College Football Thread

[str8baller]

11 hours ago, Home Jersey said:

Either way, the people posting on this board will probably still be watching. 

We don’t matter. These leagues stopped catering to us a long time ago precisely because we watch. They want the people who don’t watch or only occasionally do so.  
 

As for me I will likely watch (IU at least) in a 24 team playoff, but I can confidently say I won’t like it as much. I can say that confidently because I think the 12 team playoff is stupid. But at least the 12 team keeps the conference championship which I like. 
 

Last year would have been much better if we capped off an undefeated B1G season by beating OSU for the conference championship and then curb stomped Georgia in the Rose Bowl for the title. Playing Oregon again and a Miami squad that went on a chintzy 3 game run was both dumb and superfluous. I enjoyed it, but the old way would’ve been better. 

[Home Jersey]

36 minutes ago, str8baller said:

Last year would have been much better if we capped off an undefeated B1G season by beating OSU for the conference championship and then curb stomped Georgia in the Rose Bowl for the title. Playing Oregon again and a Miami squad that went on a chintzy 3 game run was both dumb and superfluous. I enjoyed it, but the old way would’ve been better. 

Yeah, we see things differently when it comes to this. I loved the playoff run and thought it was flipping awesome. I didn't really love the BCS format. 4 was always too small, 12 is exciting, 16 may have been perfect, 24 is fine IMO. I'd prefer it not expand much bigger than that and think it'd probably be logistically kind of hard to at this point.

12 hours ago, Pagoda said:

I'd like to once again pin almost all the blame on the schools.

- The NCAA is owned and governed by the schools.  The schools created this inept organization.

- The schools don't follow rules they agree to.  They constantly do whatever they want.

- The schools will spend money they don't have and run massive deficits.  Ironically they'll then claim things are unsustainable.

- The schools push for every last dollar.  What media deal do they take?  Top bid even if the time slots suck.

- Speaking of every last dollar, if given the chance to switch to a geographically illogical conference for more money while destroying their old conference... schools don't even blink. 

- Don't like the messy NIL/rev share and portal?  Well, that happened because the schools insisted they couldn't pay their labor that helped generate billions of dollars each year.  They got sued and lost.

The way universities behave is quite poor.

Great list. This is why I'm in favor of separating football from the universities at this point. Remove their involvement, pay them handsomely for their stadiums, brand etc. and let a real operator come in to manage the business and operations, enforce rules, negotiate with labor, etc. JMO but I think that'd be best for the health of the game. Also a potential lifeline for Olympic sports. 

[str8baller]

1 hour ago, Home Jersey said:

I loved the playoff run and thought it was flipping awesome.

I did too.  Because we won. I would have enjoyed the scenario I laid out much more.
 

 Could you imagine a scenario where mendoza or somebody got hurt and we lost to an Oregon team we already beat and were clearly better than or a Miami team that didn’t even win the putrid ACC?  
 

There literally could be no bigger farce in sports than that. We were the best team as proven all year long. But a playoff isn’t interested in that. Just who wins 3-4 games in a row. Thankfully we did.  
 

In any event, they’ll keep expanding it as long as they can get TV money for it. 32 makes the most sense as it eliminates byes. 

[Brass Cannon]

12 minutes ago, str8baller said:

I did too.  Because we won. I would have enjoyed the scenario I laid out much more.
 

 Could you imagine a scenario where mendoza or somebody got hurt and we lost to an Oregon team we already beat and were clearly better than or a Miami team that didn’t even win the putrid ACC?  
 

UpskillTeams

 

There literally could be no bigger farce in sports than that. We were the best team as proven all year long. But a playoff isn’t interested in that. Just who wins 3-4 games in a row. Thankfully we did.  
 

In any event, they’ll keep expanding it as long as they can get TV money for it. 32 makes the most sense as it eliminates byes. 

Yep.  Wouldn’t have even needed to be a whole game.  Had Mendoza got hurt for a single series we likely would have lost that NC game and it wouldn’t have mattered.  Imagine if it had been on one of those dirty plays that went uncalled.  How livid we would have been. 
 

OSU fans are angry about that call at the end of the game but after watching a Heisman finalist go down 10 minutes earlier the officials were anxious for good reason. 

[Lebowski]

3 hours ago, str8baller said:

We don’t matter. These leagues stopped catering to us a long time ago precisely because we watch. They want the people who don’t watch or only occasionally do so.  
 

