2025 College Football Season

[Max Rockatansky]

Michigan keeps somehow winning games despite how badly Bryce Underwood is playing.  I know he is only a true freshman but he hasn't even shown a glimpse of being a top QB recruit at any point during the year.  I know it won't happen but I would like to see what Mikey Keen can do next week against Maryland.  I watched Keen a couple times in person at Fresno State last year and he could get the ball down field.

[1995hoo]

In one of the more bizarre developments, there are a bunch of reports circulating that next year's NC State–Virginia game will be moved from Charlottesville to somewhere in Brazil. I wonder how much money they'll get for agreeing to that.

[NWI_Irish96]

In one of the more bizarre developments, there are a bunch of reports circulating that next year's NC State–Virginia game will be moved from Charlottesville to somewhere in Brazil. I wonder how much money they'll get for agreeing to that.

Not sure why this would be bizarre. NFL has had massive success with overseas games and the annual games in Ireland have been very well received.

[1995hoo]

In one of the more bizarre developments, there are a bunch of reports circulating that next year's NC State–Virginia game will be moved from Charlottesville to somewhere in Brazil. I wonder how much money they'll get for agreeing to that.

Not sure why this would be bizarre. NFL has had massive success with overseas games and the annual games in Ireland have been very well received.

Mainly because of the two teams who would be involved. You'd think TV would want an SEC–Big Ten matchup or something similar.

[SEWIGuy]

In one of the more bizarre developments, there are a bunch of reports circulating that next year's NC State–Virginia game will be moved from Charlottesville to somewhere in Brazil. I wonder how much money they'll get for agreeing to that.

Not sure why this would be bizarre. NFL has had massive success with overseas games and the annual games in Ireland have been very well received.

Mainly because of the two teams who would be involved. You'd think TV would want an SEC–Big Ten matchup or something similar.

My guess is that the Big Ten and SEC make more money staying at home. This was the best the promoter could get.

[NWI_Irish96]

In one of the more bizarre developments, there are a bunch of reports circulating that next year's NC State–Virginia game will be moved from Charlottesville to somewhere in Brazil. I wonder how much money they'll get for agreeing to that.

Not sure why this would be bizarre. NFL has had massive success with overseas games and the annual games in Ireland have been very well received.

Mainly because of the two teams who would be involved. You'd think TV would want an SEC–Big Ten matchup or something similar.

My guess is that the Big Ten and SEC make more money staying at home. This was the best the promoter could get.

Yeah it's not like the NFL is sending Eagles-Rams or Chiefs-Ravens overseas either.

[1995hoo]

In one of the more bizarre developments, there are a bunch of reports circulating that next year's NC State–Virginia game will be moved from Charlottesville to somewhere in Brazil. I wonder how much money they'll get for agreeing to that.

Not sure why this would be bizarre. NFL has had massive success with overseas games and the annual games in Ireland have been very well received.

Mainly because of the two teams who would be involved. You'd think TV would want an SEC–Big Ten matchup or something similar.

My guess is that the Big Ten and SEC make more money staying at home. This was the best the promoter could get.

Right, but my point is that if TV wants the matchup, they'll find a way to make it worth it financially for those teams.

[NWI_Irish96]

In one of the more bizarre developments, there are a bunch of reports circulating that next year's NC State–Virginia game will be moved from Charlottesville to somewhere in Brazil. I wonder how much money they'll get for agreeing to that.

Not sure why this would be bizarre. NFL has had massive success with overseas games and the annual games in Ireland have been very well received.

Mainly because of the two teams who would be involved. You'd think TV would want an SEC–Big Ten matchup or something similar.

My guess is that the Big Ten and SEC make more money staying at home. This was the best the promoter could get.

Right, but my point is that if TV wants the matchup, they'll find a way to make it worth it financially for those teams.

Another consideration is that any such overseas game would likely be played in Week 0, and many top teams are reluctant to open the season with a top ranked opponent.

[SEWIGuy]

In one of the more bizarre developments, there are a bunch of reports circulating that next year's NC State–Virginia game will be moved from Charlottesville to somewhere in Brazil. I wonder how much money they'll get for agreeing to that.

Not sure why this would be bizarre. NFL has had massive success with overseas games and the annual games in Ireland have been very well received.

Mainly because of the two teams who would be involved. You'd think TV would want an SEC–Big Ten matchup or something similar.

My guess is that the Big Ten and SEC make more money staying at home. This was the best the promoter could get.

Right, but my point is that if TV wants the matchup, they'll find a way to make it worth it financially for those teams.

But it's not necessarily TV that wants the match-up. The match-up is going to occur regardless of location. There is a promoter who is leasing the stadium in Brazil, and offering $$ to both teams in consideration. If those teams can make more money staying home, like SEC and B10 very likely can, then they're staying home.

