Jon Joseph

PO format thoughts from the SEC's Saturday Down South - These are the 2 dumbest arguments related to Greg Sankey’s expanded Playoff stance - Saturday Down South WWW.SATURDAYDOWNSOUTH.COM SEC commissioner Greg Sankey raised some eyebrows with his comments about Playoff expansion, which yielded 2 dumb arguments.

Let's get This On! LSU's Brian Kelly says SEC coaches want game vs. Big Ten - ESPN WWW.ESPN.COM LSU's Brian Kelly said "the wish of the room" among SEC coaches is to add a game vs. a Big Ten opponent in a scheduling agreement, but they "need a partner" to do it.

Florida AD Stricklin is not alone in wanting changes to the CFB PO selection process. Scott Stricklin on College Football Playoff system: 'A committee is not ideal to choose a postseason' WWW.ON3.COM . It's not that difficult. See the CBB selection process. Granted, there are not as many games, but metrics, including those used by the CFB committee and not revealed by a committee that prefers to do its business in the dark, provide a guideline. Boise State, ranked 9th last season, was based only on the Eye Test. I'm sending out an SOS on the idea that SOS matters to the committee.

There is disagreement over the future PO format, but I believe all P4, G6 conferences, and Notre Dame want to see restrictions on the portal windows. Greg Sankey reveals SEC coaches prefer 10-day transfer portal window in January, against April-only portal WWW.ON3.COM .

The rub is not that these games devalue the season; they do, but not playing the games devalues the media money that will be paid out. I find it interesting that the Ivy League does not play a football conference championship but does play an 'Ivy Madness' post-season basketball tournament. Why when Ivy League schools play all other Ivy League basketball teams home and away in the regular season? I don't know whether the Ivies get additional broadcast money for the postseason CBB title.

Michigan ($3 million) is spending large for a B1G man. Projected first-round pick Yaxel Lendeborg to withdraw from 2025 NBA Draft, will transfer to Michigan - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM Yaxel Lendeborg entered the transfer portal after three years at UAB Does Dana have the budget to compete with this? Are OBD basketball boosters willing to step up with 3 Mill for one guy? Direct payments to athletes will not end the NIL arms race. Who's to say that this young man is not worth the money, and that the money is a recruiting tool and out of line with "market value?" If the 'Deloitte committee' were to find that this deal exceeds 'market value', the decision would be challenged in court, and a hand-picked judge would stay such a finding pending a trial on the merits of the case. What is 'market value' for men's basketball? The amount that can be paid by Wake Forest and Cincinnati boosters? Or the amount that can be paid by Michigan and Alabama boosters? What's an 'average' Men's basketball NIL deal? Shouldn't top drawer players be allowed to obtain a better ROI on their NIL than average players? This is just one reason why the House settlement is far from a long-term solution to what ails college sports. What will move Congress to provide relief? Perhaps the Power 4 threatening to call off the 2025 football and basketball seasons unless Congress provides protection from antitrust suits and other litigation? Short of this, what will move Congress to act?

Place your Diamond bets? NCAA Baseball Tournament: Best bets, picks to win 2025 College World Series - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM No. 3 Arkansas is the betting favorite to win the CWS, but there is also plenty of value to be found elsewhere I'm not betting on bacon on the hoof. 😁

$$$ for the Irish? Yes. But SC receives no additional revenue from the B1g for playing ND, and a loss to ND could keep SC from earning multi-millions in postseason PO dollars. I'm with GMc. ESPN analyst thinks fans are overreacting about Notre Dame-USC possible cancellation SATURDAYBLITZ.COM The thought of losing the annual clash between Notre Dame and USC is enough to make any college football traditionalist groan. This rivalry has been around for Outside of the ACC scheduling deal and G6 opponents, I think B1G, B12, and SEC teams scheduling regular season games against ND is senseless.

