferences and schools to govern themselves, and now there’s a push that way.

And it’s … okay. Maybe.

I’ve been screaming for 20 years that the schools with the giant athletic departments, fan bases, and revenue streams should break away from the rest of the pack and form a super-level of college sports to generate more exposure, more revenue, and a higher quality product for everyone, and now Texas and Oklahoma might be going to the SEC.

And it’s … okay?

I’m not quite sure.

Remember, the SEC means more to the SEC, but not to everyone else.

There are two massive parts of this equation that Texas, Oklahoma, the SEC, and big-time college sports people appear to be missing, and they’re both going to be a problem if this goes through.

First, if the players are being paid/compensated, and the conferences are realigning – potentially – to completely shut out all but about 75 schools in the name of more revenue and bigger business, then how is this not a professional sports league?

Duh, major college athletics have always been that, but now there’s no subtlety about it.

And if it’s about the money with the SEC, and it’s about creating more of a sports league-type of system rather than a conference of institutions of higher education, then why should sports fans care about that when we can watch better players, better coaches, and a far better caliber of football – because this is about football – with the NFL?

If there’s no charm to college football and it’s ALL business, then what’s the point? And that leads to the second issue that everyone seems to be forgetting …

Pac-12 fans don’t give a flying poop about the SEC.

Big Ten fans don’t care about the SEC, and ACC fans sort of care about the SEC because of the region. Oh, and Big 12 fans are going to despise the SEC.

So yeah, there’s revenue to be made, and the addition of Texas and Oklahoma would bring a higher level of football and attention to the SEC, but there’s not going to be the overall worldwide expansion the SEC/Longhorn/Sooner types might think is coming.

All they’re doing is creating a bigger, more interesting bubble.

College sports are almost entirely regional. Yeah, fans across the country will watch the biggest games, but this isn’t the NFL where fans care about their bets and fantasy teams on a national level. So going forward, the SEC has a very tricky wire to walk.

The SEC – assuming it gets Texas and Oklahoma – will have try to get harder, better, faster, stronger, but it can’t be so amazing and so dominant that it makes the rest of college football totally irrelevant. The SEC still needs the Big Ten and Pac-12 to matter, if only to keep other regions of the country interested and involved.

Yeah, be careful what you wish for, SEC – and Mr. College Sports Business Progressive guy – you’re probably going to get it.

It’ll mean a whole lot more to one part of the country, but that business side might not be quite as great if it doesn’t mean more to everyone.

– CFN 2021 College Football Preview of all 130 teams

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– Predictions for every Big 12 game

Texas and Oklahoma To The SEC? What If It’s No Big Deal?: Daily Cavalcade

Daily College Football Cavalcade: What if Texas and Oklahoma leaving for the SEC – if it happens – doesn’t turn out to be that big a deal?

Daily College Football Cavalcade: What if Texas and Oklahoma leaving for the SEC – if it happens – doesn’t turn out to be that big a deal?

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Because the possibility of Texas and Oklahoma going to the SEC is all anyone wants to talk about right now, this week will feature a series of Daily Cavalcades with different views on what could be a seminal moment in college sports.

Sorry if this take sucks, it’s not my fault …

I’m still mentally preparing for what’s sure to be a Missouri vs. Texas A&M SEC Championship, all while holding my breath for that first Florida State vs. Miami ACC title game.

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Oh, by the way, Baylor, Kansas State, Oklahoma State and TCU have won Big 12 football championships since Texas last got one in 2009

Of course it would be a big, giant, hairy deal if Texas and Oklahoma go to the SEC.

OF COURSE it would.

But what if it’s not? What if it turns out to simply be two college football programs joining a conference full of other college football programs – as has happened from time to time?

I know, I know, the Big 12 is hosed, the world of college sports is about to blow up, and the SEC will roll its expansion army over and through the woefully ill-prepared conference landscape, but that was supposed to happen in 1997, too.

1996 was the last year of the Southwest Conference, comprised of Baylor, Houston, Rice, SMU, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech in the final stages, with Arkansas bolting for the SEC in 1991.

– 2021 CFN Big 12 Preseason Rankings

Houston left for Conference USA. Rice, SMU, and TCU went to the WAC – sky point – and Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech were off to join the Big 8 to create the supposedly unstoppable new Big 12.

That was it. Tradition was gone, rivalries were over, and obituaries mourning the death of the college sports charm were printed far and wide in these things they had back then called newspapers.

And then everyone moved on, enjoyed the Big 12, and 92% of all those who just read that first part have led fulfilling lives loaded with purpose having never heard of the Southwest Conference.

The Big 12 went through several twists and turns, Oklahoma eventually grew into the conference’s biggest force, and things changed and adapted as conferences often do. And if the two anchor tenants leave, things will change again as the Big 12 keeps on rolling. If it doesn’t, that just means all those schools left behind will play football in some other configuration and designation.

But assume the Big 12 will still be a thing.

Remember, Nebraska and Kansas State were the early national title-level superpowers of the new Big 12 in the North division, and then the power was truly up top when Colorado reemerged as a force. Meanwhile, Texas went 4-7 in its first season and Oklahoma went 4-8.

As time went on, Missouri and Texas A&M left for the SEC. Colorado bolted for the Pac-12, Nebraska left for the Big Ten, and the Big 12 brought in TCU, who was kicking butt in the WAC, and then Conference USA, and then the Mountain West, but it was just some lower-conference program that wasn’t going to do anything on the bigger stage.

