Mike West

Man, Sabrina has really upped her game this year.

So, I attribute this loss to win fatigue. Sabrina dropped 34 in a losing effort. Clark finished nearly pulling off a triple double ( 32 points, 9 assists, 8 rebounds). I will say this. The Fever aren’t as good as the Liberty, but they are close. Indiana is legitimate. They are going to lose some games they shouldn’t, but they have shown they will give the big girls a run for their money. The first game wasn’t a fluke. This rout demonstrates they can dominate a strong opponent on an off day. That is a huge statement. Now we get to see how they handle the Liberty in New York. That will reveal just how much a contender they actually are.

Fever are ahead at halftime. It’s difficult to win ten straight, in any sport. Clark has 25 points. Sabrina 14. Clark is the only Indiana player that has scored in double figures. That lead wont hold if Clark doesn’t get help from two others scoring more than 10.

I had to think about this issue for awhile. Sankey just bamboozled the ACC and Big 12. They are going to regret going the 5-11 route. It essentially means the ACC and Big 12 will fill ONE SLOT EVERY YEAR IN THE PLAYOFFS. So basically, Clemson, FSU and Miami are going to start fighting for recruits with schools like USuC, Nebraska, Indiana, the Fuskies and Illinois on a regular basis, because all it will take is any of those teams winning 10 and the ACC is cooked. Reputation doesn't matter anymore. The ACC is Miami,FSU Clemson and Notre Dame. Norte Dame gets a free pass with 9 wins, with two against those three. The Big 12 probably wouldn't get two in if both had 11 wins because their SOS is totally weak (and all you have to do is watch them play-you can see the vast difference in talent -mid level SEC teams would storm the Big 12). The winner of course, will be the SEC. All it will take is teams like Auburn defeating Baylor, and Georgia Tech beating Colorado and the discussion is over. And the SEC will crow for centuries about the mediocrity in the Lesser Two. The only thing the lesser Two have going for them is scheduling. They'll have to start scheduling the P2 regularly. They'll have to demand it, in fact call out the P2 so they can schedule OOC games regularly. This is going to be interesting. The SEC knows this is a move to get five minimum every year. Petitti will have to explain himself because it just might impact the B1G as well. We know for a fact the SEC won't dare schedule the B1G in OOC games if this model goes through. Like I said, plenty of SEC teams will only need to defeat one SEC power to demand their spot. With an 8 game conference schedule, Vandy, Mississippi State, Kentucky, are gimmie wins for above average SEC teams. Add bad years for another two or three and you're looking at an easy five win SEC record. With the four high school teams they play, 9-3 is a playoff berth. That won't be as easy for the middle of the B1G to accomplish.

Mudslide, Great point on market value. But is that really NIL? To me, that's more a signing bonus for joining the team. Of course, we don't know what the language is in the House Settlement, so what exactly are we paying for when we shell out $10M a year to a serious unknown entity? I'm quite sure all those attorneys feeding off the system are salivating at their chance to slop off the gravy train. It really is a matter of the schools being wise. The NFL is already stupid. But they're all pulling in $500M a year in revenue. That is not going to happen in college football. Ever. So if it's an arms race (including the portal), this year is more important than last year. Draft picks and a Natty appearance are a must for OBD. We need 10 kids plus drafted in the NFL this year. And that Natty appearance depends on a hell of a performance from kids we most haven't seen. If we're going to keep up, we're going to have to stomp on at least one Blue blood, if not two. Nothing says more than laying the wood on a blue blood. If course, I'm hoping one of them is The Ohio State.

And that is the question. Can you name any of these high school kids of the to of your tongue that have endorsement deals? Anybody? Any of these kids signing hundreds of autographs at elite camps? And I mean sitting down for two hours straight. I agree there should be no limit to earning money on your NAME LIKENESS AND IMAGE I'll be the first to congratulate a high school kid that can demonstrate he is worth more than Caitlin Clark ( Mr. Bowman, where is your Nike,Adidas, or Under Armour deal?). Do you think those $2M deals are going to hold under scrutiny? I'm curious about which local car dealership is going to shell out more than $500,000 to a prospect over four years. And will the commercials start running the moment the kids gets on campus? We KNOW who the current players are. And yes, I've seen some freshman in the spring I'd drop some money on. But I'm not cutting a $10M check on my grandmother. And she's dead. I can bet my bottom dollar both my grandmas get $10M before some schmuck that hasn't played a second of fall football at the next level. Both would be great in commercials too. ,