As for me I will likely watch (IU at least) in a 24 team playoff, but I can confidently say I won’t like it as much. I can say that confidently because I think the 12 team playoff is stupid. But at least the 12 team keeps the conference championship which I like. 
 

Last year would have been much better if we capped off an undefeated B1G season by beating OSU for the conference championship and then curb stomped Georgia in the Rose Bowl for the title. Playing Oregon again and a Miami squad that went on a chintzy 3 game run was both dumb and superfluous. I enjoyed it, but the old way would’ve been better. 

To each his own. For me, the last 4 games left ZERO DOUBT for all the naysayers, allowed IUFB to accomplish something no other school has since the late 1800's, and showed the country what Hoosier Nation is when coaches and the like talk about it. All of that doesn't happen if those 'dumb and superfluous chintzy 3 games' don't get played. 

[Lebowski]

26 minutes ago, str8baller said:

 Could you imagine a scenario where mendoza or somebody got hurt and we lost to an Oregon team we already beat and were clearly better than or a Miami team that didn’t even win the putrid ACC?  

If and buts were candy and nuts. It didn't happen. We won every game. I will remember it for as long as my cognitive brain will allow me. 

[Lebowski]

14 hours ago, Home Jersey said:

Not trying to argue, just for the sake of conversation... 

I don't disagree that greed is ruining college sports in a lot of ways and I don't trust the powerful TV partners to do things in the best interest of the game. The glory days of college sports are gone and not coming back though. I'm very nostalgic for the early 2000s, but even then the game had a lot of corruption going on with the shoe companies and schools / boosters etc. Now it's just above boards and that's supported IU's ability to compete to the fullest extent.

Does anyone know Trent Sisley's major off the top of their head? The freshmen? I don't and am not especially interested. If they're wearing the same jerseys, with the same nicknames, mascots and logos, playing in the same stadiums, it's still a good excuse for families and alumni to go to the universities for game day / weekends. Universities are intertwined with the American development system for professional and Olympic sports. NIL / revenue share just lets them be appropriately compensated. It needs to be regulated in some form, and not at 22%. Olympic sports also need to be cared for. 

The talent level of truly amateur athletics would not draw a significant audience. College sports are popular because people want to watch the next NBA and NFL stars AND they want to see their universities represented. It's tribal and it's what makes college sports great.

The talent and the community connection are needed for the "product" to be successful regardless of whether we call it the NCAA or something else. It's a deeply American "product" and a lot of people have formed habits (message board posting) and rituals (going to games frequently, spending money in other ways) around it. I don't think those will break based on whether or not the players go to class.

The NCAA is ruining college sports with its incessant bullshite and therefore I look forward to seeing the day it goes whether it's replaced by the conferences banding together or some spun off professional entity with (possibly very lucrative) licensing / royalty agreements with the schools. Either way, the people posting on this board will probably still be watching. 

My European colleagues that relocated here in the US compare college football to lower tier professional soccer leagues.  For example EPL would be considered NFL. EFL Championship is CFP. EFL League One is FCS. So on and so forth.

And all of them regardless of country pretty much say the same thing. They say the fanbase and tribalism you're talking about here is almost identical. 

I don't know if we'll see something like this in our lifetime but I won't be surprised if "college sports" turns into some sort of tier leagues system. 

[str8baller]

20 hours ago, Lebowski said:

For me, the last 4 games left ZERO DOUBT for all the naysayers, allowed IUFB to accomplish something no other school has since the late 1800's,

There was no doubt before that. Beating Oregon again and a 3 loss Miami team didn’t prove anything that beating SEC champ #2 Georgia wouldn’t have. We’re only 3 years into the expanded playoffs (and now the 12 team one is over) so acting like it’s some once-in-a-100yr  achievement is weird to anyone that’s outside our circle of diehard IU fans.  
 

The extra games are just for TV money. And I agree that it was cool, because we benefited from it. But below is the downside of reorganizing everything for television networks…

 

 

You’re going to get a 24+ tournament and most likely two giant conferences (logically split into divisions like the NFL)…it’s happening. I’m simply arguing for some prudence so they don’t topple the whole thing over and ruin it. 

[Jeff Flabjohns]

On 10/23/2026 at 7:33 AM, str8baller said:

Last year would have been much better if we capped off an undefeated B1G season by beating OSU for the conference championship and then curb stomped Georgia in the Rose Bowl for the title. Playing Oregon again and a Miami squad that went on a chintzy 3 game run was both dumb and superfluous. I enjoyed it, but the old way would’ve been better. 