Texas and Oklahoma in a ten-team Big 12? Oh that was it. How boring would it be when those two dominated every year, and …

Nope. Oklahoma might have rocked over the last six years, but 2014 TCU and lowly Baylor were both THIS close to getting into the first College Football Playoff.

So let me throw out this possibility. Let’s say Texas remains just above-average after joining the SEC. It’s good, it wins a few big games here and there, but it’s still 8-4ish tough with an occasional flirtation with the conference title game.

Let’s also speculate that Oklahoma in the SEC loses a few games it wouldn’t have in the – we’re all adults here so we can speak freely – lighter Big 12.
Welcome to the SEC, where you can be really, really, really 10-2-great and get a fat load of jack squat for it.

Meanwhile, if Texas and Oklahoma leave, that means others – like Oklahoma State, Iowa State, Kansas State, West Virginia – would and could rise up and fill the empty void at the top of the standings, even if they’re not at the same level program-wise as the two big boys who bolted. That’s before getting into the expansion possibilities, too.

And let’s also dispense with the notion that a 12-team College Football Playoff would be overrun by SEC programs. Six conference champs would be in, and no, there wouldn’t be seven SEC teams to go along with the other five.

So do this. Don’t get your undies into a twist quite yet, see how this all plays out, and let the history of the sport be your guide.

Maybe – just maybe – Texas and Oklahoma join the SEC, and college football and all of its conferences keep right on going.

– CFN 2021 College Football Preview of all 130 teams

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– Predictions for every Big 12 game

Texas and Oklahoma Reached Out To The SEC? How Would This Work?: Daily Cavalcade

Could Texas and Oklahoma really be thinking about moving to the SEC? It’s reportedly being discussed in a potential college sports shocker.

Could Texas and Oklahoma really be thinking about moving to the SEC? It’s reportedly being discussed in a potential college sports shocker.

College Football Daily Cavalcade: Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC?

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Sorry if this take sucks, it’s not my fault …

I’m too busy sticking my tongue out at all those Big 12ers who hard-honked at me for suggesting that other Power Five conferences should go after Texas and Oklahoma.

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And built into the deal would be the death penalty to anyone caught doing the Horns Down hand thingy.

So here I am on a delightful July day, doing everything I can to ignore the blather of media days – and having a hard time with that thanks to all the oxygen the college football media types give to Mike Leach for saying silly things – and then the good people of the Houston Chronicle dropped this little nuclear nugget …

Texas and Oklahoma are reportedly playing footsie with the SEC.

 

On the plus side, that totally hijacked all the Mike Leach-being-cheeky stuff from SEC media days, and also on the positive, we get the fun of talking college football expansion – which I actually love.

Normally I might cynically blow this off as some sort of stunt to get everyone all hot and bothered, but as it turns out, it might not be all that crazy.

If there was ever a time for this to happen, right now would be perfect considering the seismic shifts happening in college sports to make this potentially work, starting with …

1. College Football Playoff expansion.

Remember, expansion is a business story, not a sports one.

Whether or not Texas and Oklahoma would win anything in the SEC is immaterial. Everyone would make more money, and that goes triple-true if the almost-certain move of taking the CFP up to 12 teams gets approved.

When/if that happens, all of a sudden, you can theoretically lose three games and still be in the mix to win the national title – especially considering that in a loaded SEC, those losses would likely come to other teams in the top 12.

We’re all going to have to get used to the idea that soon you won’t have to be close to perfect to be a part of the college football championship picture.

However, of course …

2. It’s all about the money.

The rich would like to have more money. That’s why they’re rich. They’re better at getting more money than the not-rich, and with this move everyone involved would make lots and lots and lots of money. Oh yeah, and …

3. The players are going to want to make money.

Well that kicked in fast.

One minute no one knows what NIL means, the next moment the Alabama quarterback is supposedly going to bring in a cool million in endorsements.

You want the best players? You give them the best sponsorship opportunities in the biggest spotlight games. A ridiculously loaded SEC with Texas and Oklahoma would bring more money, more agents, more attention, and more deals for the top players on the top teams. Again, everyone makes more money.

Speaking of more money …

4. TV deals will still matter … sort of.

The idea of TV markets don’t mean quite what they used to, and normal TV deals aren’t going to be the same in a streaming world with everyone under the age of near-death blowing off the normal network channels to watch someone on YouTube ordering Starbucks.

The conferences haven’t quite figured out how to make their home networks really rock.

The Big Ten Network is a cash machine for what it does, but it’s not Netflix. The SEC Network with Texas and Oklahoma could all of a sudden change the game and how the consumption of sports works by reconfiguring its deals. It would back up the Brinks truck with deals from the normal network players along with amazing options from the streaming companies.

But you, Joe Q. Sportsfan, don’t really care about that. What about the on-field stuff. How would this really work?

If I had to speculate on Step 193 in all of this, forget the banter about eliminating two divisions and making the league one big SEC glob. If the conference added two more teams – especially Texas and Oklahoma – to get to 16, my knee-jerk guess would be for a move to four divisions of four and a four-team SEC Conference mini-playoff. And why?

(No, you don’t need me to actually type the words “to make more money,” do you?)

My guess?

East: Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Vanderbilt
Mideast: LSU, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee
West: Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State, Ole Miss
Southwest: Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M

– CFN 2021 College Football Preview of all 130 teams

Or, this could be just a super-flex by the Big 12’s two big powerhouses to expand their respective brands, increase their influence, and/or up their price and deal for where I really think they might be headed (totally irresponsible speculation alert) …

The Pac-12.

Media days just got real.

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– Predictions for every Big 12 game

2022 4-star ATH Dillon Tatum reportedly down to rivals MSU, UM

It’s down to Michigan and Michigan State for one of the state’s top prospects in the 2022 class

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It’s down to Michigan and Michigan State for one of the state’s top prospects in the 2022 class.

Four-star athlete Dillon Tatum has reportedly narrowed down the list of schools he’s considering to just two — Michigan and Michigan State. MLive is catching up with some of the top prospects in Michigan ahead of the 2021 season, and that included Tatum – who said the following about his recruitment:

“They really did the best with recruiting me and showed the most love. I really just said, ‘OK, I’ll just stick with both of the in-state schools.’ It was not like I wasn’t giving a chance to out-of-state schools, it’s was just some of the out-of-state schools weren’t coming after as much, especially when (Ron) Bellamy went to Michigan.”

Tatum added that it’s been down to the Wolverines and Spartans for the past few months, and that he is looking to make a decision before his senior season begins this fall.

Tatum is the No. 257 overall prospect and No. 13 athlete in 247Sports composite rankings for the 2022 class. He’s also listed as the No. 5 player from the state of Michigan.

Michigan is still believed to be the favorites to land Tatum, but it does appear that Michigan State is still in the running and it will be a close finish on this highly-touted prospect.

Click on the tweet below to read more on Tatum from MLive:

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NCAA Allows Players To Profit Off NIL. The NCAA Wins … AGAIN: Daily Cavalcade

College athletes are now allowed by the NCAA to profit off of their name, image and likeness. Here’s the key thing you’re missing …

College athletes are now allowed by the NCAA to profit off of their name, image and likeness. Here’s the key thing you’re missing …

College Football Daily Cavalcade: The NCAA allows players to profit off of NIL

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Sorry if this take sucks, it’s not my fault …

The NCAA just ate everyone’s lunch and made them think they’re full.

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Basically, this means Reggie Bush wasn’t actually history’s greatest monster.

With over 20 states and counting passing laws and rules allowing college athletes the ability to profit off of their name, image, and likeness – unfortunately abbreviated to NIL – the NCAA changed its lifelong stance on amateurism and decided it’s now kosher for the student-athletes to – within certain boundaries – make money and get benefits for being who they are.

And the NCAA managed to sound magnanimous about it.

The governing body of college athletics – okay, sort of, but whether or not the NCAA really does have the authority to rule like it does is a thing for another day – will now go by whatever the NIL rules each state has or will put in place, mainly because it was going to happen anyway.

Throw in the 9-0 Supreme Court ruling that the NCAA couldn’t restrict athletes from receiving education-related benefits – punctuated by a scathing rebuke from Justice Brett Kavanaugh – and it might seem like this is a wee bit of a rough patch for the kids in Indy.

You think the NCAA just lost? You think the NCAA just conceded? You think this is the beginning of the evil empire’s downfall?

Bless your heart.

The NCAA might have fallen assbackwards into this situation, but it just pulled off an all-timer of a business model win.

Let me ask you this, with the allowing of student-athletes to profit off of their name, image and likeness, does the NCAA actually have to pay college athletes? Nope.

Do the schools have to pay college athletes? Nope. EVERYTHING is adamantly the same when it comes to colleges being able to directly pay players or incoming recruits. That’s still a no-no.

Does the NCAA have to deal with the impossibly sticky Title IX issue of having to pay the same amount and give the same benefits to female athletes as they do the males? Nope – at least not yet.

Are the college athletes able to unionize? Nope – at least not yet. (That, by the way, would be the potential death blow. Once they figure out the legal way to do that, everything changes.)

Does the NCAA, or do the schools, have to give anything they don’t already provide to the backup punter on the friendly neighborhood MAC program near you? Nope.

Does the NCAA, or do the schools, have to give anything they don’t already provide to the Heisman-caliber quarterback or the first round NFL Draft pick on the defensive front? Nope.

Now try out these two key questions.

Do the NCAA and schools lose any revenue whatsoever from what they’re already bringing in? Nope, and in fact, this likely has the opposite effect with several cash-strapped star college athletes likely to stick around a little longer rather than turn pro early. That ties into this …

Are the players about to be paid, promoted, and marketed by others without the NCAA and the schools having to drop a dime? Yup.

And you think the NCAA might be losing here? It just pulled off a miracle.

The NCAA just 1) advanced its brand, 2) increased its power and relevancy, 3) kept its revenue stream, 4) avoided having to pay the athletes – aka The Labor – 5) got anyone and everyone else to pay for The Labor, 6) will generate more revenue because of that, and 7) …

WON.

Best of all for the NCAA and the colleges, the ball will be kicked off on Saturday, August 28th, and to John Q. Fan the whole NIL debate will be a non-factor.

Okay, agents. Time to go to work.

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Pac-12 Expansion: What Schools Should The Conference Target?

With George Kliavkoff hired as the new Pac-12 commissioner, conference expansion is on the table … maybe. What schools should be targeted?

With George Kliavkoff hired as the new Pac-12 commissioner, conference expansion is about to be a topic … maybe. What schools should be targeted? 

Pac-12 Conference Expansion: 10 Ideas For Schools To (potentially) Target

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

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So that’s how you make an entrance.

The Pac-12 announced it was going to introduce its new commissioner, and then … hello MGM executive George Kliavkoff to the college athletic landscape.

What did we learn from his first remarks?

