CFB51 College Football Fan Community
The Power Five => Big Ten => Topic started by: CatsbyAZ on January 16, 2024, 10:46:03 AM
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Official dumping ground for B1G’s incoming newbies as they ready for their first season in a new conference – UCLA, USC, Oregon, and Washington.
Washington has the most headlines going on as of late, but let’s start with UCLA:
UCLA finished 2023 with a strong showing in the LA Bowl thanks by and large because QB Ethan Garbers came off the sideline after halftime and rescued the Bruins from Boise State. UCLA finishes 8-5; Chip Kelly improves to 25-13 accounting for the past 3 seasons. (Overall W/L record since taking over UCLA in 2018: 35–34.)
With Garbers playing, UCLA was a ranked team this past year, starting 6-2. Without Garbers late in the season, UCLA went dead against Arizona (D knocked him out of game), Arizona State (L), and Cal (ugly L). With Garbers healthy all year UCLA would be at least 9-4 and nobody besides a few LA beat writers and irate fan sites are waving pitchforks at Chip Kelly.
I get the impression that UCLA is in the same place with Chip Kelly as (fill in the blank!) fans were with (fill in the blank!) and his perpetual 9-4 teams (hint, hint!). Bruins fans are tired of him even if he posts a winning season.
Good news next season for UCLA:
https://twitter.com/BruinReport/status/1736245286002180410
On another note, it’s well known Chip Kelly prefers working the portal over prep recruiting—
From CBS Sports (https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/national-signing-day-2023-winners-and-losers-of-early-signing-period-college-football-recruiting-rankings/): National Signing Day 2023: Winners and Losers of early signing period:
Losers: UCLA: "It's Year 7 for coach Chip Kelly recruiting at UCLA, but it's the first as his program enters the Big Ten next year. UCLA did not make a great impression on Wednesday, finishing at No. 17 in the conference and No. 60 overall. Kelly has rarely prioritized prep recruiting, instead choosing to use the portal, but the belief was he may ramp up efforts in preparation for the Big Ten move -- which clearly was not the case. The only class trailing UCLA in the Big Ten is Northwestern."
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Good stuff. Thanks.
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I have this theory that Washington is going to see a drop-off in 2024 similar to the one TCU saw in 2023 after TCU made the NCG in the 2022 season.
2022 TCU and 2023 Washington both had magical seasons where the offense was good and they won some close games and ultimately made it to the NCG. Of course it's not exactly the same, so we will see.
I also have a this theory that one reason so many Big Ten offenses struggled in 2023 is because Big Ten defenses were under-rated. I have a hunch the 4 newcomers will struggle offensively after getting to play some real defenses in 2024. Of course I have been wrong before., so we will see.
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I have this theory that Washington is going to see a drop-off in 2024 similar to the one TCU saw in 2023 after TCU made the NCG in the 2022 season.
2022 TCU and 2023 Washington both had magical seasons where the offense was good and they won some close games and ultimately made it to the NCG. Of course it's not exactly the same, so we will see.
I also have a this theory that one reason so many Big Ten offenses struggled in 2023 is because Big Ten defenses were under-rated. I have a hunch the 4 newcomers will struggle offensively after getting to play some real defenses in 2024. Of course I have been wrong before., so we will see.
I've read that both had a lot of graduating 5th year and 6th year COVID seniors in the 2-deep, and both lost a lot of that headed into the following year. Can't confirm or deny, just what the internet told me.
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just one of the reasons the Warshington coach should jump when he has the chance
sustaining the same level of success entering the B1G is nearly impossible w/o Penix and some of the other pieces
I doubt Warshington makes the final 4 in the future. With or without the coach
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I have this theory that Washington is going to see a drop-off in 2024 similar to the one TCU saw in 2023 after TCU made the NCG in the 2022 season.
Agree.
Usually I don’t look into 2-deep turnover until after the spring games, but right off the bat, Washington will be losing A LOT of production and Seniors going into the B1G next season.
QB Penix; NFL ready WRs Odunze, McMillan, and Jackson; 1k yard rusher Dillon Johnson; TE Westover, along with a few starters on the OL.
Defensively there’s six Seniors departing along with one or two transfers out.
The incoming coaches (Jedd Fisch and staff from Arizona) have a history of success finding key needs in the transfer portal.
The schedule does not feature a death row of opponents; it looks pretty standard for what USC, UCLA, and Oregon are also drawing. Tough road games @ Oregon and @ Penn State maybe Michigan will be there most difficult home game (on paper). I’m more interested in whether all the cross country travel will have an impact. Back and forth from Seattle to Piscataway, to Iowa City, to Bloomington.
Over/Under 6.5 wins?
(https://i.imgur.com/5o6FVt0.png)
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I'd put Washington at 7-5 (worse case,) to 9-3 next year.
L's - @Oregon @PSU, TTUN
Toss Up's - @Iowa, USC
W's - Weber, Eastern, WSU, NW, @Rutger, @Ind, UCLA
I would bet that 6.5 over, all day.
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Rutgers is going to be pretty solid next year. I would not count them as an automatic win.
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Yep, and it's almost a 3000 mile trip.
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really wish Warshington and Oregon were not invited and caused the two LA schools to travel 4 times a season
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Seattle to Lincoln or Madison or IC or Minnie isn't all that much different than Seattle to LA.
Minus the shitty LA traffic, anyway.
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well, they should all get regular trips to State College
PSU needs more permanent rivals
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well, they should all get regular trips to State College
PSU needs more permanent rivals
And regular trips to Miami and FSU, when they join.
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Agree.
Usually I don’t look into 2-deep turnover until after the spring games, but right off the bat, Washington will be losing A LOT of production and Seniors going into the B1G next season.
QB Penix; NFL ready WRs Odunze, McMillan, and Jackson; 1k yard rusher Dillon Johnson; TE Westover, along with a few starters on the OL.
Defensively there’s six Seniors departing along with one or two transfers out.
The incoming coaches (Jedd Fisch and staff from Arizona) have a history of success finding key needs in the transfer portal.
The schedule does not feature a death row of opponents; it looks pretty standard for what USC, UCLA, and Oregon are also drawing. Tough road games @ Oregon and @ Penn State maybe Michigan will be there most difficult home game (on paper). I’m more interested in whether all the cross country travel will have an impact. Back and forth from Seattle to Piscataway, to Iowa City, to Bloomington.
Over/Under 6.5 wins?
(https://i.imgur.com/5o6FVt0.png)
If I recall correctly, TCU also had a very senior-led team when they made the NC. Doesn't mean Wash is dead as a program, but they had the right scenario to win close games.
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Forceful quotes from a UCLA Bruins fan blog: "This week, it became clear that Chip Kelly’s flirtation with returning to the NFL as an offensive coordinator was not merely a back-channel discussion, but an open process, with multiple NFL reporters, including Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, reporting that Kelly was not only a candidate for the open offensive coordinator job for the Washington Commanders, but that Kelly had actually interviewed twice for the offensive coordinator position with the Las Vegas Raiders."
"Embarrassing doesn’t really begin to describe the state of this football program. In three months, UCLA has 1) allowed its sitting defensive coordinator to be poached by its main rival (unprecedented) for what has actually turned out to be a demotion, since D’Anton Lynn is a co-defensive coordinator at USC, 2) signed the worst recruiting class in school history (unprecedented), and 3) watched as its head coach interviews for demotions (unprecedented). This is, from a program hierarchy standpoint, probably the lowest UCLA has been in modern history."
"Chip Kelly’s program is dead. The recruiting has gone belly-up, which is something to see given that it was already the worst recruiting program in modern UCLA history. There is minimal NIL funding, certainly nothing that’ll allow UCLA to compete in the Big Ten. And yet, thanks in large part to a failure of leadership and vision from Martin Jarmond and Gene Block, Kelly remains the head coach – when he doesn’t even want to be."
"...he’s [Kelly] been reported to have interviewed for the Raiders OC job, we’ve heard and it’s since been corroborated that he’s linked to Dan Quinn as his potential OC with the Commanders, and beyond that, we even heard earlier this offseason that he was talking to Kirk Ferentz about the Iowa OC job."
Whole article is worth the read:
https://twitter.com/BruinReport/status/1753801279141543991
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Why didn't we resuscitate Fearless' Welcome to the BiG thread from 2011?
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cause the 4 PAC schools can't hold a candle to the Nebraska Cornhuskers!
obviously
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(https://i.imgur.com/MCkWxsX.jpg)
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That's... something.
Who would want that job these days?
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a former star running back
it will pay well for a few years
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a former star running back
it will pay well for a few years
It will pay even better if a big buyout was negotiated.
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UCLA just seems like a job that is almost impossible to turn around. probably why Chip was like "fk this shit, I'm going to Ohio State to be the OC".
