2024 College Football Thread: Ohio State advances to play unbeaten hypothetical SEC team (7 Viewers)

[WDIK2]

Can't believe we haven't gotten a mid-game tweet from Kiffin.

 

[kupcho1]

I like a Big 10 parlay this round, so fade accordingly.

 

[Ramblin Wreck]

This Duke team was probably SMU's best win by far, right?

This isn't the Duke team that played in the regular season. I'm sure you already knew that though.

 

[SWC]

i am glad that duke guy got out of bounds to stop the clock duke is going to need the time it can get to complete this comeback take
that to the bank brochachos

 

[SWC]

puke needs to be passing here they cant afford to let so much time run off of the clock take that to the bank pukemigos

 

[SFBayDuck]

More importantly he needs to get some elite skill position guys here. The whole "unlimited NIL" Uncle Phil narrative is such a tired and lazy take, as the Ducks aren't even in the top 10 in spend this year by most estimates, and tOSU paid at least double for that roster. And it sure showed on the field! It will be interesting to see the roster management over the next few months. They've got a bunch of youngsters waiting in the wings at QB, RB, in the secondary, etc, that on paper are more talented than the transfers he's brought in the past couple of years to man those spots.

I’ve been seeing OU’s NIL budget was $23M this years vs tOSU’s $20M.

Yeah, ORE was #1 in spend from everything I've seen. And ORE's Division Street is the #4 collective.

Ohio State's AD is the source for their "around $20M" spend amount, which means it's definitely north of there. Nobody that I can find associated with Oregon has commented publicly.

This one has tOSU at #2 with $20M and Oregon at 19th with $10.6M

This one also tOSU at $20.3M and Oregon at $10.6M (same source?)

This one says tOSU $22M and Oregon $18M

This one does have Oregon at $23M and tOSU at $20M. That $23M number comes from the former UW (now Nebraska) AD, and is the most quoted number I could find. Not an unbiased source, who was also using those numbers to talk about how underfunded Nebraska's program is.

According to this individual player ranking, Smith made $3.7M (worth every penny), Downs got $2.1M, and Oregon's highest was Gabriel at $1.9M. I've also seen the Ducks' Evan Stewart got $1.3M (Which was money not well spent).

No doubt Division St is one of the most well funded and well run collectives by all accounts. And it's arguably the most well known because of PK's involvement. But most of the reporting I've seen has their actual spending on this year's roster in the #9-#20 range of all schools. Again, all estimates, so who really knows? If y'all have seen other sources that show differently, I'd be interested in seeing them.

Point is Oregon does have the resources to spend more than they did, and I'm hoping they do. This isn't a knock against tOSU or anyone else, it's just the way it is now.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

NIL budgets should have more transparency and accountability next season under the new revenue sharing model, but my guess is whatever framework they put in place probably won’t last more than a few years. For now, we just have to enjoy this crazy world in which the Louisville punter declined to play in the Sun Bowl because of a payment dispute. https://www.espn.com/college-footba...e-punter-skipped-sun-bowl-nil-payment-dispute

 

[Beef Ravioli Part 2]

More importantly he needs to get some elite skill position guys here. The whole "unlimited NIL" Uncle Phil narrative is such a tired and lazy take, as the Ducks aren't even in the top 10 in spend this year by most estimates, and tOSU paid at least double for that roster. And it sure showed on the field! It will be interesting to see the roster management over the next few months. They've got a bunch of youngsters waiting in the wings at QB, RB, in the secondary, etc, that on paper are more talented than the transfers he's brought in the past couple of years to man those spots.

I’ve been seeing OU’s NIL budget was $23M this years vs tOSU’s $20M.

Yeah, ORE was #1 in spend from everything I've seen. And ORE's Division Street is the #4 collective.

Ohio State's AD is the source for their "around $20M" spend amount, which means it's definitely north of there. Nobody that I can find associated with Oregon has commented publicly.

This one has tOSU at #2 with $20M and Oregon at 19th with $10.6M

This one also tOSU at $20.3M and Oregon at $10.6M (same source?)

This one says tOSU $22M and Oregon $18M

This one does have Oregon at $23M and tOSU at $20M. That $23M number comes from the former UW (now Nebraska) AD, and is the most quoted number I could find. Not an unbiased source, who was also using those numbers to talk about how underfunded Nebraska's program is.

According to this individual player ranking, Smith made $3.7M (worth every penny), Downs got $2.1M, and Oregon's highest was Gabriel at $1.9M. I've also seen the Ducks' Evan Stewart got $1.3M (Which was money not well spent).

No doubt Division St is one of the most well funded and well run collectives by all accounts. And it's arguably the most well known because of PK's involvement. But most of the reporting I've seen has their actual spending on this year's roster in the #9-#20 range of all schools. Again, all estimates, so who really knows? If y'all have seen other sources that show differently, I'd be interested in seeing them.

Point is Oregon does have the resources to spend more than they did, and I'm hoping they do. This isn't a knock against tOSU or anyone else, it's just the way it is now.

I agree with you @SFBayDuck this is the way it is now and I don’t particularly care for it, but it isn’t leaving.

Concerning how much OSU spent this year - the vast majority of it was spent on fourth and fifth year seniors that were already on the team to return.

There seemed to be a narrative (at least early on) that OSU bought this team in the portal. I do not think that is the case. They had four key portal guys: QB - Howard (a huge need and not their first choice and maybe not their second choice), RB - Judkins (a luxury but valuable asset), Center - McLaughlin (a big need, lost to injury) and Safety - Downs (everyone wanted him).

I think the rest or the vast majority of the
$20 million was spent on returning players.

Moving forward, I think teams still have to recruit well and then use the portal and NIL to plug in “free agents” where there are needs. I think that is what OSU did this season.

They brought in a lot more” free agents” for 2025 but had a lot more holes to fill because of so many seniors and departures.

 

[Major]

This Duke team was probably SMU's best win by far, right?

Beating 22nd ranked LOU and 18th ranked PITT were more impressive

 

[Beef Ravioli Part 2]

Maybe no one cares about this on here but I woke up early this morning and while reading articles I saw the one linked below and found it hard to believe.