Great article Darren as usual, I say we can't even rely on signing LOI anymore. Look what happened with Dallas Wilson this year. I am begging to believe it may be better to sign four or five highly ranked recruits that have the kind of character to grow into their respective rating, and really scout the diamonds in the rough and develop them. Offensive Line especially comes to mind. It is possible to develop a high 3 star OL into a high 4 star performer. Look at Dillon Gabriel. That dude is money. Was that apparent before he got to Central Florida? Furthermore, when Gabriel was at Central Florida before going to Oklahoma? And others like Derrick Harmon, and Cam Ward before he got to WSU. The Portal has become more important than high school recruiting now. You can find real talent after a year of play. I don't like that OBD lost as many 2026 recruits as we have, but damn, there are at least 20-30 that will be as good or better that play college football this year. Those are the guys to scout, and recruit this season. Not to mention the kids on the roster now (like Darren emphasized) that will contribute in the coming year. OBD has a very loaded roster, and its going to perform way better than most of the top recruits will now, or their entire career. They wanted NFL money, its time for NFL cutting the potential and paying the performers. The smart kids, including kids that aren't really looking for "the bag" should know by now OBD are developing kids that will get drafted. Thus, I hope Lanning is actually scouting Sophomores that play this year, and any Freshman that played last year that are looking for a title and want to get drafted. ESPN has their top 300. I say only 100 from that list are worth signing. It's find those in that group, and maybe find diamonds in the rough, and find the proven players that will be around for at least 2 years in the portal. These "$2M" kids can take a hike. If a high school kid isn't bringing me $5M, I'm not justifying signing an NIL deal worth $1M. He is a liability, not an asset. He isn't going to start year 1, and that is a waste of money instead of signing a portal guy that will play the year you sign him.

Mudslide, Did you even know who this kid was before this year? Again, pointing to our "Legal Analyst"-Mr. Jon Joseph: under the House Settlement, does the contract specify justification for an NIL deal? Could Mark Bowman secure a Caitlin Clark type Nike Deal for $28M? In other words, can a high school phenom actually draw a fan following to the degree fans wait hours to get his autograph, want to buy his jersey, want some other collection item like a signed sock? If so, then $10M a year makes sense. If not, how does any high school prospect justify anything close to $1M because he somehow has a brand? I surely would like to know if the commission that is supposed to regulate these contracts is salivating at the thought of getting sued. For I do not see a single high school player that has anywhere near the draw of Caitlin Clark, much less the demand from the marketplace that would start marketing a kid at that financial level. I don't believe the conferences need to cap the NIL Market, they just need to force the kids to prove their Name, Likeness, and Image would justify multi million dollar marketing contracts. It sure would be nice if Congress actually earned their money and legislated laws that actually do something for this country(instead of pocketing tons of money for legislation earmarked for benefitting the highest bidders). If there ever was a time to put some common sense to college sports and the interests of the players (instead of allowing these snakes to claim high school kids are worth millions of dollars-what a joke), now would be the time.

I'm starting to feel the 12 team playoff is as good as it gets. It appears the B1G and the eSECpn want to wait until their current contracts end before just taking their beach ball away and going to another beach. South Carolina, Bama and Ole Miss simply screwed up. They lost to non playoff teams, and feel they still deserved a shot at the playoffs. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Ole Miss stomp pedestrian Wake Forest, but South Carolina and Bama lost to comparable B1G teams? SEC coaches still want to preserve their regular season records, while claiming they have the toughest schedules (yeah, two Pluto State caliber opponents really makes up for that tough run against Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Auburn, and a misunderstood Oklahoma. Your conference has nothing to cry about when nearly half your teams won half or less of their conference games (especially when that number would climb if they played nine conference games). Not to mention, the SEC could (and probably would ) prove it by replacing Mater Dei Catholic with a Big12 and ACC opponent each. That would not only solve a big issue, it would shut up the ACC and Big12 for good ( because they would have to put up or shut up). I also do not want to disparage the SEC crew that visits this forum regularly, because despite my penis envy, I do like and respect the SEC. But let's be real, this decade has been Kirby and Saban. LSU got a B1G product in Joe Burrow, as did Texas for that matter. Tennessee, Florida and Auburn are like us old geezers-better days long past (though I REALLY like Florida this year-the road to the title game requires defeating a very loaded Gator team). So in essence, there are three gimmie playoff teams in both conferences, and frankly, I'm not impressed with potential as we saw what Niko was, what Ole Miss has been the past two years, and it didn't take much for Texas to claim their spot by winning games they should. In other words, win 10 or take your potential to a bowl game and lobby how tough you are while the real teams vie for a Natty. I say stay at 12 and force teams to win 10. Even better, have play in games interconference. Then Ole Miss can demonstrate they can beat the third best team in the Big12 or ACC. So can Bama, and South Carolina. Except they'd have to play the Illinois, Indiana, and Miami circa 2024. That makes more sense than saying my schedule is tougher than yours. In fact, that would make way more sense than the models proposed. As far as I see it, despite having a talent advantage, the SEC sounds like those snooty students that never worked a day in their life talking about how to run businesses. Playing two rounds of games against said lessor opponents in lessor conferences just might prove you really have a strength of schedule argument. This notion you earn a spot just because sounds rather elitist without providing some substance. Josh Pate always says you aren't what your record says you are. Well, let's just see that. Except you can't host a play in game if your record includes potato state as four of your victories.