1. He’s planning on moving to San Francisco, but his hiring all but certainly means Las Vegas will eventually be to the Pac-12 what Atlanta is to the SEC. That’s very cool.

2. He pretty much let it slip that College Football Playoff expansion is probably coming very, very soon. That’s very cool.

3. The idea of being a player in the legalized sports betting world isn’t taboo like it’s been from the dawn of time in the college world. That’s very cool.

And then there’s the part that might end up being the biggest shakeup of all.

4. Expansion. The topic has been shockingly dormant for way too long. Yeah, the Pac-12 might look into being bigger, better, and stronger as a conference and a business.

That’s very, very cool.

So let’s do this. Let’s figure out what ten schools would make the most expansion sense so the conference can finally move away from pretending to be excited about playing its football games after dark.

It really is okay to showcase your product while half of the country is still awake.

Which schools make sense to go after to become a bigger national thing? Who should the Pac-12 be talking about pitching?

Start with the geographic concerns. Of course it would be nice to have a bigger footprint, but there’s a bit of a limit. There was a time when Louisiana Tech and TCU were in the WAC – sky point – but the Pac-12 isn’t going to want to get too crazy.

There’s also a bit of a reality check. Going after Notre Dame would make sense – geography, schmeography – but the school is way too tied to the ACC.

Going after Missouri would be an idea, and there was a time back in the early 2010s when Texas A&M was on the table, but those two aren’t leaving the SEC.

Going after Nebraska might seem like a home run cut, but for all the complaining during the 2020 Covid year, no, no one’s willingly leaving the cash machine that is the Big Ten.

When, not if, I become the advisor to Commissioner Kliavkoff on the topic, here are the ten schools that have to be in the discussion for a possible Pac-12 expansion move.

Remember, this isn’t as much of a sports story as it is a business one.

Enrollment matters – there won’t be any pitches to smallish private schools here – and the media and TV markets are a huge deal.

The school has to be big academically, too. Even if it’s not on the level of Stanford or UCLA, if it’s a giant university, that works.

And there’s also an assumption as we say the quiet part out loud – the Big 12 is potentially ripe for the picking.

So with that, here are the ten schools the Pac-12 should have on the table if it really does want to expand.

10. BYU

US News & World Report University Ranking: 80
Enrollment: 34,395
Media Market: 30

Pac-12 Expansion Fit: Business-wise, it’s perfect.

It’s a huge school with an international following – quick tip: never use the word passionate when it comes to sports business; fans are brand loyal customers – that’s going to watch every single second of every single big football and basketball game.

The greater Salt Lake City TV market is fine, the natural rivalry with Utah is outstanding, and the teams are good enough to make the sports side of the league stronger.

But there’s a gigantic, however …

The Church-owned and operated aspect to BYU is a concern for a whole slew of reasons – not a public school, no sports on Sundays, ideological differences on several levels – and the University of Utah already gives the league a big footprint in the state.

The Pac-12 should think about it just because BYU would make the conference bigger and bring in a ton of money and energy, but it won’t happen. The two will end up having a Notre Dame/ACC relationship.

9. Boise State

US News & World Report University Ranking: 300+
Enrollment: 26,272
Media Market: 101

Pac-12 Expansion Fit: This isn’t as obvious as it might seem to be sports-wise.

The football program is outstanding, but the school, the media market, and the overall base would be part of a debate. However …

Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State, Washington. Bring on Boise State and it becomes part of that whole group and turns into an instant rival for that Wazzu team 300 miles up the road.

It’s not quite as big a school as the Pac-12 might like, and the Boise State national brand name isn’t quite enough to move the needle, but for what it’s worth, the addition takes over a giant geographic section of the country, and Idaho is a big vacation spot for Californians – it would be a destination road trip.

For this to happen, though, Boise State would have to be part of a Mountain West package including …

8 Fresno State

US News & World Report University Ranking: 196
Enrollment: 24,139
Media Market: 55

Pac-12 Expansion Fit: Fresno State helps geographically as it brings in a whole different part of the California base that might expand things a different way.

There just isn’t any national interest in Stanford or Cal, and people in Delaware aren’t going to stay up to watch Fresno State, but it ties in geographically to the Bay Area schools, the Sacramento TV market, and would charge up a decent-sized media area that – in a good way – doesn’t quite fit the normal Pac-12 style.

It would depend on the other Mountain West schools the Pac-12 would go after. Along with several Pac-12 schools, Fresno State fits in perfectly as a geographic rival with …

7. Nevada

US News & World Report University Ranking: 227
Enrollment: 21,000
Media Market: 104

Pac-12 Expansion Fit: This is a tough one.

Nevada and Fresno State make as much sense as any other possible pairing, and it depends on just how much the Pac-12 wants to take over the state of Nevada.

Obviously UNLV will be on the table – more on that in a moment – so this can be seen in two ways. Either the Pac-12 would take UNLV and assume it has the state of Nevada – even if Reno is a whole separate area and base – or it jumps on the Rebel-Wolf Pack, Fremont Cannon rivalry and makes it more of a thing.

The big issue would be that Nevada just isn’t quite big enough. The media market is okay-not-great, and there’s no national fan base to up the overall profile.

6. Texas Tech

US News & World Report University Ranking: 217
Enrollment: 38,742
Media Market: 145

Pac-12 Expansion Fit: Who else from the Big 12 are you getting?

Texas Tech actually wouldn’t be that awful a steal if it’s by itself. It was supposedly part of the idea ten years ago to be a part of a Big 12 group that would join in the mix, but it brings its own decent TV market, there’s a big enrollment, and the fan base has its own style and world that would add something unique to the California-centric league.

