It’s Football time in Tennessee

[Darrell]

11 hours ago, Sleep profit said:

Any snow on the mountain yet 

There's a dusting on the roof tops and a bit on the grass, but nothing on the roads. 

[Sleep profit]

Georgia -  Florida State. today 4:00 pm Georgia is favored by 17.5 

[Garufa]

7 hours ago, Sleep profit said:

Georgia -  Florida State. today 4:00 pm Georgia is favored by 17.5 

They weren’t favored by enough, lol.  Straight up beat down.  

[Darrell]

10 hours ago, Garufa said:

They weren’t favored by enough, lol.  Straight up beat down.  

I believe Florida St, had 20 or 22 opt-outs for the game. So many of the bowl games have become glorified scrimmages with the best players choosing to protect themselves. That game sucked.  Oregon St. against Notre Dame was awful, too, as the Beavers lost their coach and their starting QB. What's the point?

[Garufa]

11 hours ago, Darrell said:

I believe Florida St, had 20 or 22 opt-outs for the game.

Irrelevant is what I told my wife when she mentioned the same thing.  

Even Kirby Smart thinks FSU’s position was just wrong with being overlooked for the playoffs and all this transfer portal and opt-out business.

[Darrell]

17 hours ago, Garufa said:

Irrelevant is what I told my wife when she mentioned the same thing

I think it's very relevant. Fans pay big bucks to go to the games... hotels, transportation, tickets, food, etc. They deserve to see the teams that earned the trip. Sponsors pay millions of dollars to advertise during the games, money that ultimately comes from the consumers' pockets. If I pay for a box of primers, I don't expect half of them to be missing when I open it up.

Even Georgia's players were cheated by that game. They had something to prove, but their effort will be discounted because of the lack of competition.

Mind you, I understand why top players might opt out of a non-CFP bowl game, but all those opt-outs are very relevant to the quality of the game that the fans see, and in which the players participate.

[btq96r]

2 hours ago, Darrell said:

I think it's very relevant. Fans pay big bucks to go to the games... hotels, transportation, tickets, food, etc. They deserve to see the teams that earned the trip. Sponsors pay millions of dollars to advertise during the games, money that ultimately comes from the consumers' pockets. If I pay for a box of primers, I don't expect half of them to be missing when I open it up.

Even Georgia's players were cheated by that game. They had something to prove, but their effort will be discounted because of the lack of competition.

Mind you, I understand why top players might opt out of a non-CFP bowl game, but all those opt-outs are very relevant to the quality of the game that the fans see, and in which the players participate.

Not directing the below at you @Darrell, you just highlighted why this is a problem which was quote worthy.  Not sure if you're inclined to agree with my solutions or not.

Our country has avenues for a free market solution to incentivize these players.  But they seem to be the last ones anyone wants money to flow down to.

Coaches get bonuses for making bowl games, sometimes tiered by what kind of bowl.  Kirby Smart got an extra $175k for his this year.  You mentioned all the revenue coming in from tickets, sponsors, and I'll add networks and gambling apps.  The bowls and networks can allocate some cash to pay for those on the roster at a given bowl game and some on top for winners to give the players something worth trying for.  Right now players get some "gifts" that are really trinkets and shiny distractions.  They make quick Christmas shopping for players from poor backgrounds who want to send something home to Mama and family, but it's not a lot when you realize how much money is out there.

I all but reject the inevitable "scholarship, room, and board is their pay" argument since being in college is almost perfunctory as a checkbox at this point, but I get it.  Here's something to consider, though....bowl season isn't part of the academic calendar.  Match up their tuition to what's actually done during semesters and you've got everything but bowl season inside times classes are being run.

Spring semester covers conditioning program and spring ball.
Summer semester covers training camp.
Fall semester covers the regular season.

There is a financial solution to this.  And especially with gambling money out there now, there are enough stakeholders who should want to make these non CFP bowl games watchable and betable events throug financial incentives to the athletes who actually perform in them.

Edited January 1 by btq96r

[Sleep profit]

Big win for the Vols over Iowa 35-0. Nico looked great optimistic for next season. Go Vols. 

