Despite the Bad Stuff, College Football Will March On. And People Will Focus on the Good Stuff.
So much to unpack from another offseason. . .
The last time college football players banged helmets, the game endured Georgia’s lopsided championship game rout of TCU. Which was great for Georgia and the SEC.
And left the rest of the college football world needing to figure out a way to stop the reign.
Competitive imbalance has been a trademark of the college game for. . . forever.
That said, it’s such a riveting sport, such all-consuming entertainment, that we tend to accept its many hypocrisies, tragedies and foibles.
When last season ended, beyond the SEC’s continued dominance, what weighed on my mind were the twin threats of NIL (Name, Image and Likeness compensation) and realignment. While compensation for players is a good thing, all the uncertainties about HOW to compensate them remains a minefield. What’s to stop the richest schools from buying their rosters?
And with the two super conferences—the SEC and the Big Ten—adding mega-brands, what’s left for the rest of college football world? I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I don’t like UCLA and USC going to the Big Ten any more than I like Oklahoma and Texas going to the SEC.
These moves are a bad idea on so many levels. Sorry, but I want to see Big Ten teams play traditional rivals. Same with the SEC, Pac-12, Big 12 and every other conference. I want to see a playoff among conference champions—with enough competitive conferences to do that. I believe realignment will create a slew of unintended consequences/travel nightmares for non-revenue sports, fans and so-called student-athletes.
People ask me why anyone thinks a Maryland-UCLA Big Ten conference game is a good idea—and I say: Follow the money. The television money.
In case you missed it, Pete Thamel, the superb investigative scribe at ESPN, detailed how the Big Ten’s supposedly boggling new TV contract is filled with troubling issues.
They are issues that should be especially troubling to Chicago Bears fans who think Kevin Warren is going to lead the Bears out of hibernation.
And then there is the biggest off-season elephant in the room: The hazing scandal at Northwestern.
I don’t even have a way to process this yet. I have known Pat Fitzgerald since he was a standout linebacker at NU. As a player and coach, he seemed to embody all the things that were right about college football.
``Not knowing’’ what was going on in his locker room is no excuse. Not having a way for sane, well-adjusted athletes to let the staff know that crazy and totally unacceptable behavior was taking place is beyond my comprehension. Especially at Northwestern, which claimed to hold itself to a higher standard.
In spite of all the deplorable, troubling things, why do I find myself really looking forward to hunkering down in front of the big screen, laptop and iPhone on the college football Saturdays that are fast approaching?
Because in spite of all the messy BS, the games themselves remain an unbridled joy. From where I sit, college football still has the best regular season. Each game means more. Each play is more fascinatingly unpredictable. Every Saturday is filled with teams going forward, teams going backward, fans going crazy, endless possibilities.
It is such a great sport that despite the nuclear assault on its very foundations, it is almost impossible to turn away.
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NOTE: I want to send the heartiest of Get-Well-Soon wishes to dear friend and TMG Sports co-founder Mark Blaudschun. Nobody cares more about college football. Nobody is a dearer friend and gentler soul. . . . And just so there is no confusion, Blau is doing well and expects to be back in every way very soon.