Jon Joseph

The G6 team in the field, which will not receive a bye in 2025-26, is guaranteed $8 million, not $4 million. That took care of 6 votes. Notre Dame! Let's all go Independent! ND finishes in the top 16 (16 !!!) and is in the field. The Domers, now eligible to be ranked in the PO top 4, couldn't wait to vote 'Aye!' Other than pride, what's in it for the ACC and the B12 approvals remains to be seen, probably in June. The new format has to be signed, sealed, and delivered this December. Both of the Lesser 2 conferences are pushing for a guaranteed 3rd team in the field. I doubt the Power 2 has agreed to this. But I also thought we wouldn't see straight seeding until next season. In a 4-4-2-2-1-3 format, perhaps the Lesser 2 will have some advantage in obtaining the two at-large spots after Notre Dame grabs one of the three at-large bids? Perhaps the Power 2 has agreed sub rosa, that the ACC and the B1G teams will receive a greater share of the proceeds? Meanwhile, Power to the Power 2! The oft-referenced latest SP+ ranking released post-spring, has 12 B1G and 13 SEC teams in the top 40. 62.5% of the 40-best (Quad 1 CBB equivalent?) out of 136 teams. Yet, the Power 2 are only receiving 58% of the PO media revenue before PO participation revenue is added. The Power 2 assured of 8-teams in the field in 2026-27 is receiving populist flak that is not supported by any meaningful metric. 50% of the field is a far cry from the 62.5% ranked in SP+'s top 40. And the media viewer numbers (Eyes on the Prize) overwhelmingly favor the Power 2. Do you want folks to tune into the games or not?

As expected, the B1G and the SEC had to spread some sugar to the G6 and Notre Dame, for straight seeding to happen before 2026. College Football Playoff moving to straight seeding for 2025-26 postseason, but what does future hold? SPORTS.YAHOO.COM The future format of the College Football Playoff is still uncertain, but the sport's brass has made a major change to this year's postseason. Also, the idea of a presidential College Athletics is over. Texas Tech's ultra booster and potential committee member, Cody Campbell, first idea would have had the B1G and the SEC marketing their sports inventory with the ACC and the B12. No way the Power 2 was going to go with a collective approach. If this happens some day, it will only be the B1G and the SEC combining their inventory.

Mendoza has crossed the NFL draft line. No. 1 QB? NFL Draft: QB1 at this early stage is Indiana's (yes, Indiana's) Fernando Mendoza, who has a world of potential SPORTS.YAHOO.COM Mendoza is already a proven passer with a streak of toughness, and his transfer to Indiana from Cal might be a match made in coaching heaven.

John Gruden loves OBD's fashion sense. https://athlonsports.com/college/oregon-ducks/jon-gruden-reveals-college-football-kings-of-fashion-in-latest-unboxing Yes, it's a long off-season.

Charles, your terrific post has me pondering what effect, if any, will direct payments to athletes pursuant to the House settlement have on the non-revenue sports. The direct payment cap in year one is $20.5 million. The majority of the estimates have 75% going to football, 15% to Men's Basketball, 5% to Women's Basketball, and 5% for all of the other varsity sports. This will not be the split in the Big East, for example, where football is often a club sport and takes a back seat to basketball. Will this split pass the inevitable Title IX challenges? So, where will the baseball money come from? NIL deals are not shut down by House, but every NIL deal over $600 (not a typo) will be reviewed to see if the dollar amount falls within 'fair market value.' At least until said reviews are set aside by a court. The intent, of course, is to stop NIL from being a recruiting tool. It will be very interesting post-House to see how much SEC schools are allocating to baseball and to see the NIL deals for baseball players across the country. There will be no guessing in regard to NIL transactions which could help establish a floor. I love baseball. I think it's great that Oregon is competitive in baseball and in the majority of the sports where OBD fields varsity teams. But what post-House will be the fate of not only baseball, but all nonrevenue sports? HUSK THE HUSKERS!

Things are Looking Just Ducky for Bo and Other Straight out of Oregon Pros ESPN projects breakout 2025 NFL seasons for several former Oregon Ducks DUCKSWIRE.USATODAY.COM According to ESPN's stat predictions, a number of former Oregon Ducks are expected to have breakout seasons in 2025.

