Dec 29 | College Football Playoff Semifinal | Clemson

[ACamp1900]

No ACC. Just wait for the NCAA implosion when the Top 64ish teams take their ball and go home. Then ND will be a part of whatever that ends up being... or they'll bail with their then $17+ Billion endowment and join the Smarty Pants Football Conference.

This can all happen conference or no conference tho... end game I'm with you on though. That would be an interesting what if I have long said I wouldn't be against.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

The top 64ish will leave so they can _______________ which they don't/can't get in the current alignment.

Not sure it'll happen anytime soon, but they get a lot of tax and legal benefits from holding themselves out as an organization that facilitates the competition of unpaid amateur student-athletes, whereas many of the top 64 run their programs as semi-professional outfits. If the gulf between the advertising and the reality widens to the point where Congress is threatening an official inquiry, I could see them ditching the NCAA as a liability and moving to a different model.

Though I cannot see ND following the football factories into whatever that new model would look like. If this happens, ND would be founding the smarty pants league with Stanford, Duke, the service academies, etc.

 

[NDohio]

Does anybody think the AAF (Alliance of American Football) will have any affect on the football factories? Any chance that some of the five stars may jump straight to this opportunity and forego the opportunity to play college football? If even 5-7 of the top players every year skip college that would have some sort of an affect on the college game.

 

[ACamp1900]

Does anybody think the AAF (Alliance of American Football) will have any affect on the football factories? Any chance that some of the five stars may jump straight to this opportunity and forego the opportunity to play college football? If even 5-7 of the top players every year skip college that would have some sort of an affect on the college game.

Here's hoping...

 

[NDohio]

Here's hoping...

Yeah, I think my post is basically wishful thinking.

 

[BobbyMac]

Does anybody think the AAF (Alliance of American Football) will have any affect on the football factories? Any chance that some of the five stars may jump straight to this opportunity and forego the opportunity to play college football? If even 5-7 of the top players every year skip college that would have some sort of an affect on the college game.

The AAF and XFL would be silly NOT to allow their teams to draft the Trevor Lawrence's, Jaylon Smith's & Jadeveon Clowney's of the world right out of high school, or after their first or second year of college. If I was an Pro Football GM, Trevor Lawrence would have been drafted before his Junior year of HS... he was/is a no brainer.

 

[Bishop2b5]

Here's hoping...

Why??? It will be the end of college football as we've known it for the past several generations. Many of the top HS players will skip college to play semi-pro ball. College football will become little more than what college baseball is now. On top of that, a LOT of the players who skip college to play in the AAF and XFL will never make it to the NFL. At 25 they'll be finished as players with no chance of moving up to the big leagues, and they'll have no education. Just a bunch of poor kids taking the small, but immediate payday to chase their dream without having to play school and missing the chance to go to college. I think it would be disastrous for college football and most of those kids.

 

[ACamp1900]

Why??? It will be the end of college football as we've known it for the past several generations. Many of the top HS players will skip college to play semi-pro ball. College football will become little more than what college baseball is now. On top of that, a LOT of the players who skip college to play in the AAF and XFL will never make it to the NFL. At 25 they'll be finished as players with no chance of moving up to the big leagues, and they'll have no education. Just a bunch of poor kids taking the small, but immediate payday to chase their dream without having to play school and missing the chance to go to college. I think it would be disastrous for college football and most of those kids.

"Roll Tide!!!"

 

[IrishLax]

Why??? It will be the end of college football as we've known it for the past several generations. Many of the top HS players will skip college to play semi-pro ball. College football will become little more than what college baseball is now. On top of that, a LOT of the players who skip college to play in the AAF and XFL will never make it to the NFL. At 25 they'll be finished as players with no chance of moving up to the big leagues, and they'll have no education. Just a bunch of poor kids taking the small, but immediate payday to chase their dream without having to play school and missing the chance to go to college. I think it would be disastrous for college football and most of those kids.

So, basically, what happens to most SEC players right now.

80% of NFL players are broke within a couple years of being done in the league. The average NFL player has a career of 3 years. And, at a school like Georgia, they only graduate about 50% of their players. Georgia is among the worst of the worst, but generally speaking football factories graduate between 50% and 85% of their players.

That means -- right now, in the given system you're defending -- by age 25 most are "finished as players" and will end up broke... and if you're at a typical football factory you also often don't have any sort of education or degree to fall back on.

 

[Bishop2b5]

Are you guys seriously willing to destroy CFB as we know it just to see a few programs you hate toppled? Sure, there are football factories that don't give a flip about educating players, but most do. There are thousands of kids out there who use football to get a degree that helps them in life. I wish some of you would get over the ND snob factor and realize that 95% of kids aren't going to a Harvard or ND. They're doing the best they can and are proud of the degree they get at State U. What you're hoping for will lure many of them away from even that.

