Possibly.
When the playoff expansion and NIL news hit the airwaves, many who cover the sport thought this might freeze realignment in its tracks.
I listen to a number of college football podcasts. I don't remember if it was the Andy Staples or Yahoo pod, but the overall sentiment regarding the recent seismic changes in college football were that they would dilute and spread the talent out a bit more. Sure, Alabama and Ohio State would still get their fair share of highly ranked recruits, but maybe a kid will now have a reason to go to a Michigan St., a TCU/SMU, Arky, or UCF. It wouldn't be a wholesale change to the hierarchy of college football, but many teams would now have more to sell.
And not only with the NIL angle, but through access to a club that only the elite could previously enter with regularity. In the playoff era, I recall someone saying there would've been 44 total programs participate in the playoff, with Wisconsin and Penn State getting in THREE times. Think that wouldn't level the playing field, at least a little? So perhaps, in a future college football universe, a Caleb Williams type of talent stays home in Maryland, gets an exclusive, huge NIL deal with the actual potential of postseason play. Oregon and Miami love these changes. That alone should tell you something.
I think what some of these pundits, reporters, and writers are missing in the thought process is, yes, MANY teams will benefit from the expanded playoff and NIL opportunities, and while that would seemingly strengthen conference stability and access, the real linchpin in modern CFB realignment has always been OU/Texas. If we move, every other conference will likely be scrambling to make strategic moves themselves.
Joe C isn't dumb. He wouldn't rubber stamp this potential move if he didn't believe it ultimately puts us in a more secure position going forward. There is more uncertainty than ever with all these incoming changes, and the networks' refusal to negotiate a re-up could possibly be the final nail in the coffin for this conference. Yes, we'll have to give up a few things to move to the SEC; leaving behind longtime allies, winning the conference every damn year, etc., but the playoff expansion will minimize those drawbacks.
We've been part of an exclusive club for a very long time, and the BCS and playoff system have been very friendly towards OU. We lose a bit of that advantage in this new system IMO. We can't afford to watch our backs while the money potentially dries up. Texas wouldn't give up the LHN unless they REALLY believed it was necessary to do so.
The reward of staying no longer outweighs the risk of leaving. There is too much uncertainty now to hang around and hope things work out. We could get seriously f-ed if we miscalculate the influence of these new NIL rules and the upcoming playoff format. At the very least, moving to the SEC would provide permanent stability and strengthen our brand in the eyes of blue-chip recruits. We can't allow a bunch of also-rans to hack away at our blueblood status and level the playing field by getting more access to the things a program needs to stay on top.
When the playoff expansion and NIL news hit the airwaves, many who cover the sport thought this might freeze realignment in its tracks.
I listen to a number of college football podcasts. I don't remember if it was the Andy Staples or Yahoo pod, but the overall sentiment regarding the recent seismic changes in college football were that they would dilute and spread the talent out a bit more. Sure, Alabama and Ohio State would still get their fair share of highly ranked recruits, but maybe a kid will now have a reason to go to a Michigan St., a TCU/SMU, Arky, or UCF. It wouldn't be a wholesale change to the hierarchy of college football, but many teams would now have more to sell.
And not only with the NIL angle, but through access to a club that only the elite could previously enter with regularity. In the playoff era, I recall someone saying there would've been 44 total programs participate in the playoff, with Wisconsin and Penn State getting in THREE times. Think that wouldn't level the playing field, at least a little? So perhaps, in a future college football universe, a Caleb Williams type of talent stays home in Maryland, gets an exclusive, huge NIL deal with the actual potential of postseason play. Oregon and Miami love these changes. That alone should tell you something.
I think what some of these pundits, reporters, and writers are missing in the thought process is, yes, MANY teams will benefit from the expanded playoff and NIL opportunities, and while that would seemingly strengthen conference stability and access, the real linchpin in modern CFB realignment has always been OU/Texas. If we move, every other conference will likely be scrambling to make strategic moves themselves.
Joe C isn't dumb. He wouldn't rubber stamp this potential move if he didn't believe it ultimately puts us in a more secure position going forward. There is more uncertainty than ever with all these incoming changes, and the networks' refusal to negotiate a re-up could possibly be the final nail in the coffin for this conference. Yes, we'll have to give up a few things to move to the SEC; leaving behind longtime allies, winning the conference every damn year, etc., but the playoff expansion will minimize those drawbacks.
We've been part of an exclusive club for a very long time, and the BCS and playoff system have been very friendly towards OU. We lose a bit of that advantage in this new system IMO. We can't afford to watch our backs while the money potentially dries up. Texas wouldn't give up the LHN unless they REALLY believed it was necessary to do so.
The reward of staying no longer outweighs the risk of leaving. There is too much uncertainty now to hang around and hope things work out. We could get seriously f-ed if we miscalculate the influence of these new NIL rules and the upcoming playoff format. At the very least, moving to the SEC would provide permanent stability and strengthen our brand in the eyes of blue-chip recruits. We can't allow a bunch of also-rans to hack away at our blueblood status and level the playing field by getting more access to the things a program needs to stay on top.
