BigDucksFan No. 1 Share Posted December 31, 2020 Now days more and more players are op-ing out of playing in bowl games so they can concentrate on staying healthy and preparing for the NFL spotlight. The NCAA is working on this and one idea floating around is to increase the number of teams in the playoffs and including the conference champions of each P5 conference. The thinking here is that the chance of going to the National Championship game will keep the players in the game to the end rather then turning the bowl games into the "second team up showcase" that they are turning into now. I am all for this idea as it will make the conference championship more meaningful and give more teams an opportunity to go to the big one. This will also help in spreading around the 5 star players to more then just the top 2 or 4 teams as is happing now and making it more possible for other teams to go to the big show. It's called parity Are there any other ideas you can think of that would keep players from op-ing out of the bowl season ?? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck No. 2 Share Posted December 31, 2020 Thanks for creating a place for this to be discussed, BDF. Ironically, the best way to save college football is to make it more like the NFL. Not in the sense of paying the players, which is going to happen in some manner , sometime. But rather in just making each game matter for more teams and the players. The NFL is going in to its final week, and 7 teams still have a chance at making the playoffs. The Kansas City Chiefs are still the betting favorite, but there are plenty of teams with a legitimate shot at winning the Super Bowl. The NFL is all about parity, every team goes in to every season with a chance. The only way a team won't make the playoffs is because it didn't win enough games. Even the winner of the woeful NFC East, will have a better record than the other teams in the division. Even when a team reaches a point when it can't make the playoffs, it can still be a spoiler, take another team down with them. The players and fans stay motivated, and have every reason to believe that next season, they'll be playing for the championship. The 49ers played in the Super Bowl last season, they won't even be in the playoffs this time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake Moderator No. 3 Share Posted December 31, 2020 Playing one more game for the fans seems reasonable. However, the possibility of playing all out and getting injured is real. The chance at a National Championship run keeps most players from opting out, but an injury to a player does impact their value. As a fan, I want to see my team at full strength, but I can’t blame players that are making a business decision. There is no protection from the downside risk of an injury, and with most of these guys this is their shot at financial success. I really can’t fault someone for opting out even though I am disappointed as a fan. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck No. 4 Share Posted December 31, 2020 1 hour ago, Jon Joseph said: Probably it's because I am a grumpy, old man, but I'm not giving these drop outs a pass. Being a GOM myself, I join you. I love the recruiting success Mario has achieved here. But it gives us a front row seat to the show that college football has become. All these recruits use the recruiting process to build their brand, and as the Texas player showed, they continue to do that through out their time in school. It's all about I now. The team's success is fine, it makes their showcase bigger, but they really couldn't care less how the team does overall. Back in 2006, Florida won the basketball championship. Their 3 big stars all stayed for their senior seasons, and they won it again, though if Tujuan Porter hadn't chosen that game to not be able to make a shot, the Ducks would have beaten them, in 2007. It meant something to those players, for the team to win it again. Basketball is fundamentally different, for the better, than is football. But the loyalty for the team is what is important here. I've always discounted what Royce Freeman accomplished here, when I'm going through the great RB's, he's far down the list. And I'm certain it's because the lasting image I have of him is the one of him standing on the sidelines after opting out . I didn't like it then, and I don't like it now, when Breeze and Holland and Graham left, and I hate it most of all when they end their announcement with, "Once a Duck, always a Duck". That is as disingenuous as it gets. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDucksFan Author No. 5 Share Posted December 31, 2020 1 hour ago, Jon Joseph said: YES, it's real. And it's real every time you take the practice field let alone suit up for a game. But that's football. Back in the day guys cared about their teammates above all else. Probably it's because I am a grumpy, old man, but I'm not giving these drop outs a pass. 1 of the most important contributors to these boys getting paid, their teammates, starters and practice human tackling dummies, alike. This isn't tennis or golf. 1 thing I know for certain, I would not want to go into real combat with these prima donnas. BTW, how many O line guys do you see opting out? Jon, I don't often disagree with you, however I am in agreement with Drake. With as much money as the schools rake in off of these young kids and don't pay them money in return for their service the players don't owe the amount of allegiance to the schools that you are proposing. In the early days of college football the players did have the feeling of belonging to the Band of Brothers, however ever since the NFL started paying the big bucks that has changed. One has to remember that "football is a business" at all levels and its just good business practice for the players to look after themselves. Just like Sally's soda shop or some big law firm football is "just business". This "business practice" is also taught in all colleges around the world, even law school. Very few college football players go to college to get an education, they go there in hopes of getting into the NFL And just like the colleges have entrance exams for students who want to get into school, the NFL has its entrance exam with the NFL Combine and just like for the college entrance exam the students take time off to study up for the NFL entrance exam as rightly they should. Remember football is a business and the NFL is where the big bucks are. With a lot of others players wanting to get in also and a very limited amount actually making it, the players need all the help they can get to pass the NFL entrance exam. If you study hard and do the extra work you can get into a good college, if not then you get to go to a junior college. It's just business. Football is a business, the schools treat it as a business, the NFL treats it as a business and so should the players. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 6 Share Posted December 31, 2020 We have already discussed this subject at length, and while I don't mind doing it again--I would rather focus on the bowl game for the next two days, and haggle about the players getting paid in the long off-season when there is nothing else to discuss. Suffice it to say that for one of the few times--I disagree with my friend BigDucksFan, in the biggest way possible. Let's not get off in these weeds yet... My thanks. Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDucksFan Author No. 7 Share Posted January 1, 2021 17 hours ago, Jon Joseph said: Good points all. OK, so let's end the farce. Let's end the best teams being those with the multi-millionaire's who can best seduce teenage boys. Create the CFB League incorporating the 32 'top teams, however you want to measure same. Hold a HS draft of kids who want to be paid to play college ball. Have each NFL team adopt a CFB team. Like the minors in baseball, allow the players to move up and down. Have the players join the NFL Union and have all the rights and privileges pro athletes have including medical benefits, the right to market their likeness, taking 'extra' benefits. etc. Player's have 24/7/365 access to the team's coaching staff. Hold an 'NFL-Like- Playoff.' Players get paid, but they can also be cut at any time. Schools without a football team by choice or from not making the top 32, stay as conference members in their existing conference for all other sports. These are athletes, not student-athletes. This begs the question: if it's a business for some why can't it be a business for all ?? "Whats good for the goose is good for the gander". Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