 

[IrishLax]

Are you guys seriously willing to destroy CFB as we know it just to see a few programs you hate toppled? Sure, there are football factories that don't give a flip about educating players, but most do. There are thousands of kids out there who use football to get a degree that helps them in life. I wish some of you would get over the ND snob factor and realize that 95% of kids aren't going to a Harvard or ND. They're doing the best they can and are proud of the degree they get at State U. What you're hoping for will lure many of them away from even that.

But they really don't. Even places like Michigan and Cal... public universities with great undergrad programs for their normal students... do super shady shit. Michigan is notorious for funneling their players into "general studies" programs where they stay eligible but don't graduate with a degree worth the paper it's written on. Cal had some of the worst graduation rates in the country.

Of the Power 5 teams, there are at most 10 that really put an emphasis on education. Then there is like another 10 that at least put emphasis on graduating their players... Bama, for example, does a pretty darn good job of making sure players leave with degrees if they stay 4 years.

The other 40 are varying degrees of bad ranging from "general apathy" to "actively steering their players away from educational opportunities." That's why the pearl clutching about semi-pro football is so stupid... most "schools" already don't give a shit about school.

 

[ACamp1900]

CFB is already destroyed, I’m fine with starting new...

 

[BobbyMac]

CFB is already destroyed, I’m fine with starting new...

This!

Can't wait for that home & away with MIT. Wanna beat some REAL nerds, instead of those fakeasfugg, 1300 SAT imposters in Palo Alto.

 

[ND88]

Are you guys seriously willing to destroy CFB as we know it just to see a few programs you hate toppled? Sure, there are football factories that don't give a flip about educating players, but most do. There are thousands of kids out there who use football to get a degree that helps them in life. I wish some of you would get over the ND snob factor and realize that 95% of kids aren't going to a Harvard or ND. They're doing the best they can and are proud of the degree they get at State U. What you're hoping for will lure many of them away from even that.

I’m not sure about splitting up CFB and all that, because I’m not that educated currently on what that would look like. However, mislabelling a very real collegiate-sports dilemma as ND snobbery is missing the point. It’s about holding adults accountable for providing students with a substantive education they deserve for their life, not one that is merely convenient for the moment. If we can’t say with full confidence that the path of the student-athlete is a great education on level with achieving titles, then isn’t this a form of institutional abuse?

The NCAA and many collegiate institutions do a poor job of providing student athletes with long-term transferable skills beyond football. Even for those who reach the NFL, what are the statistics regarding depleted wealth and lack of employment after the league? Not to mention the statistics of athletes who never even sniff the league. Capping the peak at “getting a degree is better than nothing” is an insult to the student-athletes who sacrifice their bodies and brains in potentially life-altering ways to entertain most others not invested in what their lives are like once the dust has settled. Throw some swag here and there, emphasize hardware, and get young adults to risk their minds and bodies for some fruits that easily rot. Where are the actual adults emphasizing what’s most important?

 

[Circa]

Are you guys seriously willing to destroy CFB as we know it just to see a few programs you hate toppled? Sure, there are football factories that don't give a flip about educating players, but most do. There are thousands of kids out there who use football to get a degree that helps them in life. I wish some of you would get over the ND snob factor and realize that 95% of kids aren't going to a Harvard or ND. They're doing the best they can and are proud of the degree they get at State U. What you're hoping for will lure many of them away from even that.

#1. I know we "snobs" aren't going to destroy CFB.
#2. Football factories aren't supposed to be in College Institutions.
#3. College Institutions weren't created for the well fair of the southern uprise.
#4 I know of 3 guys that went to southern schools and said they would have given anything to come to ND. For some reason, they just weren't taught that well in the public school system I guess.
#4. Thanks for posting this.

 

[nd_fan]

I’m not sure about splitting up CFB and all that, because I’m not that educated currently on what that would look like. However, mislabelling a very real collegiate-sports dilemma as ND snobbery is missing the point. It’s about holding adults accountable for providing students with a substantive education they deserve for their life, not one that is merely convenient for the moment. If we can’t say with full confidence that the path of the student-athlete is a great education on level with achieving titles, then isn’t this a form of institutional abuse?

The NCAA and many collegiate institutions do a poor job of providing student athletes with long-term transferable skills beyond football. Even for those who reach the NFL, what are the statistics regarding depleted wealth and lack of employment after the league? Not to mention the statistics of athletes who never even sniff the league. Capping the peak at “getting a degree is better than nothing” is an insult to the student-athletes who sacrifice their bodies and brains in potentially life-altering ways to entertain most others not invested in what their lives are like once the dust has settled. Throw some swag here and there, emphasize hardware, and get young adults to risk their minds and bodies for some fruits that easily rot. Where are the actual adults emphasizing what’s most important?

