Jon Joseph

Sporting News ranks the B1G 2024 schedules. Ranking Big Ten football schedules for 2024, from Michigan (hardest) to Rutgers (easiest) WWW.SPORTINGNEWS.COM Michigan first-year coach Sherrone Moore will have a difficult baptism with the reigning national champions. I think that 3 or more B1G teams could be tied at the end of the regular season in the loss column. And with no divisions in the ACC, B1G, B12, and the SEC and close to half of the teams in P4 not facing one another in 2024, I expect that conference tie-breakers could be used in all of the P4 conferences. And no one knows what the PO Committee will do to separate P4 teams with identical records. A 10-2 Rutgers? The Scarlet Knights have the easiest schedule in the B1G, missing Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, and Penn State, and with UCLA and UW traveling to New Jersey. In the SEC, Mizzou and Ole Miss have cake walks compared to Florida and Oklahoma, and both have easy OOC schedules. Better teams in these mega-conferences will have more losses due to SOS than lesser conference members. 8 conference games in a row for OBD with games in November in Ann Arbor and Madison. I hope to see 11-1 but 10-2 is more realistic. Good news! The Wolverines and the Buckeyes are not on the 2025 schedule. I hope the B1G HQ will not have OBD playing eight games in a row in 2025 without a break.

Is the new Ohio State coach you are referring to Chip Kelly? Ryan Day has lost 3 in a row to that School Up North but is still the Buckeyes HC.

I agree that the Irish are a PO title Pretender. But due to the lightweigth schedule and playing 12 games, with only 2 true road games, a 10-2 ND likely sneaks in the PO over better B1G and SEC 9-3 teams and perhaps over a Power 2 champ game loser that finishes 10-3. Contender or Pretender: Notre Dame can make the College Football Playoff, but can it win there? WWW.SATURDAYDOWNSOUTH.COM Notre Dame is likely to win enough to make the College Football Playoff in 2024. The question is whether the Irish can finally win a game that matters. Come 2026, I hope Sankey and Petitti insist on the Irish joining a conference or playing 13 games with at least 10 games vs the P4.

It is a good point. But other than the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit which last season had 5-7 Minnesota playing Bowling Green, in front of many empty seats, I do not believe there is a bowl game played in the Midwest. As to AnotherOD's point about the CFB Powers-That-Be not being concerned about Oregon's travels, B1G Commissioner Tony Petitti best be concerned. B1G fans travel well for a single New Year's Day bowl. In 2024-25 if Feldman's field and seeding were to play out, Ohio State fans would be asked to travel to Pasadena, then to Dallas to play Texas, which would defeat the G5 12-seed in Austin, and then to Atlanta to possibly play the 2nd seeded Georgia. If Petitti doesn't use his B1G muscle to make the playing field more equitable, including the ACC and SEC playing the same number of conference games as the B1G and Notre Dame playing 13 games, he will be pulling a Larry Scott. To date the SEC's Greg Sankey, along with once B12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby, the Notre Dame AD, and the Mountain West Commissioner, except for changing the format from 6 automatic and 6 at large to 5 and 7, are the sole PO architects. Petitti needs to step up and be heard. Being cordial with the SEC is fine, so long as the B1G is not run over.

Bob Stoops handed off a 'Standing on 3rd Base job' at Oklahoma. The Sooners had one B12 opponent that could come close to its roster strength, Texas. And Texas was often dysfunctional. Oklahoma boosters pre-NIL were well aware of what it cost to have top athletes leave Texas for Norman. It's a different ball game in LA. Oklahoma football analysts not surprised by Lincoln Riley’s struggles TROJANSWIRE.USATODAY.COM In Oklahoma and elsewhere across the country, Lincoln Riley is being doubted. It is what it is. I am somewhat surprised that Venables received a long extension and a pay raise before seeing how Oklahoma deals with playing in the SEC. With the money Riley is being paid and after hiring a close to an entirely new staff to coach the defense, the Trojans best improve soon or there will be a new HC in LA.

