Jon Joseph

Looking All the Way Down the Road - FWIW - This is a Homer Quack, Not Simpson, prediction from SI(gh.) Yes, the roster on paper looks to be as talented as any in the nation. But it's a 12-game season compressed into 13 weeks, with one bye, and the Ducks are the only Big Ten team playing eight straight Big Ten games without a week off. I see a tougher game against the preseason top-ranked G6 team with everything to prove, Boise State, than the predicted 42-14 Ducks. The Ducks will be underducks in Columbus, but I don't think OBD loses by 17 points. Oregon has to travel to the Eastern time zone after playing Northwestern at home in what I hope will be a 12:30 PM Pacific time kickoff. Ohio State will be traveling back to Columbus after playing USC in LA, with a likely 10:30 PM body clock kickoff time. I believe OBD will defeat Michigan by more than three points in Autzen and will not defeat Michigan State 45-0 in East Lansing. Pat Fitzgerald's team and the fans will be fired up on a cold winter's night, and Fitzgerald's teams play solid defense. Overall, I think the win/loss 11-1 prediction could happen, but the predicted scores against many conference opponents IMO disrespects the strength and the depth of the Big Ten. And, BTW, Oregon is the hunted, a team every other B1G program wants to take down. Thanks, Steven, for the above post. Week 2 at Oklahoma State? The waters may run still, but the alcohol? Two games out of the box against teams with solid reasons to win and prove their national bona fides. This is not the Cowboys team OBD destroyed in Autzen last season. This will be OK State's home opener in a tough place to play. The first game of the season, where crowd noise could affect the play of an O-line with two new starting tackles. The only complete layup on the schedule is the Week 3 game against the Portland State Vikings. BEAT BOISE! Oregon Ducks On SIOregon Football Prediction For Every Game On 2026 ScheduleThe Oregon Ducks have one of the most intriguing rosters in college football this fall, led by returning quarterback Dante Moore and coach Dan Lanning. After ma

Gat, I've watched SEC football for decades, and I love the player's skill and the fans' passion. Sankey, of course, needs to support his conference, and the ammunition is there when you look at recruiting rankings and the NFL draft. But I grimaced at the 'far better' statement. Tony Petitti lets the scores speak for themselves, which in the short run garners less press, but in the long run seems to work out for the best. I'm hoping that Sumrall is the right guy for your Gators. All the best.

Why not take the Ostrich Approach? https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2026/05/28/big-ten-rules-college-football-as-greg-sankey-touts-secs-metrics/90254464007/

College Football News Preview of Northwestern - Chip Kelly returns to Autzen Stadium on 10/31/2026 https://collegefootballnews.com/college-football/northwestern-football-preview-2026

A Dysfunctional Family? https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/48903422/college-football-spring-meetings-buzz-sec-big-ten-cfp

Never, Ever, Never Schedule Boise State - https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/2026-preseason-top-25-rankings-for-group-of-six-via-hero-sports/ss-AA24qNjg?ocid=msedgdhphdr&cvid=6a1b2d66d34b4b9da2a6dbacde928ee7&cvpid=6a1b2ef179df46cfa9c8

A Baseball Update from USA Today - https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/baseball/2026/05/29/ncaa-baseball-tournament-regionals-schedule-bracket-scores-2026-college-world-series/90284232007/?utm_source=usatoday-sports-strad

Nebraska and UCLA are still alive in the College Softball World Series - https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/softball/2026/05/29/wcws-eliminated-teams-ncaa-softball-tournament-updated-bracket-scores-schedule/90322465007/?utm_source=usatoday-sports-strada&u

Good Will Hunting? 😁 Or, Good Hunting Will? https://duckswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/ducks/recruiting/2026/05/30/oregon-recruiting-will-mencl-wr-recruiting-pitch/90320399007/?utm_source=smg-duckswire-strada&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SM

