David Pollack predicts more parity in college football moving forward

College football this season already seems on a crash course for chaos, with juggernaut Alabama suffering a loss already and looking mortal and several other would-be contenders showing at least some warts. Is parity in college football here to stay?

That’s what ESPN analyst David Pollack believes.

“Not only do I think that there’s more parity this year, I think moving forward we’re going to be in a state of more parity,” Pollack said on DawgsHQ. “And I say that because of two things. There’s two things that have happened that pissed everybody off in the country. NIL and transfer portal. Everybody across the country, pissed off, don’t like it, hate it.

“The reason that that matters is there’s more parity in college football than there’s been in a long, long time, because people ain’t going to ‘Bama to be second-team anymore. They’re not going to ‘Bama when they can get paid somewhere else.”

There are already a handful of high-profile examples of this phenomenon. Pollack provided one from his alma mater, Georgia.

“Bear Alexander wants to be the starter, wants to be the main guy, wants to know he’s the guy,” Pollack said. “No. You’re going to have to earn it every week at Georgia. OK, pull the ripcord, I’m going to USC. I just think that it’s here to stay.”

That said, there isn’t going to be full parity like the NFL. There are too many built-in advantages for some of the elite powerhouse programs for full parity in college football.

One thing may become a bigger factor for the real playoff contenders going forward, though.

“I’ll say this. It’s still going to be slanted towards Georgia. It’s still going to be slanted towards Alabama, Ohio State when they have their trigger man, when they have their quarterback,” Pollack said. “Because they’re still getting the best guys top to bottom consistently year-round.

“When you’ve got a great quarterback those athletes are going to shine. When you’ve got a great quarterback and you’re going to score points, your system’s going to work really well. So I do think we’ll have more parity, but I do think you’re still going to see, I think Georgia’s going to continue to evolve.”

For one example of a team that’s managing the current reality in college football quite well, Pollack turned to the ACC.

“I got news for you, if you think FSU is a flash in the pan, I think you’re wrong,” Pollack said. “I think FSU is here to stay. They’ve done a masterful job of transfer portal with great high school recruiting, meshing them together for the time being, an experienced quarterback, a defensive line that can get after the passer. They’re going to be a problem. So I think we’ll see more and more parity as we see college football continue to grow.”