Big Ten Banter: Have We Lost the Plot with College Football?
Not too long ago, there was a time when I'd wake up on a Saturday morning in September, race down the stairs and immediately flip the television channel to ESPN. Assembling a healthy and balanced breakfast of peanut butter toast and chocolate milk, I'd sit on the floor and wait for 10 a.m. to arrive and hear the musical introduction to College GameDay. It was the start of 14 consecutive hours of college football consumption.
Back then, college football was enjoyable. Every game mattered. Conference championships were a prestigious accomplishment. Growing up in Big Ten company, getting to the Rose Bowl was a BIG freakin' deal.
Over the last 20 years, a lot of factors have changed college football, and, dare I say this ... I don't find it nearly as enjoyable. I'll go ahead and duck while you launch the nearest item at your wall.
Before I go too much further, let me be clear: I still find the actual sport of college football to be fun, riveting and entertaining. The other stuff that comes with it today? Not so much.
It's not the adoption of NIL or the never-ending transfer portal cycle that has me irritated with college football. There are certainly issues with those two subjects, but we can shelf that discussion for another day.
What has truly soured my opinion of college football? The constant, mindless arguments about the College Football Playoff and whether or not teams deserve a spot in the field. Some of the sport's top analysts constantly participate in the banter from the opening kickoff until Championship Saturday.
It's become never-ending conjecture with network loyalty serving as the driving force. Kirk Herbstreit and Sean McDonough argued for teams like Alabama or Ole Miss to be included in the 12-team field over an 11-1 Indiana squad. Both work for ESPN, which has a television agreement with the SEC.
On the other side of the coin, Joel Klatt pounded the desk for the Hoosiers to earn a spot at the table. He is employed by FOX, which has a major television rights deal with the Big Ten.
Whichever side of the argument you fall on is irrelevant. These back-and-forth debates have reached exhausting levels. Quite frankly, it's watered down the beauty of the sport.
Rather than enjoying the chaotic nature of college football, a majority of the conversation revolves around strength of schedule. The phrase, "They ain't played nobody, Pawl," has been used relentlessly since the implentation of a four-team College Football Playoff. It grew even worse with a 12-team bracket.
Those conversations overshadowed Indiana's 11-1 season, the mayhem that unfolded in the Big 12 heading into the final week of the season and SMU's impressive run to the ACC Championship Game. Instead of acknowledging those accomplishments, we were drowned in a sea of "Where would they finish in the SEC?" rhetoric.
Go ahead and insert the Mark Jackson, "What happened to the game I love?" meme here.
In case this isn't obvious, I work in this business, too. All those individuals I mentioned are doing a job — attempting to create engaging content that fuels passion and excitement amongst fans. I'm not completely against College Football Playoff scenario conversations. You'll get no opposition from me if you want to have an actual conversation about whether Team A deserves a spot in the postseason over Team B.
The constant bickering paired with the I-know-more-than-you attitudes, though? Save that for another Saturday.
The game hasn't changed much over the years, it's the coverage that needs to undergo some alterations. Or, maybe it doesn't. I'm willing to admit that I might be the odd one in this case. Perhaps the ramblings of college football's mad men don't bother others quite as much.
And maybe I'm looking back on history through rose-colored glasses. Maybe when I was crunching down on that peanut butter toast, the chewing was so loud that I missed all the arguing, all the conjecture and all the negativity that now permeates throughout a college football season.
Maybe I was too young to really care about what was being said on those pregame shows 20ish years ago. I'm willing to take a big, fat "L" if I'm misremembering.
College football was a sport that used to celebrate underdogs and chaos. We used to take it one week at a time, hoping every game was better than last. At some point, we lost the plot.
Maybe, just maybe, we'll get it back one day.
Dustin Schutte is the publisher of ''Purdue Boilermakers on SI.'' He has more than a decade of experience covering the Big Ten. Follow Dustin on X at @SchutteDustin.