Tag: Power Five

Super-conferences will ruin college football as we know it

This all sucks so badly.

For years now, word has been brewing that college football supremacy will be challenged for only by a select few. A major step in that direction has been taken with the reported defection of USC and UCLA from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten. That appears to only be the beginning as other Pac-12 schools could follow suit. USA TODAY’S Paul Myerberg believes this all eventually will lead to the Big Ten and SEC becoming two super-conferences at the expense of the remaining Power Five conferences.

All I can say is this absolutely sucks. Never mind what this might mean for Notre Dame. What about college football as a whole? Geographical regions and rivalries suddenly mean far less than who can make the most money out of having ESPN, Fox and whatever other network or streaming service pay for showing the games to audiences.

What happened to the thrill of preparing to beat an opponent only a few hundred miles away? Are we really going to see Rutgers travel to Los Angeles for a game that kicks off at 9 a.m. local time? This is an absolutely ridiculous thought, and one that inexplicably is about to become reality. Say goodbye to team buses for most conference games and hello to being jet lagged during those games on a regular basis.

Yes, I know this is all about money, and I know players are allowed to make it through NIL deals now. But this is where we have to bring up the cliche of money being the root of all evil. In this case, it’s destroying everything that has made college football beautiful for over a century. The future of the sport appears to be a professional league disguised as college football, and that’s not what it’s supposed to be about.

You might remember the major backlash when the European Super League was announced a year ago. Pretty much everyone who loved soccer demonstrated such an outrage over it that the league ultimately ended before it even began. Where’s the anger over this? It’s probably too late, but if fans don’t put up the slightest fuss, this will become our new reality:

If this has to be our new reality, there needs to be a complete realignment of the levels of college football. The idea that all Football Bowl Subdivision teams are under the same umbrella has been laughable at best and an outright lie at worst for some time now. When this all comes to pass, any remaining Power Five programs need to compete for their own championship, as do all Group of Five programs. No one from that latter group ever is going to make the College Football Playoff anyway, so why keep stringing them along?

This latest proposal means that the sport future generations watch will not be the one we, our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents watched. Only the most prominent college football programs will be allowed to compete for the mountaintop, and every other school can forget about ever ascending to that level. Very few of the best players in the country are going to Group of Five schools now, and this will ensure that none of them will go there because they want a chance to go all the way, and they want the most exposure possible.

If none of this bothers you even a little bit, I don’t know how you possibly can enjoy watching the rich get richer. It’s not like college football has a whole lot of integrity these days, and this will annihilate whatever is left of it. We are at a tipping point, and history will remember it as such. That is, if history hasn’t been bought and paid for by another power entity that will ruin that, too.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Predicting every Power Five conference’s most surprising and disappointing teams for 2022 season

Some teams will shock the nation, while others will prove the doubters right. Here are predictions for the biggest surprises and disappointments from every Power Five conference.

The 2022 college football season is still some time away, but it’s never too early to start predicting how the season will go, right? Every conference has teams that are consistently at the top and teams that always hover near the bottom.

In this article, we break down which two teams from every Power Five conference will have a surprisingly good season or a disappointing one.

Sometimes programs rise from the ashes and compete for a conference title, while others take a steep fall from the top and let down their fans and make preseason projections look silly.

Here are the programs we project will either be the biggest surprises or disappointments from their respective conferences.

Jeff Lebby among CBS Sports top coordinators ready for a Power Five head coaching job

If he has the success that many are expecting, Jeff Lebby could be up for a Power Five head coaching job in the next several years.

The offensive success is there. Dating back to his time running the offense for NAIA’s Southeastern Fire, Jeff Lebby has put together productive units at every step since. His UCF success led to an opportunity at Ole Miss. And when Brent Venables came calling, it was too good of a chance to pass up.

But how long will he be in Norman?

The college coaching carousel seems never-ending. Before even coaching a game in the 2022 season, several prominent head coaches (looking at you, Scott Frost and Steve Sarkisian) have their spots staked out on the hot seat.

So it’s no surprise that [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag] is already getting mentioned as a possible head coaching candidate in the future.

