Jon Joseph

But how bad can it be for Deion and fils when his sons can afford to buy him a home in uber-expensive Boulder?

https://athlonsports.com/college-football/paul-finebaum-analyzes-sec-teams-that-are-under-most-pressure-in-2024

Duckley, great take. But after the 2nd portal go-round the Composite Roster Rankings and Ratings will have Ohio State ahead of Oregon in roster strength and perhaps, as high as 2nd behind Georgia. Ohio State and Oregon are the 2 B1G schools making national noise in portal picking.

https://athlonsports.com/college-football/colorado-buffaloes-flip-arizona-state-edge-bj-green-from-washington It just keeps getting worse on Montlake.

SEC continues to dominate recruiting. 13 of 16 SEC teams ranked in the 2024 Recruiting 2025. A 10-year media deal with ESPN ends in 2034. The B1G's new media deal will be renegotiated in 2030. Has the SEC made an ACC-like media mistake? Come the next B1G media deal, Puddles will be shown The Money!

Some love for Oregon. Not so much for SC, UCLA, and UW. All-in love for tOSU but will Howard from K St make that B1G of a difference? He is most certainly not the return of JT Stroud or Franklin. Big Ten tiers in 2024: How teams rank as Jim Harbaugh exits Michigan, Ohio State reloads, Pac-12 schools join - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM Breaking down the landscape of the conference in 2024 as the three-time reigning champs welcome a new coach

Some thoughts on the 'New SEC.' Eight key topics for beginning of SEC's new era THEATHLETIC.COM What's new and next for SEC football in 2024? Let's take a look at eight of the biggest storylines. Sec in the 10-Year BCS x 2 - Most Appearances - 10/ Bama 7; Most Wins - 14/ 9 by Bama/ Most Titles - 6/ 3 Bama and 2 UGA. Do you think that DeBoer has some big shoes to fill?

Ohio State hit it big in the portal, but what about the rest of the Big Ten? THEATHLETIC.COM Ranking the Big Ten teams from 1-18 based on each team’s portal performance, with additions and departures figured in.

And had it returned for a Kick-6? Kidding, I'm with Charles, you, and others, take the damn points!

Please forward the details of The White Out Experience when possible. Sounds great!

Thank you, Don. A great and fun take. I have been blessed to watch Michigan take on Notre Dame in the B1G House and was there with my daughter Hillary, a Junior at Colorado at the time for the Kordell Stewart Hail-Mary pass to Michael Westbrook. I was also there to watch Neon Deion play Elvis when FSU visited Michigan with Deion Sanders at CB going against Michigan QB Elvis Grbac. Bobby Bowden's FSU team prevailed. I have attended a Colorado at Nebraska game. The fans were gracious and the in-stadium experience was fun but do not go out of your way to visit Lincoln. The Cornhuskers won the game. I have attended for some reason a Michigan State game when Sparty played Purdue. Probably something about a girl? I was in The Shoe when it was still a horseshoe and had not been enclosed to watch Oregon play the Buckeyes in 1987. The attendance that day, 9/19/87, was 89.882 and not the 100K+ we see today with the enclosed stadium. The Ducks, led by HC Rich Brooks, OC, and future UCLA coach, Bob Toledo, with Bill Musgrave playing QB gave the Buckeyes a battle before, losing 14 to 24. I have not been to a game in Madison or Minneapolis but have visited both campuses. In the summer, Madison, with the campus sitting on Lake Mendota. is beyond beautiful. Much of the movie 'Back to School' was filmed on the Wisconsin campus including the scenes by the lake. But in November? The Minnesota campus is adjacent to the Mississippi River but you cannot see the river for the trees. The Wisconsin campus has it all over the Gopher campus in terms of beauty and architecture. But Minneapolis is worth the trip. I have also been to Evansville and Northwestern for a basketball and not a football game. Another beautiful campus, the most "Ivy League" of the B1G campuses. The NW campus is situated on the Lake Michigan shoreline. 97-year-old Ryan Stadium is being modernized and reduced in seating capacity by 12,000 seats to a total of 35,000. The majority of the money for the rehab is being paid for by descendants of the original Ryan-Stadium family. NW, now the only private school in the current B1G will be joined by USC. NW, as Don noted, was more physical than a physical Utah team in its bowl win in Las Vegas. I think the NW's 2024 B1G opener at UW (Washington not Wisconsin) on 9/21/24 could be very interesting. Thanks for the 'Breaking Away' reference. A great sports movie that is far too obscure. My closest claim to football fame? I was born in Toledo. Ohio in the same hospital as Jim Harbaugh and Urban Meyer. So, I have that going for me; which is nice. Thanks again, Don.

