MARLER: College football needs one simple fix

By Chris Marler

I’m tired. 

It’s not because I am getting up early. It’s absolutely not because I’m lacking in caffeine consumption. I’m tired of having to see and hear the same talking points this offseason without a single progressive step forward or solution to the problems facing the sport. 

More debate, fewer solutions

This week, SEC coaches and the commissioner Greg Sankey, met in Florida at a five star resort to talk with the media about all the issues they aren’t able, or willing, to fix. That’s not a shot or finger pointing of blame towards them. It’s not their fault. They’re just pawns in the game, giving their genuine reactions and answers to what the media is asking of them. 

Sadly, the highest paid, most well versed and most impacted people in the sport have very little power in any of the outcomes off the field. 

This week the coaches were asked about playoff expansion, NIL regulations and a bevy of other issues that have monopolized clicks, views and quotes all offseason. But, did anything get solved? No. Will it be anytime soon? No. At least not because of any decisions directly made by Kirby Smart, Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian.

So, maybe we all just shut up for a minute. Not that I don’t enjoy hearing from the coaches. I’m a bit of sicko in that regard and genuinely did enjoy what was essentially a business casual, appetizer version of SEC Media Days. 

I loved Jon Sumrall’s candid PG-13 responses about struggling with balancing the Tulane and Florida jobs. I enjoy any and every time Eli Drinkwitz is in front of a microphone making subtle jabs and hilarious comments about what’s going on in the SEC coaches group chat. 

You know what I really would enjoy more than all of that, though? What if we just made one fix to college football before the season starts? That’s it. Just one. We are less than 100 days until the season starts, afterall. 

It feels unintentionally ironic that the more decision makers ask congress and politicians to get involved in fixing the sport, the more talking and less fixing we’re seeing. That’s incredibly on brand. 

It also feels like we’ve gotten to a point where debating the inequalities and issues in college football has become almost parallel to how politics are discussed. There’s a severe inability to have functional discourse with anyone with opposing views. 

The NIL issues, scheduling inefficiencies and playoff expansion number gets lost the moment someone with a “Make the SEC Great Again” hat begins to speak. That’s the moment when B1G fans, media and coaches shut down and start moving goalposts. 

The CFP expansion talk is truly a waste of time

This week the most prominent new information gathered was that every other Power Four conference besides the SEC wants 24 teams. The SEC wants 16 teams. However, according to some people, as many as seven head coaches in the SEC want 24 teams.

I’m not going to debate whether or not it’s a good idea. And, spoiler alert – they’re going to go to 24. It may not be tomorrow. It may not be next year. But, if they can make more money going to a 24-team playoff then guess what, they’re going to end up there. 

So, let’s stop talking about that. Instead, let’s fix the most fixable thing possible – the schedule. 

The SEC moved to a nine game conference schedule this year at the suggestion of the Big Ten and Big 12. There was no reason to fix something that wasn’t broken and has worked for the league for 20 years, but guess what, it will make more money so here we are. 

The next step in that move for the SEC was to add a tenth power four opponent for every team every year. The ACC and Big 12 followed suit. One conference did not. Shocker, it was the one who has been the most vocal about the SEC going to nine conference games: the Big Ten. 

That’s the same conference who originally agreed to push for a 16-team CFP in unison with the SEC. Imagine that, the loudest one in the room turned out to be the weakest, and slimiest, in the room. 

What happens next, historically, is the SEC gets berated for playing by their own rules. Surely the national media, which has been eager to highlight every perceived SEC shortcoming, will be just as vocal about this. Somehow, I’m not holding my breath.

For now, though, I’m tired. So maybe everyone can put the swords down, rally around a solution that actually makes sense and push for the Big Ten to add a 10th Power Four game. Not to bully, but it’s not like we’re trying to peer pressure them into smoking cigarettes, we’re trying to peer pressure them into competitive balance. 

College football is no longer what it used to be. College football is no longer simple. Having all Power Four programs play the same amount of Power Four opponents is, though. So fix it.