Oh wow! "Have a take, and Don't Suck". I remember when Jim Dome was in Santa Barbara waxing poetic way back in the late 80s. When he came to LA, he had regions battling each other nonstop. Listening to Cleveland and "Bugahaw"(Nebraska) to go off on each other every day was glorious. Jim Rome is a legend, and he was the one that blew up fan engagement on talk radio. That is is a beautiful take 30. And I totally agree. Expanding to 16 is ok. They just need to start the season early, and no byes.

Stewart Mandel over at the Athletic tried to pooh pooh the 8 automatic playoff berths in the 16 team playoff format. I laughed because frankly I see at least one of those conferences getting five playoff berths every year. I'd rather see moves to bolster the lessor two conferences by featuring more regular season games versus the P2 teams. Ratings would rise, some of that money could be a stipend for the G5 annually. And frankly, the G5 need to have their own playoffs. It's more than obvious they will never advance beyond their first game. Especially now that they can't afford the $20M budgets.

I’m opening up to the idea of ND staying independent as long as they play Miami, FSU and Clemson every year. Add USC to the mix and ND is essentially forced to win the majority of their marque games to qualify for the playoffs. Not to mention, it essentially bolsters the ACC significantly. If ND decided to bolster the Big12 in a similar fashion… Anything to maintain some semblance of what College Football was before USC and UCLA recognized the PAC12 was a dead man walking. I would rather see the ACC and Big12 survive than a super conference emerge. I’m not sure how other fans feel, but NFL lite is as anathema to me as being told I have to surrender my citizenship as an American. So ND can actually be the patch the fills the hole in what used to be the best sport on the planet. Not likely to happen, but a mummy like me can still dream.

And there you have it. ANOTHER perspective that makes this topic so interesting. Thanks And yet another that adds even another dimension to the discussion. GatOrlando, your take is exactly why coaches must always stay on in their game, and improve. It’s obviously been time for Franklin to shake some attitudes down by winning a huge game in the regular season. He has the most talented team returning, so he gets no participation kudos. He has to demonstrate he can shake the monkey off his back, and win the conference. Now Day has to show he isn’t the luckiest coach to inherit talent. And our main man DL must demonstrate he can develop young talent into the cream of the crop-and take a title of his own. All within the backdrop of the SEC falling back to earth so to speak. I’ll always despise the NIL and Portal era, but it shook loose the SEC’s ability to stack talent permanently. Now coaches have to earn their reputation as coaches instead of their ability to simply stack talent. What a time to be alive.

I agree with that. At some point, you have to steal one or two. The money doesn’t concern me. He’s earned it. The program is always in the hunt, which they should given the fabric of the conference.

I actually believe that will happen this year. In fact, those were my thoughts before this discussion came up.

Mario beat essentially the same team Lanning defeated... When that unit was comprised of freshmen. Including a frosg QB that blossomed enough OBD world have lost horribly later in the year ( that was the second game of they year). In essence, the entire front seven in 22' was the same unit as last year. Lanning also exploited the edge in his Eugene game like Mario did ( Ohio State fixed up and promptly shut that down in the Rose Bowl). Mario basically caught a young team at the right time. Freeman has played Ohio State better because they have better talent. They are much more clutch on defense because they have better talent. They even forced Allar into the game winning INT. Penn State hasn't done that to teams because they don't have that kind of talent. That Franklin keeps games close against superior teams speaks volumes. They don't have the talent to stay that close. They just don't. I'm sure nobody in the nation expected Penn State to be in a position to beat OBD last year. No one. That's a testament to Franklin. They had no business getting a drive to win the game, yet they were there. Just like far superior Ohio State in Eugene. When I discuss this with PSU fans, they bring up the chokes. Bi say you can't choke if you can't take control of a game. Penn State can't control games against superior talent. They haven't, and just like Indiana last year, it eventually shows up. Franklin made Vandy look legit. Most coaches can't come close to matching that kind of performance . As Auburn and Florida ( not to pick on you), and Tennessee have learned. Talent matters. A whole lot. We're just going to disagree here. Respectfully. I simply believe James Franklin is the kind of coach to keep a contender like those teams I mentioned from falling behind like they have. He's that good.

When has Franklin had the same talent as the teams he consistently lost to? He has had a QB like Allar only once- the same year he claimed the conference. Franklin gets bashed as if he had top five talent every year. That absolutely has not been the case. The guy didn't have a WR that could stretch the field and that's why he lost a ten point lead to Ohio State last year. That's what Franklin's offenses have been-less than elite. For ten years. Franklin recruited a QB with Diabetes at Vandy, that went pro. That's how he got the PSU job. He's had three elite QBs his entire career. That Franklin beats up everyone but Ohio State, Michigan and Oregon with a B to B plus talent level speaks volumes. He wins the games he's supposed to, and loses the games he's supposed to.

The good thing about the House Settlement is those NIL deals will sort out value per position, and like the NFL the schools will be rated in their scouting and development prowess. Seeing the details of each NIL agreement will be good disclosure for players as well. The greedy ones will go to schools like Miami, who doesn't develop players, and the savvy players (or better yet, their representation) will start evaluating schools for the entire package. Hence, USC, Miami, Florida and Auburn will need to show they can actually develop these players beyond their raw talent. It is also why developing Dante Moore AND Novosad is critical this year. For once, QB recruits will see what Oregon really has to offer when experience is limited. I also happen to believe this is a critical year for developing the secondary. Two years of burnt toast is not a very good look (some of that was talent, especially at the nickel position - and I hope Theisen holds down the position as he is a talented player). DL and his staff still recruit well, but USC and UW are going to start imposing their brands, which will loom large until OBD earn a title.

I believe Novosad knows the offense better-he's got a year on Moore. I don't believe Novo's arm is as strong as Gabriel's. to be fair, at present, he probably would perform close to Gabriel's numbers because he is a mobile QB. But I'm pretty sure the offense would button up more than it did last year because Novo doesn't have the arm strength to control his passes downfield like Gabriel could (and much less than Moore can). I see Moore as a project this year however. For one, he doesn't calibrate his arm strength to fit the talent level in the WR room. He can throw anything to Sadiq, and probably to WR Moore, but he hasn't adjusted very well to the other receivers. I can tell he favors Sadiq because Sadiq can run to just about any pass Moore throws. Moore holds the ball longer for everyone else, which to me means he isn't calibrating his strength to other WRs' speed(s). Moore hasn't figured out his "off speed pitches" so to speak. He relies on his fast ball too much. So both have very precise skill sets to work on, which is why the position hasn't been settled yet. The offense absolutely has to do what Gabriel did to Penn State-score 45. It is my belief this year's championship game will look like the two Alabama vs Clemson Natty games. Whoever scores 40 plus wins. Neither QB has shown they can do that yet. I suspect the coaches believe Moore has the higher upside in that department. I believe Novo can time deep passes sooner than Moore figures out how to use his arm strength effectively with all the WRs. I don't believe the coaching staff knows how to teach Novo how to get the ball deep (most don't-they believe natural ability matters more, but Georgia won two Nattys with a QB with similar skills to Novo).

This was exactly why I wished we had lost a game during the regular season in football. It certainly woke up the Buckeyes. Humbled them and forced them to bear down and fix their issues. Playoffs are a death sentence. Too many things can go wrong in a playoff game, and running the table in the regular season doesn't make a team feel the sting of one that got away (which is worse in the playoffs because that loss is the worst form of church bells-its final, and you can't do a damn thing about it). Imagine Ohio State had humbled us in the regular season. Especially because of lethargy. Duck Nation knows the Buckeyes absolutely benefitted from getting back to business a week earlier, and only off a two week layoff. Buckeye fans are crowing all over the internet the Rose Bowl was what was supposed to happen in Eugene. Hogwash. We would have played Ohio State better than Texas did if we had faced them in the CCG (as Penn State also found out, we have a pretty damn good offense). Now we have to wait until this year to silence that damn fan base like we did last October. Better yet, I'm looking for a sweep. It's time to put Ohio State in the same class as USuC and the Fuskies. I hate those fan bases, and nothing is sweeter than inflicting revenge. Losses make you or break you in the regular season. They are a necessary part of the game as far as I'm concerned.

