College football isn't worth it anymore

adcoop

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I think the OP is being a little dramatic here. The talent of Wells can be replaced and it will. Heck, we got all of 3 catches from him this year. So, right now we aren't missing a whole lot. Some of us get so worked over players and they come and go. A lot of performance is about opportunity and I can bet you that there is someone in that WR room or even at the FCS level that is just itching for an opportunity. We basically depended on Mario for our running game and he was at a DII this time last year. Who knew Xavier Legette was alive as a WR until he got the opportunity this year. So, it's up to our coaches to retain who they can retain and add the best players possible to put together an 85 man unit. Sometimes, you have to go cheap and surprise people by winning. Then, you can splurge on the Hot NIL guy later.
 
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KingWard

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I don't really see contracts fixing much. It's like a LOI. It's supposed to be binding, but what's a coach gonna do when a kid comes and says "I had a change of heart and I don't want to play here anymore"? It's not worth it to keep someone on the roster who doesn't want to be there.
I think that, over a fairly short time, it will adjust player expectations and mindsets going in. Something has to be done at the start to redefine what is reasonable and acceptable.
 
Nov 28, 2022
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These players don't know the definition of commitment starting from high school. "Commits" decommitting. It's so hard to care about a team so much that the players themselves don't care about. With players like Wells, Bell, Edmonds, and Burch, etc. transferring with essentially a guaranteed starting role, it makes caring about this team feel so meaningless. I know it's "about the money" for some of these guys, but it's not like playing at Texas or Alabama guarantees you a higher draft status. We've had plenty of players drafted highly even when we were mediocre. I just don't see why I should emotionally or financially invest in a program that is simply a stepping stone for players who think they're better than us (this is aimed at Wells). We won't replace his talent. I think all of this NIL and portal BS is ruining the sport, and it's causing me to lose interest. I foresee many other fans losing interest in the coming years as players aren't loyal to the university and team we love. I just don't think I'll be watching college football next year. Honestly, I only watched 2 whole Carolina games this year. I used to have season tickets and invest, but it just seems so pointless. We don't have to agree and I know many of you don't, but I think eventually you
NIL is a problem. College players do not have a determined value. They are not studied like pro players are, though Alabama and UGA have recruiting departments that are as close to the pros as you could have. You can't create contracts for these players, because the extent would be 4 years of eligibility and how do you determine a price and what do you do with players who don't live up to their valuation? Can you cut them like the pros? No, because their scholarships are guaranteed, but them staying four years isn't... It is an impossible issue to fix. The NCAA has given up. The conferences are not much better. It is likely we are moving into Big 10/SEC superleagues that are the college equivalent of the old AFC/NFC and we'll have playoffs and a Super Bowl. This current system is not only not sustainable, I would say that it is pretty much dead. You'd have to convince all of the fans to quit watching and attending games and make any new TV deals untenable. I doubt there is a collective will for that. Personally, I just cannot watch it anymore. It is a joke.
 

Thunderstick

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Jan 21, 2022
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These players don't know the definition of commitment starting from high school. "Commits" decommitting. It's so hard to care about a team so much that the players themselves don't care about. With players like Wells, Bell, Edmonds, and Burch, etc. transferring with essentially a guaranteed starting role, it makes caring about this team feel so meaningless. I know it's "about the money" for some of these guys, but it's not like playing at Texas or Alabama guarantees you a higher draft status. We've had plenty of players drafted highly even when we were mediocre. I just don't see why I should emotionally or financially invest in a program that is simply a stepping stone for players who think they're better than us (this is aimed at Wells). We won't replace his talent. I think all of this NIL and portal BS is ruining the sport, and it's causing me to lose interest. I foresee many other fans losing interest in the coming years as players aren't loyal to the university and team we love. I just don't think I'll be watching college football next year. Honestly, I only watched 2 whole Carolina games this year. I used to have season tickets and invest, but it just seems so pointless. We don't have to agree and I know many of you don't, but I think eventually you

I concur with you. However, what do you mean "We've had plenty of players drafted highly even when we were mediocre??"

