Jon Joseph

I'm trying not to go Taylor Swifty sycophant, but always appreciate your takes Charles, and it's great to have these kinds of quality late-in-the-week articles pop up on OBD. Keep Them Comin' On!

In 2023 to date, 8 CFB games have drawn 7M or more viewers. Colorado has played in 5 of these games! The stadium in Tempe is sold out for CU's Saturday visit to ASU. But with the broadcast on Larry's, 'We Ain't Easy to Find' Network, hopefully, a million or so fans will tune in. Thank goodness Puddles is flying this coop. Since the announcement that Oregon is headed to the B1G, the B1G 10 Network has given Oregon far more coverage than it ever received on the P12N. The P12N was one of the B1Gger mistakes in Pac-12 'leaderships' litany of tragic business decisions. SAYONARA!

Interesting take on UW to date. Washington Football: 5 numbers that have defined the Huskies’ 5-0 start SATURDAYOUTWEST.COM Washington is 5-0 at the bye. Here are numbers that have defined the unbeaten start to the year. UW D is not getting to the opponent's QB. This could mean a long day for the UW D with Bo Nix coming to town. In 2024, OREGON is #4 in sacks. UW is #124. Sacks allowed, both teams have surrendered only 3 sacks to date.

To wit: How NIL, transfer portal have surprisingly brought some much-needed talent parity to college football - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM Sure, the game still has its behemoths, but the riches are being spread out

If the SEC doesn't man up, Mississippi State plays W, Michigan on Saturday, and plays 4 OOC and 8, not 9, conference games, then I fervently hope, especially coming off of this season, that the Playoff Committee will ding the SEC, and the ACC, for playing only 8 conference games. Yes, I am aware that Florida plays FSU every season, UGA plays Georgia Tech, South Carolina plays Clemson, and Kentucky plays Louisville, but USC plays 9 plus Notre Dame, Oregon plays 9, and another P4 opponent. BTW, using the latest AP Poll and adjusting for 2024 conference realignment, come 2024, 6 B1G teams would be in the 12-team field, MI, OH ST, Penn ST, UW, Oregon, and USC, and the SEC would have two teams in, Georgia and Texas. Post-realignment, I don't believe that the SEC CFB hegemony will ipso facto carry-on. NIL and the Portal are leveling the playing field. Recruiting-wise, the Pac-4 in the B1G will receive far more coverage and national exposure than when in the Pac-12 and 'covered' by Larry's Loser Network. Prime tells us that he isn't hard to find. The Pac-4 will no longer be hard to find.

Good points. All 18 B1G schools will play one another 3 times in the next 5 seasons and every team will visit the opposing team once at least. This could not have happened if the Pac-4 were permanent opponents of one another. And while the Oregon vs. USC is a good rivalry, no doubt, it is a rivalry that was limited by Pac-12 divisions and the California Scheduling Agreement. Oregon has played Cal quite a few times more since the addition of CU and Utah than it has played UCLA and USC. Fox, CBS, NBC/Peacock, want to see more games with Oregan and USC playing Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State. Guess the group with the greatest influence on the schedule.

Yet, CFB seems to have more parity in 2023 than at any time in the last decade+. The Portal, and NIL, have a lot to do with this. Without NIL, Bo would have left for the NFL at the end of 2022. Restrictions on player movement like we see in the NFL will not happen before the arrival of a CFB Players union. Given the choice of a top high school recruit or a player who has already played college football, why would you not opt for the portal player? (No OL recruit that DL recruited in 2023 could match the play of Cornelius at OT this season. And Cornelius moved up from the FCS.) Now, the NCAA has eliminated the 25 new player cap in a given year. A rule change that will enable more playoff picking akin to what we have witnessed from Prime Time. Yes, there is a bargained-for and agreed-upon with the union salary cap in the NFL. (See union comment above for a team salary cap being enforceable in CFB.) There is no NIL cap in the NFL. The players, as do college athletes today, own their NIL. If you do want more control of player transfers and a cap on what a school can spend on a player in portal 'free agency,' then you better be ready for official NFL Lite with a reduced number of schools playing big-time CFB, an HS draft, and all of the other indicia that goes with being a professional league.

Hickey: Winners, losers and takeaways from the B1G football schedule format release SATURDAYTRADITION.COM Fitting 18 teams into a 9-game schedule is a dizzying process. Saturday Tradition's Alex Hickey makes sense of the Big Ten's new format.

For someone with my tech skills? YES!

