What is Killing College Football

Undone said:
I'd probably put Utah, Wisconsin, & Iowa on the list as well. There are probably a good dozen or so we could come up with.
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Baylor.  The Sugar? Bowl was the first time I watched them from start to finish and while I understand that they knocked out the Ole Miss starting QB that was a damn fine defensive effort they showed.  That D was loaded with some dudes with bad intentions...

 
Savage Husker said:
 The game was once played more out of love than money, it’s not a slam but it’s just the way it is. Not a big deal and people offended because it’s interpreted as attacking individuals rather than the culture.
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I won't begrudge you your interpretation, but I think the comments were pretty slam-worthy mostly thick-headed.

"I think this era of player just doesn’t love football.”

I think that's absolute BS. Kirk, whether speaking in generalities or not, is equating opting out and not playing in bowl games with failing to love football. That's such a nebulous thing to gauge when the environment 30 years ago was so different than today. The players are simply reacting to the environment. The players didn't set multi-million dollar signing bonuses with the NFL or draft the CFP format.

 
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Enhance said:
I won't begrudge you your interpretation, but I think the comments were pretty slam-worthy mostly thick-headed.

"I think this era of player just doesn’t love football.”

I think that's absolute BS. Kirk, whether speaking in generalities or not, is equating opting out and not playing in bowl games with failing to love football. That's such a nebulous thing to gauge when the environment 30 years ago was so different than today. The players are simply reacting to the environment. The players didn't set multi-million dollar signing bonuses with the NFL or draft the CFP format.
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I agree with this.  If he's using players opting out as evidence that they don't love football, that's BS.  The players that are opting out are the best players that have a bight future in the NFL.  Football is a game where, if you don't love it, you are going to suck.  It's brutal and it takes an amazing amount of work and dedication in the off season and away from the bright lights and fans to be good for 12-15 games.  I don't believe there is any sport that takes more dedication off the field for as little playing time as a player gets on the field in front of fans.  And, you take those 12-15 games and think about at best, a player plays half the plays during those games.

 
I haven’t seen the most obvious reason of what’s killing college football posted yet. This being a Huskercentric message board…Nebraska football is killing it for most hereabouts. Losing records, no bowl games, nowhere near the playoffs, of course interest is waning around here. I think the more likely candidates for the bigger picture have been mentioned but for the diehard Husker fan, we don’t need to go looking too far for reasons.

 
Enhance said:
I won't begrudge you your interpretation, but I think the comments were pretty slam-worthy mostly thick-headed.

"I think this era of player just doesn’t love football.”

I think that's absolute BS. Kirk, whether speaking in generalities or not, is equating opting out and not playing in bowl games with failing to love football. That's such a nebulous thing to gauge when the environment 30 years ago was so different than today. The players are simply reacting to the environment. The players didn't set multi-million dollar signing bonuses with the NFL or draft the CFP format.
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When the entire point of opting out is due to fear of missing a bigger payday, it’s pretty clear where the (conditional) love lies. 
 

Players had the same opportunity to sit-out in the past as they do now, they had the same opportunity of being drafted and accumulating wealth, now it’s just exponentially more important to people. The difference now is it’s more normalized and acceptable. 
 

It’s OK to admit this era has created more business minded athletes.

 
Mavric said:
*17 games
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Only if CCGs remains a thing.  I was imagining week 11 being a pair against your equal week.  Top from each division play each other, 2nd in each play each other, etc...  Top 4 from each power 5 make it in along with top 4 outside power 5.  Don't see it happening but not much else to discuss right now.

 
BigRedBuster said:
I said that I understand why they opt and and I don't necessarily have a problem with their individual decisions.  They have to do what's best for them.

However, I'm looking at it from the other side.  How does the sport adjust to start building back interest in the game.  Don't get me wrong, I still feel there's huge interest.  That's obvious in the fact that football is still the money maker sport at most schools.  However, long term the sport needs to figure out how to negotiate these issues.

Also, I don't believe I have ever said this is what is killing the sport.  I actually believe it's a much more complicated issue than just one factor.  Kids are going to opt out unless they are in the playoffs.  Nothing is going to change that and we just need to accept that.  My issue was with people just dismissing someone for bringing up issues instead of actually discussing the validity of them.
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I apologize, my complaints against opt-outs was not at all directed at you. 

I sort of meant it in general, towards a crowd like Steve Sipple or ESPN. 

That being said, I completely agree. College Football needs to find a way to address opt-outs. But, my opinion is that interest in the game isn't dwindling because of opt-outs, but because of the extreme dominance by the top 6 teams. The sport is boring and lacks drama in the biggest games.

 
Savage Husker said:
When the entire point of opting out is due to fear of missing a bigger payday, it’s pretty clear where the (conditional) love lies. 
 

Players had the same opportunity to sit-out in the past as they do now, they had the same opportunity of being drafted and accumulating wealth, now it’s just exponentially more important to people. The difference now is it’s more normalized and acceptable. 
 

It’s OK to admit this era has created more business minded athletes.
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I think we can all agree that the money is significantly better (although the signing bonuses for rookies isn't quite as lucrative) than in the past.  Plus, social media has allowed players a level of freedom and a way to to boost up their earnings that they previously haven't enjoyed.  

 
Social media.

Yep.

I know it's easy to blame, but it definitely changes your sense of self when you throw your life into the court of public opinion on an hourly basis, and use the often toxic feedback to negotiate your future. Which you also share with the world in realtime. 

Also, the narcissism. Social media didn't invent it, but boy does it feed off it. 

Obviously this is not limited to college football. Business and politics suffer from it as well. 

But when you add it all up?  I still see a lot of young athletes who love the game and play it very well. At some point we might have to acknowledge that "college" has nothing to do with it. Nobody worries that Caleb Wilson won't be able to transfer credits on his Communications major. 

 
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