[gonealookin]

Cal rebounds from the nice OT win at Louisville with a hideously awful performance in the Big Game, losing 31-10 to a Stanford team that was 3-7.

We are sharpening the blade on the Blue and Gold Guillotine.  As his ninth season as head coach nears an end, Justin Wilcox is 48-55 overall, 40-55 when you exclude games against FCS teams, and 26-47 in conference games in the Pac-12 and the ACC.  Enough is enough.  If his head isn't in the basket tonight or tomorrow morning, it certainly will be after the regular season finale next week vs. SMU; he'll be booed heavily at Memorial Stadium if he's still coaching that game.  Somebody else will coach in whatever low-end bowl game Cal shows up at.

Wilcox has a sharp defensive mind.  If he's willing to step back down to a defensive coordinator position, he would be a top target for any premier football program that needs to fill that spot.  The head coaching thing just hasn't worked, and it has shown up for far too long in Cal's offense and special teams play.

[thspfc]

That one Nebraska game is saving this from being unquestionably the worst season of PJ Fleck's time at Minnesota.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

That one Nebraska game is saving this from being unquestionably the worst season of PJ Fleck's time at Minnesota.

I would argue 2022 was probably the most disappointing. The team returned a number of "super senior" key players for one last run and did not have Michigan or Ohio State on the schedule. A midseason swoon including a loss to Purdue, and then a loss to a very mid Iowa team they had no business losing to at the end of the year kept them out of the B1G title game.

[gonealookin]

The 2025 cRaIG cOuntY award goes to the University of Massachusetts Minutemen.  They completed their season today with a 45-14 loss to Bowling Green.  The Minutemen are the only FBS team (out of 136 teams) to go winless this season, and their 0-12 record was accomplished by being outscored 133-463.

The Bay State is the center of college football suck this year at the FBS level.  Boston College beat FCS Fordham in their first game, 66-10, but BC has lost their subsequent 10 games.  There might yet be hope for the Eagles to double their win total, as they face 3-8 Syracuse in their final game on Saturday.  The Orange got clobbered by Notre Dame last week, 70-7.

You can find some decent college football in Massachusetts if you drop down to the FCS level.  Harvard went 9-1 in their regular season (though the loss was in The Game, 45-28 to Yale), and the Crimson move on to face Villanova in the first round of the FCS playoffs.

[hotdogPi]

College is for academics, not sports.

[Max Rockatansky]

College is for academics, not sports.

Funny, that's something I don't think I've ever once seriously considered while watching any of it.  To me it has always been a business and has always operates like one on higher levels.  At least the athletes can get paid now and that grandiose notion with big college sports has been put to bed.

[gonealookin]

College is for academics, not sports.

Funny, that's something I don't think I've ever once seriously considered while watching any of it.  To me it has always been a business and has always operates like one on higher levels.  At least the athletes can get paid now and that grandiose notion with big college sports has been put to bed.

I'm no expert on the financial aspects of it, but certainly the universities are addicted to the revenue from big-time sports programs.  In the "power conferences", television contract revenue is on the order of $50 million per school per year.  There are the big-bucks donors who wouldn't be doing that if it weren't for athletics; Phil Knight stands out at the University of Oregon, and every school has a list of wealthy alumni who can be counted on to buy the donor seats and club suite seats in the football stadium for a substantial annual donation.  Then there are the "little guy" alumni who buy regular season tickets or single game tickets and watch the games on TV, keeping them connected with their school and putting them on the mailing list for pitches for annual giving.

In an ideal world I would support hotdogPi's philosophy, universities ought to stick to academics and research and leave sports beyond the high school level to professionals.  This would have the side effect of completely killing off the "Olympic sports" (track and field, swimming etc.), which are largely subsidized by the universities' football and basketball revenue.

[Max Rockatansky]

College is for academics, not sports.

Funny, that's something I don't think I've ever once seriously considered while watching any of it.  To me it has always been a business and has always operates like one on higher levels.  At least the athletes can get paid now and that grandiose notion with big college sports has been put to bed.

I'm no expert on the financial aspects of it, but certainly the universities are addicted to the revenue from big-time sports programs.  In the "power conferences", television contract revenue is on the order of $50 million per school per year.  There are the big-bucks donors who wouldn't be doing that if it weren't for athletics; Phil Knight stands out at the University of Oregon, and every school has a list of wealthy alumni who can be counted on to buy the donor seats and club suite seats in the football stadium for a substantial annual donation.  Then there are the "little guy" alumni who buy regular season tickets or single game tickets and watch the games on TV, keeping them connected with their school and putting them on the mailing list for pitches for annual giving.

In an ideal world I would support hotdogPi's philosophy, universities ought to stick to academics and research and leave sports beyond the high school level to professionals.  This would have the side effect of completely killing off the "Olympic sports" (track and field, swimming etc.), which are largely subsidized by the universities' football and basketball revenue.

