Latest news with #HeatherDinich
USA Today
5 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
ESPN's Heather Dinich makes early prediction for winner of Ohio State vs. Texas
It's beginning to feel a lot closer to college football season and the ability to watch YOUR Ohio State Buckeyes. The college football preseason preview magazines are out, Big Ten media days are next week, and OSU will start its fall camp in just a couple of weeks. And while there's still more than a month to go before the kickoff of Week 1 in college football, it's never too early to look ahead to some of the big matchups, especially a titanic one that will be taking place in the 'Shoe between the Texas Longhorns and Ohio State. It's bound to be a top-five, maybe top three or two matchup to get things going, so all eyes will be on that one when it (sadly) kicks off at Noon ET on Saturday, Aug. 30. We're going to begin seeing more of this, but ESPN's Heather Dinich is already sticking her neck out and providing a prediction for one of the best nonconference games of the college football season. Spoiler alert: She likes Ohio State to turn the horns upside down and provided a reason for it during a segment on "Get Up." "Well, when in doubt, first of all, go with the home team, but Harry (Douglas) mentioned Jeremiah Smith," Dinich said. "He might not just be the best wide receiver, he might be the best player in the country, and he should absolutely be in the Heisman conversation. But 1,315 yards, 15 touchdowns, last year? That's almost a hundred yards and a touchdown per game. He's going to be the best player on the field, and while I have questions about new coordinators at Ohio State, I think they get the job done at home." Dinich's point about Smith is a good one, and I like her prediction for Ohio State to take care of business, but I think we still have to see how good the running backs perform, what kind of defense can be placed in the chamber to reload, and just how productive the new quarterback will be. All of those things have to be answered in a good way without leading to more questions to be a team as talented as Texas. There's no doubt that the Buckeyes will have the talent to win against the Longhorns; it's just a matter of whether or not they can put it all together in time. If you are like us, you can't wait to get the season started, and you can't wait for this one to kick off. Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.
USA Today
27-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Texas A&M athletic director comments on CFP's influence on SEC scheduling
Texas A&M athletic director comments on CFP's influence on SEC scheduling After months and months of lengthy discussions regarding the state of the College Football Playoff and how the Southeastern Conference will handle conference scheduling moving forward, Texas A&M's athletic director discussed his thoughts on the impending decisions. ESPN senior writer Heather Dinich reported that the Aggies' athletic director Trev Alberts gave his thoughts on the potential expansion of the CFP on Tuesday afternoon and how it affects the SEC scheduling discussions as a whole. "Are we going to four autobids? Are we not? We need some answers... Nine games makes sense for a lot of different reasons, but it doesn't make sense for us if we're not guaranteed to be protected." According to Dinich, the second-year athletic director for Texas A&M believes that the interest in conference representatives to extend league play to eight games instead of nine hinges upon the future of the CFP. As reported by multiple outlets last week, the College Football Playoff has now adopted a straight-seeding concept, effective immediately starting this season. Of course, the rules, regulations and concepts are being changed and new ones are being instated every single day. As Alberts stated in his discussions with Dinich, the commissions for both the CFP and the SEC need to determine what they want to do with scheduling and how they want it to look soon. Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Dylan on X: @dylanmflippo.