I’m partially with you (hate 24), but I think 12 is fine. 
The conferences are too bloated and conf schedules too uneven to have a 1 vs 2 title game. Anywhere from 6 to 12 CFP teams is the sweet-spot for me.

Balances the importance of the regular season while taking into account uneven schedules, wider distribution of talent, etc. 

Next year…as a die-hard who has always tailored my Saturdays around CFB, I’ll have a much less vested interest in non-IU regular season games since they won’t impact CFP qualifying to the same degree. 

Part of what I love about this sport is rooting for that overpaid coach, with a massive NIL roster at a blue-blood to get their third loss and be left out and the aftermath of all that. 

[ronzo4IU]

On 10/23/2026 at 8:02 AM, Home Jersey said:

Yeah, we see things differently when it comes to this. I loved the playoff run and thought it was flipping awesome. I didn't really love the BCS format. 4 was always too small, 12 is exciting, 16 may have been perfect, 24 is fine IMO. I'd prefer it not expand much bigger than that and think it'd probably be logistically kind of hard to at this point.

Great list. This is why I'm in favor of separating football from the universities at this point. Remove their involvement, pay them handsomely for their stadiums, brand etc. and let a real operator come in to manage the business and operations, enforce rules, negotiate with labor, etc. JMO but I think that'd be best for the health of the game. Also a potential lifeline for Olympic sports. 

I’m not getting what you’re saying here about separating football from the universities?

I don’t see how on earth that could ever be accomplished. We already have the NFL so why would there need to be another league?

just wondering, maybe I’m missing something but also don’t most football players need to get some type of degree seeing how most of them are not gonna make it into the NFL?

[Home Jersey]

21 minutes ago, ronzo4IU said:

I’m not getting what you’re saying here about separating football from the universities?

I don’t see how on earth that could ever be accomplished. We already have the NFL so why would there need to be another league?

just wondering, maybe I’m missing something but also don’t most football players need to get some type of degree seeing how most of them are not gonna make it into the NFL?

It's highly unlikely to ever happen because the universities don't really want to do it. 

As a thought exercise though, Kentucky converted it's athletic department into an LLC called Champions Blue. It's a holding company designed to increase financial flexibility and unlock alternative revenue streams. 

IMO, since football is such a violent sport and careers are so short, with very few making the NFL, it's important that the players get the opportunity to optimize their earnings at this level of the game. Spinning off athletic departments wouldn't necessarily prohibit players from choosing to go to school, but it would help create the conditions for collective bargaining so that they are compensated fairly and have representation in negotiations. Player representation at the big boy table could also be established in the current model with a trade association (not an actual players union) but the legislation before Congress doesn't even give players that. 

 

Below is a very high level AI generated outline of how this (theoretically) could work. This would only be viable for a subset of the P4 schools and would also entail a restructuring of the TV deals. 

 

To separate college football while protecting university brands and funding non-revenue sports, a university can transition its football program into a sub-licensed private corporate entity (such as an Athletics LLC).

This model shifts the legal and operational liabilities away from the academic institution while maintaining a strict financial pipeline that funds the rest of the campus sports ecosystem through the following mechanisms:

1. The Sub-Slicensing Corporate Model

• The "Holding Company" Structure:
  The university creates a separate, independent corporate entity (an Athletics LLC or private franchise). The university retains 100% or majority ownership of this entity initially, or sells stakes to private equity.
• IP and Brand Licensing: The university leases its intellectual property—including team names, logos, mascots, and color schemes—to the independent franchise.
• Stadium Lease Agreements: The private football entity signs long-term lease agreements to rent the university's stadium and training facilities.

2. Structuring the Royalty and Licensing Pipeline

• Percentage-Based Royalties: The football entity pays a fixed percentage of its gross revenue (from media rights, ticket sales, concessions, and merchandise) back to the university as a licensing fee for using the brand.
• Dividend Distributions: As the owner or majority shareholder of the LLC, the university receives annual dividend payouts from the football program's net profits.
• Tax-Deductible "Academic" Fees: The independent entity can pay an annual "academic affiliation fee" to the university, which remains tax-deductible for the franchise while providing a steady revenue stream to the central campus.

