Jon Joseph

Except, ESPN has given notice that almost all of its future events will be streamed. Linear TV will be replaced by streaming sooner rather than later. Because of belt-tightening, Gameday was not at last year's Army/Navy game. And if ESPN wants to remain dominant in CFB broadcasting it cannot restrict the national coverage of CFB with the playoff moving to 12 teams. A conference is not just composed of its premier teams. How often has Gameday shown up in Evanston, Illinois for a Northwester versus Rutgers game compared to Game Day appearances in Eugene? Oregon football is not going to drop off of the national radar because the LA schools are moving to the B1G where UCLA will not compete for football titles and SC will be hard-pressed to win football championships. Last season with the Heisman winner at QB, SC did not win the conference title and lost to a G5 team in its bowl game. Come 2024 Caleb Williams will be in the NFL and not in South Central.

I do not believe you can project out any future revenues based on today's media model or what has happened in the past. I think we will see media income being distributed disparately when the next media deals are done in 5 or so seasons. We are seeing this happening partially with the ACC giving bigger slices to its teams that bring in bank from the CBB and CFB tournaments and the Pac-12 is rumored to be doing the same when it comes to football. Come 2026 because of the love of money I expect the football playoff will move to 16 teams with no 1st round byes and the CBB tournament is supposedly moving to an 80-team field. Playoff money will be far easier to score in a 12-team conference than in what would be at least an at least 18-team conference. And I do give a whip about college kids having to face professional-like travel with demands on their time that pros do not have. Where is the extra media money going to go? To the players? No way. UCLA plays 11 men's varsity sports and 14 women's varsity sports. How many teams will fly charter and not commercial. And will Title 9 come into to play for women's teams that have to fly commercial. As David noted in 2024 UCLA football will travel 26,000 miles. What will the travel budget be for 1 sport let alone all of the other sports? 1 game on Peacock restricted to 20M viewers stinks let alone 8 games. And the Michigan State fans had no say in Peacock moving a home game to Detroit. 20M isn't a heck of a lot better than the Pac Network's 13M subscribers. UCLA and USC and Oklahoma and Texas having pledged their media rights to their new conference are in no position to return even if they so desired. There are many UCLA fans and a number of SC fans that are not happy about this move. Let's see how many football and basketball titles the LA schools win in the B1G. I enjoy your comments. Out of curiosity and not intending to be the least bit snarky, did you attend a B1G school? You are very bullish on a conference that makes money but has done nothing of significance when it comes to winning titles.

Great take. But all about the Ws or the $s?

A timely take on this subject from Matt Hayes. This time from the B1G site Saturday Traditions. Hayes notes that the B1G will not author the destruction of the Pac-10 (Right?) and cautions that media dollars may not be in place to fund further expansion. Spot on in regards to media money. Hayes has 5 Pac-10 schools as potential B1G additions: Cal, Oregon, Stanford, and UW are on every potential expansion list I have seen but Utah is a new candidate. I think CU would be in the running ahead of Utah. The B1G 10: Expansion hinges on timing of Pac-12, ACC implosions. It’s ‘when?’, not ‘if’ SATURDAYTRADITION.COM The Big Ten will seek football powers that can earn the league 'units' in the expanded Playoff, columnist Matt Hayes says in the...

