December 9, 2025 • 46 mins
Notre Dame football being left out of the College Football Playoff caused a meltdown. Possible transfer portal QB's like Sam Leavitt )ASU), Dylan Raiola (Nebraska Football), Lanorris Sellers (USC football) are about to get massive NIL money drama and a $500 million Utah Utes private equity bombshell all collide with George Wrighster. From the latest CFP rankings to Notre Dame football melting down over Miami Hurricanes football and Alabama football getting the last playoff spots, this episode dives into how the CFP committee really thinks, and why schedule roulette and conference bias are breaking the system. George breaks down why Notre Dame football only has itself to blame for missing the 12-team field, how Miami’s résumé and head-to-head win stacked up, and why Alabama and Georgia bulldogs always seem to land on their feet in the SEC-driven CFP world.
Then it’s the new age of business: the Utah Utes’ groundbreaking private equity deal with Otro Capital, how a $500M war chest changes Utah’s Big 12 and CFP ceiling, and why this “Utah Brands & Entertainment” model might be the future of college athletics. George connects that move to the transfer portal and NIL reality—Troy Aikman publicly tapping out of NIL after writing a big check, Dante Moore and Bryce Underwood navigating coaching changes and QB rooms, and why donors are demanding real structure instead of handshake deals. If you care about the portal, NIL, realignment, Utah’s arms race, and whether the CFP should expand to 16 teams with cross-conference matchups between the SEC, Big Ten, ACC and Big 12, this live breakdown is your blueprint for where college football is headed.
Chapters:
00:00 – Week with no games, but CFP chaos, portal and NIL on fire
00:54 – Transfer portal open: under-the-radar names your team should chase
01:42 – QB carousel: Sam Levitt, Nico Iamaleava, Dylan Raiola and “ring culture”
04:53 – Staff moves to keep QBs: South Carolina, Oregon football, Michigan and Bryce Underwood
06:21 – “Time for pay”: transfer portal, draft decisions and money choices
07:18 – Notre Dame football loses its mind over CFP; why Miami hurricanes football got the nod
11:00 – How the committee led Notre Dame on, then flipped them late
13:43 – Story time: ring-box fakeout and how it mirrors ND’s CFP expectations
17:23 – History lesson: TCU 2014, Florida State 2023 and late-season bait-and-switch
19:33 – ACC politicking for Miami, “friends with benefits” Notre Dame and conference loyalty
21:21 – Utah Utes’ private equity move explained: Utah Brands & Entertainment
29:37 – Why boosters vs private equity is really “Saturday emotion vs Monday spreadsheets”
31:16 – How Utah football model could spread and why Texas Tech is already close
33:15 – Troy Aikman’s NIL frustration and what it says about the old booster model
35:38 – Why NIL needs real contracts, buyouts and structure like the NFL
40:26 – Building a 16-team CFP: auto bids, at-larges and schedule roulette fixes
42:27 – Cross-conference games (SEC, Big Ten, ACC, Big 12) as a tiebreaker for extra bids
44:19 – Conference title weekend mini-playoffs and why networks will love it
45:08 – Final CFP bracket thoughts, media lobbying and why this show stays honest
#notredamefootball #collegefootballplayoff #alabamafootball #collegefootball #cfb #cfp #TransferPortal #NIL #UtahUtes #NotreDame #MiamiHurricanes #secfootball #BigTen #Big12 #ACC #texastechfootball #OregonDucks #MichiganFootball #UCLA #TroyAikman #UnafraidShow #GeorgeWrighster #Live #bigtenfootball
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the College Football Show.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
We got a lot to talk about today now, mind you,
it ain't nothing but the Army and Navy game going
on this week, but we gotta talk to college football playoff.