Interesting guy. Among other great stories is Butkus winning the Player of the Year Award his senior season at Illinois and not showing up for the banquet. As a teammate commented: Not surprising, jerk never showed up for a class. He was a scary dude on the field. RIP.

WOOF! Dogs to Dawgs.

Michigan at SC is a bigger game than Ohio State at Oregon? Does this guy pay any attention to the number of viewers watching? CU at Oregon was watched by close to 3M more folks than watched SC at CU and Ohio State is the most-watched team in the B1G year after year. Just more La La Ga Ga.

On the reset post-expansion probably but as of now, Oregon will not be playing USC every year. SC is not on the 2024 schedule. Washington is Oregon's designated permanent opponent.

Darren, Don't Worry, Be Nappy. Work Week for the team; but not for us. Fans get back to work next Saturday. I'm stocking up on Rolaids.

Michigan - 2024. Have Mercy! How about jumping from a relatively light schedule to this in 2024, wow! (Using current AP rankings.) 3. Texas/ at 4. Ohio State/ at 7. UW/ 8. Oregon/ 9.USC And USC in addition to the B1G slate in 2024, also plays LSU and Notre Dame.

It's 9 conference games every year. Alternating 5 at home and 4 on the road. Oregon has 8 home games in 2024 and only 6 at home in 2025. With the quality and depth of the conference schedule, it is senseless to be playing at OK ST and at Baylor as currently scheduled. And playing at Boise State in 2025 and at Utah State in 2027? Come On Rob!

The Prime Time Rule? Get your sunglasses ready!

Big Ten announces full conference schedules for 2024-28 seasons SATURDAYTRADITION.COM Big Ten reveals conference schedules for 2024-28.

https://athlonsports.com/college-football/big-ten-scheduling-format-revealed-for-usc-and-other-departing-pac-12-members

Very interesting. No USC game in 2024. Instead, the Ducks play both Ohio State and Michigan. Ohio State in Autzen as was predicted, and in the Big House in Ann Arbor instead of playing at USC as was predicted. The Ducks will also get the chance to Jump Around at Wisconsin. UW will play the Ducks in Autzen and is a protected annual game. I was somewhat surprised to see that UCLA/USC are not annual protected games. I expect that the UW game will be the ultimate regular game match up for the Ducks. This is a tough schedule. Especially with having to break in a new starting QB. Ohio State, Michigan, and UW are currently ranked. Maryland is 5-0 and the Terps, not LSU should be ranked in the Top 25. It will be interesting to see how Maryland stands up in Columbus on Saturday. Wisconsin and UCLA are on the cusp of moving back into the top 25. Michigan State will be coming to Eugene with a new coach and Oregon State's J Smith and Washington State's Jake Dickert are both rumored to be in the mix for the MSU job. Like Oregon in 2024, Maryland, UW, and most likely Michigan will be breaking in new QBs. In 2024, Dante Moore will have a shot at being one of CFBs best QBs. With the opening game in 2024 at Hawaii, and with 5 B1G home games the Ducks will have 8 home games in 2024. OOC opponents Idaho, Texas Tech, and Boise State will be coming to Autzen. The highlight home game will, of course, be the game versus Ohio State. Ohio State QB McCord will be back. At Michigan is the highlight away game. Will Jim Harbaugh still be coaching his alma mater? Playing in Camp Randall Stadium versus Wisconsin will also be a great away game venue. It's going to be one heck of a first-season B1G ride. No divisions in the B1G in 2024. And, thank goodness, no games on the Pac-12 Network. Here's more on the schedule from CBS Sports Dennis Dodd. Big Ten football schedule: Conference releases opponents, protected rivalries for 2024-28 seasons - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM The Big Ten has set its football schedules for the next five years with USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington joining the league

Hope Jack gets back. But what is interesting regarding this D compared to 2022 is the D depth behind the starters. The Oregon D's improvement is one of the best stories in 2023. Now, keep it up against better competition.

'You are what your record says you are.' Bill Parcells. The rest of the season against a tough schedule will prove whether or not Oregon is elite. I'm optimistic but there is a lot of ball to be played in a loaded back end of the schedule.

Nebraska is the only school in the B1G that is not an AAU member institution. It was so when it joined the B1G but would not have received a B1G invitation if it was not an AAU member when invited. Come 2024, the Cornhuskers will be the only AAU member outlier.

With an injury waiver, which I believe is doable even though he played in 5 not 4 games, he could come back with 2 years and not 1 year of remaining eligibility.

BUMMER! Heal well Noah. Next man up.