I don’t know how this compares to other teams/games but OSU has not had a holding penalty called against their defensive LINE since November 4, 2023. That is last season! There have been only three holding calls against the team all of this season and NONE against the defensive line.

I googled the average holding calls in a college football game and the average was 2.3 called per game. OSU averages 0.2 per game this season.

How could this be so skewed? Scheme? Don’t blitz a lot? Poor officiating? Plenty of pics out there of apparent holds.

Skull Session: Ohio State’s Defensive Line Can’t Buy a Holding Penalty, Jeremiah Smith Deserved to Win National Freshman of the Year and Bodpegn Miller Returns Home

Ohio State's D-line has drawn one holding penalty this season, Jeremiah Smith gets snubbed for the national freshman of the year award and Bodpegn Miller visits Ethiopia.

www.elevenwarriors.com

 

[FreeBaGeL]

Maybe no one cares about this on here but I woke up early this morning and while reading articles I saw the one linked below and found it hard to believe.

I don’t know how this compares to other teams/games but OSU has not had a holding penalty called against their defensive LINE since November 4, 2023. That is last season! There have been only three holding calls against the team all of this season and NONE against the defensive line.

I googled the average holding calls in a college football game and the average was 2.3 called per game. OSU averages 0.2 per game this season.

How could this be so skewed? Scheme? Don’t blitz a lot? Poor officiating? Plenty of pics out there of apparent holds.

Skull Session: Ohio State’s Defensive Line Can’t Buy a Holding Penalty, Jeremiah Smith Deserved to Win National Freshman of the Year and Bodpegn Miller Returns Home

Ohio State's D-line has drawn one holding penalty this season, Jeremiah Smith gets snubbed for the national freshman of the year award and Bodpegn Miller visits Ethiopia.

www.elevenwarriors.com

It's an interesting Stat so I did some quick googling. A few things that make it make a bit more sense.

They were actually called for a couple of holding penalties but they didn't go in the books since they were on plays where there were offsetting penalties.

Ohio state opponents had the least penalties called on them than against any other team this year overall, though on the flipside Ohio state has the 8th least penalties called against them. So all of their games were very low penalty games in both directions.

Big 10 refs threw out by far the fewest holding flags of any ref crews overall.

Out of 134 teams, the 5 teams with the least flags thrown against their opponents were all B1G teams.

9 of the 25 teams with the fewest penalties per game were from the Big 10.

Seems like Big 10 refs just throw a lot fewer flags overall and are more akin to just let them play.

 

[Tin Cup]

Maybe no one cares about this on here but I woke up early this morning and while reading articles I saw the one linked below and found it hard to believe.

I don’t know how this compares to other teams/games but OSU has not had a holding penalty called against their defensive LINE since November 4, 2023. That is last season! There have been only three holding calls against the team all of this season and NONE against the defensive line.

I googled the average holding calls in a college football game and the average was 2.3 called per game. OSU averages 0.2 per game this season.

How could this be so skewed? Scheme? Don’t blitz a lot? Poor officiating? Plenty of pics out there of apparent holds.

Skull Session: Ohio State’s Defensive Line Can’t Buy a Holding Penalty, Jeremiah Smith Deserved to Win National Freshman of the Year and Bodpegn Miller Returns Home

Ohio State's D-line has drawn one holding penalty this season, Jeremiah Smith gets snubbed for the national freshman of the year award and Bodpegn Miller visits Ethiopia.

www.elevenwarriors.com

B1G referees are awful and have been for years. Dave Witvoet, John O’Neill, etc.

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

Maybe no one cares about this on here but I woke up early this morning and while reading articles I saw the one linked below and found it hard to believe.

I don’t know how this compares to other teams/games but OSU has not had a holding penalty called against their defensive LINE since November 4, 2023. That is last season! There have been only three holding calls against the team all of this season and NONE against the defensive line.

I googled the average holding calls in a college football game and the average was 2.3 called per game. OSU averages 0.2 per game this season.

How could this be so skewed? Scheme? Don’t blitz a lot? Poor officiating? Plenty of pics out there of apparent holds.

Skull Session: Ohio State’s Defensive Line Can’t Buy a Holding Penalty, Jeremiah Smith Deserved to Win National Freshman of the Year and Bodpegn Miller Returns Home

Ohio State's D-line has drawn one holding penalty this season, Jeremiah Smith gets snubbed for the national freshman of the year award and Bodpegn Miller visits Ethiopia.

www.elevenwarriors.com

B1G referees are awful and have been for years. Dave Witvoet, John O’Neill, etc.

For every sport, especially basketball. Just the worst.

 

[Summer Wheat]

It is not about the schools anymore, just about the $$$$ paid out.

Ohio State will continue to outspend everyone to get players because for most of the people in Ohio that's all they have. My wife's cousin does not make much money but he puts what little he has in a wicker basket and donates to the OSU NIL fund..he did not even go to school there. The guy literally broke down crying after Michigan beat OSU for the 4th time in a row and was in a total depression.

There are no rules so the NIL is like the wild west right now. Good for the kids, but the game we used to know is gone forever.

 

[SWC]

NIL budgets should have more transparency and accountability next season under the new revenue sharing model, but my guess is whatever framework they put in place probably won’t last more than a few years. For now, we just have to enjoy this crazy world in which the Louisville punter declined to play in the Sun Bowl because of a payment dispute. https://www.espn.com/college-footba...e-punter-skipped-sun-bowl-nil-payment-dispute

do these guys have a lawsuit if they were promised money and then not paid this could get spicy and i like it lets blow the roof off of this whole thing take that to the bank brochachos

 

[Beef Ravioli Part 2]

It is not about the schools anymore, just about the $$$$ paid out.

Ohio State will continue to outspend everyone to get players because for most of the people in Ohio that's all they have. My wife's cousin does not make much money but he puts what little he has in a wicker basket and donates to the OSU NIL fund..he did not even go to school there. The guy literally broke down crying after Michigan beat OSU for the 4th time in a row and was in a total depression.

There are no rules so the NIL is like the wild west right now. Good for the kids, but the game we used to know is gone forever.

Sorry @Summer Wheat, this is a weak take “that’s all they have”. Every fan base has “fanatics” that take things to far, like average guys giving money to NIL and crying when their team loses, not just people in Ohio.

