Sup CFB?

Steele’s is out. Think I’m gonna try digital this year.

I think a lot of people are hung up on Venable’s departure along with their 2021 discombobulated offense. I think if there’s a real dropoff from Venables it’ll take a few years to show up, and the offense is likely to bounce back. At the beginning of 2021 their running backs were weak and all the receivers just inexplicably got stone hands, which is not normally how you recruit those positions, and an understandably shook Ung never got on track. Vicious feedback loop really, but as long as they do some “I fall blindfolded and you catch me” type team-building exercises they should be fine. They can’t drop him though—need to make sure they understand that.

Perhaps they should try playing beach football. That seemed to work out well for the top guns.

I can't remember being less excited for a season than this one. This has sort of happened to me the last few years though, and once the games kick off I'm all-in again.

But both of my teams are mediocre, and in this sport there's just so little room for an upside breakthrough, and the looming NIL stuff just seems like it's gonna be a death knell. And then I usually root for the good Pac-12 teams, but that seems pretty doomed as well.

Just seems like a lot of waiting around to watch Ohio State, Georgia and Alabama beat the **** out of mostly everybody for a few months. Only real sweat is whether UGA or Bama will drop one then lose in the SECCG and get eliminated before the playoffs. Ohio State seems pretty well positioned to make it even if they lose a game, and their CCG should be a cakewalk.


Nobody in the G5 really looks like they have the schedule or talent to make a Cincinnati-like run this year, except maybe BYU?

@ Oregon
@ ND
v Arkansas
v Baylor
@ Stanford
@ Boise

That's a pretty solid six game slate, and then Utah State, South Florida, Wyoming, Liberty, East Carolina isn't a terrible way to round it out. Probably a tougher slate than most ACC teams are gonna play

Shame Houston's OOC is so average. @ UTSA, @ Texas Tech, v Kansas, v Rice isn't going to get anybody's blood pumping.

UCF plays Louisville, GT and @ FAU. Again, not embarrassing, but not enough.

Cincy plays @ Arkansas, v Indiana, and @ Miami OH.

SMU plays @ Maryland and v TCU.

I mean those four teams could legitimately go 8-0 against their P5 competition and it probably wouldn't move the needle enough.



Michigan's schedule is a joke. Eight home games and a noncon of Colorado State, Hawaii and UConn at home. lmao.



Maybe Appy State can have a magical year? They play UNC (at home?), @ Texas A&M, and then can home either Coastal or Louisiana finishes ranked.

Scheduling like a SEC team. At least until 2024 when they have to play SEC teams (@Texas in '24, @Oklahoma in '25)

Still have to play at Iowa and Ohio State, home against Sparty and Penn State.

Hard enough that they'll get in easily running the table (lol not happening), could theoretically be in the conversation with a close loss to Ohio State, weak enough that they'll be out of the running with any bad loss or 2 losses.

Last year was the peak, unfortunately. The NIL era is going to further consolidate talent in a couple of schools and I doubt that Michigan is going to be one of them.

Really?

ugh don't remind me.

I said about 17 years ago that there will never be another team above the mason Dixon line (other than tOSU) to win a natty. Don’t think I’ll be wrong in my lifetime (I’m 38).

hawaii’s even a night game lmao

Playing Hawaii at home for non-conference for a major university should be outlawed. Take the damn trip. I know the costs of that trip. I get it. But take the damn trip.

Why wouldn't Michigan be one of them? They have one of the most passionate fanbases in CFB and infinite boosters with tons of cash. I get there is a bit of MICHIGAN MAN mentality where they think they're above all that, but they're closer to Ohio State than they are to Stanford, where football success is tolerated but still seen as a bit gauche.



Convenient timing, given that you'd have been wrong twice if you made that prediction 19 years ago

Unless you've got terminal cancer or something, a LIFETIME is a pretty absurd bet that I'd obviously take the other side of.

Even if you're betting on the next decade, I'd take the other side. I see no reason why USC can't be USC again. Tons of money and LA is still LA. Even more so now with the importance of kids "personal brands."

Oregon is probably going to spend a zillion dollars too, and importantly, most of their competitors aren't. Cal and Stanford don't care enough, Oregon State and Wazzu are too poor and idk about Washington. I can see Oregon just creating a monopoly on the Pac-12 north while USC does the same for the South. I can see them creating juggernauts that go toe to toe with the Alabamas and Georgias of the world just like they did a decade ago.

Even if the SEC gets 5 times as many 5 stars as the Pac-12 does, almost all the Pac-12 5*s might just get divvied up between those two teams.


Michigan, Penn State and Notre Dame have passionate enough fans and plenty of money that they'll continue to pull in decent talent. Even if they aren't better than the best SEC teams, someone in that one will get plenty of shots at the playoff, and eventually a transcendent quarterback and two games of run-hot will get one of them a title.

You greatly understate the self-handicapping. The academic side barely tolerated the athletic side before NIL, they’re certainly not going to let athletics dive in headfirst without kicking up a fuss.

The boosters don’t run the program like they do in some places.

They’ll still be a draw for some talent but may well be left on the sidelines for the elite. If you read Michigan sites the Pollyannas are convinced that’s already happening bigly.

You make a great point. They couldn't even get Terrence Shannon eligible and he was considered a top 10 transfer in basketball. Academics probably aren't ever budging at Michigan.

I thought the Mason Dixon line theoretically continues around the world.

in which direction?
it has a long history with many changes and it's not exactly straight on any of them

But no version puts the University of Southern Cal in the north.

USC is obvy below the Dixon line. So no need to sweat them. LOL at Michigan, Penn State and Notre Dame getting back into the top tier of juggernauts in the world of College football. As long as the playoff system is a 4 team system and the NIL is in affect, the kings stay the kings.

I don't know about you guys but I enjoy it when people on twitter smoke a bunch of crack and post ****

Holy **** if that's true though

Up is down, black is white.

Can’t imagine anything good coming out of this except for those who find a way to cash in.

Some other fairly reputable types saying the same thing, emphasizing that it's being explored but that it's nowhere close to a done deal.

RIP The Alliance

hahahaha this is so stupid if it's true, I'm sure that means it will probably happen


bet ucla and usc fans can't wait to play iowa, nebraska, minnesota and purdue instead of cal, stanford, oregon and washington

Definitely sounds like it's true at this point

they're really gonna put rutgers and maryland in the same conference as ucla and usc this is so dumb lol


wonder if this means cal could finally make a rose bowl

just think about the impacts on non-football related athletics travel.

obv. if this is true Oregon and Washington will more easily find a place to land than the rest of the PAC.

waiting for the Big-12 and Pac to merge and add 2 more teams and become a 24 team mega conference

lol this is so dumb

it's not a conference if you have 16+ teams and never play a bunch of the other teams

arizona, arizona state, colorado and utah to the big-12, to make that a 16 team mega conference


cal, stanford, washington, wazzu, oregon and oregon state make a six team mini conference.

Each year, they play each other (5) games and at least one game against an sec, acc, big12 and big10 team (4)

winner of the conference plays a 13th game against notre dame