How a college football fan sees the world
As summer builds, so does the police blotter of athletes being arrested. Oh the joys of the off season. Oregon fans had some great news this past week from the NCAA Committee on Infractions. This could be one of the best teams Oregon has ever put together and now they’ll get a shot at the post season thanks to a “slap on the wrist” from the NCAA. That is the major development, but lets get into some more news and thoughts from this past week around the college football nation:
De’Anthony and the rest of the Ducks are ready to compete for a national title this year thanks to light NCAA sanctions
1. Let’s keep the ball rolling on talking about Oregon and their sanctions. I know there is more in the fine print of their penalties but honestly, with no bowl-ban and only losing 1 scholarship a year, the Ducks will continue competing at a high level. Mark Helfrich can now prepare for the season knowing every little thing he does can be towards winning a national championship. I think what helped Oregon throughout all of this was their complete cooperation with the process, but also, the NCAA is a hot mess right now. I was a little worried about a possible bowl ban and the resulting waste of a season, but now Oregon is free to speculate about the possibility of a PAC-12 championship and national title.
2. I always thought ticket scalping happened online from random websites or with shady people right outside a stadium. Looks like Michigan will actually just start scalping right from their ticket office. Michigan is going to charge whatever price they see fit based on how many tickets are left and who the opponent is. It is a perfect example of supply and demand but I am not a fan. Being down in “the South” I try to attend as many Florida Gators games as possible. I know that when extra tickets are on hand I can spend $55 and go to any game, no matter the opponent. I would not enjoy arriving at the ticket office to find the price skyrocketed to $150 to see UF vs. FSU. It is going to be interesting to see how it all plays out for Michigan this year. Is Michigan going to lower ticket prices when they are playing Eastern Michigan compared to the steep prices of the Ohio State game? Or will the prices stay at face value for no-name opponents and only go up but never down? A lot of athletic directors will be keeping an eye on how this all works for Michigan, and maybe follow suit for bigger games being hosted by their university. Do you think this is fair to fans?
Will U of O increase ticket prices next time the Beavers come to play?
3. Some more good news did come out of the college football nation, despite all the arrests and players being kicked off teams. USC and Notre Dame have extended their series through 2023. Good to see schools not letting the conference expansion bug plague their rivalries. Over the last few seasons we have seen great rivalry games thrown aside due to expansion and because of the almighty dollar. I have said it before, and I will say it again, rivalries such as USC vs Notre Dame are healthy for sports and are an important factor in why we watch and become passionate about them. More schools should move to extend a historical series as long as they can, and continue those traditions. Let’s hope Texas vs Texas A&M, Missouri vs Kansas, Notre Dame vs “everyone” and other rivalry games keep their traditions rolling for the benefit of sport and fan.
Will continued PAC-12 expansion further reduce games against southern rivals?
Another week in the book and Oregon can still play for a national title, the lawsuit vs the NCAA concerning ‘image use’ is growing and just about every school seems to be kicking players off teams following arrests. Gosh I love this time of year. ESPN should just do a fake season over the summer. They could replay past games but report like they’re happening real-time. Then we can get some fan interaction involved (insert willing suspension of disbelief here). I can only watch so much Canadian football and Arena football before I go crazy. Let’s hope next week brings some big news of positive change in the college football nation.
NATIONAL NEWS:
1. More than Hockey in Canada
2. College football mailbag
3. Oregon’s wrist slap
4. Penn State still on the up
5. Vanderbilt has class
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Jeff Hostetler may not have won a Super Bowl with the Giants ( though his uncle of the same name did). He has been an obsessed college football fan living in Florida ever since the Gators beat FSU in the Sugar Bowl to earn the UF’s first national championship.
Ever since Jeff has immersed himself in everything possible related to college football. He enjoys watching, writing, playing, and otherwise obsessing over all things football. A graduate of the University of Florida, he brings a perspective to FishDuck free of our extreme green & yellow homerism glasses to look at the current landscape of collegiate athletics.