Let all the Bulldog faithful rally behind the men who now wear the red and black with two words, two simple words which express the sentiments of the entire Bulldog Nation: Auburn Sucks.
ESPN appeared to be happy with the 12-team model. For all that we say about Disney, they have the data that shows what the value of the additional games really is as opposed to what the expansionists think. They seemed to see only incremental value over their relationship with existing conference championship games (the SECCG is still a viewership monster). On that, how is Fox going to change the financial relationship with the Big 10 as a result of losing their championship game? The players? Don’t get a say on this.
If you go to the TwiX, here’s the kicker:
“It’s entirely to appease the people donating the money that keeps a financially irresponsible business model afloat. It’s discounting success so schools can say ‘look what your donation bought.’
“It’s an industry hellbent on treating investors and bosses as the customer, and customers as an infinite resource that will keep coming back no matter what.”
Don’t those last 2 paragraphs sound like the brass in Charlotte at NASCAR telling their customers that those who would go to Rockingham and Darlington every year will watch the races in Miami, Chicago, and California?
It looks like Sankey is going to get his SEC championship game buyout as a result because there is no way he would have gone along with this:
If you missed months of old reporting, the 24-team playoff *likely* features:
– 23 at-large bids + 1 to best G6 (CFP MOU requires 1 spot for each P4) – 8 1st/2nd round games on campus – elimination of conference title games – week off after reg season (Army-Navy may move here) https://t.co/gNRWNPSSKH
I really don’t see why they didn’t just go to 16 if they were going to expand. I don’t see the value in the 8 play-in games. Team 9 vs. Team 24? Wow. Compelling. Must see TV.
Will the Dawgs ever play a meaningful regular season game again?
In case you missed it, Pittsburgh prevailed over Virginia Tech and James Frankly My Dear I Don’t Give a Damn About Winning, but it was by a hair (or 18) on a missed Hokies kick to end the game.
Of course, chaos ensued. Debate raged. People argued about angles and multiple camera phone snaps of it came up, and the argument was on.
Well, leave it up to some college kids/bloggers with a computer program and merging the multiple angles, and you’ve got some conclusive evidence that is was, in fact, a miss.
Most of the college football universe knew the kick missed wide left. Now we have physics on our side to prove it once and for all. Send this to your Hokie friends or anyone in denial.
I need these guys to get a hold of the Zapruder Film. Very intriguing. Coincidentally, the kick was back, and to the left. Back, and to the left.
Cough. Sorry, that was probably too far.
Anyway, let this serve as your annual reminder that college football is fully back. James Franklin has faceplanted yet again. It’s as certain as the clock rolling back an hour, the leaves changing colors, and Michigan finding yet another inventive way to cheat the game.
I wrote last week about the B1G’s fewer eyes on the TV and Big Noon Snoozers, which seemed at the time a bit of arrogance and bravado on the B1G’s and Fox’s behalf, but in retrospect, it seems like it’s more a function of giving way to let people watch bigger games and bigger rated games on other networks.
To be fair, I’m probably putting on my tin foil hat and doing some heavy lifting here, but hear me out.
Take, for example, the absolute oddity of airing this slate of SEC games all in the noon or 3:30 slots on October 17th:
Florida at Texas alone could be a 7:30 prime time event, as could be Alabama at Tennessee or, hell, even Missouri at Ole Miss.
Yes, these time slots were selected in the summer, but it’s important to note here that all three 3:30 games were in the “flex” slots and could’ve been night games. They probably should be, except for one glaring reason:
So, ABC looks at their lineup of games, sees Notre Dame and BYU, and has to make it “must see TV”.
Why? Well, it’s simple. It’s helping to build Notre Dame’s brand, and they want to make sure all eyes are squarely on the TV watching the justification for the most over-hyped team in all the land make their case for the CFP, as if the Top 16 autobid clause wasn’t doing that, already.
So what else is on at night on the 17th? Absolutely nothing, except for one thing. See if you see it, too.
Oh, look, there’s Miami, kicking off a half hour before Notre Dame, and that will lock in your channel flipping for the evening broadcast on the World Wide Leader. This helps with the previewing for Miami’s Week 8 tilt against NOW RANKED Pittsburgh and also helps to hype the Week 10 matchup between the Catholics and Convicts, which also happens to be on…PRIME TIME. On NBC.
The B1G and the SEC will have their usual suspects in the CFP hunt, but the networks having to work overtime to place these lousy brands of football in front of people’s eyes is both desperate and reeks of “look at me” opportunities to make the case for Miami and Notre Dame, or, by proxy, the ACC.
