Latest news with #PeachBowl
Yahoo
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Big Ten commish makes it clear: When it comes to College Football Playoff expansion, his No. 1 priority is inventory
Remember all the thrilling games of the 2024-25 College Football Playoff? Texas' two-overtime victory against Arizona State in the Peach Bowl! Notre Dame's walkoff field goal to defeat Penn State in the Orange Bowl! And … and … hey, how about that Peach Bowl? The sad truth about the debut of the expanded College Football Playoff was that from a competitive standpoint, it was pretty much a wet firework. Only two of the 11 games — those two above — finished with a one-possession margin of victory. Five of the games were decided by a margin of two touchdowns or more, and three were 20-plus-point blowouts. (Thanks for stopping by, SMU, Tennessee and Oregon.) More, in other words, didn't come anywhere near better. Yes, these were college football playoff games … but more importantly, they were inventory created to meet demand. And if people are going to buy as much of the product as you put on the shelves, what's the incentive to limit that product? Why worry about quality when quantity is your overall goal? College power conference leaders know this, which is why they're angling so hard for representation in the CFP's bracket — now at 12, almost certain to expand to 16. If — no, let's be honest, when — that expansion comes, most conferences favor a 5+11 bracket. That would comprise five conference champions, 11 at-large teams, and would seem to be as meritocratic as possible: Play well and you're in. (Win those winnable games, Alabama.) But meritocracy isn't the endgame here, aristocracy is. And so now you have Tony Petitti, Big Ten commissioner, backing a '4-4-2-2-1-3' idea, which would give the Big Ten and the SEC four automatic bids apiece, the Big 12 and the ACC two apiece, and the remaining conferences a single bid, with three more at-larges. (It's like one of those ridiculous old word problems — 'If the Big Ten gets four automatic berths in the playoffs, and the SEC gets four automatic berths … how can they screw the ACC and the Big 12 out of three more?') 'At the end of the day, I think there's been a lot of concern about how [the playoff selections] are made. I focus on that piece,' Petitti explained. 'How are we differentiating from teams that don't have head-to-head play, teams that don't play common schedules across leagues that do different things? I think that's a really hard, tall order.' It's quite the rhetorical trick Pettiti is playing there, saying that because his conference is so big, you can't adequately determine strength by head-to-head matchups alone. And whose fault is that? It wasn't the selection committee that expanded the Big 'Ten' to 18 teams. Petitti isn't interested in creating a more equitable playoff, or in creating the conditions for better competition. He wants to pack the bracket with his schools, damn the optics or the on-field results. (Worth noting: the talent dropped off fast in the Big Ten after the top four last year. Would Iowa or Illinois, with their 6-3 conference records, be more deserving of an at-large spot than a whole range of other options? No.) Petitti understands that there are spots that need to be filled — both now and in the 16-team playoff to come — and he wants those guaranteed for his conference, not subject to the whims of a playoff selection committee. But guaranteed bids are the very antithesis of 'settle it on the field,' and run counter to literally every 'you gotta earn it!' mantra preached by every coach from the beginning of time. It's no surprise why the ACC and Big 12 hate the idea, and it's also no surprise what's driving the Big Ten's push to claim as much inventory as possible. We're not exactly breaking news here to note that money trumps tradition at every single level of college sports now. Tradition only has value for universities, and especially for broadcast partners, to the extent it can be monetized. Yes, it's wonderful that you can hum along to your alma mater's fight song … but maybe you can kick in a few bucks to the ol' athletic capital campaign while you're at it? That rivalry you enjoyed your entire life … well, your rival just didn't have deep enough pockets to join a new conference. Shame to lose that, really, but how about a replacement conference game against a school from halfway across the country? That's almost as good, right? Tradition has no place in the College Football Playoff. This is about inventory, plain and simple, and every business wants to create enough inventory to meet demand. Except here, instead of cereal boxes on a grocery shelf or burgers on a restaurant warming tray, the inventory in question is college football playoff games. Broadcasters want more inventory because each playoff game is a highly monetizable asset. Universities want more inventory because each nationally televised game means more exposure, more alumni goodwill, more broadcast dollars. Fans might want more inventory because … well, more football is good football, right? Yeah, not so much. Sure, there's always the chance that a Cinderella will knock out a Goliath, to mix literary metaphors, but given the wide variance between college football haves and have-lesses, the more likely outcome is what we saw last year: the big dogs carving right through the happy-to-be-here teams. You know the best way to ensure competitive playoff games? Narrow the field down to the best four and let them have at it. Wild idea, right? We're never going back there, meaning college football fans are now living a truth that plagues everything from pizza to music to Marvel movies: As quantity goes up, quality goes down.