So many great comments, including the above comment. I don't disagree with the idea of eliminating post-season in-conference tournaments, but I believe a conference champ game in football, or a playoff play-in between team No. 3 vs. No. 6, and No. 4 vs. No. 5,, with a game played between the top two teams for playoff seeding only, is more logical today than when Bama defeated Florida in the first SEC champ game in 1992. Divisions in all of the Power 4 football conferences are gone. In the Power4, with close to half the conference teams not playing each other in a given season, the strength of schedule teams play within a conference will vary every season. Compare OBD's 2025 schedule with Wisconsin's. The Badgers have a much more difficult slate to play. It's the same for Florida compared to Missouri. Compare Stanford to Wake Forest, and CU to Houston. These are not "fair" SOS fights. This season, OBD plays two preseason ranked B1G opponents, Penn State and Indiana. Wisconsin plays five, OBD, Ohio State, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, plus a game at Alabama. If the Badgers go 7-2 in conference and OBD finishes 8-1, is Oregon ipso facto the better team? In 2027, OBD plays Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa, and UW. Will a B1G team that plays two ranked teams in 2027 and finishes 8-1 be better than OBD at 7-2? With multi-millions in playoff dollars at stake, the B1G must send its best teams to the playoffs with the proper seeding. Again, in a play-in situation, the top two teams at the conclusion of the regular season are in the playoff field. Two of the teams that finished third through sixth are out unless otherwise within the top 16 ranked teams. With the House settlement on the horizon, Oklahoma has announced cuts to its athletic department. Many other schools are worse off financially than the Sooners, and there will be cuts across the board. I know Rob Mullens has said there will not be cuts to non-revenue sports, but I don't see how, with a cap on direct payment to athletes, this is possible. For non-revenue sports, play it like it lies. The schedule strength will not be equal, but networks are not paying, with the possible exception of women's basketball, for postseason non-revenue in conference tournaments. Broadcasters open their wallets for a championship football game and a men's basketball conference tournament. Money that cannot be refused without Ivy League-like reforms. It was annoying last season to listen to SEC folks and ESecPN honks talking about valuing wins more than counting losses. But the more I ponder the point, I find myself more in agreement. Many two-loss teams in college football are not as good as a number of three-loss teams. 1-loss Boise State was ranked No. 9 by the PO committee in 2024. The Broncos would have been underdogs in the majority of games played against No. 10 through No. 16 Clemson. Again, I more than understand the desire to let the regular season count in all sports, but conference schedules are not created equally.

Amen, but broadcast partners, including one that employs Klatt, will not pay the same broadcast dollars without a conference champ game or something that replaces the champ game.

As expected, Wesley's "commitment" was not watertight. https://athlonsports.com/college/oregon-ducks/nations-no-1-edge-decommits-oregon-after-viral-video-dan-lanning-richard-wesley

Will the folks living downstairs please Zip It! Amid heated College Football Playoff debate, SEC's Greg Sankey unloads on ACC, Big 12 WWW.USATODAY.COM As debate over expanded College Football Playoff heats up, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey fires back at ACC, Big 12 rivals:

This gentleman sees OBD with a chance to win it all. Anonymous Big Ten coach: Oregon Ducks 'in the mix' for 2026 national championship DUCKSWIRE.USATODAY.COM An anonymous Big Ten football coach tabbed the Oregon Ducks as a threat to win the national championship in 2026.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey Speaks Out on PO Changes. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey unloads 3 College Football Playoff hot takes DAWNOFTHEDAWG.COM Changes are coming to the College Football Playoff. The contract for the 12-team playoff expires at the end of the 2025 season, so that means new changes could In a sport with so much difference in schedules, roster talent, coaching, etc., how do you determine the best teams? Especially when a committee hides its decision-making process. When it ranks a G5 team with a bogus strength of schedule above the B12 champion? If the CFB committee shared the metrics used to determine its PO rankings, fine. Instead, the process is opaque at best. Compare Florida's schedule to every B12 schedule. Is a 2-loss B12 team in 2025, better than a 3-loss Florida team?

Under the ESPN broadcast agreement, the 2026-27 and subsequent College Football (CFB) Playoff (PO) formats must be decided upon by December of this year. The Power 2 has the voting power to ensure each conference will have four teams in the PO field every season. The CFB Cassandras are crying out that guaranteed PO spots will destroy the sanctity of the PO system. Ho meet Hum? Having four SEC teams in the field, along with more broadcast money, of course, is critical to the SEC's determining whether to add an extra conference regular-season SEC game. SEC Weighing Nine-Game League Schedule Amid College Football Playoff Tweaks WWW.SI.COM The format would include three annual opponents and a rotating group of six more teams with the possibility to reevaluate for competitive equity. 4-teams in the field will also be a determining factor for the B1G and the SEC to agree to an annual out-of-conference (OOC) football challenge like we see in college basketball. If agreed upon, broadcast revenue for these games between the B1G and the SEC is expected to bring in multi-millions of dollars in broadcast revenue; revenue that can be used to buy out existing scheduled OOC Games. I have no idea how challenge game opponents would be determined by the Power 2. However, using the SP+ post-spring rankings, the following are twelve games that would be played between Top-40 B1G and SEC teams in 2025. As the defending CFB champ, I have awarded SP+ No. 1 Ohio State a home game and alternated home sites thereafter. No. 2 Alabama at No. 1 Ohio State. No. 3 Penn State at No. 4 Georgia. No. 5 Texas at No. 7 OREGON No. 10 Michigan at No. 9 LSU No. 11 Ole Miss at No. 19 Illinois No. 13 Tennessee at No. 23 Indiana No. 28 Iowa at No. 14 Florida No. 15 Texas A&M at No. 30 USC No. 34 Nebraska at No. 16 Oklahoma No. 17 South Carolina at No. 37 Wisconsin No. 39 UW at No. 21 Missouri No. 25 Auburn at No. 40 Minnesota. One dozen Top-40 vs. Top-40 matchups. Bama at The Shoe, Nittany Lions 'Tween the Hedges, a Longhorns stampede in Eugene, a Wolverine in Death Valley, a classic series revived when Nebraska visits Norman, teams from Dixie playing Up North, and B1G teams playing Down South. Man, I'd love to have this inventory to sell. 🤑

