CFB Catch-All Thread -- 2024

[LTtxfan 49141]

Missed this...  Ward had declared for NFL

 

[LTtxfan 49141]

 

[PittsburghTiger 6174]

Wasn't sure where to put this so I am putting it here. The whole system is going to blow up. The NCAA has no idea what to do, nor are they really qualified, to deal with the N.I.L.

I think there will be more things happening like this.

 

 

[David Dennison 18837]

What would happen if a school just ignored the NCAA?

Edited January 31 by David Dennison

[LTtxfan 49141]

Tennessee, Virginia suing NCAA over NIL enforcement

Any attempt by the NCAA to put "guardrails" around NIL and the Portal is now met with a near-immediate lawsuit.

ZACH BARNETT             2 HOURS AGO

Quote

Anyone, including and especially those in college football, who continues to call for the NCAA to put "guardrails" around NIL and the Portal is: A) well-intentioned, and B) totally out of tune with what's actually happening in the year of our Lord, 2024.

The NCAA spent much of last year putting "guardrails" around the Portal by denying the "overwhelming" majority of appeals for undergraduates to transfer a second time and compete immediately. In December, the courts struck that down. The US Justice Department earlier this month joined a group of 10 states suing in federal court for the government to rule that any restrictions the NCAA might attempt to enforce upon transfers was a violation of antitrust law. The NCAA has already thrown its hands up and allowed multi-time transfers to compete in 2024, leading to a flurry of Portal activity late in the winter window.

So that's one "guardrail" run over with a bulldozer. 

On Wednesday, two states took a sledgehammer to the other guardrail.

The states of Tennessee and Virginia filed a lawsuit that would formally allow schools to use NIL as an inducement for recruits and transfers.

“Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares have filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA, alleging that the their restrictions on the ability of current and future student-athletes to negotiate and benefit from their Name, Image, and Likeness rights (NIL) violate federal antitrust law and is harmful to current and future student-athletes," the pair said in a statement. 

Here is the states of Tennessee and Virginia arguing that, since the courts struck down the "guardrails" around the Portal, it should do the same with NIL and formally allow the market around NIL to function "fairly and competitively." 

The lawsuit comes on the heels of the NCAA investigating Tennessee for possible NIL recruiting violations. The NCAA is pursuing a similar investigation against Florida, and recently dropped the first NIL-related sanctions against Florida State. 

The irony of Wednesday's lawsuit is that while the State of Tennessee is busy suing the NCAA for prosecuting schools for using NIL as a recruiting tool, the University of Tennessee (and its collective) is simultaneously arguing to the NCAA that it didn't use NIL as a recruiting tool.

It's a bit like a 16-year-old arguing that, actually, he was home before his midnight curfew and so his grounding is wrongful and unjust... but at the same time all curfews should be done away with. To a neutral observer, the second argument weakens the first. 

The University of Tennessee isn't worried about that, though. In their minds, they didn't break the rules and the rules shouldn't exist.

"I appreciate the action of Tennessee AG Jonathan Skrmetti for standing up for the rights of student-athletes," Vols AD Danny White tweeted Wednesday. "At Tennessee, we are always going to work to support our student-athletes’ rights and give them all the tools needed to succeed on and off the field. This is what strong leadership looks like!"

Let's zoom out from the particulars of the Tennessee case and take a 30,000 foot view of what's happening here.

Point 1: Countless coaches, administrators and fans have correctly argued that the current state of play in college athletics has created a Wild, Wild West environment of unlimited free agency and pay-for-play, where players can enter the Portal every single offseason to market their services to the highest bidder. And they are correct.

Point 2: But the states and the courts won't allow the NCAA to do anything about it. Any attempt to impose even the mildest restrictions, or to enforce the current rules on the books, is met with a near-immediate lawsuit from the states where, so far, the courts have ruled unanimously against the NCAA.

To put it bluntly, any complaints toward Point 1 without an acknowledgement of Point 2 is a waste of breath. It's a total failure to acknowledge reality. It's complaining for the sake of complaining.

The guardrails are gone, ripped out of the ground and crumpled along the side of the highway. Drive at your own risk. 

 

[Kennythetiger 9374]

A journalist ought to know that it’s attorneys general. 

[irishtexan 11511]

3 minutes ago, Kennythetiger said:

A journalist ought to know that it’s attorneys general. 

These are sports "journalists". You've got to grade them on a curve. 

[PittsburghTiger 6174]

49 minutes ago, LTtxfan said:

Tennessee, Virginia suing NCAA over NIL enforcement

Any attempt by the NCAA to put "guardrails" around NIL and the Portal is now met with a near-immediate lawsuit.

ZACH BARNETT             2 HOURS AGO

 

I have no idea what will happen in the near future.

I believe that the reason we have not yet had the Super Best Friends Conference split with 72 to 80 football schools telling the NCAA to pound sand is because they still need a fall guy, and the NCAA will serve that purpose, when the NIL goes crazy.

I have no doubt that some idiot in Congress, state or federal level, will decide that the government is going to fix it, which will undoubtedly make things worse. 

 

[LTtxfan 49141]

 

[LTtxfan 49141]

Collective CEO: 'I've told every AD in the country: no more hiring analysts, fund your NIL instead'

"We have to pay the labor, and the bill is only going to get bigger and bigger. So, how could you turn around and say, yeah we could hire more support staff? That's not realistic."

ZACH BARNETT         28 MINUTES AGO

Here's an interview that was equal parts illuminating and terrifying. 

Jason Belzer manages Oklahoma's collective of record -- Crimson & Cream -- and he recently sat for an interview with OU's Rivals site. Except, Belzer doesn't just manage OU's collective, he also manages Notre Dame's (Irish United), and Syracuse's (Orange United), and dozens of others, all the way down to Robert Morris University (RoMo Rise). Belzer is the CEO of Student-Athlete NIL, which markets itself to athletics departments as a turnkey NIL operation -- they'll manage everything from soliciting sponsorships and donations, to finding marketing opportunities for athletes, to doling out payroll. 

Belzer compared his company's functionality similar to Learfield, the conglomerate which handles almost every Division I athletics department's multimedia sales. Except instead of selling sponsorships, Belzer and company are managing the payroll of a major college football team. 

"We had already prepared a report of every single Oklahoma student-athlete on the football roster and what their value was going to be in the Portal for December and January. We were able then to go back to every single player and allow them then to know, 'This is what we believe you're worth. This is what we're going to be willing to offer you. And there's not really going to be a lot of negotiation because if you think you can get a lot more in the Portal, have fun,'" Belzer said.

Simply put, it was startling to hear Belzer lay the management of a college football roster out in such cold, black-and-white terms. Not in a pearl-clutching, I can't believe these guys are really getting paid way. It's startling because here we have taking a major ownership stake in Oklahoma's roster management who does not work for the University of Oklahoma.

