Regarding the bias in major College Football, having lived 35 years in the Midwest, both Minneapolis and Chicago, I can personally attest that there is a line drawn from Chicago and down the Mississippi. Everything to the East is Big League and everything to the West is Little League. This even happens within the Big 10, which is split in half by this division. Wisconsin, Iowa, increasingly Minnesota and previously Nebraska, are big league football programs often contending for the Big 10 title and sometimes a national title. But it is Ohio State, the Michigans and Penn State that get the national attention, even in their down years (not that Ohio State has many down years). This affects recruiting and certainly affects football income. Columbus, OH and State College, PA (reminiscent of Corvallis or Eugene) are not major metro centers so this is not about population density. For equity in football, as in pro sports, share the pot evenly and give the western teams a chance.
Ohio has almost 12 million people and no other college in the state comes close to the Buckeyes in popularity in the way the Beavers do to the Ducks. It's literally a statewide institution in a state of 12 million.
Pennsylvania is more than 12 million although Penn State doesn't capture the entire state in the way the Buckeyes do Ohio.
University of Cincinnati, Bowling Green, Univ of Miami, Univ of Toledo; there are many other programs in Ohio to share their state talent. I can tell you that most of Ohio State's players come from outside of Ohio. My son's grade school buddy in Minnesota was James Laurenitis. He did not go to the U of MN but went to Ohio State to have a better shot at the NFL. Just like Alabama, Ohio State is a magnet for 4 and 5 stars. This has nothing to do with population or geography and everything to do with TV popularity and special treatment of the eastern half of the Big 10, including the nationally televised Michigan - Ohio State game every year. This creates favoritism that has no other economic basis, like the Lakers or Knicks do in the NBA or the Dodgers and Yankees in the MLB due to the size of their local markets and the money that accrues from that. Pro sports have done a decent job of leveling the playing field between teams to keep interest and hope high that smaller market teams have a chance. If your commissioners don't do that as a league, you end up killing the product because the outcome is always known in advance. The more teams that have a shot every year, the more competitive the games, the better product you have to sell. That is the point. Level the playing field. Don't let all the best teams become part of eastern conferences by plundering the West (making a tough situation even worse).
Ohio's high school football has slipped a bit but is making a comeback and the Buckeyes are capitalizing on that now. But yes they're a nationwide recruiter of course. But the other schools you named are nowhere near the statewide reputation of the Buckeyes. I'm a Buckeye graduate, born and raised. Most of my family still lives there and I still spend a good chunk of the year in Columbus. I can tell you with first hand confidence the Buckeyes dominate the 12 million population across Ohio.
I never said otherwise, and I am sure you have a vested interest as an OSU alum, wanting to keep the status quo. I spent 35 years in the Big 10. I know the conference like the back of my hand. It is self-evident that the best players prefer to go to Ohio State. But that begs the question: Why? All the other Mid-American Conference schools in Ohio are Div 1. They all have access to those same players. The point is that money is the center of the distribution of the best players. They are concentrated at OSU because they follow the money. But that doesn't make it right. No, it makes it wrong. The money should be spread evenly as in the NBA or NFL, with salary caps and equal sharing of media contracts. Then, the best team wins. Not because it always has, but because it has put together the best program at that time.
I agree the money is a problem and only getting worse with NIL, the portal, and super conferences. I'm glad the players are able to begin sharing a bit more in the money but there's a long way to go for the overall health of CFB. Cincinnati made it to the playoffs and their reward is the Buckeyes take one of their all time best recruiters and coaches. I'm glad to see my alma mater at the top of the head (or 2nd) but something's gotta change.
You ask if the commissioners of the Big 10 and SEC care about the future of college football. In the most simple terms they don't. They aren't paid to care. They are paid by their entities to get as much of the pie as possible. They could care less about the other universities or the overall health of the sport. Much like Dana White of UFC. He doesn't care about the sport of MMA either. He gets paid and has done quite well, to put the interests of the UFC first and foremost. Nothing has been done to foster the interests at the lower level. There are no "minor leagues". For as big as the UFC is, how is the sport itself doing? College football will end up the same way.
Thank you for enlarging a view into the humble human Marcus has always seemed to be. I pray he can see great success in Atlanta. He has it in him for sure, but there are many other pieces of the NFL Team puzzle that need to fit together to give him a real opportunity for that. As we all know, there is no "I" in team and that means Marcus can't do it alone. He gave us so much during his time here in Eugene and Duck fans will always be a thankful fan of Marcus no matter what he does in the NFL.
