OT: D1

[EyeoftheHawk]

I’m not sure the Herbstreit family has any a significant amount of affinity for Ohio State as a whole at this point. He moved his family out of Ohio a few years back and went to Nashville because they were getting threats due to him not always wearing Scarlet and Gray glasses when doing his job.

I remember seeing some quotes and seeing an article about it. He wanted away from the Ohio State lunacy.

I wouldn’t say he pushed his kid towards Michigan, but I don’t think he was begging him to go to OSU either. His other two sons played for Clemson as walk ons. Seems like Chase is a 3-star QB recruit.

I’m remembering this now. People there are in a cult and don’t even know it. It’s sad.

I’ve noticed Herbstreit’s demeanor has changed recently. It might be nothing, but he seems more skeptical and even antagonistic at times. He took a shot at Booger McFarland during the selection show that I thought was odd. I think he does a great job but was curious if anyone else noticed it, or if I’m seeing things that aren’t there.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Which makes it even more baffling that they tried to run the ball so much against Michigan. Ego is something coaches are prone to suffering with and there seems to be reluctance at all levels to just go with what’s working instead of trying to prove a point. Saying all that, I have to believe the two weeks off will really help Ohio State.

They better. Ryan Day is mentally on the brink of a trip to Shutter Island.

[Chuck Norris]

I’m remembering this now. People there are in a cult and don’t even know it. It’s sad.

I’ve noticed Herbstreit’s demeanor has changed recently. It might be nothing, but he seems more skeptical and even antagonistic at times. He took a shot at Booger McFarland during the selection show that I thought was odd. I think he does a great job but was curious if anyone else noticed it, or if I’m seeing things that aren’t there.

He took exception to Booger bringing up the idea of brand bias when they were debating Alabama/SMU before the bracket was revealed. The machine has made Herbie quite rich and famous and he didn’t take kindly to shots taken against it. Booger seemed pretty taken aback by it. I do like Kirk as an analyst and he’s obviously a dog lover and that goes a long way with me. I do honestly wonder if he works too much with the addition of his Thursday night NFL duties. His travel schedule is pretty crazy and when his dog passed away, all the different pieces that came out did make it seem like it’s all pretty tough on him.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Juan Soto

New York Mets

15 years

$765 million

[Ship69]

Juan Soto

New York Mets

15 years

$765 million

It's nuts. You could get at least three impact players for that type of money.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

It's nuts. You could get at least three impact players for that type of money.

That's $51m/year.

The Pirates could sign a whole roster of has-beens for that.

[IUP24]

Interesting to see the post bracket reveal fodder almost everywhere. Nearly every talking head who advocated FOR SMU (I would say about 80% of them) indicated that if they were left out coaches would start refusing to play conference championship games.

Felt like I read that somewhere on here.

[Fightingscot82]

Interesting to see the post bracket reveal fodder almost everywhere. Nearly every talking head who advocated FOR SMU (I would say about 80% of them) indicated that if they were left out coaches would start refusing to play conference championship games.

Felt like I read that somewhere on here.

All of this rides on star NIL millionaire not getting hurt in any of these "extra" games.

[IUP24]

I'm happy for SMU and Indiana. They took care of their business, had no bad losses, and reached the tournament (as it should be). You can argue or discuss schedules all you want, but winning football games has to matter at some point.

Boise was undoubtedly the best G5 of the year (and they beat arguably the 2nd best G5 team, UNLV, twice), and they deservedly got in.

Arizona State was one of the hottest teams in the 2nd half of the season, got on a huge run, and won their conference. They got in and have a seat at the table.

Clemson was written off, backed into a conference title game because of a Week 12 upset, and won their way into the field. That is the exciting "bid stealing" proposition that everybody loves that makes March unique.

There are advocates far and wide for a SEC and B1G invitational, but that's not how this should go. Who you want to watch on tv, who garners the biggest ratings, and how Vegas would handicap a game should have nothing to do with deciding a national champion. I don't think this system is perfect (and I stand by that I wish they never expanded from four teams for a variety of reasons), but I think the committee got everything right. It doesn't matter to me who wins, what the spreads are, which conference is best, etc. I care that every team who, without a doubt earned their way to the moment, has an opportunity.

I still think this entire system devalues the regular season. I think it renders what used to be critical matchups to be meaningless (Oregon's reward for beating OSU is to play them again potentially in the 2nd round). I still believe that the cache of "rivalry games" have lost their meaning because you can no longer effectively ruin a season in one (Ohio State and Clemson are the perfect examples). But those are all separate conversations independent of this post. You can argue seedings, but you can't argue the field. I think they got the right 12 teams in.

[IUP24]

All of this rides on star NIL millionaire not getting hurt in any of these "extra" games.

Nobody ever opted out of a bowl game until Christian McAffery did so. One of these guys will eventually opt out of the playoff. And honestly, I can't blame them one bit.