There are multiple schools that are going to be at the top of NIL money spent every year: OSU, Texas, Oregon, Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Michigan, etc. These schools were brands before NIL and made millions of dollars.

Other schools will join them in this NIL era. I just read about Texas Tech (or some Texas school that is not normally a top program) making a big splash because of two former players that have recently become billionaires or near that.

I wanted to pay the players but not how this has turned out but I doubt it ever gets better.

 

[Brunell4MVP]

At some point there will be a salary cap for each college sport. Just like in most professional leagues. It's just the NFL 20 year later.

This current mess will continue for a while, but much like NFL owners, power college football programs won't be able to help themselves. they will continue to pour money into it to buy championships. Then at some point they will get tired of paying so much. There will be a salary cap (hard or soft). Perhaps by conference but more likely at the NCAA level. Then there will be a push to have a "freshman" salary scale just like there is a rookie salary scale. You can only buy so many $10M freshmen that flame out before even getting in a game. I forget whose NFL contract set this off ... maybe Sam Bradford? I think he made more than any other player on the team as a rookie.

The colleges will need it to protect themselves, just like the NFL needed it to protect itself. There will be salaries, scholarships, and contracts. The contract will be for a set term and players transfer ability will be basd on their contract. Players will be able to do separate NIL deals just like NFL players have endorsements, but the school itself will only be responsible for the salary and scholarship. It's simply professional sports at this point.

 

[Summer Wheat]

It is not about the schools anymore, just about the $$$$ paid out.

Ohio State will continue to outspend everyone to get players because for most of the people in Ohio that's all they have. My wife's cousin does not make much money but he puts what little he has in a wicker basket and donates to the OSU NIL fund..he did not even go to school there. The guy literally broke down crying after Michigan beat OSU for the 4th time in a row and was in a total depression.

There are no rules so the NIL is like the wild west right now. Good for the kids, but the game we used to know is gone forever.

Sorry @Summer Wheat, this is a weak take “that’s all they have”. Every fan base has “fanatics” that take things to far, like average guys giving money to NIL and crying when their team loses, not just people in Ohio.

There are multiple schools that are going to be at the top of NIL money spent every year: OSU, Texas, Oregon, Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Michigan, etc. These schools were brands before NIL and made millions of dollars.

Other schools will join them in this NIL era. I just read about Texas Tech (or some Texas school that is not normally a top program) making a big splash because of two former players that have recently become billionaires or near that.

I wanted to pay the players but not how this has turned out but I doubt it ever gets better.

Did not mean it

It is not about the schools anymore, just about the $$$$ paid out.

Ohio State will continue to outspend everyone to get players because for most of the people in Ohio that's all they have. My wife's cousin does not make much money but he puts what little he has in a wicker basket and donates to the OSU NIL fund..he did not even go to school there. The guy literally broke down crying after Michigan beat OSU for the 4th time in a row and was in a total depression.

There are no rules so the NIL is like the wild west right now. Good for the kids, but the game we used to know is gone forever.

Sorry @Summer Wheat, this is a weak take “that’s all they have”. Every fan base has “fanatics” that take things to far, like average guys giving money to NIL and crying when their team loses, not just people in Ohio.

There are multiple schools that are going to be at the top of NIL money spent every year: OSU, Texas, Oregon, Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Michigan, etc. These schools were brands before NIL and made millions of dollars.

Other schools will join them in this NIL era. I just read about Texas Tech (or some Texas school that is not normally a top program) making a big splash because of two former players that have recently become billionaires or near that.

I wanted to pay the players but not how this has turned out but I doubt it ever gets better.

I get it.

It just amazes me that schools now want fans and alumni instead of just buying season tickets and gear now want fans to donate money to buy players. Just picked out OSU because they have spent more money than anyone this season and knowing people that donate who can`t afford it.

Others will catch up until things are regulated if ever.

 

[Instinctive]

It is not about the schools anymore, just about the $$$$ paid out.

Ohio State will continue to outspend everyone to get players because for most of the people in Ohio that's all they have. My wife's cousin does not make much money but he puts what little he has in a wicker basket and donates to the OSU NIL fund..he did not even go to school there. The guy literally broke down crying after Michigan beat OSU for the 4th time in a row and was in a total depression.

There are no rules so the NIL is like the wild west right now. Good for the kids, but the game we used to know is gone forever.

Sorry @Summer Wheat, this is a weak take “that’s all they have”. Every fan base has “fanatics” that take things to far, like average guys giving money to NIL and crying when their team loses, not just people in Ohio.

There are multiple schools that are going to be at the top of NIL money spent every year: OSU, Texas, Oregon, Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Michigan, etc. These schools were brands before NIL and made millions of dollars.

Other schools will join them in this NIL era. I just read about Texas Tech (or some Texas school that is not normally a top program) making a big splash because of two former players that have recently become billionaires or near that.

I wanted to pay the players but not how this has turned out but I doubt it ever gets better.

Did not mean it

It is not about the schools anymore, just about the $$$$ paid out.

Ohio State will continue to outspend everyone to get players because for most of the people in Ohio that's all they have. My wife's cousin does not make much money but he puts what little he has in a wicker basket and donates to the OSU NIL fund..he did not even go to school there. The guy literally broke down crying after Michigan beat OSU for the 4th time in a row and was in a total depression.

There are no rules so the NIL is like the wild west right now. Good for the kids, but the game we used to know is gone forever.

Sorry @Summer Wheat, this is a weak take “that’s all they have”. Every fan base has “fanatics” that take things to far, like average guys giving money to NIL and crying when their team loses, not just people in Ohio.

There are multiple schools that are going to be at the top of NIL money spent every year: OSU, Texas, Oregon, Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Michigan, etc. These schools were brands before NIL and made millions of dollars.

Other schools will join them in this NIL era. I just read about Texas Tech (or some Texas school that is not normally a top program) making a big splash because of two former players that have recently become billionaires or near that.

I wanted to pay the players but not how this has turned out but I doubt it ever gets better.

I get it.

It just amazes me that schools now want fans and alumni instead of just buying season tickets and gear now want fans to donate money to buy players. Just picked out OSU because they have spent more money than anyone this season and knowing people that donate who can`t afford it.

Others will catch up until things are regulated if ever.