CBS Sports’ David Cobb took a look at prominent coordinators across college football, and he believes Lebby will be in line for a job soon.

Still just 38, Lebby has plenty of time to cement his place as one of the sport’s top offensive minds and land a lucrative head coaching position. He’s coming off statistically phenomenal stints as offensive coordinator at UCF and Ole Miss, having worked wonders for quarterbacks such as [autotag]Dillon Gabrie[/autotag]l and Matt Corral. Now, he is reuniting with Gabriel at Oklahoma to help launch the Venables era. Red flags over Lebby’s time at Baylor working for Art Briles during a scandalous period aren’t going to totally disappear. But as Lebby’s time working for his father-in-law fades further into the distance, his candidacy for a head coaching gig improves. – Cobb, CBS Sports

He hasn’t coached yet at Oklahoma, but the expectation is that Lebby will find the same level of success in Norman as he did with UCF and Ole Miss. If he’s able to put together some of the best offenses in college football, it shouldn’t be long before Jeff Lebby is being courted for prominent Power Five jobs.

Here’s hoping he takes a page from his current boss’ story and takes his time to find the right job. It probably won’t be 20 years, but if they could keep Lebby for a recruiting class or two, that would be huge for the Sooners as they get set to transition to the SEC.

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Notre Dame receiver target moves up date of decision

What do you make of this?

When Notre Dame made the final cut for receiver recruit [autotag]Rodney Gallagher[/autotag], July 4 was tabbed as the day he would make his decision. A couple of days later, Irish receiver commit [autotag]Braylon James[/autotag] took to Twitter to try and sway him towards South Bend. Now, it turns out James and the rest of the Irish won’t have to wait as long for Gallagher to make up his mind. Gallagher apparently doesn’t need as much time to think about his future because he sent out these thoughts:

The Irish and seven other programs, all of which come from Power Five conferences, are in the running for Gallagher’s services. The only thing we know for sure is that he can’t go wrong with any of the finalists. You’d think with his choices, he would take all the time necessary to weigh his options. However, as is often said after engagements become official, when you know, you know.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Where do the Sooners head in CBS Sports latest College Football Bowl Projections?

Where does CBS Sports send the Sooners in their latest bowl projections after Oklahoma’s performance vs. the Kansas Jayhawks?

The Sooners have reached 8-0 and are one final October game away from the last month of the regular season. The eighth win wasn’t sexy, and it had no sort of style points at all. It may be one of the ugliest wins a major Power Five team has had this season. The Sooners were shut out at halftime and trailed the Kansas Jayhawks by double-digits.

They would eventually turn things around and win the game, but it was simply not pretty. Fortunately, when the polls came out on Sunday, it didn’t reflect too poorly as Oklahoma remained in the top four in the USA Today’s Coaches Poll and the Associated Press Top 25.

CBS Sports still believes that Oklahoma is one of the four most deserving teams to move on to the College Football Playoff, assuming they take care of business the rest of the way.

For most of the afternoon against Kansas, projected No. 2 seed Oklahoma was trailing as a 38-point favorite. The Sooners came back and won by a deceptive 35-23 score, holding on to the second seed in this week’s projections. – Jerry Palm

With the nature of Oklahoma’s wins, their margin for error is razor-thin. While winning ball games in any fashion and winning your conference should matter the most, it’s very likely a loss at any other point this season could derail Oklahoma’s chances to get to the College Football Playoff.

In their projections, Oklahoma would face off against a surging Ohio State Buckeyes team who suffered a loss to likely Pac-12 champion Oregon before finding themselves over the last few weeks. That game would take place at AT&T Stadium in the Cotton Bowl Classic.

The official CFP rankings will first be released Tuesday, Nov. 2, with the final rankings and selections on Dec. 5.

For Lincoln Riley’s Sooners, the path is crystal clear. Win, and they are in. As it stands, the Sooners could face three ranked opponents to finish the season. Win those games and secure a seventh-straight Big 12 championship, and the Oklahoma Sooners will be in the College Football Playoff. Before that happens, though, they’ll set their sites on Texas Tech, needing a bounce-back performance to restore their confidence as they head down the stretch.