Staples is a Gator. I see a Florida team with talent, but also with one of the two or three toughest schedules in the nation. The Gators play LSU, Miami, A&M, Kentucky, and Ole Miss on the road. Georgia in Atlanta. (The stadium in Jacksonville is being renovated; the 2026 Cocktail Party will be played in Tampa.) Florida plays Texas, Tennessee, and FSU in the Swamp. UF has gimme wins vs. LIU (Long Island U Sharks 🤪), USF, and Mississippi State. I hope Andy is correct, especially OBD hosting a home game, but with this schedule, I can find three losses for Florida. Will the Committee in 2025-26 find a 3-loss team that did not win its conference PO worthy?

Love the comment. But I doubt that a one-off game in Waco, Texas, will have any effect on OBD's recruiting in the Lone Star State. Rob Mullens should do what he can to drop the Baylor series and schedule a 7th home game in 2027, when Oregon will arguably play the most difficult schedule, based on opponents and travel, in its history.

The 2027 schedule is simply brutal. OBD has but six home games, and is on the road at Michigan, Nebraska, Maryland, UCLA, UW, and plays Baylor in Waco. Oh, and OBD plays Ohio State, Penn State, and Iowa in Autzen. The one 'let-up' B1G home game is vs. Purdue. Whether or not OBD plays Oregon State is, IMO, irrelevant. A win over a G6 team will not resonate, and a loss would be injurious. However, a buyout of the Baylor H+H series, replaced by a home game vs. a G6 team, would be a smart scheduling move. Oregon should never play fewer than seven home games in any season. Oregon will likely have the most difficult schedule in the B1G in 2027 and one of the most difficult in the nation. Rob Mullens has done many good things for OBD, especially on the financial front, but the 2027 schedule is Cent-Less.

The Upcoming SEC Meetings Will Have a Big Effect on the B1G. With college sports in limbo and key issues coming to a head, the spotlight is on the SEC: 'It's going to get heated' SPORTS.YAHOO.COM With potential CFP format changes, athlete revenue sharing and the impending House ruling all in flux, college sports is at a critical juncture. And the SEC is at the forefront of it all this week in Florida.

Saturday Down South Telling OBD it was Seeding Screwed Last Season is Like Telling Noah about the Flood. 😩 4 Playoff teams got a raw deal from not having straight seeding in 2024 - Saturday Down South WWW.SATURDAYDOWNSOUTH.COM If we had been able to have straight seeding for the 2024 College Football Playoff, things could've gone much differently for 4 teams.

CBS with an in-depth look at the Power 2's 16-team PO proposal. Explaining Big Ten, SEC 16-team College Football Playoff proposal; how it would look - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM There is reportedly 'growing' support for the Big Ten and SEC's expanded playoff proposal, which could begin as early as 2026 I'm with Charles: "Why does the CFB PO need any byes?" Byes that will move the CFB PO further into NFL PO territory. As I recall, byes in 2024-25 for the top 2, OBD and UGA, did not help the Ducks and Dawgs PO cause.

Bo is lovin' CO. Broncos' Bo Nix is living his best Colorado life this offseason WWW.YARDBARKER.COM In a little over 24 hours over Memorial Day weekend, the 25-year-old Nix was very visible around Denver, even without his Broncos jersey on.

QUACK! History Being Made (We Hope!) Oregon Ducks To Host Eugene Regional In NCAA Tournament, Make History WWW.YARDBARKER.COM The Oregon Ducks baseball team found out on Sunday night their destination for the upcoming 2025 NCAA Baseball Tournament. The NCAA announced that Oregon will be hosting a regional at...

Hats Off to Marcus! The Athletic names Oregon quarterback a Top 25 player in last quarter century DUCKSWIRE.USATODAY.COM He may be the best Oregon quarterback in the history of the program as The Athletic has Marcus Mariota a Top 25 player in the last quarter century.

Here's the Full Monty - NCAA Baseball Tournament: Official bracket, Field of 64 released - On3 WWW.ON3.COM Selection Monday has officially arrived, and the official NCAA Baseball Tournament bracket and Field of 64 has been released.