This is a huge reason why SMU is only going up in football and basketball.

Their main donor for basketball literally told all other donors to do football. He was like "no. Screw y'all. No collective. I got this and I don't want to have to listen to your opinions. It'll be just me and the coaching staff handling it." And they have PLENTY of donors excited to be good at football. It should be reaaallllly interesting.

 

[Brunell4MVP]

It just amazes me that schools now want fans and alumni instead of just buying season tickets and gear now want fans to donate money to buy players. Just picked out OSU because they have spent more money than anyone this season and knowing people that donate who can`t afford it.

THIS ..... which is why anyone outside the top 15 funded teams literally has ŻERO chance. Look, I love VT. And my kids love UVA. But both are like top 40 in terms of revenues. There's no way to compete, so as I fan I'm 100% willing to throw in the towel. We are so far from OSU, ND, ALA, UGA, LSU, etc that a lucky run for a couple of years is not sustainable. We will lose the players and coaches to a better funded team with a fan base that cares more. That wasn't the case before the transfer portal. But if we had a Michael Vick now, he'd be playing for ND next year

It's fine. College is supposed to be about academics.

 

[CGRdrJoe]

reminds me of blue chips

- YouTube

Auf YouTube findest du die angesagtesten Videos und Tracks. Außerdem kannst du eigene Inhalte hochladen und mit Freunden oder gleich der ganzen Welt teilen.

youtu.be

 

[bagger]

Maybe no one cares about this on here but I woke up early this morning and while reading articles I saw the one linked below and found it hard to believe.

I don’t know how this compares to other teams/games but OSU has not had a holding penalty called against their defensive LINE since November 4, 2023. That is last season! There have been only three holding calls against the team all of this season and NONE against the defensive line.

I googled the average holding calls in a college football game and the average was 2.3 called per game. OSU averages 0.2 per game this season.

How could this be so skewed? Scheme? Don’t blitz a lot? Poor officiating? Plenty of pics out there of apparent holds.

Skull Session: Ohio State’s Defensive Line Can’t Buy a Holding Penalty, Jeremiah Smith Deserved to Win National Freshman of the Year and Bodpegn Miller Returns Home

Ohio State's D-line has drawn one holding penalty this season, Jeremiah Smith gets snubbed for the national freshman of the year award and Bodpegn Miller visits Ethiopia.

www.elevenwarriors.com

B1G referees are awful and have been for years. Dave Witvoet, John O’Neill, etc.

The biggest takeaway I had with USC joining the Big 10 is our O Line needs to hold way more often. Could not believe how Big 10 officials never called holds that were blatantly obvious ever. That Michigan game was the most aggregious example.

Need to add “officials not calling holding” to my

 

[3C's]

Look, I love VT. And my kids love UVA.

you should disown them.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

The House v NCAA settlement (which is expected to resolve three pending class-action lawsuits against the NCAA) was approved in October. I think there are some loose ends to work through but it is widely believed the "salary cap" in 2025 will be about $23m per school, which is a number that will cover all sports. The intent is to "level the playing field" but of course some schools won't be able to approach that number. More importantly for me, although this is supposed to do away with the collectives and provide more transparency, they can't stop wealthy private boosters from doing their own deals. I've highlighted the section below that is a pretty obvious loophole regarding private (booster) funding.

Here's the summary from the NCAA:

The Settlement​

The settlement addresses three primary issues: payment of back damages for claims relating to name, image and likeness (NIL), academic-related awards and other benefits; increased benefits from institutions to student-athletes going forward, including additional NIL opportunities for student-athletes directly with the institution; and eliminating scholarships limits in favor of roster limits.

• The settlement calls for total back damages of approximately $2.78 billion, to be paid over 10 years, equating to approximately $280 million annually with distribution of back damages as determined by plaintiffs.
• Going forward, the settlement allows the A5 conference member institutions (and other DI schools that choose to participate in the new structure) to provide increased benefits to student-athletes, including for NIL. If approved by the court, this model will allow schools to provide up to 22% of the average Autonomy 5 athletic media, ticket, and sponsorship revenue to student-athletes, starting in the 2025-26 academic year. The future model could result in student-athletes receiving $1.5 billion to $2 billion in new benefits annually.
  • The new benefits that may be made available to student-athletes would be in addition to the myriad benefits currently provided to student-athletes, including free tuition, room & board, educational grants, academic support and tutoring, medical and mental health resources & support, nutrition resources & support, life skills development, superior coaching and training and extended medical coverage after they stop competing. Adding these existing benefits together with the benefits to be available under the new model, many A5 schools would be providing nearly 50 percent of athletics revenue to their student-athletes.
  • Under the new model, institutions may pay student-athletes directly for their NIL rights. Any institutional NIL payments would apply toward the 22% cap. Third parties may continue to enter into NIL agreements with student-athletes. Such agreements will be subject to review to ensure they are legitimate, fair market value agreements and not used for pay-for-play. NIL payments by third parties would not apply toward the 22% cap but must be disclosed to a clearinghouse for review.
  • The new model allows for the establishment of a robust and effective enforcement and oversight program to ensure the new NIL model achieves its objectives. The establishment of a clearinghouse for NIL payments over $600 would give institutions access to information about external NIL activities, providing a level of transparency that does not currently exist to allow for better management of third-party influence and better assurance of legitimate NIL activity.
• Lastly, scholarship limits will be eliminated in all sports, and roster limits will be established. Institutions have the discretion to offer partial or full scholarships provided they do not exceed the roster
• limits. This change will allow institutions to provide additional scholarships to student-athletes in the future.

Settlement Documents Filed in College Athletics Class-Action Lawsuits - NCAA.org

Formal settlement documents were filed with the Northern District Court of California Friday to advance the settlement approval process to resolve class-action lawsuits

www.ncaa.org

The bolded section is I think most interesting. Most will say there's nothing stopping Dave Portnoy from giving Bryce Underwood $10m to play for Michigan, but at least under the rules this money has to be an FMV marketing transaction, not pay-to-play. So the question will be how aggressively the NCAA enforces these rules and, once they start enforcing them, how well it holds up when the next round of lawsuits start.

 

[Chadstroma]

Each semi final winner got $14 million for their conference. We'll, except Notre Dame, they got $14 million for themselves.