The transfer portal is going crazy, Notre Dame has lost
their entire minds, Utah is changing the world.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Of college football, and.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Troy Aikman is going after a current college football player
without calling his name out and why he is on
the losing end of nil and the transfer portal. So
we got so much to talk about today on a
week there ain't no game picks, nothing like that. And
we are going to talk about the CFP and my
(00:46):
early and initial predictions, and of course the game previews
will be rolling out starting tomorrow, so make sure that
you guys like subscribe, get notifications, tell a friend about
the show, and most important share. So we are gonna
start today where the transfer portal starts and begins right so,
(01:08):
and in case you have missed it, there's a really
good article was an article on Unafraid show dot com,
but also a video here on the channel where I
give you dudes who are going to hop in the
portal or most likely to hop in the portal that
are not in the power for schools right now that
your team needs to go after. So you guys make
(01:29):
sure that you guys go check that out. Some of
these names, you're gonna be like, Okay, just like I
gave you all the names for the transfer guys that
were transferred this year, and we're gonna make a big impact.
Most of them hit. So these are the guys that
you guys need to know, all right, So let's get
back to business. Though the transfer portal, we are seeing
(01:51):
names that are either in the transfer portal or believe
to going to hop into the transfer portal. You got
Sam Levitt from Arizona State hopping in the transfer a
portal and he's got a Liz Frank injury, had surgery.
So we're talking five six months and but you just
think about how this has.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Been handled with him and his family.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
This hasn't been good because the team was still playing,
there was rumors about him hopping in the portal.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
It's just a.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Really bad look. But now the question is why was
he even hopping in the portal? Ben These are the
questions that we're gonna get from a lot of these
you know, surrounding quarterbacks. In particular, you had nico E
a Malaba hopping the portal last year, and then now
you're talking Dylan Ryola over there at Nebraska. His brother decommitted,
(02:41):
his uncle, the old line coach got fired. This is
how this situation where everything just because the player goes
to your team, it appears that he's the starter.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Stuff's going well.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
We don't know what's going on behind the scenes, and
we also don't know what's going on with these players
families and handlers and everything else. Because this is like
ring culture when it comes to college football, where people
are so enamored with if you want a championship, have
you not won? Yes, you made it to the playoffs,
(03:13):
but you didn't win anything Like It's like there's no
value in anything except for holding up the trophy, when
in life, there's value in the journey. Kobe's told us
that other the journey matters so much. But we're caught
up so much, and a lot of these kids are
looking for ideal and perfect circumstances to get to the
(03:35):
NFL and to strive and to do well. Did Patrick
Mahomes have a perfect situation at Texas Tech? No, did
Tom Brady have a perfect situation. How about Joe Flack
go over there Delaware did did he have a perfect situation?
Speaker 1 (03:51):
No? It is very few quote unquote perfect situations.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Like a Bryce Young goes to Bama, everything works out,
didn't and then all of a sudden he ends up
the first pick of the draft. It doesn't really go
like that very often. The majority of the time when
you have NFL success.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
A lot of it was built upon the.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Hard stuff that you had to go through in college,
and a lot of times it didn't look pretty all
the time, but it built the resiliency and everything. And
I think sometimes this is getting lost with some of
these kids. But sometimes, like a kid like Leonora's Sellers
over there at South Carolina, I was concerned about the
(04:36):
coaching around him and the offensive coordinator. So South Carolina
they hired a new offensive coordinator to try to keep
Leonora's Sellers out of the portal and to keep the
head coach, Shane Beemer, keeping a job.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
So they hired Art Brow's.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Son, Kendall Briles, who's done a good job coordinating offenses
since he's been in college football. So he's doing a
good job there. And these are moves that coaches are
gonna have to make. You look at the University of Oregon,
Dante More, He's losing his offensive coordinator and will stein
to go to Kentucky. Right, so people don't feel like
(05:16):
there's a threat that he's gonna leave and go to Kentucky.