USA Today
21-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
ESPN reporter drops bombshell in latest update on potential CFP changes
ESPN reporter drops bombshell in latest update on potential CFP changes Strength of schedule, head-to-head results, conference championships and common opponents are some of the biggest criteria used to determine the participants of the 12-team College Football Playoff. Could TV ratings soon become another criteria? ESPN college football analyst Heather Dinich alluded to such a possibility in a new report (subscription required) Monday ahead of the annual spring meetings this week between FBS commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua in Texas. While no significant changes to the 12-team format will go into effect in 2025, it has seemed for months like a foregone conclusion that the CFP will expand to at least 14 teams in time for the 2026 season. As Dinich notes, changes to the 2026 CFP format must be in place before Dec. 1. Dinich also noted that there was both "private and public resistance to the idea of leagues having guaranteed spots to the postseason before the games are played." As things currently stand, the CFP's four highest-ranked conference champions are seeded 1-4 and receive a first-round bye in the playoff. The SEC and Big Ten have been lobbying for a format that would guarantee their respective leagues four automatic berths in an expanded field, so it isn't surprising that there's been resistance to that from the ACC and Big 12. But then this nugget from Dinich's report appeared: "One possibility, which could be viewed as a compromise, is having conferences earn automatic bids through their play each season. A model in which each Power 4 league can earn guaranteed spots through a combination of its teams' overall records -- and maybe even TV ratings, according to a source -- could be presented. The highest-ranked conferences would earn the most automatic bids." Highest-ranked? Or most-watched? If TV ratings are taken into consideration, teams like Alabama would benefit greatly. The Crimson Tide always have a good overall record, even if their four losses last season were less than ideal in the first year following Nick Saban's retirement. They're also high on the list of the most watched college football teams in any given year. So is Ohio State, Michigan, and the rest of the sport's blue bloods. Alabama was the third-most watched team in the 2024 regular season, according to Nielsen research. Only the Georgia Bulldogs (8.6 million) and national champion Buckeyes (6.8 million) totaled more average viewers per game than Alabama's 6.6 million. The Texas Longhorns (6.4 million) and Tennessee Volunteers (5.4 million) were fourth and fifth, respectively, on the list of most-watched teams, per Nielsen's data. Alabama has topped or been near the top of the list of most watched college football teams for years. Dating back to 2020 alone, Alabama was the most watched team that year and in 2023 (7.12 million). They were the third-most watched team in 2021 and 2022. Aside from that, Dinich's report reiterates what's already known: the SEC and Big Ten are in the driver's seat in the next wave of postseason format changes -- and just about any other changes to the sport. Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion
USA Today
24-02-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Conference commissioners meet to discuss possible changes to CFP format in 2025 and beyond
AI-assisted summary A major point of discussion is whether to change the seeding format for 2025, though some believe it's not worth debating given the expected overhaul in 2026. Further expansion of the playoff field beyond 12 teams is expected in 2026, with 14 teams being the most likely scenario. The SEC and Big Ten, which will have significant influence over the format starting in 2026, have yet to align on key issues such as automatic qualifiers and conference scheduling. This week in Dallas, the 10 conference commissioners and Notre Dame athletics director Pete Bevacqua will meet to discuss the College Football Playoff format in 2025 and beyond. The meeting comes on the heels of a meeting between the SEC and Big Ten — which will have the largest say in the new CFP format beginning in 2026 — and will focus on changes made this year in the interim before larger changes come the following season. The format could look considerably different starting in 2026 with the SEC and Big Ten likely receiving multiple automatic qualifiers. While any changes made in the meantime for 2025 have to be unanimous, there are several items of debate on the docket. Primarily, the college football leaders will be discussing changes to the seeding format. As we saw this past season, first-round byes were reserved for the four highest ranked conference champions, allowing Boise State and Arizona State to receive byes. There has been some momentum to eliminate that format in 2025 and allow the CFP committee's four highest-seeded teams to earn first-round byes. However, there are some obstacles to doing so, namely the fact that it could disadvantage other leagues who also have to agree to it. Further, according to ESPN's Heather Dinich, there's a feeling that changing the seeding format for 2025 is not worth the debate given the overhaul the tournament is likely to receive next year. CFP expansion is also on the docket, and while the field will remain at 12 teams this upcoming season, it's likely to be the last in which that will be the case. Further expansion to 14 or even 16 teams is expected beginning in 2026, though 14 teams seems to be the most popular choice. Whether most of these changes are implemented in 2026 will likely come down to the alignment between the SEC and Big Ten, which SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said hasn't been achieved though the two leagues have "compared notes." He said the SEC is working through different issues than the Big Ten. One of those issues, potentially, is conference scheduling. The SEC currently plays an eight-game schedule while other leagues play nine, and it has resisted efforts to expand the conference schedule in the past. However, if bids are guaranteed to SEC teams based on conference record — as has been discussed as a possibility — it would incentivize the league to ultimately expand to nine games. There's a lot that still remains to be decided when it comes to the future of the CFP, and it's unclear at this time if there will be any significant changes to the format made in its second season this fall. But we do know that major changes are coming down the pipeline in 2026, and we could have some more clarity about what exactly that will look like when these meetings culminate in Dallas.
