What is Killing College Football

If we're going to rag on the players for "not wanting it as much", can first rag on the coaches are making millions of dollars off these players backs and will opt out of their teams at the drop of a hat even when they are damn close to playoff contention (looking at you Brian Kelly)?

 
All ESPN focuses on all year long is the playoffs.  Tune in weekly for their ranking show.  The crawl at the bottom of the screen shows teams playoff percentages.  Non-stop commercials for the playoffs.

And then ESPN talking heads get mad that people think non-playoff bowls don't matter.

 
It seems easier for adults to "blame the kids nowadays" when it's usually the actions of adults creating the rules and feeding the thoughts of the kids.  If there is a kid "thinking about himself" there is an adult(s) right next to him/her trying to monetize off that kid.

 
Every P5 school makes tens of millions of dollars each year off these kids.  And all that these kids see from the school is ~40k/year and some free hoodies/shoes/etc.    Football is a brutal game that can come with long team health effects.  The players have a short time to earn money.  I see no problem with players looking out for themselves.

 
Red Five said:
Every P5 school makes tens of millions of dollars each year off these kids.  And all that these kids see from the school is ~40k/year and some free hoodies/shoes/etc.    Football is a brutal game that can come with long team health effects.  The players have a short time to earn money.  I see no problem with players looking out for themselves.
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There aren't many professions where the peak earning period is when someone is in their 20's, and it's for such a short period of time.  I know what they make is a lot of money, but they need to be able to get that $ when they can.  I have no problem with kids transferring schools for better opportunities (so many "regular" students transfer from their original college), kids leaving school early, pro athletes getting paid as much $ as they can, etc.  People have no problem with capitalism when it comes to the economy, but they want their sports to act like socialism.

 
Red Five said:
If we're going to rag on the players for "not wanting it as much", can first rag on the coaches are making millions of dollars off these players backs and will opt out of their teams at the drop of a hat even when they are damn close to playoff contention (looking at you Brian Kelly)?
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Agree. So, we should all respect and appreciate how Frost did it. 

 
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The first time I remember the opt out thing happening was a few years ago when Christian McCaffery declined to play in Stanford's bowl game after finishing second in the Heisman iirc, apparently to avoid any freak injury that might derail his NFL career. I would have been pretty pissed as a fan, but especially bummed if I was a teammate. Isn't that final game what being a team is all about?  To my surprise, most teammates claimed it was no biggie, they totally understood Christian's position. Now it's becoming common among top college prospects, an admission that the bowl games are pretty meaningless.

I don't like it. Line up with your team. Play like you deserve to be drafted even higher.

If some of you don't watch the NFL because you think the competition is less pure, you're really missing something. The NFL is full of the best football players in the world, and most of them play with a high level of exuberance and sacrifice. They still celebrate great plays and wins like kids, and some still get in fights. Yeah you've got playoffs, but every game matters in terms of playoff position, and given the fewest games in professional sports by far, every game still matters. 

 
Guy Chamberlin said:
The first time I remember the opt out thing happening was a few years ago when Christian McCaffery declined to play in Stanford's bowl game after finishing second in the Heisman iirc, apparently to avoid any freak injury that might derail his NFL career. I would have been pretty pissed as a fan, but especially bummed if I was a teammate. Isn't that final game what being a team is all about?  To my surprise, most teammates claimed it was no biggie, they totally understood Christian's position. Now it's becoming common among top college prospects, an admission that the bowl games are pretty meaningless.
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1)  McCaffrey's teammates (and current players now) understood his position going into that one final game, know that he has given everything to the program and has been a great teammate, and that risking injury for a bowl game is not worth it for their future careers.

2)  The bowl games are pretty meaningless, especially if a guy has been to a number of them early in his career.  The bowl games were created to bring teams from different regions of the country, as a reward for a very successful season.  Now, even average teams makde it to a bowl.  The same guys on ESPN work for the network who created and own many of these bowls.  The expansion in number of bowls in the past 10-20 years was done to create more content for ESPN over the holidays.  ESPN also has a huge stake in the playoff, and do everything in their power to generate interest in the playoff.  ESPN has created the thought that if a team doesn't make the playoff, that everything else is meaningless.   

 
ColoradoHusk said:
1)  McCaffrey's teammates (and current players now) understood his position going into that one final game, know that he has given everything to the program and has been a great teammate, and that risking injury for a bowl game is not worth it for their future careers.

2)  The bowl games are pretty meaningless, especially if a guy has been to a number of them early in his career.  The bowl games were created to bring teams from different regions of the country, as a reward for a very successful season.  Now, even average teams makde it to a bowl.  The same guys on ESPN work for the network who created and own many of these bowls.  The expansion in number of bowls in the past 10-20 years was done to create more content for ESPN over the holidays.  ESPN also has a huge stake in the playoff, and do everything in their power to generate interest in the playoff.  ESPN has created the thought that if a team doesn't make the playoff, that everything else is meaningless.   
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You bring up a good point about it used to be more of a reward and something that has to be earned.  That is where I would compare it to playoffs in other sports, it needs to be an accomplishment just to get there and means you had a good year.  When 70% of teams qualify for bowls, that is what makes them watered down and they start to become less meaningful. If you had to go 8-4+ to make it that is more of an accomplishment. 

 
Feels like the vast majority of you are just b!^@hing that bowl season sucks because your team sucks and wasn’t in a bowl.

bowl season has always been cluttered with s#!t games and maybe a handful worth watching. Playoffs have not made this better or worse

i support the move to expand playoffs. Theoretically it should make the conf title games more meaningful. Under today’s circumstances, they rarely are.

to posters calling out players not wanting it or not being a team sport anymore. What a load of s#!t… I saw plenty more of kids giving it their all vs those half assing it or opting out this bowl season.

nothing’s perfect, sure things can be better. But let’s not take our frustration of being one of 2 teams (with Kansas) without a bowl appearance the last 5 years and misdirect it a b!^@h fest as the why CFB is dead 

 
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The simple answer to "what's wrong with college football" is that it generates too much money. Too many people are able to monetize the sport, and it's lost any semblance of an amateur sport.

 
If you are upset over a player opting out then you are the type of person that would drive to the lotto office with the winning ticket and holding it out your car window just to see what might happen.

Playoffs need to be 16 teams with all the first round games hosted at home...automatic sellout.  

Bowl games, if you want to change the atmosphere a bit, have them played at home sites. 

 
knapplc said:
The simple answer to "what's wrong with college football" is that it generates too much money. Too many people are able to monetize the sport, and it's lost any semblance of an amateur sport.
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Boom.  A very short, correct and perfect statement.  Everyone involved now wants their piece of the pie.

 
knapplc said:
The simple answer to "what's wrong with college football" is that it generates too much money. Too many people are able to monetize the sport, and it's lost any semblance of an amateur sport.
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And the decision makers are creating a more controlled environment. When there is a reporter, will have to search to remember her name, sharing how committee members are relying on “who would win” vs “who deserves” for picking CFP teams or matchups even, then the sport lacks objectivity, which is the essence of what makes sports great/entertaining. I would rather see competition than hear analysts talk about it. 

 
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