Nevada Dawg. You make some good points, Sir. Assuming it would work for the Raiders, Las Vegas would be an excellent Western site. The Orange Bowl is not played in a covered stadium so why not So-Fi Stadium in LA—a stadium in far better condition than the Rose Bowl? NFL playoff games played in Minneapolis, Indianapolis, and Detroit, sell out in the winter. However, using bowl sites as playoff sites is a relic of the past. When there was not One True Champion, which I for one liked, the Rose, Sugar, Cotton, and Orange Bowls rewarded a few excellent teams and ended the season on New Year's Day. But today? Why use bowl sites for anything other than the champ game? The NFL had to delay a game by one day in Buffalo this season but the stadium was packed for the game vs. Kansas City. Money matters in college football today more than ever. Home games even in inclement weather earned by a team's quality of play in the regular season IMO are logical. Using the example I used above how many Ducks fans could afford to travel to Atlanta, then to Miami. and back to Atlanta; especially, when hotel prices are jacked up? Feldman's twelve teams and his PO seeding evidence the folly of the PO format in 2024-25 and 2025-26. Fans of a lower-ranked Florida State team with an easier preseason SOS than Oregon would have a 4-and-a-half-hour drive to Atlanta from Tallahassee, straight up I-75. It's a 39-hour drive from Eugene to Atlanta, the halfway point is Lemoyne, Nebraska. This is not equitable. But it is what it is for the next two seasons. In response to AnotherOD, the PO format suggested by the B1G and the SEC for 2026-27, 14 teams including 4 B1G and 4 SEC teams with the Power 2 champs having a 1st round bye did not bounce too high with the ACC, B12, Notre Dame, and the G5. Come the 2026 season, the format can be changed by a majority vote. If the proposed format is not approved in one form or another we will see a Power 2 College Football World Series in 2032 or before. Regardless, drop the bowl affiliations except for the champ game rotating between the Sugar, Cotton, Rose Bowls, and Indianapolis. Although it would give Georgia a significant advantage, I'd still like to see Oregon playing Georgia in Atlanta on 1/20/25,

Autzen, a great and loud home venue. EA Sports College Football 25 weighs in on toughest places to play SATURDAYBLITZ.COM EA Sports College Football 25 reveals top three toughest stadiums to play in, featuring new And when playing the Dawgs in Athens you better wear earmuffs. BARK!

Will Puddles (0-3😒) prevail over Boise State + other impactful G5 games? Games featuring Group of Five teams that will define the 2024 College Football Playoff race - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM These games will go a long way towards deciding the 12-team College Football Playoff field

Micro B, I think it is but a matter of time before we see a Super Conference for football that does not include historic bowl sites in the playoff site process until the CFB semi-finals and perhaps, only for the CFB Super Bowl. The teams selected will be determined by on-field results as will seeding. I believe CFB Fans will not be copacetic with their team ranked ahead of the ACC, B12, and G5 conference champions being left out and teams ranked above the ACC, and B12 lower ranked conference champions having to play four and not three games to win the title. Not happy with a 12-game Notre Dame that finished 10-2 knocking out a 10-2 team that lost its conference champ game to finish 10-3. The 2025-26 and 2026-27 format was designed to be approved by five P5 and 5 G5 conferences. The tables turned as we are well aware to CFB having four 'power conferences' and not five. The format went to a 5-7 format, better than 6-6, but the entire format should have been revised and will IMO be revised come 2026-27.

Looks like the beat goes on in LA. 'I'm locked into USC,' I just like visiting vacation hot spots Bloomington, IN, and Auburn, AL. Could I put up with this kind of Baby Grock-like 'commitment?' No, and thank you Danno for doing so. CFB recruiting today is a soap opera and every actor (player) has access to a media platform to (i) thank the coaches he committed to, (ii) apologize to all the great coaches and programs he did not commit to, (iii) when he de-commits, to thank all the great coaches he left at the altar, and (iv) to let us all know that he had been praying about his 'commitment' and it was the football gods who told him to de-commit not for more Nil money but because it was the football gods master plan for him to attend Tech and not State. Sigh. USC is feeling the heat with SEC schools intent on raiding Troy TROJANSWIRE.USATODAY.COM Auburn is making a run at a prized USC recruit.

Back in the day, CU Student Robert Redford was a part-time bartender at The Sink. A great college town watering hole.