Isn’t that the fault of the players as they chose to play football inexchange for free education? Everyone else has to work their butt in HS to earn a academic scholarship and many even join the military to earn their Post 9/11 G.I. Bill to pay for college.

I mean if you don’t want to destroy your body for entertainment then perhaps think of getting a degree in STEM field.

 

[tko]

This!

Can't wait for that home & away with MIT. Wanna beat some REAL nerds, instead of those fakeasfugg, 1300 SAT imposters in Palo Alto.

https://youtu.be/XX8jOnRo34k

 

[Irishize]

Why??? It will be the end of college football as we've known it for the past several generations. Many of the top HS players will skip college to play semi-pro ball. College football will become little more than what college baseball is now. On top of that, a LOT of the players who skip college to play in the AAF and XFL will never make it to the NFL. At 25 they'll be finished as players with no chance of moving up to the big leagues, and they'll have no education. Just a bunch of poor kids taking the small, but immediate payday to chase their dream without having to play school and missing the chance to go to college. I think it would be disastrous for college football and most of those kids.

Because all we hear is the majority of media & fans clamoring for these poor kids to be “PAYD!” While I agree the $ these universities & coaches make off the backs of the kids is obscene but to conflate that w/ paying college kids million dollar salaries is my hope some “semi-pro” or “minor league” comes about that can offer them a salary w/o going to school. What these kids can’t grasp is that there is a value for playing for a P5 school. Every one of those schools has the biggest platform in the world for any player to showcase their wares. Unfortunately, there’s not a monetary value placed on that but that would be the reason most kids would still opt for college vs minor league football.

It would also shut up all the bleeding hearts that conflate getting paid for basic necessities/feeding family to 6-7 figure salaries & living the “good life”. I long for the day, when a minor league exists & then when a college player or fan whines about not giving them a fat salary so they can subsist day to day & feed their families, we can simply say “if money was the main motivating factor, they should’ve gone the minor league route”.

 

[Bluto]

This!

Can't wait for that home & away with MIT. Wanna beat some REAL nerds, instead of those fakeasfugg, 1300 SAT imposters in Palo Alto.

Serious question, how good is MIT’s football team? Do they have a walk-on or preferred walk-on program?

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

Serious question, how good is MIT’s football team? Do they have a walk-on or preferred walk-on program?

They are D3

 

[Bluto]

They are D3

Thanks. But are they good and or competitive at that level? That is to say how realistic would it be for a hella nerdy/smart (in all AP classes as a junior) and pretty athletic kid (6’-1” 180 or so and runs a 4.5 40) to walk on to their team and or potentially get a scholarship?

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

Thanks. But are they good and or competitive at that level? That is to say how realistic would it be for a hella nerdy/smart (in all AP classes as a junior) and pretty athletic kid (6’-1” 180 or so and runs a 4.5 40) to walk on to their team and or potentially get a scholarship?

Sorry, I should have elaborated. There are no athletic scholarships at that level.

EDIT: they are a good team this year and D3 schools do actively seek out talented athletes. It may be worth your time to get in touch with the staff and maybe you can even get some extra consideration with admissions.

 

[Bluto]

Sorry, I should have elaborated. There are no athletic scholarships at that level.

EDIT: they are a good team this year and D3 schools do actively seek out talented athletes. It may be worth your time to get in touch with the staff and maybe you can even get some extra consideration with admissions.

Much obliged.

 

[stlnd01]

Thanks. But are they good and or competitive at that level? That is to say how realistic would it be for a hella nerdy/smart (in all AP classes as a junior) and pretty athletic kid (6’-1” 180 or so and runs a 4.5 40) to walk on to their team and or potentially get a scholarship?

They went 9-1 this year. Best season in decades. I live nearby and their field would remind you of a high school where football is no big thing (even compared to, say, Harvard's 30,000-seat bowl), and at a small D-3, everyone is effectively a walk-on. But they've been good in recent years and are certainly competitive with the teams they play against.

https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-news/2018/11/08/mit-football-is-having-year-for-the-books

 

[stlnd01]

I’m not sure about splitting up CFB and all that, because I’m not that educated currently on what that would look like. However, mislabelling a very real collegiate-sports dilemma as ND snobbery is missing the point. It’s about holding adults accountable for providing students with a substantive education they deserve for their life, not one that is merely convenient for the moment. If we can’t say with full confidence that the path of the student-athlete is a great education on level with achieving titles, then isn’t this a form of institutional abuse?