Terrific article. My comment: See Santa Rosa Duck. The young man, who is wearing 55, is in good company. He joins Junior Seau and the Sheriff of Fansville, Brian 'Boz' Bosworth. Thank you.

YES! Now, Husk the Huskers!

LOL! Why Oregon as new post-season beta sites? Stop beta-ing, and buckeye-ing, the Alpha Duck!

Where were you when I wanted you? Where were you when I needed you? Can we flash back to 1/1/25 and watch OBD play Boise State or the Hoosiers in the Rose Bowl, instead of being format-hosed-over? 'NO.' 😩

The beat(down) goes on. Who invited these Ducks to the party? 🤬 Oregon Ducks' Mark Wasikowski Makes History, Wins Big Ten Coach Of The Year WWW.YARDBARKER.COM After guiding the Oregon Ducks to one of the best regular seasons in recent memory, Mark Wasikowski was named as the 2025 Big Ten Coach Of The Year. It's the first time in Wasikowski's career...

OMG! I watched all ot these great events. Now, if I could only remember where I left my cane?

Lots of Questions for Bill Connolly. Fans Confused Over Updated ESPN SP+ College Football Rankings - Athlon Sports Disagreement over rankings? I'm shocked!

OT, but amazing! It could not have happened against a better team than the NY Knicks.😍 Watch: Tyrese Haliburton's clutch shot leads Pacers to Game 1 win over Knicks WWW.YARDBARKER.COM Tyrese Haliburton channeled Reggie Miller on Wednesday when he hit a huge shot and gave the Madison Square Garden crowd the choke sign.

This isn't the Pits. A Steel-City deal for Derrick! Major news emerges on Steelers first-round pick WWW.YARDBARKER.COM Harmon is the first D-lineman the Steelers have drafted in Round 1 since Cameron Heyward in 2011.

Yep, it's LSU No. 1 for Connor O'Gara. And Bill Connolly's Post-Spring SP+ is Out. I'm with Charles, thousands, if not tens of thousands, of playoff field predictions will be released before the PO Committee speaks on December 7, 2025. (Hopefully, not a B1G Day of Infamy?) I posted the Saturday Down South projection to see how one of the key writers for the SEC's Saturday site sees the field post-spring practice and post-spring transfer portal roster moves. Predicting the Playoff: No. 1 LSU - Saturday Down South WWW.SATURDAYDOWNSOUTH.COM Can LSU get to the Playoff for the first time in the 2020s? Not only can Brian Kelly's squad do that, but it can claim the No. 1 seed. I am not surprised that author Connor O'Gara predicts four B1G and four SEC teams will be in the PO field, along with two teams from the ACC, and one Independent, B12, and G6 team. Here's one more prediction before the 2025 preseason AP poll is released, using the widely used Bill Connolly SP+ post-spring rankings of the 136 teams theoretically in the hunt for a spot in the 2025-26 PO field. Spring update of 2025 college football SP+ rankings for every FBS team - ESPN WWW.ESPN.COM How the spring portal and other changes have impacted the numbers for the coming season. As usual, SP+ is SEC friendly with 12 SEC teams ranked in the top 25, along with six B1G teams, four ACC teams, two B12 teams, and one Independent. Despite the top 25 love for the SEC, Connolly's projected PO field would feature four B1G teams. No. 1 Ohio State, No. 3 Penn State, No. 7 OREGON, and surprise, No. 10 Michigan. Greg Sankey would not be happy about No. 11 Ole Miss being knocked out by No. 18 Kansas State. Ditto ACC commissioner, Jim Phillips, with No. 12 Miami (😁) being knocked out by No. 33 Boise State. With a 4-4-2-2-1-3 16-team field, both Ole Miss and Miami would be in. A reason why a 16-team field is favored to be adopted for 2026-27 and thereafter. Of course, no preseason prediction is likely to be spot on. But both the Saturday Down South site and SP+, among every other metric, support the above referenced PO format. Come On 8/30!

