Jon Joseph

POOR-DUE - Toughest Remaining B1G Strength of Schedule Per Badgers Wire. Big Ten football remaining strength of schedule ranking before Week 4 BADGERSWIRE.USATODAY.COM A look at what lies ahead for every Big Ten team with conference play now beginning I'm sorry, Bucky, but I'm not buying OBD at No. 16. This does not consider Oregon's eight games in a row, a B1G 8-Ball, beginning with UCLA in Week 5. And it does not account for games in Ann Arbor and Madison in late November with a game in between against a Maryland team coming off a 'bye.' The Basketball Committee takes playing on the road into consideration. Hopefully, the Football Committee will do the same. Nationally, does any team besides Mario's U have an easier remaining schedule? Miami has played no ranked opponents to date and has one ranked opponent, No. 19 Louisville, remaining on its schedule. The seven at-large teams chosen by the Football Committee will be a subjective exercise.

Smitty, thanks so much for this timely post. "Playing roulette." Are you spinning the wheel more with a recruit who has not played against college competition or by bringing in a player who has played college ball? Anthony Brown? Who on the roster would have started over Anthony? Anthony went on to the NFL. If Anthony wasn't all that in college; well, under Mario, Justin Herbert didn't light it up in college. FSU. Like the NFL, some portal-free agents will be instant upgrades to a roster, while others will not. Mike Norvell pushed all of the right transfer buttons in 2023. In 2024, Norvell, after losing a ton of talent to the NFL, brought in a QB, DJU, who had mixed results at Clemson and Oregon State, and three D-lineman who were supposed to light it up. DJU has played like DJU. The DL guys have not worked well together. This equals 0-3 for a team ranked in the top 10 in the preseason. Dan Lanning will have to deal with a lot of turnover next season. I trust Dan and his assistants to coach up the quality recruits he has brought to Eugene and bring in portal players who will blend in and help the cause. As Charles has noted, the Bamas of the world deal with laudatory preseason press every season. Oregon was preseason touted as much as any team in the country this off-season. I believe Dan and the other coaches, and the players will be better prepared to deal with what one of Dan's mentors, Nick Saban, called 'rat poison'. Roster management in college football today is much more difficult than in the NFL where collective bargaining allows for a salary cap and free-agent regulation. Until college football has NFL-like 'guard rails' it will take a savvy blend of recruiting and portal picking to build a championship roster.

B1G time programs do not go on the road to play G5/6 schools. Thanks, David, in a CFB world of Super conferences, some rivalry games return, Texas vs. Texas A+M, and others disappear, Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State. Last Saturday's game in Corvallis cost Lane County between $6-8M. It meant no parking fee, concession, merchandise sale, and food and beverage income for Oregon. It meant giving up a game vs a P4 opponent in Autzen and playing no P4 opponent OOC in 2024. It meant not matching the 8 home games both Ohio State and Michigan play in 2024. It meant going out of UO's way to play a team that ruthlessly blamed Oregon for its failure. The cost of football operations is increasing and scheduling must recognize this. Five conference away games in 2025 mean trips to Iowa, Northwestern, Penn State, Rutgers, and Seattle. The 2027 schedule has Oregon playing only six home games with games scheduled to be played in Logan, Utah, and Waco, Texas. This is Cents-Less. If Oregon State is willing to come to Autzen for a game every season for a reasonable payment, fine. However, new rivalries await in the B1G, including recognizing UWho as Oregon's true rival. Oregon State went toe to toe with OBD. "Failure to execute" resulted in a close 35-point loss. Right? Bray-On.

In the Apple Cup UW had 16 penalties to 6 for Wazzu. No points off of 3 drives that finished inside the WSU 20-yard line. The UW D held WSU to 7 half points. The Huskies lost this game more than WSU winning the game.