 

[Da Guru]

Watching Georgia play without a QB reminded me of Michigan's season. Not so much fun.

 

[Instinctive]

The House v NCAA settlement (which is expected to resolve three pending class-action lawsuits against the NCAA) was approved in October. I think there are some loose ends to work through but it is widely believed the "salary cap" in 2025 will be about $23m per school, which is a number that will cover all sports. The intent is to "level the playing field" but of course some schools won't be able to approach that number. More importantly for me, although this is supposed to do away with the collectives and provide more transparency, they can't stop wealthy private boosters from doing their own deals. I've highlighted the section below that is a pretty obvious loophole regarding private (booster) funding.

Here's the summary from the NCAA:

The Settlement​

The settlement addresses three primary issues: payment of back damages for claims relating to name, image and likeness (NIL), academic-related awards and other benefits; increased benefits from institutions to student-athletes going forward, including additional NIL opportunities for student-athletes directly with the institution; and eliminating scholarships limits in favor of roster limits.

• The settlement calls for total back damages of approximately $2.78 billion, to be paid over 10 years, equating to approximately $280 million annually with distribution of back damages as determined by plaintiffs.
• Going forward, the settlement allows the A5 conference member institutions (and other DI schools that choose to participate in the new structure) to provide increased benefits to student-athletes, including for NIL. If approved by the court, this model will allow schools to provide up to 22% of the average Autonomy 5 athletic media, ticket, and sponsorship revenue to student-athletes, starting in the 2025-26 academic year. The future model could result in student-athletes receiving $1.5 billion to $2 billion in new benefits annually.
  • The new benefits that may be made available to student-athletes would be in addition to the myriad benefits currently provided to student-athletes, including free tuition, room & board, educational grants, academic support and tutoring, medical and mental health resources & support, nutrition resources & support, life skills development, superior coaching and training and extended medical coverage after they stop competing. Adding these existing benefits together with the benefits to be available under the new model, many A5 schools would be providing nearly 50 percent of athletics revenue to their student-athletes.
  • Under the new model, institutions may pay student-athletes directly for their NIL rights. Any institutional NIL payments would apply toward the 22% cap. Third parties may continue to enter into NIL agreements with student-athletes. Such agreements will be subject to review to ensure they are legitimate, fair market value agreements and not used for pay-for-play. NIL payments by third parties would not apply toward the 22% cap but must be disclosed to a clearinghouse for review.
  • The new model allows for the establishment of a robust and effective enforcement and oversight program to ensure the new NIL model achieves its objectives. The establishment of a clearinghouse for NIL payments over $600 would give institutions access to information about external NIL activities, providing a level of transparency that does not currently exist to allow for better management of third-party influence and better assurance of legitimate NIL activity.
• Lastly, scholarship limits will be eliminated in all sports, and roster limits will be established. Institutions have the discretion to offer partial or full scholarships provided they do not exceed the roster
• limits. This change will allow institutions to provide additional scholarships to student-athletes in the future.

Settlement Documents Filed in College Athletics Class-Action Lawsuits - NCAA.org

Formal settlement documents were filed with the Northern District Court of California Friday to advance the settlement approval process to resolve class-action lawsuits

www.ncaa.org

The bolded section is I think most interesting. Most will say there's nothing stopping Dave Portnoy from giving Bryce Underwood $10m to play for Michigan, but at least under the rules this money has to be an FMV marketing transaction, not pay-to-play. So the question will be how aggressively the NCAA enforces these rules and, once they start enforcing them, how well it holds up when the next round of lawsuits start.

Idk how the NCAA is going to claim to understand FMV for all this stuff or what they'd do to enforce it. They'll just run into the same issues again. I think it will become less of an issue, because there are only so many individuals who can pay 7-figures to college students for football and feel like they get the return they want (which maybe is just joy, but that's still a return).

Like you're telling me the new Terrelle Pryor tattoos will be Larry Ellison's wife's $5M check? We'll say the games didn't count because this player got paid too much vs all the others? LOL. Good luck.

And after 1-2 years, FMV for an outside deal can point to all the other deals anyway! And FMV for whom? For what? You can't actually get at the value for the person providing a big NIL deal, especially when it's not a business. What if they call it a private scholarship? So many holes. NCAA just being idiotic again.

 

[swabs]

Watching Georgia play without a QB reminded me of Michigan's season. Not so much fun.

He was nowhere close to as bad as Michigan's QBs.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

"and not used for pay-for-play"

 

[GregR]

Kirby Smart addresses the substitutions made that caused the offside penalty against Georgia late in the game:

"It's really unfortunate because I've been told by our head officials in the SEC you can't do that... you can't run 11 on and 11 off."

Readers added context:

The NCAA rulebook states that you can't substitute more than 11 players "while the ball is in play". Replay shows the long snapper had not gotten set or touched the ball before the mass substitution, making it a dead ball and a legal play

 

[belljr]

Kirby Smart addresses the substitutions made that caused the offside penalty against Georgia late in the game:

"It's really unfortunate because I've been told by our head officials in the SEC you can't do that... you can't run 11 on and 11 off."

Readers added context:

The NCAA rulebook states that you can't substitute more than 11 players "while the ball is in play". Replay shows the long snapper had not gotten set or touched the ball before the mass substitution, making it a dead ball and a legal play

In the end both teams were set for a good couple seconds before the ball was snapped

 

[General Malaise]

Does Kirby Smart have the ability to just admit "We got beat by a better team"? Every single time he loses (or wins for that matter) he whines, complains, blames refs, blames others. Take some accountability, Coach. Just a big baby.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

The House v NCAA settlement (which is expected to resolve three pending class-action lawsuits against the NCAA) was approved in October. I think there are some loose ends to work through but it is widely believed the "salary cap" in 2025 will be about $23m per school, which is a number that will cover all sports. The intent is to "level the playing field" but of course some schools won't be able to approach that number. More importantly for me, although this is supposed to do away with the collectives and provide more transparency, they can't stop wealthy private boosters from doing their own deals. I've highlighted the section below that is a pretty obvious loophole regarding private (booster) funding.