David, thanks for touching all of the bases in this terrific article. There is no place like home and home isn't in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Rufus, Brett McMurphy is often wrong but never in doubt. Linear TV is going the way of the Dodo Bird. The SEC needed one media entity, Disney/ESPN, to do its new media deal. Fox, with a 61% ownership stake in the B1G Network, needed to raid LA and add NBC/Peacock and CBS to arrive at $70M, oops, 65M gross per member school. Kevin Warren promised NBC that it would broadcast the B1G football championship game. He had no right to do so and this led to a $5M haircut. You have to figure that the LA schools were worth a very conservative $20M to the B1G media deal bottom line. This equates to the B1G without the LA schools bringing in around $45M a team. As noted by Maryland's president the other day even if the B1G wanted to further expand the media money in today's market is not available to fund further expansion. The LA schools were not aware that Peacock, a streaming service with fewer than 20M subscribers and none of the massive ancillary services offered by Apple/Amazon, will be broadcasting a number of their home games. NBC has informed Michigan State that it will be broadcasting the UW game and Peacock has moved a Sparty home game from E. Lansing to Detroit. This is a far cry from SC and UCLA getting the Pac-12 to knuckle under and agree to the 4 CA schools playing one another every season in football. The LA schools did not even have the scheduling juice to have Nebraska, 1500 miles away and closest to the LA schools as a permanent football scheduling partner. And the B1G is not big across the board in athletics. It last won a CBB title in 2000. It has won 1 football championship and placed one more school than the Pac-12 in the playoff field. Ohio State is now close to .500 in playoff games and Michigan and Michigan State are 0-3. Baseball, softball, golf, track+ field, etc., are off the NCAA championship radar. The B1G is big not because of on-field and on-court results like the SEC but because of geography and legions of alumni/alumnae. It seems to me that USC and UCLA sold out their athletes, especially their non-revenue sports athletes. In order to finish in the black they are sending all of their athletes two time zones plus for every away game. How many more UCLA and USC athletes will make money in the pros because the schools are in the B1G? Damn few if any. How many more administrators will be hired to oversee athletic operations and how much will the administrator's salaries be bumped? A lot. Oregon sports made bank last season and finished in the black notwithstanding an average media deal. How many B1G and SEC schools finished in the black? Certainly not the majority of the schools in the B1G and the SEC. Like David, I was at first certain that a move to the B1G was paramount for Oregon to continue to be competitive in football. But a 12-team playoff field has entirely changed the playoff calculus. In an 18-team conference and I doubt that the B1G would add just Oregon and UW, it will be far more difficult to make the football playoff. The Pac Conference champ is in the playoff most likely with a 1st round bye and the Pac will have an excellent shot at picking up one of the 6 at-large bids. Oregon if invited to the B1G will be invited at less than a full media share. I have no interest in Oregon being a junior partner to Maryland, Rutgers, Illinois, Purdue, Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Iowa, unless there is no other place to play.

Mr. FishDuck? Filled with righteous IPA juice.

Or, pinning the tail on a lot of championship opportunities? When you have 16 teams let alone 18+ do you have a conference? In a 12-team football playoff, there will be six at-large teams chosen. How many will come out of an 18+ team B1G? A Pac-12 with SDSU and SMU will get its conference champion in the field year after year, likely with a first-round bye, and should also have a very good shot at getting a 2nd team in. Do you want to have to finish ahead of one and perhaps two of Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State to make the playoff? Ditto for teams in the CBB tournament that is expected to expand to 80 teams. LSU plays Florida tonight for the CWS title. These 2 did not meet in the regular season and that's before OK and TX join the SEC. It is a dicey question but how much of a revenue haircut should Oregon take to be a junior member of the B1G instead of the top dog (over the Dawgs) in the Pac-10+? Personally, I want to see a streaming deal with Apple/Amazon and the income that could come from streaming to a far bigger audience than the Pac-12 Network and NBC's Peacock and its 20M subscribers, before joining the B1G. I see good things happening out west including CU's hire of Prime, Oregon State in the preseason top 25, Cal finally building an on-campus CBB practice facility, and Stanford getting with it in football recruiting. I am in no particular hurry to be a junior partner to Rutgers, Maryland, Northwestern, Minnesota, Indiana, Purdue, Illinois, and Nebraska. I am looking forward to reading David Marsh's take on this subject tomorrow.

With 18 teams and more likely 20 teams, how often will these 2 schools be on the football schedule unless one is a permanent football partner as is the case with UCLA and Michigan? SC will not play Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State every season. SC does play all 3 schools in 2024, at Ohio State and Penn State, and plays Michigan at home but the Trojans also play at Maryland and Illinois. Add Notre Dame and LSU to the 2024 schedule without Caleb Williams at QB and good luck, yuck yuck, Trojans.

EXACTLY. The B1G's new media deal is now down to $65M a school per annum. Take away the LA schools and at least $20M in a media revenue bump and what is so great about the B1G deal? And B1G sports? No CBB title since 2000. 1 college football playoff title. Michigan is playoff 0-2 and Penn State has never made the playoff. Football is these 3 teams and 11 mediocre teams with UCLA on the way to make it 12 mediocre football teams. And will SC's D improve? As to baseball, softball, golf, tennis, track, and field, etc., the B1G is a non-entity. We are living in a Power 1. The B1G money is close but the on-field and on-court results for the B1G are woeful compared to the SEC. And why would any school want football games broadcast on Peacock with its 20M subscriber base? I'd much prefer the Pac to hold together and not to have every road game in every sport requiring 2-time zones+ travel. Oregon's sports existence does not solely rely on media income. And in a 10 to 12-team conference, the odds of making all post-season fields are far better than playing in an 18+ team conference.; including the odds of having two teams make the 12-team football playoff field.