But what they do fear and are concerned about is, well,
his offensive coordinator left, is he then gonna go to
the NFL? Because part of this is preparing kids for
the league, giving them the best opportunity. But also if
you want to retain players, there has to be some
sort of continuity there and another place that is dealing
(05:41):
with a quarterback potentially hopping into portal. You got Bryce Young,
I'm sorry, excuse me, Bryce Underwood up there at Michigan,
Dave Portanoy talked about this. He was like, well, if
he wants to hop in the portal for more money,
then let him be like be sure about that. We
sure about that because replacing him is not gonna be
(06:03):
super easy. But also there could be a better replacement.
So there's a time for pay and a time for play.
There are some teams who are still in playtime that
are going to the college football playoffs or significant bowl
games and all of that. And then for some players
it's time for pay, whether they're hopping in the portal,
(06:23):
whether they're testing their NFL draft stock, anything like that.
And we can't begrudge people for doing that. And this show,
honestly is a lot about money, because Utah is getting
five hundred million dollars from in a private equity situation,
which is actually I am not against this one compared
(06:43):
to what the Big ten was gonna do.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
And then there is Troy Aikman as well.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Troy Aikman is upset about the money that he gave
and not getting to thank you and not getting a
return on invest So this is time. This is pay
time for a lot of people. And one thing involved
in pay time is the college football playoffs and Notre Dame.
These people from Notre Dame have lost their entire minds
(07:18):
over the college football playoffs. Here is the truth. I
one hundred percent understand why Notre Dame is upset. I
also think that the committee got it right putting Miami
in over Notre Dame. Two things can be true at
(07:38):
the same time. But the issue is is that Notre
Dame is blaming everybody but themselves for missing the twelve
team playoff. They're blaming it. You even got people crazy,
people like with locktalkerbou So war on Catholics.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
No, it's not.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
There's only so many spots in the college football playoff.
But in the last forty eight hours, No Dame has
blamed everybody except the person who should be blamed for this.
Notre Dame has blamed the playoff system. They have blamed
the ESPN ranking show. They have blamed the ACC saying
(08:15):
that they went too far and then they opted out
of a ball game like they were too wounded to play.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
But here is the.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Person, the thing that is the missing factor from all
of this blame. It is Notre Dame itself. They started
zero to two. They chose to open with Miami and
Texas A and M. Had they won one of those games,
they would be fine. Now, yes, Notre Dame is judged
(08:47):
by a different set of standards because they are an
independent and truthfully, they value their independence. Marcus Freeman talks
about the independence, the athletic director talks about the independence.
So you're mad at the ACC, but you can't have
it both ways. We are an independent, We are an
(09:07):
independent in football. Yes, we're in ACC and all the
rest of the sports, but in football we are an independent.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
We value our independence.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
So then why do you want the ACC to cape
for you? Why are you upset that the ACC did
not cape for you? Now, when I say that Notre
Dame needs to be blaming itself, they stumbled. Marcus Freeman
stumbled out of the early in three out of four seasons,
(09:37):
Northern Illinois in twenty four, Marshall in twenty twenty two,
and then two games in twenty twenty five. And when
you don't play in a conference championship game or play
in a conference, you are going to have a different
type of standard. And also Notre Dame typically gets the
benefit of the doubt. Even starting next year, they have
a sweetheart deal with the College Football Playoff. If they
(10:01):
are in the top twelve, they get in. So that
means that this year, if Notre Dame were ranked number twelve,
the cutoff would have actually been number nine. That would
have been number nine because they would have been a
guaranteed spot, so they would have gotten in. That would
have left Miami and alab I'm sorry that would have
(10:24):
left Miami BYU and anybody else behind them out, So
that would have been another team that would have been out,
including in James, or they would have bumped out James Madison.
Either way, they have a sweetheart deal. So let's go
into talking about why I believe that Notre Dame is
(10:47):
correct in being upset. Notre Dame is right in being
upset with the college Football Playoff Committee because they felt
like they had been led on.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
For weeks upon weeks.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
And I've said, if the committee was going to switch
Miami and Notre Dame, they should have did it on
Tuesday or the previous Tuesday, because any rational person can
understand how these teams got so far apart because Miami
lost two of three games in the middle of the
season compared to Notre Dame, who lost their games in
(11:23):
the first two weeks and then went on ten games straight.
