Jon Joseph

My good friend, you are telling Noah about The Flood. This so-called 'network' has been under water since inception. It has been a curse and not a boon for the Pac-12. Yet, the Pac-12 powers-that-be decided to stand pat on expansion? Where are the new subscribers supposed to come from? What can make this network 'much watch' TV? Starting a network without a media partner and without agreements with all big time carriers and then spending $92+ M to date in rent in San Francisco? The Pac-12 Network should be a Stanford B School study on what not to do.

Because Jim P was drafted by 'my Patriots,' along with Randy the Rabbit Vataha, out of college. He finally escaped and played to the level of his ability. The only guy worth a whip on those Pats teams was OG Hannah, out of Alabama. I hope you are right and the same thing that happened with Plunkett happens for MM. But MM is headed to a team that needs a massive rebuild. The Raiders back then was a decent football team. Plunkett spent so much time on his back playing for the then Pats that at game's end he was taken off the field by the Red Cross.

Is football schizophrenia catching?

I may now have a reason to watch the 'home town' bums. When the 2 teams in your broadcast area are Atlanta and Charlotte you best have DirecTV with the NFL package. Now, you will also have to sign up on Amazon to watch and listen to Herbie going NFL games. Where this goes who the heck knows? Hard to believe that in my lifetime we had 1 CFB game to watch on Saturday and 1 NFL game to watch on Sunday. Maybe that's why back in the day everyone mowed their own lawn?

There's just so much confusion, I can't get no relief! In 'theory' NIL cannot be tied to a given school. LOL!

And I should have added that after these 3 'brutal' OOC games DTR will likely be a Heisman candidate?

Before the 'free transfer rule' and the portal coming about for CFB players, grad players were allowed to transfer without sitting out a year. So, does a grad transfer get 2 'free transfers?' I don't know but I doubt it. Playing SEC football and scoring a degree in the time he was enrolled on The Plains is impressive. Many the SEC guy who leaves early for the NFL never obtains a degree.

Having played the game, albeit at the little league D3 level, one thing makes football fun, winning the games you play. I'm as enthused as are the above commenters to another terrific Lanning take by Charles; however, I need to see the proof in the pudding. Could any team in 2021 have had more fun than the Ducks team we saw winning the game in Columbus? Then? The schedule in 2022 would have been difficult for an experienced Mike Bellotti with a returning QB the quality of 'Joey Heisman.' I hope I am, as I often am, wrong, but I believe 2022 will require at least a modicum of patience. 2 top 20 opponents OOC and 5 conference road games will be a difficult gauntlet to run with a HC new to his responsibilities, a new group of assistant coaches, a new starting QB, and what is still a young football team. Yes it's a home game, but Utah is still a tough cross division draw.

You get 1 free transfer without having to sit out a year. This may be different for grad transfers? But I don't think Bo earned a degree at Auburn? IMO, the Frosh Player of the Year in the SEC with 3 year's starting in the SEC will be hard to beat out. Maybe it was all to do with Mario's no risk O philosophy but Ty couldn't get Brown off the field and Bo, if his ankle is healed, is a better player than AB. Similar career stats but Bo faced far better competition in the SEC than did Brown in the ACC and the Pac-12. AB started 1 game vs a top 25 team that he won. Bo has more top 25 wins by far, including Ws vs Bama and Oregon. However, Bo is 0-3 vs Georgia. Only Tennessee and Auburn play Bama and Georgia every season.

If they do have another Kupp, get him into the portal and beam him to Eugene.

Kind of like SEC football?

Who knows who stays or goes but the Wildcats was one of the youngest CBB teams in 2022. And with a 1st year coach.

Lemon-Lime, your picks are divine. But I'm not as sure that BYU will so readily supine? Back to back Cougars wins would indeed be most fine. What are your thoughts on the current UGA line? Please maintain that sugar high at all times. Your comments my friend are a gold mine.

