3 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Never said it was... it's the last brick to fall.

The final straws that broke the camel’s back. Players deserve the money of course. No argument there. They could do a much better job with it though than the current setup. 

4 minutes ago, DrPhilly said:

If you look at the product of college football today heading into the mid 2020’s vs the product from pre BCS which is better overall? Consider all FBS teams, all fans, etc. including both tv experiences and fan experiences at games. 

For me... pre-BCS.

3 hours ago, Mike31mt said:

College sports is just a joke anymore.  The whole system needs destroyed and they need to start over.  If the NCAA doesnt do it voluntarily--and they won't---it will inevitably collapse.

This gap between the haves and have-nots will only get wider and wider until there are a handful of programs that can compete and everyone else is amateur level.  

Who the hell wants to watch that?  All respect to Georgia, but really who gives a ish?  Congrats, you beat the other 4 teams who could win in it all.  I wonder which of those 5 teams will win it next year, and the year after that.

Who the hell wants to watch that?  The school’s alumni and current students faculty and staff, and in some cases the residents of the community that hosts the college/university.

6 hours ago, Iggles_Phan said:

It used to be about regional rivalries.  It used to be about winning your conference and getting to that bowl game that was associated with your conference.  It used to be about the love of the game.  It used to be fun.

Now it's all about corporate sponsorships, NILs, Strength of schedule, and strength of victory.

 

It's a shame.

Still is about the excitement of the game, the gathering on campus, the camaraderie that starts with the lining up for tickets.  Part of it is the tie to the college, not only through academics but almost as an excuse to hang on to that bit of youth in supporting your team.  Bowls were and somewhat remain an excuse to go someplace warm, if an alum to feel young again, and to enjoy some of that belonging.  It really isn’t about championships.  

Frankly, the NCAA did the championship for "demand”, but really for $.  Just like smaller colleges and conferences realized they could monetize basketball with little cost.  (I am thrilled my Cougars are #2 in the nation but not because they likely will be ranked high in the NCAA tournament but because I get to watch so many of their games.  The NCAA tournament are bonus games, just like the early season tournaments.  

I am happy NILs allow players the opportunity to earn on their likeness. Better than the conferences, schools, networks and game systems. I really like that some kids use the opportunity to pursue an education that will set them on their next path.  And I really like the love for the "Rudy”s.  The Cougars have been in double digit leads for most of this season and watching Ryan Elvin, a walk on, come off the bench and the way the other players want him on the box score, the crowd cheering and knowing he is a two time AAC All Academic.  

A true fan doesn’t blame athletes who believe they have a future as a pro from protecting themselves and not participating in Bowl games.  Most haven’t played football in a month and injury is a real risk to future livelihood.  Would we blame a player that graduates in December from skipping the bowl because they have a job lined up?  

 

 

51 minutes ago, Bacarty2 said:

I guess we have different opinions on what "fantastic" is. 

The overwhelming majority of games end up being blow outs. 

The difference between talent, coaching staff, programs, etc etc is evident constantly. 

Sure, you get a OSU/Georgia game, but then you'll get 50 Georgia/TCU games. 

 

False.

Looking at this chart, only 5 teams have an average margin of victory of more than 20 points.

Only 17 teams have an average margin of victory of more than 10 points.

48 teams have a margin of victory of less than 10 points.

https://www.teamrankings.com/college-football/stat/average-scoring-margin

 

Also, since 2005, here is the frequency of a specific margin of victory.

 

Even in the NFL, you've got some of the best teams in the league clustered in the same division.  That puts better teams on the road.

3 hours ago, Mike31mt said:

I think the transfer portal has done every bit as much damage as NIL.

When you sign to play for a team, they should make you play for 2 years and the only exception is if the coaching staff leaves.   Other than that, youre ineligible until that 2 years is up.

Its getting totally out of control where its like free agency with tampering, the rules are totally arbitrary and honestly, Im not sure how a coach is supposed to grow his program anymore. 

I used to feel bad for the players and took their side over the coaches and administration, but this is chaos.  Its totally unsustainable 

Explain what you mean by unsustainable?

For all the gripes about the CFP system, at least there won't ever be anything as monumentally stupid as a "shared" NCAA championship.