Thanks for telling the stories about Mariota. I’ve been a Ducks fan ever since my uncle took this 9 year old to The Toilet Bowl in ‘83. Lots of great Ducks have come through that I loved and admired, Chris Miller, Joey, Haloti, etc but by the time Marcus came through I was a dad that was taking my kids to games. Hearing of his quiet leadership and the way he interacted with the young fans always made me proud to share my joy of watching him play with my kids. He’s a person you can’t help but root for on this new leg of his career
Marcus is a winner in life. I don't know how many games the ATL will win with him but I'm stoked he's getting another shot. The Falcons are a better franchise an Atlanta a better city with him there. GO Marcus and Go Ducks!
Go Ducks! It’s not that the Big 10 and SEC have to worry about their health, Pac-10, Big 12 and the ACC have to worry about theirs. Life line is needed for the Pac-10. If Big-10 calls Oregon and Washington it will be all over.
I struggle with enlarging the playoff field, seems like an "Entitlement" ploy by teams/leagues who didn't play well enough to get in but want the money.
The last time a Pac 12 team won a Bowl game was in 2019.
The last Pac 12 team, to finish in the top ten, end of season final poll was Oregon, at #6 with 2 losses, in 2019.
The Pac 12 hasn't played well enough to earn a spot in the playoffs.
Hey John: I have written you before. I like your column and am a paid subscriber. I occasionally write a piece called Donnie Duck's Latest on substack.com Am very excited about the Duck game tomorrow. I agree with your prediction about the Ducks losing by less than the point spread. I predict it will be a good, close game. The Pac-12 is in serious trouble if they ever expect to play in the final four in football again. Each Big 10 school will get around $70 million in tv revenue starting soon. When UCLA and USC join the conference in two years, they will make around $40 million more than each Pac-12 school. The Pac-12 tv deal is a bad joke, and I still blame the former head of the league, your friend and mine, whose name I am glad I forgot . Players can now be paid in college. If the SEC schools get around the same amount as the Big 10 in millions for their tv deal, you can easily see how far behind the Pac-12 is to these two super leagues. I respect Phil Knight and all he has done for so many. I have been a Duck fan for just 60 or so years. It is sad to me that we cannot compete with the big boys in football, and the gap is widening. I guess $40 million can help a football program a lot. The LA schools were smart to leave the Pac-12 when they did. Even though the Ducks have great facilities, until they can fill a 100,000 seat stadium in Eugene, play with the best day in and day out, they will remain a minor program, and I include all of the Pac-12 in this sad state. Football and basketball take in most all revenue to fund all sports, and the Pac-12 is sinking fast. The rich get richer and you will see how far behind the Pac-12 is starting tomorrow. If you think Chip Kelly cannot improve his team with just $40 million in more dollars to work with, and USC too, I disagree. Huge tv money rules all sports. Unless the Pac-12 can pull of a miracle with ESPN very soon, they are doomed. If it takes playing at night, when there are no other tv games, to get paid much more by ESPN, no problem. Otherwise say good by to the Pac-12 as Bill Walton's tournament of champions. Sure glad I have the BIG 10 and SEC channels so I can watch the best games every Saturday! Miss me with the pac-12 channel showing sub-par teams and games. Maybe Walton should change his line, and name the sports he thinks the Pac-12 is champions in. Enjoy the game John, and I am confident our new coach in football is a good hire. GO DUCKS
Donnie, as a long-time Trojan alum and PAC-12 lover, I have to unfortunately agree with your comments. Personally I find the direction that college football is taking to be reprehensible. But my opinions do not count for anything. I either have to tell myself this is a brave new world, totally unfamiliar and very much in opposition to my value system, and I either get with the new program or go home. I very much hope that your Ducks and the Huskies can join us in this new alignment. Stanford, Utah….. maybe down the road. Here’s hoping that somebody or some commission take the reins of big-time college football and guide it to some form that we can all be proud of.
Your points about the CFP, and Pat Hill's comment, are spot on.
