It has been almost impossible to quell my zeal for my passion for college football during the past 60+ years.

Seemingly, the impossible has happened.  The Odyssey is revolted from recent developments:

  1. The departures of Texas and Oklahoma compromised the stature of the Big 12 conference.  A year later, USC and UCLA did even more damage to the future of the Pac 12.
  2. Money has become an unmanageable gorilla in college football, particularly when it comes to TV broadcast deals.  Paying large sums to players for their NIL (name, image and likeness) also opens up a can of worms.
  3. The ease of movement via the transfer portal has had many unintended effects.  The rich seem to have gotten richer.  Alabama poached Jahmyr Gibbs, the 1,200 yard running back from lowly Georgia Tech.  Of course, we should all feel sorry for Alabama’s lack of talent especially after Nick Saban labelled Alabama’s 2021 SEC champion campaign as “a bit of a rebuilding year.”  I am irritated at the players who abandoned the team that helped them develop (unless there is a coaching change).   Georgia Tech, coming off a 3-9 campaign, definitely could have used Gibbs.
  4. The hell with many traditional rivalries.  Who can wait for UCLA-Maryland games or USC-Rutgers?  At least my perverse side will delight in seeing how the SoCal teams will fare in the Midwest on a dreadful November day.
  5.  The immense amount of travel that teams like USC, UCLA and West Virginia will impose on their football players means even less time on campus for those who actually want to study something.
  6. What is the impact on the Olympic sports created by conferences that make little geographic sense?                                                                          Don’t get me wrong.  I will still get excited about many games this fall.  But it will take a long time to get this awful taste out of my mouth.