In the college sports geographic world, being 700 miles away from Arizona State and Arizona isn’t all that bad, and it would tie-in easily with Colorado just 550 miles away.

However, Texas Tech won’t go rogue. It’ll take others from the Big 12 to get the ball rolling, and then it would want to take the ride with the cool kids.

NEXT: Pac-12 Expansion School Idea, Top 5

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6

What If There Was A College Football Super League?: Daily Cavalcade

What if college football took the powerhouse European football club lead and created a Super League of top programs? How would it look?

What if college football took the powerhouse European football club lead and created a Super League of top programs? How would it possibly look?

College Football Daily Cavalcade: What if college football created a Super League?

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Sorry if this take sucks, it’s not my fault …

There’s no truth to the rumor that UEFA will suspend the rest of this rant if I suggest how a College Football Super League might work.

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If your team isn’t on here, direct all your anger and ire to #It’sNotGoingToHappen. But …

It was the world’s biggest sports story that didn’t get a whole lot of play here in America on a Sunday.

The biggest and strongest European soccer teams are close to creating their own Super League that would all but make the rest of various football club races irrelevant – or at least would deal them a brutal blow.

It’s the type of thing that’s been thrown out there from time to time in the college football world. What would happen if the biggest, richest, and most powerful college football programs decided to create their own high-end league?

What if the Ohio States and Alabamas decided they were done splitting revenue with the Northwesterns and Vanderbilts?

Remember, college athletics is a business just like any other sports league – it’s just wrapped up in the package of college campuses to make it seem like playing football is just another activity.

It could be argued that we already have a Super League format.

Realistically, there’s no way a Group of Five program – a school in the American Athletic Conference, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West or Sun Belt – can get into the College Football Playoff unless something extraordinary happens, and if there is a team that’s good enough to get close, it’s an anomaly.

The Group of Fives can’t compete with the Power Five programs from a business standpoint, and even some of the Power Fives – like the ACC and Pac-12 compared to the Big Ten and SEC – have different revenue levels.

But let’s say the biggest and baddest athletic directors decided they’d like to trade it all for a little bit more. Let’s say that the TV and licensing opportunities would go through the roof with a true Super League of only the richest and most powerful programs.

Before going further, this isn’t going to happen – maybe.

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It’s a tough sell for big-time football schools that consider a 10-2 season an abysmal failure to get ready for 6-6 – or worse – with a no-fluff slate.

But let’s say the big guys figure this out and do all the backroom, luxury resort retreat thing and put this all together.

Let’s riff off of what the superpower European football clubs are doing and blow off those who aren’t on the same economic level.

Let’s limit this to just 24 schools. Four divisions of six teams with five divisional games and seven interdivisional battles. Every game would be massive with the biggest crowds, the most talent, the most attention, and the highest-level of college football play ever seen.

The College Football Playoff would be the winners of the four divisions.

And everyone else? They’d still play and still do the college football thing, but it wouldn’t get as much attention and love as the College Football Super League.

Before you dog the idea, would it really be that much different than it is now?

Two things …

1) This would be for football only – a college basketball version of the Super League would be a whole lot crazier.

2) Remember, this is about MONEY. If your school isn’t on here, there’s probably an attendance issue, the revenue isn’t there, or both

The four six-team divisions in the CFN College Football Super League would be …

Division A
The big-name programs from the ACC would be here along with a few that bring in the cash.

Clemson
Clemson isn’t the cash machine you’d think it is, but attendance is great and the recent success makes it obvious.

Florida State
This is all about brand name and historical success. The attendance isn’t a given, but the program can hang with Clemson when it comes to revenue producing.

Miami
100% all on brand name. The licensing and history make Miami a must – the FSU rivalry gets bigger – but this isn’t the slam dunk you’d think it is.

North Carolina
If we’re really doing this, you have to do something appease the basketball side of things in a political way. There needs to be a school from North Carolina.

Notre Dame
Obviously. Notre Dame comes here with the Big Ten-heavy division all filled up with other ideas. This division needs a national anchor tenant.

South Carolina
It doesn’t really help the overall cause to have two teams from South Carolina in the Super League, and it really doesn’t help the division, but the Gamecocks generate a ton of cash – the attendance will always push for the top 15.

Next Two Options If Divisions Go To 8: Syracuse (MONEY – it’s one of the ACC’s more profitable programs and getting New York helps), Virginia or Virginia Tech (There realistically should and would be a Virginia team).

Division B
You want the biggest money-maker division of the bunch? Here it is. Massive attendance, massive alumni bases, massive revenue producers.

Iowa
Flip a coin between Iowa and Michigan State. It’s not like the Iowa TV markets are huge, but the attendance is solid and there’s already one Michigan team in the division.

Michigan
Attendance, attendance, attendance.

Nebraska
Forget that it’s been close to 20 years since Nebraska football was a thing – it’s a household blue-blood brand-name program that makes a whole lot of coin.

Ohio State
Duh.

Penn State
Penn State is right there with Michigan and Ohio State in the 100,000+ attendance club.

Wisconsin
Ask someone 30 years ago if Wisconsin football would ever belong in some sort of Super League idea. Barry Alvarez created a monster.

Next Two Options If Divisions Go To 8: Illinois (It’s not a plus for the Super League to be without a team from Illinois), Michigan State (Should probably be there over Iowa).

Division C
It’s easier than you’d think to come up with the six SEC programs that would make up a division. All six programs are monsters in terms of business, all of them have big stadiums, and all of them print cash.