Here's the summary from the NCAA:

The Settlement​

The settlement addresses three primary issues: payment of back damages for claims relating to name, image and likeness (NIL), academic-related awards and other benefits; increased benefits from institutions to student-athletes going forward, including additional NIL opportunities for student-athletes directly with the institution; and eliminating scholarships limits in favor of roster limits.

• The settlement calls for total back damages of approximately $2.78 billion, to be paid over 10 years, equating to approximately $280 million annually with distribution of back damages as determined by plaintiffs.
• Going forward, the settlement allows the A5 conference member institutions (and other DI schools that choose to participate in the new structure) to provide increased benefits to student-athletes, including for NIL. If approved by the court, this model will allow schools to provide up to 22% of the average Autonomy 5 athletic media, ticket, and sponsorship revenue to student-athletes, starting in the 2025-26 academic year. The future model could result in student-athletes receiving $1.5 billion to $2 billion in new benefits annually.
  • The new benefits that may be made available to student-athletes would be in addition to the myriad benefits currently provided to student-athletes, including free tuition, room & board, educational grants, academic support and tutoring, medical and mental health resources & support, nutrition resources & support, life skills development, superior coaching and training and extended medical coverage after they stop competing. Adding these existing benefits together with the benefits to be available under the new model, many A5 schools would be providing nearly 50 percent of athletics revenue to their student-athletes.
  • Under the new model, institutions may pay student-athletes directly for their NIL rights. Any institutional NIL payments would apply toward the 22% cap. Third parties may continue to enter into NIL agreements with student-athletes. Such agreements will be subject to review to ensure they are legitimate, fair market value agreements and not used for pay-for-play. NIL payments by third parties would not apply toward the 22% cap but must be disclosed to a clearinghouse for review.
  • The new model allows for the establishment of a robust and effective enforcement and oversight program to ensure the new NIL model achieves its objectives. The establishment of a clearinghouse for NIL payments over $600 would give institutions access to information about external NIL activities, providing a level of transparency that does not currently exist to allow for better management of third-party influence and better assurance of legitimate NIL activity.
• Lastly, scholarship limits will be eliminated in all sports, and roster limits will be established. Institutions have the discretion to offer partial or full scholarships provided they do not exceed the roster
• limits. This change will allow institutions to provide additional scholarships to student-athletes in the future.

Settlement Documents Filed in College Athletics Class-Action Lawsuits - NCAA.org

Formal settlement documents were filed with the Northern District Court of California Friday to advance the settlement approval process to resolve class-action lawsuits

www.ncaa.org

The bolded section is I think most interesting. Most will say there's nothing stopping Dave Portnoy from giving Bryce Underwood $10m to play for Michigan, but at least under the rules this money has to be an FMV marketing transaction, not pay-to-play. So the question will be how aggressively the NCAA enforces these rules and, once they start enforcing them, how well it holds up when the next round of lawsuits start.

Idk how the NCAA is going to claim to understand FMV for all this stuff or what they'd do to enforce it. They'll just run into the same issues again. I think it will become less of an issue, because there are only so many individuals who can pay 7-figures to college students for football and feel like they get the return they want (which maybe is just joy, but that's still a return).

Like you're telling me the new Terrelle Pryor tattoos will be Larry Ellison's wife's $5M check? We'll say the games didn't count because this player got paid too much vs all the others? LOL. Good luck.

And after 1-2 years, FMV for an outside deal can point to all the other deals anyway! And FMV for whom? For what? You can't actually get at the value for the person providing a big NIL deal, especially when it's not a business. What if they call it a private scholarship? So many holes. NCAA just being idiotic again.

Agree its going to be very difficult to police. The common sense is that we all know its really pay to play. Finding FMV in a contested setting for a marketing deal normally isn't all that difficult, but reasonable opinions can differ substantially for unique situations like this. Another interesting wrench in the deal is athletes like Livvy Dunne, the LSU gymnast who has been in the top 5 NIL lists for years. Dunne is obviously not being paid to be a gymnast at LSU. Bronny James is another example. For athletes like Dunne and James, the sponsors probably are truly paying for the exposure the relationship gets them on social media and elsewhere. rather than just to bring the athlete to play sports at that particular school. Compare Arch Manning who is being paid something like $6.5m at Texas - he has less than 500k instagram followers and 8.5k TikTok; Dunne has 5.5m Insta followers, 8.1m tik tok.

 

[SFBayDuck]

The House v NCAA settlement (which is expected to resolve three pending class-action lawsuits against the NCAA) was approved in October. I think there are some loose ends to work through but it is widely believed the "salary cap" in 2025 will be about $23m per school, which is a number that will cover all sports. The intent is to "level the playing field" but of course some schools won't be able to approach that number. More importantly for me, although this is supposed to do away with the collectives and provide more transparency, they can't stop wealthy private boosters from doing their own deals. I've highlighted the section below that is a pretty obvious loophole regarding private (booster) funding.

Here's the summary from the NCAA:

The Settlement​

The settlement addresses three primary issues: payment of back damages for claims relating to name, image and likeness (NIL), academic-related awards and other benefits; increased benefits from institutions to student-athletes going forward, including additional NIL opportunities for student-athletes directly with the institution; and eliminating scholarships limits in favor of roster limits.

• The settlement calls for total back damages of approximately $2.78 billion, to be paid over 10 years, equating to approximately $280 million annually with distribution of back damages as determined by plaintiffs.
• Going forward, the settlement allows the A5 conference member institutions (and other DI schools that choose to participate in the new structure) to provide increased benefits to student-athletes, including for NIL. If approved by the court, this model will allow schools to provide up to 22% of the average Autonomy 5 athletic media, ticket, and sponsorship revenue to student-athletes, starting in the 2025-26 academic year. The future model could result in student-athletes receiving $1.5 billion to $2 billion in new benefits annually.
  • The new benefits that may be made available to student-athletes would be in addition to the myriad benefits currently provided to student-athletes, including free tuition, room & board, educational grants, academic support and tutoring, medical and mental health resources & support, nutrition resources & support, life skills development, superior coaching and training and extended medical coverage after they stop competing. Adding these existing benefits together with the benefits to be available under the new model, many A5 schools would be providing nearly 50 percent of athletics revenue to their student-athletes.
  • Under the new model, institutions may pay student-athletes directly for their NIL rights. Any institutional NIL payments would apply toward the 22% cap. Third parties may continue to enter into NIL agreements with student-athletes. Such agreements will be subject to review to ensure they are legitimate, fair market value agreements and not used for pay-for-play. NIL payments by third parties would not apply toward the 22% cap but must be disclosed to a clearinghouse for review.
  • The new model allows for the establishment of a robust and effective enforcement and oversight program to ensure the new NIL model achieves its objectives. The establishment of a clearinghouse for NIL payments over $600 would give institutions access to information about external NIL activities, providing a level of transparency that does not currently exist to allow for better management of third-party influence and better assurance of legitimate NIL activity.
• Lastly, scholarship limits will be eliminated in all sports, and roster limits will be established. Institutions have the discretion to offer partial or full scholarships provided they do not exceed the roster
• limits. This change will allow institutions to provide additional scholarships to student-athletes in the future.

Settlement Documents Filed in College Athletics Class-Action Lawsuits - NCAA.org

Formal settlement documents were filed with the Northern District Court of California Friday to advance the settlement approval process to resolve class-action lawsuits

www.ncaa.org

The bolded section is I think most interesting. Most will say there's nothing stopping Dave Portnoy from giving Bryce Underwood $10m to play for Michigan, but at least under the rules this money has to be an FMV marketing transaction, not pay-to-play. So the question will be how aggressively the NCAA enforces these rules and, once they start enforcing them, how well it holds up when the next round of lawsuits start.

Idk how the NCAA is going to claim to understand FMV for all this stuff or what they'd do to enforce it. They'll just run into the same issues again. I think it will become less of an issue, because there are only so many individuals who can pay 7-figures to college students for football and feel like they get the return they want (which maybe is just joy, but that's still a return).

Like you're telling me the new Terrelle Pryor tattoos will be Larry Ellison's wife's $5M check? We'll say the games didn't count because this player got paid too much vs all the others? LOL. Good luck.

And after 1-2 years, FMV for an outside deal can point to all the other deals anyway! And FMV for whom? For what? You can't actually get at the value for the person providing a big NIL deal, especially when it's not a business. What if they call it a private scholarship? So many holes. NCAA just being idiotic again.

Agreed, the NCAA has taken L after L in court every time they've tried to enforce something recently. I don't see them even trying to actually enforce something that may be so vague anyway as to be essentially unenforceable.

I don't think this will lessen the impact of the collectives at all. Toothpaste is out of the tube on that one. All this is going to do is create even further separation between the haves and the have nots (that can't afford the $23M), and probably speed up the creation of the "super league" that will just completely break away from the rest of college football that seems inevitable at this point. As a fan of a lot of other (non football/basketball) sports, I wouldn't be surprised to see those start to disappear at the large traditional football powers.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

"and not used for pay-for-play"

I would never question the motivation of a Jewish kid from California to play football in Provo Utah.

 

[bigbottom]

Maybe no one cares about this on here but I woke up early this morning and while reading articles I saw the one linked below and found it hard to believe.

I don’t know how this compares to other teams/games but OSU has not had a holding penalty called against their defensive LINE since November 4, 2023. That is last season! There have been only three holding calls against the team all of this season and NONE against the defensive line.

I googled the average holding calls in a college football game and the average was 2.3 called per game. OSU averages 0.2 per game this season.

How could this be so skewed? Scheme? Don’t blitz a lot? Poor officiating? Plenty of pics out there of apparent holds.

Skull Session: Ohio State’s Defensive Line Can’t Buy a Holding Penalty, Jeremiah Smith Deserved to Win National Freshman of the Year and Bodpegn Miller Returns Home

Ohio State's D-line has drawn one holding penalty this season, Jeremiah Smith gets snubbed for the national freshman of the year award and Bodpegn Miller visits Ethiopia.

www.elevenwarriors.com

B1G referees are awful and have been for years. Dave Witvoet, John O’Neill, etc.

The biggest takeaway I had with USC joining the Big 10 is our O Line needs to hold way more often. Could not believe how Big 10 officials never called holds that were blatantly obvious ever. That Michigan game was the most aggregious example.

Need to add “officials not calling holding” to my

Yeah, USC’s o-line doing better as the season wore on was largely the result of them realizing they can hold most plays.

 

[culdeus]

The problem is that if the NIL becomes the GDP of some nations, that money has to be sustained. All thru donations. There's nothing coming back. It's not an investment like a pro team.

Are there really people so so rich at every school that 10-20-50 million a year is nothing. Plus all the coach buyouts that come along? Ewers is asking 8-15. Alone. For four more years. That's a **** ton of money for a mid QB. But here we are.

 

[Brunell4MVP]

Does Kirby Smart have the ability to just admit "We got beat by a better team"? Every single time he loses (or wins for that matter) he whines, complains, blames refs, blames others. Take some accountability, Coach. Just a big baby.

That's a reach.

After ND loss,.. “They played exactly like we expected them to play, physical, tough, don’t beat yourself and they did those exact things,” Smart said after the Bulldogs’ 23-10 loss to the Irish in the Sugar Bowl on Thursday night.

After Ole Miss loss ... "Yeah, first off, a lot of credit to Ole Miss, great atmosphere. They played a really good game, I thought Lane had his team ready to play. We obviously struggled in a lot of areas. We had miscues, mistakes, penalties, things that are really hard to overcome, especially when you play a really good football team, and they are.

After ALabama loss ... “Well, obviously, one hell of a game. Great atmosphere. A lot of respect for Alabama’s team, their fans, the venue. It was one hell of a game. Tale of two halves. Obviously, we were not really prepared and that falls on me.

 

[psychobillies]

Watching all of the BIG/PAC honks in here crow about how awesome their conferences are after years of saying the SEC honks are nuts, is pure comedic gold.
Also love all of the ESPN/SEC bias stuff that comes off like a Twitter post about vaccines. The SEC boogeyman isn't coming to get you this year, so maybe just enjoy your success.

 

[Capella]

The problem is that if the NIL becomes the GDP of some nations, that money has to be sustained. All thru donations. There's nothing coming back. It's not an investment like a pro team.

Are there really people so so rich at every school that 10-20-50 million a year is nothing. Plus all the coach buyouts that come along? Ewers is asking 8-15. Alone. For four more years. That's a **** ton of money for a mid QB. But here we are.