But it's the propaganda that has taken things to a
whole different level, because Notre Dame's athletic director comes out
in the press conference talking about, oh my god, this
is the toughest, one of the toughest or most impressive
ten game schedules of all time, and I'm like, what
(11:46):
are we talking about. I'm a person who likes Notre Dame.
So this is not me somebody who is critical of
Notre Dame doesn't like them or anything else. Because I
believed that when the committee switched Notre Dame and Alabama.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
The week before the playoff.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
And well the week before the final rankings, I was like,
m this feels like they want to insulate Alabama in
case BYU beats Texas Tech, so then Alabama doesn't get
pushed out of the playoff, because there was nothing that
happened in Alabama beating a five and seven Auburn team
(12:31):
that should have switched the rankings between and the Notre
Dame Stanford game. Nothing about the outcome of those games
or any other games dictated that those two teams teams
should be switched.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
So that was my first conspiracy.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
So if I were Notre Dame, I would already at
that point in time, my alarm bells would have been
going off. Alarm bell's going off because if BYU wins now,
all of a sudden, we got a problem, or could
have a potent problem because people have been crying on
TV for so long about the head to head with Miami,
and yes, it had to matter at some point in
(13:08):
time if those teams were close. Because any person who
says Notre Dame should have never been ranked in front
of Miami isn't being intellectually honest. That's like saying that
Florida State should stay in front of Alabama all season,
or that, you know, Florida should be in front of
Texas right now. They shouldn't. These are teams going in
(13:30):
two separate directions. But this Notre Dame. It The idea
that this is anybody's fault other than their owns is wrong,
but the committee led them on. This is like somebody
pretending they want to be in a relationship with you
and then at the last minute they put all right,
(13:51):
I'm gonna give you a quick story. I was dating
a fantastic young woman when I was in the NFL,
good girl everything. Christmas time comes one year, I show
up with mind you we have been dating for a while.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
I show up with a box.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
The box has some ear rings in it, and I
showed it to my sisters before Christmas and they were like, Yo,
those are dope earrings, blah blah blah. And I'm like, yeah, okay,
let me give her some earrings. And they were like
George change the box, though I was like, why would
I change the box, because you know it's just some
(14:32):
stud diamond stud ear rings, and you know, it does
look like a ring box. My sisters were like, George
changed the box because she's gonna think it's a ring
and it's not gonna go well. And I was like, man,
y'all don't know what y'all talking about. Blah blah blah
blah blah. Well they were one hundred percent right, and
(14:52):
that's what happened to Notre Dame because I gave her
the box. She's opening up the present and then she
sees the box and it does look like a ring
box because it's earrings in it, and she's like, and
then she opens it up, seize the diamond earrings. And
of course she's happy to get diamond earrings. But at
the same time, her hopes that were were no, they
(15:15):
weren't even there at first all of a sudden went
way up here to then get dashed. And that's what
happened to Notre Dame because the committee flirted with him,
led them on, and then pulled the rug from out
under them. So I won one hundred percent understand Notre
Dame being upset, but the outcome was correct, but the
(15:38):
committee did not handle it properly. But let's talk about
Notre Dame self inflected inflicted wounds. They lost to Miami.
They only gave a Heisman finalist ten carries in the game,
while having a first time starter throw the ball over
thirty times. Against Texas A and m they left wide
receivers open all night. Chris add did a terrible job
(16:01):
in that game. Come on, man, like Notre Dame is
not taking any ownership. Think about what Vanderbilt Clark Lee
did about missing the college football playoffs. He was like, Oh,
there's nobody's fault except for our own. We are not
victims in this process. And I was like, I love that,
(16:25):
and it's crazy because I'm a Marcus Freeman guy, but
I wish he had come out and said that. Come on, man,
I just hate the fact that we always want to
come out and blame everybody else.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
And peep bet back who their athletic director.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
Oh he is blaming everybody else, the selection committee, the
weekly CFP rankings, the ACC's promotion of Miami. And you
know his answer when he was asked what Notre Dame
could do different. Internally, he was like, let's go back
in time and beat Miami in A and M. From
(17:15):
that moment forward, we couldn't have done anything better. What what.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
Come on? Man? Like?