As of today, Miami has one ranked opponent on the regular season schedule, No. 19 Louisville. The P4 opponent, Florida, stinks. The U will have to screw Up not to make the conference champ game likely vs. Clemson a team with similar roster strength. Ole Miss has also been blowing out donut holes but Ole Miss plays Georgia, at LSU, and Oklahoma. These mega-conferences are creating a significant variance in the strength of schedules. To date, Miami should not be ranked above 2-0 USC. 3-0 Oregon despite the struggles has a better win, Boise State, than Miami.

Thanks, Hayward. As I bet you know, the Committee picks 7 at-large teams. It's counterintuitive from any sensible PO format but it is what we are stuck with in 2024 and 2025. Four of the five top-ranked conference champs have to be seeded 1-4 no matter where they may be ranked by the Committee. The highest-ranked G5 champ is guaranteed a spot. Five PO spots, but not the seeding, will be determined by conference champ games. Again, no attempt to lecture here, 'this' is confusing. 😒 On December 8, 2024, the PO seeding in all probability will not match the Committee's final ranking of the top 25. In all probability, a higher-ranked team or two will be benched in favor of a lower-ranked team. Of course, the Committee and ESPN could try to fudge things by simply releasing the Playoff field and seeding on December 8th. But ESPN's insistence on interim Committee poll$ being made public will not allow the Committee to escape almost certain backlash from teams passed over because of a screwed-up Playoff format. I expect more blowback come December 8th than when TCU/Baylor was passed over and last season when undefeated FSU was left out. Blame it on Playoff architect Greg Sankey. 😍

It's a B1G/SEC AP Poll. How about a College Football B1G/SEC 'World Series?' AP Top 25 Reality Check: SEC, Big Ten grab 16 spots in poll, monopolizing rankings like never before APNEWS.COM The Southeastern Conference and Big Ten occupy 64% of this week’s AP Top 25, with 16 ranked tream combined, the most ever by two conferences in one poll.

I kind of, sort of, "GET" the 16-team SEC playing eight conference games. The 18-team B1G plays nine conference games. However, the 17-team ACC playing eight conference games, especially with Clemson no longer playing like PO Champ Clemson, is indefensible. Ranked opponents Miami has played - ZIP. Ranked opponents Miami has remaining on its schedule - No. 19 Louisville, QB'd by friend Tyler Shough. Will Miami's ACC Champ Game opponent, if the U doesn't fold up, be ranked in the Committee's top 15, top 20, or top 25? And ACC champ Miami would be the 3rd or 4th seed with a 1st round bye. $CAM brought to you by Canes QB Cam. 😁

Stale Cupcakes are still available. But No. 11 USC at No. 18 Michigan, No. 24 Illinois at No. 22 Nebraska (Friday), UCLA at No. 16 LSU, 3-0 Michigan State at 2-1 Boston College, 3-0 Rutgers at 2-1 VA Tech, and 2-1 Iowa at 2-1 Minnesota are Week 4 big B1G games featuring a game in the Big House. College football Week 4: As conference play ramps up, more mismatches are on the slate for top teams APNEWS.COM The game of the week in college football matches No. 11 Southern California against No. 18 Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

I'm hoping that LSU will defeat at least one of Bama, Ole Miss in Baton Rogue. That Oklahoma upsets Tennessee in Norman Saturday, Texas in Dallas, and then wins one of its last two games, Alabama in Norman and LSU in Baton Rogue. Keep in range of Ohio State, take the game into the 4th quarter and I don't believe the Ducks will be severely punished by the Committee. The 1st Committee ranking will be released on November 5th. We'll get our 1st look at how closely the Committee follows the Coaches and AP Polls. TN, Bama, Mizzou, and UGA, have wins over P4 opponents. Ole Miss beat Wake Forest. Boise is ranked 27th, Wake is nowhere to be found. And Miami's signature win was over a bad Florida team. We'll see if the adoration the SEC is also the way of the Committee.

After Week 3 James is the 3rd leading rusher in the B1G. DM's take on Nebraska to date is spot on. Dowdell has looked darn good for the Huskers.😒 Will the Illini give the Huskers a battle Friday? Yes, the Illini defeated Kansas but UNLV did likewise.

