You see the ACC and Big Ten and Big 12 all linking arms for a 24 team playoff and I just think about what we have lost. Coach Patterson used to build a program with high school kids he found on grainy film who wanted to be Horned Frogs for life. Now the whole sport is just a free agency league with a playoff bracket designed to keep the big boys happy. We had something real in the old Southwest Conference days when you played Texas and Arkansas and A&M every year and the season meant something because every game decided your fate. Now they want to expand the playoff so everybody gets a participation ribbon and the money keeps flowing.
I watched that CBS Sports piece about the united front and all I could think about was how the SEC is sitting there with their arms crossed waiting to see how much they can extract. That is what this is about. Not about the kids. Not about the game. About revenue sharing and access fees and who gets to call the shots. Notre Dame linking arms with everybody tells you everything you need to know. They have been holding out for decades as an independent and now they see the money train leaving the station.
The worst part is nobdoy asked the fans. We used to have December bowl games that meant something. The Sun Bowl against USC in 1998. The Mobile Bowl games that gave mid tier teams a real reward. Now it is all about getting to a 24 team bracket where your 8-4 team gets to say they made the playoff. I remember when you had to earn it. When the Rose Bowl was the Rose Bowl and you did not get a mulligan for losing three games.
Twenty four teams is going to kill what is left of the regular season. You think a November game between two 7-3 teams matters now? Wait until they both know they are getting in anyway. Coach Patterson used to say every game is a championship game. That is gone. Replaced by a spreadsheet and a TV contract.