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the right guy can turn it around
Chip finally figured out he wasn't the right guy
probably not head coach material
smart to take an OC position where he can succeed
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the right guy can turn it around
Chip finally figured out he wasn't the right guy
probably not head coach material
smart to take an OC position where he can succeed
Yeah I don't think anyone can turn that UCLA sinking ship around. Only going to be harder for anyone to do that with the jump up in competition to the B1G.
Chip's move to Ohio State screams he wants out of CFB imo. He's going to a loaded situation- where it's set up for success- and if he has smashing success this year at Ohio State- he's probably off to be an NFL OC in '25. Chip hated recruiting way before the portal and NIL. Now he really fcking can't stand it. He wants out of CFB imo.
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This is sort of why the PAC died.
A P5 HC just accepted a demotion to another school. He sought it out. That's fucked up.
And I don't hear the shrieking that would be happening elsewhere.
Out west, they just...don't....care. Not nearly as much, anyway.
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I'm with Mdot on this - UCLA is starting to look like a lost cause at this point. Like they're becoming Cal not really emphasizing or caring about football anymore. Both from a fan support and institutional support perspective.
Thinking back to just 10 years ago, Jim Mora Jr was fielding legitimately strong Bruins teams, stringing together top 15 finishes before it all went unnecessarily downhill. Under Jim Mora Jr they were achieving what Rick Nueheisal promised - beating USC, signing top 10/15 recruiting classes, sending a ton of players to the NFL, filling the Rose Bowl for home games, and contending in the Pac 12 for conference championships. But even Mora's best teams couldn't get past the Stanford buzz saw and the good times didn't last long. Short as they were (2 to 4 seasons) UCLA felt like what they should always be given their built in advantages.
Fast forward to now and the UCLA job very much appears scaled back. Chip Kelly's past three seasons of 8 and 9 wins feels like the ceiling. Rose Bowl attendance is pathetic. Local sports media barely covers the Bruins. UCLA's very international student body isn't inclined to football. And aside from a few avid fan blogs and their aging portions of alumni who came of age under coach Terry Donahue's Rose Bowl seasons, there is minimal fan support.
UCLA football is not the job it was 40, 25, or even 10 years ago.
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and some idiot thought they deserved a spot in the B1G
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So, what happens with the playoff now slotting SIX conference champions as auto bids?
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and some idiot thought they deserved a spot in the B1G
probably had to take them in order to get USC? Idk. USC is a true blue chip brand, and it's worth taking UCLA for just to get them imo. And not every team in the conference can be great. Going to need some punching bags. Plus LA is fertile recruiting grounds. Probably the 2nd or 3rd best in the entire country. If you're a kid from LA and you know you're going to be able to play 2 games every year in front of your family in LA if you go to Michigan or Ohio State- might just make it *a little bit* easier to want to go. And any little edge in recruiting helps, as it's a ruthless cutthroat son of a bitch business.
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oh, I'm certain it was a package deal with USC
same reason Wash and Ore got invited - travel partners
I just don't think the trojans had ANY real leverage
they weren't going to the SEC, what was their other plan?
try to hold the PAC together and sign a crap TV deal and lose a shit ton of money?
then have even less leverage in a few years?
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So, what happens with the playoff now slotting SIX conference champions as auto bids?
I've kinda assumed ever since the P12 blew up that the number of auto-bids for League Champions would be reduced but if not here is what I *THINK* the 12-team CFP seeds would have been with 2023 results superimposed over 2024's Conference alignments:
- #1 B1G Champion Michigan
- #2 At-large Washington (assuming they lose the B1GCG to M)
- #3 SEC Champion Texas
- #4 At-large Bama
- #5 ACC Champion Florida State
- #6 At-large Georgia
- #7 At-large Ohio State
- #8 At-large Oregon
- #9 At-large Mizzou
- #14 B12 Champion Arizona (assuming here that Arizona beats OkSU in the B12CG)
- #23 CUSA Champion Liberty Biberty
- #24 AAC Champion Southern Methodist
So I *THINK* the playoff would be:
- SMU at FSU, winner vs Bama
- Liberty Biberty at Georgia, winner vs Texas
- Arizona at Ohio State, winner vs Washington
- Mizzou at Oregon, winner vs Michigan
Then the semi-finals would have been:
- Bama/FSU/SMU vs M/Mizzou/Oregon
- Texas/Georgia/Liberty Biberty vs Washington/tOSU/Zona
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and some idiot thought they deserved a spot in the B1G
I don't think USC would have come without them, but then again, why take USC? They also ain't what they once were.
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https://twitter.com/Brett_McMurphy/status/1757404759412076969?s=20
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I've kinda assumed ever since the P12 blew up that the number of auto-bids for League Champions would be reduced but if not here is what I *THINK* the 12-team CFP seeds would have been with 2023 results superimposed over 2024's Conference alignments:
I hope not. The idiots chose their wording specifically so they couldn't be accused of favoring the Power 5. Then their own greed destroyed the Power 5
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I hope not. The idiots chose their wording specifically so they couldn't be accused of favoring the Power 5. Then their own greed destroyed the Power 5
Honestly to me it doesn't make much difference specifically because they went with a 12-team playoff.
If you look at my guess at the 12 teams based on 2023 with 2024 alignments, the best teams left out are:
- #10, 10-2 Penn State
- #11, 10-2 Ole Miss
- #12, 10-2 Oklahoma
- #13, 9-3 LSU
I generally agree with @OrangeAfroMan (https://www.cfb51.com/index.php?action=profile;u=58) that including BOTH Liberty Biberty AND SMU is unnecessary. However, I recognize that for political and legal (anti-trust) reasons you probably HAVE to reserve one seat for non-P5 (now P4) so I'd rather they drop it to five which would replace SMU with PSU in that example.
I still wish they'd gone with eight teams with the top-4 league champions hosting and with the new alignments I'd make it:
- The five highest ranked League Champions get auto-bids
- The next three highest ranked teams get in
- The Four highest ranked League Champions host the quarter-finals.
Under that model the 2023 rankings superimposed on the 2024 alignments would yield something like:
- Liberty Biberty at Michigan
- Georgia at Texas
- Bama at Florida State
- Washington at Arizona
The best teams left out would be:
- #7, 11-1 Ohio State
- #8, 11-2 Oregon
- #9 10-2 Mizzou
IMHO, the 8-team model is a better playoff and, more importantly, it creates a much more compelling regular season because a single loss might exclude you (Ohio State) or it forces you to play a road game in your opener instead of a home game (Georgia/Bama/Washington).
With the 12-team playoff even if they maintain the six slots for League Champions there is almost no chance of a 1-loss P4 team missing the playoff and 2-loss P4 teams are about 50/50.
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IMHO, the 8-team model is a better playoff and, more importantly, it creates a much more compelling regular season because a single loss might exclude you (Ohio State) or it forces you to play a road game in your opener instead of a home game (Georgia/Bama/Washington).
I was banging the 5+1+2 or 6+2 model (which would now be 5+3) gong for a long time before they morons decided to go to 12. Seems to solve all problems. Major conference champs get auto-bid, so conference champs matter. G5 gets auto-bid. Still plenty of room for at-large teams that really should be in but didn't win their conferences. It's 8 teams, so no byes. You could pretty easily make that first round the top 4 seeds (or conf. champs) getting a home game.
12 is both unnecessary and worse.
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I was banging the 5+1+2 or 6+2 model (which would now be 5+3) gong for a long time before they morons decided to go to 12. Seems to solve all problems. Major conference champs get auto-bid, so conference champs matter. G5 gets auto-bid. Still plenty of room for at-large teams that really should be in but didn't win their conferences. It's 8 teams, so no byes. You could pretty easily make that first round the top 4 seeds (or conf. champs) getting a home game.
12 is both unnecessary and worse.
We are preaching to the choir here but I completely agree. The 12-team playoff completely changes the way I view the game.
My team has a TON of talent coming back from a team whose only regular season loss was on the road to the eventual NC by one score. Plus they have upgrades on the coaching staff and a great class of new recruits. I *SHOULD* be super excited and to be honest, I'm not.
With the non-divisional CG and the 12-team playoff I'm excited about three games next year:
- At Oregon on 10/12
- At Penn State on 11/2
- Vs TCUN on 11/30.
All the others more-or-less "feel" like NFL preseason games to me. They only matter if Ohio State loses at least two (probably three). Otherwise, the Buckeyes are in the playoff and if tOSU wins the 2024 National Championship I'm really not going to care whether they were 16-0 or 15-1 with a "hangover" loss to Purdue the week after they beat Penn State.
In any prior season I'd have had that Purdue game circled as a dangerous game. I guess it still is, but losing used to be potentially fatal, now the penalty for losing to Purdue is likely either minimal or trivial.
In 2018 a loss to Purdue kept tOSU out of the playoffs even though they won all their other games. In 2017 a loss to Iowa combined with a loss to a top-4 team kept tOSU out of the playoffs. In 2024 the Buckeyes could lose to BOTH Purdue and Iowa and still be almost assured of a playoff spot as long as they won their other 10 because they'd still be no worse than 10-2 with wins over Oregon, Penn State, and Michigan.
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oh, I'm certain it was a package deal with USC
same reason Wash and Ore got invited - travel partners
I just don't think the trojans had ANY real leverage
they weren't going to the SEC, what was their other plan?
try to hold the PAC together and sign a crap TV deal and lose a shit ton of money?
then have even less leverage in a few years?
But as it turns out, obviously, they DID have enough leverage to force the B1G's hand.
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Honestly to me it doesn't make much difference specifically because they went with a 12-team playoff.
Then they could have said the 5 conference champs of the ACC, B1G, SEC, XII and Pac 12, and next best champ. But they chose not it to work it that way purposefully. So I hope it bites them.
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But as it turns out, obviously, they DID have enough leverage to force the B1G's hand.
they obviously did with the current Big Ten leadership
doesn't make it true
why couldn't the Big Ten kick the can down the road?
afraid USC would go to the SEC with or without UCLA???
I don't think so
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Big hire for Coach DeShaun Foster last week - UCLA hires Eric Bieniemy as OC:
https://twitter.com/latbbolch/status/1761548782934835420
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The UC Board of Regents is finalizing the "Calimony" rates we've been hearing about - from Outkick:
“UCLA will now have to pay Cal $10 million per year through 2029-2030, after a UC Board of Regents recommendation that was approved late Thursday evening.”
“A report from the president of the UC system claims that the difference in income between UCLA's media distribution from the Big Ten is roughly $50 million per year compared to Cal's distribution from its new ACC home. Given that disparity, it's not surprising that the regents chose to recommend UCLA pay the max amount to Cal each year. Still though, it must be tough for the UCLA athletic department to accept that it will be paying Cal $50-60 million over the next few years, just because Cal won't take in as much revenue from its new conference.”
“For UCLA though, the $10 million per year could actually get worse. The Regents recommended that if there's an adjustment to revenues for either school that results in a 10 percent increase or decrease from the current projections, they will reevaluate to see if UCLA should give even more money. Ouch.”
Needless to say UCLA is singled out over USC because USC is a private university. The UC Board of Regents can't obligate USC's funds, so it all falls on UCLA.
https://twitter.com/Outkick/status/1789085511556170073
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Do they have to pay UCSD, UCSB, UCI, UCD too?
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I'd put Washington at 7-5 (worse case,) to 9-3 next year.
L's - @Oregon @PSU, TTUN
Toss Up's - @Iowa, USC
W's - Weber, Eastern, WSU, NW, @Rutger, @Ind, UCLA
Rutgers is going to be pretty solid next year. I would not count them as an automatic win.
Way-too-early rankings from Yardbarker have Washington as high as #12. Which I think is ridiculous. Their assessment (https://www.yardbarker.com/college_football/articles/way_too_early_top_25_for_the_2024_ncaa_football_season/s1__39902041#slide_13):
“With coach Kalen DeBoer bolting for Alabama, several Huskies entering the transfer portal as a result and star receiver Rome Odunze and running back Dillon Johnson declaring for the NFL Draft, everything — and seemingly everybody — is up in the air at Washington. Now, regardless what the Huskies look like come August, and with new hot-shot coach Jedd Fisch in charge, they're probably good enough to rate among the top half of the new-look Big Ten, but maybe too early to predict a CFP repeat.”
I don’t know how a program can lose so much — in Washington’s case coaching and especially all the departing star power on offense — and be considered Top 25. Much less #12. Washington is too unproven across the roster to expect much. This is definitely a case of a team generating too much hype based on their recent success.
My projection: 6-6
3-1 or 4-0: Weber State, Eastern Mich, Washington State, Northwestern
1-3: @Rutgers, Michigan, @Iowa, @Indiana
2-2 or 1-3: USC, @Penn State, UCLA, @Oregon
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Sounds like a hedge to me. Good teams tend to stay good in a 2-year sample. Bad team tend to stay bad in a 2-year sample.
Laziness?
Cowardice?
Ho-hum.
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Here’s one of those articles we see after most every change – how under new coach DeShaun Foster there’s “a different energy at UCLA now.” And as a younger, player’s oriented coach there’s “a stark contrast from how distant the program felt for recruits over the previous six seasons.” How post-Chip Kelly, “the Bruins have charted a different blueprint.”
Much like Kenny Dillingham taking over Arizona State, there’s badmouthing the former coach (Herm Edwards) for the sake of hyping the younger coach’s youth and energy as a promise for a brighter future.
In Chip Kelly’s case, what’s bemoaned is his well-known lack of effort and enthusiasm for recruiting, which, as DeShaun Foster takes over, has left a very shallow Bruins roster: “Under Kelly, only Clemson was offering fewer scholarships than UCLA among FBS teams, yet perhaps most damaging to his roster construction was how late the Bruins were getting involved in recruitments. By the time UCLA threw its name in the hat for a recruit, it was already three or four steps behind. In two short months, the pace has seemingly picked up — more than 70 high schoolers in the 2025 class hold UCLA offers and nearly two dozen official visits are on the calendar…”
Good luck to coach DeShaun Foster: “The 44-year-old Foster has yet to coach a game, of course, so there are still many questions left to answer about the on-field product, especially considering the quality and depth of the Big Ten. Yet it's clear the former Carolina Panthers star running back has, at the very least, provided a reinvigorating jolt to a team that desperately needed some electricity off the field.”
I’m plenty critical of Washington in this thread, but UCLA is transitioning into the Big Ten with notably less to work with across the roster.
https://twitter.com/BlairAngulo/status/1785387120074641513
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Seems like a good start.
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Jedd Fisch is the prime example of failing upwards. When he was the OC here he royally screwed up Adam Weber's throwing motion.
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(https://i.imgur.com/ll5ZFOl.jpeg)
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Big Ten Coaches Talk Anonymously About Conference Foes for 2024
Oregon
“They’re a playoff contender and can battle anyone in the new league."
"Watch out for these guys this season because [offensive coordinator] Will Stein and [quarterback] Dillon Gabriel make a lot of sense together. When you look at how Stein developed guys at UTSA, Gabriel already having a lot of game experience, they could really light a fire."
"Where the program has really evolved is the front seven on defense. They’re as talented and well-coached as any of the Big 2 schools [Ohio State and Michigan] at these positions, and they can get after it. That’s Lanning’s fingerprints on the program."
"Of the four schools coming into the league from the Pac-12, this is the most complete and dangerous.”
UCLA
“They’re going to be really interesting to watch in the next few seasons. I think that Chip [Kelly] lost his taste for the head coach position and what it takes these days, from the executive side of it to the new rules and the portal. [DeShaun] Foster wants to be there and wants to lean into the energy of the city, for sure."
"[Offensive coordinator Eric] Bieniemy back in college will be interesting to watch."
"It’s too early to tell what that roster will do this season, but they’re trying to fire up the brand and get the alumni and boosters into NIL and get the energy up. It’s been a really quiet and forgettable program for a long time in recruiting.”
USC
“Lincoln [Riley] screwed up and held on to a bad situation with his DC a season too long, but hiring [D’Anton] Lynn from across town was a smart move. Kind of a can’t beat him, hire him situation."
"Expect improvement schematically overall with the new system, and they’ve upgraded in the secondary. They’ll be better than under [Alex] Grinch."
"Obviously they’re replacing Caleb [Williams], but the bigger question is if they can get both lines playing better. They can ease the new QB in if they’re protecting him, and if they’re getting push on the defensive side. They didn’t look anything like the old USC glory teams in the trenches the last few years.”
Washington
“Obviously, they’re going to be a completely different program entering the Big Ten in every way you can imagine. Nothing about last season is going to carry over, except maybe the expectations after what Kalen [DeBoer] put together."
"[Jedd Fisch’s] work at Arizona compares a lot to what he’s got to deal with this year. He’s got a young, new staff at a lot of key positions and a roster with no direction and identity. They’ll probably take it on the chin this season because of their schedule, but Jedd knows how to build a long-term recruiting plan, and clearly Washington supports NIL and the portal."
"They’re not going to make the playoff this year or next year, but he’s a really smart pick for a rebuild.”
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However, per a report, people on the Trojans side have been attempting to get out of the game since Lincoln Riley was hired.
“USC tried for nearly 2 years to find a way out of a contract to play LSU in Las Vegas because Trojans coach Lincoln Riley didn’t want the game, multiple sources told Saturday Down South,” Hayes said.
“As late as last fall, after Jen Cohen was hired away from Washington to be the new USC athletic director, the USC administration was still trying to get out of the game, including offering other opponents to LSU, sources said.”
USC making the move over to the Big Ten is a big deal for FOX, especially with Riley’s resurgence of the program. But having them play their first game since moving from the Pac-12 televised on the Disney side meant FOX attempted to get the Trojans out of the game too.
“At one point, Fox Sports got involved and tried to further the process,” Hayes said. “The network wasn’t enamored with the idea of USC’s first game as a Big Ten member broadcast by rival ABC/ESPN.”
Riley and LSU’s Brian Kelly share the same agent, Trace Armstrong. Hayes reports he got involved in the process too, hoping to convince Kelly to change his mind about playing the game.
Ultimately, there was no luck. LSU and USC will be in Las Vegas to open up the 2024 season in what should be one of the more exciting matchups on the calendar.
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However, per a report, people on the Trojans side have been attempting to get out of the game since Lincoln Riley was hired.
This news coming out, how for over 2 years all the stops were pulled to back out of opening this upcoming season Vs LSU, is a bad look for Muleshoes.
Muleshoes already came across as a crybaby by leaving Oklahoma, in part, because he didn’t want to play denser SEC schedules.
And to think that for Muleshoes, if you have to have a tough opener you couldn’t ask for a better setup. Las Vegas, where the USC fanbase will be making the 4 to 5 hour drive from Los Angeles on a long holiday weekend. A Sunday evening kickoff when all eyes will only have this game to watch. A $5M dollar payout to each school.
I hope the announcers, presumably Herbstriet and Fowler, have the gumption to discuss Muleshoes’ cold feet (shoes?) during the broadcast: “After over two years of trying not to be here, here jogs Lincoln Riley leading his team onto the field.”
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he's REALLY gonna like the trip to Penn St. in November
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Lincoln Riley has mobilized his publicist(s) in full force after news leaked of Muleshoes trying to backdoor his way out of playing LSU to open the season. Not only to get media figures to excuse his unwillingness to start the season playing LSU but also to criticize other parts of USC’s schedule (Notre Dame) that he does not like.
First it’s Colin Cowherd devoting a whole radio segment to defending Riley: “Everybody is going to go after Lincoln Riley,” Cowherd said. “But it should have never been scheduled.”
Cowherd then goes on to ask why USC bothers to play Notre Dame anymore – another tough matchup Muleshoes presumably wants out of. Cowherd doesn’t hide his friendship with Riley, who in turn Riley uses as a mouthpiece to whine and cry on his behalf.
"Why do they have to keep playing Notre Dame?" Cowherd said. "Colin, the history? Oh, gimme a break. College football punted on history last year."
Then you have this Sporting News article (https://www.sportingnews.com/us/ncaa-football/news/usc-cancel-lsu-game-dropping-notre-dame-big-ten-schedule/2cfa1d6db431aba13605b39c) (that I’m quoting from, possibly initiated by Riley’s publicist) going into full defense of Muleshoes: “Don't blame USC for trying to cancel LSU game and possibly dropping Notre Dame with new Big Ten schedule.” Then going on to explain how the rest of poor USC’s “schedule is not easy.”
https://twitter.com/TheHerd/status/1795875977597247554
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LSU has an SEC schedule and wants to play, even across the country. Weird.
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they may not want to play, but they aren't dumb enough to shamelessly try to back out
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LSU has an SEC schedule and wants to play, even across the country. Weird.
And USC's tougher schedule features of five of their first six games Vs LSU, @Mich, Vs Wisc, @Minn, and Vs Penn St. Given the difficulty, 4-2 should be about the best USC can hope for with realistically a 7-5 season. The oddsmakers would agree - from Lindy's preview on USC:
"There is a complete difference of opinion about USC between the boosters, who expect a trip to the expanded College Football Playoff, and the oddsmakers, who set the regular season over/under at 7.5. If Riley doesn't win 10 games, he will be under intense pressure because of the expectations set by his splashy hire in 2022. Once he started losing last season, there was grumbling that he doesn't meet with boosters or interact with people on campus. But if he wins this season, everything will be forgiven and his reputation as a quarterback guru will remain intact."
Which brings up another point. Look at the quarterbacks Muleshoes was gifted since becoming Oklahoma's head coach in 2017: Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, Jalen Hurts, Spencer Rattler, and Caleb Williams - all on NFL rosters. Going into the Big Ten, this is the first year Riley is without a clear-cut favorite QB to lead the offense. Much less some kind of Freshman All-American or Heisman contender:
"QB Miller Moss will probably start the season opener against LSU, but UNLV transfer Jayden Maiava was more impressive in the spring game. That could set up a dilemma for coach Lincoln Riley, especially when two of the first three games are against the Tigers and Michigan..."
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I hope the Badgers go out there and whip their asses.
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Joel Klatt lists 10 college football games that will shape the 2024 season
https://www.on3.com/news/joel-klatt-lists-10-college-football-games-that-will-shape-the-2024-season/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2O8U5kH8HX5KC7ieUENQ64k3rvpEMEvAhNLWVvZnQeXxNRHTjwD1S8euk_aem_AeZUUh8mU6MXp0DHmXqknEMJ5kqNCMNnA_s80TI6DxmfuPL9DCNNEwPkzMQeVOXqy8ieG8PVBUofnXeGaO4jig5Z (https://www.on3.com/news/joel-klatt-lists-10-college-football-games-that-will-shape-the-2024-season/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2O8U5kH8HX5KC7ieUENQ64k3rvpEMEvAhNLWVvZnQeXxNRHTjwD1S8euk_aem_AeZUUh8mU6MXp0DHmXqknEMJ5kqNCMNnA_s80TI6DxmfuPL9DCNNEwPkzMQeVOXqy8ieG8PVBUofnXeGaO4jig5Z)
Sorry OAM, not sorry
“I think USC and LSU are pretty similarly positioned within their conferences,” Klatt said. “Which is, a bit of an unknown. We believe in their coaches… We believe in their locations… And yet, we still don’t know in the new iteration of these conferences — where are they going to be at?”
Klatt believes USC winning this game would be big for the Big Ten, changing the perception of the conference in terms of the number of teams making the College Football Playoff. The same can be said about LSU due to the marquee nonconference win and a favorable home game schedule.
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Can't argue with any of those. Gonna be some fun games this year!
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Klatt believes USC winning this game would be big for the Big Ten, changing the perception of the conference in terms of the number of teams making the College Football Playoff. The same can be said about LSU due to the marquee nonconference win and a favorable home game schedule.
Thinking LSU pulls away after a defensive standoff in the first half. Both offenses are unproven but LSU has the overall talent advantage and more a killer instinct.
On another note:
https://twitter.com/PeteFiutak/status/1798557657131061445
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so, 11 or more?
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Joel Klatt lists 10 college football games that will shape the 2024 season
https://www.on3.com/news/joel-klatt-lists-10-college-football-games-that-will-shape-the-2024-season/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2O8U5kH8HX5KC7ieUENQ64k3rvpEMEvAhNLWVvZnQeXxNRHTjwD1S8euk_aem_AeZUUh8mU6MXp0DHmXqknEMJ5kqNCMNnA_s80TI6DxmfuPL9DCNNEwPkzMQeVOXqy8ieG8PVBUofnXeGaO4jig5Z (https://www.on3.com/news/joel-klatt-lists-10-college-football-games-that-will-shape-the-2024-season/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2O8U5kH8HX5KC7ieUENQ64k3rvpEMEvAhNLWVvZnQeXxNRHTjwD1S8euk_aem_AeZUUh8mU6MXp0DHmXqknEMJ5kqNCMNnA_s80TI6DxmfuPL9DCNNEwPkzMQeVOXqy8ieG8PVBUofnXeGaO4jig5Z)
Sorry OAM, not sorry
“I think USC and LSU are pretty similarly positioned within their conferences,” Klatt said. “Which is, a bit of an unknown. We believe in their coaches… We believe in their locations… And yet, we still don’t know in the new iteration of these conferences — where are they going to be at?”
Klatt believes USC winning this game would be big for the Big Ten, changing the perception of the conference in terms of the number of teams making the College Football Playoff. The same can be said about LSU due to the marquee nonconference win and a favorable home game schedule.
No earthly clue as to why I'm involved in this. I don't care if LSU beats USC. It's just interesting that one wants to play it and the other doesn't.
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Thinking LSU pulls away after a defensive standoff in the first half. Both offenses are unproven but LSU has the overall talent advantage and more a killer instinct.
Would you say LSU has the eye of the tiger?
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so, 11 or more?
10.5 or more, dummy. :88:
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gotcha
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More on USC: Three of SC’s biggest offseason storylines – from Fansided:
1. New QB: Will QB Miller Moss continue Lincoln Riley’s long line of championship level quarterbacking? “We already know Moss can run Riley's system. We all saw it in the Holiday Bowl against a solid Louisville defense. He threw six touchdowns in the first look USC fans have gotten of him with the first team offense. One performance doesn't prove a quarterback is capable of keeping his head game-in-game-out, play-in-play-out. And as fun as the Holiday Bowl was, it was an ultimately meaningless game. Taking on LSU, Penn State and Notre Dame is a whole other ask.”
Moss’s 6 TD showing Vs Louisville was widely praised – his stats were great – however, he tossed numerous weak floaters, especially early on. Look for USC’s tougher opponents to bait Moss into passing mistakes.
2. Defense: How much will SC’s defense improve under former UCLA DC D'Anton Lynn? It’s a guarantee that SC’s defense will be better because it can’t be any worse than last year, ranking as low as 118th nationally in scoring and 116th in total yards. Meanwhile, across town, Lynn had UCLA’s 2023 defense 14th in scoring and 10th in total yards – all without much NFL talent.
3. OL/DL Lines: “Is USC's talent and depth in the trenches good enough for the Big Ten? Even if the answer is yes, Riley needs an absurd amount of luck to make it through the 2024 season without any major injury issues on the offensive line because USC doesn't have a viable two-deep. The defensive line is an even bigger concern. There's practically no quality depth and there's a dearth of 300-pound bodies capable of clogging up the middle. Realistically, USC needed a full transfer portal rebuild.”
https://twitter.com/PenguinOfTroy/status/1798871104540623132
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USC will be lucky to win 6/7 this season. I only count 3 "certain" wins here.
(https://i.imgur.com/ofbpu4a.png)
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No much faith in ol' Muleshoe, eh?
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Nope.
I never thought he was "all that" in the first place.
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USC Trojans series with Ole Miss canceled after Lincoln Riley's two years of tantrums fail to cancel Kickoff Classic Vs LSU – from BroBible:
“The USC Trojans and Ole Miss Rebels have cancelled a future home and home football series scheduled for 2025 and 2026. It seems Lincoln Riley and Co. are doing all they can to dodge future SEC opponents following the program’s move to the Big Ten.”
“Lincoln Riley is avoiding the SEC at all costs, at least according to fans. Many around college football believed he initially accepted the USC role instead of an open LSU gig to avoid that fierce competition.”
https://twitter.com/BroBible/status/1803124350406603231
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If Dave Aranda gets canned after this season, and that's a very real possibility, someone will be backing up the Brinks truck to hire him as DC.
USC has the money.
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Texas bemoans losing recruits to the Oregon Ducks:
“One team, that is poaching some talented players from the Longhorns’ hopes more than others, is the Oregon Ducks. Earlier this year, Oregon’s head coach Dan Lanning roped in four-star wide receiver Dallas Wilson for the Ducks, a player who Sarkisian is still trying to bring to Texas. Just this week, Lanning secured four-star defensive lineman Josiah Sharma, who had initially included the Horns in his final few schools under consideration.”
I personally think Oregon’s recruiting boost goes back to the NIL, not only the dollar amounts but the guarantee. Certain programs like Florida and Miami have not been able to follow through on NIL pledges.
“The Longhorns have the Texas One Fund which has earned over $14 million since its inception in 2021. The Ducks have Division Street, which is closely tied to Nike, that has turned two Oregon players (quarterback Dillon Gabriel and cornerback Evan Stewart) into top ten NIL earners in the nation. Don’t get me wrong, both schools wear Nike but there’s something a little different about Oregon’s relationship with the brand’s founder Phil Knight.”
Either way, it is still surprising the Big Ten unified to so quickly vote Washington and especially Oregon into the conference. The Ducks weaponized NIL is a threat to the usual powers.
https://twitter.com/HookemHeadlines/status/1807416256150044694
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UT's NIL program is good, but it can't really compete with Oregon where Nike-- a fortune 100 company-- has a division of the company specifically focused on Oregon's NIL program.
As several of us said at the time, bringing in USC and UCLA made sense, but bringing in Oregon was a terrible misstep.
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UT's NIL program can compete with any on the nation, including Oregon
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UT's NIL program is good, but it can't really compete with Oregon where Nike-- a fortune 100 company-- has a division of the company specifically focused on Oregon's NIL program.
As several of us said at the time, bringing in USC and UCLA made sense, but bringing in Oregon was a terrible misstep.
None of them made any sense.
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None of them made any sense.
From a financial perspective, USC made sense, and money is all that drives conference realignment. Specifically, football money. UCLA was a travel partner that USC wanted, so the B1G had no choice-- weren't going to get one without the other.
Oregon and Washington make no sense at all. The only way it's working out is they're taking partial shares, but even then, they just never should have been offered. That was a major mistake from the B1G office.
UT's NIL program can compete with any on the nation, including Oregon
The evidence is showing this clearly isn't true...
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The Ducks weaponized NIL is a threat to the usual powers.
I do find this a little bit of an odd characterization. What makes NIL "weaponized"? The fact that they have more of it and they're using it better than the traditional powers, who have leveraged their shiny helmets, long histories, and large fan bases to amass the majority of high-level talent for decades?
As a fan of one of college sports many "have-not" teams, I find it hard to garner sympathy for the usual powers.
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The evidence is showing this clearly isn't true...
well, it's not because of a lack of money
perhaps it's not well organized or needs to be prioritized to boosters
oil money trumps tennis shoe $$
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well, it's not because of a lack of money
perhaps it's not well organized or needs to be prioritized to boosters
oil money trumps tennis shoe $$
It's less money. Thus far, Texas boosters just aren't donating to NIL in the amounts that Nike has been able to coordinate on behalf of Oregon. It's getting better but in general Texas boosters are still the types that donate to get buildings and fields named after them, rather than donating to cover operating expenses. Just not as much prestige in the latter even if it's more directly beneficial to the sports teams.
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I agree, but it's not because Texas fans/boosters don't have more money to spend.
any type of combined effort would dwarf Oregon
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I do find this a little bit of an odd characterization. What makes NIL "weaponized"? The fact that they have more of it and they're using it better than the traditional powers, who have leveraged their shiny helmets, long histories, and large fan bases to amass the majority of high-level talent for decades?
As a fan of one of college sports many "have-not" teams, I find it hard to garner sympathy for the usual powers.
Can you still be considered a "have-not" team when you are in a better position financially than Florida State, Notre Dame, etc?
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UT's NIL program is good, but it can't really compete with Oregon where Nike-- a fortune 100 company-- has a division of the company specifically focused on Oregon's NIL program.
As several of us said at the time, bringing in USC and UCLA made sense, but bringing in Oregon was a terrible misstep.
Perhaps Mr Dell and TITOs could up their ante
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Perhaps Mr Dell and TITOs could up their ante
Heh. Mr. Dell has no interest in athletics.
But I've partied at my tailgate with Tito Beveridge, back before he was a billionaire. He definitely likes his UT sports and definitely needs to throw in some coin.
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Can you still be considered a "have-not" team when you are in a better position financially than Florida State, Notre Dame, etc?
Yes. Because this is about sports and not about balance sheets.
If that money comes with a schedule that is heavily weighted with teams that have more than you, I’d argue you’re still functionally a have-not.
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Can you still be considered a "have-not" team when you are in a better position financially than Florida State, Notre Dame, etc?
Florida St might not be financially great, but there aren't a large group better than ND
and yes, $$$ is powerful, but it's not the only thing that brings recruits
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Florida State is not an AAU member last I heard. So, no Big Ten invite is going to happen no matter how big, fat and juicy their revenue potential is.
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AAU is out the window. Nebraska is no longer AAU, and they didn't get the boot.
It's no longer a criteria.
$$$$$$$$$$$
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Can you still be considered a "have-not" team when you are in a better position financially than Florida State, Notre Dame, etc?
Say what now? https://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/finances
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AAU is out the window. Nebraska is no longer AAU, and they didn't get the boot.
It's no longer a criteria.
$$$$$$$$$$$
Yeah I agree, I don't think AAU status or lack thereof, will be any impediment to future B1G adds. It's all about the money.
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Yeah I agree, I don't think AAU status or lack thereof, will be any impediment to future B1G adds. It's all about the money.
The B1G F'd up royally by not getting Texas and OU, simply based on OU's non-AAU status.
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I blame Bobby Stoops
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Puppy kicker.
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much worse than Muleshoe
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I do find this a little bit of an odd characterization. What makes NIL "weaponized"? The fact that they have more of it and they're using it better than the traditional powers, who have leveraged their shiny helmets, long histories, and large fan bases to amass the majority of high-level talent for decades?
Think of Oregon like an Invasive Species that by definition harms its new environment. Invasive species can outcompete native species for resources. In Oregon's case this is thanks to their NIL program. Invasive species might harm their environment by introducing harmful chemicals. In Oregon's case this would be their NIL program. Additional threats of invasive species include preying on native species, causing or carrying disease, and preventing native species from reproducing or killing a native species' young. Don't dismiss Oregon's NIL as incapable of such eco-destruction.
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Not to put words in his mouth, but I think bwar's point is, why should he care? Why should he care whether a dominant specie gets there through the traditional means of helmetosity, or through the new "invasive" means of NIL?
Neither feels any remorse for squashing the little guy, so why is one better than the other? Why is one more acceptable than the other?
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Not to put words in his mouth, but I think bwar's point is, why should he care? Why should he care whether a dominant specie gets there through the traditional means of helmetosity, or through the new "invasive" means of NIL?
Neither feels any remorse for squashing the little guy, so why is one better than the other? Why is one more acceptable than the other?
This is part of it. There's also a bit of schadenfreude of hearing fans of helmet teams whining about how "unfair" it is that they're no longer getting all the recruits that they think they're entitled to get.
It's funny. I don't hear the helmet teams advocating for a recruiting draft or a salary cap. That might actually give us something approaching [gasp!!] parity.
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Florida State is not an AAU member last I heard. So, no Big Ten invite is going to happen no matter how big, fat and juicy their revenue potential is.
Academics?
The Big Ten could have had Stanford and Cal for free, and took a hard pass.
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Not sure where this belongs so here:
https://amp.awfulannouncing.com/tv/pac-12-network-final-sign-off-2024.html
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So, who is gonna hire the world's worst officials?
Casualties of conference realignment, Pac-12 officials detail hope, devastation in search of new opportunities - CBSSports.com (https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/casualties-of-conference-realignment-pac-12-officials-detail-hope-devastation-in-search-of-new-opportunities/)
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unfortunately, same number of games, they'll probably get a job
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We are not going to like the fact that Oregon is coming.
(https://i.imgur.com/BNvovsB.png)
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well, there's always a limit
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I do wonder how much money will flow to Oregon NIL after Knight is... well... no longer providing it directly?
Will he set up a foundation with an endowment or something? It'll be interesting. Not many programs with that level of available resources are so reliant on one single benefactor.
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Came across the below post about the Cal Bears traveling approx 24k roundtrip miles to keep up with their new ACC football schedule.
So doing the math for the new B1G members – values in roundtrip travel miles:
UCLA: @Hawaii: 5116 + @LSU: 3196 + @Penn St: 4498 + @Rutgers: 4856 + @Nebraska: 4086 + @Washington: 1920 = 23,672 miles
USC: Vs LSU: 550 + @Michigan: 3888 + @Minnesota: 3048 + @Maryland: 4620 + @Washington: 1920 + @UCLA: 20 = 14,046 miles
Washington: @Rutgers: 4890 + @Iowa: 3124 + @Indiana: 3750 + @Penn State: 4436 + @Oregon: 486 = 16686 miles
Oregon: @Oregon St: 94 + @UCLA: 1476 + @Purdue: 3910 + @Michigan: 3946 + @Wisconsin: 3424 = 12850 miles
Tens of thousands of miles – how environmentally sustainable of our preachy West Coast universities.
https://twitter.com/LateKickJosh/status/1809957778892480998
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yup, Coach Rhule promotes Lincoln, NE as the best spot to be in the Big Ten
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yup, Coach Rhule promotes Lincoln, NE as the best spot to be in the Big Ten *
* For obtaining runzas
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“The USC Trojans and Ole Miss Rebels have cancelled a future home and home football series scheduled for 2025 and 2026. It seems Lincoln Riley and Co. are doing all they can to dodge future SEC opponents following the program’s move to the Big Ten.”
To draw from the same article (https://brobible.com/sports/article/usc-football-ole-miss/) quoted above regarding the cancelling of marquee cross-conference matchups: “Unfortunately, this is a trend that seems likely to continue across the sport. Conferences will have sights set on landing as many at-large bids as possible in the new 12-team playoff setup, meaning losses need to be at a premium for the league as a whole.”
I post the above quote as an explanation for why UCLA reached mutual agreement with both Georgia and Auburn to cancel their upcoming series. For UCLA travel costs/distances likely played a part, but for Auburn and Georgia I’m betting it all goes back to lightening their burdens to increase their (conference's) chances at one of twelve playoff bids.
From the LA Times–
“UCLA is dropping two college football heavyweights from its future football schedules in favor of far more familiar foes. Gone will be Georgia and Auburn, titans of the Southeastern Conference. Arriving will be Utah and California, former Pac-12 Conference rivals who joined the Big 12 and Atlantic Coast conferences, respectively, in the wake of UCLA’s departure for the Big Ten. Now they will be nonconference opponents who need no introduction.”
https://twitter.com/latimessports/status/1811083472762507268
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well, there's always a limit
Sure. Right now, for Phil Knight, that limit is "whatever it takes to outbid every other school on every player I want."
Like I said on the other thread, Oregon and Phil Knight are uniquely situated to take advantage of the current system in a way that not even Texas can compete with. Knight has literally established a specific division of his company to manage NIL for Oregon. Nobody at Texas has done that and realistically nobody at Texas has the right kind of company/capabilities to do it.
I'm not asking anyone to cry for Texas, we're still toward the top of the NIL programs. We're just not AT the top. Only Oregon is.
And current recruiting is bearing that out-- Texas is getting its ass handed to it in battles for any and every recruit that Oregon decides it wants.
I'm glad we're not in the same conference as them, and we only have to deal with the old-school antiquated recruiting methods employed by the majority of the SEC.
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I'm not asking anyone to cry for Texas
That's good :57:
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And I'm not crying for y'all-- you're the dummies that let this fox into your henhouse when there was absolutely no need to do so.
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(https://i.imgur.com/4w0ee5M.png)
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Ohio St. and Michigan seem to fare well when it comes to scheduling
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Simple geography, really.
Michigan State got a mild hosing, ranked among the teams from the plains.
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always Michigan State and rarely Michigan
with the hosing
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always Michigan State and rarely Michigan
with the hosing
LOL
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To draw from the same article (https://brobible.com/sports/article/usc-football-ole-miss/) quoted above regarding the cancelling of marquee cross-conference matchups:
“Unfortunately, this is a trend that seems likely to continue across the sport. Conferences will have sights set on landing as many at-large bids as possible in the new 12-team playoff setup, meaning losses need to be at a premium for the league as a whole.”
A Trojans beat writer (https://trojanswire.usatoday.com/2024/07/15/usc-football-opener-lsu-tigers-attention-week-1) hypes the importance of USC Vs LSU by elaborating on the above point, specifying the 10-win mark as the threshold for playoff likelihood for SEC and Big Ten programs thanks to expanding the playoffs to twelve teams:
“The big point to remember about the shift to a 12-team College Football Playoff in 2024 is that if a team can go 10-2, that should be enough to make the playoff from the Big Ten or the SEC. Teams from one of the toughest conferences in the country can now lose twice and still have decent odds of making the playoff. In the four-team playoff era, USC or any other team from the Pac-12 needed to go 12-1 in 13 games to have a good chance of making the playoff. Pac-12 teams with two losses simply did not get into the four-team playoff. It’s different now with USC facing a rough schedule in a 12-team playoff format. A 10-2 record will get the Trojans into the playoff. Therefore, if they beat LSU, the Trojans could go 9-2 in their remaining 11 games and still make the playoff. It really puts the LSU game into perspective.”
No wonder Riley wanted out of this matchup so badly.
(https://i.imgur.com/OOApAbD.png)
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I figured all the negative, mocking, offseason criticism of Lincoln Riley would only play out on fan blogs and message boards like ours. But no, Paul Finebaum has decided Big Boy College Football Media will get in on the act too. At last week’s SEC media days, likely the most replayed soundbite was Finebaum’s haranguing, scorched-earth assessment of Lincoln Riley:
“I thought last year was one of the worst coaching jobs I’ve ever seen. Quite frankly, had I been the athletic director at Southern Cal, I would have fired Lincoln Riley because he’s yet to show, after many years as a head coach, whether he knows anything about defense. He’s gone through defensive coordinators. And now things are going to be five times worse in the Big Ten. On top of that a number of his top players are bailing out. This was a guy who owned LA for about half a minute. Next year at this time I think he’ll more than likely be an assistant in the NFL if he’s that lucky.”
Then earlier this week Finebaum goes on ESPN’s First Take and after reiterating his anti-Rileyism, says the answer for USC moving forward is...
...wait for it...
...Deion Sanders.
Now it makes more sense why Big Boy College Football Media might be turning on Lincoln Riley – they want Prime in the Los Angeles market. Never mind Colorado losing 8 of their last 9 games to finish the season; it’s all about the hype. Finebaum goes on to promote “Prime in Tinseltown” as “one of the great combinations in history.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckGXJgeOszA
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I've found that completely ignoring Finebaum is a "best practice" for living life to the fullest.
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Actually I didn't mind last season as he and his hordes were waylaying into the fighting hairballs for their um "indiscretions"
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https://twitter.com/davidadamcone/status/1816161114633142505?t=jOxTb4JaV3OxJov98AKucQ&s=19
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Holy crap.
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If nothing else, couldn't he default to a pitch he'd give to a recruit? Something?!?
Give me 'Guys that have never been a head coach and are overwhelmed' for $200, Alex.
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If nothing else, couldn't he default to a pitch he'd give to a recruit? Something?!?
Give me 'Guys that have never been a head coach and are overwhelmed' for $200, Alex.
Are you kidding? *I* could have given a better opening statement than that!
Yeah, I'd get roasted once they start asking questions, but I have an excuse for that: I'm not even a football coach. :57:
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That was worse than when Luke Fickel held his introductory press conference as OSU's interim HC.
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https://twitter.com/bigten/status/1819387933209903384?s=46&t=XdrGkNvHkY7K2L9Yz7UOfA (https://twitter.com/bigten/status/1819387933209903384?s=46&t=XdrGkNvHkY7K2L9Yz7UOfA)
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https://twitter.com/bigten/status/1819387933209903384?s=46&t=XdrGkNvHkY7K2L9Yz7UOfA (https://twitter.com/bigten/status/1819387933209903384?s=46&t=XdrGkNvHkY7K2L9Yz7UOfA)
Tooooo many places.
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Yes, 7 too many.
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8 too many
Big Ten
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I was good with this logo and 11 teams. Fantastic logo.
(https://i.imgur.com/Rt1cyT9.png)
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I was good with this logo and 11 teams. Fantastic logo.
(https://i.imgur.com/Rt1cyT9.png)
Stupid logo and it sucks.
Much better:
(https://i.imgur.com/e9iHkue.png)
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(https://i.imgur.com/L0kIjks.jpeg)
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Opinions are like ...
11 was great. 10 game round robin with 3 OOC games and no CCG.
Wonderful is what that would be.
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Crap is what that would be.
Big Ten was great as it was. Adding PSU was the beginning of the end.
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Adding PSU didn't hurt any other conference, unlike adding Rutgers, Maryland, Nebraska and the PAC's Big 4.
Big difference there, in my opinion.
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Adding PSU didn't hurt any other conference, unlike adding Rutgers, Maryland, Nebraska and the PAC's Big 4.
Big difference there, in my opinion.
It started the escalations. Beginning of the end. Screw the Big 11.
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It started the escalations. Beginning of the end. Screw the Big 11.
I wish they would have taken Texas when they had the chance. So there!
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I wish they would have taken Texas when they had the chance. So there!
Well that would be fine, obviously. :)
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That probably would have ended the madness right then and there. Texas would have a stable home, and not look elsewhere ever again.
The XII could have survived by adding TCU. The PAC could have taken Utah and BYU.
SEC was already at 12 and the ACC could have gotten there by adding 3 more. Say Miami, Pitt and VT.
Would suck for the other former Big East schools, but they could have figured out a way. And they should STILL be kicking themselves for not listening to PSU about starting an Eastern conference.
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If you are going to blame the Big Ten for anything, it's not adding PSU, it's creating the BTN. That turned conferences into nothing more than TV markets, which threw geography out the window.
The SWC dissolving was happening anyway. The ACC absorbing the Big East was probably inevitable. But I think beyond that, look to the success of the BTN. And damn, I miss the early days of that network.
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If you are going to blame the Big Ten for anything, it's not adding PSU, it's creating the BTN. That turned conferences into nothing more than TV markets, which threw geography out the window.
The SWC dissolving was happening anyway. The ACC absorbing the Big East was probably inevitable. But I think beyond that, look to the success of the BTN. And damn, I miss the early days of that network.
Oh I can easily blame the Big Ten for BOTH. I'm talented at multi-tasking.
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If you are going to blame the Big Ten for anything, it's not adding PSU, it's creating the BTN. That turned conferences into nothing more than TV markets, which threw geography out the window.
The SWC dissolving was happening anyway. The ACC absorbing the Big East was probably inevitable. But I think beyond that, look to the success of the BTN. And damn, I miss the early days of that network.
That was Delany giving the finger to ESecPN and its lowball offer.
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I don't know about the rest of you, but I frankly think that the Oregon Duck appearances are cute.
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Duck the Fucks.
:96:
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Colin Cowherd carrying more water for the new additions. Says the Big Ten will "struggle (https://athlonsports.com/college-football/colin-cowherd-reveals-why-big-ten-will-struggle-with-oregon-ducks-usc-trojans)" with USC and Oregon. Goes on to say Oregon will beat Ohio State (https://athlonsports.com/college/ducks-digest/collin-cowherd-drops-major-prediction-for-oregon-vs-ohio-state) in their upcoming matchup.
Growing up in Washington State as a kid, he's always played defense for the west coast, and now with Washington, Oregon, and the LA Schools joining the Big Ten he's digging in his heels.
“I think Oregon is something that we haven’t seen out west since Pete Carroll and Ed Orgeron. They’ve just done it differently,” Cowherd said. “They’ve purchased big bodies, so I think Oregon stacks up in the trenches....People talk about the Texas NIL. . . Oregon’s is unlimited,” Cowherd said. “They’ll just buy whatever they have to. That’s really how it’s done.””
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Have I mentioned how much I hate this?
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Colin Cowherd carrying more water for the new additions. Says the Big Ten will "struggle (https://athlonsports.com/college-football/colin-cowherd-reveals-why-big-ten-will-struggle-with-oregon-ducks-usc-trojans)" with USC and Oregon. Goes on to say Oregon will beat Ohio State (https://athlonsports.com/college/ducks-digest/collin-cowherd-drops-major-prediction-for-oregon-vs-ohio-state) in their upcoming matchup.
Growing up in Washington State as a kid, he's always played defense for the west coast, and now with Washington, Oregon, and the LA Schools joining the Big Ten he's digging in his heels.
“I think Oregon is something that we haven’t seen out west since Pete Carroll and Ed Orgeron. They’ve just done it differently,” Cowherd said. “They’ve purchased big bodies, so I think Oregon stacks up in the trenches....People talk about the Texas NIL. . . Oregon’s is unlimited,” Cowherd said. “They’ll just buy whatever they have to. That’s really how it’s done.””
This is what I keep telling y'all. There's no competing with Oregon's NIL right now. They have truly unlimited pockets. If a player picks your school over Oregon, it was for reasons other than NIL.
And this is what the B1G happily invited into its backyard, for no good reason.
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yup, Rhule and UNL got a WR that the Ducks wanted
hired his father as an assistant coach!
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Colin Cowherd carrying more water for the new additions. Says the Big Ten will "struggle (https://athlonsports.com/college-football/colin-cowherd-reveals-why-big-ten-will-struggle-with-oregon-ducks-usc-trojans)" with USC and Oregon. Goes on to say Oregon will beat Ohio State (https://athlonsports.com/college/ducks-digest/collin-cowherd-drops-major-prediction-for-oregon-vs-ohio-state) in their upcoming matchup.
Even if Ohio State is EXTREMELY good, I wouldn't be surprised by the Buckeyes taking a loss in Autzen.
Road games are tough, road games three timezones away are tougher, and from what I've seen, heard, and read, Autzen is a VERY hostile environment on the level of Beaver Stadium and Camp Randall.
I want to put this put there just to say that a potential Ohio State loss in a road game against a top-3 opponent should NOT be seen as an indictment of the B1G's teams.
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Even if Ohio State is EXTREMELY good, I wouldn't be surprised by the Buckeyes taking a loss in Autzen.
Road games are tough, road games three timezones away are tougher, and from what I've seen, heard, and read, Autzen is a VERY hostile environment on the level of Beaver Stadium and Camp Randall.
I want to put this put there just to say that a potential Ohio State loss in a road game against a top-3 opponent should NOT be seen as an indictment of the B1G's teams.
It's not what it once was. The fans are all getting older and calmer, but they keep their seats.
Same with the Kohl Center.
Need some younger blood, but as we know, young blood does not prioritize going to games like we do/used to.
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It's not what it once was. The fans are all getting older and calmer, but they keep their seats.
Same with the Kohl Center.
Need some younger blood, but as we know, young blood does not prioritize going to games like we do/used to.
Nor can they afford it. Ticket prices have outstripped inflation significantly since I was a college fresh-out. Even if they were as zealous as we were, they have a lot tougher time justifying paying that kind of money for the experience. I don't blame them at all.