Spot on comment. It is a money grab. This is a needed money grab that will also open other avenues of income, such as a B1G/SEC football challenge. How about four SEC/B1G OOC matchups every week in the first three weeks of the regular season? CHA-CHING! No conference champ game revenue? This is a red herring. As Steve Sarkisian noted, if a conference flex schedules, the championship game can be played in the final week of the regular season. Going to 24 will end ESPN's PO broadcast monopoly. Fox, CBS, NBC, and others will all likely make PO broadcast bids. Kill the regular season? Millions of CFB fans will be invested in their team's chances to make a 24-team field, the seeding of the field, and millions more will watch PO games, including the 16 games played on campus in the first two rounds. Tony Petitti is a businessperson with a law degree from Harvard who worked in the professional sports broadcast business. He is not some guy who coached women's golf like a commissioner down in Dixie; the additional dollars he projects from a 24-team PO will happen. If you cannot leverage football game inventory, then the alternative will be private equity deals, loans, and/or a Super Conference that will knock many ACC and B12 teams, and possibly lower-level B1G and SEC teams, out of competing for a playoff championship.

Sorsby - It wasn't nickels and dimes; he placed $90,000.00 in college sports event bets, including bets on his own team. SINCAA Says Brendan Sorsby Wagered $90,000 During College C...The court filing ahead of Monday’s hearing claims the Texas Tech QB used proxies to place wagers on his behalf, including at least 40 bets on Indiana games.

Cig sounds the alarm. This is from a man who has coached at every level of the sport - Curt Cignetti sounds the alarm saying college football changes can't wait much longer

The UCLA loss is the equivalent of a No. 1 seed losing to a No. 16 seed. WOW!

Takes on the SEC and B1G Meetings - All hands on deck on CFB B1G - SEC Looking at a Mutiny? https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/48903422/college-football-spring-meetings-buzz-sec-big-ten-cfp

I definitely 'get it,' my friend. Blowouts? I hope you didn't watch the last two Rose Bowls or, GULP, last season's Peach Bowl. 🤬And I wonder, if Georgia had a week-long bye before playing Notre Dame and Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl, how would those games have turned out if the games had been played in Athens? Not an exact comparison, but how about watching Georgia play Notre Dame and Ole Miss's 'Tween the Hedges? In the proposed 24-team format, teams with a first-round bye host a 2nd round PO game, rewarding fans with a home game. If we could, I'd love to go back to a Pac-8 and a numerically correct Big Ten battling to play in the Rose Bowl that ended the season on January 1st, and if there were two teams anointed by the media as champions, no one died. I'm sure you can recall waiting on New Year's Day to watch the Orange, Cotton, Sugar, and Rose Bowls, after watching one college football broadcast on a Saturday. Players, parents, and guardians were grateful not to have to pay tuition, room and board, and the cost of books for their son to earn a college degree. Bear Bryant, between his job coaching Alabama, after leading Kentucky to an SEC title, his coaching show, and endorsement income, never earned $500,000.00 per annum. Assistant coaches make far more today. The main reason I want to go to 24 in this 'brave new world' of college football, I don't want to see the ACC and B12 go away, and CFB consolidate down to a Super Conference, NFL-Lite. Millions of fans are invested in ACC and B12 football. And the G6 will also benefit from increased PO revenue. Lots of red herrings being floated, including, 'How do we make up the conference champ game income?' As Sark recently pointed out, echoing Tony Petitti when he first suggested a 24-team field, a flex schedule allows for a conference champ game. If Texas plays A&M in the penultimate game of a regular season so it can play Georgia in the final week, at the end of a 15 or 16-game season, will anyone notice? Not only can the champ game money still be there with a flex schedule, but the inequity with in-conference mega-conference scheduling could be abated by having No. 6 play No. 3, and No. 4 play No. 5, Cha Ching! Go to 24, and a Big Ten-SEC football challenge will happen. Why not an ACC vs B12 challenge? And it's not like Tony Petitti, an astute businessman, did not listen to his critics. Under the revised format, you have 23 at-large teams and a G6 team if not ranked in the top 25. Go to 24, end the ESPN monopoly with Fox, CBS, NBC, TNT, and others bidding for PO broadcast rights? It's only ESPN talking heads who believe that PO broadcast revenue will not exponentially increase. Another bonus. The season would begin and end earlier. And there would not be a season like we have in 2026 with only one bye week. Again, I understand and, in many ways, empathize with your POV. But it was, in most respects, an amateur game when we played and watched growing up. Today? PS - I'm watching the golf, and I love watching Georgia grad, Brian Harmon, golf his ball. Corey Pavin was the 'Gutty Little Bruin.' Brian is the Gutty Little Dawg.