I don’t get it. My uncle was a huge fsu booster for 30 years. He said he’s done. “Bottomless pit” he called it.

 

[General Malaise]

Does Kirby Smart have the ability to just admit "We got beat by a better team"? Every single time he loses (or wins for that matter) he whines, complains, blames refs, blames others. Take some accountability, Coach. Just a big baby.

That's a reach.

After ND loss,.. “They played exactly like we expected them to play, physical, tough, don’t beat yourself and they did those exact things,” Smart said after the Bulldogs’ 23-10 loss to the Irish in the Sugar Bowl on Thursday night.

After Ole Miss loss ... "Yeah, first off, a lot of credit to Ole Miss, great atmosphere. They played a really good game, I thought Lane had his team ready to play. We obviously struggled in a lot of areas. We had miscues, mistakes, penalties, things that are really hard to overcome, especially when you play a really good football team, and they are.

After ALabama loss ... “Well, obviously, one hell of a game. Great atmosphere. A lot of respect for Alabama’s team, their fans, the venue. It was one hell of a game. Tale of two halves. Obviously, we were not really prepared and that falls on me.

Just moments after winning yet another SEC title, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart took a shot at SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey and his staff for the schedule they handed the Bulldogs this season.

“It means rest for a team that Greg Sankey and his staff sent on the road all year long,” Smart stated. “We get to take a little bit of a break and get ready for the College Football Playoff. This team needs some rest mentally, needs a little time off.”
His comments immediately went viral, but not in the way he hoped. Fans from all around social media called Smart out for his comments after the team played just four true road games in a 12-game schedule.

"Georgia played 4 road games this year. They played 8 games in the state of Georgia," reporter Zach Ragan pointed out.

Georgia Head Coach Kirby Smart Complains About Officiating During Crucial Sequence After Loss To Notre Dame
​

"It's really unfortunate because I've been told by our head officials in the SEC you can't do that... you can't run 11 on and 11 off."

Readers added context:

The NCAA rulebook states that you can't substitute more than 11 players "while the ball is in play". Replay shows the long snapper had not gotten set or touched the ball before the mass substitution, making it a dead ball and a legal play.

And, let us not forget his whining after the first Texas game - a game they won - over the PI call.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

The problem is that if the NIL becomes the GDP of some nations, that money has to be sustained. All thru donations. There's nothing coming back. It's not an investment like a pro team.

Are there really people so so rich at every school that 10-20-50 million a year is nothing. Plus all the coach buyouts that come along? Ewers is asking 8-15. Alone. For four more years. That's a **** ton of money for a mid QB. But here we are.

Well, the wealthy do seem to be getting less wealthy every year.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

What else is Phil Knight going to spend his billions on? All the good space exploration names are taken.

 

[Chadstroma]

Kirby Smart addresses the substitutions made that caused the offside penalty against Georgia late in the game:

"It's really unfortunate because I've been told by our head officials in the SEC you can't do that... you can't run 11 on and 11 off."

Readers added context:

The NCAA rulebook states that you can't substitute more than 11 players "while the ball is in play". Replay shows the long snapper had not gotten set or touched the ball before the mass substitution, making it a dead ball and a legal play

In the end both teams were set for a good couple seconds before the ball was snapped

Yea, I mean, the off sides was the defense being flustered as they were not prepared. They had the time to sub and set.

 

[Chadstroma]

Does Kirby Smart have the ability to just admit "We got beat by a better team"? Every single time he loses (or wins for that matter) he whines, complains, blames refs, blames others. Take some accountability, Coach. Just a big baby.

I think that is an SEC thang.

 

[General Malaise]

What else is Phil Knight going to spend his billions on? All the good space exploration names are taken.

I'll take some money, Phil....

Swoosh Space!

He did donate $500MM for cancer research at OHSU and they just named a hospital wing after him and Penny.

Think he also has a nifty college hoops tournament named after himself.

Guy is spreading it around.

 

[Chadstroma]

Watching all of the BIG/PAC honks in here crow about how awesome their conferences are after years of saying the SEC honks are nuts, is pure comedic gold.
Also love all of the ESPN/SEC bias stuff that comes off like a Twitter post about vaccines. The SEC boogeyman isn't coming to get you this year, so maybe just enjoy your success.

As ND fan I have easily admitted in the last couple of decades the SEC was the standard. I don't think that is the case anymore moving forward. The transfer portal has blown that up to an extent. Before, Alabama could recruit a full class of 5 and 4 stars out of HS. Promise them the world and when they get there find out they are third string. You could recruit on winning, program name and reputation and stack talent on talent. Now, you go to Bama and are sitting behind someone... portal and they are gone. Then Bama has to convince someone that they are going to come in and start like every other D1 program is doing.

For ND and other top academic schools, this also evens the field from before where you might not get a kid that has the grades out of HS but a kid goes to another school and is doing well can transfer in easier and make the standard because they have shown that they can do the college athlete thing. Sure, they aren't going to recruit a kid from Bama who is reading at a 10th grade level but it opens up a lot more players to them.

 

[Chadstroma]

The problem is that if the NIL becomes the GDP of some nations, that money has to be sustained. All thru donations. There's nothing coming back. It's not an investment like a pro team.

Are there really people so so rich at every school that 10-20-50 million a year is nothing. Plus all the coach buyouts that come along? Ewers is asking 8-15. Alone. For four more years. That's a **** ton of money for a mid QB. But here we are.

Good point. I mean how many stinking rich guys are going to keep writing checks with nothing back? It has to shift more in the future towards the top guys actually doing advertising or something of value for companies that are writing checks.

 

[Chadstroma]

I think this should end the "we are SEC so our 3 loss teams should get in because we have such hard schedules and because if our name recognition" crap

 

[Moe.]

The problem is that if the NIL becomes the GDP of some nations, that money has to be sustained. All thru donations. There's nothing coming back. It's not an investment like a pro team.

Are there really people so so rich at every school that 10-20-50 million a year is nothing. Plus all the coach buyouts that come along? Ewers is asking 8-15. Alone. For four more years. That's a **** ton of money for a mid QB. But here we are.

Good point. Eventually the big donors are going to tire of this.