I’ll take my tin foil hat off now. It’s definitely been getting way more use than my regular Georgia ballcap the past few seasons, and I’d like to hang it up for good.
But I don’t think it’ll get hung until the real vision is finally actualized, which is the super conference model brought to you by ESPN/ABC/Fox/NBC/Cartoon Network. It’s too rich of a pie for everyone to not take a bite, even if the taste nowadays is way more bitter than it used to be.
The Jed Clampetts see their Texas Tea coming into focus.
CFP leaders are closer than ever to expanding to a 24-team playoff. They are talking buyouts of conference title games and scheduling logistics of doubling the field.
I know White T-Shirt Guy isn’t some of you guys’ favorite. Dial this up to 37:00, and you get a tour de force crushing the fake arguments made for expansion. Didn’t the powers that be say that schools would schedule up in a 12-team expansion as well. If you believe that at this point, you’re nothing but a sucker.
Greg Sankey and the SEC, you’re our Obi-Wan Kenobi against this madness.
This is an “inside baseball” type stat that won’t trump quality wins, schedule strength and record strength and what the committee sees on film. But it will put a number to answer the question: how tough is the daily grind in the each league? It’s not even equal within them. pic.twitter.com/RMNoGwKQ5j
What happens when the blowhard of one program with the softest schedule in college sports talks crap about the other program with the softest schedule in sports? The geniuses are unleashed.
EE had an idea for some of the contributors here to explain their rationale in the Preseason Mumme Poll, including how and why we voted. Fun fact – we have no clear formula or consistent rationale. You know, we could likely find ourselves on the CFP Committee for that fact alone. So, without further ado, here’s an explanation from your GTPR “experts”.
JP:
#1 Notre Dame, the rest in negotiable – In the modern era, I have to look at who has the easiest pathway coupled with the most NIL money. Notre Dame is a money machine. Freeman, as much as I hate to admit it, is a good coach. If Notre Dame doesn’t make it out of their schedule undefeated, he should be fired. But honestly, he can use each game as a live scrimmage that counts towards the CFP. I’d run the same base plays all season, use each week to study the defensive reaction, run them against different defensive looks, and save the “wrinkles” until the CFP. That’s dangerous territory – win out, and they all expect you to hoist the trophy. Lose, and WTF are you doing?
#2/3 – Indiana, for the same reasons as above, or you could say Ohio State has the same.
#4 – Georgia – This is Kirby’s high water mark. If you invest your NIL dollars in seniors and defense, it needs to show, in a very dominating way. They need to be the Junkyard Dawgs on steroids. If there’s not a series of scoreless games, Kirby might bust a gasket. We have the defensive returners to do this, but this will also be a testament to Mike Bobo, who has an embarrassment of riches on offense with tight ends, a great offensive line, and a solid backfield of rubbing backs and quarterbacks to get it done on the backs of a great defense. Fall short, and people start questioning Smart’s strategy. Kirby seems oddly calm this year, and that should scare the hell out of everyone else. But the SEC is the SEC. I still stand by the idea that it’s the toughest interconference competition and anything goes.
#5-#10 – One other B1G team (probably Oregon), Three SEC teams (likely Ole Miss, Texas and TAMU), and an ACC team (Miami). Take your pick.
EE:
My approach:
For the preseason poll, I focused my ballot on the teams I believe have the roster, schedule or coaching to be the last team standing in January.
My ballot (not a ranking):
Miami – excellent roster with a QB who could push the Hurricanes over the top. Issue … Mario Cristobal.
Indiana – until someone (anyone) shows they can beat them, Cignetti has found a formula that works. Issue … the Covid seniors are gone now.
Ohio State – one of the 3-5 best rosters in the sport and a coach who seems to have found something. Issue … can Julian Sayin find another gear?
Oregon – some say Dante Moore is likely to be 1, 1 in this April’s draft and the talent around him is excellent. Issue … can Dan Lanning get out of his own way consistently?
Notre Dame – the schedule is very kind to the Irish with a great roster to go along with it. Issue … the schedule especially if Miami beats them soundly in South Bend.
Georgia – the talent along the lines of scrimmage may make the Dawgs the most physical team in the sport. Issue … can the offense find the explosiveness that will be needed to win it all?
Texas – the best roster money can buy with a head coach who is feeling the heat to do something with it (sound familiar, OSU 2024). Issue … is there the culture to withstand the SEC wars?
