Jon Joseph

Bigger is always better for CFB Playoff, but how many is too much? BAMAHAMMER.COM A couple of weeks ago it was reported ESPN and the CFB Playoff had concluded a new $7.8B deal. The reports were premature. ESPN did not want the then 6+6 format

First and Foremost, no matter what happens in college athletics and with college athletes, Puddles will make a 5 by 5 landing with both web feet squarely on the ground. Pending a trial and possible appeals, Federal Court Judge Clifton L. Corker - Eastern District of Tennessee - has perhaps put the final nail in the NCAA's coffin. Another in a series of NCAA losses in courts from State Courts to the Supremes. From Judge Corker's (this is not from an elected 'country bumpkin' judge but from a Federal District Court Judge with a lifetime appointment) Restraining Order against the NCAA: "Effective immediately, the NCAA ... is restrained and enjoined from enforcing the NCAA Interim NIL Policy, the NCAA Bylaws or any other authority to the extent such authority prohibits student-athletes from negotiating compensation for NIL with any third-party entity, including but not limited to boosters, or a collective of boosters, until a full and final decision on the merits in the instant action." The Judge further opined that he is issuing the Restraining Order because in his opinion the NCAA's NIL policies violate the Sherman Antitrust Act and that the plaintiff, the State of Tennessee, will likely prevail on the merits of its pleadings. "Essentially, players are going to be employees, they're going to sign (enforceable) contracts, there is going to be collective bargaining . . . that's going to happen." Andy Staples of On3. "NCAA recruiting pay-for-play is here, and the only surprise is how fast it happened." Stewart Mandel of The Athletic. Stewart, it may be counter-intuitive, but here is one old-timer who is not the least bit surprised as to how fast this inevitable ruling happened. The timing of media agreements and other contractual agreements is not going to slow down changes to college football (CFB), even radical changes. It was only a matter of time before the NCAA tried to bull its way into the NIL China shop and as is usually the case when the NCAA ventures into court, be left to pick up the pieces. We Grey Beards have witnessed a lot of changes to CFB. We watched one game a week on black and white TV with one announcer in the broadcast booth. We watched One-Platoon CFB. We watched four bowl games, Rose, Sugar, Cotton, and Peach, and eight teams only playing in the CFB postseason. The CFB champion was decided by polls with most of the polls coming out before the four bowl games. Successful coaches were paid less than 50,000.00 dollars a year, etc.., and likely Ad Nauseam for younger readers so I'll stop. One thing that is permanent in life is change. And in the wired world in which we reside, change keeps coming faster and faster. So, where is CFB headed? Most likely in the direction described by Andy Staples above. Most likely to further consolidation of CFB into a League of Big Boys which can and are willing to pay the cost to compete at CFB's highest level of competition. (I have assigned an NFL 'sponsor' to the teams listed below; however, I think there is likely to be one more interim step of some kind before CFB finds itself as the NFL's AAA League.) WEST - OREGON - 49ers UCLA - Chargers USC - Rams WASHINGTON - Seahawks ARIZONA STATE - Cardinals COLORADO - Broncos NEBRASKA - Chiefs OKLAHOMA - Raiders ARKANSAS - Patriots LSU - Saints TEXAS - Cowboys TEXAS A+M - Texans IOWA - Bills MINNESOTA - Vikings MISSOURI - Bears WISCONSIN - Packers EAST - ALABAMA - Giants AUBURN - Jets OLE MISS - Dolphins TENNESSEE - Titans CLEMSON - Commanders FLORIDA - Buccaneers FLORIDA STATE - Jaguars GEORGIA - Falcons MICHIGAN - Lions MICHIGAN STATE - Steelers NOTRE DAME - Colts OHIO STATE - Browns KENTUCKY - Bengals MARYLAND - Ravens NORTH CAROLINA - Panthers PENN STATE - Eagles 1 INDEPENDENT/ 2 B12/ 3 ACC/ 13 B1G and SEC - The interim step before the NFL steps in? The B1G adds Notre Dame and North Carolina. The SEC adds Arizona State, Clemson, Colorado, and Florida State. I am reasonably certain that Notre Dame, North Carolina, Clemson, and Florida State would be in the CFB Championship level mix. ASU and CU could certainly be replaced by say, NC State and UVA. And more than 32 teams could pay the freight to play in CFB's upper echelon. Would B1G member Northwestern and SEC member Vanderbilt, for example, want to stay in the mix and spend the money to compete at the highest level of CFB? Would the B1G and SEC stay intact for all sports other than football and remain NCAA members in all other sports? I think this would likely be the case. One entity or another has to manage and administrate college post-season title events. For what it is worth, using SP+ 2024 preseason rankings, below would be the field for a 14-team NFL-style Playoff. WEST - Bye - 1. OREGON vs the lowest remaining seed. 7. Wisconsin at 2. Texas 6. USC at 3. Missouri 5. Oklahoma at 4. Texas A+M EAST - Bye - 1. Georgia vs the lowest remaining seed. 7. Notre Dame at 2. Ohio State 6. Ole Miss at 5. Michigan 5. Penn State at 4. Alabama Would this be the format? Possibly. But as is the case in the NFL from time to time, higher-ranked teams in the East would be left out in favor of lower-ranked West teams. Changes to College Football are not, of course, moving at The Speed of Light, Einie has yet to be proved wrong, but hold onto your hats, it is coming close to 186,000 miles per second.

