I blame college football for this. Did anyone really expect that, after years of CFB not making any kind of decision on an expanded playoff, the NFL was just going to give back a valuable TV slot? As soon as the NFL announced that the Saturday games were going to feed the new XMas package, you knew those games were going to be good. Mean…
I blame college football for this. Did anyone really expect that, after years of CFB not making any kind of decision on an expanded playoff, the NFL was just going to give back a valuable TV slot? As soon as the NFL announced that the Saturday games were going to feed the new XMas package, you knew those games were going to be good. Meanwhile, CFB insists on playing 4 quarters in Bowl games on New Years Day and (this is an unpopular opinion, I'm sure) having Army Navy as a standalone game the weekend after Conference Championships. Therefore, they end up with this ridiculous playoff schedule where they go head to head with the NFL, 4 teams play wait 3.5 weeks before playing their first playoff game, then they play semis on Thursday Friday, followed by 10 straight NFL playoff games before the Championship. Godfrey's right, ESPN quit on Thursday's, but it's also a result of none of the ratings powerhouses agreeing to play mid week. If OSU, Michigan, Texas, Notre Dame, etc. would once every 2 years play on a Thursday and once every 4 years host a Thursday game, there wouldn't be a window for the NFL. It's the same with Black Friday. Sure, everyone loves Iowa Nebraska, but that doesn't scare the NFL like the Iron Bowl, LSU/Georgia, or USC Notre Dame would. Yes, the NFL has grabbed all of the good real estate, but only because College Football let them. Sorry for the long rant.
As a post script, I think it's possible that Purdue stays in a Power Conference for a while, but I don't believe that they are winning more than 3/4 games any time soon. Love the podcast.
I blame college football for this. Did anyone really expect that, after years of CFB not making any kind of decision on an expanded playoff, the NFL was just going to give back a valuable TV slot? As soon as the NFL announced that the Saturday games were going to feed the new XMas package, you knew those games were going to be good. Meanwhile, CFB insists on playing 4 quarters in Bowl games on New Years Day and (this is an unpopular opinion, I'm sure) having Army Navy as a standalone game the weekend after Conference Championships. Therefore, they end up with this ridiculous playoff schedule where they go head to head with the NFL, 4 teams play wait 3.5 weeks before playing their first playoff game, then they play semis on Thursday Friday, followed by 10 straight NFL playoff games before the Championship. Godfrey's right, ESPN quit on Thursday's, but it's also a result of none of the ratings powerhouses agreeing to play mid week. If OSU, Michigan, Texas, Notre Dame, etc. would once every 2 years play on a Thursday and once every 4 years host a Thursday game, there wouldn't be a window for the NFL. It's the same with Black Friday. Sure, everyone loves Iowa Nebraska, but that doesn't scare the NFL like the Iron Bowl, LSU/Georgia, or USC Notre Dame would. Yes, the NFL has grabbed all of the good real estate, but only because College Football let them. Sorry for the long rant.
As a post script, I think it's possible that Purdue stays in a Power Conference for a while, but I don't believe that they are winning more than 3/4 games any time soon. Love the podcast.