With just a very few seasons excepted we have always been mediocre.
 

cockyferg

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Jan 25, 2022
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I think the OP is being a little dramatic here. The talent of Wells can be replaced and it will. Heck, we got all of 3 catches from him this year. So, right now we aren't missing a whole lot. Some of us get so worked over players and they come and go. A lot of performance is about opportunity and I can't bet you that there is someone in that WR room or even at the FCS level that is just itching for an opportunity. We basically depended on Mario for our running game and he was at a DII this time last year. Who knew Xavier Legette was alive as a WR until he got the opportunity this year. So, it's up to our coaches to retain who they can retain and add the best players possible to put together an 85 man unit. Sometimes, you have to go cheap and surprise people by winning. Then, you can splurge on the Hot NIL guy later.
I would say I'm the opposite of dramatic; I'm leaning into indifference. I don't think it's a sustainable model to hope we get transfer portal guys like Wells every year. I would say that at least 50% of the transfers we've gotten have been minor contributors, or if they've been major contributors, it's been to contribute to our mediocrity. I do think I have seen teams even in our league be more successful with less talent than we have, but the problem is we haven't gone after the types of assistant coaches who are capable of doing that. Now if we hire some really talented assistant coaches who can really get the players developed to play at a high level, it might be more realistic for us to be competitive....but I don't see that happening if history has taught us anything.
 

cockyferg

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I concur with you. However, what do you mean "We've had plenty of players drafted highly even when we were mediocre??"

With just a very few seasons excepted we have always been mediocre.
Solid point. That should have said "even though we've been historically mediocre" Lol. But, my overall point still stands. We have had some great talents come out of this mediocre program.
 
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adcoop

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I would say I'm the opposite of dramatic; I'm leaning into indifference. I don't think it's a sustainable model to hope we get transfer portal guys like Wells every year. I would say that at least 50% of the transfers we've gotten have been minor contributors, or if they've been major contributors, it's been to contribute to our mediocrity. I do think I have seen teams even in our league be more successful with less talent than we have, but the problem is we haven't gone after the types of assistant coaches who are capable of doing that. Now if we hire some really talented assistant coaches who can really get the players developed to play at a high level, it might be more realistic for us to be competitive....but I don't see that happening if history has taught us anything.
This wasn't the most successful season, but most of the name worthy contributors on our roster were portal guys: Rattler, Anderson, Knox, Simon, Deebo Williams, Strachan, Wells (last year). Maybe that is way to compete because it seems like we lose the guys that we recruit out of high school if they show anything.
 

18IsTheMan

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Jan 19, 2022
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There are 3 groups of fans:
1. Those who the see the changes in the game as fundamentally and detrimentally changing the sport into something unrecognizable from what it once was.

2. Those who think the fundamental changes are a good thing and like them.

3. Those who think the changes have not fundamentally changed the sport at all.

I'm a 1. I can argue and debate with a 2. 3s are hopeless.
 

USCEDGE

Joined Mar 5, 2019
Feb 5, 2022
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A simple solution to all the problems (that will never happen) is to make athletes be accepted to the school through regular admission channels before they can join a team or be awarded a scholarship. Require schools to admit any applicant who had grades and test scores equal to the lowest grades and test scores of any athlete admitted to the school. Athletes would be true "student athletes" and would have some connection/loyalty to the school since they chose to go there before they were on a team. Let them transfer without restriction as long as they met the same transfer requirements to their new school as every other student who wanted to transfer into that school.

Members of the marching band have to be admitted to Carolina before they can try out for the band and there are no restrictions on them as far as transferring to another school and being in that school's marching band. Students with academic scholarships have to be admitted to the university before they can get their scholarship and they are free to leave and transfer to any school they want.
You should have stopped after the first sentence. You espouse dumbing down the general student population to accommodate athletes in your second sentence. I could get on board with having athletes adhere strict academic standards but you are correct in saying "that will never happen." That ship sailed long ago! Athlete=student......nope!!
 

cocean

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I used to be crazy about college football. But maybe it was having a child, getting older, football team sucking wind, or just caring more about the important things in life that made me not really give a s*** anymore. I still follow and cheer on the team, but it is nothing like it used to be.
 
