Solar

Definitely not coincidence. B1G and SEC probably looking for more runway on conference realignment anyways. Lots left to settle. But this is big news, because it definitely increases the odds to stick with the 12 team format until 2031.

Do you really think Idaho can make their mark in this brave new world? Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Maybe they hired internally quickly because all of the feelers they put out told them they weren't going to get any known quantity coach to take the position, so might as well take the loyal guy that actually wants the job.

https://www.si.com/college/usc/football/usc-football-danton-lynn-appears-high-on-odds-list-to-become-ucla-head-coach-jb13 Bwahaha! Who needs soaps or WWE? This is better drama.

Latu played in the senior bowl and is going 1st round in mock NFL drafts right now.

Regardless of speculation, Chip interviewed for NFL OC positions first and then picked Ohio State. Logic dictates the NFL was not interested.

Josh Pate commented after Saban quit that there were many more high profiles coaches that want out due to NIL/Portal. Maybe Chip was one of them, but he likely won't be the last. My bet would be on Swinney. Clemson will probably fire him for staying old school after next year and Swinney will be done as a HC.

The live in LA part is interesting. UCLA is literally across the street from the Bell Aire Country Club, but a measley 4 million a year gross would still leave you looking for a shack in Santa Monica. Chip on the other hand had enough money coming to UCLA to live the above Sunset Boulevard lifestyle, which is probably why he did get Bruin Fever in the first place. But the fake superficial personalities and struggles of the job others are mentioning here made the lifestyle a been there, done that proposition. Just speculation of course.

This is like trying to raid UW after DeBoer left. It's slim pickings, due to poor recruiting, but their could be a few diamonds looking for a contender like Oregon.

JH^2 Let's hope the synergy between the two works out that way.

Part of the confusion is continued accidental use of the word "ranked" for the 12 teams that make the playoffs. Teams 1-4 in the playoffs could conceivably be ranked 1st, 3rd, 5th, & 15th. The playoff order for teams will always be "seeding" not "ranking". So seeds 1-4 get a bye, seeds 5-8 play at home and seeds 9-12 play away. Determination of seeding is a function of regular season ranking and conference championship outcomes.

The most overlooked improvement that occurred with bring in Dan Lanning, was him convincing the program and boosters for $ and going and getting Marshall Malchow from A&M when they were putting together the top recruiting classes in the country. What a coup that was. This top 3 class is no anomaly with Malchow as chief of staff.

This is a pretty big deal. It would be everything if CBS and NBC (peacock) were included. We'll see if this has enough of a monopoly of viewership for CBS and NBC to feel obligated to come along after a year or so, or maybe just drop sports programming entirely. It's a huge deal for determining what the market is willing to bear for streamed sports, and advertising content and related revenue.

I'm sure G5 would also approve 6-6 if PAC2 is not recognized as a conference by the CFP. HaHa.

It is tough to get the stars right. Sometimes the tape is really telling, sometimes the camp is really telling and sometimes the production is really telling. Bair has the measurables and performance numbers at 10 out of 10. He produced well in high school, and has performed well in the camp settings against equal talent. I feel confident he will be very good. I don't care too much for Rivals at times, as the camps can be way too small of a sample size, and camps aren't football games when real ballers can show up. I think the most underrated recruit of this cycle is Jericho Johnson. Watch his tape and look at his measurables. His tape reminds me of Brandon Dolorus, but he's waay bigger and possibly even faster. He's gonna be the best tackle in the country at some point in his Oregon career.

Interesting points. Basketball has 3rd party media multiple conferences and still has an NCAA championship. Does that mean it breaks the Sherman act, and nobody challenges it court because the status quo is fine to the schools, media and basketball players don't lose sleep over one unpaid season before going pro? MAYBE THE SIMPLEST SOLUTION IS TO HAVE THE NFL STOP REQUIRING 3 YEARS IN COLLEGE FIRST...haha. I will note there is no mathematical requirement in your hypothetical scenario for a conference to have 10 teams. Teams per conference is another variable we have to work with. It doesn't have to be 10, 20, 40, 80... The simplest is to just round preference to the nearest base 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128. Then you could put the entire division into a bracket and knock yourself out any which way. Relegation is too complicated for Americans to latch onto, which makes it hard to draw a line on any number of teams though. Using money as the threshold is tough too. A school may have the money one year and not the next when recession hits and funding gets cut. This is a situation where the benevolent dictator wins because there is no obvious situation that makes everyone happy, but a dictator runs afoul of the Sherman act. And how long before the SEC and B1G run afoul of anti-collusion laws that could be seen as anticompetitive to players opportunities? Around and around we go for eternity. There is no destination, just a journey, so we best all enjoy the ride.

I wonder if the NFL has collectives to help draw in free agents? If not, then why not?

Something simple that everyone can learn about contracts, is every reasonable contract has a remedy for being broken. (Never sign one that doesn't!) Meaning both parties not only pre-agree to the conditions of the new partnership, they also pre-agree to the consequences of breaking the partnership. That is why there is no moral or ethical issue with breaking any contract. Whether walking away from a mortgage or discharging a mountain of credit card debt in bankruptcy. Both sides agree to the outcomes of those choices in advance. It may be a statement to make in jest, but it is 100% correct to say that "Contracts are made to be broken." Now those morons that signed iron clad grants of rights are a different story...

I thought Alabama was a destination job? Har har. Also I noticed Kliff Klingsburry won't be on the USC sidelines this next year, he'll be OC for the Raiders.

It's a tough job for the NCAA whose reason for existence is to be by definition a trust, when it has been ruled in the Supreme Court they aren't allowed to be. They've been petitioning Congress for an anti-trust exemption, but nothing is in the pipeline, so it ain't happening. People want the NCAA to enforce NIL restrictions, but they really can't. Any restrictions possibly affecting athletes ability to make money is going to land them in hot water.

The highest ranked playoff team was Washington at 13, averaging 8 points less per game than us. NIce to see we have #4's QB. Georgia at 5 with their QB returning.

If we are at an inflection point in media earnings due to streaming, then it is better to have a longer contract. We'll have to wait and see. I think we will resolve pay for play and conference realignment by 2030 though, which means both of those media contracts will be overcome by events and have to be redone.

In automotive racing, they say there are two kinds of racers. Cheaters and losers.

I've been thinking the same thing. It is also possible that Riley is young enough to teach himself a new trick by putting equal emphasis on O and D, after being read the riot act by the AD. Time will tell.

Woohoo, Bair, who just got his 5th star, to the Ducks coming right up! (He has said he was waiting for Harbaugh to make his decision before he made his, which tells you everything you need to know). I don't think this will be anything like Saban leaving Bama though. Harbaugh is great, but not a dirty like Saban. UM is set up pretty good as an organization and their coach will be an internal hire (Sherrod Moore), who was successful in place of Harbaugh coaching games. So, I expect most of the talent to stay. Still, I'm concerned about tOSU pillaging even more top shelf talent.