3. Sustaining Olympic Sports

• The "Olympic Sports Fund" Trust: Instead of football revenue directly flowing into a shared athletic department pool, the university places its incoming royalty and dividend check directly into a dedicated Olympic Sports Endowment Trust.
• Shared-Services Agreements: The private football entity can enter into a contractual "Shared Services Agreement" with the university. The football franchise pays the university to manage compliance, sports medicine, academic tutoring, and facility maintenance, subsidizing the overhead costs for Olympic sports.
• Corporate Sponsorship Tie-Ins: Broadcast and stadium sponsorship deals can be contractually bundled. For example, a corporation buying stadium naming rights from the football entity must also agree to sponsor the university’s soccer, track, or swimming programs

[ronzo4IU]

51 minutes ago, Home Jersey said:

It's highly unlikely to ever happen because the universities don't really want to do it. 

As a thought exercise though, Kentucky converted it's athletic department into an LLC called Champions Blue. It's a holding company designed to increase financial flexibility and unlock alternative revenue streams. 

IMO, since football is such a violent sport and careers are so short, with very few making the NFL, it's important that the players get the opportunity to optimize their earnings at this level of the game. Spinning off athletic departments wouldn't necessarily prohibit players from choosing to go to school, but it would help create the conditions for collective bargaining so that they are compensated fairly and have representation in negotiations. Player representation at the big boy table could also be established in the current model with a trade association (not an actual players union) but the legislation before Congress doesn't even give players that. 

 

Below is a very high level AI generated outline of how this (theoretically) could work. This would only be viable for a subset of the P4 schools and would also entail a restructuring of the TV deals. 

 

To separate college football while protecting university brands and funding non-revenue sports, a university can transition its football program into a sub-licensed private corporate entity (such as an Athletics LLC).

This model shifts the legal and operational liabilities away from the academic institution while maintaining a strict financial pipeline that funds the rest of the campus sports ecosystem through the following mechanisms:

1. The Sub-Slicensing Corporate Model

• The "Holding Company" Structure:
  The university creates a separate, independent corporate entity (an Athletics LLC or private franchise). The university retains 100% or majority ownership of this entity initially, or sells stakes to private equity.
• IP and Brand Licensing: The university leases its intellectual property—including team names, logos, mascots, and color schemes—to the independent franchise.
• Stadium Lease Agreements: The private football entity signs long-term lease agreements to rent the university's stadium and training facilities.

2. Structuring the Royalty and Licensing Pipeline

• Percentage-Based Royalties: The football entity pays a fixed percentage of its gross revenue (from media rights, ticket sales, concessions, and merchandise) back to the university as a licensing fee for using the brand.
• Dividend Distributions: As the owner or majority shareholder of the LLC, the university receives annual dividend payouts from the football program's net profits.
• Tax-Deductible "Academic" Fees: The independent entity can pay an annual "academic affiliation fee" to the university, which remains tax-deductible for the franchise while providing a steady revenue stream to the central campus.

3. Sustaining Olympic Sports

• The "Olympic Sports Fund" Trust: Instead of football revenue directly flowing into a shared athletic department pool, the university places its incoming royalty and dividend check directly into a dedicated Olympic Sports Endowment Trust.
• Shared-Services Agreements: The private football entity can enter into a contractual "Shared Services Agreement" with the university. The football franchise pays the university to manage compliance, sports medicine, academic tutoring, and facility maintenance, subsidizing the overhead costs for Olympic sports.
• Corporate Sponsorship Tie-Ins: Broadcast and stadium sponsorship deals can be contractually bundled. For example, a corporation buying stadium naming rights from the football entity must also agree to sponsor the university’s soccer, track, or swimming programs

Wow, that could work I guess but my gosh that would be quite the overhaul! 

[LIHoosier]

Oh boy oh boy oh boy

[IUFootballHappyHappyJoyJoy]

It's now time for the first ever BallSac Game

[KingPG21]

We were ugly AF. Texas Tech got curb stomped by cincinnati

[LIHoosier]

4 minutes ago, KingPG21 said:

We were ugly AF. Texas Tech got curb stomped by cincinnati

Sorsby must've been torn picking a side there

[KingPG21]

I hope all the people that think we aren't a playoff team are watching these other "top teams" struggle. 

[AZ Hoosier]

3 minutes ago, KingPG21 said:

I hope all the people that think we aren't a playoff team are watching these other "top teams" struggle. 

Both UCLA and Iowa are down by one score after 1Q.

Texas Tech lost.

Meanwhile, Miami, LSU, Northwestern and SMU all rolled.

[Hardwood83]

Miami looks similar to last year, very talented, not disciplined. Difference is I think they upgraded at QB. 

[Stuhoo]

49 minutes ago, LIHoosier said:

Sorsby must've been torn picking a side there

I’m willing to bet he was able to.

So was he.