The NCAA and many collegiate institutions do a poor job of providing student athletes with long-term transferable skills beyond football. Even for those who reach the NFL, what are the statistics regarding depleted wealth and lack of employment after the league? Not to mention the statistics of athletes who never even sniff the league. Capping the peak at “getting a degree is better than nothing” is an insult to the student-athletes who sacrifice their bodies and brains in potentially life-altering ways to entertain most others not invested in what their lives are like once the dust has settled. Throw some swag here and there, emphasize hardware, and get young adults to risk their minds and bodies for some fruits that easily rot. Where are the actual adults emphasizing what’s most important?

Bingo.

I don't blame players for wanting to get paid (though I think a lot of people way overestimate the market value of a typical college football player). Not at all. I do blame universities and the NCAA for not doing more to ensure the substantial compensation they do get - full-ride tuition, room and board often worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, plus all the rest of the goodies that come with the job - is actually worth something at the end.

Because, yeah, most of these guys aren't going to make never-work-again money in the NFL (and certainly not in whatever minor leagues we're talking about). They need something to fall back on when football's over. That's what the degree is supposed to be for.

 

[irishtrain]

CFB is already destroyed, I’m fine with starting new...

Me three

 

[irishtrain]

I 've asked many people where I live (south) there is NO conscience when it comes to their image by what their team does on the field absolutely none they just want to win and really could not care less how its done.
The sec/clemson gets no respect from me. The product on the field speaks for itself (how could you dispute that ) but I have no respect as to how its done. Am I jealous %$#@ no I'm proud to say I pull for Notre Dame and will not respect those schools doing it the way its done today at other places. Franchises baby not college football teams-even the analysts are starting to call certain teams franchises. Look up the word franchise---its not amateur/college its business profit and loss etc. When you have to put sec graduate on the jersey of a player to get ahead of the backlash something s wrong. Did Drew Tranquill have Notre dame graduate on his jersey? Its called the ole shucklebuck and its laughable. We got to protect our phony baloney business here boys right out of (Blazing Saddles).

 

[Sea Turtle]

I 've asked many people where I live (south) there is NO conscience when it comes to their image by what their team does on the field absolutely none they just want to win and really could not care less how its done.
The sec/clemson gets no respect from me. The product on the field speaks for itself (how could you dispute that ) but I have no respect as to how its done. Am I jealous %$#@ no I'm proud to say I pull for Notre Dame and will not respect those schools doing it the way its done today at other places. Franchises baby not college football teams-even the analysts are starting to call certain teams franchises. Look up the word franchise---its not amateur/college its business profit and loss etc. When you have to put sec graduate on the jersey of a player to get ahead of the backlash something s wrong. Did Drew Tranquill have Notre dame graduate on his jersey? Its called the ole shucklebuck and its laughable. We got to protect our phony baloney business here boys right out of (Blazing Saddles).

What was wrong with Lou Holtz's teams from 1986-1994? Why did ND decide that these teams were too embarrassing and nasty for them? We're guys like Zorich, Rice and Bettis just too rough and tumble for ND?

I live in the south. Believe me, I know the football fans think ND and their fans are a bunch of prissy pussies. I hear it every day. I see the smirks and laughter. The shaking of heads.

 

[Legacy]

Why??? It will be the end of college football as we've known it for the past several generations. Many of the top HS players will skip college to play semi-pro ball. College football will become little more than what college baseball is now. On top of that, a LOT of the players who skip college to play in the AAF and XFL will never make it to the NFL. At 25 they'll be finished as players with no chance of moving up to the big leagues, and they'll have no education. Just a bunch of poor kids taking the small, but immediate payday to chase their dream without having to play school and missing the chance to go to college. I think it would be disastrous for college football and most of those kids.

I agree with much of what you say and that we must preserve college football, my friend, though you must see as a regular respected contributor here, I imagine you perceive the difference in our viewpoints on some issues. You decry what college football would become. Surely, you see how college football has changed and become, also, with the commercial forces that have forged players and fans attitudes and expectations that may devalue the education that you espouse.

I agree that college football is a way out for the sons of poor families and have an opportunity that Notre Dame cannot provide all of them because of the challenges that they will face here. Many Midwest, including former Big Ten coaches like Saban, have gravitated towards the SEC both for the pay. recruiting advantages, and also to escape the academic hurdles recruits face there.

Historically, the Irish have admitted football recruits with less than ideal academic resumes. If we see a creeping capitalism that we choose to rebel against it because we try to maintain the goals that college football decades ago was founded on. If we are anachronistic, we're proud of it. If we are irrelevant to national championships, we accept that. If we are a diminishing minority in those goals, we acknowledge that. If college football moves away from its stated goals for students, we mourn it.

 

[nd_fan]

CFB is already destroyed, I’m fine with starting new...

I agree too. When Americans abandoned education for sports, it gave rise to the college football factories that caters to the "winning at all cost" mentality by jeopardizing the integrity of academic standards than developing future innovators and creators of America.