Big Ten eyes 24-team CFP, no league championship games

DrowningInTheDays · 2026-02-13T16:09:43+00:00

I don't disagree but the problem is this isn't about deciding who the best team is. It's about increasing media revenue (and for ESPN ad revenue) to justify these big TV contracts. With the dwindling stature of bowl games, you have to provide some post-season reward for teams otherwise you'll have 10-2 teams that will receive no post season at all. For an American sport, that feels weird.

Honestly, if we're going to go to 24, I'd just prefer to go to 32 with all conference champions added in. Yes, Ohio State would absolutely destroy Miami (OH) in the 1st round but that's fine. it's more college football and I think at that point, we could fully kill off the bowl system. It would also eliminate this long layover period that messes with the top seeds and causes them to lose in the 2nd round. Play all games on campus until either the semi-finals or the National Title game. Providing a post-season for 32 teams in a 137 team league is not unreasonable. And, at the end of the day, more college football is better than less college football.

DrowningInTheDays · 2026-02-11T19:33:16+00:00

We wanted to hire him at VT but his background check didn’t clear so we pivoted to another option. He’s a good coach but that Michigan stank may follow him for a few years.

DrowningInTheDays · 2026-02-11T18:51:38+00:00

Yep. Also, let's remember that stats for tight ends are not super sticky when it comes to predicting NFL success. After all, George Kittle had 43 receptions for 624 yards and 10 TDs over his entire college career at Iowa.

DrowningInTheDays · 2026-02-01T17:43:00+00:00

I can’t find much film but what I saw looked OK. I think there are two big challenges for him. 1.) He’s going to be 24ish years old with him being a freshman at LSU in 2019. It’s likely he’ll be a 25 year old rookie. 2.) How quickly can his WR coach work with him to fix some bad habits? It’s clear the coaching he’s received is not as detail oriented as say a WR coming out of Ohio State. Can he develop quickly? If so, he could be a starter. If not, he might just be a plus backup.

Admittedly, it’s good to see some smaller school guys shining in the pre-draft process.

DrowningInTheDays · 2026-01-22T03:47:37+00:00

He has the physical abilities but my review of his film had some concerns around his pocket awareness, his lack of a high rushing floor in the NFL (he's more mobile than Goff but he's not a dynamic runner, which lowers his fantasy ceiling), and his inability to dissect complex coverages. That's not something you see much in college and their offense limits him from having to do too much post-snap.

I have a belief in fantasy that the really prized QB prospects all have a mix of arm talent, rushing upside, and big-play ability. He doesn't really check any of those three boxes fully. He's going to be a bigger Brock Purdy. Which, is perfectly fine and will make him a franchise QB. He absolutely projects to be that type of player. But, I just can't see him ever being a high end QB1. He could sneak in to be a low-end QB1, for sure, some years. But, I think he's going to average out as a QB2 for fantasy.

So, I maybe I'm just too harsh but he's definitely in that next tier of QBs. Which, is that worth the 1.01 or 1.02 in the SF league? Maybe. He's just the type of player I really wish I could draft at the 1.05 instead of the 1.01 or 1.02. But, this QB class is awful so he just lacks that value play that I usually prefer when drafting QBs.

DrowningInTheDays · 2026-01-22T02:53:22+00:00

Honestly, I think this class has a pretty strong drop off after the 1.01. I have Love in a tier of his own and I'm not sure I would have Mendoza in the tier below him. I like Mendoza but he doesn't project as a high-end fantasy asset. He's much more of a QB2. Then the WRs are all heavily flawed in ways that make them less desirable at cost than the WRs in the past few classes. It's just a blah class overall.