I was looking for the shutout, but at least the Leopards were held to a field goal. There are leopards in Pennsylvania? It's OK, except behind bars there are no tigers in South Carolina, Louisiana, New Jersey, and Missouri.

The CFB Playoff will never reserve 5 spots for 5 G5 champs. Unlike the CBB where 7 to 8 guys can be assembled to play quality basketball, you cannot do the same in CFB. There would on occasion be an upset pulled off by the G5 but for the most part the G5 would go 0-5 and the media would not pay big money for these games.

The Pac-2 strongly disagree! Love the take.

ASU? Who knew?

People are climbing on board the Playoff Committee to better value a team's Strength of Schedule come 2024. With mega-conferences and the degree of schedule difficulty varying significantly intra-conference, the CFB Committee needs to sort through schedule strength as doe the Basketball Committee. The Basketball Committee uses uniform SOS metrics. The CFB Committee instead of leaving the determination of SOS in the mind of Committee members, needs to do likewise. CFB needs a measure of objectivity from a Committee that is moving around multi-millions of dollars every season without any public scrutiny of the process except vague, 'this is how the Committee works' pap. If the CFB Committee only values wins and losses, better teams with lesser records will likely be left out of the Playoff field. One reason the B1G's Tony Petitti and Greg Sankey, want alloted slots for several B1G and SEC teams. Why College Football Playoff needs modified system to evaluate contenders amid expansion into 12-team era - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM Simply evaluating teams based off top-25 wins will no longer be enough as the field balloons in 2024

Nebraska's Matt Rhule is solidifying his vision entering year 2: 'It's been night and day' THEATHLETIC.COM One month from Saturday, players at Nebraska will return to the practice field.

Latest ruling against NCAA paints radical future for NIL deals WWW.YARDBARKER.COM On Friday, a federal judge in Tennessee landed a massive blow to the NCAA, suspending name, image and likeness restrictions for athletes.

Oklahoma football: Expanding playoff could grow likelihood of SEC-Big Ten showdown STORMININNORMAN.COM As the Oklahoma football program relocates to a new conference home as part of another seismic movement in conference realignment, the College Football Playoff

NCAA can't enforce NIL rules after judge grants injunction - ESPN WWW.ESPN.COM A federal judge has barred the NCAA from enforcing its rules prohibiting NIL compensation from being used to recruit athletes, granting a request for a preliminary injunction and dealing another...

More from The Athletic's Stewart Mandel. Mandel: Party’s over, NCAA. Recruiting pay-for-play is here, and it was inevitable THEATHLETIC.COM A federal judge granted another blow to the NCAA by, at least temporarily, prohibiting rules against NIL pay-for-play in recruiting.

How Does Oregon Compare to the Big Ten Conference? (BTW Oregonian, it's the Big 10 Conference.) Smaller? (Kidding!) Athletic Department spending 9th and Football spending 10th = a darn good ROI; success on the football field beyond the investment. Revenue 9th. Even as a Junior Partner revenue will increase and then come 2032? Puddles will be flying financially high.

Of course, The Cascade Clash made the list. 10 Most Anticipated Rematches of the 2024 College Football Season BLEACHERREPORT.COM It's never too early to start looking ahead at the best games of the 2024 college football season. As the season gets closer, there are plenty of big…

Bleacher Report 'Gets It.' With CFB's 12-Team Playoff Set, the Format Is Poised to Bring the Game to New Heights BLEACHERREPORT.COM On Tuesday, the College Football Playoff confirmed the inevitable. With the Pac-12 essentially dissolving, the shiny new postseason that will begin this…

Only three minor issues to be resolved, right? Access, Distribution, and Governance. What could go wrong? CFP officials discuss expanding to 14-team playoff in 2026 - ESPN WWW.ESPN.COM CFP executive director Bill Hancock said the idea of a 14-team College Football Playoff starting in 2026 was discussed at Wednesday's meeting in Dallas but added, "There's work still to...

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey lobbying for earlier signing day, recruiting dead period through December - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM The SEC is spearheading an effort to clean up the winter schedule

Thanks, Steven, P4 and G5 football needs these folks why? Stay in for the tourney but also take CBB oversight and regulation away from the NCAA. These folks will figure out new ways to get sued and lose. Where is NCAA Prez Charlie Baker who proposed a separate division? The suits by the Florida and Tennessee AGs may be a turning point. One thing to have former jocks sue you and another for Attorney Generals backed by state money to sue you. Arrogant, Ignorant, and Totally Tone Dead. No Clue About Anything.

It has been proposed that early signing day be moved to December 4th so as not to conflict with the early portal entry date. CFB knows it has to do something to help coaches out in December but is this enough? College football early signing period expected to move earlier in December THEATHLETIC.COM The signing period would give athletes time to sign NLIs after the conclusion of their high school seasons and just before the portal opens.