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Big JC

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You should have stopped after the first sentence. You espouse dumbing down the general student population to accommodate athletes in your second sentence. I could get on board with having athletes adhere strict academic standards but you are correct in saying "that will never happen." That ship sailed long ago! Athlete=student......nope!!
I don't see any legitimate university or college sacrificing their academic standing for athletics. The model today is for the school to farm out the athletics to an "athletic association" that is a separate entity than the university or college. The ivory tower academic types aren't going to sacrifice their academic standing for wins in sports. The schools that do sell their souls for athletics (Clemson, Auburn, any school that hires Hugh Freeze or Urban Meyer as coach) will be pariahs in the academic rankings.
 

gamecock stock

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Here is one thing I think we all must come to terms with. We live in a state that is not considered "rich" with money flowing. I suspect that we do not have disproportionately a lot of wealthy alumni. Thus NIL and the Portal really work against us. It also works against Clemson, which is why Dabo was and is so critical of it. I thought at one time that being a Top 15 program with an occasional visit to the Top 10 was our ceiling. Now I think that a program in the Top 20-25 range is our ceiling. To consistently do better, our Head Coach simply needs to have the ability to overachieve with the talent he has at hand. I hope Shane is that guy.
 

Lewk

Joined Aug 9, 2009
Jan 19, 2022
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Well, it's typical of progressive overkill. They want to sell everyone on the notion that a four-year commitment is oppressive, analogous to life without parole. That's the driving force behind the absurdity.
This has nothing to do with being progressive or liberal
 

Yard_Pimps

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Jul 11, 2022
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I don't really see contracts fixing much. It's like a LOI. It's supposed to be binding, but what's a coach gonna do when a kid comes and says "I had a change of heart and I don't want to play here anymore"? It's not worth it to keep someone on the roster who doesn't want to be there.
They don’t have to play but they can’t go play anywhere else either. It’s no different than Watson refusing to play for the Texans. He couldn’t go anywhere else till they let him.
 

KingWard

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This has nothing to do with being progressive or liberal
Did I say "liberal"? No one said liberal. You said liberal. But "progressive" in the sense of supposed improvement, even if fundamentally important controls are compromised, even to a destructive degree. This qualifies. College athletics is now the equivalent of Portland.
 
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Prestonyte

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Did I say "liberal"? No one said liberal. You said liberal. But "progressive" in the sense of supposed improvement, even if fundamentally important controls are compromised, even to a destructive degree. This qualifies. College athletics is now the equivalent of Portland.
Lack of or compromised controls and driven by capitalism are two things which do not homogenize well.
 
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DeBoer31

Joined Jun 19, 2015
Jan 28, 2022
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These players don't know the definition of commitment starting from high school. "Commits" decommitting. It's so hard to care about a team so much that the players themselves don't care about. With players like Wells, Bell, Edmonds, and Burch, etc. transferring with essentially a guaranteed starting role, it makes caring about this team feel so meaningless. I know it's "about the money" for some of these guys, but it's not like playing at Texas or Alabama guarantees you a higher draft status. We've had plenty of players drafted highly even when we were mediocre. I just don't see why I should emotionally or financially invest in a program that is simply a stepping stone for players who think they're better than us (this is aimed at Wells). We won't replace his talent. I think all of this NIL and portal BS is ruining the sport, and it's causing me to lose interest. I foresee many other fans losing interest in the coming years as players aren't loyal to the university and team we love. I just don't think I'll be watching college football next year. Honestly, I only watched 2 whole Carolina games this year. I used to have season tickets and invest, but it just seems so pointless. We don't have to agree and I know many of you don't, but I think eventually you
Many of us foresaw this because we were old enough to live during the pre NFL free agency bonanza vs. what it is now. Really was pretty easy to see coming. Agree with most of what you said. I still watch every game....but definitely have pulled back financially and in-person game wise. I don't have the same intense feelings BECAUSE of the overall setup of the sport. It's like the worst parts of society pressed and got their way. They saw college football a certain way, and got what they projected/wanted.
 
