2024 -25 College Football and College Football Playoff Thread

[MU82]

Woe, Notre Dame ...

From The Athletic:

Here was Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman at a Fighting Irish hockey game, playing tour guide for the coach he wants to bring in as his new offensive coordinator — Utah's Andy Ludwig. It was very public, and gave every indication of a done deal.

Except Ludwig isn't Notre Dame's offensive coordinator. News broke last night that the school is expected to promote tight ends coach Gerard Parker to the job. How did we get here?

Notre Dame had every intention of hiring Ludwig. The main issue was Ludwig's contract buyout — steep at $2.8 million — which the school either didn't know about or hoped to negotiate down. Utah balked at any discussion, and Notre Dame bowed out.

Stewart Mandel smartly points out that losing out on Ludwig isn't earth-shattering. But this is Notre Dame, an old-school college football blueblood in a sport now swimming with money.

Even outside of Notre Dame looking cheap, Freeman gets shafted here. He clearly wanted Ludwig. He made a public showing of it. Then he didn't receive the support necessary to get him. Not exactly a confidence boost for the second-year head coach.

[MU82]

Deion Sanders has told dozens of Colorado football players to take a hike. Just cut them unceremoniously. CU later!

I get why he's doing it, and he apparently isn't doing anything against the rules. But it's worth remembering it the next time some coach shakes his fist at the clouds about "disloyal" athletes transferring or "greedy" athletes insisting upon receiving NIL money.

[swoopem]

Deion Sanders has told dozens of Colorado football players to take a hike. Just cut them unceremoniously. CU later!

I get why he's doing it, and he apparently isn't doing anything against the rules. But it's worth remembering it the next time some coach shakes his fist at the clouds about "disloyal" athletes transferring or "greedy" athletes insisting upon receiving NIL money.

The timing of this seems really weird. 26 guys have hit the portal since their spring game over the weekend. No way he fills all those spots. I don't follow college football recruiting but I imagine all the high school seniors and half way decent transfers are committed to a school already. 26 is a lot

Btw, I'm rooting for Coach Prime and the Buffs. I love Boulder and think it would be cool if they shook up the college football world

[MU82]

The timing of this seems really weird. 26 guys have hit the portal since their spring game over the weekend. No way he fills all those spots. I don't follow college football recruiting but I imagine all the high school seniors and half way decent transfers are committed to a school already. 26 is a lot

Btw, I'm rooting for Coach Prime and the Buffs. I love Boulder and think it would be cool if they shook up the college football world

Deion to Colorado is a great story, that's for sure. Either he turns 'em around, or he goes down in flames. Either way, it's big news about a guy who's bigger than life.

[Herman Cain]

ESPN unveils preseason college power Index. Ohio State number 1. Badgers are 20th.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/fpi

[Herman Cain]

https://www.buckys5thquarter.com/platform/amp/wisconsin-badgers-football/2023/4/10/23677869/way-too-early-wisconsin-badgers-football-season-predictions-luke-fickell-phil-longo-tanner-mordecai

[MU82]

From The Athletic:

NCAA 24 is a go

This was always the final step: College football players — the actual people, not RB #8 — will be in EA's new college football game, the company announced yesterday. EA says they've figured out a group licensing option, which will help players be compensated for appearing in the game ... which is the whole reason the game went away a decade ago. It's set to return next summer.

It's about effen time that the athletes whose images are used for video games make some coin from the sales of those games.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I'm so Fing excited. Will be more excited if they bring back NCAA Basketball

[wadesworld]

I'm so Fing excited. Will be more excited if they bring back NCAA Basketball

Exactly.  I bought a PS5 not right when it came out, but not long after either.  I played a tiny bit of some FIFA, NHL, NBA 2K, and Madden but never consistently.  I played the Show a bit more, but again not much.  I haven't turned it on in at least 6 months.  I would've sold it, but knowing NCAA video games are returning I figured I'd hold onto it.

[Herman Cain]

MSU moving final game of season to Ford Field. Local Business in East Lansing not pleased.
https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/2023/05/26/michigan-state-football-ford-field-east-lansing-businesses/70260651007/

[Pakuni]

Coach who makes $6+ million a year off college football is very angry players make money off college football.

https://www.mediaite.com/sports/missouri-football-coach-who-will-make-6-million-this-season-complains-about-high-pay-for-college-athletes/

[Herman Cain]

https://athlonsports.com/college-football/wisconsin-football-badgers-prediction-preview-2023

[WhiteTrash]

I really liked the Fickle hire, but  expectations are very high for Fickle. I hope it goes better for him than it has for Jimbo at A&M or Cristobal at Miami.