Nebraska QB Adrian Martinez faces a tough task vs. OU’s pass rush

Nebraska’s Adrian Martinez is one of the most pressured quarterbacks in the Power Five, which is something Oklahoma can take advantage of this Saturday.

The Oklahoma Sooners are well into their preparation for a high noon showdown with a storied old foe. The Nebraska Cornhuskers will make the trip from Lincoln, Nebraska to take on Lincoln Riley and his third-ranked Sooners team. The game marks the first time they would have played since the 2010 Big 12 Championship game. These programs have taken quite a turn in opposite directions since Nebraska’s days of dominating college football. Nebraska is reeling and their coach, players, and fans will be hoping for the unthinkable to happen on Saturday.

In order for Nebraska to have any shot on Saturday, it will be because Adrian Martinez played lights-out football. However, if it is to get done, it won’t be easy.

A quarterback’s worst nightmare is pressure. Martinez has faced pressure in abundance, and the defensive line that Oklahoma will line up is one of the best in the country. Prior to Saturday’s game Adrian Martinez is one of the most pressured quarterbacks in the country:

  • He is the most pressured quarterback in the Power Five.
  • Martinez’s 45.7% pressure rate is the fourth-highest among quarterbacks in the Power Five with at least 22 dropbacks.

Context is key and will tell a bigger picture. These numbers seem high and you would be absolutely correct in doing so. It’s only exacerbated by the fact that Nebraska has only played Illinois, Fordham, and Buffalo through three games. A fellow Big 10 foe, an FCS school, and a pretty solid team in Buffalo from the MAC.

Those are hardly a Murderers’ Row of pass-rushing opponents. Nebraska’s offensive line has struggled to keep clean pockets against that caliber of opponent. How will they manage facing a potential first-round draft pick in Nik Bonitto and another likely top 100 draft choice in Perrion Winfrey? They are second and first respectively in pressures in the Big 12.

 

Nebraska’s opening game offensive line to start the season is young but not as young as it seems. They entered with 47 combined starts, including five players who had started at least one game. But much like playing the likes of Ohio State in the Big 10, this is a different animal entirely and even more so with the outside weight of this being a rivalry game on the road.

OU has the star power and the depth to continue to make things chaotic in the pocket for Martinez. He’s going to bail from the pocket and run. He leads the nation in rushing yards as a QB, which is a by-product of their offensive system but also because he has no time to sit and make reads to throw the ball.

An undervalued aspect of pressure stats and examining the relationship that pressure and coverage share. Martinez has been pressured but with that have the Cornhuskers not tried getting the ball out faster to offset the rush? And if they have, are the Nebraska receivers able to get open?

The Sooners may be down a few starters in their secondary so that may also be something to watch as Nebraska likely opts for quick-hitting routes to offset the outside pressure from Nik Bonitto and Isaiah Thomas while Jalen Redmond, Perrion Winfrey, Joshua Ellison, and more attempt to collapse the pocket.

Martinez and the Nebraska offensive linemen have a massive obstacle to overcome if they want to put up enough points to try and spring an upset.

Only time will tell if they can do it.

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Where does Oklahoma fall in ESPN’s College Football Playoff picks after week 1?

How did the Sooners fare in ESPN’s College Football Playoff picks after week 1’s win over the Tulane Green Wave?

National observers haven’t taken kindly to the Oklahoma Sooners second-half let down in their matchup with Tulane on Saturday. ESPN and Pro Football Focus dropped Oklahoma in their power rankings, and CBS expects the Sooners to dip in the polls when they’re released on Tuesday.

It’s not surprising. Analysts and experts can be a fickle bunch, often swaying week-to-week as the results on the field change the view of college football teams across the country. It was a poor second-half showing against Tulane. Of that, there is no doubt. However, there was a lot to like in the first half that can propel the Sooners if they can keep their minds right moving forward.

In ESPN’s latest College Football Playoff projections, the ESPN college football staff voted the Sooners fourth. Landing on the ballot of five of their 12 analysts, the Sooners come in behind Alabama, Georgia, and Ohio State. Alabama and Georgia each received votes on all 12 ballots, while the Buckeyes were selected on 11 of 12 ballots.