With Texas Tech, BYU, Utah, Arizona, and Houston in a 24-team 2025-26 PO field, the B12 coaches wanting 24 comes as no surprise. AP NewsBig 12 coaches unanimously agree on their preference for...Big 12 coaches are in unanimous agreement on their preference for a 24-team College Football Playoff. The SEC would have added Texas and Vanderbilt. The ACC would have added UVA and Georgia Tech. The Big Ten would have added USC, Michigan, and Iowa. And there would have been no Pity Party in South Bent.

Down in Dixie, it's all good, right? He certainly has an argument, but 'by far?' I love watching SEC football, but this It Just Means More stuff is getting old and cold. Enough Huey-Bris stuff, please. Tony Petitti is no longer CFB's piñata. On3Greg Sankey: SEC is strongest, most competitive conferenc...Greg Sankey told reporters Wednesday the SEC is the strongest and most competitive conference in college football "by far."

From SEC meetings in Florida. Over $100 million in NIL deals are being held up by the House settlement approved College Sports Commission. Too many deals. Too few worker bees? We've seen this movie before with the NCAA moving at glacial speed. Agents are telling ADs that if their clients are not paid, they will not play. But, they're not employees, right?

From On3 Brett McMurphy ($ wall) at the SEC meetings in Florida: "SEC coaches say they were misled about nine-game schedule and 16-team playoff." Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz - 'We were told the Big Ten would vote to expand the playoff to 16 teams.' BETMGM - Only Georgia and Texas are projected to win nine or more games in 2026. As reported yesterday by On3, a majority of SEC ADs want a 24-team PO. The Georgia Prez is opposed to 24, but if the PO had gone to 24-teams in 2013-14, Georgia would have been in the field 10 times, other SEC teams besides Alabama, not so many. In this case, the tail could wag the Dawgs.