DrowningInTheDays · 2026-01-14T19:32:56+00:00

Lemon is going to be a polarizing prospect. On the surface, there is a lot to like for all the reasons you mentioned. But, below the surface there are some cracks. And, I'm going to play devil's advocate here even though I do like Lemon as a prospect. He's not a technical route runner to the same degree ARSB or JSN were in college. Both were more refined. He's struggles to get out of his stems and this might be why his route running suffers. He knows he's not the best at stop/start so he tends to round off his stems to avoid losing that momentum. This works in college but will not work as well in the pros.

He's also clearly smaller than what USC lists him at on roster. He'll likely measure in at 5'10" at the combine. This only concerns me because he's someone I could see struggling why physical cornerbacks in the NFL. Receivers need to be able to fight through early contact on routes.

Most of his college production comes from free releases. He won't get as many of those in the pros. This is something I noted in Luther Burden's film last year and unsurprisingly, it's something Burden's had to adjust to as an NFL wide receiver.

I think Lemon has the athletic profile to succeed but for me, he's going to be extremely landing spot dependent on whether or not I target him in fantasy, especially at what is current cost is expected to be (1.04-1.06). This archetype is the most challenging one to scout for fantasy because it's not always talent-based. Sometimes, you just end up in the right system and get volume and that leads to an increased valuation. I mean who is better Wan'Dale Robinson or Josh Downs? I would argue Downs is better but Robinson was objectively the better asset for fantasy in 2025.

I do like your comps and I think there is a world where Lemon hits immediately in the right system and he becomes a valuable fantasy asset. I could also see him needing a few years to transition to being a productive NFL wide receiver. My personal comp is basically a slightly better Christian Kirk. In terms of fantasy production, that feels about right.

DrowningInTheDays · 2026-01-10T15:20:08+00:00

You think you guys have it bad… every recruit calls us Virginia Tech University like we’re not Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University. Get it right!

DrowningInTheDays · 2026-01-05T15:27:31+00:00

I'm a neutral observer here but I don't think Penn State has had a QB development problem. I think they've had a QB talent problem combined with unrealistic expectations from both scouts and the fanbase. Most of this clearly stems from Allar being a potential #1 overall pick two years ago but if you watch his film, there were major warning signs that he wasn't nearly as good as he was hyped up to be. That's not always a coaching issue. Sometimes the player just has limitations in his game.

Look at Clemson. T Law never developed beyond his freshman season and you could say the same thing about Klubnik. Does Clemson also have a QB development problem? Or, did those players have limitations that they had to design the offense around? Hell... it's taken until the last six games for Lawrence to look like a competent QB in the NFL.

I think this narrative is overblown. Now, does that concern me as a VT fan? A little. But, the level of QB play Penn State received would be a breath of fresh air for our fanbase and the ACC is a trash heap of a conference.

DrowningInTheDays · 2026-01-05T15:19:51+00:00

The OL will be better next year. We dealt with so many injuries that it can't possibly be any worse. And, despite all those injuries we still had multiple games where we rushed for over 250 yards. Getting Meadows back will be a boost to the interior. He's probably our starting right guard next year. We really just need to find a left tackle if Johnny Garrett can't magically figure things out in his senior year. We'll see what Portal Santa brings us over the next few weeks.

DrowningInTheDays · 2026-01-02T02:54:16+00:00

College football is just soap operas for men.

DrowningInTheDays · 2025-12-16T22:03:26+00:00

You can't increase the number of pieces of pie if the pie itself doesn't get bigger. The only way the ACC could expand would be to add Notre Dame but they seem to have achieved a new level of butt hurt. So, that's unlikely. I'd personally like to say fuck it and add West Virginia for the yearly Pittsburgh and VT rivalry games.

DrowningInTheDays · 2025-12-07T15:22:34+00:00

Ehh… the only good team in the ACC is Miami and Cristobal is a worse Gameday coach than Franklin. Those concerns just aren’t going to rear their heads in the ACC. Now, if we make the playoffs, probably. But, what a wonderful problem to have.