Here’s what ESPN had to say.

Unlike Georgia and Alabama, Oklahoma struggled out of the gates but held on to beat Tulane 40-35 in the season opener. Due to the close call, the Sooners land in only five of 12 lists. – ESPN

It isn’t surprising that some analysts chose to leave Oklahoma off their ballots. National observers have been looking for a reason to knock the Sooners after failing to advance in College Football Playoff appearances of the past.

However, when you look at the teams that did get votes, it just doesn’t make sense.

I can see an argument for Clemson, even if their week one performance was a letdown. They played a strong Georgia team, and their ACC schedule should provide them an opportunity to win the conference and be one of the top teams in the nation by the season’s end. There’s plenty of time to make people forget how bad you looked in your week one loss to Georgia.

Texas A&M, I can understand a bit as they were one of the hot teams. They finished just outside of the college football playoff after their lone loss to Alabama last season. In a tough SEC West, they’ll have a chance to make their case as one of the best four teams if they can navigate it relatively unblemished.

Those two teams are highly thought of squads. Clemson a recent two-time national champion, and A&M an SEC darling. But UCLA and Cincinnati, I struggle to understand.

Sure, UCLA looked good in their blowout win over LSU. But is LSU really that good? Their 5-5 record from 2020 seems to indicate they’re not very good. Are we ready to say that Chip Kelly is back? That UCLA is for real? That seems like a stretch after a half-decade of below .500 play.

Cincinnati is a really good Group of Five team that could one day be in the Big 12, but are they really a better squad than Oklahoma? Desmond Ridder will keep the Bearcats in the national title picture in a solid AAC, but it’s hard to make an argument that they’re better than the Sooners, despite OU’s second-half performance against Tulane.

That’s why expanding the playoff will make this all so much more fun. Instead of debating resumes and worthiness, the best teams will get to decide it on the field.

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Stream college football games from the SEC, Big 12, The American, and more on ESPN+

 

Notre Dame part of tough nonconference schedules for Power Five teams

The Irish will be part of tough schedules for some teams this year.

Any team that has Notre Dame on its nonconference schedule automatically receives a bump in the strength of that schedule. Even during seasons in which the Irish struggle, there at least is a bump interest for that game. Either way, any matchup with the Irish is serious business.

Jerry Palm of CBS Sports has released a piece comparing nonconference schedules for the entire Football Bowl Subdivision. For the Power Five conferences and the AAC, he lists the nonconference schedules for the teams he believes have the toughest and weakest in those conferences. Notre Dame pops up in the toughest nonconference schedule for Georgia Tech in the ACC, USC in the Pac-12, and Cincinnati in the AAC. In fact, Palm ranks the Yellow Jackets as having the fifth toughest nonconference schedule in all of the FBS.

Here are the other nonconference opponents for all the teams that have the Irish on their schedules:

  • Georgia Tech: Georgia, Northern Illinois, Kennesaw State
  • USC: BYU, San Jose State
  • Cincinnati: Indiana, Miami (Ohio), Murray State

Should Group of Five schools conduct their own championship?

Why are we keeping the Group of Five under the same umbrella as the Power Five?

Talk of Big 12 schools leaving the conference for greener pastures means the future of college football has become a hot topic yet again. There’s speculation that longtime rivals Texas and Oklahoma will leave for the SEC. We’ve also heard of Kansas and Iowa State heading to the Big Ten. It makes one wonder if the Big 12 even has a future as a Power Five conference.

Then, amidst all that discussion, you see tweets like this from Statistically Speaking Podcast host Kyle Umlang:

Notre Dame no longer being an independent aside, this graphic gives you pause. Note that some Group of Five schools have been bumped up to Power Five status. “Some” is the key word here. Most of them remain on the outside looking in.

The point is the Power Five conferences only are going to get bigger as time goes on. Unless they eventually admit all Group of Five schools, which is unlikely, what’s even the point of those schools trying to compete with the big boys? Invitations to major bowls already are hard to come by for them, and the new College Football Playoff proposal only serves to benefit the Power Five even more.

