Jon Joseph

How did this happen? Mario Cristobal, and DeBoer coaching up a darn good Fresno QB.

Great take but I see at least 2 of those games being grind-outs. At Oregon State and versus Utah.

I think it is far too early to make a comparison. I especially want to see what happens this season when UW trips to Michigan State and Oregon trips to Texas Tech, the results of the UW at SC and SC at Oregon games, and of course, Oregon at UW. In 2024 I want to see which of the 2 coaches does the best in replacing a veteran starter at QB. Having Nix come in to play for an OC he played for at Auburn and Penix coming in to play for DeBoer, his former OC at Indiana was a big benefit for both coaches. The recruiting numbers already speak for themselves and favor DL.

Cart, in 2014, did you watch #4 seed Ohio State defeat #1 seed Bama in the Sugar Bowl playing with its 3rd string QB? That tOSU team punched Bama in the mouth and had more speed on the field than Bama. That Ohio State team was loaded and well-coached. Not the fraudulent undefeated FSU team that Jimbo brought to the Rose Bowl. Baylor or TCU deserved to be in the PO that season and in the Rose Bowl, far more so than FSU. But the PO Committee with a 4 team field will never bench an undefeated P5 team.

Great take. Dillingham had one of if not the best OLs in Oregon history in front of Nix. I agree with all of your points but I think the rebuild, or not, of the OL by Terry will be key this season Love that the 2023 schedule gives Oregon an opener against an FCS team at home before having to trip to Lubbock to play a motivated and talented Texas Tech team. Also likely helps that TT is on the road at Wyoming for its opening game.

Nick may have helped the cause but Ohio State had, by far, a superior roster, and the Duck's best WR being busted for smoking dope and not having IFO really hurt the cause. Nick shut down the Auburn O but this was a much better and deeper Ohio State team that slipped in as the #4 Playoff seed and improved greatly during the season even when down to its 3rd string QB. The Ohio State OL punched the vaunted Bama DL in the mouth in the Sugar Bowl. Bama had Saint Nick and other quality coaches coaching the Tide D and it didn't matter.

Nix had the benefit of playing for Dillingham, the best OC he had at Auburn, and from getting away from the Auburn/SEC/ legacy pressure cooker. I think he and Stein will be just fine if Terry can successfully rebuild the OL.

Great take, David. Thank you. As to it being the players and not the plays see Lombardi, Vince. As to talent overcoming scheme spot on with your analysis of Oregon playing Ohio State for the title game. That Buckeyes team was loaded with guys like Joey Bosa still making waves in the NFL. 'AT' Georgia last season was another example of one roster being far better and deeper than another. But as Kirby Smart said post-game: Dan knows we have better players but he will get there at Oregon. AMEN!

Great take. To me, it comes down to the $ the B1G would pay versus the money Oregon makes off an unknown media amount. There is no baseline on either side of the fence unless the B1G/FOX has made an unknown offer to Oregon. I do not see B1G/FOX making a bid before knowing the number GK will come up with. (I do not want to be cynical but perhaps one reason GK is slow-walking the media deal is to keep the B1G and the B12 from the Pac-10 door.) Come the 2026 season my guess is that the playoff will go to 16 teams (and CBB at some point will go to 80) with no teams receiving first-round byes and both the 1st and 2nd rounds played on the home field of the higher-ranked teams. (For political reasons at least 1 G5 team will have to be included.) I expect if the field expands to 16 that the SEC especially will receive the majority of the top seeds. Recall that at the end of last season, the B1G only had 3 teams ranked by the Committee in the top 25 and the B1G W champ, Purdue, gave up 60+ points to LSU in the bowl game. But I agree with Charles that unless there is a significant change, such as players being deemed employees I do not see much happening on the P5 expansion front for the next 5 to 6 seasons except for the Pac-12 adding a team or 2 at a lower media share than the rest of the Pac-12 teams. The ACC is contractually locked in until 2036. I don't see FOX coming with more money for B1G media rights or for further B12 expansion. I do not see B1G members agreeing to a lesser share to help the LA schools cut down on travel. I do not see the 4 Corners schools or any other Pac member agreeing to take a smaller cut than the 4 new members to join the B12. And I believe that ESPN's spending spree has been put on hold by its parent. IMO, streaming is the CFB-media future.