Alabama
The fan base would have to get used to losing more than two games a year once in a while.

Auburn
It suffers from not being Alabama, but the place actually generates as much football revenue – if not more – than the in-state archival.

Florida
Schedule-wise, the Gators would have games with Miami and Florida State, too

Georgia
$, $, $, $, $. Forget the lack of big trophies; the program wins where it counts business-wise.

LSU
Part of the 100,000 club when it comes to average attendance, the on-field product isn’t bad, either.

Tennessee
Dog the results on the field all you want, but it’s as strong as anyone in the SEC business-wise.

Next Two Options If Divisions Go To 8: Considering South Carolina and Texas A&M are in other divisions, Kentucky (There might be some politicking to make the basketball side happy), Missouri (You’d like to own the region and get the St. Louis and Kansas City markets).

Division D
It’s the land of misfit programs, but it’s a powerhouse that would be among the most attractive to the TV types considering the gigantic media markets and half the geographic area of the continental United States.

Oklahoma
It’s the only program other than Texas from the Big 12 that can hang in the revenue-generating column. That, and it’s Oklahoma.

Oregon
It’s one of the Pac-12’s top money-makers, but there’s an attendance problem – Autzen Stadium isn’t big enough with just 54,000 seats. It would be the smallest stadium in the Super League by a mile.

Texas
The Greek God of college football revenue producing programs, Texas is at a whole other level and that’s a problem. It would probably have to take a pay cut to do this.

Texas A&M
The SEC-based division is easily full, and A&M fits better with this group anyway. You need a third to go with Texas and Oklahoma.

USC
Obviously USC has to be included, but it doesn’t quite bring in the coin you’d think. Better matchups would bring better crowds.

Washington
With a good-sized stadium and the fan base to fill it, Washington stands out from most of the Pac-12 programs.

Next Two Options If Divisions Go To 8: Colorado (Geographically, there isn’t a college football Super League school between Lincoln and LA if you don’t include the Buffs or Utah or BYU), UCLA (Yeah, you’d probably have to find a way to get the Bruins in this).

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Has The College Football Playoff Gone Stale?: Daily Cavalcade

With few new teams in the mix and a whole lot of bad games, has the College Football Playoff gone stale?

With few new teams in the mix and a whole lot of bad games, has the College Football Playoff gone stale?

College Football Daily Cavalcade: Has the College Football Playoff gone stale?

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Sorry if this take sucks, it’s not my fault …

I’m still getting past the idea of an 11-seed that finished fourth in its conference could be one overtime away from playing for the college basketball national title.

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No, stale is absolutely every one of the 2,493 songs in my iPhone library and the 10,000+ saved elsewhere, but …

(Superflex/brag way to start a rant … GO)

So I was on the Paul Finebaum show the other day and he asked an interesting question.

Has the College Football Playoff become stale?

Short answer – sort of, but not in the way many might think.

Of course it would be better if we had a slew of new teams playing, but that’s not really the problem.

America doesn’t seem to have an issue with Alabama – that’s an SEC-hate thing – as we’ve all come to accept it like Amazon. It’s an unstoppable monster that’s crushes the little guy like a grape, but what are you going to do?

By the time you’ve finished reading this, Clemson will have won another ACC Championship and will be in another CFP as the 2/3 seed, but at least it has fun NFL quarterbacks.

No one likes rooting for Ohio State – Ohio State fans aren’t even happy rooting for Ohio State – and Oklahoma can’t get over the hump, but again, the teams aren’t why the College Football Playoff is a tad stale, even though we have yet to have one without at least two of those four – Tide, Tigers, Buckeyes and Sooners – in it.

Everyone wants something new, but even then it doesn’t seem to work.

LSU got in, brought amazing energy to the mix, and then obliterated everything in its path. That sucked.

Notre Dame got in twice and got steamrolled. That sucked.

Washington didn’t have a prayer against an Alabama team that went through the motions and won in the 2017 CFP Chick-fil-A Peach – no joke, I’m still working off the weight from that week loaded with bins of free Chick-fil-A and Krispy Kremes for the media – and Michigan State didn’t even get off the bus in its CFP appearance in the 2016 CFP Cotton. Both of those games sucked.

Give Florida State and Oregon a pass because the CFP was a fun novelty in the first year, leaving Georgia as the outlier newbie with the two classics it played in the 2018 playoff.

I’ve said over and over again that the playoff needs to expand to eight – five Power 5 champs, top Group of Five champ, two wild-cards – with the first round played on the higher-seed home field the week after the conference championships. However, that would bring more energy and excitement to the regular season and not necessarily the CFP. An expanded playoff would likely have more blowouts in the first round, but that’s fine – teams at least want the opportunity.

No, the real problem with the College Football Playoff is simple.

The games have been AWFUL.

As a postseason format, I’ll continue to pound the table that the College Football Playoff really is the best in all of sports, issues at all.

Is it the most exciting way to do a post-season? No. Is it the fairest? Absolutely not. Should it come down to a panel of judges who kinda sorta watches college football and turtles at the idea of showing even the teeniest tiniest bit of transparency in the decision making process? Uhhhhh, no.

But the CFP isn’t a gimmick like the college basketball thing we just went through, and it preserves the integrity of the regular season unlike – for example – EVERY pro sport. There’s no such thing as a cheap College Football Playoff national champion.

No, the CFP as a system hasn’t gone stale. Again, the playoff games have to stop being bad.

We were spoiled.