14 minutes ago, DrPhilly said:

I’ve also thought of it a bit like this. The question is the injuries and also whether we can turn it back on or not. 

Injuries are the biggest factor for me.  The Eagles need to win two home games and they are in the Super Bowl.

How much will they miss Maddox in the interior of the pass defense?  How effective can Lane be at RT?  Does Hurts play near 100% or does he play as cautious as he looked against the Giants?

The main competition in the NFC is an old Bucs roster with an ancient Brady getting rid of the ball like Big Ben, a perennial underachieving Turds team with Dak playing his worst season (possible exception of his 2nd year pre-Amari Cooper trade), and a Niners team with the 262nd overall pick as their starting QB and haven't beaten any contending teams all year. 

The Eagles have the best overall roster in the NFC in terms of an offense and defense complementing each other.  I would expect it to come down to a Niners-Eagles matchup but we will soon see. 

Also no mention of Haason Reddick on the PFF all-pro list, but they listed Maxx Crosby as second team  

Unpopular opinion:  The concept of who is "the best" has really taken a lot of fun out of the bowl season. 

Those big bowls (Orange, Sugar, Rose, Fiesta) are _not_ supposed to be just a 'semifinal' matchups.  Those are suppose to be THE final matchups featuring the best from each conference.   I hate the national championship game in college football because it makes all of those bowls less interesting and important.  

 

 

Yeah you may as well get rid of the bowls. Just go to a 16 game playoff now. 

3 hours ago, Mike31mt said:

College sports is just a joke anymore.  The whole system needs destroyed and they need to start over.  If the NCAA doesnt do it voluntarily--and they won't---it will inevitably collapse.

This gap between the haves and have-nots will only get wider and wider until there are a handful of programs that can compete and everyone else is amateur level.  

Who the hell wants to watch that?  All respect to Georgia, but really who gives a ish?  Congrats, you beat the other 4 teams who could win in it all.  I wonder which of those 5 teams will win it next year, and the year after that.

Um, the several million people that go to the game every weekend.  If you take the top 10 average attendance, that is almost 1 million people at a college football game any given weekend.

https://www.d1ticker.com/2022-fbs-attendance-trends/

 

6 minutes ago, Alphagrand said:

Injuries are the biggest factor for me.  The Eagles need to win two home games and they are in the Super Bowl.

How much will they miss Maddox in the interior of the pass defense?  How effective can Lane be at RT?  Does Hurts play near 100% or does he play as cautious as he looked against the Giants?

The main competition in the NFC is an old Bucs roster with an ancient Brady getting rid of the ball like Big Ben, a perennial underachieving Turds team with Dak playing his worst season (possible exception of his 2nd year pre-Amari Cooper trade), and a Niners team with the 262nd overall pick as their starting QB and haven't beaten any contending teams all year. 

The Eagles have the best overall roster in the NFC in terms of an offense and defense complementing each other.  I would expect it to come down to a Niners-Eagles matchup but we will soon see. 

SF has wins over Sea x2, TB, LAC, and Miami (all playoff teams)

Eagles have wins over NYG x2, Dal, Jax and Minny. 
 

That argument doesn’t really hold up

55 minutes ago, NCiggles said:

It's almost like football is big business.  

It is.  But, its college.  Not the NFL 

Somethings not right about that.  These are supposed to be educational institutions. 

16 minutes ago, Bacarty2 said:

That chart includes losses.  which doesnt account for blow outs the other way, and brings down the overall M.O.V. 

Go pick a random week and tell me how many games were within 14 points. Then tell me how many games werent

 

Why did you delete this part of my post, data since 2005.  16.71% of the time, the margin is 3 or 7 points.

40% of the time it is 10 points or less.

Taking this chart below, and doing the math

Margin of victory 10 points or less ( 39.35 % )

Margin of victory 11-19 points ( 19.22 % )

Margin of victory 19 points or less ( 58.57 % )

 

That mean the margin of victory of 20 or more points is 41.43%.  That does not back up  your claim that the  MAJORITY of games are blowouts.

 

Since 2005, here is the frequency of a specific margin of victory.

 

Just now, Mike31mt said:

It is.  But, its college.  Not the NFL 

Somethings not right about that.  These are supposed to be educational institutions. 

Imagine being this naive 

1 minute ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Never said it was... it's the last brick to fall.