Dawglicious:
In the spirit of the relative worthlessness of preseason polls, I filled mine out with a touch of “let’s give a shout out to some schools, my personal feelings on who should even be included, and dadgummit, downright pettiness on my part. To wit: I voted for all three service academies, voted for zero Group of 6 programs, and left Indiana off entirely out of spite. I promise this will not be my modus operandi the rest of the season (and has not been in the past).
Otis Day:
I don’t have a clue who has what. With all the transfers nowadays, I can’t keep up with who is where and I don’t give a damn about anybody but UGA so, the only news I follow is about the Dawgs. That said, I just went with who I feel would be in a 4 team playoff (as it still should be). In no particular order: UGA, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon.
I mentioned this yesterday and feel like continuing it today. For a moment, I was thinking that this has been the hardest offseason of blogging to date, but for a few reasons I’ve noticed, and I hope those of you who scour the internet have noticed it, too:
There is way less intel coming out of camps and scrimmages than in years past. Even the Georgia social media team isn’t releasing highlights of scrimmages. It’s very quiet.
I think that #1 is by design. Since you can essentially reload and retool your team via NIL and the Transfer Portal yearly, coaches are less inclined to let out “leaks”.
The intel that does come out is useless. Of note, I’ve read through some of last weekend’s scrimmage, and here’s the breakdown…and honestly, you could’ve filled in the blanks on this by just guessing:
The offense looked like crap, receivers couldn’t get separation and we were 0/30 on deep balls.
The defense is probably that good.
A tight end (Redell) is Him.
A running back looked great (Peanut) and one was more consistent (Bo Walker)
No news on special teams.
A freshman is going to be a game one starter.
So, you have to put together the pieces by yourself, meaning what comes out on the field is anyone’s guess. We know the potential starters, and maybe a few surprises. Yahoo. The days of Phil Steele’s guidance and preseason magazines are gone. Your guess is as good as theirs. For giggles, I decided to fantasize if I could be one of them (the social media football pundits), then I realized I’d have to ESPN myself, and here’s the image I got that plays with the modern day college football prognosticator:
It’s like I’m looking at my son if he was crossbred with Theo Von and Pat McAfee. Shudder. Also, if that’s me, someone is grooming me to not have ear hair and nose hair. I’m almost offended.
Anyway, if you think I’m joking, take a look at this take, from someone who gets paid really good money to make stupid takes like this:
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) August 11, 2026
CBS must not have a research department, but they also employ Danny Kanell, so there’s that. How many times and how often do we have to hear that Texas is back, Texas owns the SEC, Everything’s Bigger in Texas, yadda yadda just to watch them faceplant in the biggest game of the year?
Arch Manning is 'talking shit' at Texas football practice. Here's why that's a big deal for the Longhorns, who no longer have to coax their quarterback into being himself: https://t.co/YTnsCaugqL
Ohhhhh Aaaaachie! He used a foul word! What a badass and, man, Texas is gonna be hell on wheels! I put the category in the Mumme Poll of “For all the resources and money thrown at them, that’s the best they could do? (Falling short of high expectations)” in there precisely for Sarkisian, who, for all intents and purposes, should be canned for doing less with more.
Kudos to Kirby for reserving NIL for upperclassmen, it’s almost as if he should join Saban in retirement in driving NIL regulation to keep it out of the high schools and recruiting and reserve it for results on the field. If you asked me for my opinion on reform, I’m fine with the open market, but keep it for sophomores or redshirt freshmen and above. Do something to prove your worth beyond beating the hell out of Our Sister of Mercy’s JV squad and social media bravado. If you come in as a freshman and earn playing time and play at a high level, the open market is yours. Good on you, and a guy like Kirby is your friend and mentor, not your paycheck. He’ll make sure you make eight figures in the NFL, which will make the NIL days look like chump change.
As it should be.
Until we get to that level of sensibility, we have what we have. It’s a shitshow, and there’s no better way to describe it.
That being said, lay forth your opinions and know, no matter who retorts, that your opinion holds as much gold value as anyone else’s because it’s 2026, this is the state of College Football, and the comments section is really where the true knowledge is at.
Pads are clapping and helmets are cracking as we speak. Our long slow offseason of discontent is about to conclude, and ball will be on our TVs or itineraries in less than a month. Hell, I’m so eager I actually considered buying the $20 ticket packages they advertised for Tech versus Colorado. I’m that hard up for football, even as shitty as some of the noise had become. And I like hot dogs and Coke. Sounds like a fine idea.
Note: relax, I didn’t but any Tech tickets. Yet.
It’s almost here, Refugees. Rejoice. And have away in the comments.