The Alabama 45-40 win over Clemson in the second CFP national championship was outstanding, and the third – the Deshaun Watson drive for a 35-31 win over the Tide – was as good as college football has ever been. However, those two classics made up for the miserable semifinal games in both years.

The Georgia 54-48 double-overtime win over Oklahoma at the end of the 2017 season was epic, and Tua to DeVonta to win a national title was arguably the biggest single play in college football history. Since then, though, the College Football Playoff has been a giant gift box of socks.

Eight of the last nine CFP games were ugly blowouts – give some forgiveness to last year’s Sugar Bowl; the Ohio State 49-28 win over Clemson was at least entertaining – with three national championship games that were a total waste of time. The 29-23 Clemson semifinal win over Ohio State in the Fiesta two seasons ago was the only redeeming battle of the bunch.

That means we’ve had 21 College Football Playoff games and – throwing in the Ohio State win over Alabama in the first year – only six have been any good.

So how do we fix it? We can’t.

We’re getting the four best teams every year – or really close to it – and we’re getting powerhouse vs powerhouse games. You can’t ask for better matchups.

We just need a little more luck.

You want ugly? From blowouts to horribly played snoozers that just so happened to have close final scores, try the Super Bowl from the beginning in 1967 until 1989, with a few Pittsburgh wins over Dallas counting as the bright spots in a vast wasteland of bloated sports darkness.

The College Football Playoff hasn’t had enough time to be stale.

Give us a good national championship or two, and throw us a bone with competitive semifinals, and all of a sudden we’ll love the thing.

And if there happens to be a CFP without Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Oklahoma … cool.

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March Madness In December? The College Football Playoff MUST Expand: Daily Cavalcade

Another great NCAA Tournament start showed why college football needs to make one simple tweak to expand the College Football Playoff.

Another great NCAA Tournament of men’s basketball shows why college football needs to make one simple tweak to expand the College Football Playoff.

College Football Daily Cavalcade: College Football Playoff Expansion – It’s Time

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

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Sorry if this take sucks, it’s not my fault …

One freaking UC Santa Barbara missed layup – that’s all that stood between me and NCAA Tournament contest immortality. I’m not over it yet.

But ONLY if the CFP comes up with a better theme song than “One Shining Moment”

Enough dinking around, College Football Playoff.

You want the tournament to be as big as The Tournament? It might not be possible to make the CFP into another NCAA March Madness colossus, but December could be a whole lot bigger and more lucrative.

Just expand to eight teams already.

I know, I know, we’ve done this to death, but it’s time …

All five Power Five champions, the top-ranked Group of Five champion, two catch-all wild-cards. Play the first round a week after the conference championships on the home fields of the higher seeds, and then play the rest of the CFP like normal.

This has been brought up a gajillion times with a bazillion ideas ever since the College Football Playoff first got rolling during the 2014 season, but now is when the change might just make more sense.

Things are a little different after the lid has been blown off of so many college football things that America had previously accepted as a given.

You know, like moving the Rose Bowl from the most iconic setting in sports to Texas, so Mom and Dad could watch Notre Dame get obliterated by Alabama in person.

You want to make the change? You want to recoup a ton of lost revenue from 2020? College Football Playoff, just add that one extra day, and you make the playoff bigger without screwing up the importance of the rest of season.

Unlike the way the college basketball regular season has been rendered a giant nothing burger with no sauce thanks to the sport’s post-season, that’s not a problem for college football.

However, obviously, football isn’t basketball. You’re almost never going to get the Oral Roberts over Ohio State or Abilene Christian over Texas moments in the CFP, that make March Madness so special, but that’s not really the point. It’s about having the opportunity.

It’s about not telling most college football programs that they’re effectively eliminated from national championship consideration right after the first spring practice.

Could 7-seed Cincinnati have beaten No. 2 Clemson in Death Valley last season? It would’ve been interesting, and the Bearcats sure would’ve liked to have had a chance.

The conference championships would serve as a sort of CFP Quarterfinal, with a whole lot more to play for than a snazzy t-shirt.

How much bigger would the end of the Alabama-Florida SEC Championship have been if a playoff spot was on the line for the Gators? How much more fun would the Big 12 Championship have been for both Iowa State and Oklahoma, and how huge would the USC vs. Oregon Pac-12 Championship have been if that was for the No. 8 seed?

Thanksgiving/rivalry weekend leading into Championship Saturday, and then the first round of the College Football Playoff, and then the bowls, and then bigger bowls, and then New Year’s Day for a wild run of fun college football games.

IT’S … ALL … RIGHT … THERE.

Oh, it’ll happen … eventually.

We live in a time when we can create a pandemic-stopping vaccine in mere months, and we can finally order quesadillas from Chipotle on the app. Miracles simply require the will and the want-to.

College football fans will want to watch an eight-team College Football Playoff.

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2021 NFL Draft: 5 (Potentially) Stupid Predictions. The 32 Week 1 NFL Starting QBs Will Be …

Five bold, crazy, stupid, daring, wacky predictions about where all the free agent QB and top NFL prospects will end up playing in 2021.

Five bold, crazy, stupid, daring, wacky predictions and thoughts about where all the free agent and top NFL quarterback prospects will end up playing.

5 (Potentially) Stupid NFL Draft, Free Agent Quarterback Predictions

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

[jwplayer GDMAAoLD]

– Big calls on 5 big NFL QB situations
– 4 NFL teams that MUST find a QB
– How the NFL Draft will go
– All 32 Week 1 starters will be …

After an all-time crazy football season, the NFL Draft and free agent market for quarterbacks is more insane than ever.