[Fightingscot82]

I'm happy for SMU and Indiana. They took care of their business, had no bad losses, and reached the tournament (as it should be). You can argue or discuss schedules all you want, but winning football games has to matter at some point.

Boise was undoubtedly the best G5 of the year (and they beat arguably the 2nd best G5 team, UNLV, twice), and they deservedly got in.

Arizona State was one of the hottest teams in the 2nd half of the season, got on a huge run, and won their conference. They got in and have a seat at the table.

Clemson was written off, backed into a conference title game because of a Week 12 upset, and won their way into the field. That is the exciting "bid stealing" proposition that everybody loves that makes March unique.

There are advocates far and wide for a SEC and B1G invitational, but that's not how this should go. Who you want to watch on tv, who garners the biggest ratings, and how Vegas would handicap a game should have nothing to do with deciding a national champion. I don't think this system is perfect (and I stand by that I wish they never expanded from four teams for a variety of reasons), but I think the committee got everything right. It doesn't matter to me who wins, what the spreads are, which conference is best, etc. I care that every team who, without a doubt earned their way to the moment, has an opportunity.

I still think this entire system devalues the regular season. I think it renders what used to be critical matchups to be meaningless (Oregon's reward for beating OSU is to play them again potentially in the 2nd round). I still believe that the cache of "rivalry games" have lost their meaning because you can no longer effectively ruin a season in one (Ohio State and Clemson are the perfect examples). But those are all separate conversations independent of this post. You can argue seedings, but you can't argue the field. I think they got the right 12 teams in.

What you describe is exactly how it should work. Schedules are what they are. As I've mentioned, a lot of schools have their schedules set a decade in advance when either team could be very different. If someone wins all or nearly all of their games and wins their conference, there should be no question. Its my pipe dream, but if and when we have multiple G5 schools with 11 FBS wins and a conference championship, the #3 SEC or Big Ten teams may need to warm to the idea of the Pop Tarts Bowl.

[TheROCK]

That's $51m/year.

The Pirates could sign a whole roster of has-beens for that.

The Pirates WILL sign a whole roster of has-beens for probably less and turn a profit.

[iupgroundhog]

Juan Soto

New York Mets

15 years

$765 million

As a Phillies fan, the signing is a little disconcerting. The Mets are the Phils' archrival now. Dombrowski and the Phillies could have entered the sweepstakes, especially with Soto's personal connections to other Phillies players, but chose not to. Something about money, I guess.

I'm glad that it is not "deferred." That's a bad road to go down, IMO.

[Ship69]

I'm happy for SMU and Indiana. They took care of their business, had no bad losses, and reached the tournament (as it should be). You can argue or discuss schedules all you want, but winning football games has to matter at some point.

Boise was undoubtedly the best G5 of the year (and they beat arguably the 2nd best G5 team, UNLV, twice), and they deservedly got in.

Arizona State was one of the hottest teams in the 2nd half of the season, got on a huge run, and won their conference. They got in and have a seat at the table.

Clemson was written off, backed into a conference title game because of a Week 12 upset, and won their way into the field. That is the exciting "bid stealing" proposition that everybody loves that makes March unique.

There are advocates far and wide for a SEC and B1G invitational, but that's not how this should go. Who you want to watch on tv, who garners the biggest ratings, and how Vegas would handicap a game should have nothing to do with deciding a national champion. I don't think this system is perfect (and I stand by that I wish they never expanded from four teams for a variety of reasons), but I think the committee got everything right. It doesn't matter to me who wins, what the spreads are, which conference is best, etc. I care that every team who, without a doubt earned their way to the moment, has an opportunity.

I still think this entire system devalues the regular season. I think it renders what used to be critical matchups to be meaningless (Oregon's reward for beating OSU is to play them again potentially in the 2nd round). I still believe that the cache of "rivalry games" have lost their meaning because you can no longer effectively ruin a season in one (Ohio State and Clemson are the perfect examples). But those are all separate conversations independent of this post. You can argue seedings, but you can't argue the field. I think they got the right 12 teams in.

I would offer a counter argument that the new playoff format might actually have created more meaningful games. It wouldn't have mattered much what Boise State did last year because they probably would not have been included in a four-team playoff. The Iowa State-Arizona State Big 12 title game was literally a fight for which team made the playoff field. Also the old format discouraged strong scheduling because one or two losses often knocked you out of contention.

[Ship69]

Nobody ever opted out of a bowl game until Christian McAffery did so. One of these guys will eventually opt out of the playoff. And honestly, I can't blame them one bit.

Iowa's bowl game should be a dud as their big running back, who is about 65 percent of their offense, has opted out. As for opting out of the playoffs, it depends. If they are getting significant NIL money, I can very well blame them for opting out.