[Herman Cain]

I really liked the Fickle hire, but  expectations are very high for Fickle. I hope it goes better for him than it has for Jimbo at A&M or Cristobal at Miami.

Badgers results are a function of the quality of their quarterback. They usually have solid players at the other positions .

My guess is Fickle  can upgrade the QB

[The Sultan]

I really liked the Fickle hire, but  expectations are very high for Fickle. I hope it goes better for him than it has for Jimbo at A&M or Cristobal at Miami.

Well Cristobal has been at Miami for one year so we will see. His forte has always been about recruiting.

Jimbo started to slide at FSU the minute Jameis left the program. I never really thought he was the offensive genius that has been portrayed either. He runs a pretty out-of-date type of pro style offense that has worked great with world class quarterbacks, but other than that can look pretty mediocre.

But you are right that the expectations are sky high for Fickell - and they should be.

[Herman Cain]

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/big-ten-football-schedule-conference-releases-2024-2025-opponents-featuring-flex-protect-plus-model/amp/

[djorling]

Apologies if this is on the wrong topic or posted elsewhere.  But I thought scoopers would be interested in this article. Apparently, X may be serious about bringing back Football.

https://www.elevenwarriors.com/college-football/2023/06/139417/xavier-might-bring-back-football-which-could-end-badly-for-them

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Apologies if this is on the wrong topic or posted elsewhere.  But I thought scoopers would be interested in this article. Apparently, X may be serious about bringing back Football.

https://www.elevenwarriors.com/college-football/2023/06/139417/xavier-might-bring-back-football-which-could-end-badly-for-them

See the recent interview with the Xavier AD.  They are speaking about football similar to Dayton & Butler.  They expect a decision by the end of the calendar year.

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/columnists/jason-williams/2023/06/27/big-east-conference-xavier-university-ad-talks-sean-miller-ncaa-tournament-cintas-center-football/70361498007/

[Herman Cain]

See the recent interview with the Xavier AD.  They are speaking about football similar to Dayton & Butler.  They expect a decision by the end of the calendar year.

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/columnists/jason-williams/2023/06/27/big-east-conference-xavier-university-ad-talks-sean-miller-ncaa-tournament-cintas-center-football/70361498007/

Would be a fun addition for the students .

[MU82]

From The Athletic:

Northwestern suspended football coach Pat Fitzgerald two weeks without pay after an investigation found hazing allegations within the program to be credible. Investigators didn't find "sufficient evidence" the staff knew about the hazing, but there had been significant opportunities to discover and report it. The university implemented changes Friday, including designating someone who does not report to the football staff to monitor the locker room. A former player told The Daily Northwestern that the hazing included forced sexual acts.

[The Sultan]

Yeah, the Daily Northwestern published this story yesterday...

https://dailynorthwestern.com/2023/07/08/top-stories/former-nu-football-player-details-hazing-allegations-after-coach-suspension/

...which lead to this response from the Northwestern president.

https://twitter.com/insidenu/status/1677896327433183234/photo/1

If the Daily Northwestern report is accurate, Fitzgerald SHOULD lose his job. And IMO the president is likely in a lot of trouble now too because that two week suspension looks ridiculous in light of information that people should have known would have come out eventually. (And the fact it came out 24 hours later means they were just waiting for that moment to share.)

[MU82]

Thanks for posting that, Sultan. It wasn't easy to read how horrific that was. I was gonna say something like it's hard to imagine stuff like that taking place in 2022, but I guess it isn't. People can be so cruel and ugly, and supposed leaders are so easy to turn a blind eye.

It's difficult to see how Fitzgerald survives this, nor does it appear that he should. These head coaches tell parents that they are aware of everything going on in their programs, and that they will keep their sons safe. Now Fitzgerald is claiming to not know about something that has been ingrained in his program for years?

In addition to him losing his job, there probably will be (and should be) lawsuits against Northwestern.

This whole thing should make anybody who has kids or grandkids -- or who cares about our fellow humans -- shudder.

As an aside ...

That's some damn good and important work by the student reporters and editors at the Daily Northwestern.

[Herman Cain]

Players pushing back on Fitzgerald allegations

https://nypost.com/2023/07/09/northwestern-reconsidering-pat-fitzgeralds-hazing-penalty/amp/

[The Sultan]

Players pushing back on Fitzgerald allegations

https://nypost.com/2023/07/09/northwestern-reconsidering-pat-fitzgeralds-hazing-penalty/amp/

Though it looks like it wasn't actually written by "the ENTIRE team."

https://twitter.com/danwolken/status/1678081440540401667?s=46&t=ppua9BCUAa7dWM9-SthPmg

[The Sultan]

https://twitter.com/Daniel_Rapaport/status/1678106537548558336?s=20

"Yeah it happened, but it was only a joke."