Jon Joseph

Great take. I think the SEC and B1G will control the format for the coming 16-team playoff. A bone will have to be thrown to a G5/6 team if not ranked in the top 16. I do not see automatic bids for conference champions and I see seeding according to the rankings and not the top 4 ranked conference champions seeded 1 to 4. And more money will go to the conferences that place the most teams in the field and the teams that advance through the field as is the case with the CBB tourney today. And the specific teams that make the playoff from a given conference will get a bigger share than their conference mates. Of course, as consolidation continues and the Power 2 adds more teams, we may simply have an AFL - B1G vs. NFL - SEC playoff. With 'hush money' paid other conferences to keep the lawyers and politicians at bay. Bring Clemson, FSU, Notre Dame, UNC, and others into the Power 2, and what teams out there will have a realistic shot at the title? Unlike CBB, a mid-major will not win football championships. If CFB does go to a 16-team playoff I see the participating players, under some kind of NIL arrangement or as bargained with a players' union, receiving a percentage of the proceeds. The progression to NFL Lite appears to be inexorable.

Great post. But doing what to student-athletes? The student-athletes at Hawaii have been traveling like this for decades. Last seen the Hawaii football team was opening the season in Nashville. Crickets. In post-season play, the NCAA has had athletes going hither and yon for decades. Now it's an issue? I feel for the Beavers and Cougars but both schools took the big-time media money. There are no 'clean hands' here. CFB realignment is the result of any business that is capitalized and long ago surrendered collegiality and student 'welfare' for money. The Pac-12 did not have to go for the BCS and the need for 1 True Champion. The Pac-12 could have decided to be the Ivy League II. Didn't happen. Money is not evil. The love of money is evil. IMO, OREGON made the right move and is headed to exactly where it is supposed to be. And J. Smith's multi-million dollar+ salary will not be reduced when OSU migrates to the MW or to the AAC.

And based on yesterday's 'action,' throw in a loss at South Bend. I guess when you can walk on water you don't need ships?

SWEET - All the news that's fit for lint?

It will pick up, how can it not? Week 1 - USC(e) vs. UNC - Rattler vs. Maye - Beamer, Jr. vs. Brownie. Florida at Utah. Week 2 - Feature match - Texas at Alabama. Undercard - OREGON at Texas Tech. Utah at Baylor. Auburn at Cal. Week 3 - Penn State at Illinois, TN at Florida, So. Car. at UGA, BYU at Arkansas, Pitt at W Virginia Week 4 - Ohio State at Notre Dame. And Prime Time comes to Autzen.

https://collegefootballnews.com/cfn/college-football-rankings-after-week-0-top-10 https://collegefootballnews.com/cfn/college-football-rankings-after-week-0-11-to-25 She was just 17, I don't get what you mean?

Closer to what once was home. Predicting the 10 biggest upsets involving Pac-12 football teams for 2023 SATURDAYOUTWEST.COM Which Pac-12 squads are most primed to pull off an upset or two in 2023? Here's a hint: One team in particular is Primed to surprise all onlookers. Oregon is currently -12.5 vs. UW. I never bet against Oregon but this is a healthy spread for a game being played in Seattle. Oregon is currently -4.5 vs. USC so a win by the Ducks will hardly be an upset. Gold's research is not that golden.

IMO, some big-time GIGO predictions for our future B1G brethren. If I could, I'd put money down and fade every one of this guy's B1G upset predictions. Hickey: My 10 biggest upsets involving Big Ten teams for 2023 SATURDAYTRADITION.COM It wouldn't be college football season without shocking outcomes. Saturday Tradition's Alex Hickey picks the 10 biggest upsets of the 2023 Big Ten season.

Thanks, PA. Here's another similar take from ESPN. There is still no D in USC. USC's Zachariah Branch has 2 TDs in debut as Trojans roll - ESPN WWW.ESPN.COM Zachariah Branch had one of the most electric debuts in Trojans history, zooming his way to 232 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns on just nine touches in a 56-28 win over San Jose...

Not good for Dilly and the decision to not play a bowl game in 2023 means that the Sun Devils will have the pitchfork sharpened when the Ducks come to town. A late-season loss in Tempe is not a movie that I want to watch again. Arizona State self-imposes bowl ban for 2023 season - ESPN WWW.ESPN.COM Arizona State has self-imposed a bowl ban for the 2023 season, the school announced Sunday, choosing to sanction itself over violations committed under former coach Herm Edwards.

