College football is out of control

When I was a pre-teen, probably going back to the late 1960s to early 1970s, I became a huge football fan. I loved the pageantry of the college game and the intensity of the NFL.

I grew up in a time when I watched Archie Griffin at Ohio State, Pat Sullivan at Auburn, Tom Clements at Notre Dame, Mark Harmon at UCLA, Anthony Davis at Southern Cal, Johnny Rogers at Nebraska, the Selmer brothers at Oklahoma and on and on.

There were great coaches in those days, too: Ara Parseghian at Notre Dame, Darryl Royal at Texas, Woody Hayes at Ohio State, John McKay at Southern Cal, Bo Schembechler at Michigan, Barry Switzer at Oklahoma, Joe Paterno at Penn State, Bear Bryant at Alabama and so on.

The drama was palpable in those days. Why? Probably because there was less of it then. ABC was the only major network to carry college and it aired one, maybe two games a week. Occasionally, you might see a Monday or Thursday night game. On Sunday, ABC had a show called, strangely, “College Football Sunday,” hosted by Bill Flemming. It showcased the major games that didn’t make the national broadcast.

When we got it in drips and drabs, we savored it and couldn’t wait for next week’s game. Never mind that it wasn’t always, Tennessee, Alabama or Georgia. It usually was a quality game between two quality teams (I recall, a big TV game between Oklahoma and Ohio State in Columbus back in 1977, where Uwe Von Schamann booted a 50-yard field goal to win it for the Sooners, for example).

I remember the following Monday was full of chatter in homeroom among the guys about the TV games and the scores around the country. There was a lot of NFL talk sprinkled in back then, too. It was a magical time. And yes, we always seemed to long for more.

Then came CBS and NBC wanting a piece of the college football pie. Then, in 1977, in came the College Football Associaton, which included everyone but the Big 10 and Pac 10. The CFA included 63 teams. Soon, they started monkeying with the bowl games and everything we once knew had been changed.

And soon, I stopped following the NFL.

Sure, change can be good, but it also can be a harbinger of doom.

Now we have conference championships, disjointed bowl alignments, the BCS and now a new conference playoff that includes 12 teams, four too many in my estimation.  As many of you know, the current CFP starts ranking teams in the beginning of November, ending when all the conference teams finished their championships.

And believe me, everybody wants a slice of that cash cow.

So, the “geniuses” in the playoff committee disclosed their love affair of conference championships, decreeing that the top four conference champs get first-round byes. I warned everybody that we’d get some lame seeds if the CFP did that.

How about that Ouija board of mine?

In what world does Boise State belong as a top-four seed? Going by the eye test, there are probably at least six to eight teams in the final 12 better than Boise. Ditto Arizona State. Who have either of those teams played. Yet you have Texas, Ohio State, Penn State all having to slog it out in opening round. Why?

Indiana played two teams with winning records and got blown out by one of them.

At least Tennessee is in the 12-team mix, so there is that. Say what you will about the Vols. I am a fan, but I feel like regardless of who it played, it was a one-and-done club this year.

’ve always maintained that the 12-team tournament, and believe me when I say the drums will beat to expand to 16 in about two years, should be filled by the 12 best teams, irrespective of conference championships. I point out that several times in the past, Tennessee has been ranked higher than the two teams playing in the SEC championship. Use common sense. The 12 best teams should qualify.

Period.

I see this new-fangled playoff, fomented by idealistic sports pundits, the dysfunctional NIL and the out-of-control portal process and I wonder how much longer before college football collapses upon itself.

I also wonder if I’ll be a college football fan in the next few years. I stopped watching the NFL about 20 years ago or so.

I figure it won’t be hard to kick the college habit, either.

Jim Steele is a correspondent for Richardson Media Group and may be reached on X @steelesports or via email at pressbox1@gmail.com.