Tag: Power Five

Washington-Washington State is most overrated Rivalry Week game

Skip this one at the end of November.

There surely are people in the Evergreen State who greatly look forward to Washington and Washington State battling it out every year. One can’t blame them with state pride on the line.

In spite of that, we’re here to tell you that when Rivalry Week wraps up the regular season, you’re better off watching another game. This game doesn’t deserve the hype it gets, especially with the Huskies fresh off coming within a game of a national championship and the Cougars going nowhere fast.

Of all the Power Five games that have been played consistently during Rivalry Week over the past decade or so, this is one of only two in which a team has won nine of the past 10 meetings. The Huskies are beneficiaries of that. The other features Virginia Tech’s dominance of Virginia.

One reason the game in the Pacific Northwest wins this regrettable battle is because the Cougars have achieved national rankings far more frequently than the Cavaliers. That being the case, it’s almost a given these days that the Hokies will beat the Cavaliers. One would expect in some years for the Cougars to beat the Huskies, but it’s just not happening.

Another reason is when the Huskies beat the Cougars, they typically dominate. That wasn’t the case in 2023 as the Huskies won by only three points, but it was their first single-digit win over the Cougars since 2010. The Cavaliers, by contrast, have lost to the Hokies by single digits four times during the same stretch.

So again, don’t waste your time watching this game between the two major Washington schools. Choose from one of the many others instead.

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Big Game Boomer names Notre Dame nicest college campus

Irish fans are lucky to have so many wonderful things to look at.

If you’re reading this site, chances are you have been to the Notre Dame campus at least once. And you don’t need to be told how nice it looks.

Now, it’s at the top of the rankings in that area in at least one person’s opinion. Twitter user Big Game Boomer, who makes lists related to just about everything in college sports, released one that ranks the niceness of all Power Five campuses. Notre Dame topped the list:

Having made numerous trips to Notre Dame this past basketball season, I can attest to that niceness. A lovely autumn afternoon is the perfect time to check the campus out as the colored leaves really bring out the beauty. Of course, going at any time during the year is good. From the Golden Dome to Touchdown Jesus to the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, there is no way anyone can leave campus feeling disappointed by what they just experienced.

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Settlement between NCAA, Power Five allows schools to pay players

College athletic departments paying student-athletes seemed impossible a decade ago. Now it’s the future of college sports.

Power Five programs will soon be allowed to pay their players, following a settlement between the NCAA and its five major conferences.

College sports’ governing body, the NCAA, will pay more than $2.7 billion in damages to past and current athletes over the next decade, according to USA TODAY Sports. The move comes following the SEC and Pac-12’s agreement to the deal that settles three pending federal antitrust cases.

“Ecstatic to get this done,” Steve Berman, one of the plaintiffs’ lead attorneys, told USA TODAY Sports as he said he was transmitting a letter to the court overseeing the cases. “When we started this, I never dreamed of this day. It’s a revolutionary moment in college sports.”

This settlement moves college sports into a new era, which began with the introduction of name, image and likeness compensation a few years ago.

The next step is getting preliminary and final approval from U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken, the former of which should come in the next 30 to 45 days. The entire process could take months.

Athletes who played as far back as 2016 are eligible to receive a share of the settlement payout. A salary cap of sorts will be put in place with projections of around $20 million.

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Other pending antitrust lawsuits add to uncertainty amid NCAA settlement

Jump balls in courtrooms — not basketball courts — linger over NCAA settlement and reform processes.

The NCAA and Power Five conferences arrived at a proposed settlement with plaintiffs in three antitrust cases. That settlement, per USA TODAY Sports, is expected to establish an amount close to $2.8 billion in damages which will be paid out to athletes, possibly going as far back as 2016 for lost or missed compensation.

That settlement still needs to be approved in the courts, so there are still some unfinished and unresolved processes and procedures which need to run their course before money is distributed. That aside, there are still other legal and administrative processes which are still ongoing, and one wonders what kind of effect they will have on these interlocking issues and the dollar figures attached to them.

From USA TODAY Sports:

“There is already another ongoing antitrust suit against the NCAA and the conferences that has the potential to be a source of objection to the proposed settlement. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney in Denver denied a request from the NCAA and the conferences to move that case from Colorado to California.

“Had Sweeney granted the request, the NCAA and the conferences likely would have sought to have this suit consolidated with one of those covered by the proposed settlement.”

There is also this ongoing matter as well, per USA TODAY Sports:

“Representatives of the NCAA said Thursday night they will remain focused on efforts to keep athletes from being determined to be school employees, an issue that is the subject of another ongoing court case and complaints being pursued through the National Labor Relations Board.”

There are still so many uncertainties surrounding these issues, and the large amount of litigation attached to them makes it important to carry a wait-and-see attitude toward everything we are seeing in the NCAA and college sports.

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NCAA settlement marks new chapter of college sports athlete compensation

The NCAA and Power Five conferences came together on a settlement which marks a new step in athlete compensation.

The college sports landscape — more precisely, the process of compensating college athletes — is rapidly changing. The transfer portal and NIL were game-changers. Now we have another milestone to consider. USA TODAY Sports and Steve Berkowitz reported the latest big story involving the NCAA and the Power Five conferences:

“The NCAA, the Power Five conferences and lawyers for the plaintiffs in three antitrust cases concerning the compensation of college athletes on Thursday completed approvals of a proposed settlement that would include a nearly $2.8 billion damages pool for current and former athletes and fundamentally alter how current and future athletes are paid for playing their sports.

