After another fun and frustrating weekend of football, I qued up the the College Football Enquirer and it got me to thinking... we have been so focused on Mizzou, the playoffs, NIL and whatnot that we seem to be cruising through this season looking at things from the 50 foot level. Yes, Mizzou is frustrating; we expected more production form the offense at this point, Drink is making rookie mistakes (or covering for them), and the meat of the schedule is coming up...
But pull up to 30,000 for a few minutes and listen to the opening of the Football Enquirer... I think the guys make some great observations.
So far, this has been an amazingly fun season. It is popular to bag on the B12 here... but that KSU v BYU game (and accompanying fan reaction) was a blast, Colorado v Baylor was another fun one (as were their fans!), Sanders and Sanders and Hunter are like watching All American on the CW (Dramatic coach, QB with skill and a mouth, and a two-way who is really a two-way and who like to hit and take a hit)! Then you have drama from the rest of the nation: Nubs getting beat by the Illini in OT (hope is lost once more!). Tennessee beating 0u, but not in the "we're the best team in the nation" style many expected. USC v Michigan was a fantastic game. OSU almost coming back against Utah in the last quarter, Buffalo beating N Illinois and Bowling Green v aTm were all fun. Don't forget kU losing to WVa in the last second (watch the highlights... the euphoria turned to disaster for kU is satisfying). Stanford v Syracuse was amazing, and how about James Madison destroying whatever that was North Carolina tried to put on the field was something that we could not have expected before the game. And there was so much more!
We get lost in NIL and playoffs and rankings and we lose sight of the big picture.. this is a FANTASTIC season, and as much as I hate to admit it, it has a lot to do with the PORTAL... you read that right, the portal. Sure, NIL is great for the top teams, and the Marshall coach had some fun with it last week... as did the tOSU players:
Post Game Coach Huff had to say: "Actually, one of the (Ohio State) players on the way off asked, 'You got any biscuits?' " said Huff. He didn't have any biscuits, but he had plenty of praise. "If they can stay healthy," he mused about Ohio State's potential before trailing off. "Actually, I don't even know if they need to stay healthy. They can probably just put their fifth guy in."
But the NIL is not everything. The portal is where the difference is being made, even for these teams that don't have fantastic NIL. You look at some of these G level teams and lower level P teams and they are getting players from the portal to replace the guys who go to the top teams for NIL. And they are having success with it in ways we did not expect. They know what these kids can do instead of taking a gamble on a recruit for their level... and they seem to be seeing greater success for themselves, and for the fans. And maybe, just maybe this portends well for the sport in general, especially for those who can't play in the NIL big leagues. (Oh, and we have seen NIL rich schools blow it too... so money is not everything).
As an older guy who likes the dream about "how it was," I was really down on the future of NCAA football given all the money. And for those focused on the playoffs being the only thing worth shooting for (which I am afraid many on here may be) they may be missing the forest for the trees. The playoffs are going to be huge. NIL will determine the top 15-20 teams more than recruiting will. And the reality of it is that many teams are going to be left out and fall out of contention before the halfway mark... but if that is all that matters to you, you may miss a lot of the joy and spectacle that makes this sport what it is. It's not just about championships... though they are nice... it is about the competition, about the kids struggling, about the experience of James Madison and Marshal... it's that on any given Saturday...
________________
As for Mizzou... it was a disappointing weekend. But the team is 4-0 and probably more appropriately ranked than they were a week ago. Cook had some issues, but there is no QB controversy. Burden is a huge talent who still takes plays off, but who can change a game in a moment. Craig missed a few, he's a kicker... but dang the kid can boot them and the coach should not be relying on 3's over 7's anyway! Drink made some mistakes, but it would not surprise me to find out he is covering for mistakes and confusion at the assistant level. Good coaches do that. And on and on... but you know what? They found a way to win on a day when as a whole they earned a d+. Good times are ahead if they can get a few things figured out.
Oh.... and that powerhouse to the west is 1-3.
Have a great Monday!
MIZ!!!
But pull up to 30,000 for a few minutes and listen to the opening of the Football Enquirer... I think the guys make some great observations.
So far, this has been an amazingly fun season. It is popular to bag on the B12 here... but that KSU v BYU game (and accompanying fan reaction) was a blast, Colorado v Baylor was another fun one (as were their fans!), Sanders and Sanders and Hunter are like watching All American on the CW (Dramatic coach, QB with skill and a mouth, and a two-way who is really a two-way and who like to hit and take a hit)! Then you have drama from the rest of the nation: Nubs getting beat by the Illini in OT (hope is lost once more!). Tennessee beating 0u, but not in the "we're the best team in the nation" style many expected. USC v Michigan was a fantastic game. OSU almost coming back against Utah in the last quarter, Buffalo beating N Illinois and Bowling Green v aTm were all fun. Don't forget kU losing to WVa in the last second (watch the highlights... the euphoria turned to disaster for kU is satisfying). Stanford v Syracuse was amazing, and how about James Madison destroying whatever that was North Carolina tried to put on the field was something that we could not have expected before the game. And there was so much more!
We get lost in NIL and playoffs and rankings and we lose sight of the big picture.. this is a FANTASTIC season, and as much as I hate to admit it, it has a lot to do with the PORTAL... you read that right, the portal. Sure, NIL is great for the top teams, and the Marshall coach had some fun with it last week... as did the tOSU players:
Post Game Coach Huff had to say: "Actually, one of the (Ohio State) players on the way off asked, 'You got any biscuits?' " said Huff. He didn't have any biscuits, but he had plenty of praise. "If they can stay healthy," he mused about Ohio State's potential before trailing off. "Actually, I don't even know if they need to stay healthy. They can probably just put their fifth guy in."
But the NIL is not everything. The portal is where the difference is being made, even for these teams that don't have fantastic NIL. You look at some of these G level teams and lower level P teams and they are getting players from the portal to replace the guys who go to the top teams for NIL. And they are having success with it in ways we did not expect. They know what these kids can do instead of taking a gamble on a recruit for their level... and they seem to be seeing greater success for themselves, and for the fans. And maybe, just maybe this portends well for the sport in general, especially for those who can't play in the NIL big leagues. (Oh, and we have seen NIL rich schools blow it too... so money is not everything).
As an older guy who likes the dream about "how it was," I was really down on the future of NCAA football given all the money. And for those focused on the playoffs being the only thing worth shooting for (which I am afraid many on here may be) they may be missing the forest for the trees. The playoffs are going to be huge. NIL will determine the top 15-20 teams more than recruiting will. And the reality of it is that many teams are going to be left out and fall out of contention before the halfway mark... but if that is all that matters to you, you may miss a lot of the joy and spectacle that makes this sport what it is. It's not just about championships... though they are nice... it is about the competition, about the kids struggling, about the experience of James Madison and Marshal... it's that on any given Saturday...
________________
As for Mizzou... it was a disappointing weekend. But the team is 4-0 and probably more appropriately ranked than they were a week ago. Cook had some issues, but there is no QB controversy. Burden is a huge talent who still takes plays off, but who can change a game in a moment. Craig missed a few, he's a kicker... but dang the kid can boot them and the coach should not be relying on 3's over 7's anyway! Drink made some mistakes, but it would not surprise me to find out he is covering for mistakes and confusion at the assistant level. Good coaches do that. And on and on... but you know what? They found a way to win on a day when as a whole they earned a d+. Good times are ahead if they can get a few things figured out.
Oh.... and that powerhouse to the west is 1-3.
Have a great Monday!
MIZ!!!