WOW! Good thing I have my cardiologist on speed dial. Washington lands commitment from elite TE out of California SATURDAYOUTWEST.COM Washington has another new commit.

And with friends like this guy? Gold is a tool. It has been reported that the corner schools are looking to leave. Please cite a sourced report. Regardless, I do agree with his ranking of potential Pac-10 expansion candidates. Personally, I think it would stink to lose Fresno and UNLV to the B12. Gold: Pac-12 pitches — What the top expansion candidates have to offer the reeling conference SATURDAYOUTWEST.COM We're not quite playing musical chairs yet, but pretty soon, a handful of schools might start jockeying for position to fill a hole...

B1G 2023 SOS rankings. "There are no easy games in the B1G." Come on Man! Money does not equal on-field success but the B1G hype never goes away. The SEC deserves and has earned the pub. The B1G? Big Ten strength of schedule rankings 2023: Penn State has easiest road, Minnesota faces challenging slate - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM There aren't many easy games in the Big Ten, but some schedules are more difficult than others

CBS Sports has seven Pac-12 teams going bowling in 2023. I think this number is light by one. Bowl Teams - Arizona - This would continue Jedd Fisch's turnaround in Tucson. A loss is predicted at Mississippi State but a win in Starkville would be great for the conference. Oregon - CBS predicts the Ducks will go under 9.5 wins with losses at UW, Utah, and Oregon State in Autzen. I see Oregon at least splitting the Utah and UW games and defeating the Beavers so to Hector with this. Speaking of Hector, CBS does have Oregon defeating Troy in what could be the game of the Pac-12 regular season in Autzen. Oregon State - CBS has Oregon State going 10-2 with losses against Utah and UW. I do not see OSU losing both of these games in Corvallis. UCLA - A loss would be an upset loss but UCLA best beware of Coastal Carolina in the Rose Bowl and playing at San Diego State. USC - CBS has USC going 11-1, winning in South Bend and the only loss coming in Autzen. I see SC in 2023 with at least 2 losses even with getting Utah and UW at home. Utah - 9-3 - CBS has the Utes defeating Florida in its opener and then winning on the road at Baylor. Losing at SC and UW but defeating OSU in Corvallis. So much of the 2023 season for Utah is riding on the health of QB Rising. Washington - 11-1 - CBS has UW losing only against SC in LA. If this is correct and I do not think it is so, UW would rematch against SC in Las Vegas for the Pac-12 title with UW coming off the Apple Cup game and USC coming off of an idle week. Like Utah, so much rides on UW keeping QB Michael Penix, Jr. healthy. 2022 was the first season that Penix started and finished healthy in his college career. It's going to be a wild ride. I don't think the conference with 5 or perhaps 6 teams ranked in the AP Poll preseason top 25 has ever been this deep. And the 9th conference game will yield an upset or two. 2023 Pac-12 win totals, odds, picks: Predictions as USC, Washington face big numbers thanks to offseason hype - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM The Pac-12 has plenty of contenders capable of ending its College Football Playoff drought

Seeing as how TX Tech ran the most plays from scrimmage in 2022 was any team more benefitted than TT with the clock continuing to stop (thank you D3) after 1st downs for at least 1 more season. D best have its roller skates in hand. This O will test the skill and depth of the Ducks D. I expect TT will run at least 80 plays from the LOS. The run game also better show up for Oregon. An under the radar stat from 2022 that I love. Last season 2 RBs in G5/P5 football carried the ball 150 times or more at better than 6.5 yards per carry. UCLA's Charbonnet and Oregon's Mar'Keise (Bucky) Irving. (SEC fans, insert snarky Pac-12 D comment here.)

Great take and a great recall. As HC at the University of Sioux Falls (USF) DeBoer went 67-3 (,957) and led USF to 3 NAIA national championships. Not too shabby at any level of play. In 2023 the Ducks play SC in Autzen but due to a parting gift scheduling on the part of the conference, this is the year UCL A misses both Oregon and UW as did USC last season. Why? Because for some unknown reason, the conference in 2023 decided to maintain the Cali scheduling agreement assuring that both LA schools will again play Cal and Stanford. In addition to this stupidity, SC has an idle week the week prior to the conference champ game while the Civil War and the Apple Cup will be played by 3 contenders for the 2023 conference title and UCLA plays Cal in the Rose Bowl. Bon Voyage!