“The SEC and the Pac-12 conferences provided their approvals of the deal on Thursday, sources familiar with those actions told USA TODAY Sports. The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the ongoing state of the process, which includes the parties needing to craft a formal version of the proposed agreement and obtain court approval for it. Thursday’s moves followed approvals earlier this week from the other three conferences and two NCAA governing boards.”

What does this mean? There’s a lot to sort out here, and one article can’t fully address all of the ramifications involved. Simply put, schools will be able to more directly compensate players. That much we know. How the mechanism will be regulated and governed is the more open question. Another big point of discussion is whether the dollar amounts discussed in the settlement will be sufficient to compensate athletes across the board. It is not universally agreed upon that these dollar figures will achieve what athlete advocates hope they will achieve. We’ll continue to follow this story as it evolves. Turn to USA TODAY Sports for continuing updates and analysis.

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Notre Dame-Marshall named third-worst Group of Five loss in CFP era

Like you needed a reminder of how bad that loss was.

We all knew that when Notre Dame lost to Marshall in Week 2 of the 2022 season, any College Football Playoff hopes for the year were cooked. But just how bad was it in the big picture? Well, Twitter user Big Game Boomer has offered one opinion. The college football list aficionado lists the Irish’s 26-21 loss to the Thundering Herd as the third-worst loss by any Power Five program to a Group of Five program since the College Football Playoff began:

The good news for the Irish is that they appear only once on this list. But the fact that they appear in such a prominent spot on the list shows how much they should not have lost to the Herd. They probably weren’t going to the playoff anyway in 2022, but it was an awful feeling to have those hopes dashed so early into the season. It was both a reminder and a hard lesson not to take any opponent for granted.

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Badgers running back leads all Power 5 players in this stat

Braelon Allen leads all Power 5 RBs in this category

The Badgers football team improved to 3-1 on the season when they beat Purdue (1-3) 38-17 on Friday night and their running back Braelon Allen notched another 100-yard performance.

Allen has now produced 17 career 100-plus yard performances on the ground, which leads all of the Power 5 running backs in the country. He is in his third season with Wisconsin and he’s already compiled 371 yards and six scores over four games.

The running back reached at least 1,200 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns in each of his first two years in Madison and he seems to be on track to match those numbers at minimum in 2023.

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Notre Dame-Miami game scheduled for 2024 pushed to 2026

Apologies to those who love to recall Catholics vs. Convicts.

Those who followed Notre Dame in the late 1980s remember the games against Miami all too well, particularly Catholics vs. Convicts. However, the programs haven’t met since the Hurricanes crushed the Irish, 41-8, in 2017. The good news is the rivalry finally will be renewed later this decade. The bad news is it now will take a year later than originally scheduled as reported by the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson:

This is perfectly understandable from the Hurricanes’ perspective. They aren’t going to drop any games against in-state rivals, and they sure won’t give up a home against Ball State just so they can go to South Bend. You don’t want to put yourself at any kind of scheduling disadvantage.

As for the Irish, they now need to find another home opponent for 2024. The remaining ones from the ACC are Louisville, Florida State and Virginia, and the Irish also play Georgia Tech in Atlanta. Pittsburgh and Wake Forest come to Notre Dame Stadium this upcoming season, so you can cross them off the list. 2025 will bring visits from NC State and Syracuse.

Maybe Boston College fills the spot since the Irish already are scheduled to travel to them in 2025? Or another Power Five school that has a 2024 opening? Perhaps a Group of Five school that’s never been to South Bend will get its chance? The speculation will run wild until a new opponent can be determined.

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PFF College ranks Badgers’ 2023 schedule in Top 10 easiest

The 2023 Badger FB season can’t get here fast enough (39 days) and PFF ranked the team’s schedule in the top 10 easiest in the Power Five.

The 2023 Badger football season can’t get here fast enough (39 days away) and PFF ranked the team’s upcoming schedule in the top 10 easiest across the Power Five conferences. In what is a highly-anticipated first year with Luke Fickell at the helm, Wisconsin should be able to produce a successful campaign.

Wisconsin’s schedule includes tough matchups against Ohio State, Minnesota and Iowa, but otherwise their opponents aren’t expected to be super challenging.

Ben Kenney broke down the team’s top five toughest matchups late last week, which can be seen here. Additionally, he took the time to outline each of the top 10 “easiest” schedules in the Power 5.

Regardless of perceived difficulty, the Badgers will have to handle their business to be at the top of the Big Ten West in 2023.

Mike Brey, Cormac Ryan, Marcus Hammond speak after Notre Dame loss

Read some final words summing up the season and a whole era of Irish basketball.

Notre Dame’s 67-64 loss to Virginia Tech in the ACC Tournament signaled the end of an era. Yes, it means [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag]’s days as Irish coach are over, but it also means the end for many players on the roster, especially rotational players. Two of them are [autotag]Marcus Hammond[/autotag] and [autotag]Cormac Ryan[/autotag], players who didn’t begin their collegiate careers with the Irish but were the most impactful in Brey’s final game for the program. That allowed them to come out with Brey for the season’s last postgame news conference.

Hammond and Ryan sat next to Brey as he, among other things, called out the officials for a late lengthy review that ultimately resulted in a dead-ball technical for [autotag]Matt Zona[/autotag] that might have affected the game’s outcome. This came as the Irish were about to shoot their own free throws in a close contest. Brey has called out ACC officials before, and he apparently decided to do it one more time on his way out.

Here is what the Irish trio said after the game: