College football has been thriving for years. The money is flowing, stadiums are packed, and fans block off their Saturdays to watch games all day.

That doesn’t mean changes wouldn’t be good for the game, and who better to suggest those changes than yours truly. Here are some of the changes that need to happen.

  • Limit the time to 10 seconds that defenses can substitute after the offense makes changes. No more bleeding 20 seconds off the clock by walking on and off the field. In some cases it causes unjust delay of games. Oh, but Lincoln Riley, you still need to make quicker personnel decisions.
  • Make way more use of expedited review, much like the NFL. College reviews take far too long.
  • Every team required to play at least one other Power 4 team during their out of conference schedule.
  • Since they won’t get rid of it, any given team can only appear once on the Big Noon Kickoff.
  • Every conference must play 9 conference games. Yes, Mr. Sankey, this is directed at you.
  • It will never happen, but get rid of the conference championship game. This would allow for the playoffs to start and end sooner.
  • It never made much sense, but now that we are in the full blown playoff era let’s not have any polls until October 1.

Okay, so that is just the minor stuff to change. We all know there are bigger fish that need fried. I stated a month or so ago in this space that I am old school and would be fine with going back to the bowl system. I still think that was the golden era of college football. The bowl games all meant something to the teams involved and were must see TV for fans.

I have been called a fool before, but I am not foolish enough to think we will ever go back. So these are changes that, in my opinion, are realistic to the sport of college football.

  • Regarding NIL and the portal, some regulations are needed without violating antitrust laws. Here is what should happen. Once a player signs a contract(not letter of intent) with a school, he must stay for a minimum of two years. In other words, high school players would be signing a two year contract with the school they choose. After those two years everything becomes a one year contract. They can stay with their original school or transfer. This would limit the transfers to a certain degree, and maybe cause players to stay with their original school.
  • There still needs to be an enforcement staff at the NCAA, preferably more competent than the one they currently have. Tampering must be punished, and punishment will be much easier. A severe reduction in NIL funds would be perfect. Any contact with a player under contract to another school would be a violation.
  • Get rid of the bottom 15 bowl games. Bowl season was actually intriguing this year with many quality matchups. Plus, Coach Prime and Colorado found a way to keep players from opting out. Just reduce the number of bowl games. Let the playoffs have the entire spotlight in early to mid December.
  • Reduce the playoffs to 8 teams. No home games. The six major bowls would still be used, but some would have to accept playing earlier than usual. Championship game would still be bid on. If the bowl games don’t agree to play earlier in December then make everything a home game until the championship game. First round played on the weekend of December 20, semifinal doubleheader on New Year’s Day, and the Championship Game on Saturday, January 10. The playoffs need to stick closer to New Year’s Day.
  • Move recruiting’s Signing Day back to the first Tuesday in February. No more early enrollees, but recruits can attend spring practices.
  • The portal opens three days after the Championship Game and remains open until the end of January. That will be the only portal window. It still allows kids to make a decision so they aren’t being limited.

Yea, I know they aren’t going backwards to 8 teams. It is more likely that greed will have them expand to 16 teams. It is a fact, however, that the ratings suggest that fans of teams not in the playoffs lose interest as they drag the playoffs into late January.

I love college football, but the current product sure could use a few tweaks. Even if they just made a few of these changes the game would be in better shape. Some of the bigger changes, in particular.

Hey, I am available if Nick Saban doesn’t want that college football commissioner’s gig.

Two Cent Takes

College Hoops

~It is the last week of January, so why not take a look at my Two Cents top 4 seeds in each region.

  • East: 1. Duke 2. Houston 3. Purdue 4. St. John’s
  • South: 1. Auburn 2. Florida 3. Marquette 4. Wisconsin
  • Midwest: 1. Alabama 2. Michigan State 3. Kentucky 4. Illinois
  • West: 1. Iowa State 2. Tennessee 3. Kansas 4. Texas A&M

~One of the worst endings I have ever witnessed from a good team with a great coach. Kansas did everything they could to lose, and Houston accepted the favor.

 

College Football

~Jim Knowles to Penn State should heat up the rivalry between Penn State and Ohio State. Knowles will be the highest paid coordinator in college football. Any chance he can also coach wide receivers?

~USC seems intent on fixing their broken program. The defensive staff added Rob Ryan, a two time Super Bowl winner as linebackers coach. That rounds out an impressive defensive coaching staff. Then the Trojans poach new GM Chad Bowden from rival Notre Dame. USC was badly in need of a GM to navigate the new college football landscape. No excuse for Lincoln Riley not to win.

Golf

~Pebble Beach week always indicates it is time to start watching golf again for the season. One of the best courses and one of the best fields, including Scottie Scheffler returning from a hand injury.

~I want to like the new TGL league, but it is a bit gimmicky. I do love the interaction from the players and crowd. The rules, like the hammer, are fun. It is fast paced, which is a breath of fresh air for golf. It is just hard to watch guys hit into a giant screen then have the ball maybe go where they hit it. And the green seems very random. It is definitely creative, and the facility appears one of a kind. The stars in the crowd are cool, too. I think as long as the matches are close like last night that it has a chance to catch on.

MLB

~The 11 year old kid who landed the Paul Skenes one of a kind baseball card turned down the Pirates offer to get the card. Good for him. It was a lowball offer that was completely unappealing to a California kid. He will definitely get more from auctioning the card off. And why did the Pirates want the card anyway? No doubt Bob Nutting saw a chance to make some money off of the card.

NFL

~Pete Carroll is the new Raiders head coach. Carroll is a perfect fit in Vegas, but at 73 I question whether he can get things turned around quickly enough. If anyone can, it is Carroll.

 

I may be skeptical, but Pete sure is not.

~Art Rooney met with the press yesterday, and all Steelers fans heard was the voice of Charlie Brown’s teacher saying “wah wah wah wah wah”. He said he has confidence in Mike Tomlin. That is all you need to know. It does seem the Steelers are intent on drafting a quarterback at some point during this next draft.

The Weekly Shiny Penny

God bless this Pirates fan. But I am telling you, next time take Clark Griswold’s advice and drive him to the middle of nowhere and leave him for dead.

 

A Penny For My Final Thought…

The Bills and Chiefs never disappoint.

Well, that is until the Chiefs win in the end.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Chiefs game if the officiating wasn’t called into question. Sunday’s game certainly left fans with conspiracy theories running amok.

First there was this bizarre call that was called wrong on the field and still was not overturned after replay.

 

How the officials could rule a catch by the Chiefs, both on the field and in replay, is completely ridiculous.

Then there was the most important back to back plays of the game. With the Bills leading by one and driving, the officials ruled Dalton Kincaid down just short of a first down on the third down catch then Allen was ruled down short on fourth down. Once again, replay did not change the call.

 

Although the NFL should have the technology to chip the football to tell whether a first down was made, I don’t need that on either play. Clearly both players reached the 40 yard line. The Chiefs got the ball and went right down and took a lead.

Believe me, coming from someone that lost out on a $245 parlay because the Bills didn’t cover I would like to blame the officials. But that isn’t the real reason the Bills lost this game.

Nor was it the drop of Josh Allen’s fourth down prayer with two minutes by Dalton Kincaid.

 

The reason the Bills lost the game was coaching.

Kansas City is coached by Andy Reid, one of the best to ever do it in NFL history.

Buffalo is coached by a guy that challenges Mike Tomlin for stupidity in game. The Bills are a great quarterback away from being the Steelers.

Sean McDermott ran the quarterback sneak to the same spot in the line on every third or fourth down and one. Every. Time. Shockingly, the Chiefs were ready for it every time.

James Cook gained 134 scrimmage yards with two touchdowns, yet with just over three minutes to play and down 7 he was on the bench. On third and ten, the Bills ran wide receiver screens three times. Did nobody remind the Bills Josh Allen was their quarterback?

On the other sideline, Andy Reid was doing his usual schtick of playing chess while the opposing coach was playing checkers. Of course, it helps to have the greatest quarterback of this generation running his offense.

Josh Allen ain’t chopped liver, but his guys just don’t make as many clutch plays and his coaches aren’t in the same stratosphere as Kansas City.

So, yippee, we get to see the Chiefs in another Super Bowl going for the first ever three-peat. And what are the chances the Chiefs don’t get at least a few calls going their way?

The Chiefs opponent will be the team with the best roster in the NFL.

Adding Saquon Barkley to the Eagles was like the cherry on top of the sundae. And, boy, is that cherry ever tasty. The Eagles already had an above average quarterback, fantastic offensive line, two great wide receivers, and an elite tight end. Oh, and probably the best front seven in football.

Washington was a great story. Jayden Daniels is a great quarterback, but Sunday he proved to be human. The future is bright in the Nation’s capital.

It didn’t help that anytime Washington looked like it might gain momentum, they turned the ball over. From there, Philly capitalized every time. From there it became a no contest. With Detroit out of the playoffs the road for Philly became very smooth.

One thing is for sure, the coaching matchup is a total mismatch. Nick Sirianni is a goof. GM Howie Roseman deserves far more credit for putting this roster together that even Sirianni can’t screw up. And that roster is Philadelphia’s advantage.

We may not have wanted it, but we get Philly and KC for the second time in three years. The good news is that it should be a good game.

Just my two cents…