USA Today
23-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Former Michigan State football RB talks experience in East Lansing
The 2021 Michigan State football season was one for the memories, with the Spartans going 11-2 and winning the Peach Bowl. A big part in the Spartans success that season was the outstanding play of running back Kenneth Walker. Walker was an unbelievable recruiting win for Mel Tucker and his staff, getting the running back from Wake Forest. During the season, Walker ran for 1,636 yards and 18 touchdowns, while finishing sixth in the Heisman voting, being an All-American and winning the Walter Camp Award. Now, enjoying a successful NFL career with the Seattle Seahawks, Walker has been very vocal about how favorable he thinks of his time in East Lansing. In a recent interview, courtesy of MSUcontent on X, Walker took a deep dive into the time he had at Michigan State and all of the things that made it such an enjoyable experience: Click here to view the interview with Walker Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on X @Cory_Linsner
USA Today
12-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Predicting ceiling, floor for Michigan State football in 2025
Are you a glass half full or half empty type of person? Do you like to look on the bright side or dark side of things? Well, either way you go, we have you covered here with our ceiling and floor predictions for the upcoming Michigan State football season. This time of year we will come across numerous media outlets publishing the best and worst case scenarios for teams across the country, and we are no different here at Spartans Wire. So what are the best and worst possible scenarios for the Spartans in 2025? I think it could range from landing in the College Football Playoff to head coach Jonathan Smith entering the offseason on the hot seat. With that being said, let's take a look at my ceiling, floor and predicted records for the Spartans in 2025 below: Ceiling Record: 10-2 The best case scenario for the Spartans in 2025 would be similar to 2021 where essentially everything falls into place. That would require an offensive player becoming a star on the national level -- my guess would be quarterback Aidan Chiles -- and the Spartans experience some fortunate injury luck along the way. Combine those two things with wins in nearly all of their toss-up games and/or a notable upset, and that adds up to the ceiling scenario for the Spartans. As I said, it would essentially mirror what we saw in 2021 with Kenneth Walker III and the Spartans reaching the Peach Bowl. A 10-2 finish for the Spartans would almost certainly result in a berth in the College Football Playoff. This type of turnaround would be comparable to what we saw from Indiana last season -- which was equally unexpected as the Spartans doing so this fall. Floor Record: 4-8 If Michigan State gets off to a rough start and drops an early pivotal game against Boston College, then this floor may be actually lower. But I feel pretty confident Michigan State is going to handle their non-conference schedule which means the floor for the Spartans would consist of a 3-0 non-conference slate and 1-8 mark in league play. How do we get to the floor? Well, if the key players added via the portal are busts, Chiles' doesn't take that next step and the Spartans have some more bad injury lucky this fall, then finishing 4-8 is certainly possible. The schedule this fall doesn't possess as many top tier teams as last year, but the number of toss-up matchups could result in the same number of losses should they come up short in each of those predicted close games. Those are the three ingredients that will lead to the Spartans hitting their floor and ultimately putting Smith on the hot seat heading into next year. Prediction Record: 7-5 If we split the difference between the ceiling and floor then we simply land at 7-5, and that's where I'd predict Michigan State to finish at this point in the offseason. There are a lot of unknowns about Michigan State heading into this next season, but there are also a lot of things that give me confidence to anticipate a year of growth under Smith and his staff. I'm not sure yet how the games will all play out and which games I'm ready to predict the Spartans to win, but I think they reach seven this fall and get back to a bowl game for the first time since 2021. Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on X @RobertBondy5.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Mizzou QB Reveals He Was Originally Recruited as a Free Safety
Mizzou QB Reveals He Was Originally Recruited as a Free Safety originally appeared on Athlon Sports. As the Missouri Tigers prepare for the 2025 season, there are more questions than answers, especially at quarterback. Advertisement With the departure of three-year starter Brady Cook and several key offensive pieces, head coach Eli Drinkwitz was forced to look outside Columbia for solutions. One of those new faces under center is Penn State transfer Beau Pribula, a player who, not long ago, wasn't even seen as a true quarterback. 'My whole life, I was always a good athlete,' Pribula said on the Next Up with Adam Breneman podcast. 