Georgia on their minds

Sounds like ESPN won’t get fooled again by that “but Georgia lost all those players!” narrative.

Talk of Georgia three-peating as national champion has become the topic du jour in college football.

Seems like just yesterday the Dawgs had gone four decades without a national title. Now they’ve won two in a row, and it’s never too early to look ahead in a sport that never sleeps.

We’ve already unveiled our Way-Too-Early Top 25, and up next is our Way-Too-Early All-America team. There are some recognizable names, as in USC Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Caleb Williams, and then there are some names that might not be as recognizable — yet. Not that anyone should be surprised, but Georgia leads the way with four selections.  [Emphasis added.]

If Kirby thought he had problems fighting off an entitlement mentality in 2022, he ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

A holiday classic

Boffo ratings for the Peach Bowl:

The @CFAPeachBowl scored 22.1 million viewers, the most-watched primetime #CFBPlayoff Semifinal since Year 1

🏈 Top 20 cable telecast all-time
🏈 Peaked at nearly 24 million viewers pic.twitter.com/bCUhxFlTce

— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) January 2, 2023

Imagine what they could have done if it wasn’t a non-New Year’s Day broadcast.

“I don’t know what else to call it other than an obsession.”

Says the guy who has tracked ESPN’s GameDay pickers since 2009 ($$).

He ain’t wrong, in other words.  And not a healthy one, either.

More and more, it’s looking like…

The Athletic has followed up on Brett McMurphy’s report earlier by reporting that there are serious ongoing discussions between the relevant parties about Oklahoma and Texas leaving the Big 12 for the SEC by 2024 ($$).

If you’re looking for something that may be greasing the skids for that to happen, look no further than this note.

… SEC schools made $54.6 million in conference revenue last year compared with $42.6 million for Big 12 schools, and that number will increase with the new ESPN deal. And the SEC is attempting to renegotiate that deal to an even higher number, the SEC administrator said, as it was completed before Texas and Oklahoma signed on, and because it will likely soon go from eight to nine conference games.

Now, yes, “attempting” is likely doing some heavy lifting there, but I don’t doubt that Sankey is serious about getting Mickey to up the ante.  It’s the “from eight to nine conference games” that really intrigues me, though.  If ESPN throws more money in the till for that prospect, does that shut down the status quo proponents for good?

How do you know the NFL draft is approaching?

Easy.  It’s when tools who like to call themselves “draft experts” start passing on whispers from NFL teams who want a player’s stock to drop so they can get a shot at him.  You know, like this:

Todd McShay says Jalen Carter has character issues that could hurt him in the draft…

while simultaneously projecting Jalen Carter to go to the Seahawks with the #2 overall pick.

Was McShay on the sauce during this episode? pic.twitter.com/uk14dBLBeb

— Jon Tweets Sports 🏴‍☠️ (@jontweetssports) December 14, 2022

Ironically, Carter had advisors whispering in his ears earlier this year when he was injured to rehab and then skip out for the draft.  I must have missed when he bailed on his teammates.  So, I guess, did his teammates.

What’s he like in the lockeroom you ask? One of my favorite guys to be around. ALL-AROUND STUD as a player and as a friend/teammate. https://t.co/n1MOIOECwF

— Ryland Goede (@RylandGoede88) December 15, 2022

Sheesh.

“ESPN has all the keys to the castle for this to happen.”

You will be shocked, shocked to learn that Oklahoma and Texas would like to leave early for the SEC, but money is a sticking point.

We all know what the “It” in “It Just Means More” really stands for.

Battle of the broadcast partners

This is from Dennis Dodd, so take it with an appropriately sized grain of salt.

Though there was a belief that Texas and Oklahoma may have been attempting to exit the Big 12 one year early in 2024, sources told Dodd that Fox would likely have demanded years of significant television inventory trades from ESPN as the marquee programs would have left its airwaves. That’s beyond what would have been a potentially massive early exit fee the programs would have needed to pay the Big 12 directly.

Fox and ESPN being as petty as their respective conferences are with each other?  I’d like to believe that’s true.  It’s the romantic in me.

Damn Yankees

Very funny that ESPN did live Aaron Judge cut-ins during Clemson-Wake Forest (0.05 percent crossover with Yankees fans) but not during Giants-Cowboys (99.9 percent crossover with Yankees fans) https://t.co/GjhilH6RIc

— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) September 27, 2022

Maybe this is Mickey’s clever way of weaning college football fans off their regional passions.

Mickey knows best.

Coming soon, perhaps, to a Cocktail Party near your television.

ESPN, the network and self-proclaimed worldwide leader in sports, is on this Earth for one reason and one reason only: to provide a telecast and entertainment in whatever sport they are paying millions and often billions of dollars to broadcast. ESPN also wants to be in the assumption business, meaning those at the network think they know what viewers want.

On Saturday, a day made specifically for college football, ESPN thought it would be wise to split screen games with Yankees slugger Aaron Judge and his quest to tie the American League record for home runs in a season. Does anyone else see the issue here? The reason you didn’t see that on Friday night is because the game against the Boston Red Sox was nationally televised and the network isn’t allowed to break into coverage.

College football fans, especially the teams whose games were split screen, don’t care about Judge or baseball, at least not while their team is playing. If a consumer wanted to watch the Yankees, there are plenty of other ways to do that, but the network must think people don’t own smartphones, can’t stream, or go to a bar to watch if they really wanted to see history.

ESPN had the same issue with the its Monday Night Football telecast, assuming that fans wanted to be updated on the other game with that dreaded split screen. Only when Clemson and Wake Forest went to overtime Saturday did they use some common sense and update Judge’s chase instead of breaking into live action.

It’s a matter of when, not if.  Mickey don’t care.  And the saddest thing will be watching Greg Sankey ignore it.

Conspiracy theory, with Matt Hayes

Tell me you don’t understand the SEC’s scheduling ineptitude without saying you don’t understand the SEC’s scheduling ineptitude.

This is what Hayes says is behind the conference’s nefarious scheme to have Georgia avoid facing off against Texas A&M until 2024:

Why, you ask? Because college football is expanding and aligning before our very eyes. It’s the SEC/ESPN vs. the Big Ten/Fox/CBS/NBC — and they’re fighting for every last viewer.

You think the SEC is just going to gift Fox a game with what could be 2-time defending national champion Georgia? Or gift CBS the hype-filled and much anticipated Georgia at Texas A&M game?

Not on your life.

“That’s a great theory,” an industry source said. “Would it surprise me? Not really. Would I blame either (the SEC or Big Ten) if they did that? Never. This is bare-knuckle fighting now.”

This is bigger than Georgia traveling to College Station, everyone. This is about protecting games and building brands and not inadvertently helping your rival do the same.

Besides, if the expanded Playoff doesn’t happen in 2024 and Texas and Oklahoma don’t leave the Big 12 early as part of the deal, that opposite division rotation will magically turn to — tada! — Georgia at Texas A&M.

Just in time for ESPN’s first season as the exclusive media rights holder of the SEC.

By Jove, Holmes, you’ve cracked the case!

Now if Matt can find the smoking gun that proves the conference knew back in 2012 that Mickey’s first season holding exclusive broadcast rights would be in 2024, he might really be on to something.  On the other hand, he might consider making Occam’s razor his friend.