Sandbagging Steve

You're definitely in if it is 48 teams. I am also hoping OSU gets in, but these aren't true measuring sticks. Oklahoma State is on its biggest run in the school's history, all under one coach in roughly a decade and a half period of time. They also get to play in better television slots and against bigger teams than many of those other schools in the PAC and ACC. That is factored in. Just using Texas as an example: The fact that we are still top 10 while enduring the worst run in school history, and playing many smaller schools than the SEC programs, just shows the value of the fanbase. Texas is definitely #1 or #2 on the list. OSU is definitely behind FSU, Oregon and Washington. FSU is down and plays a crappy schedule. Oregon and Washington play a crappy schedule and in bad time slots. There's no comparison. But OSU is most definitely a top 40 program. The biggest thing holding you back is you're in a crowded field running neck-and-neck and you're in a small state with OU. I know markets don't matter as much but the overall footprint does still matter some. You want as much fan engagement as possible around the country. If 48 teams make it in, you're definitely one of the teams. I think there will be one or two major megaconferences and one piecemeal conference spread from coast to coast that will still have vetted interest in the overall scheme of things. Regardless, I don't think OSU needs to panic. Just ride it out and everything will workout in the end.

I see you there sucking up to the Trojan Horse

Good response. You're okay in my book. But there's going to be a lot more consolidation and probably a separation by the big schools at some point. I'm not referring to this round of realignment. Take note, there's been plenty of schools kicked out of conferences since the beginning of time. PAC has been through it on multiple occasions and that's an old conference with a lot of history. Do you think these programs are going to continue to share $100,000,000 to $200,000,000 per school? They are going to look around and start wondering why some of these schools that bring nothing to the table are still collecting these fat checks. In fact, they're privately already doing that. It's just a matter of time.

Is that in honor of their big win over TCU in the Gallery Furniture Bowl in the background? Gotta love that long list of trophies and accomplishments. Gig 'em!

Missouri doesn't bring much on the field, but they bring enough fans to cover their entry fee. Barely, but it works. The bar actually isn't very high to get an invite. There's just a lot of deadweight out there.

Thanks for telling me what a badass you are, Wade! Everyone look at fucking Wade here. I'm not talking about right now, genius. I'm talking about in the future. There's going to be more consolidation at some point down the line. People used to call me a clown when I said there would be this much conference realignment. You may want to look in the mirror, if ya want to see the fucking clown, Wade.

You have a good point, but this isn't a good measuring stick. Oregon deliberately keeps their seat capacity lower in order to create hype for the tickets and make sure the stadium is usually full for cupcake games. They could draw way more fans, especially for big games, if they wanted to go all out. Quality over quantity, the complete opposite of the norm at the college level. They probably have the nicest college football stadium in America.

Those NFL teams have FANS, even if they are smaller markets. Most of them bring something to the table. Should the NFL expand to 65? 100? Makes a lot of sense? Like has already been mentioned, the other college teams are still going to play. They aren't disappearing off the face of the Earth. This is just people who hate change of any kind. It's a problem with the human psyche. It's like politics. We need to make a few changes to keep up with the times and a whole faction of the voter pool (in both parties) are like "OMG, changes will destroy the world!" It's one reason China's kicking our ass. Remember people's reaction to the Industrial Revolution?

Decreasing the pool for the national championship absolutely increases the pool of national championship contenders. It will make the games more competitive. Teams avoid competition right now. BYU, Colorado, Ga Tech, and Virginia will never compete for a national championship in today's college football. The days of regional games, Prop 48s, under the radar 5-star recruits and massive X's and O's advantages are long gone. It's not 1985 anymore.

Oregon State and Washington State aren't dropping football. You really think 100,000,000 fans divided by 40 teams is worse than 115,000,000 fans divided by 75 teams

And like I said, I think the teams that get left out can still have a seat at the table to a degree. I know I will be much more interested in watching those teams because their games will be much more competitive. I think fans of the bubble teams are in panic mode and overreacting. Everything is going to work out just fine for all involved. Live TV brings in big bucks, it just needs to be interesting. In the case of college football, it just needs to be exciting and competitive. No one is going to lose here. I've been the biggest fan I know for 40+ years and my interest has gone way downhill because the sport isn't very competitive like it used to be...and it's the same 4 or 5 teams every year right now. And they all try to avoid competition when scheduling. It's not fun right now.

Pepperoni fighting with himself over whether to put a crystal ball in for Texas on a guarantee lock. His master Jimbo prolly told him he has to wait until right before the commitment.