The Athletic's Bruce Feldman has released his 2024-25 Playoff Delighted Dozen. Caveat - Bruce is a graduate of the program once justifiably 'The U' that today should be referred to as The Community College. Miami has yet to win an ACC title and did not get a sniff of the 4-team Playoff. However, Bruce's Playoff participant's guess is as good as any other sage rolling the dice. Feldman's CFP 12-team projection: Why I like Miami, PSU and Texas WWW.NYTIMES.COM Which teams reloaded their rosters and seem to be good bets this early on for the CFP? Feldman's field has 4 SEC teams in the Playoff - Georgia, Texas, Ole Miss, and Alabama. A 1st round bye for Georgia and 1st-round home games for Texas and Old Miss. 3 B1G teams are in. No. 2 Ohio State with a first-round bye, No. 6 Oregon vs No. 11 Miami in Eugene, and 10 Penn State opening at No. 7 Ole Miss. In the 1st-round, No. 5 Texas draws 12-seed Memphis in Austin. Which is nice. After the home game vs. Miami, if the Ducks move on, Puddles pals best have unlimited frequent flyer miles to trade in; or, a seat on Uncle Phil's plane. Oregon's 2nd-round game would be peachy, for No. 3 FSU, with Oregon traveling to Atlanta to play the Seminoles in the Peach Bowl. The distance from Tallahassee, Florida to Atlanta is 261 miles. The distance from Eugene? 2621 miles, 5,242 miles round trip. Chop down the Seminoles and Puddles next mission would have the Ducks playing No. 2 Georgia in the Orange Bowl in Miami. The distance from Athens, Georgia to South Beach is a Dawg walk 679 miles. For Puddles, it's a 3,278-mile flight, 6,556 round trip. If Puddles Gets Smart in Miami, it's back to Atlanta to play No. 1 Ohio State. on January 20, 2025, for the title. This B1G champ game match-up assumes that Ohio State would win the Cotton Bowl semifinal against Texas in Dallas. If Oregon decided to spend the 1st semester in Eugene and not in Dixie, Puddles and Pals would be looking at 17,040 flight miles and at least two lube jobs for Puddles. Add this to the 15,222 miles Oregon will travel in the regular season, not including a possible round trip to Indianapolis, Total travel exclusive of a B1G champ game trip would be 32,262 miles. The circumference of the Earth is 24,901 miles. It certainly is not the ACC and the SEC's fault that Oregon is in the Northwest. However, favoring the ACC and the SEC in Playoff site locations is a systemic problem. that needs to be addressed before the 2026 Playoff. Is B1G Commissioner Tont Petitti paying attention? This putative Playoff travel is almost as bad as the B1G asking Oregon to be the only P4 team in the nation in 2024 to play eight games in a row without a break. Scheduling Matters! Game locations matter! Especially in an era of two P4 conferences with 16 teams, one with 17 teams, and the B1G with 18 teams. Join the NFL. The higher-seeded teams host games before the Super Bowl or at least before the semifinals.

Everybody's got one. Bruce Feldman's Playoff Prediction. Feldman's CFP 12-team projection: Why I like Miami, PSU and Texas WWW.NYTIMES.COM Which teams reloaded their rosters and seem to be good bets this early on for the CFP? Mari(o) back in Eugene? Puddles path to a playoff title. No. 6 Oregon vs No. 11 Miami - Eugene Peach Bowl - Oregon vs FSU - Atlanta Orange Bowl - Oregon vs Georgia - Miami Champ Game - No. 6 Oregon vs No. 1 Ohio State - Atlanta No other top 8 teams in Bruce's PO would have travel demands like Oregon. And the cost of travel for Ducks fans would be B1G. 3 and not 4 games for Georgia. 1st-round Bye. 2nd-round Sugar Bowl. 3rd round Orange Bowl. Champ game, Atlanta.

Ohio State will be a tough Out. Can Ohio State's 2025 NFL Draft class make history? It's possible WWW.NYTIMES.COM Michigan produced 13 draft picks in 2024, two shy of the all-time record. Can Ohio State top its rivals and set a new standard?

Like Mari(o), Riley has yet to earn his B1G money. According to Pro Football Focus, the Trojans play the most difficult schedule in the country in 2024. Taking an early look at USC heading into 2024 WWW.MAIZENBREW.COM Here’s what Big Ten newcomer USC has been up to in the offseason.

Fred, since the 1st BCS title was won in 1999, by Tennessee, Yabba Dabo Do, won 2 titles at Clemson. Clemson is one of 14 teams that won 26 BCS and/or Playoff championships from 1999 to 2023. 1 Natty - Auburn (SIGH), Miami, Michigan, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, USC 2 Titles - Clemson, Florida, FSU, Georgia, Ohio State (SIGH.) 3 Titles - LSU 6 Titles - Alabama, which confirms The Tide's extraordinary run under Nick Saban. Summary - It is not easy to win a championship. BCS, win one game. 4-Team Playoff, win two games. 12-Team Playoff, a team will need to win 3 or 4 postseason games. This season and the next, the Bowl Playoff sites favor teams from Dixie. Pasadena and Glendale are the only Western Bowl sites. The Rose and Fiesta Bowls are 2nd round games along with the Peach and Sugar Bowls. The semifinal games will be played in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas and the Orange Bowl in New Orleans. The semifinal games will be played in Dallas and Miami. The 2024-25 champion game will be contested at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The 2025-26 champion game will be played at Hard Rock Stadium close to Miami. If Oregon was the fifth seed this season, the Ducks would play a home game, then most likely play in Atlanta versus the ACC champ, followed by a game in Miami or Dallas. If all went well for Puddles, it would be a flight back to Atlanta for the championship game. Hopefully, we will see more equitable game sites come 2026-27. 10 of the 14 championship-winning schools are located in Dixie, 11 if you add Oklahoma. Do 'these guys' need game location help?

