College football conference championships, CFP predictions

You ever watch the various ESPN 30 for 30's on college football in the '80's? Man, they were cheating left and right and at ridiculous levels. None of this is new, it's just more above board now (in terms of paying players).

Wasn’t done on the scale as has escalated with the playoffs, and as you say, with recent developments, the scale is becoming more apparent, and it has just started, when you have SEC coaches publicly complaining about buying players you know the reality is about to hit

Point being fans will begin to recognize it as semi-pro football, the theme”best money can buy” will ascend and interest fade
 
The viewership will be down because of the fatigue of seeing Bama in it again, and the fact that it is an all SEC game. Viewers don't care about it being "semi pro" or the money.

You don’t think fans recognize the SEC as the money conference? And aren’t interested in two money teams squaring off again?

And you don’t think that down the road when Alabama and alike are “arranging” millionaire dollar contracts for high school kids to attend their school to play football is going to change the way fans think of scholastic amateur athletics?
 
Wasn’t done on the scale as has escalated with the playoffs, and as you say, with recent developments, the scale is becoming more apparent, and it has just started, when you have SEC coaches publicly complaining about buying players you know the reality is about to hit

Point being fans will begin to recognize it as semi-pro football, the theme”best money can buy” will ascend and interest fade

Of course bag men in the 80's weren't publicly announcing illegal payments to the players so from that perspective we now hear about NIL money, which is different. So if one was under the (mistaken) impression that no kids were getting paid prior to now that could be a turn off if you don't think they should earn any money.
 
Of course bag men in the 80's weren't publicly announcing illegal payments to the players so from that perspective we now hear about NIL money, which is different. So if one was under the (mistaken) impression that no kids were getting paid prior to now that could be a turn off if you don't think they should earn any money.

If I was a college star athlete I'd be hitting up the
Alumni for cash!
 
You don’t think fans recognize the SEC as the money conference? And aren’t interested in two money teams squaring off again?

And you don’t think that down the road when Alabama and alike are “arranging” millionaire dollar contracts for high school kids to attend their school to play football is going to change the way fans think of scholastic amateur athletics?

I think fans recognize winning. They see the money spent as investments in winning and it recruiting.

I don't know how much the universities are "arranging". For the most part the money is something that should have been going to the student athlete all along. "NIL" stands for Name, Image and Likeness. In the past, if someone used a student athlete's name, image or likeness in their advertising, the college received the money. Now the student receives it.

My son made $30k a year his last two years at the university, for his work in DoD research projects. Had he been an athlete the work would have been done for free.
 
I think fans recognize winning. They see the money spent as investments in winning and it recruiting.

I don't know how much the universities are "arranging". For the most part the money is something that should have been going to the student athlete all along. "NIL" stands for Name, Image and Likeness. In the past, if someone used a student athlete's name, image or likeness in their advertising, the college received the money. Now the student receives it.

My son made $30k a year his last two years at the university, for his work in DoD research projects. Had he been an athlete the work would have been done for free.

I think it pretty hard to have watched college football in the past and not be aware that payments under the table were going on. So could these people now be turned off because players are getting paid above board? It's possible. They could prefer the previous don't ask don't tell model of how we compensated kids. But I don't know if that will really drive people away from the game.

I'll offer this though. Was listening to local sports talk radio this morning and the guy was going on about the baseball strike and how it's hurting the game and going to turn even more fans away from it. It's not that game won't exist but his position was it will become even more regional to those who love it but will fall farther behind football and basketball. He then gave the analogy to college football and how it's turning into a more regional sport.

If I'm the SEC and I'm the one dominating I'm probably not going to care. But from a big picture perspective the guy is not wrong. It doesn't just happen overnight but we've seen it gradually go that direction and there's really no sign of it changing.
 
I think it pretty hard to have watched college football in the past and not be aware that payments under the table were going on. So could these people now be turned off because players are getting paid above board? It's possible. They could prefer the previous don't ask don't tell model of how we compensated kids. But I don't know if that will really drive people away from the game.

I'll offer this though. Was listening to local sports talk radio this morning and the guy was going on about the baseball strike and how it's hurting the game and going to turn even more fans away from it. It's not that game won't exist but his position was it will become even more regional to those who love it but will fall farther behind football and basketball. He then gave the analogy to college football and how it's turning into a more regional sport.

If I'm the SEC and I'm the one dominating I'm probably not going to care. But from a big picture perspective the guy is not wrong. It doesn't just happen overnight but we've seen it gradually go that direction and there's really no sign of it changing.

Fans always knew it, few carried, before the playoffs, what made it exciting was the rivalries, the league competition, I can remember being a kid and watching the UCLA/USC game from the Coliseum with Lindsey Nelson announcing and hearing the legacy of Cal Tech pranking the game, and I didn't even know where either school was but I knew it was a big game. A part of that is gone now, most recognize that the same half dozen schools make the playoffs cause they spend more, Alabama coaching salaries let that animal out of the barn. Few realize the Hoosiers mythology has long ago passed in college football and the game suffers cause of it

And I see no problem with college football becoming regional, although I care less for the baseball analogy. If trends continue as they are developing today, I can see one day a breakaway division forming for football, one with guidelines and enforced rules, they'll still be "cheating" there, but not on the determining scale as found in the some programs today.
 
That is true. But then, if Alabama played anyone else the ratings would also be down, at least some.

The solution is for someone to step up and beat us. Clemson did their part. Who will be next?
I don’t think that’s true in that ratings would decline because Bama is in the NCG. I don’t believe they did last year. You’re right that someone needs to step as long as that doesn’t mean a lowering of academic standards.


Most of the nation doesn’t want to see any preferences towards a particular conference. Particularly after one team in that conference proved superior. Bama was the SEC’s best team this year.
 
I think last year we were just grateful to have any games played.

That and the fact that the Crimson Tide had a generational offense.
 
I don’t think that’s true in that ratings would decline because Bama is in the NCG. I don’t believe they did last year. You’re right that someone needs to step as long as that doesn’t mean a lowering of academic standards.


Most of the nation doesn’t want to see any preferences towards a particular conference. Particularly after one team in that conference proved superior. Bama was the SEC’s best team this year.

Your note that "someone needs to step" up basically means spend more money, can't say it enough, the common denominator to competing for the National Championship is money. All of this will become more out in the open dominate in years to come, which will turn off fans

"Alabama coach Nick Saban told high school coaches in Texas (recruiting last summer) that Young is approaching seven figures with name, image and likeness deals," that's a million bucks, and that was even before the season started and Young took a snap as starter (https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nca...abama-qb-mac-jones/1tvbdadvq8p9r1j18hnm9qdc2w
 
I think last year we were just grateful to have any games played.

That and the fact that the Crimson Tide had a generational offense.
That abbreviated season kind of put a damper on bama's season.
But that offense looked like the twin of LSU '19.
 
Your note that "someone needs to step" up basically means spend more money, can't say it enough, the common denominator to competing for the National Championship is money. All of this will become more out in the open dominate in years to come, which will turn off fans

"Alabama coach Nick Saban told high school coaches in Texas (recruiting last summer) that Young is approaching seven figures with name, image and likeness deals," that's a million bucks, and that was even before the season started and Young took a snap as starter (https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nca...abama-qb-mac-jones/1tvbdadvq8p9r1j18hnm9qdc2w

Haven't you argued though that kids should be compensated? They are now (legally) through these N.I.L. (The schools themselves aren't paying this money.) So that shouldn't be a turn off should it?
 
Haven't you argued though that kids should be compensated? They are now (legally) through these N.I.L. (The schools themselves aren't paying this money.) So that shouldn't be a turn off should it?

Yes, I think they should be unionized, ain’t happening, but serve to be if their labor is going to make others so much money

Correct, the schools aren’t paying them, but you can bet that many they are “arranging,” and as I noted above, recruiting off of potential earnings at their school

Point being, college football isn’t as competitive nor exciting as it once was largely pre playoffs, semi pro doesn’t bring that, and the supposed extended playoffs isn’t going to help it, in fact, could accelerate its change
 
That abbreviated season kind of put a damper on bama's season.
But that offense looked like the twin of LSU '19.

Abbreviated? Not by enough to matter. Bama played 10 SEC schools, and the FL in the SEC Championship. Then soundly beat Notre Dame and Ohio State in the playoffs.
 
Yes, I think they should be unionized, ain’t happening, but serve to be if their labor is going to make others so much money

Correct, the schools aren’t paying them, but you can bet that many they are “arranging,” and as I noted above, recruiting off of potential earnings at their school

Point being, college football isn’t as competitive nor exciting as it once was largely pre playoffs, semi pro doesn’t bring that, and the supposed extended playoffs isn’t going to help it, in fact, could accelerate its change

The ruling on NIL was started in 2019, and only started allowing athletes to get paid for their name, image and likeness in 2021.

Alabama won 6 national championships in the 10 years before the rule change. Things weren't really more competitive in the pre-playoff days. The BCS championship was supposed to address that. But the SEC made 11 appearances in the BCS Championship game and had 9 wins. The next best conference was the Big12 with 7 appearances and only 2 wins. 4 out of the last 5 BCS Championship games were won by teams from Alabama. (3 for the Crimson Tide and 1 for auburn)
 
Abbreviated? Not by enough to matter. Bama played 10 SEC schools, and the FL in the SEC Championship. Then soundly beat Notre Dame and Ohio State in the playoffs.

I meant not having so many fans and the whole season was kinda weird for CF in general. Big 10 and PAC almost not playing.
 
Your note that "someone needs to step" up basically means spend more money, can't say it enough, the common denominator to competing for the National Championship is money. All of this will become more out in the open dominate in years to come, which will turn off fans

"Alabama coach Nick Saban told high school coaches in Texas (recruiting last summer) that Young is approaching seven figures with name, image and likeness deals," that's a million bucks, and that was even before the season started and Young took a snap as starter (https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nca...abama-qb-mac-jones/1tvbdadvq8p9r1j18hnm9qdc2w

Yup. Boosters are going to have a field day. That won’t be a problem for my Buckeyes but it’s going to concentrate talent with the teams willing to spend the most. I definitely see more consolidation in the future. The next one I see is the BIG10 and PAC 12 forming a coalition.
 
Yup. Boosters are going to have a field day. That won’t be a problem for my Buckeyes but it’s going to concentrate talent with the teams willing to spend the most. I definitely see more consolidation in the future. The next one I see is the BIG10 and PAC 12 forming a coalition.

SEC will absorb the State schools in the ACC and the rest of the Big 12, while the Big Ten and PAC 12 combine, two super conferences, which will eventually dwindle down into twelve school each. Problem is they will lose the major TV markets of the East, and with the money involved will be viewed as Triple AAA football
 
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