Regarding the bias in major College Football, having lived 35 years in the Midwest, both Minneapolis and Chicago, I can personally attest that there is a line drawn from Chicago and down the Mississippi. Everything to the East is Big League and everything to the West is Little League. This even happens within the Big 10, which is split in half by this division. Wisconsin, Iowa, increasingly Minnesota and previously Nebraska, are big league football programs often contending for the Big 10 title and sometimes a national title. But it is Ohio State, the Michigans and Penn State that get the national attention, even in their down years (not that Ohio State has many down years). This affects recruiting and certainly affects football income. Columbus, OH and State College, PA (reminiscent of Corvallis or Eugene) are not major metro centers so this is not about population density. For equity in football, as in pro sports, share the pot evenly and give the western teams a chance.
Ohio has almost 12 million people and no other college in the state comes close to the Buckeyes in popularity in the way the Beavers do to the Ducks. It's literally a statewide institution in a state of 12 million.
Pennsylvania is more than 12 million although Penn State doesn't capture the entire state in the way the Buckeyes do Ohio.
University of Cincinnati, Bowling Green, Univ of Miami, Univ of Toledo; there are many other programs in Ohio to share their state talent. I can tell you that most of Ohio State's players come from outside of Ohio. My son's grade school buddy in Minnesota was James Laurenitis. He did not go to the U of MN but went to Ohio State to have a better shot at the NFL. Just like Alabama, Ohio State is a magnet for 4 and 5 stars. This has nothing to do with population or geography and everything to do with TV popularity and special treatment of the eastern half of the Big 10, including the nationally televised Michigan - Ohio State game every year. This creates favoritism that has no other economic basis, like the Lakers or Knicks do in the NBA or the Dodgers and Yankees in the MLB due to the size of their local markets and the money that accrues from that. Pro sports have done a decent job of leveling the playing field between teams to keep interest and hope high that smaller market teams have a chance. If your commissioners don't do that as a league, you end up killing the product because the outcome is always known in advance. The more teams that have a shot every year, the more competitive the games, the better product you have to sell. That is the point. Level the playing field. Don't let all the best teams become part of eastern conferences by plundering the West (making a tough situation even worse).
Ohio's high school football has slipped a bit but is making a comeback and the Buckeyes are capitalizing on that now. But yes they're a nationwide recruiter of course. But the other schools you named are nowhere near the statewide reputation of the Buckeyes. I'm a Buckeye graduate, born and raised. Most of my family still lives there and I still spend a good chunk of the year in Columbus. I can tell you with first hand confidence the Buckeyes dominate the 12 million population across Ohio.
I never said otherwise, and I am sure you have a vested interest as an OSU alum, wanting to keep the status quo. I spent 35 years in the Big 10. I know the conference like the back of my hand. It is self-evident that the best players prefer to go to Ohio State. But that begs the question: Why? All the other Mid-American Conference schools in Ohio are Div 1. They all have access to those same players. The point is that money is the center of the distribution of the best players. They are concentrated at OSU because they follow the money. But that doesn't make it right. No, it makes it wrong. The money should be spread evenly as in the NBA or NFL, with salary caps and equal sharing of media contracts. Then, the best team wins. Not because it always has, but because it has put together the best program at that time.
I agree the money is a problem and only getting worse with NIL, the portal, and super conferences. I'm glad the players are able to begin sharing a bit more in the money but there's a long way to go for the overall health of CFB. Cincinnati made it to the playoffs and their reward is the Buckeyes take one of their all time best recruiters and coaches. I'm glad to see my alma mater at the top of the head (or 2nd) but something's gotta change.
Go Ducks! Go Atlanta! Go Marcus!!!!
Mariota can be a good QB - if he stays healthy.
Penn State overrated. Michigan, Michigan State, Iowa and many BIG 10 schools are overrated. Ohio State is the real deal. I hate the BIG10
You ask if the commissioners of the Big 10 and SEC care about the future of college football. In the most simple terms they don't. They aren't paid to care. They are paid by their entities to get as much of the pie as possible. They could care less about the other universities or the overall health of the sport. Much like Dana White of UFC. He doesn't care about the sport of MMA either. He gets paid and has done quite well, to put the interests of the UFC first and foremost. Nothing has been done to foster the interests at the lower level. There are no "minor leagues". For as big as the UFC is, how is the sport itself doing? College football will end up the same way.
Thank you for enlarging a view into the humble human Marcus has always seemed to be. I pray he can see great success in Atlanta. He has it in him for sure, but there are many other pieces of the NFL Team puzzle that need to fit together to give him a real opportunity for that. As we all know, there is no "I" in team and that means Marcus can't do it alone. He gave us so much during his time here in Eugene and Duck fans will always be a thankful fan of Marcus no matter what he does in the NFL.