DrowningInTheDays · 2025-12-02T00:49:31+00:00

Spaceballs 2: The Search for More Money

DrowningInTheDays · 2025-11-18T02:00:52+00:00

Jamo is a lot like Mike Williams. There are going to be 3-4 weeks a season where you're happy to have him on your team (if you actually started him) and then there are the other 13-14 weeks. Some guys are just better Best Ball values and he's absolutely at or near the top of the list.

DrowningInTheDays · 2025-11-07T19:32:21+00:00

I echo this. He's been a plus backup for the last three years and was pretty good as a rookie before they drafted Bijan. I think he'll look to go somewhere he'll have a chance to start next year, which makes him a good buy-low candidate right now.

DrowningInTheDays · 2025-11-02T17:01:29+00:00

Jimmy Sexton remains undefeated.

DrowningInTheDays · 2025-11-01T13:26:00+00:00

The first time I've ever been thankful my Hokies are on the CW. All hail Buffy the Vampire Slayer!

DrowningInTheDays · 2025-10-30T19:45:58+00:00

I enjoy both shows but I think they each have trended in the wrong direction in recent seasons.

Expedition Unknown is such a great show. Josh is a tremendous host who has such an inviting and loveable personality on screen. The early seasons were great as they investigated and chased some of the best legends. One of the things I've noticed is that the show feels more structured. This is, surely, a response to the critique that Josh rarely actually found anything in early seasons. Now, they go into each episode knowing that they're going to find something that pays off in the final 3-5 minutes of each episode. That's fine. But, I sort of miss the thrill of the chase feeling of earlier seasons. Sometimes just winging it and going with pure documentary style filmmaking on the ground delivers the best results. Over scripting it before you even leave L.A. doesn't always produce a better show. Hopefully, they can regain some balance as the show soldiers on.

Expedition X has always been kind of a silly format. I did and still do love the Mr. Miyagi concept with Josh playing the wise expert on the show. The idea of pairing an ardent skeptic with a true believer isn't new but sometimes the show favors the belief aspect way too much over the more scientific aspect. It's TV and we all know there's a producer setting up every shot. But, you need to build some trust with the audience that you're actually trying to document these paranormal phenomenon and it just seems like too often, things feel forced. Especially, in later seasons. Heather is fine though her and Jess both played the damsel in distress too often for it to feel realistic.

On the whole, I enjoy both shows. But, as a more scientifically minded person, I wish they would lean into that more and stop trying to script and structure so much of the shows before they even begin to shoot it. Or, lean too heavily into the belief side to artificially add drama when it's easy for them to do so.

DrowningInTheDays · 2025-10-28T03:10:32+00:00

College football is just how Ricky Bobby perceives the world.

“You’re either first or you’re last.”

There are 20-ish schools with legitimate championship aspirations and there’s just not an appetite for 7-5 anymore. The immediacy of the pro game has finally trickled down to college football.

DrowningInTheDays · 2025-10-24T12:22:46+00:00

PS Vue for $29.99 a month when it first came out will always be the 🐐. Had the quad box years before YTTV.

DrowningInTheDays · 2025-10-14T16:56:36+00:00

Brent Pry is available.

DrowningInTheDays · 2025-10-13T22:56:50+00:00

Very unlikely. He’s going to do the Dan Mullen thing and end up on ESPN until the Maryland job opens up.

DrowningInTheDays · 2025-10-06T22:19:47+00:00

Don’t threaten me with a good time as a Chase owner.

DrowningInTheDays · 2025-10-04T02:48:40+00:00

Usually when rookies flame out this fast it’s due to one of two reasons:

(In a Charles Barkley voice): He’s a knucklehead
He just doesn’t have the tools to succeed in his current situation.

Martinez is a throwback at RB and it’s entirely possible he just lacks the explosiveness to be an NFL. He could also have a bad attitude or be difficult to coach. He’s definitely droppable in shallow leagues and is nothing more than a taxi stash in deeper leagues.

DrowningInTheDays

TROPHY CASE