Shady? The non-disclosure of the details of NIL deals makes the deals seem shady to some. However, the payments are being made by 3rd parties and not the employer. If (once?) schools start paying players directly, public universities will have to disclose the deals and I expect we will also be tuned into the bidding wars for a player's services. Not any different than NFL free agency where a free agent, more correctly his agent, shops the player's services. What is 'shady' today is roster tampering which everyone who isn't naive knows is going on.

The 49ers with a pretty smart back field. RB from Stanford. FB from Harvard.

How about both starting RBs coming out of Rutgers?

KC is the only one of the four finalists without a Duck on the squad. I'm Quacking with the Ravens. BTW, John Harbaugh is another coach who played at the 'Cradle of Coaches,' Miami of Ohio. A DB, he was the scholar-athlete of the team his senior season. He spent a few seasons as an assistant coach for KC's Andy Reid. JH has a master's degree from W Michigan. If it comes down to a FG, Baltimore's Tucker who played at Texas is The Man. Tucker has the longest FG in NFL history.

Great take. IMO, a proven transfer is exactly the guy who should be paid. Jabbar watched up front and personal Texas DBs playing vanilla D vs UW. The DL studs who were supposed to show up did not show up against UW; the stud DL guys did show up for Michigan. Jabbar played terrific football in both games vs. Oregon. I was surprised he was not 1st team all Pac-12 but even 2nd team in a league as deep as the Pac last season is a heck of an achievement. His PFF grade was slightly better than Jackson who had the top DB ranking for the Ducks in 2023. To date, I think Division Street managed by former Nike execs has made all the right moves.

Penn State. If the BCS and 'Playoff' had 12-team fields, Penn State would have been tied for the most PO appearances. PSU misses nemesis Michigan in 2024 and plays Ohio State in Happy Valley. The Nittany Lions' toughest road game appears to be the trip to USC on 10/12 when tOSU will be playing in Eugene. Franklin after going 10-2 in 2023 with 'predictable' losses to Ohio State and Michigan, did not have his team ready to play 10-2 Ole Miss in the NY6 Peach Bowl. Franklin will be under pressure to make the PO field in 2024. As to lesser programs that will have a harder row to hoe. So far, with equal revenue distribution, a rising tide lifts all boats. Ask Vandy. But IMO this distribution model will be gone come 2030. Streaming is coming and eyes on the prize will matter as will success on the football fields and men's basketball courts.

I see 9 potential Ls on UW's schedule in 2024. And this is conceding UW a win at Indiana. Let's see what recruits Fisch can pull out of the 2nd portal group.

I thought UW fans and players were supposed to be intelligent, right Jimmy? 3 losses by 9 points is a 'torching'. OK, then the beatdown by Michigan, I guess, was a "Blazing Inferno!" Lift leg and let loose.

The portal and NIL are reasons why there was no room for an undefeated P5 conference champion in the 'Playoff' in 2023. FSU would not have been undefeated except for bringing in a load of portal talent. 5 conference champions and at least Georgia, were worthy of playing in the 2023/24 post-season. (What goes around comes around. An undefeated FSU made it to the first playoff ahead of better Baylor and TCU teams.) Both the portal and NIL today are an equalizer in dispersing talent. Not only in CFB but across the board in sports that once had rules that restricted transfers. The best people deserve to play and to be paid. As to loyalty? I miss the 'old days' in many respects. But that's what they are in today's world of college sports big-time entertainment, "old days." Is a QB who is lights out going to be paid more than the starting guard? Yes. But that is no different than where the players aspire to play, the NFL. Lanning's duty is to his employer and the fans who support the team. That duty is to win, fill the stadium with fans, and draw eyeballs on the game over the media. Without money earned by the football program, the majority of athletes playing non-revenue sports including women athletes would have nowhere to play. As to feelings? Man up and compete! Like life, you are not guaranteed a thing. Win the right to play. If you do not start this is where and when loyalty is needed. Be prepared to go in the game if the guy who beat you out goes down.