Will Champion Cowboys visit Autzen in 2025? 3 surprise teams that could make the College Football Playoff in 2024 SATURDAYBLITZ.COM Oklahoma State, Arizona, and Iowa are three teams that could find their way into the expanded College Football Playoff field.

Ohio State has a weak OOC schedule in 2024. 3 G5 opponents all coming to Columbus. However, in 2025 and 2026, tOSU plays Texas; in 2027 and 2028, the Buckeyes play Bama. In 2024, and 2027, Michigan plays Texas. In 2025 and 2026, Michigan plays Oklahoma. Why? These are B1G time delightful games for the fans of CFB but Michigan, Ohio State, Texas, and Oklahoma could swap these games for 4 home games vs G5 or FCS opponents and still earn a 1st or 2nd seed if they win the conference title. I'd rather sharpen Puddles flight patterns in the Playoffs. Ohio State football announces 2025 nonconference schedule changes BUCKEYESWIRE.USATODAY.COM A quick note about a couple of football schedule changes for 2025. #GoBucks

Would you rather be sleepless in Seattle or LA? Jen Cohen must get USC football fully aligned and organized TROJANSWIRE.USATODAY.COM Jen Cohen has to get things organized behind the scenes. USC football operations aren’t delivering the way they should.

It wasn't my fault! A Duck and a Dawg interfered with me! Lincoln Riley didn’t drop the ball in Justus Terry, Isaiah Gibson exit TROJANSWIRE.USATODAY.COM Coaching failures are very different from structural or administrative failures. Right, he didn't drop the balls, he booted the balls. You can't spell LA without cLAy Helton.

CBS Sports ranks 3 Oregon players in the NFL's Top 100. The same number of top 100 from Ohio State. Herbert 20, Armstead 80, and Buckner 81. Ducks drafted in 2024 - 8 players, tied with Georgia and Penn State 1st round - Nix 2nd round - J-P-J 4th round - Franklin, Jackson, Dorlus, Williams, Irving 6th round - Hill Michigan had 13 players drafted; Texas 11; and Alabama, FSU, and UW 10. In the 2023 season, per USA Today, Bama had the most active players in the NFL with 57; Ohio State 47; Georgia 46; LSU 43; and Michigan 38. This speaks well for the B1G's B1G 2.

7 teams will be chosen by 13 folks subjectively. You want and need positive publicity. Being ranked in the top 10 of the first AP Poll does make a difference whether it should or not. As a member of the B1G Puddles will not fly under the CFB radar. Plus when it comes to recruiting you don't want your light hidden under a bushel. Sorry, George. I demure.

8 SEC - 1 UGA, 3 TX, 4 Bama, 8 LSU, 13 Tennessee, 15 Ole Miss, 16 Oklahoma, 20 Mizzou 6 B1G - 2 Ohio State, 5 Michigan, 6 Oregon (I do not 'get' Michigan being ahead of Oregon,) 11 USC (Based on Riley's recruiting?), 17 UW, 18 Iowa. [B1G-in-waiting Notre Dame? No. 7] 5 ACC - Not sure how you rank any ACC team long-term, especially 9 FSU and 12 Clemson. I understand Louisville 21 and Miami 24 but 22 SMU and no UNC + NC State? The ACC implodes and UNC is a lock for one of the B1G or the SEC. Clemson is not an AAU member so no B1G and with slightly over 2M viewers on average does the SEC already in South Carolina want to add Clemson at a full share? FSU is on the cusp of AAU membership and FSU draws 4M+ on average. If the B1G offers FSU will the SEC counter to keep the B1G out of Florida? 4 B12 - But if the B1G or the SEC comes calling say goodbye to 14 Utah, 19 K State, 23 OK State, and 25 Arizona. All four of the B12 teams are 'development programs.' What happens to Utah's average recruiting after Whit leaves? Arizona is getting a lot of love for one good season and what kind of recruiter will HC Brennan be moving from G5 to the P4? Why K State and OK State instead of Houston, TCU, Kansas, and West Virginia?

On the Saturday Down South site, a Florida fan whose team was not bowl-eligible in 2023, commented on the Oregon Contender article, that there is always a touted West Coast team that flames out. I guess he believes the Washington campus is in the District of Columbia. 😁

Taking an early look at Oregon heading into 2024 WWW.MAIZENBREW.COM The Ducks are a top contender to win the National Championship in 2024 Grab a brew, don't cost nothin'.