What happens when a Sooners player wants more money from Oklahoma... err, Crimson & Cream Collective? Belzer explained his side of the Cayden Green transfer.

For those who don't know, Green was a top-100 recruit who started as a true freshman and, for all intents and purposes, was the future of Oklahoma's offensive line -- until, seemingly out of the blue, he transferred to Missouri.

"When it came to Cayden, just like everybody else, we presented him with a contract for the coming year. He was still under contract with us. When he did respond with us, he basically said he wanted substantially more money. We looked at it and we said, 'Okay, we're not going to give you what you're asking, but we're willing to come up.' And we basically came close to matching what he had asked, and then he sort of said, 'You know what? I'm going to go into the Portal.' At the end of the day, we can only have those conversations," Belzer said.  

Imagine any other business working this way. Imagine a Tampa Bay Rays outfielder wanting to negotiate a contract extension after fielding an offer from the Milwaukee Brewers and ownership saying, "Let me place a call to New York... hold on, they're on the phone with Boston right now." 

I know that's not an exact translation of a college football's relationship to its own payroll department, but it's close. What a system.

"We look at it as we work for the University of Oklahoma. We don't have a contract with the university, but we are fully transparent in what we do," Belzer said. "They know every dollar that comes in, every dollar that goes out. They know every donor that puts money in."

This decentralized system asks donors to fund the team and the roster, which in turn creates an adversarial relationship between the collective and the development office and, if indirectly, between players and coaches. There are only so many donation dollars to go around, and Belzer was open where his allegiance lies. 

"I've told every AD in the country, you have to tell your coaching staff, 'No more hiring analysts. Stop spending money and figure out how to fund your NIL program. Period, end of story. We have to pay the labor, and the bill is only going to get bigger and bigger," Belzer said. "So, how could you turn around and say, yeah we could hire more support staff? That's not realistic."

A sane system would bring collectives in-house, ask donors for a single (if larger) check, and then pay the roster and the staff out of a single financial pot. But there's sanity, and then there's the system we have in college football.

 

fyi @RGBIII @immamac

[immamac 42832]

My take on this is that everyone else must be turbo fucked, because I'm over here bitching about inefficiencies and how we can do things better and all these idiots are stuck in the starting gates. 

My opinion is that with a lot more structure in place, a more transparent system of invitation and disclosure for NIL activities that are done and what they are generally valued at is something that will go a long way.

The problem everyone is having is no one wants to tell anyone what these NIL contracts are worth and what they are doing for them, so everyone is running around saying LOL WHATEVER THE MARKET WILL PAY, when that is actually fucking regarded. I've talked to over 2 dozen professional agents and they think that NCAA NIL is a fucking joke. They see a complete collapse incoming and they don't even bother representing anyone who doesn't have an actual brand that draws any corporate interest. They aren't interested in negotiating faux pay for play contracts (which most are in the NCAA right now), they are interested in creating brand value for clients that can turn into superstars in the NFL or professionally in other sports. 

The sustainability at the current "roster value" is suspect, but it's only really gotten this way because there isn't actual bidding wars happening, it's like a silent auction where no one knows what the winner paid for anything and then everyone just runs their mouth because they were asking for absurd number that everyone balked at and best and final is usually half or less and they just take the one that fits best, but the opening offer from the student athletes is always some stupid number no one is going to say yes to. The bidding war happens at a much lower number and then they just claim someone ponied up the full thing. It's actually stupid, and no real business or athletic department would play that shit going forward which is why as soon as AD involvement in direct NIL deals happens this whole sham goes by the wayside. That may or may not happen, but it's looking more and more likely that at the federal level they are going to pave the way for this by 2026. (See the most recent article on Rivals or whatever it was, where it was all bullshit even under anonymity)

The other stupid part is there is NO clarity or transparency on the ACTUAL deliverables related to NIL activity. They can follow social media and see what tweet promos there are, but no one is able to track if athletes are being paid appearance fees and where, or what their average signing costs or what a signed piece of merch from player x is going for in the market. No one is doing any of that, and because no one is doing any of that it creates a grey area of obfuscation for everyone to claim "LOL THERE IS NO ESTABLISHED MARKET PRICE FOR A TWEET", when everyone damn well knows that there is one and it's not anything close to what these players are getting paid. 

The difference between the haves and have nots is also going to start becoming more and more of an issue as it relates to NIL. I would imagine that the 2 deep isn't looking at the transfer portal so to speak, but there definitely people who are going to be pissed off that they aren't making any money when they see that starters or other position groups are making substantially more and not doing jack shit off the field to earn it (the entire point of NIL).

A great example that isn't necessarily business, but is a free market is something like Texas Real Estate. For those that don't know Texas is a non-disclosure state, meaning that when you buy property you don't have to tell anyone what you paid for it. That's pretty cool for private transactions, but obviously if no one knew what anyone paid for any houses it becomes incredibly difficult to do basic things like appraisals and even craft offers to buy homes. So what happens? Well there's this really cool group of people called Realtors who are part of this system called the MLS, the MLS is self-reported (but confirmed with contracts) on the pricing of homes transacted through their licensed members. The great part is everyone who is a realtor can call bullshit on ridiculous asking prices and banks and appraisers can be part of this too to verify they are actually underwriting or appraising something at a value that makes sense without having to ask each individual homeowner to tell you what they paid for their house and just believing them when they told you. The reason this is important is because when you are talking to the tax man, you obviously only paid 50k for your house, but when you are talking to your friend and in a dick measuring contest your house is worth 5M because reasons.

This is exactly what's happening in the NIL world, but without MLS. No one knows what anyone is getting paid, what they are getting for getting paid, what the contract overview is (not the nitty gritty, but basic quid pro quo and general dollar amounts and schedule). The student atheletes and their "agents" are all just making random shit up depending on who they are talking to. If it's a teammate they aren't getting paid shit, if it's a potential donor/deal they are juggling so many deals they may not have time for yours unless its 50k for a tweet. To the media they are making Lambo money 500k to catch touchdowns.

Burnt Ends is one of the only open, searchable, verifiable NIL deals in the country and from what I understand at this point it's also one of the most if not the best run NIL program which has continued longer than any other on a recurring basis with the same position group and with the same quid pro quo with minor modifications on a similar payment schedule etc. 

[TonyTexas 10504]

Pretty nice raise. 

Quote

College Football Playoff, ESPN agree to 6-year extension worth $1.3 billion per year: Sources

By The Athletic Staff

47m ago

25

By Andrew Marchand, Nicole Auerbach, Stewart Mandel and Chris Vannini

ESPN and the College Football Playoff are in agreement on a six-year, $7.8 billion extension that will make the network the home of the 12-team tournament through the 2031-32 season, sources briefed on the deal told The Athletic.

The full contract’s completion is still contingent on CFP leaders finalizing details of the expanded format in the wake of the implosion of the Pac-12. The CFP’s management committee and board of managers have meetings scheduled for next week and continue to work through the complicated process of settling their outstanding issues. The ESPN deal will not be ratified until the commissioners and presidents vote on the structure and financials of the expanded CFP. ESPN senior vice president of communication Josh Krulewitz and College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock both declined to comment.

ADVERTISEMENT

ESPN has two years remaining on its current deal, which carries an average payment of $608 million per year and includes the CFP semifinals and championship, plus the other four New Year’s Six bowl games. The six-year extension will cost $1.3 billion per year, the price at which an ESPN news story previously reported the network was discussing a new deal with the CFP.

Over the final two years of its current agreement, ESPN holds the rights to the new set of first-round games held at on-campus sites, in addition to the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship games. It is not yet known what the fee of the first-round games will be for the next two seasons. The quarterfinals will be played at the current New Year’s Six bowls, whose rights were already owned by ESPN.

Over the course of the contract, ESPN will have the ability to sublicense games, meaning another network or digital player could air Playoff games, but it would be at Disney-owned ESPN’s discretion.

The deal would give ESPN control over nearly all Division I college sports championships, outside of the men’s basketball tournament, which is televised by CBS, TNT and their sister networks and platforms through 2032. In early January, ESPN and the NCAA announced a new eight-year, $920 million contract that gives the network the rights to 40 championships, including the women’s basketball tournament. That extension begins in September.

The CFP’s current contract with ESPN is set to run through the 2025-26 season, and any major changes to its terms require unanimous support.

After a four-person subcommittee recommended the new 12-team format in June 2021, it took more than two years of stop-and-start negotiations (amid conference realignment) to get the unanimous approval from the CFP board of managers, the group of presidents and chancellors who oversee the organization.

ADVERTISEMENT

The board originally approved a model that includes the six highest-ranked conference champions and the six highest-ranked at-large teams. The impending departure of 10 teams from the Pac-12 has led to a push to tweak the model to five conference champions and seven at-larges.

The CFP management committee, which is made up of all 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick, has recommended the 5+7 model, but the board of managers has not yet approved it.

“Well, we’ve got two more years on a 12-year cycle and then an important conversation about the future,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey told The Athletic last week. “We look at that independently. That’s not part of what we announced with the advisory group (with the Big Ten). We’re certainly interested in continuing the playoff, but there’s work to do.”

Outstanding issues still to be settled for the CFP’s new six-year contract include the ongoing discussions of future governance, revenue distribution and access. The commissioners are working through all three areas and are expected to discuss them at a meeting next week in Dallas, sources involved in the discussions said.

(Photo: Michael Wade / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

 

 

[LonghornSean 3989]

I'm fine with ESPN, but would have liked to see another network like FOX get a piece, just for a bit of variety and to decrease the chokehold ESPN has on the sport. It says they could still sublicense some games, but I wonder how likely that actually is.

Edited February 13 by LonghornSean

[Catdaddyhorn 3444]

2 hours ago, TonyTexas said:

Pretty nice raise. 

 

It's so fucking stupid to give the entire playoff to a single entity. 

[TonyTexas 10504]

42 minutes ago, Catdaddyhorn said:

It's so fucking stupid to give the entire playoff to a single entity. 

It’s all about the $$$. I imagine ESPN paid a premium for exclusivity. 

[Js1 85258]

Rules committee is apparently exploring adding in a 2 min warning.  TV would have to reserve their final scheduled commercial break of the 2nd half for the 2 minute warning. 

[billfromlaketravis 11444]

On 2/13/2024 at 2:09 PM, TonyTexas said:

Pretty nice raise. 

 

So Kevin Warren was incompetent or an idiot when he scuttled CFP expansion so they could take “take it the open market?” The CFP has always been and always will be a TV contract between the FBS and ESPN. 
 

Fox not even bidding on it is curious. Cuban has dropped some recent hints that he believes the networks and streamers can’t afford to pay the leagues what is currently owed in their contracts. 

Edited February 15 by billfromlaketravis

[LTtxfan 49141]

Wonder what CFP's agreement is with ESPN as to where/how the playoff games will be shown?

• Will pay-for-view be allowed ???
• Or some playoff games on ESPN+ ???

Just feels like ESPN will be forced to raise prices to watch CFB games...  

[LTtxfan 49141]

ACC approves use of in-game video, helmet communication

The ACC is moving to reduce the use of sign stealing within college football.

ZACH BARNETT             7 HOURS AGO

Pending approval from the NCAA Football Rules Committee later this month, the ACC has approved the use of two new technologies during its football games this fall.

"Unanimously" approved by the league's coaches, the conference will allow teams to access in-game video in order to increase their ability to make adjustments, and the league will allow teams to utilize coach-to-player, one-way communication devices between the sideline and the field. 

The changes have been in the works for some time, but the Michigan scandal this fall hastened the use of one-way radio technology to make sign stealing (and its various methods) obsolete.

 

[Js1 85258]

 

[4th&Five 41506]

Yay, more commercials!

[Sbbruin 21825]

45 minutes ago, 4th&Five said:

Yay, more commercials!

Yeah, the running clock gains are going to be wiped out.

[thunderlounge 7813]

Gains?

[LTtxfan 49141]

Video: Coach Barry Odom took on a bull named "Widowmaker" last night

https://footballscoop.com/news/video-barry-odom-took-on-a-bull-named-widowmaker-last-night

[Ricky's one-hitter 9084]

While Northwestern is renovating their stadium, they want to put this...

...around their practice field, which if you are unfamiliar...

That would immediately qualify as a bucket list venue for a football game, even moreso that it's temporary.

That said, there's never been a more seasonally unusable football venue. A game in January would be legitimately terrifying.

https://footballscoop.com/news/northwestern-reportedly-exploring-unique-option-to-keep-home-field-advantage-during-construction-of-new-ryan-field

[LTtxfan 49141]

Josh Pate On College Football's MOST HATED Teams (Late Kick Cut)

4 days ago  

[LTtxfan 49141]

Forgot about some of these coaching moves

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10113657-best-coaching-and-coordinator-hires-of-the-2024-cfb-offseason

[LTtxfan 49141]

College Football Playoff, ESPN Agree to 6-Year Contract Extension amid Expansion

ESPN will remain the home of the College Football Playoff through the 2031-32 season after agreeing to a six-year, $7.8 billion contract extension, ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro told Sara Fischer on Tuesday at Axios' What's Next Summit.

Pitaro said in a press release:

"ESPN has worked very closely with the College Football Playoff over the past decade to build one of the most prominent events in American sports. We look forward to enhancing our valued relationship over the next two years, and then continuing it for six more as we embark on this new, expanded playoff era. This agreement further solidifies ESPN as the home of college football, as well as the destination for the vast majority of major college championships for the next eight years."

With the College Football Playoff expanding from four to 12 teams beginning next season, Pitaro said that ESPN also had to amend its current deal, which has two seasons remaining and runs through 2025-26.

The amended agreement adds all four of the new first round games each year to ESPN's existing New Year's Six and national championship rights.

ESPN's new six-year deal will begin in 2026-27 and includes the rights to all rounds of the expanded College Football Playoff, in addition to the CFP Selection Show and weekly Top 25 rankings.

In both of the agreements, ESPN has the ability to sublicense a number of games to other networks.

When the new agreement starts, the College Football Playoff could expand to 14 teams, ESPN's Heather Dinich and Pete Thamel reported last week. The national championship game will also move from ESPN to ABC beginning with the 2026-27 campaign.

The College Football Playoff has long been one of the most popular events on the sports calendar. The 2024 national championship game between Michigan and Washington drew 25 million viewers, per Tim Baysinger of Axios.

Michigan will be among the teams to watch next season alongside the likes of Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Oregon and Ohio State. Ole Miss, Missouri, Notre Dame, Washington, Utah, LSU, Oklahoma and Clemson will also be teams to keep an eye on with the CFP expanding.

 

[LTtxfan 49141]

 

Quote

When we asked our college football reporters to rank the sport's top 10 coaches, we figured there wouldn't be much debate about who is No. 1 -- and there wasn't. Georgia's Kirby Smart, whose Bulldogs are 42-2 over the past three seasons, was the unanimous pick among our 10 voters.

But after that, there was very little consensus.  The only other coach to appear on all 10 ballots was new Alabama head man Kalen DeBoer, but his rankings ranged from second to 10th.

Two coaches appeared on nine ballots: Utah's Kyle Whittingham, whose rankings ranged from three second-place votes to two ninth places, and Florida State's Mike Norvell, whose votes included two second places and two 10ths.

Then there's Clemson's Dabo Swinney, who received four second-place votes and was left off four ballots altogether.

With points assigned based on our reporters' votes (10 points for first place, nine for second place and down to one point for 10th place), here are the complete rankings.

1. Kirby Smart, Georgia

2023 record: 13-1 (.929)
Career record: 94-16 (.855)
Points: 100 (all 10 first-place votes)

With Nick Saban retired, Smart is unquestionably the preeminent coach in college football. He took his alma mater, Georgia, to back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022 and played for a third national title in 2017. The Bulldogs won an SEC-record 29 straight games before losing to Alabama last season in the SEC championship game. In eight seasons at Georgia, Smart has built a juggernaut in terms of evaluating, recruiting and developing great players. He has produced 55 NFL draft picks, including 15 first-rounders, and could have as many as 10 more players selected in the upcoming draft.

Smart is unbeaten against all active coaches over the past five seasons -- his only losses in that span are to Saban (3), Dan Mullen at Florida, Ed Orgeron at LSU and Will Muschamp at South Carolina. His consistency sets him apart. The Bulldogs finished 8-5 in his first season (2016), but since then, Georgia is the only team in the country to finish in the top 7 in the final AP poll every year. Smart's Bulldogs have played for and/or won an SEC title or national title in six of those seven seasons. -- Chris Low

2. Kalen DeBoer, Alabama

2023 record: 14-1 (.933)
Career record: 37-9 (.804)
Points: 62

After starting his career as an assistant at tiny Sioux Falls, his alma mater, DeBoer guided the NAIA Cougars to a 67-3 record with three national titles over a five-year stretch. From there, DeBoer embarked on a climb up the assistant-coaching ranks, during which each school he arrived at experienced near-unprecedented success, before being named the head coach at Fresno State. His modest two-year run there (12-6) led to the gig at Washington, where he transformed a team that won four games in 2021 to one that went 25-3 over the next two seasons, earning an appearance in the national title game this past season.

All DeBoer does is win. And now he takes over for the legendary Nick Saban, who set an unrealistic bar for what can be accomplished. -- Kyle Bonagura

3. Kyle Whittingham, Utah

2023 record: 8-5 (.615)
Career record: 162-79 (.672)
Points: 56

Utah is the only home Whittingham has known since arriving at the school as the defensive line coach in 1994. He was elevated to defensive coordinator the next year and to head coach upon the departure of Urban Meyer just before the end of the 2004 season.

Since then, Whittingham has been a hallmark of consistency, finishing with just two losing seasons in 19 years (right after Utah made the jump from the Mountain West to the Pac-12). He guided the Utes to an undefeated season in 2008, two Pac-12 titles and eight top-25 finishes in the AP poll, including six in the past 10 years. All at a school without the resources of the other coaches' programs on this list. -- Bonagura

4. Dabo Swinney, Clemson

2023 record: 9-4 (.692)
Career record: 170-43 (.798)
Points: 50

Swinney brought longtime underachiever Clemson back to the national stage and became the first coach who truly challenged Nick Saban's stranglehold on the sport. He guided Clemson to national titles in 2016 and 2018 -- the program's first since 1981 -- while beating Saban's Alabama squad both times. His teams made four CFP national championship game appearances in five seasons. Clemson won the ACC every year from 2015 to 2020 and never finished lower than No. 3 in the final AP poll.

A little-known wide receivers coach who became Clemson's interim head coach midway through the 2008 season, Swinney is 170-43 as the Tigers' head coach with eight league titles and 10 division titles. He won the Bryant Award as national coach of the year in 2015, 2016 and 2018.

Under Swinney, Clemson has had stretches when it was the nation's premier program at positions such as wide receiver, defensive line and quarterback. Although the transfer portal/NIL era has brought more challenges, Swinney has won nine or more games in all but one full season as Clemson's coach. -- Adam Rittenberg

5. Mike Norvell, Florida State

2023 record: 13-1 (.929)
Career record: 69-33 (.676)
Points: 49

How best to quantify Norvell's greatness as a coach? Perhaps it's his use of the transfer portal. While so many other coaches around the country have moaned and complained about the portal in recent years, Norvell has found the perfect formula for using it, landing standouts such as Trey Benson, Jermaine Johnson, Keon Coleman and Jared Verse, among a host of others. Or perhaps it's the way he motivates his players, building a strong internal culture despite the extensive use of the portal.

But if you need one number to truly appreciate Norvell's impact, here it is: 23. Twenty-three wins in the past two years at Florida State, a program that had won just 26 games total in the previous five seasons. The turnaround -- in terms of wins, talent and culture -- is genuinely remarkable. -- David Hale

6. Dan Lanning, Oregon

2023 record: 12-2 (.857)
Career record: 22-5 (.815)
Points: 37

While only two seasons of work might make Lanning's lofty ranking seem a bit premature, it's hard to argue with what he has done in his first two seasons as a head coach. After helping Smart win a national championship in 2021 as Georgia's defensive coordinator, Lanning has guided the Ducks to a 22-5 record.

Like Ryan Day at Ohio State, Lanning couldn't get past what proved to be an insurmountable roadblock in the Pac-12: the Washington Huskies. Each of Oregon's three losses to Washington the past two seasons were by three points, and the last one, a 34-31 defeat in the final Pac-12 championship game, was the most painful because it might have kept the Ducks out of the CFP.

Lanning has proven to be a great recruiter, helping Oregon land the No. 4 class in the FBS in 2024. The Ducks landed the top class in the Pac-12 in 2023. Lanning and his staff have also been adept at working the transfer portal, adding former Auburn quarterback Bo Nix, the starter the past two seasons, then Oklahoma passer Dillon Gabriel this year. There have been some questionable in-game decisions from Lanning, but one would expect he'll get better with experience. Time will tell if Lanning follows in Smart's footsteps as a former defensive coordinator who became one of the sport's premier head coaches, but he's well on his way to doing it. -- Schlabach

7. Steve Sarkisian, Texas

2023 record: 12-2 (.857)
Career record: 71-49 (.592)
Points: 35

It was only a matter of time until Sarkisian put all the pieces together. After all, the guy has studied under three of the greatest coaches in modern college football history in LaVell Edwards, Pete Carroll and Nick Saban. Be it throwing for nearly 7,500 yards in two seasons with Edwards at BYU, serving as quarterbacks coach for Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart and Mark Sanchez under Carroll at USC, turning Jake Locker into a first-round pick (and then coaxing a pair of brilliant seasons out of Keith Price) while flipping Washington from 0-12 to 9-4, or averaging 47.2 and 48.5 points per game, respectively, in two seasons of calling plays for Saban at Alabama, Sarkisian has been heavily influential in offensive brilliance for most of the past 30 years.

His breakthrough as a head coach came in 2023. After going just 13-12 in his first two years leading a perpetually underachieving Texas program, Sark's Longhorns won 12 games, took their first Big 12 title in 14 seasons and made their first College Football Playoff appearance. Now they head to the SEC with legitimate top-5 bona fides and a coach capable of not only leading them back among the country's elite but keeping them there. -- Bill Connelly

8. Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss

2023 record: 11-2 (.846)
Career record: 96-49 (.662)
Points: 29

At 48, Kiffin is already in his fifth head-coaching stop. He was hired as the Oakland Raiders' coach in 2007, when he was only 31, and although there were some growing pains along the way, he has developed into one of the more creative and interesting coaches in college football. Entering his fifth season at Ole Miss, Kiffin has accomplished things in Oxford that hadn't been done before. The Rebels have won 10 regular-season games in two of the past three seasons; prior to Kiffin's arrival, they had never won 10 regular-season games. Kiffin is renowned as one of the top offensive minds in the game, and his offenses are both balanced and unpredictable. Ole Miss and Alabama are the only two teams in the SEC to average 33 or more points each of the past four seasons.

Kiffin is quick to troll anybody and everybody on social media and is polarizing among rival fan bases. He's still a bit of a lightning rod, but said his time working under Saban helped him become a more efficient manager of an entire program. Kiffin has also worked the evolving nature of college football to his advantage and scored big in the transfer portal. -- Low

9. Lance Leipold, Kansas

2023 record: 9-4 (.692)
Career record: 54-54 (.500)
Points: 28

In the six seasons before Lance Leipold arrived at Kansas, the Jayhawks went 9-60. In 2023, they went 9-4. You can almost rest your case right there. Hired after spring practice had already concluded in 2021, Leipold inherited a team that had gone 0-9 in 2020 and won two, then six, then nine games. While it's unfair to compare anyone to Bill Snyder, he has done one hell of a Snyder impression over his first three seasons in Lawrence, and with his track record, there's reason to believe he could keep it up.

This is, after all, a guy with six national titles on his résumé. Once a Division III dynasty builder at Wisconsin-Whitewater, Leipold has since taken his masterful culture building to Buffalo and KU, and damned if it's not working wherever he goes. He'll face a new challenge in 2024, coaching without ace offensive coordinator and right-hand man Andy Kotelnicki for the first time since 2012. (Kotelnicki moved on to the Penn State OC job.) But if anyone in college football gets the benefit of the doubt, it's Leipold.

Kansas won nine games last year! Kansas! It boggles the mind. -- Connelly

10. Ryan Day, Ohio State

2023 record: 11-2 (.846)
Career record: 56-8 (.875)
Points: 27

Day's teams are 39-3 in Big Ten play the past five-plus seasons, 56-8 overall and played in a New Year's Six bowl game or the CFP in each of his full seasons. The Buckeyes won back-to-back Big Ten titles in his first two seasons (2019 and 2020) and are 18-8 against AP top-25 opponents under Day.

Unfortunately, those Big Ten losses came against that "Team Up North," Michigan, in each of the past three seasons, leaving some Ohio State fans to wonder if Day should be on the hot seat. Whether he can reverse the Buckeyes' losing streak to the Wolverines, especially now that former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh is in the NFL, will go a long way in determining his future.

Day's offenses have been ranked in the top three in the FBS in scoring three times and in total offense four times. Yet the Buckeyes are only 2-4 in bowl games and haven't won a Big Ten title since 2020. Turning over the offensive playcalling to former UCLA head coach Chip Kelly might be the recipe to getting OSU back on top in the expanded Big Ten. -- Schlabach

Also receiving votes: Brian Kelly, LSU (23); Lincoln Riley, USC (20); Kirk Ferentz, Iowa (7); Luke Fickell, Wisconsin (7); Eliah Drinkwitz, Missouri (6); Mack Brown, North Carolina (3); Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State (3); Jonathan Smith, Michigan State (3); Deion Sanders, Colorado (2); Curt Cignetti, Indiana (1); Chris Klieman, Kansas State (1); Jon Sumrall, Tulane (1)

 

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/39868452/ranking-top-10-coaches-college-football-2024

[LTtxfan 49141]

Article about above coach rankings...

Surprises, snubs in rankings of top coaches in college football

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/39868459/surprises-snubs-rankings-top-coaches-college-football

[Zeus 6012]

Catch-all thread? Should be renamed Matthew-Golden thread. 

[LTtxfan 49141]

SIAP...

 

https://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/2024/04/oregon-to-hire-arizona-states-rashaad-samples-as-running-backs-coach.html

[LTtxfan 49141]

@Machinator  @AP101S

Meet ANSRS: Analysis software built for football coaches, by football coaches

This coach's search for answers led him to build the next generation of football scouting software.

