A lot has gone down in the world of College Football in the last fortnight. Here is what you missed from 2020 College Football Season:
- Ivy League schools called all Fall sports and will look to make them up in the Spring.
- The Big 10 and Pac 12 Conferences followed suits, declaring they would only play in Conference games in 2020.
- No word yet from the SEC, ACC, or the Big 12 (decision expected later this month).
Let’s Delve Into This A Little More
A season with only conference games is still better than no season at all, for teams in the Power Five anyway. If you are in the Group of Five this could spell trouble.
An Eight, Nine, or even a Ten game season will look something like this.
Lets take Auburn as an example, they would play the other six teams in the SEC West and then a selection of the other teams in the East. Seems simple right? Sort off.
Not all the SEC teams are located in the same area of the country. Meaning some teams may not be able to travel, depending on the virus restriction in place in that city.
This Is Where It Gets Messy
The season would need to be stretched out over a longer period with fewer games to allow for things like a virus spreading, positive tests in large player groups, or worse, total lockdown. We could be looking at a 20 week season for just 10 games. Games will need to be made up that are missed during this time. Flexibility is important.
You still with me?
Let’s take Notre Dame, for example, they are an Independent school but this season they play six games against ACC teams. This would most likely mean the Fighting Irish join the ACC for the season and play for the ACC title.
How Does It Affect The Group of Five Schools?
If I lost you above, things are about to get weirder.
This season UMass plays Auburn and is set for a $1.8m payday. This is enough money for them to pay their entire athletic department for the 2020 season. If this game does not go ahead, things will be looking dire for them.
It is believed some teams in the Group of Five will struggle financially if the season is shortened or started and stopped. There are a lot of Athletic Directors from lower schools hoping the season is canceled altogether.
As fans we all want a season to go ahead as close to normal as possible. Are we being unrealistic, are we putting lower schools at risk of going under and leaving us with fewer teams to compete with in the future.
We haven’t even touched on what this means for the TV market and the money schools receive from the big TV networks.
For the latest on this check out the College Football Show with Spinksy live on YouTube from 3 pm PT on Saturday. We will cover this and so much more. See you all there.
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