They scored fewer points than the opponent? KIDDING! Down to the dinged up Bruins playing UNC in Philly.

Guess they need to get off of their bass?

Charles, another terrific 'Lanning take.' Thank you. I always had a disconnect with Mario. The players insisted that Mullens hire Mario but then, where was the love? The on-field play was bafflingly inconsistent for a group of guys who supposedly loved their coach and loved the 'family atmosphere.' Under Mario, we often witnessed an on-field dysfunctional family atmosphere. I dearly hope that under Dan, the 'love' expressed by this player will translate to the field of play. That this is not more smoke and mirrors. We hear the words 'players coach' thrown around. Is Nick Saban a 'players coach?' So excited to see the product that Lanning and friends will put on the field. I do hope we'll see that football being fun = far more Ws than Ls.

TKK , I could not agree more. When the conference decided to stay as is and GK said, 'The Pac-12 is an exclusive club,' I wanted to ... [fill in however you so like.] It's all about the Benjies today. A nd has been the case since the Conference of Champions threw the Rose Bowl into the BCS mix for trinkets.

Agree with all of your points 30. I share your concern. Will the 3 Pac-12 'money ball teams,' those ranked in the top 25 financially in CFB, go down with the Pac-12? The 3 being the 2 you so noted, OR and SC, plus UW. If nothing else I hope that President Schill and Mullens will keep their powder dry? Do not pledge Oregon's future media rights to the Pac-12 before knowing the deal(s) GK is able to secure. And Oregon and SC in particular, should give GK a negotiating bottom line. And particulars in regard to broadcast times, games shown on the Pac-12 network, games not bumped for truck races, etc. Also, SC and Oregon need to seriously consider whether an equal share of the revenue they receive should go the other conference members. Especially, to the schools that come nowhere close to what SC and Oregon spend on CFB and CBB. Remaining as-is, what is the plan to save the Pac-12 network? To at least save Oregon's and the other member schools capital invested in the network? It may have been and probably was, a low ball bid from ESPN to take over ownership and operation of the network. But I do not see how the Pac-12 is better off having rejected this offer? Especially, with the conference later deciding not to move into the Central time zone. Under ESPN's aegis, the network would have been professionally operated and managed and available coast-to-coast. IMO, the deals these people have and have not made, should confound and confuse anyone with a scintilla of business sense.

Sad and so very true. At least the conference is (finally) escaping Larry's SFO box.

Thanks Charles great post and great comment by you! "Some interesting nonconference scheduling going on?" In other words, some OOC schedules are brutal and then there is this: Bowling Green, Alabama State, South Alabama. All 3 opponents playing UCLA in the Rose Bowl. Yeah, Michigan backed out of a H+H series with the Bruins when the B1G went from 8 to 9 conference games, but that was years ago. THIS = chicken feces. But it also likely equals an AP Poll top 20 or better ranking after UCLA goes 3-0. This is the kind of 'stuff' that makes a 4 team CFB playoff field idiotic. 5 P5 champs should be in for any so-called playoff to have legitimacy. You know, like its done in every other college sport. After 3 OOC games, a 2-1 Oregon and even a 1-2 Oregon will likely be a better team than UCLA.