ZACH BARNETT    APR 16, 2024

It was the middle of March 2020, and the Mississippi State staff gathered for what was supposed to be a meeting about the beginning of the second half of spring ball following their weeklong break. But, because it was the middle of March 2020, the meeting turned out to be about anything but spring football.

The university was shutting down, the late Mike Leach told his staff, and the coaches and players were being released to go their separate ways for indefinite amount of time. "If there was ever something you wanted to do but never had the time to do it," now's going to be your time," Leach said.

Leach uttered that piece of advice to a room full of people, but he was speaking to one defensive quality control coach in particular.

Jon Shalala was a few years into his career as a rising defensive assistant. A national champion quarterback at the NAIA level, Shalala was the offensive line and tight ends coach at Arizona Western College until a chance encounter with then-Tennessee defensive coordinator Bob Shoop brought him into the SEC. 

Now entering his fifth year as an SEC support staff member, Shalala had grown familiar with the same frustrations of every coach to ever take a tour through the pay-your-dues grunt of being a graduate assistant or a quality control coach. He recalled charting plays by hand and drawing out Xs and Os on transparencies to put on an overhead projector during halftime of SEC games.

It was a lot of work, yes, but it was a lot of work to accomplish relatively little.  

"It was a chaotic environment because if you wanted to go find something, somebody would have to go dig up that solution -- a tendency, what you're doing well or poorly from a statistic standpoint," he said. "There really wasn't a great system for it."

And so, in 2019, Shalala started building a spreadsheet. Over time, that spreadsheet grew for an Excel file into something more.

When Leach dismissed the staff, Shalala retreated to his hometown near Houston. When the campus re-opened in June, Shalala presented his work to that point to the entrepreneurship center at Mississippi State, who connected him with a computer programmer. By that point, Shalala had a beta version of what would become ANSRS.

"I was pretty amazed by it from the beginning," Zach Arnett, Mississippi State's defensive coordinator at the time, told me. "I told him to keep building it because he really had something."

Shalala continued coaching, even taking a promotion as Arkansas State's linebackers coach over the past three seasons. He left the staff to build ANSRS full-time in January. 

"We created the fastest, most accurate data system in football that completely automates the breakdown process," ANSRS CEO Tim Prukop, also a former coach, told me. "No more hand-written charts, transparencies. We deliver data in real time so coaches can use it to better prepare for their opponents and find unique ways to attack them."

In layman's terms, ANSRS  is a spreadsheet that thinks along with and ahead of a coaching staff.

The software comes pre-loaded with the 500-odd formations and personnel packages common to football, which ANSRS then formats into each team's terminology. From there, the user inputs the drive's starting point, the location of the ball (right hash, left hash, etc.), the personnel and 1-word name of the play. From that, ANSRS gleans the formation, the tight end placement, and dozens of other details. But a speedier, more accurate way to chart drives is just the faintest scratch of the surface.

"You build your own terminology into the system. It speaks the same language you do. It builds all your tendency reports, your hit charts, it can spit our formation pictures, all the analytics that are taking over football," Arnett said. "I really love it for the self-scout purposes. You're getting constant updates on, This is good for us vs. these formations and these sets, it's not so good against these sets, and it allows you to update your game plans as you go."

"You can pull up a formation and see every play they've run out of it, every defense you've run, and it's ready for you on Sunday morning," Gary Patterson told me. "I don't have to break down by hand that took me all Sunday and Monday night to be ready for a Tuesday practice. You want to get where you are not working on the breakdowns, you are working on the answers."

The deeper a staff digs into the details, the more information they'll find. And the more they build ANSRS into their workflow, the more useful it will become. Eventually, ANSRS could become an unseen but omnipresent member of the staff, a real life version of TARS from Interstellar. 

ANSRS is built for each program, but also works well with software already in use. Here's how a simple practice script built in Google Sheets expands within ANSWRS. 

 

From there, that data can be copy and pasted to pair with video already housed in Hudl. 

"It's like it was designed for Allen High School," Allen (Texas) head coach Lee Wingington, ANSRS's first client, told me. "I was blown away at the speed and the amount of information you get. It's something that was really intriguing to a math mind like mine. How much time can this save? This will help us get information that we wouldn't have otherwise gotten."

Launched in January, ANSRS is approaching 20 clients, ranging from high schools, to the Power 4, to the NFL. 

Prukop estimates ANSRS will shrink the time it takes to build a weekly scouting report from 25-to-30 hours a week down to 8-to-10. ANSRS believes it's the only data management system on the market built exclusively for football coaches, by football coaches. 

But Shalala's mission for building the software stretches beyond filling a market need for a tool that spits out more detailed reports faster than the next guy's. Shalala built ANSRS for GAs and QCs to spend less time in data entry and more time coaching.

"I had to learn the skills I didn't learn as a QC and GA because I spent so much time doing breakdowns," Shalala said. "My mission became to automate that so they can focus on teaching their guys fundamentals and techniques rather than building reports." 

 

To see ANSRS for yourself, click here. 

 

https://footballscoop.com/news/meet-ansrs-analysis-software-built-for-football-coaches-by-football-coaches

 

Edited April 19 by LTtxfan

[LTtxfan 49141]

Interesting that Bama, Corn, IowaSt, and PedoState are already using ANSRS 

 

 

Edited April 19 by LTtxfan

[BachelorTrek 2965]

On 2/14/2024 at 10:52 AM, Js1 said:

Rules committee is apparently exploring adding in a 2 min warning.  TV would have to reserve their final scheduled commercial break of the 2nd half for the 2 minute warning. 

Despite the spin today about it, there's plenty of people who believe (me included) that this is adding yet another set of commercials to CFB games.

If it wasn't doing that, why the pre-emptive (heh) deliberate spin to say that's not what this is? No statements to say, "We understand the CFB-viewing public hates more commercials. We will make sure this isn't abused by networks to add yet more commercials!" Not a peep like that. Just a throwaway line to, "Trust us," that the number of commercials stays the same and doesn't increase.

Don't lie to us, NCAA.

Don't pee on our legs and tell us, "It's raining."

[LTtxfan 49141]

Article today...

Official: NCAA bringing technology to sidelines, 2-minute warning to college football

ZACH BARNETT          5 HOURS AGO

In moves that have been expected for months now, the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel on Thursday approved a number of changes to modernize and synchronize the management of football games.

In games involving FBS teams, in-helmet communication will now be permitted for one player on the field for each team. Like the NFL, the player will be marked with a green sticker on his helmet. The radio will cut off with 15 seconds left on the play clock or when the ball is snapped, whichever comes first.

