We’re One Step Closer to College Football

Photo: Football Scoop

We’ve crossed another checkpoint in getting closer to college football.

The preseason AP Top 25 is out, and we’ve got the most pressing headlines for each ranked team.

25. Iowa Hawkeyes: How bad will Brian Ferentz be rooting against this team all season?

24. North Carolina State Wolfpack: Does it suck being the second best Wolfpack we know about?

23. USC Trojans: Since we returned Reggie Bush’s Heisman, can we get some of OJ’s stuff?

22. Kansas Jayhawks: When will this senseless lack of a Mark Mangino Day end?

21. Arizona Wildcats: Have we talked enough about the fact that from 2012-2020 this program was lead by Rich Rodriguez and Kevin Sumlin?

20. Texas A&M Aggies: You guys are weird, and you know it, just own it.

19. Miami Hurricanes: Has this program lost the “Back” race to Texas?

18. Kansas State Wildcats: Has there ever been a program that more represents being ranked 18th?

17. Oklahoma State Cowboys: This ranking matches Mike Gundy’s average BAC whenever driving.

16. Oklahoma Sooners: Brent Venables just signed a six year extension; why does it feel if he gets off to a slow start Bob Stoops is going to swoop in?

15. Tennessee Volunteers: How can this team survive without a QB who can’t throw an orange 100 yards?

14. Clemson Tigers: Without a shadow of a doubt, Dabo Swinney is using this ranking as a sign from above.

13. LSU Tigers: As Brian Kelly continues his transition into a true Cajun, we received an exclusive look at where he would like to be by the end of the season.

12. Utah Utes: Cam Rising continues to shatter glass ceilings in his 17th season as a college quarterback.

11. Missouri Tigers: We need some real journalism done on if there has ever been a better AD/Head Coach name combo than Laird Veatch & Eliah Drinkwitz.

10. Florida State Seminoles: If this ranking holds all season, will the NCAA keep the Seminoles out of the playoff again?

9. Michigan Wolverines: If you think about it, no one would actually expect Sherrone Moore to use Connor Stalions again…might be the perfect time to try.

8. Penn State Nittany Lions: Will this be the first year anything exciting happens for PSU since they’ve had Saquon Barkley?

7. Notre Dame Fighting Irish: This season should be more successful than last, The Golden Domers will have more time to focus on football instead of arguing who’s hotter between their quarterback and head coach.

6. Ole Miss Rebels: Lane Kiffin will call this ranking rat poison, but he continues to be the best head coach on Twitter so honestly the Rebs should be ranked number one.

5. Alabama Crimson Tide: If Nick Saban retired and the team’s still ranked this high, how much of the progrum’s success can we attribute to him?

4. Texas Longhorns: If we don’t see Arch Manning throw more than five passes this season we riot.

3. Oregon Ducks: With the conference move to the Big Ten, will The Oregon Duck mascot have to do less pushups than he did in his Pac 12 days?

2. Ohio State Buckeyes: While Ryan Day was born on third, his team opens up the season ranked second.

1. Georgia Bulldogs: Sure Kirby Smart and his boys can dangerously and irresponsibly race their cars, but can they continue their growing dynasty and keep up the pace in a new SEC?

We can all taste college football at this point. The release of the preseason rankings, however meaningless, gives us another thing to argue about online…and isn’t that what sports is all about?

Sunday State of Mind: November 22nd-November 28th

Photo: Jattdisite

Holy smokes, what a week in sports. College football rivalry week, NFL, NBA, and a partridge in a pear tree. We look back fondly in this week’s SSM.

That matchup we simply call “The Game”
Wolverines & Buckeyes, emoji flame
Jim Harbaugh finally got him one
Against their rival, losing streak done

Big coaching splash at USC
The Trojans have hired Lincoln Riley
Away from the Sooners, Oklahoma no more
That team out west is never a bore

One more college note, LSU
Coach O’s last game, and they bid him adieu
A walk off win against Texas A&M
Farewell to Coach O, an absolute gem

Game of the week in the NFL
Packers and Rams, defenses shelled
Green Bay did enough to secure the win
Packers chilling at the top of the North again

Student Athletes – 1, NCAA – NIL

Photo: CBS Sports

Tuesday was a historic day in college sports. The NCAA officially enacted a name, image, and likeness (NIL) policy that allows “student” athletes to earn money off of their…name, image, and likeness. This finally allows any college athlete to (legally) earn income that they rightfully deserve.

We’ve already seen Fresno State basketball/TikTok stars Haley and Hanna Cavinder signed deals with Boost Mobile and Six Star Nutrition, Miami quarterback D’Eriq King is the new spokesman for the moving company College Hunks Hauling Junk, LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne could crack a million dollars from her NIL, and Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz straight up released his own logo.

An NIL approval plan was looooong overdue. Of course, as most things with the NCAA, it wasn’t handled correctly. But you can’t have sunshine without rain, right? We’ll see our fair share of car dealerships, autograph deals, and card signing gigs after today’s announcement. But what kind of player endorsements could we have missed out on in years past?

College football seems to benefit huge from the NIL agreement. Can you imagine if we could have seen Reggie Bush RE/MAX Real Estate ads? Andrew Luck working with the Palo Alto Mathnasium? Tim Tebow could have been taking a cut of Sunday tithe in any of the churches in the greater Gainsville area; Cam Newton missed an opportunity with the local Edward Jones Financial branch in Auburn, Alabama.

College basketball has had plenty of stars who could have cashed in back in their day. You can’t tell me a Joakim Noah/Gainesville CBD Store partnership wouldn’t have slapped. Greg Oden linking up with the ATI Physical Therapy in Columbus? Get out of here. Tyler Hansbrough toting Off! Bug Spray? Cha-ching. It’s not just the fellas who missed out on securing the bag. Diana Taurasi and Rebecca Lobo, two of the most dominant UConn Huskies of all time, could’ve crushed it with an ad campaign for the Humane Society. Sabrina Ionescu, the 2020 number one overall pick in the WNBA Draft, played her college ball at Oregon. How great would it have been to have a (paid) cameo appearance on “Portlandia?”

Just scratching the surface here, but don’t want to get too deep and depress all of us even more on what could’ve been. We’ll just have to grin and bear it and accept the fact that that these kids who give an incredible amount to their universities will now be duly paid whatever they can get out there and earn on the free market.

The NCAA sucks.