Fact - The Pac-12 decided not to expand after the SEC added and the B12 lost, Oklahoma and Texas Fact - The B12 is adding BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF Fact - Media renegotiations are upcoming for college conferences in this order - B1G, Pac-12, B12. The SEC has already concluded its new deal with Disney/ESPN. The ACC, unless Notre Dame joins the conference as a full time football member, is locked in with Disney/ESPN through 2036; a deal that provides each ACC school with only $17M a season. Fact - The B1G and the SEC distribute a good deal more money to their member schools than does the ACC, B12 and the Pac-12. These two conferences will increase their financial advantage after the new round of media negotiations. Finance-wise, it is the Power 2 and everyone else. Fact - The ACC, B1G and the SEC each have their own network. FOX owns 51% of the B1G Network. Disney/ESPN own 100% of the ACC and the SEC networks and 'profit share' with the 2 conferences. All three networks are well in the black; especially, the BIG and SEC networks. The B12 does not have a network. The Pac-12 has a network owned by conference members that is financially insolvent and has never attained even the lowest projected revenues. Fact - The Pac-12 will score a better media deal in the near future, a better deal than the ACC's, likely better than the B12's deal, but nowhere close to the B1G/SEC deals. Query - Would it financially behoove the Pac-12 to merge with the B12 and form the Coast to Coast Conference (CTCC), structured as follows: Pac-8 Division - CAL, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington, Washington State Big 8 West Division - Arizona, ASU, BYU, Colorado, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Utah Big 8 East Division - Baylor, Cincinnati, Houston, Iowa State, TCU, Texas Tech, UCF, West Virginia While not ipso facto germane to media negotiations, in 2021 the CTCC would have had 4 NY6 bowl teams - Cincinnati - lost playoff semifinal in the Cotton Bowl to Alabama/ Utah - lost in the Rose Bowl to Ohio State/ Baylor defeated Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl/ Oklahoma State defeated Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. Instead of $6M in NY6 direct playoff participant money going to the 12, Pac-12 teams, $26M would have gone to the 24 CTCC teams. This money does not include the significant, additional money that the CTCC would have received from broadcast rights and other bowl related income. 2021/2022 NCAA CBB Tournament to date - Pac-12 alone - 3 teams - 4 -1. CTCC - 9 teams -- Pac-8 - 2 teams - 2-1; Big 8 West - 2 teams - 4-0; Big 8 East - 5 teams - 8-2. 6 CTCC Sweet 16 teams. 2 Pac-12 Sweet 16 teams. The above is simply a snapshot. But I believe it shows that the Pac-12 schools in the money ball sports would not suffer financially per capita and would likely benefit financially per capita, if in the CTCC. FACT - The CTCC would cover all 4 continental USA time zones. The CTCC would add much needed subscribers to the Pac-12 Network and as the CTCC Network, the network would likely find an equity media partner and be available on all cable outlets coast to coast. The Pac-12/B12 would not merge without a detailed evaluation first being preformed by an Investment Banker(s) including an analysis by media experts. As was the case when Maryland, Rutgers and Nebraska joined the B1G, revenue adjustments could be phased in or valued annually and distributed according to what each respective school delivered to the bottom line. From a management and human analysis prospective, Bob Bowlsby, at 71 years of age is close to retirement, thus setting the stage for George Kliavkoff to be the CTCC Commissioner. The Pac-12 is already planning to move its headquarters and network operations out of San Francisco. ($92M in rent paid to date!) In the event the CTCC was formed, the current B12 offices in Dallas would make sense as the HQ for the CTCC. I doubt we will see the CTCC come to fruition. But I believe the money spent to study such a merger would be well worth the expenditure and that such a merger, if the numbers proved up, would keep the CTCC within reasonable financial distance of the B1G and the SEC, and move the Pac-12 Network into the black. Your thoughts?

Surprise? Only to Mario and McShade.

Wrathis, my thought is directed to the entire team and not a position group. I want to see the Ducks show up ready to ball out in every single game. I want the team to play to its standard and not down to the level of the opponent. I echo your take on the coaching; or, more correctly, the absence thereof under Mario. I want to see Lanning et al not just talk the talk but walk the walk. I appreciate that playing 2 top 20 teams OOC and playing 5 conference road games in 2022 is a tough ask for any coach, especially a first year coach. But this does not mean that you cannot play with effort and energy in every game and on every play.

Very interesting and I expect 'this beat' will go on. Next? Player's wearing patches on the uniform recommending Billy Bob's B-B-Q? Per the Pro Golf Association: You wear more than 4 advertisements out on the course and you have to buy all of the post-round cocktails.

The ranch? No. But I'm tired of feeding the parakeet; so, the bird goes. If only Toledo didn't live in a glass house!