Month: December 2022

Alexi Lalas and David Mosse break down Belgium’s disappointing performance in the 2022 FIFA World Cup and whether players such as Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard, and Romelu Lukaku disappointed Belgium’s Golden Generation.

Alexi Lalas and David Mosse react to Japan’s victory over Spain and whether VAR made the wrong decision with Ao Tanaka’s goal.

Rose Bowl Management Committee chair Laura Farber said the oldest active bowl had “no intention” of delaying expansion.

Laura Farber, a lawyer by trade, found herself in a courtroom Wednesday defending a deposition when she glanced over at her opposing counsel and delivered to them a message.

“I apologized to him and told him I’d need to take a lot of breaks today,” Farber says.

On one of the more significant deadline days in college football history, Farber successfully completed her juggling act. As the chair of the Rose Bowl Management Committee, she argued a court case and completed the Rose Bowl’s long-awaited decision on College Football Playoff expansion. The oldest active bowl game agreed to amend its contract with the CFP, paving the way for the playoffs to expand from four to 12 teams in 2024.

“We had no intention of being and did not believe we would ever be the sole reason why this didn’t happen,” Farber says on Thursday. “So what I can say is that we appreciate the CFP Board of Managers. The agreement includes the Rose Bowl game as part of the playoff system and we’re looking forward to working with them. Because as you know, this is going to be just the beginning!”

The Rose Bowl and CFP officials were immersed in negotiations over the last few weeks, right up until Wednesday, a date that CFP executives set for the bowl to ultimately make a decision. The Rose was in position to single-handedly delay playoff expansion. CFP officials needed unanimous agreement from the six CFP bowls to expand the playoff to 12 teams before the contract with ESPN ends after the 2025 playoff. Five of the six—Sugar, Orange, Fiesta, Peach and Cotton—were in support of amending the contract to expand early.

The Rose delayed its decision while requesting guarantees to keep its traditional date and time (2 p.m. PT on Jan. 1) in future iterations of the playoff, something the CFP executive board denied. Few if any guarantees can be made for the playoff beyond 2025 because no contract exists.

In the end, the Rose Bowl received no special treatment. There were no guarantees or concessions made for a future playoff, CFP executive director Bill Hancock said. However, on multiple occasions during a 30-minutes news conference, Hancock suggested that the CFP will make attempts for the Rose to maintain its date and time when applicable.

“It’d be in everyone’s best interest for anything CFP that happens in the Rose Bowl to kick off at 2 pm PT,” he said.

Farber acknowledged that the Rose Bowl asked the CFP to keep its exclusive window in any playoff that begins after 2025 but ultimately relinquished that request. The game is prepared to “remain flexible” with the schedule as needed, though their intent is to remain on Jan. 1.

In a newly constructed playoff, that may be difficult. In the expanded playoff format approved by presidents on Sept. 2, the six legacy bowls would host the quarterfinals and semifinals in a rotation. In a three-year window, each bowl would host two quarterfinals and a semifinal.

As a quarterfinal in 2024 and ’25, the Rose Bowl is expected to keep its traditional date and time. At least three of the four quarterfinals will kickoff on New Year’s Day in both ’24 and ’25.

However, in the new iteration of the playoff starting in 2026, the rounds may change dates. The semifinals could instead be played on New Year’s Day if the regular season shifts up a week, something many believe will ultimately happen.

In that case, the Rose would kick off on Jan. 1 once every three years. On years in which its CFP game is not played on New Year’s Day, the Rose could hold a second game pitting a Pac-12 and Big Ten team during its traditional time window.

Officials are open to that idea but have not made a decision.

“It’s premature because we don’t know until we know what the system looks like,” Farber says. “What the schedule is, how it’s going to work … we don’t have the ability to even think about what you’ve just asked me. I’m not going to say that it’s in the mix or not in the mix. I’m just gonna say it’s premature at this point.”

The negotiations between the Rose and the CFP dragged on longer than others because of the financial component, says Farber. Unlike the other bowls, the Rose has a separate agreement with ESPN, as well as a deal with the Pac-12 and Big Ten.

It’s uncertain if those separate contractual deals will continue in a new playoff, Farber said. The CFP prefers all contracts to be under the CFP umbrella, Hancock has said in the past.

“We’ve been negotiating the entire time,” Farber said. “In all negotiations, there’s always back and forth. And as the only bowl game with a separate broadcast contract, it wasn’t the smoothest process.”

She reiterated that the bowl never planned to stand in the way of early expansion. Though some CFP officials expressed frustration over the Rose Bowl’s requests, the game was “never threatened” with exclusion from the new playoff, Farber said.

“From the Alliance to the BCS to get the four-team playoff and now to the upcoming 12 team playoff, we have found ways to integrate the ‘Granddaddy of Them All’ into them all,” Farber said. “We’re confident that an expanded playoff is going to create opportunities and an exciting postseason atmosphere and and we’re very supportive of the College Football Playoff and thrilled to be part of it.”

More College Football Coverage:

• Michigan Is Built to Survive Blake Corum’s Injury
• How a 12-Team Playoff Would Look After CFB’s Week 13
• Caleb Williams Delivers His Crowning Moment in a Revitalized Coliseum

As the calendar gets set to flip to 2023, a number of notable college football players will enter the transfer portal. Track the latest moves here.

The former Wolverines’ quarterback is reportedly joining the Hawkeyes’ program.

Former Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara has reportedly committed to Iowa to begin the next chapter of his college football career, according to the ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

The news comes after McNamara entered the transfer portal on Monday, according to Sports Illustrated’s Richard Johnson. McNamara was Michigan’s starting quarterback during the 2021 season when the Wolverines went 12–2.

The senior opened the 2022 season in competition with J.J. McCarthy for the starting job. However, McNamara lost the competition and will now take his talents to Iowa to play for Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz.

During the 2021 campaign, McNamara threw for 2,576 yards and 15 touchdowns while leading the maize and blue to their first 12-win season since 1997. Iowa finished the ’22 regular season at 7–5 after winning four of its last five games.

The Wolverines (12–0) sit at No. 2 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings and will face Purdue in the 2022 Big Ten championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. 

• More CFB Coverage: Michigan’s Blake Corum to Have Season-Ending Surgery, per Report
• Michigan DL Mazi Smith Charged With Carrying Concealed Weapon
• How the 12 College Football Playoff Berths Will Be Awarded in 2024
• Auburn’s Hiring of Hugh Freeze Brings Coach’s Past Red Flags Back Into Spotlight

Gambling Insider Patrick Everson reports on how Germany’s ouster from the World Cup impacted sportsbooks and bettors.

Michigan is without its Heisman-caliber running back, but his backup appears ready to star vs. Purdue in the Big Ten title game.