'I was recruited at free safety. I had to play wide receiver and free safety — and ended up being really good at it.' Despite his proven athleticism, the perception for a long time was that he couldn't throw well enough to play quarterback at a high level. Advertisement 'I could see how people would think that. Like, 'He's a good athlete, he can run, but I don't know if he can really play quarterback,'' he admitted. 'Honestly, I'd probably agree with them my freshman year of college. I see clips from that first spring, and I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, I was not ready to play this level of quarterback.'' But Pribula's development didn't stop there. He pointed to the 2023 Peach Bowl as a turning point, as the first time he felt he truly proved himself as a passer. 'After that Peach Bowl game, I had complete confidence in myself as a passer,' he said. 'People just didn't know it yet. I knew my teammates knew it. I knew my coaches knew it. But I understood why people on the outside didn't see it.' His real breakout moment, though, came in a 2024 matchup against Wisconsin. Advertisement 'It wasn't until the Wisconsin game where we were forced to call the whole playbook to win,' he said. 'That was the game where I had to make throws — and I did. That's when I felt like, 'Okay, here's 11 throws for you.'' Still, the narrative around Pribula has remained largely focused on his legs, not his arm. At Penn State, he racked up 571 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on 94 carries, while only throwing for 424 yards and nine scores on 56 attempts. Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Beau Pribula (9) rushes up the Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK But that limited passing sample, he says, was by design. Playing behind Drew Allar, Pribula was primarily used in running packages. 'People didn't see the throws I was making in practice or the player I was becoming,' he said. 'But I know 100% that I'm a complete quarterback. There's no doubt in my mind. I can throw just as well as any quarterback in the country. I'm just excited to show it.' Advertisement As the Tigers head into fall camp, there's still technically a quarterback competition between Pribula and redshirt junior Sam Horn. But based on spring reps and overall momentum, Pribula holds the edge — especially with Horn spending most of the spring focused on baseball and recently landing at No. 128 on MLB's Top Draft Prospects board. While many had their doubts, Pribula made it a goal to prove them wrong. Still, replacing Cook means more than just producing on the field, it also means taking over as a team leader, which will be the next big question for Pribula. But if you ask him, he's ready to answer it. Related: Mizzou Football Loses Another Promising Defensive Recruit to SEC Opponent This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 11, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Kenny Dillingham Makes Strong Case for Sam Leavitt to be Part of Elite List
Kenny Dillingham Makes Strong Case for Sam Leavitt to be Part of Elite List originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Arizona State Sun Devils had a magical 2024 campaign, and it likely couldn't have happened without quarterback Sam Leavitt. After one season spent with the Michigan State Spartans, Leavitt joined the Sun Devils and hit the ground running. Advertisement By passing for 2,885 yards, 24 touchdowns and six interceptions, Leavitt was named the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year and was named second-team All-Big 12. Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham joined Rece Davis and Pete Thamel on their "College Gameday Podcast," and the first topic of discussion was the 20-year-old signal-caller. "He's a competitor," said Dillingham when asked by Davis why Leavitt should be on their list of the top quarterbacks in college football. "He makes plays that we don't call the play for. Arizona State Sun Devils quarterback Sam Leavitt.© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images "I think anytime that your quarterback makes you look good, you've got a chance. So not only can he make plays when we don't (make) a good call, when somebody gets beat, he extends the plays. ... It's reminiscent of Jake Plummer in that he works like a champion." Advertisement Invoking Plummer's name is a big comparison. The Sun Devils quarterback from 1993 to 1996 would eventually be a second-round pick of the Arizona Cardinals in 1997. Widely considered the best quarterback in school history, Plummer played in 42 games and passed for 8,626 yards, 64 touchdowns and 34 interceptions. Last season, Leavitt led Arizona State to a Big 12 conference championship and an appearance in the College Football Playoff. Although their run in the CFP was short-lived, many felt the Sun Devils gave it everything during their 39-31 double-overtime loss to the Texas Longhorns in the Peach Bowl, a CFP quarterfinal. Arizona State appears at No. 14 in Athlon Sports' preseason top 25, so expectations for the program, Leavitt and Dillingham are very high entering the 2025 season. Davis' and Thamel's top-five quarterbacks from fifth to first were Louisville's Miller Moss, Leavitt, Clemson's Cade Klubnik, LSU's Garrett Nussmeier and Texas' Arch Manning. Advertisement Related: Ex-Alabama QB Makes Feelings Clear About Ty Simpson After Ryan Grubb's Comments Related: 11-Time Pro Bowler's Son Predicted To Be Recruited by Independent College Football Powerhouse This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 18, 2025, where it first appeared.