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Colin Cowherd carrying more water for the new additions. Says the Big Ten will "struggle (https://athlonsports.com/college-football/colin-cowherd-reveals-why-big-ten-will-struggle-with-oregon-ducks-usc-trojans)" with USC and Oregon.
Don't feed the troll only if Phil or his estate can keep out spending the compitition - sadly
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USC and UCLA, both on Nebraska’s November schedule.
this is nice...... invite the beach boys to Lincoln for hopefully some snow and cold
and take a nice trip to the beach in November to get away from the snow and cold for the players and especially the fans
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(https://i.imgur.com/Fs3f6tO.jpeg)
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Iowa has a trip to UCLA in November, which should be nice, except they ruined it by moving the game to Friday night. I actually was thinking about going to the game, to see Iowa play in the Rose Bowl Stadium, but now I think I will wait 5 Years.
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I really do not like the Friday thing. At all.
The Badgers play one week from today.
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I like this for the Huskers
(https://i.imgur.com/e7aQKte.png)
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Friday college games are great.
As long as it's not your own team.
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Well this stinks...
Due to carriage disputes with Comcast, the Big Ten Network is set to blackout Big Ten conference games featuring Washington, Oregon, USC, & UCLA across West Coast media markets. But West Coast subscribers of BTN can still watch B10 matchups between non-local schools.
From Awful Announcing (https://awfulannouncing.com/comcast/btn-dispute-west-coast-schools.html)-
"What’s going on here? Well, distributors like Comcast typically have one “out-of-market” per-subscriber rate for conference networks in particular, and another, much-higher, “in-market” rate...When schools flip conference alignment, that changes things for those networks...In the case of these particular West Coast schools, the BTN statement suggests every other distributor has been on board with flipping them to in-market [rates]...But it’s clear that Comcast has not agreed to whatever the deal in question is."
https://twitter.com/awfulannouncing/status/1828554477864890819
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the folks out there don't watch much football anyway
I suppose it sucks most for other eastern Big Ten alum that would love to watch
of course, BTN is hoping those viewers can pressure Comcast into paying up
I doubt that will happen
probably have to jump to YouTube TV
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Comcast has refused to play ball with the B1G network in other regions, this is definitely not surprising.
Like I've said, the network subscriber model for conference networks is dying. This is just another nail.
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perhaps the BTN will relent and take a bit less money to be able to get a few cents out of all the little old ladies that subscribe to comcast that otherwise would never pay for sports programing
greedy SOBs
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perhaps the BTN will relent and take a bit less money to be able to get a few cents out of all the little old ladies that subscribe to comcast that otherwise would never pay for sports programing
greedy SOBs
Maybe but since I doubt there's much of anyone on the west coast that cares enough about it to put pressure on Comcast, there's no reason they'd relent even at a lower rate from the B1G Network.
That's the whole reason the PAC cratered in the first place. Nobody out there watches college football.
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a lower rate is better than Zero
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greed from content providers like ESPN/ABC and the BTN are one of the biggest reasons the network subscriber model is dying
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a lower rate is better than Zero
Better for the B1G Network, sure. But why would Comcast agree to ANY rate, when there's no pressure on them to do so?
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well again, there's more pressure than zero
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well again, there's more pressure than zero
(https://i.imgur.com/9Eu56qe.png)
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In the modern market, does this hurt Comcast or the B1G more?
After all, I don't think this affects me as a Hulu Live TV subscriber. (Not that it would otherwise; we have Cox serving my town, not Comcast.)
If Comcast starts blacking out games people want to watch, it's not like the old days where you had to put up a satellite dish to have any alternative to Comcast. There's a half-dozen or so live TV streaming services that could give you these games, most of them cheaper than Comcast.
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In the modern market, does this hurt Comcast or the B1G more?
After all, I don't think this affects me as a Hulu Live TV subscriber. (Not that it would otherwise; we have Cox serving my town, not Comcast.)
If Comcast starts blacking out games people want to watch, it's not like the old days where you had to put up a satellite dish to have any alternative to Comcast. There's a half-dozen or so live TV streaming services that could give you these games, most of them cheaper than Comcast.
If Comcast thought they were going to drive away any more subscribers than they're already losing on a weekly/monthly/annual basis then I'm sure they'd cave. But they've resisted in other markets that were arguably more actively football-oriented than this one, so I wouldn't bet on that happening.
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I'd say it will hurt the BTN more
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One other thing to note is that if there are areas where Comcast is the sole internet provider, with no competition from Google or ATT fiber or anyone else, then it's likely they've got you trapped either way. That's the situation with Spectrum at my house here in the Austin area, there are no competitors so if I want broadband internet upstream and downstream, I have to use them.
So they have a streaming package that you can bundle with them and "save." But if you decide you want to ditch their streaming service and move over to Hulu Live or YouTubeTV or Sling or whatever else, then you're now UNbundled and the price of the internet-only service increases to the point where any savings from moving to another streaming option, are completely offset and eliminated.
You still might see some benefit with the other streaming service (such as, it has the B1G Network while Comcast does not), but there's no potential for actually saving any money, they've priced that possibility completely out of the model.
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One other thing to note is that if there are areas where Comcast is the sole internet provider, with no competition from Google or ATT fiber or anyone else, then it's likely they've got you trapped either way. That's the situation with Spectrum at my house here in the Austin area, there are no competitors so if I want broadband internet upstream and downstream, I have to use them.
So they have a streaming package that you can bundle with them and "save." But if you decide you want to ditch their streaming service and move over to Hulu Live or YouTubeTV or Sling or whatever else, then you're now UNbundled and the price of the internet-only service increases to the point where any savings from moving to another streaming option, are completely offset and eliminated.
You still might see some benefit with the other streaming service (such as, it has the B1G Network while Comcast does not), but there's no potential for actually saving any money, they've priced that possibility completely out of the model.
I've done the math. It's not offset and eliminated. I live in a place where my only options are Cox cable internet or 1.5 Mbps download speed DSL w/ AT&T. Not a type. 1.5 Mbps. Completely useless. (Note: This is for Cox internet + Hulu Live TV vs Cox Internet bundled with Cox cable, in Mission Viejo CA. YMMV.)
When I looked at my current vs the bundled version, the first year (of a 2 year contract) was MUCH less expensive for the bundled version. But the price hikes in year 2 were more than enough to not only be more expensive than being unbundled, but high enough to erase all the savings in year 1, and then some.
I suppose if I was the type that would constantly call in and do the "I'm threatening to switch unless you give me the intro price" every year and actually make it stick, maybe I could save money. But I've also heard that a lot of these companies have wised up to that and won't do it.
So yeah, they've got me trapped for their overpriced internet because I have no other option. But it's STILL a savings to use Hulu Live TV.
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I've done the math. It's not offset and eliminated. I live in a place where my only options are Cox cable internet or 1.5 Mbps download speed DSL w/ AT&T. Not a type. 1.5 Mbps. Completely useless. (Note: This is for Cox internet + Hulu Live TV vs Cox Internet bundled with Cox cable, in Mission Viejo CA. YMMV.)
When I looked at my current vs the bundled version, the first year (of a 2 year contract) was MUCH less expensive for the bundled version. But the price hikes in year 2 were more than enough to not only be more expensive than being unbundled, but high enough to erase all the savings in year 1, and then some.
I suppose if I was the type that would constantly call in and do the "I'm threatening to switch unless you give me the intro price" every year and actually make it stick, maybe I could save money. But I've also heard that a lot of these companies have wised up to that and won't do it.
So yeah, they've got me trapped for their overpriced internet because I have no other option. But it's STILL a savings to use Hulu Live TV.
Good for you. Absolutely not the case for me, unfortunately.
HOWEVER...
...I like YouTubeTV a lot better than the Spectrum streaming option, so I just pay more for my unbundled internet service + YTTV, and enjoy YouTubeTV's superior channel selection and range of options.
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guessin old Muleshoe is quietly pleased he wasn't able to backout of the LSU game this morning
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For this week, yes - Muleshoes can hold his head high. The Trojans won with a style Muleshoes isn’t known for - with their defense getting big stops and capitalizing on enough mistakes to carry the team until the offense broke through late in the game. It’s the type of win against a big enough name to give USC a lot of confidence going forward.
If you’re LSU, now what? BK isn’t working at this point. The defense has no identity or composure. Star power is lacking. Offense is disorganized. But I wouldn’t fire BK without firing AD Scott Woodward first. Not only is this Woodward’s mess but he his the one massively overpaying for it by signing BK to a $100M contract and paying the new DC $2M.
One another note - I’ve noticed this trend going back to about 2018, where Week 1 post coverage of the college football weekend trends toward poor performances. Turned on ESPN this morning and the commentary was all about who had the worst showing. This morning the victims of analysis were Florida, Clemson, and LSU.
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Clemson was matched with an elite team
I'm not sure about Florida and LSU