Forever Thank You Marcus! We love you.
Mariota is a winner all the way.
Thanks for telling the stories about Mariota. I’ve been a Ducks fan ever since my uncle took this 9 year old to The Toilet Bowl in ‘83. Lots of great Ducks have come through that I loved and admired, Chris Miller, Joey, Haloti, etc but by the time Marcus came through I was a dad that was taking my kids to games. Hearing of his quiet leadership and the way he interacted with the young fans always made me proud to share my joy of watching him play with my kids. He’s a person you can’t help but root for on this new leg of his career
Lots of good stuff today. Thanks! Can't wait for Saturday!
Marcus is a winner in life. I don't know how many games the ATL will win with him but I'm stoked he's getting another shot. The Falcons are a better franchise an Atlanta a better city with him there. GO Marcus and Go Ducks!
Go Ducks! It’s not that the Big 10 and SEC have to worry about their health, Pac-10, Big 12 and the ACC have to worry about theirs. Life line is needed for the Pac-10. If Big-10 calls Oregon and Washington it will be all over.
I struggle with enlarging the playoff field, seems like an "Entitlement" ploy by teams/leagues who didn't play well enough to get in but want the money.
The last time a Pac 12 team won a Bowl game was in 2019.
The last Pac 12 team, to finish in the top ten, end of season final poll was Oregon, at #6 with 2 losses, in 2019.
The Pac 12 hasn't played well enough to earn a spot in the playoffs.
Dave M
Big10 & SEC do not care about the tradition of college football. Only the money they can extract from it!
Hey John: I have written you before. I like your column and am a paid subscriber. I occasionally write a piece called Donnie Duck's Latest on substack.com Am very excited about the Duck game tomorrow. I agree with your prediction about the Ducks losing by less than the point spread. I predict it will be a good, close game. The Pac-12 is in serious trouble if they ever expect to play in the final four in football again. Each Big 10 school will get around $70 million in tv revenue starting soon. When UCLA and USC join the conference in two years, they will make around $40 million more than each Pac-12 school. The Pac-12 tv deal is a bad joke, and I still blame the former head of the league, your friend and mine, whose name I am glad I forgot . Players can now be paid in college. If the SEC schools get around the same amount as the Big 10 in millions for their tv deal, you can easily see how far behind the Pac-12 is to these two super leagues. I respect Phil Knight and all he has done for so many. I have been a Duck fan for just 60 or so years. It is sad to me that we cannot compete with the big boys in football, and the gap is widening. I guess $40 million can help a football program a lot. The LA schools were smart to leave the Pac-12 when they did. Even though the Ducks have great facilities, until they can fill a 100,000 seat stadium in Eugene, play with the best day in and day out, they will remain a minor program, and I include all of the Pac-12 in this sad state. Football and basketball take in most all revenue to fund all sports, and the Pac-12 is sinking fast. The rich get richer and you will see how far behind the Pac-12 is starting tomorrow. If you think Chip Kelly cannot improve his team with just $40 million in more dollars to work with, and USC too, I disagree. Huge tv money rules all sports. Unless the Pac-12 can pull of a miracle with ESPN very soon, they are doomed. If it takes playing at night, when there are no other tv games, to get paid much more by ESPN, no problem. Otherwise say good by to the Pac-12 as Bill Walton's tournament of champions. Sure glad I have the BIG 10 and SEC channels so I can watch the best games every Saturday! Miss me with the pac-12 channel showing sub-par teams and games. Maybe Walton should change his line, and name the sports he thinks the Pac-12 is champions in. Enjoy the game John, and I am confident our new coach in football is a good hire. GO DUCKS
Donnie, as a long-time Trojan alum and PAC-12 lover, I have to unfortunately agree with your comments. Personally I find the direction that college football is taking to be reprehensible. But my opinions do not count for anything. I either have to tell myself this is a brave new world, totally unfamiliar and very much in opposition to my value system, and I either get with the new program or go home. I very much hope that your Ducks and the Huskies can join us in this new alignment. Stanford, Utah….. maybe down the road. Here’s hoping that somebody or some commission take the reins of big-time college football and guide it to some form that we can all be proud of.
Thanks for sharing. your experiences with us!! These help give the Whole story . It’s all not black & white or right or wrong😎