These are pretty good evals IMO. Refreshing to see, for once. Goosby is the most underrated player in the class. He has Sunday potential written all over him

How many teams will be left when the dust settles in a few years? I think there's a way for all the teams to still have some involvement. I will explain that at the end of this list. Here's my list of the top 32 programs and a list if it goes to 48. There's some debate if it goes to 48, but not much debate if it stops at 32. I guess one could debate Arizona State, but that's about it. The top 32 at least come close to carrying their own weight. Everyone below that line is losing money for the conference, but could have some indirect benefits. You want to keep the whole country involved. I put teams in red that are not currently in the SEC or B1G. Looks like we have nine (9) top 32 teams still out there. Six (6) of them in the ACC and three (3) in the PAC. (3) Notre Dame, (14)Florida State, (15) Oregon, (19) Miami, (20) UNC, (22) Washington, (26) Clemson, (27) Virginia Tech, (31) Arizona State Ohio State Texas Notre Dame Michigan Penn State Florida Georgia Alabama Wisconsin Oklahoma USC LSU Oregon Tennessee TAMU Florida State Auburn Michigan State Miami North Carolina South Carolina Missouri Nebraska Washington Iowa UCLA Clemson Virginia Tech Arkansas Ole Miss Kentucky Arizona State - B1G would take AAU/basketball power Arizona over State. ASU may be a casualty here. The possibilities to get to 48: (need 16 from this list) Will they make it? Who gets in? Is the number 32? 40? 48? West Virginia Maryland Minnesota Colorado Utah Rutgers Oklahoma State Cal Texas Tech Louisville Arizona Illinois Stanford UVA Iowa State Georgia Tech TCU Pitt Indiana Thoughts: - Washington State and Oregon State aren't making the cut. - Wake Forest, Boston College and Baylor are out. - I don't see Kansas and Kansas State making the cut. Kansas has no one to blame but themselves for letting their football program fall so far in the gutter - Indiana, Northwestern, Purdue, Illinois, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt are being propped up by their membership. Will there be a purge? - Stanford, like Arizona, may get in if the B1G still values AAU over $$$ - Could Stanford be a requirement for the B1G to get Notre Dame? - Pitt, TCU and Iowa State are sitting on thin ice. They could be fighting for a spot, if it goes to 48. Iowa State has a passionate fanbase. - If Duke gets in, it's because UNC made it happen. - NC State has fallen way off in the internet age. - BYU has a Sunday issue I think some of these teams that don't make it will join up with former AAC schools and that is going to be a very competitive, fun conference to follow. I would love for them to start their season a couple of weeks early in the summer, maybe play one less regular season game than the other super conference(s) and then have their own playoff. If the winner of their playoff is good enough, that team should have the opportunity to qualify for the national championship playoff. I think TV numbers will go way up with the super conferences, if it done correctly. There will be way more competitive matchups week-to-week and, if done creatively, everyone is still involved in the process.

There's only 2 teams in the entire SEC that don't belong at the big boy table in football: Mississippi State and Vanderbilt That's a really strong conference. And MSU is at least competitive and packs their stadium. B1G definitely needs some purging: - Indiana and Purdue with small fanbases in the same state as Notre Dame - Illinois and Northwestern with small fanbases in the same state. Rutgers and Maryland are borderline but do bring recruiting territory, new geography to play games and some potential. Not to mention many of the B1G programs that carry their own weight aren't a real threat to beat tOSU and other national powers. USC definitely is much needed in the B1G. They need to add Oregon and ND. B1G needs to purge anywhere from 2 to 4 teams and remain selective with any additions.

This move is 100% a reaction to UT and OU. All the sources are even telling you that. USC and Texas were considering a PAC/Big12 merger at some point. Money definitely played a role, but there was still more than half a decade left on the LHN deal. Texas left the Big 12 now because they were getting killed in recruiting... "SEC! SEC! SEC!"

The bottom 25% of the Power 5 is actually going to get to play against people their own size every week like they should have been doing from the beginning of time. Their games will be much more competitive and they will sell more tickets because of it. They won't get $100,000,000 per year in TV deals, but they don't deserve it. They will survive and be just fine. The rest of so-called D-1 is a joke and nothing changes with them. This only changes things for 15-30 small teams, depending on how it shakes out in the long run. Allen High has no business playing the Dallas Cowboys. Oregon State football has no business playing in the same conference as USC. TV ratings for the big brands are going to go through the roof. You won't see the same 4 teams in the championship every year. You won't have to dig thru 30 games that week to find the one to three competitive games on TV. You won't have to bitch as much about the integrity of the game as this plays out in the future and a commissioner is hired and actual rules are put in place. This is healthy for the game. College football has been broken for a very long time.

Those schools will still play and their games will be much more competitive now. It's going to be a win win for everyone involved, if it is done correctly.

Fifty plus years in the making. I'm surprised there are so many clueless about what is happening and what is about to happen. Today is no surprise and the finished result will be no surprise. It's going to be very good for the sport. A much more competitive environment and huge games every week. Hopefully, it means a much more transparent recruiting process and better officiating (more money, less officials needed).

Goosby is the best OL we have committed IMO. There is no difference in the 250th ranked 4-star and the 900th ranked 3-star. It's all evaluation at that point. It's one of the reasons we've sucked for so long. Way too many overrated "4-stars". Top 100 players win championships. Add in some well evaluated prospects. I don't care where they are ranked after about 125-150. Check the film, measurements, speed, etc. And you will still be wrong half the time. For instance, Niblett has serious potential but has a lot of question marks. He caught like 9 balls last year and is supposedly known for drops. He's also very small (did he grow? one service has him at 6' now). That tells me we need one more polished speed receiver in this class. It's all about balance. We are making improvement with Manning, Williams and Cook. I like the strategy at offensive line. That position, more than any other position, is all about evaluation and having a plan.

Example A on how that works out:

Ran 10.65 as a junior

Errrbody aboard the (Noah's) Arch