ND, your view is not cynical, and concern about what a 24-team PO would do to the CFB regular season is shared by many. The Athletic ($ wall) posted an article yesterday where they asked lower division coaches what effect playoffs with large fields have on the regular season. Of course, millions of fans are not tuning in weekly to watch these teams play ball. FCS has a 24-team field. D2 30 teams. D3 40 teams. None of the coaches interviewed said that they sat players during the regular season over playing in the PO concerns. All of the coaches interviewed said that every game is important for seeding purposes, especially with all games played on campus before the champ game. The coaches noted that the strength of the schedule is the key factor when the NCAA PO committees create and seed the field. All of the coaches said they schedule competitive OOC games for this reason. The FCS coaches noted that if your team is in the PO year after year, like North Dakota State, it can take the players a longer time to recover. But for the most part, their players are not three years and then off to the NFL. Based on the 2025 season's final AP Poll, this would have been a 24-team field. The 1st- and 2nd-round games would be played on campus. The eight teams with first-round byes would only sit out a week to ten days. No rematches would be allowed in the 1st round. The season would begin a week earlier and end two weeks earlier. No conference champ games is a sticking point for the SEC, but as Steve Sarkisian noted yesterday, flex-scheduling would allow for a conference champ game to be played the last week of the regular season, without the wear and tear of a 13th game on two teams likely in the playoff field. 1. Indiana vs. 17 Iowa at 16 UVA 2. Miami vs. 18 Tulane at 15 Vanderbilt 3. Ole Miss vs. 19 JMU at 14 Utah 4. Oregon vs. 20 USC at 13 Oklahoma 5. Ohio State vs. 21 Michigan at 12 Texas 6. Georgia vs. 22 Houston at 11 BYU 7. Texas Tech vs. 24 North Texas at 10 Notre Dame (to avoid a repeat of the Navy game, N. TX. and Navy switch 1st-round opponents.) 8. Texas A&M vs. 23 Navy at 9 Alabama. As we have in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd rounds (SIGH) with a 12-team PO field, there will be blowouts. Of course. But in the above scenario, Texas isn't punished for losing a game in Columbus. 2-loss BYU is in the field along with Notre Dame. 4-loss Iowa is in the field, but Iowa lost close games to good teams and defeated 2-loss Vandy in its bowl game, and ACC conference runner-up UVA is in the field. I'm tuning in to watch USC at Oklahoma with the winner playing Oregon in Autzen Stadium. UGA vs. BYU would be a terrific intersectional game, and UGA would play a game 'Tween the Hedges after a short break instead of playing a team coming off a victory in the Sugar Bowl. Four G6 teams make the field. I think JMU would have given Utah all it could handle. I'm tuning in to watch the Midshipmen march into Bryant-Denny before playing a game in Tuscaloosa. A 24-team PO would lift all of CFB financially. If CFB cannot sell its additional game inventory to media companies, where does it go for much-needed cash? 24-teams is the best chance to save the ACC and B12 and prevent or at least slow the coming of CFB NFL-Lite. Why is Tony Petitti opposed to a 16-team field? Using the final 2025 PO committee rankings, the Big Ten had three teams in the field, the SEC five. If the field had been 16-teams, the Big Ten would have had three teams in the field, the SEC seven. 3-loss Bama made the field even though suffering a conference champ game beatdown at the paws of your Dawgs. 2-loss Utah suffered its second loss in the B12 champ game and did not get in. No one outside of the SEC trusts a PO Committee that does its business in the dark. I repeat, you are not being cynical. Your POV is shared by many CFB fans. I can only say that at 79 years of age, I have heard that expanding the PO field would ruin the regular season for many sports. It hasn't happened. Best of fortune to the Dawgs in 2026.

The SEC going solo? Yahoo's Dan Wolken says, 'Good luck, yuck, yuck.' Yes, we did hear the same from the Big Ten. But the Big Ten is a coast-to-coast operation with a huge number of living alums, and is No. 1 in media and other revenue. https://sports.yahoo.com/college-football/article/why-going-solo-would-lead-to-the-death-of-the-sec-174839907.html

It will be a new and improved group of Cowboys that OBD plays Week 2 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The Cowboys open at Tulsa, so the Oregon game is the home opener in a rowdy T. Boone Pickens Stadium. The Athletic recently ranked CFB's Top 100 2026 transfers. No. 5-ranked QB Drew Mestermaker followed his coach, Eric Morris, from North Texas State to Oklahoma State. In 2026, Mestermaker led the FBS in passing, throwing for over 4800 yards, 30 TDs, 9 Interceptions, and completed 74.8% of his throws. He also rushed for six TDs. Not bad for a walk-on who didn't start for his high school team. No. 10 ranked RB Caleb Hawkins rushed for over 1400 yards and 25 TDs, and caught 32 passes for 370 yards and 4 more TDs. These two were part of the nation's 2nd leading offense and will be joined by six other North Texas starters on the OK State O. With the opener against Boise, Oregon's first two games will not be easy wins. https://collegefootballnews.com/college-football/oklahoma-state-football-preview-2026

College Football News Preseason Preview of Oklahoma State - It's not the Mullet's Cowboys anymore. https://collegefootballnews.com/college-football/oklahoma-state-football-preview-2026

CBS Sports Post-Spring B1G Thoughts - https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/big-ten-post-spring-intel-breakout-players-qb-battles/

Thanks, H. There is no way the B1G and the SEC will agree to market football and men's basketball with the ACC, B12, and G6. The Power 2 down the road could agree to go to market with one another. Cue the antitrust lawyers.