Always a popular feature this time of year, let's take a look at how many pounds the player on offense gained or lost during the off-season.

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Retired before getting cut?

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Linking this recent piece from Rivals Midwest recruiting guy Clint Cosgrove on a 2025 STL QB that visited last week.

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I could see the following scenario playing out.

1. Add AZ (necessary first step).

2. Add Or/Wa - and add no more Pac schools. - “marriage of convenience”
If the Big is not ready to add them now, we could be a landing spot to protect their brand for the duration of our GOR - end of 30-31 season. Even if they split then for the Big10, we still pocket the exit fees while leaving more room to add ACC teams if available at that time.
Doubling up in Az and Utah right now doesn’t make sense to me and I see more value in adding ACC leftovers if available. Also leaves the Pac with 6 teams - still alive but not a threat. This would be done with the Big10’s blessing - not convinced they want to add right now until they know about ND and if ACC teams can move. Enticing OR/WA seems a bit far fetched but I can see a plausible pathway for this as outlined.

3. BB only adds. I don’t think the all sports adds forecloses a BB play which I think BY wants to emphasize. Add Gonzaga and UCONN (go to 20 league games with 3 home and homes). To entice UCONN, guarantee them 4-5 FB games a year with some scheduling flexibility (ND lite) - UCF might play them every year with the remainder stuck with an OOC game once every 4-5 years.

You ought to be proud, but we got a long way to go to catch up to Wisconsin.

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Channel surfing and found end of extended interview of Mr. Lazard from Jets training camp. Nice to see him getting air time. Hope he has a good season with the New York Cyclones.

We are bumping up against what I believe is the maximum size for a College Conference. The SEC and B1G are already there starting in 2024. That number is 16.

First, I don't think you have a Conference if you don't play everyone on a regular basis. And you cannot do that beyond 16 under current conditions. Whether it is 3-6-6 or pods or whatever, a 16 team conference can play each other twice in a 4 year period in Football and at least once annually in Basketball.

The key current condition is the College LLP Football Playoffs. The pressure is going to be on to eliminate automatic qualifiers. The SEC has 8 teams who believe they have a right to be in the playoffs almost every year (Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, OU, Texas, A&M, LSU, and Florida) and the B1G has 4 (tOSU, UM, PSU, USC). Add in Clemson, FSU and Notre Dame and you have at a minimum 15 teams who believe the absolute right to the playoffs is theirs.

That, of course, doesn't include former or occasional powers like Miami, Oregon, Washington, Tennessee, and Nebraska (smh). Or delusional "powers" like Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan State, and Utah. Clearly some of those schools are not like the others, but all are legends in their own minds.

The current model doesn't support super Conferenceces. Yet here we are. Right now, it appears money is the prime motivator. But after the money is consolidated, and maybe 40 teams land in the B1G and SEC, the model doesn't work. So there will be a push, demand, for no automatic qualifiers, so all the teams and money goes to those Conferences. And if it doesn't, the current model disappears and a College Football League, with it's own rules of operation, will form. It might be 40. It might be 32. If it is 32, it won't be the current 32 in the Big Ten and SEC. Missouri, Arkansas, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Rutgers, Maryland, Indiana, Purdue, Minnesota, Illinois, Northwestern will all be scrambling to ward off the likes of Miami, Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Notre Dame. The networks are going to want a more national Coverage, bigger markets.

It might come down to the absolute powers plus those closest to markets, a mini NFL. Minus the NE since CFB doesn't play well there.

I could see the following CFB League:
For sures: USC, Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, Clemson, Louisiana State, Florida, Florida State, Miami, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Auburn, Washington, Oregon, Wisconsin,

The next 12, strictly in my opinion based on success and brand:
Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan State, UCLA, Utah, North Carolina, Virginia, TCU, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Stanford

As you can see, it is hard beyond the first 20-24. But some version of this is how I see this going. The current model can't survive, imo.

Last year there was a huge young man from California that was going to wrestle and maybe play football.
Super athlete. He was so excited about coming here he moved to Ames to finish up his senior your at Ames.
I do not remember his name. Did he move to Ames ?????

Has red tape slowed UA down?
Is UW and OU a real thing?
Are they conferencing with the Big 12 tonight?
There has to be at least one because we will not be a 13 team Conference in 2024.

Hopefully CMC has got this under control.....

Looks like he is already making a name for himself.

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If this belongs on the off-topic board, I trust it will be moved.

Anybody else watch this series? They followed three NFL quarterbacks -- Mahomes, Cousins and Mariota -- through the 2022 season, on and off the field. Really interesting. The series has been renewed for next year, but they haven't chosen the subjects yet. There is some speculation that Purdy could be one of them.

Randy Meisner RIP

I hear several politicians on both sides talking about polarization, and they are going to work to bring us together. I personally don't see any middle ground. The positions of the left are completely insane. How can anyone work with a party that can not even define what a woman is? Conservatives know there are 2 genders, liberals claims there are hundreds. Please tell me the middle ground? There is no middle ground when dealing with insane people.

"You’ve got to wonder what the leaders of the 9 remaining Pac-12 teams are thinking right now, with the walls crumbling around them. I picture a bunch of old men in top hats and monocles and women with long cigarettes and primped hair commiserating over martinis and high test scores. Sure, Stanford is in a better position than Iowa State.
But the Cyclones feel a lot more stable right now."

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

Read in the Ames Tribune today that Jason Aldean's "Try That In A Small Town" was co-written by an Iowan. It's apparently a bit controversial. I don't listen to much music these days, but I looked it up and found the video. Judge for yourself.

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I have seen posted that Arizona is poised to make the move but has several "hurdles" to clear. Anyone have any idea what those hurdles are or might be? Do they need Legislative approval? If so, are they tied to ASU in any move?

Or something else?

I thought this was a good read . Always seemed like a good kid . I think it’s a positive that the players that have left the program seem to still have positve things to say about it .

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