In all three divisions, teams will now be permitted up to 18 tablets to view in-game video. Video can include the TV copy, sideline video, or the all-22 angle from the end zone. All team personnel will be permitted to view the video, but tablets cannot be connected to an overhead projector or any other devices that would display larger images, and any in-game analytics or data may not be accessed. 

The committee is open to listening to proposals for in-helmet communication below the FBS level; proposals must be made by June 15.

Additionally, the Panel approved the adoption of the 2-minute warning in each half. The justification for this is that it will synchronize the change to new timing rules (10-second runoffs, stopping the clock for first downs gained in bounds), and is expected to replace, not add on to, existing TV timeouts.

Other rules changes:

-- Division III has adopted the rule Divisions I and II used where the clock will run for first downs gained in bounds, except for the last two minutes of each half.

-- Conferences now have the option of using a collaborative replay system. This rule existed on an experimental basis previously.

-- Horse-collar tackles occurring inside the tackle box will now incur a 15-yard penalty. Previously, this play was not a penalty.

-- TV partners can now conduct interviews with head coaches following the first and third quarters. This practice also previously occurred on an experimental basis.

 

 

[4th&Five 41506]

The in-game coach interviews are stupid at every level. 

[4th&Five 41506]

 

[Hornius Emeritus 12448]

Klatt ranks us # 3 for next year:
 

 

Edited May 6 by Hornius Emeritus

[Tex Long 4382]

Quote

... in-game analytics or data may not be accessed. 

Easy - print it. 

 

That aside - who gets the helmet speaker on D? D prolly gonna see more subs than O sees at QB, how do we put two green stickers on the field at the same time? Prolly guys on the sidelines will have a green sticker too - Arch, for sure. Do they have to not listen to the calls? How long will it be before Harbaugh DeBoer has Connor Stalions listening to other teams' radio?

[LTtxfan 49141]

North Carolina lawmakers trying to force UNC, NC State to play state's Group of 5 schools

As recently as September, Mack Brown said he'd "had enough" of playing App State. 😋

https://footballscoop.com/news/north-carolina-lawmakers-trying-to-force-unc-nc-state-to-play-states-group-of-5-schools-appalachian-state-east-carolina-charlotte-football-schedule

[LTtxfan 49141]

HaHaHaHa 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Group of Five schools to unveil all-new Top25

As college football's landscape continues to shift, G-5 leaders are seeking to carve space

JOHN BRICE            MAY 6, 2024

As college football continues to see seismic shifts in its national landscape -- with one high-ranking official saying just last week, "The real question is for other conferences: If you're not in the Big Ten or the SEC, what are you going to do?" -- a coalition is forming among Group of Five personnel to have a dedicated poll for programs in those five leagues.

Preliminary groundwork already is underway for the American, Conference-USA, Mid-American, Mountain West and SunBelt conferences to have an official Group of Five Top 25 national poll, with voting open only to head coaches in those leagues. Independent programs UConn and UMass also will be included in the rankings, pushing the number of teams involved to be approximately 64.

Sources tell FootballScoop that the burgeoning movement already has a title sponsor for the rankings.

Organizers of the prospective poll believe that a proprietary ranking for the G-5 leagues, with every head coach receiving a vote, could spark greater interest in potential broadcasting deals and programmining.

"If the No. 2 team in the Group of Five is playing at the No. 6 Group of Five team, that's going to attract more viewers," as it was told to FootballScoop.

This movement also comes at almost an identical time as Derek Dooley's proposal for a Group of Five playoff. Dooley, the former Tennessee coach whose first-ever collegiate head job was at G-5 program Louisiana Tech, has met with myriad leaders across athletics department through the five conferences.

"It seems very viable and there is a space for this," a senior athletics director from a G-5 program told FootballScoop last week.

While the top conference champion from outside the Power 4 conferences is projected to earn a berth in the all-new, expanded 12-team College Football Playoff, the payout for those teams is less than $2 million and access remains a concern. 

As for the poll, organizers already are outlining preliminary voting dates -- with preseason voting set to begin late-July and the Group of Five Top 25's inaugural rankings tentatively set for release Aug. 1, per sources.

While every G-5 head coach will have a vote in the poll, their full ballots will not be publicly disclosed each week. 

 

 

Edited May 9 by LTtxfan

[Rockwell Torrey 1280]

If aggy beats Bowling Green next year, they might be able to claim a Top 25 G5 win. Put it on the wall and all that.

[LTtxfan 49141]

Texas Alumni David Mulugheta, Football Agent, Talks Negotiating Over $2 Billion 

3rd & Longhorn   2 days ago

 

Alex Okafor, Fozzy Whittaker, Derrick Johnson, Jeremy Hills, and Nick Shuley are joined by the President of Team Sports at Athletes First, David Mulugheta. They discuss his history at the University of Texas, how he became an agent, how NIL has affected his job, and what goes into negotiating over $2 billion in contracts.

[Funk Doctor Spock 12175]

After aggy lost to App St, I look at them as forever bottom feeders, and not a G5 team out there doesn't have a chance to beat them. They're an embarrassment to our great state. 

[LonghornSean 3989]

Interesting discussion about how Fox and the other networks draft games (or really, weeks) for the CFB broadcast season.

 

[LTtxfan 49141]

College football moving closer to potential June signing period, earlier December dates

JOHN BRICE        5 HOURS AGO

Quote

Changes are being proposed for college football’s primary signing days, including both a summer and December signing period, as well as likely changes to the NCAA Transfer Portal window’s post-season timeframe.

Numerous sources in recent weeks have told FootballScoop that college football could be moving to adopt a June signing period, make the entire month of July a dead period and also advance the December signing period from that month’s third Wednesday to its first.

Under that calendar in 2024, the early signing period in December would open Dec. 4 and run through Friday, Dec. 6, before the Transfer Portal would be opened 3 days later on Monday, Dec. 9.

The move there is twofold: an earlier signing period is believed to be an element that provides high school prospects an opportunity to sign before transfers flood into the Portal; it’s also alleviating the potential of programs trying to formulate signing classes Dec. 18 with the all-new, expanded 12-team College Football Playoff beginning following the 2024 regular season on Friday, Dec. 20.

There is a single CFP contest that Friday and three additional opening-round games Saturday, Dec. 21.

“We as a conference are opposing a June signing day, but it sounds like there’s a really good chance for a June signing day,” said a football operations director from a multi-time CFP participant. “One thing that seems to be happening imminently is a dead period for the entire month of July.”

Presently, the NCAA calendar calls for a dead period from June 24 through July 24.

Under the proposal for the all-new June signing opportunity, the new period would take effect for the 2026 signing class and open on June 25, 2025, for a three-day window. The calendar would call for June 22-30 to become an NCAA dead period, with the signing window opened June 25-26-27.

The traditional signing day on the first Wednesday in February, in this case Feb. 5, 2025, for the ’25 signing class would not change.