I agree, Orlando. 10 conference games. And 13 regular season games for Notre Dame if the Domers want to stay independent and qualify for the playoff 10 of the games vs. P4 competition. But why are you selling the UMass Minutemen short? Big win over NM State in Prime-Time on ESPN! Meanwhile, the Larry gift that keeps on giving managed to hide the 2022 Heisman winner under a bushel. With Oregon opening against Portland State on Saturday on Larry's Loser Network, I suspect the same number of viewers will not be tuning in as tuned in last season's opener versus Georgia. But I expect that Puddles will be doing far more push-ups than in the ATL. Meanwhile, San Jose State did not go down without a fight! And The Grinch who stole defense has SC's D looking much better. Right? SC put up 500+ yards on O but its leading rusher only went for 54 yards. It's one game JJ so chill. But if SC had played Notre Dame yesterday I think the Domers, its O-line and run game would have beat down Troy.

WEEK 0 - Notre Dame vs. Navy - Somebody up there doesn't like ships. USC vs. San Jose State - Troy puts up over 500 yards of O. But that D still has a long way to go. Vandy vs. Hawaii - OK, it was Vandy. But Hawaii played decent ball vs. Vandy and never quit. UMass (!) gets a prime-time win over NM State on ESPN.

SC doubles up SJS - 52 - 28. The SC O? Awesome. The D/ Still very much a WIP. Show me the MONEY! The Over 66 bet was like stealing. A good way to get the 2023 season started.

Cue, the Lawyers.

Although FCS games in the B1G are going by the boards, I expect that the B1G will go to 10 conference games before 2030.

Looks like he would be a perfect fit at SC.

I agree but this not happening tells you what Fox and friends think about the SFO market. I think that Fox is keeping its powder dry in the hope of the B1G adding Notre Dame, UNC, UVA, Georgia Tech, or Stanford. Maybe all 5 with Duke or Cal thrown in.

Null and it is void of good games.

$15M? I think for this lineup that would be a stretch. Cal may agree to 'lower' itself but Stanford will not do so. Stanford has the endowment to, if not invited by the ACC, go independent and wait on the next round of B1G expansion. I see no reason why the conference you propose, and it's a good thought no doubt, would bring in 3x the amount of money the MW and AAC are bringing in. If Fox valued the SFO market, Cal and Stanford would be headed for the B1G in 2024. Fox is well aware that the Bay Area is pro-sports-oriented. Fox also knows that to date, the Cal and Stanford administrations have shown little interest in promoting football. Cal has an inducement if not invited by the ACC, to join the MW or the AAC. A Calimony payment from UCLA that will be closer to $10M per annum than $2M per annum. You can bet that the folks in Westwood are hoping that Cal is asked to join the ACC. If the Calimony payment is $10M. it would be a step down out of a Power conference but if Cal joins the MW it would bring in $15M a year and perhaps, could negotiate, like Boise, a bigger piece of the MW pie.

Charles, good thoughts but anything cobbled together will be the 6th G6 conference. At least if OSU and WSU join the MW or the AAC, they will not have to deal with scheduling issues and will have a media deal, even though not that lucrative, in place. What network(s) would line up to broadcast OSU, WSU, SDSU, San Jose St, Fresno, Boise St, CO. St, and UNLV? Would this alignment draw more money than the MW and AAC? Join the MW and compete for conference championships against 8 other conferences. Win the MW football title and if the current 2024 playoff format holds you are in the playoff field.

David, great take. With the playoff expanding in 2024 to 12 teams, CFB should begin the season for all conferences and teams on Week 0. This would allow the 1st round of the playoffs to begin a week earlier and for the champ game not to drift so far into January and go up against the NFL playoffs. The #6 team in the nation is playing on a network few people can and do watch. (Brilliant scheduling move by SC that results in SC having the week off before the conference champ game, thanks Pac-12 HQ,) Meanwhile, the New Mexico State vs. UMass game is on ESPN. As Saturday Out West's Jon Gold noted the other day, this is a shining example of why SC (and UCLA, Oregon, and UW) are going B1G. It's certainly not a huge game but far more football fans could and would have tuned into the Ducks vs. Vikings game if it was on FS1 or BTN, instead of being broadcast on the Pac-12 Network. Playing on the Pac-12 network has a negative recruiting ripple effect. Larry's Loser Network has slightly over 13M subscribers and still is not available and never will be available on DirecTV. The B1G Network (BTN) is closing in on 60M subscribers and is available on every major cable channel. On the BTN, far more people would have watched Caleb Williams's first effort in his pursuit of a second Heisman Trophy and also have been able to watch far more extensive and better, pre-game and post-game coverage. Thank goodness Puddles is flying to a B1Gger nest.