Don't sell Deion short. He helped make HBCU football nationally relevant by taking a #1 recruit away from FSU and with a great 2-year run at Jackson State. College Gameday visited Jackson, Mississippi because of Deion. His play in college and in pro football and baseball was far from flim-flam. Read his comments as to why he will never coach in the NFL and I see an old-school guy inside all of the flash and dash. CU's spring game sold 47,000 tickets at $10 a pop and CU's 2023 season football tickets sold out in 30 hours. The hire of one man put CU football, floundering for 2 decades, back on the national radar. CU alum Chris Fowler announced the spring game for ESPN, the only spring game broadcast on ESPN, and he couldn't have been a happier CU camper. Will the entire makeover of the CU roster yield results in 2023? Looking at one of the toughest schedules in the nation including opening at playoff runner-up TCU and also playing Nebraska OOC, the answer is probably not. CU is coming to Autzen in 2023. What would the excitement level for this game be if Karl (does it have a heartbeat) Dorrell was still in charge in Boulder? Because of Deion, this game will likely be a national broadcast and not broadcast on the I can't find it Pac-12 Network. A boost for CU, Oregon, and the entire conference that needs a media boost. Deion's hire was not only great for CU but also for the entire Pac-12/10. Oregon will lose a few recruiting battles to Deion who today holds the #1 portal ranking. PS - One of the best CFB performances that I witnessed in person was played at The Big House when Bobby Bowden's go anywhere, play anyone Seminoles team visited Ann Arbor for a one-off OOC game. It was Neon Deion versus Elvis, Elvis Grbac was the starting QB for Michigan. In the 1st half, Deion broke up four passes thrown in his direction and was not thrown at in the 2nd half. FSU left Ann Arbor with an easy win and a piece of the Big House stadium turf (before Michigan Stadium went synthetic) in hand.

Joey Harrington's senior year team waxed a CU team that had destroyed Nebraska in the final game of the regular season. Which team went to the Rose Bowl to play for the BCS championship, Nebraska? But in hindsight, no team in the country was going to defeat the Miami team that blew out Nebraska and its Heisman Trophy-winning QB. The role computers played in choosing the BCS participants was significantly reduced after this in-your-face to Joey and the Ducks. This was 1 of at least 3 occasions when the Pac-12 was BCS hosed over. Yet, the conference approved the BCS x 2, the so-called playoff without doing a thing to take back the Rose Bowl and allowing the Rose Bowl to have the same 'playoff' status as the Peach Bowl. Charles had a terrific post up the other day noting how smartly the SEC has been managed since the inception of the BCS. 'Smart' and Pac-12 management are polar opposites.

Enjoy the poetry if not the words per se. And watch out for bare bodkins!

In regard to Red Raider dreams: True, I talk of dreams, which are the children of an idle brain, born from nothing except frivolous imaginations. Mercutio, Romeo and Juliet

The kickoff time for the TT game is 7 PM Eastern. Most of the 4th quarter should not be going against UT/Bama. Hope a lot of the viewers watching the game of the week will switch over.

I hear you Happy, but last season even with putting Quinn Ewers on the ground and the bench in the first half Bama needed all of the Bryce Young magic to get into position for a walk-off FG. Ewers is back and the Bama QB situation is iffy. And will the new OC from ND, Tommy Rees, be at the level of Bama's last 3 OCs including Sark? But Tuscaloosa is an extremely difficult place to walk out of with a W. I'm fairly certain that as of today's date the UT at Bama game will be going against the TT game on ESPN. And you can bet that Gameday will be in Tuscaloosa. It would be an 11 AM Central start but it would be nice if the game at TT was the Fox Big Noon game. The last time Oregon kicked off on the road at 9 AM Eastern things worked out well, with Oregon saying Goodbye Columbus with a win.

Happy, love the comment but 4M will be very hard to draw; especially, with the game going against Texas at Bama on ESPN. I think 2M would be great.

He doesn't know recruiting but at least he knows O. There is no O in Mari.

I'm not cretin that the man is a moron but he stops counting at 20 when he runs out of fingers and toes. Why would anyone allow 'remnants' to compete against Rutgers, Maryland, Northwestern, Indiana, Minnesota, and Purdue? One thing I do know for cretin, he isn't as Smart as Kirby. Thanks for the Big Dawg support.