Daily briefing: On ‘bad’ programs winning games, ‘good’ programs losing games and sellin’ swag

Ivan Maisel’s “Daily Briefing” for On3:

Success for historically unsuccessful programs

A lot has been made of how successful the traditional basketball powers have been this season. That’s a fun fact, but it’s more impactful to think of how much a lot of historically unsuccessful programs are succeeding. It’s not all the same group. Yes, No. 19 Kansas is 5-1 and Duke is 4-2, but No. 24 Illinois, which hasn’t had a winning record since 2011, is 5-1. No. 18 Syracuse is 5-0 for the first time since its undefeated season of 1987. Look at Vanderbilt, which is 3-3 and led No. 9 Ole Miss in the third quarter Saturday before falling 52-28. Rice is 3-2 and should easily surpass sixth-year coach Mike Bloomgren’s best record (4-8). UNLV, which broke a 14-game losing streak last season, is 4-2. The extra year of eligibility granted because of the pandemic and the transfer portal have made for some strange rosters. Enjoy these results while they last.

Tough times for historically successful programs

Then there’s the flip side of the rise of the doormats. Oklahoma (3-3 overall, 0-3 in the Big 12) plays Kansas on Saturday and is trying to avoid its first four-game losing streak since 1998. Miami (2-3, 0-1 in the ACC) plays at Virginia Tech (2-4, 1-2), and for the first time in the 31-year history of the rivalry, both have a losing record. For those of us with memories of their Big East (RIP) showdowns, that is shocking. And here’s a chance to point out that Nebraska goes for its first three-game winning streak since the Huskers started 7-0 in 2016. Six times in that span the Huskers have won two in a row, and six times they have been beaten. But know this, fellow naysayers: The winner of Nebraska at Purdue on Saturday will own at least a share of first place in the Big Ten West with a 3-1 conference record. Huskers interim coach Mickey Joseph may turn into a story yet.

The future of selling college swag

I have seen the future of selling college swag, and it’s somewhere between a store and a theme park. Alabama opened The Authentic, a retail shop in the south end zone of Bryant-Denny Stadium, on Saturday to sell licensed team apparel and NIL merchandise for Tide athletes. For instance, you can order a personalized Crimson Tide jersey (your name, not Bryce Young) and they create it while you wait. Those sold at one point Saturday at a rate of 40 per hour, at $150 a pop. There are signed helmets, and if the signature doesn’t turn your head, perhaps a $10,000 Swarovski crystal Alabama helmet might. You can buy a personalized Topps Alabama football card, and all the basics, too. I bet you’ll see a similar concept at other stadiums near you – Texas A&M athletic director Ross Bjork did a walk-through before the game Saturday.