[Sleep profit]

Michigan big win over BAMA 27-20.in OT.  The devil looses in 2024 lol 

[Garufa]

15 minutes ago, Sleep profit said:

Michigan big win over BAMA 27-20.in OT.  The devil looses in 2024 lol 

Great game but it’s not going to feel right without an SEC team in the championship.

[Sleep profit]

3 hours ago, Garufa said:

Great game but it’s not going to feel right without an SEC team in the championship.

Washington. win over Texas. 37-31.   Michigan and Washington final two. 

Edited January 2 by Sleep profit

[Erik88]

8 hours ago, Garufa said:

Great game but it’s not going to feel right without an SEC team in the championship.

It will feel just fine. I enjoy seeing different teams play and I'm glad Alabama lost. Not sure who I'll pull for but I hope it's a good game. 

[Darrell]

I'm feeling pretty sure that two of the three best teams in the country are in the championship. I think Georgia is the third.  I'm tickled that my Huskies are in! They made the end of their game scary, though!

Edited January 2 by Darrell

[Darrell]

1 hour ago, Erik88 said:

Not sure who I'll pull for

Why, the Huskies, of course!

[btq96r]

One thing I hope the pundits are talking about after last night...the CFP committee got it right.  These were the four teams that should have played last night, and the games we got were great.  Hoping the final delivers on the same level.

All the drama will be gone next year when the cutoff debate is between SMU and Oregon State or two other teams few people get passionate about.  It was great to have it one last time in such style.

[Sleep profit]

National Champs. Michigan Wolverines   34-13.  Now onto next season. Go Vols 

[Frog4aday]

Congratulations to the Michigan Wolverines. They took out my Tide & Huskies. Ouch. Would love to see them play Georgia just to see how that would go.

Now Nick Saban has retired. It will be interesting to see how Alabama does moving forward. Heard Dan Lanning from Oregon is the hot rumor to replace him. Time will tell.

 

[Darrell]

1 hour ago, Frog4aday said:

. Heard Dan Lanning from Oregon is the hot rumor to replace him.

Lanning says he's staying with the filthy ducks, but Huskie fans are sweating bullets as Kalen DeBoer's name seems to be frequently mentioned.

[peejman]

Kiffin is the only guy with an ego big enough to want to follow Saban.

I suspect Saban named his successor and all this is just for show. 

[Garufa]

10 hours ago, Darrell said:

Lanning says he's staying with the filthy ducks, but Huskie fans are sweating bullets as Kalen DeBoer's name seems to be frequently mentioned.

Looks like the Huskies are going to be looking for a new coach.  DeBoer is Alabama bound.

[Frog4aday]

That was fast.

[Darrell]

It appears that DeBoer wasn't Alabama's first choice. The press says that Sarkasian, Lanning, and maybe Kiffen all turned down the job. I liked DeBoer, the Huskies had two fantastic seasons with him, but I don't think he was going to come close to repeating that next season, given roster turnover. I'm more than curious to see how he does with Alabama.

And while I wish DeBoer well, wouldn't it be nice if grown men would honor the contracts they sign? He signed an extension last year for more money, and now he isn't honoring the contract. If he'd had a crappy season he would still have expected to be paid, and the UW would have honored the terms of the contract. Of course Bama has to pay up, but still.....

[Erik88]

59 minutes ago, Darrell said:

wouldn't it be nice if grown men would honor the contracts they sign?

When money is involved, there is no such thing as loyalty. 

[peejman]

58 minutes ago, Darrell said:

And while I wish DeBoer well, wouldn't it be nice if grown men would honor the contracts they sign? He signed an extension last year for more money, and now he isn't honoring the contract. If he'd had a crappy season he would still have expected to be paid, and the UW would have honored the terms of the contract. Of course Bama has to pay up, but still.....

Agreed. Coaches and players have largely become mercenaries.  In a world of what appears to be limitless money, a man's word is worth very little. Sad commentary on the state of our world. 

[deerslayer]

Congrats to former UT linebacker Jerod Mayo for landing the New England job.