Oregon is ranked in the 5 teams due to win a CFB title. https://collegefootballnews.com/rankings/5-teams-overdue-to-win-a-national-title-expanded-college-football-playoff

On the other hand - Mandel: Discussing 14 teams … already? CFP is fixing something that isn't broken THEATHLETIC.COM CFP executives discussed expanding to a 14- or 16-team format for 2026 and beyond in meetings Wednesday.

Solar, the top 2 ranked SEC teams, and the top 2 ranked B1G teams will play in the conference champ games beginning in 2024; no divisions in the B1G and the SEC. All 4 will be a 12-team PO lock. And would you prefer a Committee including many folks without B1G and SEC ties to make the seeding determination on which of the top 2 B1G and top 2 SEC teams deserve the higher seeds? Conference hamp games are built into the B1G media deal through 2031 and the SEC media deal through 2034 and are likely to draw even larger viewing audiences with a 1st round bye in 2024/25 on the line and for seeding purposes in 2026 and thereafter even with a 16-team playoff field. Another reason to have champ games in the B1G and the SEC is the difference in SOS you will see in intra-conference scheduling in 2 mega-conferences season after season.

Solar, to answer your question, the B1G and SEC will play without divisions beginning in 2024. The two teams in the conference champ games will be the 2 top-ranked teams in the conference. I expect that the top 2 B1G and 2 SEC teams vying for a conference title season after season will be ranked by the Committee in the top 10. In 2023 using the final committee rankings, Michigan finished No.1, UW No. 2, Texas No. 3, and Alabama No. 4. All 4 would have been in the PO as would conference champ game losers Georgia and Oregon. I think Tony Petitti thought the suggested format through before presenting it and ran it by 'consortium friend' Greg Sankey before bringing it to the CFB playoff committee. I think it makes sense. Especially, when you look at the teams that competed in the 4-team playoff. IMO, 10 automatic bids for conference champs is a non-starter. Drop the G5 from the PO altogether and how much money would be lost if a P4, or even a B1G/SEC 'world series,' was played postseason? The tail is no longer going to wag the PO dog. Petitti and Sankey do not want folks on the PO Committee outside of the P2, derailing B1G and SEC participants as a matter of 'equity.' The teams that invest the most capital into football deserve the best ROI.

Don't Worry, Be Happy. Over the top 5-7 concerns from Autzen Zoo. What does this guy not understand regarding Oregon having better recognition and brand appeal in the B1G? The 2024 schedule is tough, no doubt. But tougher than getting through last season's Pac-12? In 2025, Oregon will not play Michigan or Ohio State. The 2 toughest B1G road games are Iowa, Penn State, and UW. The toughest home games are Oklahoma State, USC, and Wisconsin. The difficulty of the schedule will vary year-to-year but Oregon benefits from a 5-7 format and also benefits from being in the B1G. Will the Oregon Ducks even benefit from the new 5-7 CFP format? AUTZENZOO.COM As Oregon heads to the Big Ten, will the team be able to benefit from the new 5-7 format?

As reported by Yardbarker and other sources, a 14-team playoff beginning in 2026 and through the 2031 seasons has been proposed by the B1G. The B1G's Tony Petitti would not have suggested this format without running it by SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. Of course, the CFB freaks are freaking out! "This will ruin the regular season!" A 14-team playoff would equal the number of teams that play in the NFL playoff; a league with 32 teams (the B1G/SEC now have 34 teams). In theory, college football has 134 teams contesting for a spot in the playoff. The last time I looked, NFL stadiums were not empty during the regular season. Unlike 'The U,' the Dolphins sell out the stadium for home games. Boston College games feature many empty seats disguised as fans, even with the Patriots sucking wind post-Brady, Pats games sell out. I think that a 14-team PO format would follow the NFL model. 14 works in the NFL where the top No.1 seeded NFL team and the No.1 seeded AFL team have a 1st round bye. 3 'Wild Card Games' are played intra-conference between teams seeded No. 2 through No. 6. Would this be the format in CFB? And if not, how would a 14-team bracket work? (HELP ME Math Jocks!) If the NFL model was followed, in 2023, Michigan and Washington would have received 1st-round byes. Petitti's proposed format would have 2 B1G teams and 2 SEC teams automatically qualifying. Presumably, the 2 teams that played in the respective conference champ games. Remeber that come 2026, only a majority vote and not a unanimous vote has to be cast to approve the 2026 and going forward playoff format. The 'voters' have been reduced from 9 conferences and Notre Dame to 10 conferences and Notre Dame. In reality, the B1G/SEC are the only 2 conferences that could hold a playoff including only B1G and SEC teams and make bank anywhere close to the $1.3 B expected from 2026 to 2031. 2031 is not coincidental, it is the year that the current B1G media deal will expire. Floated 14-team College Football Playoff could have opposite effect than intended WWW.YARDBARKER.COM The more the CFP committee tinkers with its format, the more it's taking away from the excitement of every weekend being its own playoff. The new playoff format will follow the B1G/SEC money.