The biggest problem in college football is that there is very little competitive balance.  The only way to change that is to give players the ability to change schools and allow teams to compensate players.  Of course, boosters for years have been paying for kids to play football either under the table or by giving parents jobs/money.  It isn't like paying players is new.  It's just now legal and above board.  Frankly, the universities should be more concerned about the players and what leads them to reach their goals rather than what conference gives them the most money.  

7 minutes ago, Mike31mt said:

It is.  But, its college.  Not the NFL 

Somethings not right about that.  These are supposed to be educational institutions. 

Something's also not right about the schools raking in millions of dollars while the kids assume all the risk.

4 minutes ago, Mike31mt said:

It is.  But, its college.  Not the NFL 

Somethings not right about that.  These are supposed to be educational institutions. 

Why can't education and money making go hand in hand? 

13 minutes ago, Alphagrand said:

Injuries are the biggest factor for me.  The Eagles need to win two home games and they are in the Super Bowl.

How much will they miss Maddox in the interior of the pass defense?  How effective can Lane be at RT?  Does Hurts play near 100% or does he play as cautious as he looked against the Giants?

The main competition in the NFC is an old Bucs roster with an ancient Brady getting rid of the ball like Big Ben, a perennial underachieving Turds team with Dak playing his worst season (possible exception of his 2nd year pre-Amari Cooper trade), and a Niners team with the 262nd overall pick as their starting QB and haven't beaten any contending teams all year. 

The Eagles have the best overall roster in the NFC in terms of an offense and defense complementing each other.  I would expect it to come down to a Niners-Eagles matchup but we will soon see. 

I think the question everyone has is is this team more of what we've seen the past month or what we saw the rest of the regular season when they were clicking? And the answer is probably somewhere in between. I hate that they had this mentality, but Goedert mentioned in his post-game presser that they've been on cruise control the past month just waiting for the playoffs to start. That's on coaching to make sure a mindset like that doesn't creep in, but it's somewhat understandable that they would have the outlook. It's a long season. 

My take is that it's hard to flip the switch, but we saw this earlier in the season with below average games against Houston, Washington, and Indy, everyone thought they were hitting an impasse, and then they turned it on for three straight blasting Green Bay, Tennessee, and NYG. All quality opponents. 

Did Sirianni strategically go into a shell the last three games to save it for the playoffs? I think that's the question everyone wants to know and I think the answer is probably more than likely. I hate that type of strategy, but the guy knows the building and his players more than anyone here, so if it was by his design to do that then I'll have confidence that they come out swinging next week. 

17 minutes ago, mattwill said:

Who the hell wants to watch that?  The school’s alumni and current students faculty and staff, and in some cases the residents of the community that hosts the college/university.

Thats great....for those 2 schools

 

And to respond to another one of your posts:. The quality of football was great for 1 team.  The other team looked like a high school team. 

That one TD where Bennett and his 2 lead blockers walked into the endzone?  Ive never seen one entire half of a defense completely wiped out and obliterated like that.  

8 minutes ago, downundermike said:

Um, the several million people that go to the game every weekend.  If you take the top 10 average attendance, that is almost 1 million people at a college football game any given weekend.

https://www.d1ticker.com/2022-fbs-attendance-trends/

 

Sure, but just wait a few more years, and you'll see!

It's on the verge of collapse, I say. Complete and total collapse!

10 minutes ago, EricAllenPick6 said:

Unpopular opinion:  The concept of who is "the best" has really taken a lot of fun out of the bowl season. 

Those big bowls (Orange, Sugar, Rose, Fiesta) are _not_ supposed to be just a 'semifinal' matchups.  Those are suppose to be THE final matchups featuring the best from each conference.   I hate the national championship game in college football because it makes all of those bowls less interesting and important.  

I agree.

7 minutes ago, TorontoEagle said:

SF has wins over Sea x2, TB, LAC, and Miami (all playoff teams)

Eagles have wins over NYG x2, Dal, Jax and Minny. 
 

That argument doesn’t really hold up

The argument is, there isn't anyone in the NFC better than the Eagles -- and there isn't.  Most pundits will pick SF but they're being overrated 

Even if the Bills or Chiefs are viewed as better, the Super Bowl is a one-game event.