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DeBoer31

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News flash players have never been attached to the school. Sure some do but most could care less. They were just bound by chains so you didn’t notice. I think what you’re wanting is kinda selfish when you look at it from a player perspective. Not a single one of you would stay in your current job making peanuts is some other company came along offering a million. It’s as simple as that. Some of this NIL money can set these kids up for life without the NFL.
Most preposterous post I have ever seen. "Bound by chains"? smh - man...98% of the guys on all these D1 rosters will be future cust. service answerers, insurance agents, cell phone branch managers, burger flippers, the occasional lawyer, etc.
Every one of us WITH A JOB is a professional. College football players aren't professionals in any manner. In the mean time....greed of an idiotic generation has ruined a once great American past time. Kudos.
 

Tngamecock

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Most preposterous post I have ever seen. "Bound by chains"? smh - man...98% of the guys on all these D1 rosters will be future cust. service answerers, insurance agents, cell phone branch managers, burger flippers, the occasional lawyer, etc.
Every one of us WITH A JOB is a professional. College football players aren't professionals in any manner. In the mean time....greed of an idiotic generation has ruined a once great American past time. Kudos.
Yeah, the bound by chains comment was laughable. Those poor college players living like the kings of campus at every school
 

Forkcock

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I don't see any legitimate university or college sacrificing their academic standing for athletics. The model today is for the school to farm out the athletics to an "athletic association" that is a separate entity than the university or college. The ivory tower academic types aren't going to sacrifice their academic standing for wins in sports. The schools that do sell their souls for athletics (Clemson, Auburn, any school that hires Hugh Freeze or Urban Meyer as coach) will be pariahs in the academic rankings.
UNC did.
 

Atlanta_Cock

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May 29, 2023
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Here is one thing I think we all must come to terms with. We live in a state that is not considered "rich" with money flowing. I suspect that we do not have disproportionately a lot of wealthy alumni. Thus NIL and the Portal really work against us. It also works against Clemson, which is why Dabo was and is so critical of it. I thought at one time that being a Top 15 program with an occasional visit to the Top 10 was our ceiling. Now I think that a program in the Top 20-25 range is our ceiling. To consistently do better, our Head Coach simply needs to have the ability to overachieve with the talent he has at hand. I hope Shane is that guy.
You are correct, and Shane is not the guy.

I’m now in the camp that CFB is irretrievably changed for the worse. I actually have more interest in occasionally watching a game between 2 good teams rather than watch us. It’s sad. CFB, in general, and SC football, in particular, was my absolute fav. No more, and I’m fairly certain that most feel this way now too. Except for about 8-12 schools that have large endowments and a large pool of wealthy alumni, the majority of schools, including us, are now feeders. Our rosters will dramatically change from year to year. It’ll be difficult and far less fun to follow specific players bc their loyalty is not to the school.
 

Atlanta_Cock

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May 29, 2023
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Lack of or compromised controls and driven by capitalism are two things which do not homogenize well.
Depends on the focus. Capitalism and free enterprise is unquestionably the best system to improve the lives of billions or produce the best military or produce the best product. But if the focus is to give everyone fair shot, as opposed to simply creating the very best team, some basic rules of suppression are needed.
 

Atlanta_Cock

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May 29, 2023
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Many of us foresaw this because we were old enough to live during the pre NFL free agency bonanza vs. what it is now. Really was pretty easy to see coming. Agree with most of what you said. I still watch every game....but definitely have pulled back financially and in-person game wise. I don't have the same intense feelings BECAUSE of the overall setup of the sport. It's like the worst parts of society pressed and got their way. They saw college football a certain way, and got what they projected/wanted.
I don't watch the NFL at all. As a kid, I loved the Steelers.
 

Atlanta_Cock

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I think that, over a fairly short time, it will adjust player expectations and mindsets going in. Something has to be done at the start to redefine what is reasonable and acceptable.
It’s the worst of all worlds. Even in MLB, which has no salary cap, the players are bound by contracts. CFB is the Wild West. I understand there was litigation over college “free agency” at the time, but I can’t believe most coaches didn’t say something when all of this was being discussed.
 

KingWard

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Feb 15, 2022
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It’s the worst of all worlds. Even in MLB, which has no salary cap, the players are bound by contracts. CFB is the Wild West. I understand there was litigation over college “free agency” at the time, but I can’t believe most coaches didn’t say something when all of this was being discussed.
They couldn't appear to be "slavemasters".
 
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