In 2024-25 and 2025-26 the fifth highest ranked conference team is in the PO field. There is no assurance and I think it is very unlikely, that the PO format for the next 2 seasons will continue. Regardless, how are 2 teams that never made a PO appearance plus 4 teams that never made a PO appearance the best G5/G6 conference? The only kind of brand name the Pac-2 added is Boise State. Will UTSA, Tulane, USF, Memphis, and other AAC teams leave the AAC for a bird in the bush? Air Force Academy is rumored to be headed to the AAC and join football members Army and Navy. I think the AAC is as likely to poach UNLV as is the Pac-6. I do not believe the Pac-6 today has overtaken the AAC. FWIW, MAC school No. Illinois would be the G5 representative if the PO field was seeded today. Next in the AP top 25 comes AAC Memphis. Boise at No. 27 comes in third. You could merge the Pac-6, what's left of the Mountain West, and the AAC, and the combination would not give the conference Power Playoff status. As noted above, all of this is rearranging G5 deck chairs. The B1G and the SEC each receive 29% of PO revenues. The Power 2 will not take a lesser cut to accommodate the Pac-12 What will incentivize ESPN, FOX, and CW to pay more than they are paying for the same inventory? The Pac-12 name?

Will there be Ill(inois) tidings in Lincoln on Friday Night? 3 reasons the Huskers are B1G title contenders; 3 reasons to pump the brakes SATURDAYTRADITION.COM Nebraska is ranked and has its long-awaited answer at QB. Are the Cornhuskers truly back? If so, what's the ceiling?

An Insight Into The Obvious - No Power Soup For the Pac-6 and Cal and Furd are Gone 4 Good. Friedlander: Don’t get your hopes up Pac-12 diehards. Cal and Stanford aren’t coming back WWW.SATURDAYDOWNSOUTH.COM Despite the wishful thinking of West Coast traditionalists, the Bears and Cardinals aren't leaving the ACC to rejoin the newly reconstituted Pac-12. BTW, Pac-12 'diehards' = 2 teams plus John Canzano.

Don't Sleep On Cig's Hoosiers. B1G Time: Indiana's dominance amid 3-0 start should not be overlooked, thoughts on Michigan's QB change - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM The manner in which the Hoosiers are winning games should serve as a warning to the rest of the Big Ten

Thank you, Darren, for an update on the uncalled-for, unnecessary destruction of the Mountain West. The Pac-2 has paid $113M to date to rearrange G5 deck chairs with no qualms about destroying the MW and likely the Big Sky. The departing Pac-10 all knew the terms of the financial deals they were entering into before departing for the B1G, ACC, and the B12. The Pac-Whatever has no future media deal in place. As CBS Sports Dennis Dodd points out, there is no assurance that the MW newbies will receive more money than under the existing MW deal. Air Force Academy appears ready to join the AAC and AAC football members Army and Navy. Will USF, Memphis, Tulane, and UTSA, take the risk of possibly making less media money than in the AAC? If these teams are added, expect to hear from the Pac-Whatever that recent studies prove that Student-Athletes' health and welfare are significantly benefited by additional travel.😂 This pinnacle of hypocrisy could have been avoided by simply merging with the Mountain West and rebranding the conference as the Pac-12. As every journalist who covers CFB and is in their right mind and not hustling for subscriptions have noted, there is NO WAY that the Power 4, especially the Power 2, will recognize the Pac-Whatever as a Power Conference. At least $100M of the $113M spent to date on this foolishness was earned by Oregon and the other departing Pac-10 schools. That this G5 mishmash owns the rights to the "Pac-12" name is further evidence that the morons who led the Pac-12 over the cliff made a moronic settlement in a case with no claim for damages against their schools instead of declaring bankruptcy. Just hand over $300M plus because you feel 'guilty' about the market leaving behind two teams that deserve to be left behind? BRILLIANT! 2025 should be the last year Oregon plays Oregon State in football. If the Civil War continues, it should be conditioned on all games played in Autzen. Ohio State plays Ohio University infrequently; when it does, the games are played in Columbus, Ohio, not Athens, Ohio.