I never went to a big name college.  So to that end I guess that I never had much reason to get wrapped up in the academia aspect of this.  For me Michigan was always the sports rooting interest.  The college team functionally was never much different than the actual professional teams in Detroit.  If anything it was farcical for these big colleges to make money off their athletes and not let them benefit from it other than a sports scholarship.

The Olympics functionally is just professional sports as well.  But that is probably a conversation for another thread.

[thspfc]

That one Nebraska game is saving this from being unquestionably the worst season of PJ Fleck's time at Minnesota.

I would argue 2022 was probably the most disappointing. The team returned a number of "super senior" key players for one last run and did not have Michigan or Ohio State on the schedule. A midseason swoon including a loss to Purdue, and then a loss to a very mid Iowa team they had no business losing to at the end of the year kept them out of the B1G title game.

I just meant worst team, not most disappointing. Maybe 2017 was the worst team.

[1995hoo]

Insane finish in Berkeley.

[oscar]

Insane finish in Berkeley.

They seem to be good at that stuff. But this year didn't top "The Play" classic finish from 1982, where my school (and especially one unfortunate trombonist) fell victim to our frenemies from Berserkeley.

[gonealookin]

Insane finish in Berkeley.

They seem to be good at that stuff. But this year didn't top "The Play" classic finish from 1982, where my school (and especially one unfortunate trombonist) fell victim to our frenemies from Berserkeley.

Considering that we fired our coach this week, it was good to have some impact on the ACC race.  We've had way too much of this over the years.



I was a student at Cal in 1982.  You'd think I would have a story about being at Memorial Stadium that day, but, uh, actually no.  As I recall it, I had some big term paper due the following Monday, so I was working on that and heard Joe Starkey's famous "OH THE BAND IS OUT ON THE FIELD" call live on the radio.

[DTComposer]

Insane finish in Berkeley.

They seem to be good at that stuff. But this year didn't top "The Play" classic finish from 1982, where my school (and especially one unfortunate trombonist) fell victim to our frenemies from Berserkeley.

Considering that we fired our coach this week, it was good to have some impact on the ACC race.  We've had way too much of this over the years.



I was a student at Cal in 1982.  You'd think I would have a story about being at Memorial Stadium that day, but, uh, actually no.  As I recall it, I had some big term paper due the following Monday, so I was working on that and heard Joe Starkey's famous "OH THE BAND IS OUT ON THE FIELD" call live on the radio.

My parents are both Cal alum so I grew up going to games, and we were there for The Play. The way the energy built as the play kept going was remarkable. By the time they reached the end zone everyone was jumping so wildly I didn't see the trombone player get flattened (I was 10), then the nervous/excited chattering as the officials discussed, then the pandemonium when they signaled touchdown.

Meanwhile, last night's win was both fun and sad - this could/should have been a 9-3 team that often sank to the level of their competition ((cough)Stanford) - but that's also Cal football in a nutshell. Hope the glimmers of hope (this game and Virginia) and a new coach are enough to keep JKS, but I'm not holding my breath.

[kurumi]

Yale had a great comeback against Youngstown State in their first FCS playoff game: https://www.espn.com/college-football/game?gameId=401833975

I saw a post around halftime saying "welcome to the playoffs, nerds" with a screenshot of Yale behind 35-7 and Harvard getting shut out. Before I checked out the final, I noticed a reply basically saying "you jinxed it, nice job." Now that will catch your interest.

As Texas A&M tweeted when they were behind big to SC (and came back): "There is a second half." Yale's second half was five touchdowns resulting in a 43-42 win.

Connecticut is not a big football state (Yale's last national championship was 98 years ago). But it's been a good year for both teams. (One of them just needs to find another good coach.)

[NWI_Irish96]

Conference championship games slated for Friday/Saturday:

Conference USA: Kennesaw St. at Jacksonville St.
Sun Belt: Troy at James Madison
American: North Texas at Tulane
Mountain West: UNLV at Boise State

Mid-American: Miami (OH) vs Western Michigan at Detroit
Big 12: BYU vs Texas Tech at Arlington, TX
Southeastern: Georgia vs Alabama at Atlanta
Atlantic Coast: Duke vs Virginia at Charlotte
Big Ten: Indiana vs Ohio State at Indianapolis

[gonealookin]

Conference championship games slated for Friday/Saturday:
...
Big Ten: Indiana vs Ohio State at Indianapolis

#2 vs. #1 in the national rankings...and sadly, this game doesn't have nearly as much meaning as you'd hope.  The winner does get the #1 overall seed in the playoff, but the loser will still be in the top 4 and get a first-round bye anyway.

The ACC championship game in the same time slot is much more meaningful.  Traditional ACC bottom-feeder Virginia needs a victory over Duke to get a berth in the playoff.