But you can't fix stupid. Why would ESPN up the ACC ante when it has a deal through 2036? 2036! Why did the ACC enable Notre Dame to stay independent with a football scheduling agreement and not insist that the Irish come all in and bring the football $ along with it? After the B1G's goofy Legends and Leaders Divisions mercifully went away, why continue with Atlantic and Coastal Divisions (thankfully now gone,) when most CFB fans hadn't a clue about which teams were in which divisions? These are all Larry-Like moves. This is a conference that swapped national contenders. First FSU and then Clemson with no other teams able to step up. A lot of little fish are being carried by one big fish. Clemson and FSU have broken the code and want out. ACC football viewership rankings in 2022: 10. Clemson/ 15. FSU/ 43. NC State (by comparison, Wazzu came in at 41.) / 46. UNC/ 48. Syracuse/ 49. Georgia Tech/ 56. Pitt/ 59. Miami/ 60. Wake Forest/ 62. Louisville/ 68. BC/ 75. Va Tech/ 78. UVA. Where's the media value here? ESPN and Fox are not charitable organizations. Why step up with more money to save the ACC and pay more for BC vs. UVA games? Like the Pac-12, the ACC is reaping what it sowed. Even with all of this the ACC, because of the network owned and operated by ESPN, finished 3rd in 2022 conference per member revenue distributions. CFB and Men's CBB are big businesses. Decades ago the leaders of the respective conferences could have shunned the money in favor of academics and student welfare. Could have continued to play 10 football games a year. Could have passed on the need for a CFB One True Champion. Could have stopped the expansion of the CBB and other post-season tournaments. The Ivy League passed on the money. The other powers-that-be went all-in for the money. When you sell your soul ...?

CBS Sports review of the final Pac-12 season. BTW; If the football gods have a morbid sense of humor - Pac-12 Champ Game - Oregon State vs. Washington State B12 Champ Game - Oklahoma vs. Texas B1G Champ Game - Northwestern vs. Maryland ACC Champ Game - BC vs. Wake Forest SEC Champ Game - South Carolina vs. Texas A+M Let the Games Begin! Pac-12 expert picks 2023: Most overrated and underrated teams, projected order of finish, bold predictions - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM Taking a close, detailed and opinionated look at the Pac-12 ahead of the 2023 college football season

Wazzu? WOW! Had not heard this but WA ST had 900K average football viewers in 2022. Better than Cal, Stanford, SMU, and Oregon State.

Thank you, Annie, for the great but gloomy post. The author is in error. The Playoff in 2024/25 already has a media deal with ESPN. ESPN agreed to the field going to 12 and is accordingly, coming with more money although not close to what the 2026 playoff will earn when media rights come up for open bidding. The platform will be different with linear broadcasts replaced by streaming broadcasts but why the fear of transitioning from linear to streaming? The same type of fears were expressed when TV took over from radio. From games shown on black and white TV and the constant fiddling with rabbit ears on TV tops, today we have games broadcast in HD, more than one guy in the booth, between game coverage that once only existed in local newspapers, a bevy of games throughout the week and not simply one college and one pro game, broadcast on the weekend. The money will not be going away, it will increase but it will be parsed differently. The existential threat to a number of programs giving up football comes not from media converting to streaming and the search for more media dollars but from the federal government, state governments, and plaintiffs in courts of law doing all in their power to have student-athletes deemed to be athlete-employees. When, not if this happens, many universities will consider, like the Ivy League and D3, not awarding athletic scholarships. Many schools will find that the game and the expense associated with fielding teams, will not be worth the candle. Cassandra was not afraid to view the future, she was afraid of people, including fellow citizens of Troy, ignoring her foresight and warnings. IMO, the author's angst is way over the top. It's a view from the past that millions of young people cannot reference. Sports will consolidate because, in every business, size goes to size. Thus be it ever. Or at least as far as a mere mortal such as I can understand 'ever.'