I agree Notre Damne is the albatross because they will take a spot from a lessor conference (G6 included). Yet Notre Dame is salvaging, if not saving the ACC. I like the 16 team format because it is inclusive, and I am for that rather than going to a Super League and the 80 Dwarfs concept. Anything to prevent another NFL type league.

Good take. Great in fact. My only difference is I have Oregon at 6, with everyone behind them moving up a slot. Despite all that talent, two things come to mind. First, we are not going to see Bo Nix or Dillon Gabriel stats or execution level this year. Second, the defense must prove they can keep elite offenses under 30 ppg. I can’t justify a number three rating looking at replays of the last two years against elite offenses. Moore has to play like Novo does just to have a chance to look like 23’ or 24’. If he does, he still will have to drop 35-45 to beat elite teams until proven otherwise. Penn State, and Notre Dame will definitely play elite defense, and Georgia should. OBD can do it, but the proof is in the pudding. Once again, In Dan I Trust. Obviously I have a lot of faith, but I’m not 18 anymore. As far as Penn State. I believe you’re correct. But only because they don’t have elite WRs. If they did, they’d take the title in my opinion.

Great article Jon (as usual)! I wouldn’t have guessed the SEspnC would take on more challenging competition. Could it be they’re looking to expand their TV ratings beyond those dominant numbers in conference games? And the playoffs. What do you think of keeping the format at 12? Especially with the opaque grading system the committee uses? Personally, I believe the P2 will always get 7, if not 8 in the current format if it’s expanded. Since controversy actually drives ratings, is it possible the P2 keeps the status quo and tweaks the regular season more? If we see a Super League, who gets invited? How many teams would participate? Would ratings collapse for the sport overall? The SEC completely drives ratings, with only Michigan and Ohio State pulling comparable numbers. Much to mull over for Sankey and Pettitti. Plenty for us to speculate about.

Thanks Jon for the splendid intro to a week that should draw some good ratings for the B1G. Question(to all actually): how would you stack the TV lineup? Oregon v PSU at noon or White Out? I think Fox would prefer Ohio State v the Fuskies at 9am Pacific, but won’t do it because everyone on the West Coast would complain about the precedent. So I’m guessing CBS picks that game up. If Illinois was based in Chicago, they’d get the High Noon slot. Again, a precedent setter we on the left coast would object to. So I’m guessing Indiana v Iowa gets the Noon game, and Ohio State goes live at 3:30 (because God forbid they’d play at 10:30 EST which would give the conference a pretty good ratings day noon to midnight). USC will get stuck sharing air time with either of those time slots because OBD will wrap up at 7:30 EST with Penn State like they did hosting the Buckeyes. What do you prefer, and what do you think will actually happen?

NBA legends rave about Clark. Not her impact in the game, but HER game. Have you seen one NBA expert or legend talk about Sabrina, much less her game? I haven't. Ionscu stats 2024 18.2 ppg 5.7 reb 6.2 asst Clark 2024 19.2 ppg 5.7 reb 6.1 asst Clark already outperformed Ionscu as a rookie. Was the first rookie to post a triple double. She had only six 3pt shots fewer than Ionscu's WNBA record-as a rookie. Sabrina has improved every year in the league. What do you suppose Clark will do? Clark is also the only rookie to post a triple double. Ionscu scored 30 points in a triple double effort. I'll put money on Clark matching that. She's not only going to eclipse Ionscu, she's going to leave her behind. And she did this with the worst WNBA team in the league. Sabrina elevated the league. Clark is transforming the league. You have to watch her play to understand what I'm talking about. Clark's teammates blew dozens of assists last year. WNBA players assaulted her all year. And I'm talking about tackles, NFL style no look hits. Clark did this with more legal assault than Sabrina will ever take in a season. So in my super hack, arrogant, over the top opinion, I believe Caitlin Clark is already better than Sabrina.