Very good point but once the spring portal season closes it's pretty easy to rank a team's roster and you know where the games will be played. No school without a Blue Chip Roster (over 50% 4* and 5* recruits) won the BCS or has won a (BCS x 2) playoff title.

Which makes it so hard to prove. Tampering does happen on occasion in the NFL with a player in his last season prior to being a free agent but improper contact is internally and diligently policed and punished with the loss of draft picks and fines. Pat Narduzzi at Pitt was right about SC 'stealing' Addison but Riley after paying players for years at Oklahoma before NIL is not going to directly tamper. And Troy Dye? I get that his fiancee probably wanted to be closer to home but I'd love to know the details of Dye's, USC NIL deal(s.) Heading into the 2023 season the guy with a big beef against SC is Arizona HC Fisch. 3 of his starters including one of if not the best WR in the conference, Singer, transferred to SC. SC treated AZ like the Yankees did the once-upon-a-time Kansas City Athletics. Heading into the post-season KC owner Charlie Finley almost also 'sold' (traded) a few of his best players to the Yankees. Nothing new under the Sun.

And Fickell grabbing the SMU QB out of the portal should definitely help the Badgers O. I think Florida taking the former Wisconsin QB out of the portal is very questionable. Spot on in regards to Texas. I know it isn't an 'academic fit,' but UTSA and the San Antonio huge media market should, IMO, also be looked at as a candidate for expansion.

Sorry, Charles, and thank you Thom and Happy. I thought this was outside of the ESPN paywall. My bad.

PA, thanks for another great update. Media was not allowed to watch the scrimmage. I am guessing that big-money donors were the ones allowed to watch the 'game.' I recall during Pete Carroll's time at USC most of the practices were open to the press and the public, including Snoop Dog. I'm guessing that Texas Tech and others will have scouts at the to-be-broadcast spring game and the Portland State game. All cards will not be shown in either one of these two games but I wonder if not allowing the media and more fans in to watch a spring practice scrimmage is not at least somewhat self-defeating. But obviously, it's DL's call, and thankfully for Ducks fans everywhere, not my call.

But are 'they' doing it for the money or is their school doing it to them for the money? An estimated $70M a year in media revenue is nice but how much will trickle down to the athletes; especially, the non-revenue athletes? When it comes to recruiting non-revenue sports athletes I think travel may have a significant negative effect. I'm hoping travel issues will help Oregon's cause when recruiting in California for all sports. Charles, as the godfather of this great site, how much of a B1G media revenue slice would it take to convince you that Oregon needs to go to the B1G? I wrestle with this question. Should Oregon and likely UW make life easier for the LA schools by agreeing to be a 'junior partner?'

SMU football's win-win future: Pac-12 buzz, 12-team CFP spell opportunity THEATHLETIC.COM Whether or not the Pac-12 comes calling, the program is well-positioned for success in the American Athletic Conference in the near future.

Very surprised to see an experienced and experienced DL player transferring from Georgia and rumored to be headed to Southern Cal. Riley, with a lot of experience paying players at Oklahoma before NIL, continues to Poach-On!

The Ducks need TEs. Would not hurt to take in Bryant but the WR room looks to be loaded. Does anyone know how the touted OT transfer from Rhode Island is working out?

I can't help but wonder how Bruins and Trojans pitchers will fare when playing in the Midwest and on the east coast in March and April Then again, I really don't care.

ND, great post. As I noted elsewhere with the DL Georgia transfer Riley will have taken in good to excellent players from the ACC, B12, Pac-12 and it looks like the SEC. He took 3 starters from Arizona in the first portal opening, including the Wildcats' best receiver, Singer. My guess? This kind of stuff will not be welcome if he goes after B1G players starting in 2024. If this was the NFL, the Trojans would be out of draft picks for the next decade.