There will be 11 playoff games in 2024/25 including the champ game in Atlanta on 1/20/25. The latest AP Ranking would have SEC teams hosting all four 1st round games. This would result in 9 of the 11 playoff games being played in Dixie. The exceptions would be the Rose Bowl and the Fiesta Bowl. Imagine the outcry if the NFL titled the field like this. The D2 and D3 playoffs conducted by the NCAA and not the College Football Playoff Committee follow the NFL model. Higher-seeded teams play at home until the champ games. The Playoff Committee is attempting to manage a playoff and placate the six biggest bowls at the same time. And to not give the 4 top seeds a home game is senseless. B1G commish Tony Petitti has to lobby to change the 2026 format to the NFL format; or, add Las Vegas, SoFi Stadium, Lumen Field in Seattle, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, and Detroit as playoff sites. AP Poll No. 6 Tennessee plays at No. 15 Oklahoma on Saturday. Keep an eye on how far the loser of this game drops. Compare to the loser of the No. 11 SC at No. 18 Michigan game. Today at 2-0 with a neutral site win over No. 16 LSU and a shutout of a Utah State team that No. 12 Utah struggled against, SC should be ranked ahead of Ole Miss, Missouri, and Miami. 9 SEC teams, more than half of the conference are ranked in the AP Poll including a 2-1 A+M with a win at 1-2 Florida being its only win of (sour) note and a home loss to 2-1 Notre Dame. 3-0 Memphis, Indiana, Rutgers, and 2-1 Boise State deserve the 25th spot more than A+M. You rank more than 50% of the teams in any conference and you ipso facto add gravitas to the conference's strength-of-schedule; every loss is a 'good loss.'

I know it's confusing but in this scenario, Miami would be the ACC Champ and the 3 seed with a 1st round bye and the Canes would play in the Peach Bowl in the 2nd round vs. the winner of 11 Penn State at 5 Alabama. As the B12 Champ Utah would be the 4 seed, with a 1st Round bye, and play the winner of G5 representative No. 12 Northern Illinois at 5 Georgia in the Fiesta Bowl. As the 10th seed, Oregon would play a 1st round game at 7-seed Ole Miss. The winner would play Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. We have 2 seasons of this playoff mishmash before the format changes in 2025. For the next 2 seasons, the Committee's final running in all probability will not match the playoff seeding.😒

Wazzu started out 3-0 last season with a win over Wisconsin before not finishing with 6 wins and being bowl-eligible.

On3 Ranks Oregon's Remaining 9 B1G Games Ranking Oregon's Remaining Games - On3 WWW.ON3.COM We are in the bye week but we take a look at Oregon's conference games and rank them in order of toughest to easiest.

Thanks, Alex. And Gabe, keep on blowing that horn!

NOW, I'm starting to feel sorry for Beavers fans; however, in Alaska, Siberia, Newfoundland, Hudson's Bay, Iceland, and Scandinavia, these Beaverettes are prized partners in the depths of the deep, dark, freezing winters. 😁

A B1G Game in the Big House Has SC Favored at -6.5. The B1G storylines for Week 4: USC’s conference debut in the Big House highlights slate SATURDAYTRADITION.COM USC at Michigan is the headliner, but don't sleep on Illinois at Nebraska. Here's what matters most about the B1G's Week 4 slate. Don't miss No. 24 Illinois at No. 22 Nebraska this Friday on Fox at 5 PM Pacific.

Hey, Y'All, Saturday Down South is Buying the Ducks. 10 CFB ideas I’m buying or selling after Week 3 WWW.SATURDAYDOWNSOUTH.COM Let's breakdown some prevailing college football narratives and see if they match up with what the underlying data is telling us.

Ducks B1G Champ Odds Rebound. Updated Big Ten Odds: Any Oregon Ducks Change After 49-14 Win Over Oregon State? WWW.YARDBARKER.COM The Oregon Ducks beat the brakes off the Oregon State Beavers by a score of 49-14. Oregon shook off their underwhelming performances against Idaho and Boise State.