If Tuscaloosa won't come to Muhammad then Muhammad must come to Eugene. 😍

The obvious hire and a hire that is likely to leave the Michigan roster close to intact. The Wolverines have to replace a lot of guys on O but the D players coming back are legit including DL Grahm, a 3* recruit from Anaheim. Michigan will not be an easy out in 2024, especially in Ann Arbor.

The schedule is ranked the 13th most difficult in the nation by ESPN's SP+. Other B1G teams with the most difficult 2024 schedules: No. 2 USC, No. 3 NW, No. 5 Purdue, No. 8 UW, No. 12 UCLA, No. 15 Michigan State. 9 games vs. teams that went bowling in 2023 including NY6 bowl participant Ohio State and the two teams that played for the 2023/24 CFB championship. Ohio State in the preseason AP Poll is likely to be ranked N0. 2. Despite Harbaugh's departure, Michigan will likely be in the top 10, at least in the top 15. UW will be ranked and Wisconsin and Boise could be ranked. Michigan and Ohio State both play 8 home games; the Ducks, 7. The game at Michigan will be the Ducks 6th game in a row without a break. Oregon has played in Ann Arbor in September but not in November. The 2024 schedule is extremely difficult. Oregon will get every opponent's best shot. Michigan loses a lot on O but check out the guys on D coming back to play for Moore. No portal exodus in Ann Arbor. Michigan at home is a very dangerous opponent, especially in November.

Terrific comment. 9 games in 2024 are against teams that went bowling in 2023 including NY6 bowl participant Ohio State and the two teams that played for the 2023/24 championship. SP+ ranks Oregon's SOS heading into 2024 at No. 13 in the nation. Oregon finishes at defending champ Michigan, Maryland, at Wisconsin, and UW after an off week. No Easy Day including 10/12 vs Ryan Day.

Penn State does have a favorable schedule. PSU's only challenge OOC is the opener at West Virginia. Interesting scheduling quirk with UCLA coming to Happy Valley on 10/5 and Penn State playing USC in LA on 10/12, the same Saturday that Oregon hosts Ohio State. (Also being played on this date, Texas vs. Oklahoma, Ole Miss at LSU, and UW at Iowa.) PSU is bringing in the OC from Kansas. PSU does well against teams it can grind down but its O in recent seasons has stalled against better opponents. Can Coach Franklin break free of the 10-2 regular season record? Maryland, I would not sell short. In 2023 the Terps lost a one-score game to Michigan. Without starting QB Taulia Tags, Under-Turtle Maryland easily dispatched Auburn in its bowl game. Maryland should start the season 5-0: UConn; Michigan State; at UVA; Villanova; and at Indiana. USC trips to Maryland the Saturday after playing Penn State in LA. It's a long way to travel after what should be a tough game for the Trojans. Maryland comes up on a tricky spot on Oregon's schedule. Maryland will be the 7th B1G game in a row without a break and is sandwiched between trips to Ann Arbor and Madison. Maryland is Off the week before traveling to Eugene. Off on 11/2 when Oregon plays in the Big House. What physical and emotional condition will Oregon be in when the Terps trip west? QB Taulia Tagovailoa, the B1G's all-time leader in passing yards, is gone. NC St transfer M. J. Morris is expected to start at QB in 2024. Morris was given a 4* portal ranking by 247. Morris is a RS Soph who in 9 games at NC St (7 starts) passed for 1367 yards, 14 TDs, and 6 Ints. Terps coach, Mike Locksley, OC for Saban at Bama before taking the Maryland job, always puts a decent offense on the field and will have an extra week to game plan for the Ducks. It's not just the opponent in CFB, it's also about where and when you play the opponent.