Jon Joseph

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.

College football 2024 - What we're most excited to see - ESPN WWW.ESPN.COM We're fired up just thinking about next season in college football. Here are the games, players and teams we can't wait to see.

Nuts to the Bruins! Come on Man! Floor-dropping funny!

Riley? Maybe part of the problem but the SC D in 2023 was an uncoordinated every man for himself fire drill. The OK D under Riley and Grinch didn't look much better. Perhaps it's easier to coach up 2* and 3* recruits than 4* and 5* recruits? Not a lot of 4* and 5* guys on the Wisconsin D.

Where to begin? No. 13. Northwestern plays 12 games and will not finish 5-5. I think Zack meant 6-6. No. 12. Maryland will not finish 5-7 and will go bowling. No. 9. Michigan State makes a bowl in year one of the J Smith era? I think he has Sparty rated too high. No. 8. UW - I think UW will win at least 7 games and more likely finish 8-4. Will Rogers will not be Penix but he will be an adequate replacement and Fisch (OC at MI in Harbaugh's 1st season) can coach. Winning a game in SEA is not that easy. OK, Wisconsin, for some unknown reason, finishes 9-3/7-2 and is ticketed for a No. 7 finish behind a No. 6 Iowa and No. 8. USC, both predicted to go 8-4 but with Iowa going 5-4 in the conference and USC going 7-2 in the conference. This guy has a strange set of tie-breakers. No. 2. Oregon - Zack still has Hawaii on the schedule and the Ducks going 12-1. He has Ohio State going 12-0. With no Hawaii on the schedule and with the Buckeyes traveling to Autzen, this cannot happen. I think his conference predictions are as credible as Zack having both Arizona and Utah in the 12-team PO field.

49ers-Lions: Jared Goff to face childhood team in NFC Championship Game WWW.MERCURYNEWS.COM Jared Goff, a Novato native and Marin Catholic High School star, will have a “caravan” of fans at the NFC Championship Game in Levi’s Stadium.

6100 fans? Is school in session? Is this a typical 'crowd?' Hats off to Ducks Men's and women's CBB but are the teams getting enough support? Are the home games being marketed properly? Thanks for the take, Charles, and Go Ducks!

Motor City! Why? A Penei for my thoughts and SFO QB Purdy has struggled down the stretch, especially with Deebo injured. This could be a big homecoming for Jared Goff. Detroit has wandered in the desert long enough. And the Lions coach has 'go for it' guts. But, watch out for (Heisman Winner, sigh) McCaffery. A Super Bowl rematch of when the Harbaugh Brothers went head-to-head. Hope we see Harbaugh vs. Harbaugh again soon with Justin at the controls for LAC.

Duxster, great take on the OR ST followed by the UCLA game. The B1G designed the schedules through 2028 so no team would have to travel 2 weeks in a row from the East to the West coasts and vice versa without an idle week between trips. But traveling to Michigan, home for Maryland, and then travel to Wisconsin is a tough ask.

In 2024, college football has four (4) Power Conferences. The ACC, plus Notre Dame, the Big 10, the B12, and the SEC. The Big 10 and the SEC are considered to be the Power 2. One P4 team in 2024, and only one, the Oregon Ducks, plays eight (8) games in a row against P4 competition (all B1G games) without an Off Week. In this eight-in-a-row gauntlet, the Ducks will play against 5 teams that went bowling in 2023, including NY6 bowl team Ohio State, and Playoff champion Michigan. And instead of having 8 home games as do Michigan and Ohio State, with Texas Tech off the board in favor of a road game at Oregon State the week before Oregon's first idle week, the Ducks will play 7, not 8, regular season games at home. Forget about 'steel sharpens steel' and the other rhubarbs that discount the impact of a team's schedule in college football, One team that played 9 conference games and only one, Michigan, won a BCS title or a 4-team playoff title. In the last 3 seasons' playoffs bound Michigan had the advantage of playing a lightweight from the B1G West. In 2024, the B1G goes divisionless. The opponent in the 2024 B1G champ game will be the real deal. 8 in a row versus 8 B1G teams is a huge ask. It's a huge ask for any team to make it through a slate like this without suffering a few critical injuries. And if Oregon makes the Playoff as an at-large team, that will mean 3 games in a row vs. top-drawer opponents (a 5th-seeded Oregon would likely have the G5 12 seed in the 1st round) before the champ game in Atlanta on 1/20/25. Win the B1G champ game in Oregon's 13th game of the season and Oregon will still have to win two games against the CFB cream of the crop to make it to the Champ game. Since being invited to join the B1G, Oregon's AD has participated in every B1G meeting attended by B1G ADs including meetings held before the 2024 schedule was finalized. I know that I have been tough on Rob in the past but this, I just don't get it. This is not how any officer should treat his troops. The only B1G team close to this kind of schedule difficulty in 2024 is USC with 7 in a row vs. P4 competition. Welcome to the B1G and have a nice day. Ryan Day has a far easier schedule in front of him and his Buckeyes. It is of course what it is and I am thrilled to be going B1G, but 8 in a row is going to be a tough row to hoe.

Whisky? Just hired the Grinch Who Stole Defense. Will Van Dyke play QB like he did before Mari(o) went MIA? But at Wisky follow at Michigan and Maryland and will be the Ducks 8th game in a row without a weekend off. Ouch!

I don't care. Just Win Baby! Oregon's schedule in 2024, ranked 13th hardest in the nation, is brutal with or without DeBoer on the sideline. Penix is gone; no surprise that Kalen followed.

Will these Wolverines be poachable? https://athlonsports.com/college-football/michigan-football-nine-players-the-wolverines-must-keep-out-of-transfer-portal-jim-harbaugh-chargers

https://athlonsports.com/college-football/kalen-deboer-loses-another-former-player-to-sec-rival

Jim Harbaugh exits Michigan with legendary status after resurrecting alma mater in his own unique image - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM Harbaugh is headed back to the NFL, as most assumed he would, but not before leaving a lasting legacy in Ann Arbor

"Do you have a license for that Monkee? What, are you blind?" I just dropped Whisky in my list of the Ducks toughest games in 2024. Wisconsin hiring ex-USC DC Alex Grinch: Sources THEATHLETIC.COM After Colin Hitschler left for Alabama, Wisconsin is expected to hire former USC defensive coordinator Alex Grinch as safeties coach.

Big Ten football after Jim Harbaugh: Who's the best coach? Ohio State's top challenger? THEATHLETIC.COM Our Big Ten writers look back at Harbaugh's impact on the conference and discuss what's next in an expanding league.

HELP! I've lost my Jabbar! Any updates would be very, very, cool.

Big Ten powerhouse featured more than any other program in ESPN's 'way-too-early' All-American team WWW.YARDBARKER.COM Everyone loves a good comeback story, and according to Chris Low at ESPN, the this Big Ten team appears to be in prime position to execute one in 2024.

Brailsford at center better bulk up. He was pushed around by the Michigan DL and will see a lot of the same in the SEC. No offense to Washington, but Kalen DeBoer was happy to bring former Huskies to Alabama WWW.YARDBARKER.COM The ERA of NIL deals has created a new reality in college football and perhaps few coaches know that better than new Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer.