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Devon Henderson: Meet the maestros behind the James Madison satire account poking fun at Oregon

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Being the Baltimore Sun’s assistant sports editor is Bennett Conlin’s day job. As a James Madison alum, his other title is co-owner and operator of the JMU Sports News X account alongside ESPN Richmond radio host — a friend and fellow JMU alum — Jack Fitzpatrick. The pair started the outlet in 2018 to cover the school’s sports. Today, Conlin’s role includes monitoring what news to share with the account’s now more than 24,000 followers interested in James Madison athletics.

Oh — and trolling the No. 24 Dukes’ upcoming College Football Playoff opponent, No. 5 Oregon. And No. 11 Notre Dame. And No. 19 Virginia. Really, just about every other school in the state of Virginia. And the recently eliminated from NFL playoff contention Kansas City Chiefs. The account has grown from roughly 12,000 followers to nearly 24,000 in just a week since it began its online ribbing of the Ducks following James Madison’s surprise entry into the CFP.

Whether it was posting Oregon’s cinematic slowed-down footage with the caption, “Uhhh is this real??? Oregon might be the slowest team we’ve ever seen,” or sharing a clip of a redshirt freshman, 6-foot-4, 325-pound JMU offensive lineman catching a fade ball in practice with the caption, “Oregon will not have an answer for this. Period,” the account has leaned heavily into the Ducks. “It’s been a fun week, for sure,” Conlin said. “Just trolling Oregon fans, for lack of a better word.” The account began in 2018 as a strictly news-focused outlet covering the Dukes’ athletic program, but it has evolved. Conlin and Fitzpatrick, then students, have watched James Madison football rise from an FCS program to FBS, climb to a conference championship and now reach the playoffs.

The identity has changed, but not the pride in their alma mater or belief in its growth. “It’s always been a process to figure out exactly what our voice will be,” Conlin said. “This past week, we sort of leaned into some of the jokes and having fun with it, mostly because we have a lot of respect for the JMU program and what they’ve accomplished. There’s an understanding that JMU does play high-level football. When they get into the playoffs, and you see all the national media basically saying they don’t belong, that they’re not any good, and treating them like a Division III program, you can either get upset or frustrated as a fan. For us, we just joke and try to poke fun at the conversation.”

JMU made the playoffs by being one of the five highest-ranked conference champions. James Madison was the second of two Group of Five champions to receive an automatic bid after a five-loss Duke defeated No. 17 Virginia in the ACC championship game. Conlin watched the 27-20 Duke overtime win while house-sitting for his girlfriend’s parents, as multiple group chats on his phone exploded. That left notable programs like Notre Dame on the outside looking in, despite being ranked No. 10 overall in the penultimate CFP rankings ahead of conference championship weekend.

“I think the fact of the matter is, all three of those teams (Notre Dame, Miami and Alabama) should have gotten in and deserve the right to play in the College Football Playoff,” former Alabama coach Nick Saban said on ESPN (Miami and Alabama did make the CFP). “… You’re going to have two teams in the playoff, no disrespect to the Group of Five, that are nowhere near ranked as highly as some other teams that are much better than them.” Notre Dame got trolled, too. Conlin went on the JMU Sports News podcast and proclaimed: “I would not be surprised if we see a mass exodus of Notre Dame players to the Dukes… If you want that playoff entrance, it’s pretty obvious where you’ve got to go,” he said, laughing.

While clearly joking, Conlin has seen JMU talent, both players and coaches, translate to Power 4 programs. The Dukes’ head coach, Bob Chesney, has already been hired as UCLA’s next head coach, though he will finish the CFP run with James Madison. Billy Napier will take over for Chesney. The coach who guided JMU through its FCS-to-FBS transition and compiled a 52-9 record over five seasons was Curt Cignetti, who left and took 10 players with him to Indiana ahead of the 2024 season. The college football world has since seen how that move worked out for Cignetti and the Hoosiers.

For JMU fans and alumni, there may be some lingering feelings about coaches using the program as a stepping stone, but there is also pride in the proof of its national relevance. “Cignetti seemed a little bit older, so there was sort of a thought that maybe he would stay for a while,” Conlin said. “Then the Indiana opportunity came, and obviously, he’s done an unbelievable job there. There’s a lot of love for Cignetti. There may be some hurt feelings with the way he went about his exit (taking so many JMU players), but it’s been cool for most people in the city. Those players going to the Big Ten and playing the way they have has been a lot of fun to see.”

Before the trolling, JMU Sports News was so official in its coverage that, according to Conlin, some recruits would DM the account asking it to share their film. But as JMU has grown into a CFP team, so too has the national attention, and debate, about its legitimacy. In response, Conlin and Fitzpatrick have leaned further into comedic social media jabs. They welcome the ribbing back. When Oregon fans responded to the slowed-down Ducks video with a sped-up montage of JMU highlights satirically praising their speed, JMU Sports News reposted it with a response.

“The difference in team speed between JMU and Oregon is staggering,” they wrote. “The Dukes can fly! The Ducks, as Washington fans know well, are flightless.” “It’s been fun to see Oregon fans take the jokes in stride and make their own,” Conlin said. “It’s enjoyable to interact with a fan base that’s so big. That’s not the same when you’re playing Louisiana Monroe in October. We’ve really enjoyed having a fan base on the other side that cares.” Beneath the jokes sits real pride. Seeing JMU reach this stage confirms a meteoric rise that only those close to the program truly felt — but one that resonates nonetheless. Less than a decade ago, the Dukes were losing in the FCS playoffs. Now, they’re facing the country’s elite on the grandest stage.

“It’s awesome to see them at this stage,” Conlin said. “To go from playing Colgate less than a decade ago and losing in the playoffs to being at the FBS level and playing a game against Oregon is pretty incredible. It’s been a rapid rise.”

So what are the expectations? JMU is in the playoffs, rewarded with a road trip to Eugene as 21.5-point underdogs. What does Conlin and the rest of James Madison’s faithful expect? “You want to have a chance in the fourth quarter,” Conlin said. “I think the defense will be able to hang for the most part. The running game is decent… JMU is going to have to figure out something in the passing game. If they can, I think it’s got a chance to be more competitive than people would expect. I think they’re a pretty solid football team, and I think they’re capable of making it a game.”

And if James Madison doesn’t? Conlin and Fitzpatrick will be trolling all the same. “You’ve got to poke fun at whatever happens,” Conlin said. “If JMU is competitive or wins, that’ll be exciting. If they get blown out, it’s a wake-up call for some fans and people in the program. But we’ll have fun with it to the end.”

 

Posted
3 minutes ago, satyanash said:

 

The issue now is the big imbalance of conferences of the Big10/SEC vs ACC/Big 12. Those conferences are not equal and shouldn't be treated as such.

But, if a team wins a P4 conference and gets left out completely, then what was the point of even playing? Basically, Duke played the ACC title game for no reason. ACC champs? Sure but nothing real to show for it. Yet, Tulane and JMU get rewarded?

And beyond that, they gave Boise St a bye last year, that was fucking ridiculous. No G5 team should ever be getting a bye.

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Posted (edited)
3 minutes ago, Vic Mackey said:

And beyond that, they gave Boise St a bye last year, that was fucking ridiculous. No G5 team should ever be getting a bye.

They did rectify that rule after last year.  Otherwise Tulane would have had a bye this year.  Boise State got the bye last year as they were the 3rd highest rated conference champion (even higher than ASU). We were rated 3rd but got bumped down to 5 seed by Boise and ASU.

This year top 4 rated teams overall get the bye regardless of conference champion status. 

Edited by Surly Bevo
Posted
1 hour ago, Vic Mackey said:

602463342_1199135485691337_3730353489230676231_n.jpg

The 1932 Notre Dame B-Team was probably still better than half the college A-teams in the country. 

Of course, in 1932 teams like Army, Navy, Harvard, and the University of Chicago were national championship contenders. So there’s that. 

Posted

Only the bama ou game was worth watching. 
 

Shit ass committee and shitass rules made the first round unwatchable this year. 
 

Pathetic. 
 

The line was 16.5 in this ole piss game and that wasn’t enough lol

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Posted
2 hours ago, Zeus said:

Only the bama ou game was worth watching. 
 

Shit ass committee and shitass rules made the first round unwatchable this year. 
 

Pathetic. 
 

The line was 16.5 in this ole piss game and that wasn’t enough lol

I disagree. I was thoroughly entertained by the Miami-aggy game.

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Posted
On 12/13/2025 at 8:50 AM, JBJ said:

If Miami stops the A&M run game (which they seem fully capable of), A&M will struggle hard.

Bama was honestly the better team the first time they played OU.  OU had an 80-yard interception return, fumble, and punt return that set up their scores.  Pretty sure the result flips.

Where do I send my 9.95?

Posted
4 hours ago, Surly Bevo said:

A CFP committee chaired by a piggy put together this slop. 

Oink, oink, color me shocked.

This angle really needs to be discussed a tad more.   Another reason full transparency is a must.  

The fact the Arky AD was able to be part of the decision making process that involved two of Arky’s bigger rivals reeks of corruption.  

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Posted

Everyone keeps saying G5

but there’s a bunch of shitty teams in all the conferences (mostly ACC and big12)

New playoff should be 6 SEC, 6 big10, 4 from ACC and Big12

small conferences are their own division and get their own playoffs

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Posted

This is reactionary nonsense. Obviously nobody expected the ACC champ to be a five loss team. In like 99% of seasons there will only ever be one. Maybe change it so it will always be the P4 champs and the highest G5 champ. Whatever.

And there is no consistent way to always get 100% great matchups in every playoff game. So the G5 teams get blown out sometimes. Big whoop.

We had blowouts in the playoffs last year that did not even involve G5 schools. A G5 school didn't lost 65-7 to Georgia.

Everybody wants to panic and try to do radical change to fix things that are not even problems. The issue was that undefeated teams were getting left out of the post season. That problem is fixed. No deserving team will be left out again. 

As far as splitting up the divisions into DI FCS, DI G5, and DIP4 well that shit isn't ever going to happen. So until this fantasy comes about I don't see why it is this enormous outrage that a midmajor plays in the playoffs. It happens in literally every other fucking sport. Every once in a while one will win a game or two and it will be cool. But it won't happen often.

 

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Posted
52 minutes ago, Zeus said:

Everyone keeps saying G5

but there’s a bunch of shitty teams in all the conferences (mostly ACC and big12)

New playoff should be 6 SEC, 6 big10, 4 from ACC and Big12

small conferences are their own division and get their own playoffs

Your posts are shit from a butt

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Posted

As someone who is friends with just aa many NFL fans as CFB fans,  CFBNerds is 100% correct.  The people who argue most for autobids are the ones not watching them.

Ari Wasserman is 100% right.  Everyone should play by the same rules.  Make the top 12, get in.  During the mid-major era, a G5 team was in most years, but we just aren't there anymore.

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Posted
1 hour ago, JBJ said:

As someone who is friends with just aa many NFL fans as CFB fans,  CFBNerds is 100% correct.  The people who argue most for autobids are the ones not watching them.

Ari Wasserman is 100% right.  Everyone should play by the same rules.  Make the top 12, get in.  During the mid-major era, a G5 team was in most years, but we just aren't there anymore.

Yep.  If a G5 mans up and schedules  SEC, Rig 12, Big10 for  non conference  games and beats them, then game on for them in the playoffs. If they lose to one and that team itself ends up in the top 12, then yes give them the consideration they deserve.    No that doesn’t mean scheduling Rutgers, Purdue and Wake Forrest  for example to fill the slots.   

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Posted
10 hours ago, Zeus said:

Everyone keeps saying G5

but there’s a bunch of shitty teams in all the conferences (mostly ACC and big12)

New playoff should be 6 SEC, 6 big10, 4 from ACC and Big12

small conferences are their own division and get their own playoffs

Agreed, but replace all SEC with ACC. An ACC loser just beat the dog piss out of one of the best SEC teams. We also had to watch two other SEC powerhouses play something I would assume was football on Friday. Please no more secsecsec 

tim-gunn-eww-gross.gif.fa47b2fad1fb8711a49e83d1573b9b9e.gif

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Posted

Matt Baker: Are College Football Playoff runs by Cinderellas no longer possible? Here’s why the gap is growing

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The College Football Playoff’s Cinderella stories ended early, again, when No. 11 Tulane and No. 12 James Madison were dominated by Ole Miss and Oregon in the first round. Saturday’s blowouts will only fuel more questions about future CFP formats and whether the Group of 5 deserves a guaranteed spot in the field.

With non-power conference teams now 0-4 all-time in the Playoff, the results raise a different question: Can college football produce a G5 Cinderella like the basketball mid-majors that captivate us every March? “You never say never,” former Tulane star Shaun King said, “but I would give it a less than 2 to 3 percent chance.”

King isn’t a Group of 5 hater or an administrator stumping for the SEC/Big Ten. He quarterbacked undefeated Tulane in 1998 and was an assistant on South Florida’s two best teams, so he knows firsthand what a college football Cinderella could look like. But he’s also a realist who sees a championship clock that has effectively struck midnight on teams outside the Power 4.

The explanation requires a history lesson. Most of the previous Group of 5 greats that won major bowls and would have had a chance to advance in a Playoff had talent, experience and transcendent quarterback play that clicked at the same time:

  • Current Saints head coach Kellen Moore quarterbacked a 2009 Boise State team with more future first-round picks (three) than the Texas team that lost to Alabama in the national title game (two).
  • McKenzie Milton’s undefeated 2017 UCF squad featured seven future NFL Draft picks in its Peach Bowl win over Auburn; 17 of the 22 starters were redshirt sophomores or older.
  • TCU’s undefeated 2010 team started 13 seniors (including Andy Dalton) and five juniors/redshirt sophomores in its Rose Bowl win over Wisconsin.

The 2016 USF team was a notch lower, going only 11-2. But it had an incumbent standout quarterback (Quinton Flowers), a pair of future NFL running backs (Marlon Mack and D’Ernest Johnson) and a receiver who’s still in the league (Marquez Valdes-Scantling). A G5 team that talented with that much familiarity, King said, will “never happen again because of the portal and NIL.”

“Someone would have offered Marlon more money than we could match,” King said. “Someone would have taken Quinton Flowers from us.” That’s what happened at Tulane. Last year’s quarterback, Darian Mensah, transferred to Duke as one of the portal’s top free agents and led the Blue Devils to the ACC title. Saturday’s first game featured a former Green Wave starter, tight end Alex Bauman, in the lineup for Miami.

Saturday’s last game featured another former Green Wave starter, all-conference running back Makhi Hughes, on the roster for Oregon, where he hasn’t even made an impact despite rushing for 1,401 yards last year. As outgoing Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall said recently: “If you’ve studied my rosters the last couple years, I haven’t had the resources to keep very many of my good players. They all end up getting poached.”

So, for that matter, do the coaches. Sumrall made that remark during his introductory news conference at Florida, where he’s the incoming head coach. He spent the past three weeks wearing both hats (literally, in the case of his social media picture), just as Bob Chesney did with James Madison and UCLA. Power 4 programs aren’t immune to this issue — see: Kiffin, Lane — but it’s traditionally a bigger obstacle at the G5 level.

It’s an issue that’s growing, too, because of another thing hurting Cinderellas: money. Although player salaries are generally hard to verify, the swelling financial gaps are obvious. Oregon defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi’s $2 million salary is more than what JMU budgeted for Chesney’s salary and its revenue-sharing deals with players combined (almost $1.9 million).

Change the team names, and the problem remains. The football revenue of Boise State was about a third of what Oklahoma reported to the U.S. Department of Education when the Broncos shocked the Sooners in the Fiesta Bowl in January 2007. OU’s expenses (almost $19 million) roughly doubled the Broncos’ ($8.6 million).

By 2023 (the most recent available year), the Sooners’ revenue had exploded to almost five times what Boise State brought in ($124.9 million compared to $26.5 million). OU’s expenses mushroomed to more than three times Boise’s — a difference of $45 million. That’s a lot of extra analysts and recruiting staffers.

There are other factors, too, that make a mid-major run hard to fathom. Most of the best-resourced Group of 5 programs (Utah, TCU, Cincinnati) have already earned Power 4 invites, eliminating the top would-be Cinderellas. Weaker schedules will almost certainly put G5 teams at the bottom of every bracket, so their Playoff path starts on the road against one of the toughest teams. Saturday’s ugly showings, fairly or unfairly, will weaken the public perception of non-power teams in future CFP debates and formats.

Just because a Cinderella run seems nearly impossible doesn’t mean the Group of 5 — which will become the Group of 6 with the revamped Pac-12 next year — should be excluded from the field entirely. Alienating half the teams in FBS seems like a bad business strategy, not to mention an invitation for antitrust investigations. Plenty of Power 4 teams have been blown out in the Playoff before, too; was Oregon’s demolition of JMU that much uglier than the inaugural CFP game, the Ducks’ 59-20 shellacking of Florida State at the Rose Bowl?

But we can advocate for the G5’s spot in the bracket while also acknowledging its grim reality. The ecosystem has changed since Boise toppled OU or UCF self-claimed a national title. Match those G5 teams against the ones that played Saturday, King said, and the Dukes and Green Wave are double-digit underdogs. So unless Memphis or Tulane or the next JMU finds its own Cody Campbell to bankroll an elite roster like Texas Tech did, the odds of a G5 Cinderella are low. The glass slipper still belongs to March. Hopefully.

David Ubben: Don’t blame James Madison for the College Football Playoff’s most popular problem

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EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon fans stayed. Even on a frigid night in the valley of the Cascades. Not until the final bars of the traditional fourth-quarter playing of “Shout” did the trickle of fans up the stairs at Autzen Stadium begin. But college football fans at home? They had already tuned out of the final game of the College Football Playoff’s first round. What’s going on in Bears-Packers? Which streaming service has “A Christmas Story”?

Oregon delivered its forecasted beatdown of James Madison in a game that was far less competitive than the 51-34 score and final statistics suggest. Skeptics who rolled their eyes at JMU’s inclusion in the 12-team bracket as the fifth-highest ranked conference champion — or asked, “What? How?” — needed to see only Saturday night’s opening drive (four plays, 68 yards and a Ducks touchdown in 98 seconds) to confirm their priors.

It’s not James Madison’s problem. Not its fault, either. “If you’re a Power 4 team, the ball’s in your court,” Dukes quarterback Alonza Barnett said after the game. “Most of those teams that didn’t make it, they controlled their own destiny.” But college football has a problem. And there’s a common-sense solution that requires raising the bar for postseason admission, only slightly.

To hear some tell it, No. 12 seed James Madison and No. 11 seed Tulane ought to be dragged from the city square and banished from playing football on television ever again after losing by a combined 48 points to Oregon and Ole Miss, respectively. Saturday’s final two games offered little drama and a lot of wide-open receivers, unbothered quarterbacks and broken tackles. It reignited the debate about the place the non-power conferences hold in a sport whose rules and postseason have been in flux for the past five seasons.

The complaining might be annoying and ever-present, but it’s not entirely wrong. Oregon and Ole Miss spent 60 minutes proving why their programs are on another plane compared to James Madison, which just wrapped its fourth season as an FBS member. College football fans deserve a better product on the game’s highest stage. But it’s also worth noting this year was an anomaly.

The ACC’s champion (8-5 Duke) finishing below the Sun Belt’s champion and letting a second Group of 5 team in the field is a result more unbelievable than has been recognized, and it seemed unthinkable when the 12-team Playoff was put into place. But the answer isn’t to banish half of the teams in college football’s highest level to second-class status, never to be seen in the Playoff again.

For one thing, that plan would practically be begging many of the sport’s fans — and programs in the so-called Group of 6 conferences (soon to include the revamped Pac-12) do have fans, despite what some may believe — to check. If there’s no promised land to strive for, what’s the point of the journey? For another, that move would raise just the kind of antitrust concerns that landed the Bowl Championship Series in front of Congress in 2003.

Rising athlete compensation and immediate eligibility for transfers have trimmed the gap between Power 4 programs but widened the gap between the Power 4 and Group of 6. Each year, every G6 all-conference team serves as an all-you-can-afford menu for larger programs. Previous mid-major juggernauts like Utah, UCF, Boise State and Cincinnati now only rarely keep the future NFL players that once dotted their rosters. And many of the past G6 powers have been lured away by power conferences, leaving leagues like the Conference USA and Sun Belt to largely repopulate from the FCS ranks. The Group of 6 is weaker than it’s ever been, through no fault of its own.

James Madison did little on Saturday night to dissuade anyone from the notion the Dukes didn’t belong. But by the rules of Playoff selection, they were a clear choice. Considering all the changes in the sport, however, it’s fair for leaders to consider tweaking the requirements for automatic bids to the Playoff. That doesn’t mean giving a bid to Duke, which wouldn’t have belonged, either. The Blue Devils already lost to Tulane in September, a week after losing by 26 to 8-4 Illinois.

Whether or not the Playoff expands in time for next year or 2027, adding a requirement that a conference champion be ranked in a certain range in order to activate its automatic bid is a fair compromise. The exact place to set the bar is debatable, but it’s a reasonable reaction to prevent the sport’s biggest stage from becoming a punchline for casual fans who barely have interest in the sport anyway.

The Group of 6 can still access the Playoff, and truly excellent teams won’t be denied a chance to compete. But it would eliminate the quirky outcomes that gave us the ugly nightcap in Eugene.

Everyone wants college football’s biggest event to deliver matchups that get fans salivating and then deliver on the hype. This year’s first round, with one SEC rematch, one game that featured a combined 13 points and two blowouts of G6 teams, didn’t do that. But the answer to making slightly better matchups isn’t to tell 67 of the 136 FBS teams they’re not allowed to compete in the Playoff anymore.

JMU coach Bob Chesney had no desire to wade into the debate postgame but pointed to bright spots throughout the game and the fact that his team was outgained by just five yards — though much of the Dukes’ 28-point second half came with Oregon’s defense playing reserves — as reason to believe his team belonged. “(Our play) had to be elite to hang with this team,” Chesney said. “And it just wasn’t.”

Decisive losses aren’t unique to the G6, either. Last year, Power 4 programs Tennessee, SMU and Indiana were all beaten soundly by double-digit margins in the first round. But assuring that any Group of 6 team who does qualify for the bracket does it by merit and not by a wonky tiebreaker and an upset in an oversized major conference is a step in the right direction for casual and diehard fans of the sport alike.

First-round CFP games in the 12-team era
 
WINNER
Miami
LOSER
Texas A&M
SCORE     
10-3
MARGIN
7
Alabama
Oklahoma
34-24
10
Notre Dame     
Indiana
27-17
10
Texas
Clemson
38-24
14
Oregon
James Madison     
51-34
17
Ohio State
Tennessee
42-17
25
Penn State
SMU
38-10
28
Ole Miss
Tulane
41-10
31

When Chesney addressed his team from the door to the cramped locker room outside Autzen Stadium, he told them to take their pads off slowly, to better savor the end of their history-making run and what for some players will be the end of their football careers.

Minutes earlier, he had guarded the tunnel between the field and their locker room and hugged nearly every player who walked past. Several stopped for long conversations with Chesney, who is leaving to take over Big Ten bottom-feeder UCLA after Saturday’s loss, further raising the degree of difficulty for James Madison to sustain success.

This is life in the Group of 6. Coaches have always left. Now, players can go, too. That doesn’t mean the programs shouldn’t get a chance to measure themselves against the best. But the rules can be tweaked to appease both sides of the most heated debate of college football’s opening postseason weekend.

In the game’s final moments, a “J-M-U! J-M-U!” chant rang out from the top of the northwest side of Autzen Stadium, where a packed section of purple remained. James Madison’s players lingered on the playing surface long after security allowed Oregon’s fans to take over the field, a gameday tradition. The players hugged. They said their goodbyes. A new coach, Billy Napier, is taking over. Everything is changing. This team will never be together again.

But they were together on Saturday, running trick plays and scoring in late flurries to salvage some pride. Careers ended. Tears flowed. Players embraced. As they did, Dolly Parton’s voice came over the stadium’s speakers. “Eugene, Oregon, I’ll remember you for the rest of my life,” she sang. “I won’t forget how good you were to me.” Until the rules change, teams like JMU will get the chance to make their own memories, with no need to apologize for the path they took.

 

Posted
13 hours ago, Valmy77 said:

So until this fantasy comes about I don't see why it is this enormous outrage that a midmajor plays in the playoffs. It happens in literally every other fucking sport. Every once in a while one will win a game or two and it will be cool. But it won't happen often.

Football is not comparable to basketball or any other sport. Teams only play 12 regular season games.

I don't want Cinderella in college football, unless Cinderella shows in the regular season by running the table and beating one or two notable opponents. I absolutely do not want us crowning, as national champion, a team that meandered its way through the regular season and then got hot at the end.

No '83 NC States in college football, please.

If a G5 team is good enough to earn a top 12 (or whatever the number is in a given year) ranking at the end of the season, then fine - give them a shot. Otherwise the lower tier leagues can fuck right off.

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Posted
7 minutes ago, TrashMaster G said:

I absolutely do not want us crowning, as national champion, a team that meandered its way through the regular season and then got hot at the end.

No '83 NC States in college football, please.

Too late, did you miss last year?

Posted
14 hours ago, Zeus said:

Everyone keeps saying G5

but there’s a bunch of shitty teams in all the conferences (mostly ACC and big12)

New playoff should be 6 SEC, 6 big10, 4 from ACC and Big12

small conferences are their own division and get their own playoffs

There aren't enough teams period to fill the 12 team play off let along your 20 team play off.

The problems extend beyond the committee and it goes to unbalanced conference schedules, conferences too damn big, and a selection process that is owned by a fucking network.

The college model that works at multiple levels is already in place.

If you don't want that then have the balls to go full NFL model which means 32 teams breaking off, but there is no way to fix this current shit and I basically saw two teams this weekend playing that looked like might belong in this thing and that was Oregon and Ole Miss.  Everyone else was pretty much the same old shit yet again be it OU, Bama, ATM, or Miami. No need to see anymore of that. 

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Posted
13 hours ago, Valmy77 said:

This is reactionary nonsense. Obviously nobody expected the ACC champ to be a five loss team. In like 99% of seasons there will only ever be one. Maybe change it so it will always be the P4 champs and the highest G5 champ. Whatever.

And there is no consistent way to always get 100% great matchups in every playoff game. So the G5 teams get blown out sometimes. Big whoop.

We had blowouts in the playoffs last year that did not even involve G5 schools. A G5 school didn't lost 65-7 to Georgia.

Everybody wants to panic and try to do radical change to fix things that are not even problems. The issue was that undefeated teams were getting left out of the post season. That problem is fixed. No deserving team will be left out again. 

As far as splitting up the divisions into DI FCS, DI G5, and DIP4 well that shit isn't ever going to happen. So until this fantasy comes about I don't see why it is this enormous outrage that a midmajor plays in the playoffs. It happens in literally every other fucking sport. Every once in a while one will win a game or two and it will be cool. But it won't happen often.

 

Define "deserving" because that very definition seemed to be the issue yet again. Who deserved to be in and who didn't . 

Posted

Been looking through the actual news around the commissioner meetings. and leading proposals seem to be:

16: 5 + 11 - The most likely next format that no one likes but everyone will agree to not sue over.

16: 4-4-2-2 + 4 - P2 get 4 autos, M2 get 2 autos, 4 at-large - The SEC/B1G proposal, but B12 and ACC aren't ready to grant disproportional autos.

16: 4-4-4-4 - P4 get 4 autos. - The follow up from 4-4-2-2, the B12 is reluctant to cut out the G5 in the fear that it is next on the chopping block.

24: 4-4-4-4 + 8 - ACC wants a giant playoff

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Expansion seems like ass at this point, but it's where decision-makers are heading.  The B12 and ACC are probably right to not accept reality as the middle tier.  I kind of don't like it either as the quality of conferences and teams changes over time, but the 4-4-2-2 format actually make the most sense at this singular moment in time.  16x 4-4-4-4 will put a lot of teams in that don't deserve to be while also blocking teams that do deserve to be.  24 just seems dumb.

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Posted
3 hours ago, JBJ said:

Been looking through the actual news around the commissioner meetings. and leading proposals seem to be:

16: 5 + 11 - The most likely next format that no one likes but everyone will agree to not sue over.

16: 4-4-2-2 + 4 - P2 get 4 autos, M2 get 2 autos, 4 at-large - The SEC/B1G proposal, but B12 and ACC aren't ready to grant disproportional autos.

16: 4-4-4-4 - P4 get 4 autos. - The follow up from 4-4-2-2, the B12 is reluctant to cut out the G5 in the fear that it is next on the chopping block.

24: 4-4-4-4 + 8 - ACC wants a giant playoff

---

Expansion seems like ass at this point, but it's where decision-makers are heading.  The B12 and ACC are probably right to not accept reality as the middle tier.  I kind of don't like it either as the quality of conferences and teams changes over time, but the 4-4-2-2 format actually make the most sense at this singular moment in time.  16x 4-4-4-4 will put a lot of teams in that don't deserve to be while also blocking teams that do deserve to be.  24 just seems dumb.

Don't like the idea of 16 teams because I think the overall quality of teams is actually going to decline a bit with the continued reliance on transfers and players not staying in systems long enough to be developed into good college players.

Way too much dependence on athletic ability and systems that can be picked up quickly.  

Posted
1 hour ago, PGFrog said:

Don't like the idea of 16 teams because I think the overall quality of teams is actually going to decline a bit with the continued reliance on transfers and players not staying in systems long enough to be developed into good college players.

Way too much dependence on athletic ability and systems that can be picked up quickly.  

You could not be more wrong.

NIL and the portal are going to create more balance and better teams overall.

No school will be able to afford ten five stars anymore in a class.

 

 

Posted (edited)
58 minutes ago, Steamboat1874 said:

You could not be more wrong.

NIL and the portal are going to create more balance and better teams overall.

No school will be able to afford ten five stars anymore in a class.

 

 

Balance is not the same as quality.  

When everyone is continually having to work in new players into systems and don't have the continuity then quality will be impacted.  

Edited by PGFrog
Posted
7 hours ago, JBJ said:

Been looking through the actual news around the commissioner meetings. and leading proposals seem to be:

16: 5 + 11 - The most likely next format that no one likes but everyone will agree to not sue over.

16: 4-4-2-2 + 4 - P2 get 4 autos, M2 get 2 autos, 4 at-large - The SEC/B1G proposal, but B12 and ACC aren't ready to grant disproportional autos.

16: 4-4-4-4 - P4 get 4 autos. - The follow up from 4-4-2-2, the B12 is reluctant to cut out the G5 in the fear that it is next on the chopping block.

24: 4-4-4-4 + 8 - ACC wants a giant playoff

---

Expansion seems like ass at this point, but it's where decision-makers are heading.  The B12 and ACC are probably right to not accept reality as the middle tier.  I kind of don't like it either as the quality of conferences and teams changes over time, but the 4-4-2-2 format actually make the most sense at this singular moment in time.  16x 4-4-4-4 will put a lot of teams in that don't deserve to be while also blocking teams that do deserve to be.  24 just seems dumb.

If we are in a world where these are the only four options - and I hope we are not - then they are listed in the order of preference and it's a logarithmic progression of shittiness.

Posted

I’m in the the G5 should be included camp.

I’m also objective enough to know that the 5/6 seeds playing Tulane/JM while 7/8 seeds played Bama/Miami was a HUGE advantage for the 5/6

THAT needs to be fixed.

So how about this little tweak:

- Top 5 conf champs are still in but they have to be ranked in top 12

- If not ranked in top 12, they play in a “play-in” games vs the 11 and 12 seeds

Sorry, Longhorns, that still doesn’t help you this year but it would have given us these games instead

11 ND vs Tulane

12 BYU vs JM

And instead of last night’s blowouts we would have had  

5 Oregon vs 12 BYU

6 Ole Miss vs 11 ND

but

there’s also this little nugget that would have helped UT this year had the ACC produced a legit champion and only 1 G5 team was in play…

instead of 12 BYU vs JM, it could have been 12 BYU vs 13 UT

😎

 

Posted (edited)

I think 24 makes some sense, it’s basically a 16 team playoff with the bottom 8 being decided by play in round. It also solves the G6 issue because they won’t be so out of place seeded in the 20s. Also solves opt outs since the games will mean something as opposed to bowl games. The bowl games would be cut in half though if they survive at all. The home atmospheres at ou and aggy seemed far better though than poorly attended bowls in Birmingham and Shreveport and the like.

Edited by 'stache
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Posted

Tom Fornelli:  Blame the College Football Playoff system for uneven fields? No, blame the powers who've upended the sport 

Quote

Everybody wants to fix the College Football Playoff, but nobody seems to know how. There's a good reason for this. It's because the College Football Playoff isn't broken... college football is. On Saturday, college football die-hards and casuals alike tuned in to watch two games that were largely decided before a snap ever took place.

Sure, the possibility of an upset always looms, but the first quarters of Ole Miss' 41-10 win over Tulane or Oregon's 51-34 win over James Madison made it clear quickly how those games would go. They were results that would do nothing to slow the ceaseless wave of the college football literati who had spent the last few weeks gnashing their teeth in despair over the possibility these blowouts would happen and what it would all mean.

But the pearl-clutching, hemming and hawing are all directed at the wrong target. What we're seeing in the College Football Playoff is the result of a far bigger problem in the sport. College football has always been a top-heavy sport, and while we've seen a more even distribution of that weight up top thanks to NIL and the transfer portal (the GLP-1 of college football), on the whole, the sport is more top-heavy than ever before.

Resources, talent shifting in one direction

There is far more talent available and far more money coming in than at any time before, and it's all flowing overwhelmingly in one direction. If you look at the top recruiting classes for the 2026 cycle, you'll notice a couple of things. The first is that, for the first time since 2008, the top class in the country belongs outside of the SEC. USC took the honors this year, the first non-SEC program to do so since Miami way back when.

Furthermore, Alabama is the only SEC school to finish in the top four, but while that's nice to see as far as spreading the talent around, it ignores the larger picture. Sure, the Big Ten has the top spot, but 23 of the top 35 classes call the Big Ten or SEC home. The only non-Big Ten and SEC schools to crack the top 20 were Notre Dame, Miami, Florida State, North Carolina, Texas Tech and Clemson. Of those six, only Notre Dame and Miami are in the top 10, and Miami is 10th.

Damage done by mass realignment

Recruiting rankings are not the only area in which the Big Ten and SEC have consolidated power. They're just another result of that consolidation. In the last 15 years, the Big Ten has added Nebraska, Maryland, Rutgers, UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington to the fold. Taking the last four essentially killed the Pac-12, while reaching out and taking Nebraska caused a destabilizing effect on the Big 12.

An instability the SEC was all too happy to take advantage of as it poached Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and Texas A&M from the league over the last 15 years, too. Both leagues will exist in 2026 but largely in name only. Clearly, the Big 12 has survived the attacks much stronger than the Pac-12 has, but the league has seen all of its biggest brands taken from it, which leaves it at a disadvantage when it comes to finding a television deal, causing the gap to grow only wider.

Perhaps that's why, while we were all forced to suffer the horrors of two uncompetitive football games on Saturday, Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham was sending out a call to any possible billionaires who wanted to buy him a new roster. Because that's where we are now with NIL. The sport dragged its collective feet and ignored the giant tidal wave coming at it for decades, only to dive in full speed ahead on openly paying players (some of) what they're owed. Only, you know, with hardly any regulations or guidelines that everybody can follow and no viable way to enforce them. Whose fault is that? I don't know? Everybody's?

Anyway, right now, people are looking at the Group of Five as the problem with the playoff, but believe me: if finances continue to work the way they're working in this sport, it's only a matter of time before the ACC and Big 12 get the same treatment people are giving Tulane and James Madison. After all, it's the Big Ten and SEC who have been handed complete control of the future of the format as a compromise to simply let the ACC and Big 12 continue to exist.

Big Ten, SEC will win out in the end

But, the truth is, the Big Ten and SEC have always controlled the College Football Playoff. The Big Ten and SEC have won nine of the first 11 College Football Playoffs. Clemson is the only team from outside those leagues to win it, and it's done so twice. Of course, Clemson has only made the field once since the NCAA stopped forcing transfers to sit out a year after changing schools and hasn't won a playoff game at all. That's mostly due to Clemson's stubbornness, but it's fitting nonetheless.

To drive the point home even further, of the 22 teams that have played in a College Football Playoff National Championship, 16 currently reside in the Big Ten or SEC. Clemson (4x), TCU and Notre Dame are the only teams to get there who aren't in those leagues (Oregon and Washington made it while still members of the Pac-12, but are now in the Big Ten).

As the Big Ten and SEC expanded, the Big 12 and ACC did what they had to do to try to keep up. All of which has led to bloated conferences spanning the entire continent where you only play half the league in any given season, leading to ridiculous tie-breaker scenarios that end up with a five-loss Duke winning the ACC, which puts those damned Dukes of James Madison in the field!

So what's the solution? How do we fix it all? I don't know that you can, but I do believe there's a natural outcome from all of this that at least leads to equilibrium of some sort. You simply let nature take its course. Let the Big Ten and SEC finish what they started. Whether you're excited about it or not -- and believe me, I am not -- the Super League or whatever dumb name you want to give it is coming.

I don't know if it will be the result of a hostile takeover by the Big Ten and SEC pilfering all the remaining valuable brands once the current television deals expire, or if it'll be the result of a compromise between the four leagues to break off from the NCAA and form their own, fully professionalized league. But whatever the method, and whatever the final makeup of the schools involved, it is coming. And when it does, your College Football Playoff will finally be "fixed." The blowouts, however, will continue.

 

Posted

Tulane beat Northwestern (P4) by 20 and Duke (a P4 conf champ) by a TD

So no, don't lump Tulane in there just because they also lost by 35 to Ole Miss in the regular season.  They went 2-1 versus P4 teams. 

Now JMU, yes.  0-1 versus P4 teams. 

Posted

(Ralph D. Russo) College Football Playoff quarterfinals first look: Why you should be excited for every matchup

Quote

The College Football Playoff quarterfinals will feature a matchup of multi-time national champions, a game pitting two programs searching for natty No. 1, an SEC rematch and the first meeting between Indiana and Alabama.

A tweak to the seeding format after the first 12-team CFP to allow the highest-ranked teams to also be the top seeds has the second round looking like a potential banger. Though half the first round ended up being routs, the quadruple-header that starts New Year’s Eve night in Texas and ends Jan. 1 in New Orleans should be ripe with storylines and — hopefully — competitive games. Here’s a first look.

No. 2 Ohio State (12-1) vs. No. 10 Miami (11-2)

  • Where: Arlington, Texas (Cotton Bowl)
  • When: 7:30 p.m. ET, Dec. 31 (ESPN)
  • BetMGM line: Ohio State -9.5
  • The Athletic’s projections: Ohio State (73%)

History lesson: Get ready for oodles of retrospective content related to the 2002 Fiesta Bowl. In one of the greatest college football games, No. 2 Ohio State ended No. 1 Miami’s 34-game winning streak with a 31-24 double-overtime victory for the BCS title thanks in part to a controversial pass interference penalty in the first OT. The Buckeyes hold a 3-2 lead in the series, also winning in 1977 (10-0) and 2010 (36-24) in Columbus, the latter of which was vacated for NCAA rules violations. Miami beat Ohio State in the 1999 Kickoff Classic (23-12) and at home in 2011 (24-6).

The Hurricanes have played just once in the Cotton Bowl, when they crushed Texas 46-3 following the 1990 season in a game known more for Miami’s 202 penalty yards than for its dominance.

This is the third consecutive season the Buckeyes will play in the Cotton Bowl and the fifth time overall. Ohio State has won three of its previous four appearances, including a CFP semifinal en route to its 2024 national championship. The Buckeyes upended Texas 28-14 in a game sealed by defensive end Jack Sawyer’s 83-yard sack-and-scoop touchdown return. Ohio State became the first Big Ten team to compete in the Cotton Bowl when it beat Texas A&M 28-12 in 1986. The Buckeyes also topped USC 24-7 in 2017 and lost 14-3 to Missouri two years ago.

First look: Ohio State spent 14 weeks atop the AP poll before falling 13-10 to Indiana in the Big Ten Championship Game. A missed 27-yard field goal and a failed fourth-down attempt inside the Hoosiers’ 5-yard line cost the Buckeyes. Ohio State still leads the nation in both total and scoring defense by considerable amounts, and three players finished in the top nine of the Heisman Trophy voting (QB Julian Sayin fourth, WR Jeremiah Smith sixth, safety Caleb Downs ninth).

Miami squeaked into the postseason after a long and protracted battle — with a public relations nudge from the ACC — to leap past Notre Dame. The Hurricanes beat the Irish 27-24 in Week 1, but the outcome didn’t seem to matter to the CFP selection committee, which ranked Notre Dame ahead of Miami for five weeks, until they lined up alongside one another the final week. The Hurricanes, who rank sixth in scoring defense, clearly were the ACC’s best team, but two close losses in league play hurt them in tiebreaking scenarios and kept them from the championship game. But after bypassing the Irish, the Hurricanes beat Texas A&M 10-3 in the first round.

Why we should be excited: Some of the nation’s best skill players compete for these teams, especially at wide receiver. Smith was the nation’s most exciting freshman last year, and he seemingly tipped the field in each of the Buckeyes’ Playoff games with 19 catches for 381 yards and five touchdowns in four CFP games. This fall, Smith has grabbed 80 passes for 1,086 yards and 11 touchdowns en route to unanimous All-America honors.

Miami receiver Malachi Toney takes over for Smith as the nation’s most talented true freshman. Toney has 89 catches for 992 yards and seven touchdowns. Against Texas A&M, he took in a forward pitch around the right end for 11 yards with 1:44 left and the game’s only touchdown. Toney is an all-purpose threat, averaging 15.8 yards per punt return, and he has thrown two touchdowns and rushed for another.

The teams have competed head-to-head in recruiting, especially in South Florida, for some of the nation’s elite prospects. Smith, a Miami native, chose the Buckeyes over the Hurricanes as the nation’s No. 1 recruit one day in December 2023. In 2022, Miami running back Mark Fletcher Jr. was committed to Ohio State for seven months before flipping to Miami. — Scott Dochterman

No. 4 Texas Tech (12-1) vs. No. 5 Oregon (12-1)

  • Where: Miami Gardens, Fla. (Orange Bowl)
  • When: Noon ET, Jan. 1 (ESPN)
  • Line: Oregon -1.5
  • The Athletic’s projections: Oregon (51%)

History lesson: In a matchup of new money (Oregon) vs. newer money (Texas Tech), the Ducks and Red Raiders both have to travel a long way for their fourth and by far most important meeting. Oregon is 3-0 in the previous matchups, the last coming in 2023 at Lubbock. The Ducks also swept a home-and-home in the early 1990s, when both could only dream of contending for national championships. None of that matters now. This Texas Tech-Oregon game will feature next-level versions of each program, both going to the Orange Bowl for the first time.

Texas Tech transformed its roster through transfer portal investments to assemble one of college football’s best defenses, overwhelm most of its Big 12 opposition and win an outright conference title for the first time since 1955. Simply, the Red Raiders are in the midst of the greatest season in program history — with all due respect to the late, great Mike Leach’s incredibly fun 2008 team. Texas Tech enters the postseason with a chance to win the national title for the first time. In fact, it’s never finished in the top 10.

Oregon has been here before — the Ducks lost national title games after the 2010 and 2014 seasons — but in many ways the program has never been better. Oregon entered the Big Ten last year and immediately proved it not only would survive, but thrive. The Ducks are 25-2 the past two seasons with two Playoff appearances. After getting bounced in the quarterfinals as the No. 1 seed by eventual national champion Ohio State last year, the Ducks received a more favorable draw this time. Oregon buried Sun Belt champion James Madison 51-34 on Saturday night.

First look: Ducks-Red Raiders should be a heavyweight fight in the trenches, especially when Oregon has the ball. The Red Raiders’ ferocious defensive line is led by All-America edge rusher David Bailey (13.5 sacks) and tackles Lee Hunter and A.J. Holmes Jr. Linebacker Jacob Rodriguez is the headliner and fifth-place Heisman Trophy finisher on a defense that ranks third in yards per play (3.96) and points per game (10.9) allowed and fifth in sacks per game (3.0).

The Ducks are great at protecting quarterback Dante Moore, and their offensive line — anchored by All-America guard Emmanuel Pregnon — is talented and healthier than it was during a November stretch run where Oregon went 4-0 against teams with winning records. The Ducks have a top-10 offense, but we’ve seen an elite defense that creates havoc slow them down. In a loss to Indiana, the Ducks averaged only 4.17 yards per play, by far a season low, and scored only one touchdown.

Of course, Texas Tech has seen nothing quite like Oregon’s offense, with a potential high first-round draft pick at quarterback and an offensive line with pros from side-to-side. Why we should be excited: The best of what an expanded Playoff can provide. It’s a rarely played intersectional matchup between two teams that have a legit chance to win this whole thing. Though it might be nice if it was a little closer to at least one of their homes. — Ralph D. Russo

No. 1 Indiana (13-0) vs. No. 9 Alabama (11-3)

  • Where: Pasadena, Calif. (Rose Bowl)
  • When: 4 p.m. ET, Jan. 1 (ESPN)
  • Line: Indiana -6.5
  • The Athletic’s projections: Indiana (67%)

History lesson: In the most hallowed environment in sports, we have the most upside-down matchup in bowl history between two teams that have never met. Until early November, Indiana had the most losses in college football annals. Alabama sits third all-time in victories. After their Big Ten championship, the Hoosiers ranked No. 1 for the first time. At 141 weeks, Alabama sits first in total appearances atop the AP poll.

That historical disparity spills over to the Rose Bowl Game itself, where the Hoosiers have competed just once. The Tide have played in the Rose Bowl Game eight times, plus the BCS championship in Pasadena in 2009. This appearance marks the 100th anniversary of the Tide’s 20-19 Rose Bowl upset of Washington, which is considered the game that announced the South’s arrival as a college football powerhouse.

First look: In year one under Curt Cignetti, Indiana won a school-record 11 games and made the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff. This season, the Hoosiers turned what was considered impossible into reality. Indiana won tough games at Oregon, Iowa and Penn State, then ended a 30-game series losing streak in a 13-10 win against then-No. 1 Ohio State for the Big Ten title.

Alabama dropped two of its final four games entering the CFP, and there were plenty of detractors that believed the Tide didn’t deserve a spot. In the season opener, Alabama lost at Florida State, which finished 5-7, and it fell 28-7 to Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. The critics nearly were proven right when the Tide trailed Oklahoma 17-0 in the second quarter of their CFP first-round game. But under second-year coach Kalen DeBoer, Alabama stormed back with 27 consecutive points and won 34-24 in Norman on Friday night.

Why we should be excited: It’s possible two NFL first-round quarterbacks will lead their teams in this matchup. Indiana is led by Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, who has thrown for 2,980 yards and 33 touchdowns while rushing for six more. Alabama’s Ty Simpson has passed for 3,500 yards and 28 touchdowns. Both are redshirt juniors with NFL decisions to make after this season.

Neither head coach came up through the ranks in silver-spoon fashion. Cignetti spent the first eight years of his career coaching quarterbacks at Davidson, Rice and Temple. He left Alabama in 2010 to become a head coach at Division II Indiana (Pa.), where his father was a coaching icon. After six years there, Cignetti led Elon (2017-18) and James Madison (2019-2023) before taking over at Indiana in 2024. DeBoer spent his first 13 years in coaching either in high school or his alma mater, then-NAIA powerhouse Sioux Falls. He then totaled nine years as an assistant at either FCS or Group of 5 programs before accepting his first power-conference job as Indiana’s offensive coordinator in 2019. He’s since been the head coach at Fresno State, Washington and now Alabama.

On television overheard shots, it might be difficult to tell which crimson-clad group of fans will fill the Rose Bowl. But up close, you’ll see IU supporters perhaps double up their Tide counterparts. To traditional Big Ten fans, the Rose Bowl still means something — and that’s especially true for a program that hadn’t competed in the game since Jan. 1, 1968, when Indiana lost to USC. Next year, the Big Ten champion is no longer guaranteed a spot in the Rose Bowl, when the quarterfinals become geographically based. — Dochterman

No. 3 Georgia (12-1) vs. No. 6 Ole Miss (12-1)

  • Where: New Orleans, La. (Sugar Bowl)
  • When: 8 p.m. ET, Jan. 1 (ESPN)
  • Line: Georgia -6.5
  • The Athletic’s projections: Georgia (58%)

History lesson: For two teams that have been in the same conference for nearly 100 years, the Bulldogs and Rebels don’t have much notable history with each other. But it’s picking up lately. The programs have played 48 times, with Georgia winning 34. They have met each of the past three seasons, with both teams ranked in the top 16 in all those games.

The most significant win of Lane Kiffin’s tenure as Rebels coach came last year against the Bulldogs, 28-10 in Oxford. Ole Miss looked as if it was going to make it two straight against Kirby Smart’s team earlier this season, taking a nine-point lead into the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs then scored the last 17 points, handing the Rebels their only loss of the season.

Georgia has become a Playoff fixture under Smart, with five appearances and two national titles (2021 and 2022). The Bulldogs were knocked out in the quarterfinals of the first 12-team Playoff last season by Notre Dame. Ole Miss hasn’t been this close to a national championship since Johnny Vaught roamed the Rebels’ sideline. Ole Miss finished second in the AP poll in both 1959 and 1960. The school claims three national titles from that era, but it never finished the season No. 1 in one of the major polls.

Oddly, last year’s Ole Miss team that beat Georgia was probably more talented up and down the roster, but this year’s Rebels avoided the upsets that kept them out of the CFP last year. Then Kiffin bailed for LSU after the regular-season finale, and Ole Miss promoted defensive coordinator Pete Golding to head coach. The Kiffin-less Rebels had no problem against No. 11 seed Tulane in the first round. With offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. calling plays before he joins Kiffin in Baton Rouge, Ole Miss won its Playoff debut 41-10 in front of a raucous home crowd at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Now, Ole Miss will play in its 11th Sugar Bowl — the fourth time against an SEC opponent — against a Georgia team making its 13th appearance.

First look: Ole Miss scored touchdowns on its first five possessions in the regular-season meeting, then managed just 13 yards on three possessions in the fourth quarter in a game that now looks like a turning point for the Georgia defense.

Georgia has tightened its secondary, with Ellis Robinson IV developing into one of the SEC’s best cornerbacks. The Bulldogs have not allowed more than 322 yards or 5.02 yards per play in any of their past six games. In the SEC Championship Game, linebacker CJ Allen and the Bulldogs throttled Alabama, holding the Crimson Tide to minus-3 yards rushing.

Ole Miss has taken a step back defensively from last year, but the emergence of former Division II star Trinidad Chambliss kept the Rebels as potent as ever after Austin Simmons was injured in September. Chambliss averages 292.6 yards of total offense per game and has accounted for 27 touchdowns with just three picks.  The Rebels also feature the SEC’s second-leading rusher in Kewan Lacy (1,366 yards rushing and a school-record 21 touchdowns), though he appeared to injure his left shoulder in the first half against Tulane and left the game in the second half. He has about 11 days to heal up.

Why we should be excited: Rematches between conference rivals are a good argument against an expanded playoff, but on the bright side the Ole Miss-Georgia meeting in Athens on Oct. 18 was one of the best games of the season. It’s also in a great location for each fan base, especially the Rebels. Oxford, Miss., to New Orleans is about a six-hour drive, and it’s half that from Jackson, the Magnolia State’s biggest city. 

For those who can’t make it, this should be a great way to cap a New Year’s Day spent on the couch watching football, as God intended. — Russo

 

Posted

Texas Dethrones Ohio State as the 2025 Most Valuable U.S. University Athletic Program

Before y’all haterz get too wound up, note that 7 out of 13 billion dollar U.S. university athletic programs (including aggy) are members of the SEC. I’m sure that Sankey’s heart is swelling with pride! 

13 college athletic programs valued over $1 billion (2025) 

Texas Longhorns – $1.48 billion 
Ohio State Buckeyes – $1.35 billion 
Texas A&M Aggies – $1.32 billion 
Georgia Bulldogs – $1.16 billion 
Michigan Wolverines – $1.155 billion 
Notre Dame Fighting Irish – Over $1 billion* 
Tennessee Volunteers – Over $1 billion* 
USC Trojans – Over $1 billion* 
Alabama Crimson Tide – Over $1 billion* 
Nebraska Cornhuskers – Over $1 billion* 
Penn State Nittany Lions – Over $1 billion* 
LSU Tigers – Over $1 billion* 
Oklahoma Sooners – Over $1 billion*

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