Given all of this, there is only one solution: Break the Group of Five conferences away from the Power Five, and let them compete for their own championship. The likes of Northern Illinois and UAB have no hope of winning a national championship under the current or future structure. A new playoff system just for them would at least give them a shot at adding serious hardware to their trophy case. No reasonable college football observer can say they have one now.

Power Five schools still would be allowed to schedule Group of Five schools if they wish, just like they currently do with Football Championship Subdivision Schools. After all, Nick Saban is well within his right to schedule lesser opponents just ahead of the Iron Bowl, as cheap as that is. However, it no longer does any good for the Power Five and Group of Five to compete under the same umbrella. The Group of Five schools barely ever has a shot at New Year’s Six bowls anymore, let alone a national title. That structure is keeping these programs from growing, and they’re stuck where they are as a result.

Let’s discontinue this charade of all Football Bowl Subdivision schools being on equal footing. It’s not true, and everyone knows it. By starting a new playoff for the Group of Five, there would be more opportunities for those schools to play for high stakes, and that would be better for the development of both the players and coaches. When the best you realistically can hope for is a conference championship, something is amiss. At least with March Madness, every Division I conference has a shot at standing above the rest.

Let’s add yet another champion to the college football season. Some might call it a cheap move, but is it any better than what we have now? Heck, the new Division I subdivision can take some of the bowls its team already gets sent to. Would it really bother the Power Five schools if they didn’t get to go to the New Orleans Bowl or Bahamas Bowl?

The national championship is the goal for every team. Give the Group of Five teams a chance. It’s time to set them free from the grips of the Power Five.

Should Group of Five schools conduct their own championship?

Why are we keeping the Group of Five under the same umbrella as the Power Five?

Talk of Big 12 schools leaving the conference for greener pastures means the future of college football has become a hot topic yet again. There’s speculation that longtime rivals Texas and Oklahoma will leave for the SEC. We’ve also heard of Kansas and Iowa State heading to the Big Ten. It makes one wonder if the Big 12 even has a future as a Power Five conference.

Then, amidst all that discussion, you see tweets like this from Statistically Speaking Podcast host Kyle Umlang:

Notre Dame no longer being an independent aside, this graphic gives you pause. Note that some Group of Five schools have been bumped up to Power Five status. “Some” is the key word here. Most of them remain on the outside looking in.

The point is the Power Five conferences only are going to get bigger as time goes on. Unless they eventually admit all Group of Five schools, which is unlikely, what’s even the point of those schools trying to compete with the big boys? Invitations to major bowls already are hard to come by for them, and the new College Football Playoff proposal only serves to benefit the Power Five even more.

Given all of this, there is only one solution: Break the Group of Five conferences away from the Power Five, and let them compete for their own championship. The likes of Northern Illinois and UAB have no hope of winning a national championship under the current or future structure. A new playoff system just for them would at least give them a shot at adding serious hardware to their trophy case. No reasonable college football observer can say they have one now.

Power Five schools still would be allowed to schedule Group of Five schools if they wish, just like they currently do with Football Championship Subdivision Schools. After all, Nick Saban is well within his right to schedule lesser opponents just ahead of the Iron Bowl, as cheap as that is. However, it no longer does any good for the Power Five and Group of Five to compete under the same umbrella. The Group of Five schools barely ever has a shot at New Year’s Six bowls anymore, let alone a national title. That structure is keeping these programs from growing, and they’re stuck where they are as a result.

Let’s discontinue this charade of all Football Bowl Subdivision schools being on equal footing. It’s not true, and everyone knows it. By starting a new playoff for the Group of Five, there would be more opportunities for those schools to play for high stakes, and that would be better for the development of both the players and coaches. When the best you realistically can hope for is a conference championship, something is amiss. At least with March Madness, every Division I conference has a shot at standing above the rest.

Let’s add yet another champion to the college football season. Some might call it a cheap move, but is it any better than what we have now? Heck, the new Division I subdivision can take some of the bowls its team already gets sent to. Would it really bother the Power Five schools if they didn’t get to go to the New Orleans Bowl or Bahamas Bowl?

The national championship is the goal for every team. Give the Group of Five teams a chance. It’s time to set them free from the grips of the Power Five.