I think I’m just gonna throw this Nicole Auerbach suggestion ($$) out as food for CFP expansion thought:
Why not cut the regular season down to 11 games and move the 12th game to the spring? Last season, 115 of the 130 FBS teams played FCS opponents, in games that we all know were scheduled to pad win-loss records (and also to drive revenue for the FCS team’s athletic department). They’re called guarantee games for a reason.
So play those games in the spring. Sell tickets for them closer to what you’d typically charge for a single-game ticket. Pay the FCS team like you would in the fall.
I’m not sure that doesn’t cause as many problems as it solves, if it indeed solves anything more than providing a lame suggestion that the powers that be have offered something to reduce player wear and tear as the postseason expands. The games would be played with rosters in flux, since the most recent signing class wouldn’t be enrolled and even Auerbach acknowledges that for some programs, “changes to the offseason conditioning program and the amount of contact in other spring practices, as well as the amount of time spent teaching fundamentals” would have to be made.
And I’m saying this as someone who’s on the record as being in favor of a spring scrimmage FBS-FCS game. What do y’all think of this?
Get The Picture 
You lost me at Nicole Auerbach
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Oh you misogynistic, cishet, typical White male, you. That’s the 2020 National Sportswriter of the year you’re talking about.
😉
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WTF is a cishet?
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That’s what you say about 30 minutes into your morning purple microdot…
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Google is your friend, ODB.
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I would have said same thing if it was Nick Auerbach
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Would light a cigar if it was Red Auerbach…
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Would have turned the music off if it was Dan Auerbach. Sorry. I just can’t with him.
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Her idea? No. No. NO. People from the north who don’t see college football as much different ftom a game show (entertainment designed to draw eyeballs to ads) don’t get why changing it up is a big deal. They are so fixated in drawing “casual fans” that they ignore diehards. “They’ll watch anyway.” I don’t care about her one way or the other, but FTMF who think this is a genius take.
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It is not Georgia’s responsibility to prop up Georgia Southern. They already prop up Vandy and Georgia Tech every other year.
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Southern’s fine, it’s the FCS teams that really need the money.
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It’s intriguing, but the biggest issue I have seen is the number of players on the team during the spring. Certain positions can be very thin on teams during the spring, e.g. I think we only have 3 (scholarship) TEs that are practicing this spring. Maybe a few transfers stick around a bit longer before leaving so they can play in the Spring with this change, but maybe not.
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A terrible suggestion from one of CFB’s worst writers. You’re never going to get anyone to agree to remove a game from the regular season, or, as I’ve seen other idiot CFB writers suggest, get the SEC to give up the SEC Title Game. These media people live in a frakking fantasy world. Just awful.
I do think however that you could get people on board with scrimmaging against FCS teams in the spring. That’s been a suggestion running around this blog for a few years that is actually pretty good.
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Agreed not a good idea
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I was told this was the best regular season in sports. Give me more New Mex St at Bama in November and not April
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If a team plays another in the Spring it will factor into ranking even if it isn’t supposed to. The spring team is not the team that plays in the fall. I used to think a spring game with Clempson would be fun but I am against it now.
Why is CFB trying tos olve problem that doesn’t exist? When was the last time a potential national champ didn’t make the playoff? Under the BCS when was a potential national champ outside of the to 4? UCF is not a correct answer.
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Making more money is a problem that never goes away for the CFB industrial complex.
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They’ll end up making less
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I don’t understand being against it for that reason. The Braves team that won the World Series was not the same team from the first half of the season. Champions League soccer is played like a full year after the qualifying. It’s about the name on the front of the jersey, not the back. Different players, different coaches, who cares. It’s still UGA.
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Trades are part of MLB. Kids are not even on campus for Gday.
It would be like Spring baseball counting in the season record determining who makes the playoffs.
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UGA 2018?
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This sounds really unfair to Georgia Tech. I’m not sure they could’ve beaten many 1-AA teams this spring.
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Or in the regular season either
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Football is to be played in the FALL. As God intended.
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As illustrated by the Southern Cal cheerleader sweaters.
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I don’t like it. But she’s getting closer to my sneaky awesome idea of having non-playoff bowl games count as the first game of the subsequent season. Auburn is already 0-1 for 2022 with a loss to Houston.
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I came up with idea that all Bowl Games are week 0 games. Nashville Friday night in August > Tuesday in December
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Terrible idea … what else would you expect from Auerbach?
I’m not a fan of FCS games, but they do serve a purpose.
1) They allow families to take young ones to a game where you can decide to leave at any time.
2) These games provide the money for many FCS programs to have football and to support their athletic programs.
3) A coach isn’t going to play his starters in a spring game that doesn’t count against an opponent that may be motivated.
4) These games in the regular season do give the reserves a chance to get real game snaps. With the redshirt rules in place, this is a big deal.
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Excellent retort
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Yes to all of this. It’s much easier to accept if you look at the FCS game as a modern take on the JV game. You have 11 “real” games and a JV game, just like in the early 90s. Except this time, the starters can get a few series.
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Doesn’t seem logistically feasible. I enjoyed when FCS played their season last spring. I would be in full support of keeping that going. I attended more Mercer football games last spring than I had in the last 5-6 seasons combined. FCS would be the only college football game in town. I hypothesize that if they committed to it they could really raise their financial status.
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Hey! Listen! I have an idea! OK, it’s not broken, but let’s fix it anyway! ‘K?
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I love it. Full stop.
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What a stupid thing to suggest.
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There’s a goddamn monster elephant in this room and I am shocked no one has mentioned the impact this will have on GDay QBR
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No
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They should play it in Europe. Expand the brand.
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Idea maybe:
Every team must play a 12 non-conference game on the weekend after Thanksgiving and actually rename those semi bowl qualifier games with regional local sponsors. Teams can agree on any local home or away venue. Invite all the recruits & NIL sponsors you want. Winner gets a guaranteed automatic bowl bid regardless of record.
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