Big Man, Big Transfer. One of Georgia's starting DL guys, well over 300 pounds and played a lot for the Dawgs last season is in the portal and expected to sign with Southern Cal. If the prediction is correct, Riley will have poached good to very good to excellent players from the ACC, B12, Pac-12, and now, the SEC. Can't wait to see the reaction of his fellow coaches when he starts to do the same stuff in the B1G. ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... I agree with David Marsh that some of the players entering the portal have been 'told' to do so by the coaching staff. But except in this case and I know I am showing my age how about doing something for the good of the team and your existing teammates? How about competing for the starting job where you are instead of bailing out? Forgive me, but I do not see a higher power within a million miles of the transfer portal. And, obviously, roster tampering that would draw serious penalties in the NFL is rampant; especially, in college football and basketball.

It's all about starting and NIL related. ME is no longer part of TEAM. Whatever happened to the love of teammates and competition? You don't start? Compete! Beat out the guy ahead of you. And if you are not talented enough to do so, support him and your team. Don't quit because a situation is injurious to your self-esteem. And coaches poaching other rosters today are in my opinion (fill in whatever expletive deleted you so desire.) And if you do not think roster-poaching is going on; well, the Easter Bunny just paid us a visit. Rumor has it that this caused the Tooth Fairy to enter the portal.

Open the wallet? CU sold out its spring game at $10 a ticket. Cheap to see Prime Time. It is IMO too bad that CU has such a brutal schedule this season. Ranked #3 in the country as to difficulty.

College Football News (CFN) has ranked the 133 P5/G5 SOS. Below are the by-conference rankings of the teams I believe are capable of winning a conference championship and finishing in the Final 4 the final season of a Final 4. To date, SOS has rarely come into play for the Playoff (PO) Committee. With four teams the formula has been easy: 2 strikes and you are out! In 2024 we will have a 12-team field with 6 at-large teams making the field along with the highest-ranked 6 conference champions. With the new format, I think SOS, as determined ad hoc by the PO Committee will be important when it comes to making the field and for seeding purposes. PAC-12 15 - UW 20 - Utah 29 - Oregon State 39 - USC 59 - Oregon 64 - UCLA I am surprised that Oregon State with no P5 out-of-conference (OOC) games is ranked 3rd in the Pac-12. UCLA also plays no P5 teams OOC. And for some reason, the conference gave the departing Bruins an easy conference slate. Thank you, Merton (Do Nothing?) Hanks. Also, I note that USC gets both Utah and UW in LA. With Oregon playing in Seattle and Salt Lake City and playing a preseason top-25-ranked Texas Tech in Lubbock, I think CFN has the Ducks' schedule rated far too low. ACC - 22 - Clemson 26 - Pitt 44 - FSU - Too low considering FSU opens against LSU? 56 - UNC 57 - Louisville 60 - Miami - Will this ranking allow for Mario to find 6 wins and go bowling? B1G - 1 - Purdue - Nice welcoming of a new head coach. 14 - Ohio State - Plays at Notre Dame and at Michigan. 49 - Wisconsin 61 - Michigan - 3 cream-puff OOC games all played in Ann Arbor 65 - Penn State - gets Michigan at home. Penn State plays at Ohio State. B12 - 13 - Texas Tech - here, Oregon appears to be getting props. 16 - Texas - playing at Alabama moves the SOS needle 48 - Oklahoma 52 - TCU - opens the season at home versus Prime Time SEC - 5 - Alabama 31 - LSU 51 - Tennessee 53 - Texas A+M 63 - Georgia - OOC Georgia plays 3 G5 teams and Georgia Tech. And by SEC standards the conference schedule is not difficult. 3-peat? OTHERS - 2 - Colorado - Thank you, Mister AD 3 - CAL - See, Colorado 42 - Notre Dame - Too low with games in South Bend versus Ohio State and USC and playing at Clemson? My guess? No Pac-12 team finishes the season with fewer than two losses. Final 4 - 1. Georgia 2. Michigan 3. Alabama 4. Penn State Yours?