The business and enforcement side of college athletics is The Dark Side, no doubt. I apologize for spending an inordinate amount of time on and in The Dark Side, but lawyers and state legislators continue to act in ways that are detrimental to the long-term health of college athletics. The end result of this litigation and legislative furor will be further consolidation and the professionalization of the 'Moneyball' college sports, football, and men's basketball, with many non-revenue sports being dropped from Varsity to Club staus and the consequent loss of athletic scholarships. Any solution short of 'Relief' from the United States Congress will not fix what ails college sports. Will it be forthcoming? This article from CBS Sports does a terrific job of detailing where the enforcement, or lack thereof, of agreed upon rules for the good of college athletics stands today. Notwithstanding my tendency to go 'Darth Vader,' I'm looking forward to August 30, 2025, while hoping that the entirety of college athletics will not implode as did the Pac-12, a century-old entity that failed from the top down. Conference expulsion? No penalty structure? Questions mount as college sports enforcement comes into focus - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM As the House v. NCAA decision draws near, questions remain over what the college sports landscape will look like in the future

WE know there are plenty of lawyers and legislators, but Is There A Cop In The House? Conference expulsion? No penalty structure? Questions mount as college sports enforcement comes into focus - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM As the House v. NCAA decision draws near, questions remain over what the college sports landscape will look like in the future With state legislators making enforcement of the House settlement terms illegal in Tennessee and legislators exempting NIL payments from state taxation in certain states, more than ever, 'relief' for college sports is needed on the federal level. What good does it do for the SEC, the ACC, B1G, and B12 to enter into a settlement that caps direct payment to athletes at $20.5 million in the first year of the settlement when this and other terms of the settlement cannot be enforced in Tennessee? Two of the SEC's 16 teams are located in Tennessee. This law in the Volunteer State holds up, and other legislatures, particularly in Dixie, will follow suit. What a mess. However, I can't wait until 8/30/25 😁.

Thank you, NW, for keeping the title in the B1G Family! Nine national titles for NW Men's golf; first one for the Women.

Why this format? Why not 16 teams with the Ducks playing the No. 16 seed and assuming a W, the winner of the No. 8 vs. No. 9 game, etc.? Or, how about the top 8 teams go to Omaha and OBD opens against No. 8, and UCLA against No. 7, etc.? Is the stud pitcher for Sparty starting the game vs. OBD? Look at an orange long enough and you can convince yourself it's a grapefruit. 🤪 Better yet, how about call the whole thing off and prepare to play in the tournament where a trip to Omaha really matters. I don't believe Fox came up with a lot of extra money for the right to broadcast this tournament. Meanwhile, GO DUCKS! And thanks again Charles for the terrific coverage.

A Little Moore Love. ❤️❤️❤️ College Football Analyst Turns Heads With Darkhorse Heisman Pick - Athlon Sports

A take in support of SC dropping Notre Dame. Losing Notre Dame-USC is the price of conference realignment, and it is not the Trojans' fault WWW.SPORTINGNEWS.COM Notre Dame and USC have not come to an agreement to extend their nearly 100-year series, but USC's case for ending it is valid. Having SC on the schedule means more of NBC's money for the Irish and nothing for SC. Money The Irish share with no one. Having SC on the schedule helps with ND's scheduling, even when SC is down, the game's a TV draw, and also helps with ND's recruiting in California. A win-win for ND and not so much for SC. Last season's PO runner-up ND played four G5 opponents. SC is not able to schedule four G6 opponents. And SC plays in a deeper conference than the ACC.

O'Gara's No. 1 seed? LSU, Florida, Vandy, Oklahoma, Mississippi State? Predicting the 2025 Playoff: No. 2 Oregon - Saturday Down South WWW.SATURDAYDOWNSOUTH.COM Oregon's 2024 Playoff experience ended on the worst possible note, so is redemption in store in 2025? You bet. I'm going with the Bayou Bengals. However, and FWIW, I like those Hairy Dawgs. (The Georgia, not the Mississippi State, breed. 😁) Will Brian Kelly finally win an opening game? Opening in the 'Other Death Valley' versus Clemson will not be easy. I'll post Saturday Down South's O'Gara's final pick tomorrow. O'Gara believes we will see Playoff seeding matching the rankings in 2025-26. This would mean OBD, with a 1st round bye, playing the winner of No. 11 Louisville at No. 6 Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. 🤔Hmmmm.

Bo and Justin's QB Rankings. (From one source.) Where Bo Nix, Justin Herbert rank amongst top QBs in NFL this year DUCKSWIRE.USATODAY.COM Pro Football Focus ranked all 32 starting quarterbacks in the NFL and Bo Nix and Justin Herbert both received interesting placements.

Your bad? No way. I had inside information. Wally Godwin, RIP, was my ex-wife's uncle. A terrific guy. A legend in college golf circles.