But the June signing period proposal is the one with the potential to carry the most dynamic ramifications.

Sources, including coaches, assistant coaches, general managers and directors of football operations from all four power conferences, indicated to FootballScoop that they expected to see the June signing period adopted upon the measure’s final vote, scheduled to take place next month. The Collegiate Commissioners Association previously voted in March to endorse the proposed changes to the December signing period, which also was reported by ESPN.

An ACC coordinator told FootballScoop over the weekend, “June 2025 signing day” when asked what changes he/his program expected.

General managers from two additional former College Football Playoff participants and a third from a prominent program switching conference affiliations this fall also indicated they expected the June period to be adopted.

 

“We’ve already been pretty much told that’s coming down the pike,” one said.

Added another, when asked thoughts on the likelihoods that the June signing period and the entire month of July dead period would move forward, “June for sure. July for sure.”

Another power conference GM indicated he was less certain on the June signing period but that he fully expected the December window to be advanced to the opening week of the month.

Two GMs from rival conferences both posed almost the exact same question: If the June signing period is passed and enacted in June 2025 for the 2026 signing class, what will be the stance for student-athletes who sign with a program in June 2025 but then see that program make a head coaching change – either because the coach is fired or gets another opportunity?

“A June signing period is problematic for the coaching carousel,” said a Power 4 Conference GM.

Another GM pointed out that the June signing period would place an extreme time crunch on official visits.

“We would need to have OVs next June lined up for the 7th, 14th and 21st leading into that early signing period. We’d be scheduling OVs out in January, February for next June,” he said. “But remember: kids now can have unlimited official visits, but we get 70 in a calendar year. There would be some overlap.

“I do think that the month of July should be completely dead: No texting, no retweets, no likes, no offers, nothing. It would be a good reset for the kids and also be good for the coaches and staffs.”

The proposed changes to the recruiting calendar would take effect as soon as December, if passed, and not only see that earlier signing period, the delayed opening of the NCAA Transfer Portal winter window but then also impact the allowable recruiting actions for coaches in December.

The month of December would see the evaluation period close Sunday, Dec. 1. The month would then immediately shift to a dead period on Monday, Dec. 2 and remain dead through that entire week, with the signing period open Dec. 4-5-6. There then would be a two-week “quiet period” running from Dec. 9-22, during which time schools would be prohibited from off-campus recruiting but then be allowed to host recruits on campus.

“Quiet means kids can come on your campus, but you can’t leave to visit them,” A GM explained. “The February signing period would still be available if needed and they could official visit (during that two-week period) in December.”

That proposed calendar adjustment then would change the timetable on visits for student-athletes already in college who enter the Portal; on New Year’s Day, the calendar would open for five days but only for those athletes who entered the Transfer Portal with the intention of being a mid-year transfer. There would be no summer transfers or high school kids allowed under the proposal for that five-day period.

Additionally, these proposed changes would result in the annual AFCA Convention being pushed back a week later to begin Jan. 13, 2025, in Charlotte, North Carolina, which is slated to host the AFCA’s signature event for the second time in three years.

 

[LTtxfan 49141]

Fox's Friday night schedule highlights absurdity of where college football is today

Apparently, a conference game between Rutgers and USC at 11 p.m. ET on a Friday counts as a good idea these days.

ZACH BARNETT     MAY 22, 2024

With every passing day, the realization becomes just a little bit more real: Yep, they're actually going through with this.

The latest came on Wednesday, when Fox released its slate of Friday night games. 

Like it did with Big Noon Saturday, Fox is trying to turn Friday nights into its own slice of the college football television landscape, putting stakes down in an overlooked and undervalued time slot, then reaping the windfall.

I would argue that Big Noon Saturday is not totally an unqualified success (a glut of 11 a.m. kickoffs was a driving factor in Oklahoma leaving the Big 12), but at an average of 6.739 million viewers last year, Big Noon has been the most-watched college football window for three seasons running.

"We're looking in Friday night to open up some new real estate that's just an easier competitive environment. Even if the games aren't always at the viewership level on Big Noon, they're going to be in such a friendly competitive window that I think we can actually do pretty well," Michael Mulvihill, Fox Sports's chief executive in charge of college football programming, said on Joel Klatt's podcast last week. 

By Friday night, perhaps Mulvihill meant early Saturday morning. Or Friday rush hour, depending on where you live.

Setting aside the issue of playing games on a night historically reserved for high school football, Fox and the Big Ten (and the Big 12, to a lesser extent) are asking a lot of their players and their fans in pulling this off. 

The schedule starts off reasonably well, with Arizona at Kansas State (a non-conference game, even though both are now Big 12 schools) and Illinois at Nebraska.

Then, on Sept. 27, Washington visits Rutgers, in a game that kicks at 5 p.m. Pacific time on a Friday.

The following week, Michigan State goes to Oregon, in a game that kicks at 9 p.m. in East Lansing. Oregon returns the favor on Oct. 18, with a 5 p.m. Pacific kick at Purdue.

That leads into the coup de grace on Oct. 25, Rutgers at USC in a Big Ten game that kicks off at 11 p.m. Eastern Time. It kicks off at 11 p.m. in the home market of the visiting team. The only options available to Rutgers fans (yes, they exist) to watch one of their marquee games of the season is to book a cross-country trip to Los Angeles or remain awake until, conservatively, 2:30 on a Friday night/Saturday morning. 

The following week, Iowa visits UCLA in a 9 p.m. ET kick. Bruins home games aren't the draw they used to be, but how easy does it sound to drive from Westwood to Pasadena in Friday rush-hour traffic. 

Friday night football is not a new phenomenon in college football, and neither are late night kicks. Only so many teams can play on Saturday late afternoons and in prime time -- or, at least, only so many teams can play at 3:30 and 7 ET on TV networks that people actually watch. 

And it's not Fox's fault that the Big Ten decided to expand from coast to coast. (Okay, that may not be true; Fox provided the death blow to the Pac-12 by ponying up for Oregon and Washington.)

Either way, the games are happening, Rutgers and USC really are going to be in the same conference, and they had to play at some point.

But it seems the Big Ten and Fox have chosen to navigate its bicoastal reality is to lean all the way into it. You'd think if any game was slated for a Saturday afternoon kick for humane concerns, it'd be Rutgers-USC. But, apparently not. 

Of the nine B1G Friday night games, five are cross-country affairs. Not only will Rutgers have to fly cross-country to play a conference game at near midnight body-clock time, they'll have to miss Thursday and Friday classes to do so.

 

[Sgt Hulk 13712]

Fucking 11pm. Lmfao 

[Funk Doctor Spock 12175]

Head Greg McElroy think Clemson will be making a comeback this season. 

I usually enjoy his commentary, but I disagree with his thoughts. Clemson is done.