Thank you, Tom Brady, for ruining the curve for everyone else.

There’s no patience at this point, everyone wants the next superstar, and a good portion of the NFL has to figure out who its Week 1 starter is going to be.

Here are 5 (potentially) stupid predictions, thoughts and calls on how this is all going to shake out, starting with one major shift …

5. Let someone else develop your starting quarterback or keep pumping that NFL Draft slot machine

There was a time not all that long ago when an NFL team would draft a quarterback, let him stink and develop for a year or three, and then expect the payoff to come with a franchise-level superstar to work everything around for a decade.

Peyton Manning threw 26 touchdown passes and 28 interceptions as a rookie, Patrick Mahomes started just one game in his first year and didn’t do anything, and Aaron Rodgers barely saw the field in his first three seasons.

Now?

Tua Tagovailoa – there’s grouchiness by some that he wasn’t amazing after taking over late in his rookie season.

Dwayne Haskins – the 15th overall pick in 2019 – gone.

Daniel Jones – the 6th overall pick in 2019 – possibly pushed aside if the Giants upgrade in the draft.

Drew Lock – a 2nd round pick in 2019 – make-or-break year.

Sam Darnold – 3rd overall pick in 2018 – on the trading block, and 10th overall pick Josh Rosen is but a memory.

2016 No. 1 overall pick Jared Goff – traded. 2016 No. 2 overall pick Carson Wentz – about to be traded. 2016 26th overall pick Paxton Lynch – see Drew Lock.

On the positive side, there’s so much NFL-ready quarterback talent available now that there’s no reason and no time to dink around with a guy who might just be okay. The college game is cranking out talent like never before, but there’s an easier and smarter way to do this. As 2020 showed, you can get a Philip Rivers or a Cam Newton or a Tom Brady, and that’s why there are two ways to do this.

1) Let someone else develop your quarterback, or 2) keep drafting a QB, but bail fast if he’s not amazing.

Try this out. Take 2020 out of the mix because those quarterbacks are just getting started. Who were the first three quarterbacks taken in the ten drafts before last year?

Draft round followed by overall pick in parentheses.

2019: (1, 1) Kyler Murray (great); (1, 6) Daniel Jones (meh); (1, 15) Dwayne Haskins (oooooops)

2018: (1, 1) Baker Mayfield (fine, but not exactly special); (1, 3) Sam Darnold (never had a chance on miserable teams); (1, 7) Josh Allen (NFL MVP caliber). ALSO, though (1, 10) Josh Rosen (never really had a shot and hasn’t been able to stick); (1, 32) Lamar Jackson (NFL MVP-caliber)

2017: (1, 2) Mitchell Trubisky (all-time disaster because of …); (1, 10) Patrick Mahomes (Michael Jordan); (1, 12) Deshaun Watson (superstar)

2016: (1, 1) Jared Goff (unfairly dogged, but hasn’t taken the next step); (1, 2) Carson Wentz (almost MVP-caliber early, but needs fresh start); (1, 26) Paxton Lynch (oh dear lord ….)

2015: (1, 1) Jameis Winston (had to make the pick, but never got to next level); (1, 2) Marcus Mariota (the whole thing just couldn’t get going); (3, 75) Garrett Grayson (which was why Winston and Mariota went 1-2)

2014: (1, 3) Blake Bortles (no); (1, 22) Johnny Manziel (I’m on record so I can say this – if you didn’t know at the time what a monster NFL bust he was going to be …); (1, 32) Teddy Bridgewater (catastrophic leg injury derailed promising career). BTW next was (2, 36) Derek Carr (more than serviceable NFL starting quarterback); (2, 62) Jimmy Garoppolo (serviceable NFL quarterback, but I’m still convinced that NFL teams only like him because he’s beautiful)

2013: (1, 16) EJ Manuel (Josh Allen was taken with the 7th overall pick in 2018); (2, 39) Geno Smith (to be fair, 2nd rounder); (3, 73) Mike Glennon (dude made $30 million so far and counting)

2012: (1, 1) Andrew Luck (potential all-time great who left early); (1, 2) Robert Griffin (great rookie year and that was that); (1, 8) Ryan Tannehill (carved out a nice career). BTW, after (1, 22) Brandon Weeden and (2, 57) Brock Osweiler went (3, 75) Russell Wilson, then (3, 88) Nick Foles, then (4, 102) Kirk Cousins

2011: (1, 1) Cam Newton (history and stats will be kinder than current perception); (1, 8) Jake Locker (Titans had to take Marcus Mariota with the 2nd overall pick three years later); (1, 10) Blaine Gabbert (Super Bowl LV champion quarterback)

2010: (1, 1) Sam Bradford (the last of the pre-cap QBs made over $130 million); (1, 25) Tim Tebow (New York Met wannabe); (2, 48) Jimmy Clausen (7 TD passes for Carolina, 14 picks)

The point? NFL quarterback situations are fluid now.

Patrick Mahomes is the one quarterback drafted among the top three at the position before 2018 – okay, and possibly Watson – who’s still 100% rock-solid going into 2021 for the team that drafted him. Matt Ryan (2008) and Aaron Rodgers (2005) are the only other two overall, and Ryan is iffy.

So let’s get into the big, stupid predictions …

– Big calls on 5 big NFL QB situations
– 4 NFL teams that MUST find a QB
– How the NFL Draft will go
– All 32 Week 1 starters will be …

NEXT: Big calls on 5 big NFL quarterback situations

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