Speaker 2 (17:24):
There are valid arguments, but historically the committee, they have
done this baiting sweet switch.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
Late a bunch of times.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
Think about twenty fourteen, when Ohio State wins the National Championship,
TCU dropped from number three to number six after a
fifty two point win in their last game, from three
to six.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
A fifty two point win, what are we doing?
Speaker 2 (17:52):
In twenty twenty three, Florida State dropped out for Alabama
and they were thirteen and oero. Nothing is final until
Hill It's final. And if we want to talk about anything,
and I've talked about this, it's the Alabama situation.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
It ain't even Miami.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
Because they struggled to beat Auburn and then still move
from ten to nine. They were insulating Alabama. They didn't
want to leave them out, and then Alabama went and
got beat up in the SEC Championship and it still
didn't matter. So that's why Notre Dame is upset as well,
because it is there. They feel like their brand was disrespected.
(18:38):
Compared to Alabama's. That is the true crux of this.
And then Notre Dame is saying that the ACC damaged
Notre Dame by pushing Miami and then negative campaigning Notre
Dame because the ACC they reherit that Miami Notre Dame
went thirteen times on ACC network.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
What dude, That is politicking at its finest.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
Now, the ACC they went to bat for its full
member over their friends with benefits, because that's what Notre
Dame is for the ACC, they are friends with benefits.
They used them up for everything and every other resource
that helps Notre Dame get into the basketball tournament, any
(19:28):
other sports that they participate in.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
But in football, nah nah nah, you can't have our money.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
We we're gonna keep our media rights separate because the
a SEC would get way more if Notre Dame was involved.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
We're gonna keep all the good stuff.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
But but we need you for schedules though, or we
need the Big ten or the SEC. We need somebody
for these schedules.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Was Notre Dame gonna then? Uh?
Speaker 2 (19:55):
If they go to the national championship, did did did
when well? When they went to the national championship last year,
did you hear anything about the ACC, then no. And
the ACC saved Notre Dame's twenty twenty season when they
allowed them full membership for one year and then they
had a title game appearance when everybody else went Conference only.
(20:20):
But Notre Dame wants all the benefits, and this is
just like people in life in general. They want all
the benefits of things, but want none of the bad
stuff about it. Notre Dame, you had your chances. Stop
trying to blame the ACC for this. You are a
Friends with Benefits member. You can't on one hand, we
(20:42):
are independent. Why in the world did the ACC lobby
for their full member over me?
Speaker 1 (20:50):
How could they do that?
Speaker 2 (20:53):
Because that's what they should be doing because Notre Dame
is gonna look out for Notre Dame. They're not gonna
look out for the ACC. I'm talking about in football,
so the ACC should be looking out for the ACC.
Lines have been drawn, and Notre Dame droom all right,
next thing that we gotta talk about college sports. They
(21:17):
just crossed a line that everybody's been talking about for years.
And you taught the University of Utah, the Utah Utes.
They are the first one to step all the way
over the line. I'm not talking about nil We're not
talking about collectives. We are talking about private equity owning
a chunk of a Power five athletic department's money machine. Now,
(21:41):
remember this has come up with the Big ten and
private equity, and I have one hundred percent been against
that deal because it messes with the grant of rights.
It has to be extended for another ten years, and
all that is gonna do is tie teams to end
up being in trouble so and making less money. While
(22:03):
the SEC expands and all this stuff happens, you will
have significantly less flexibility. Bad idea and private equity sucks
the life out of things. Now, mind you, I'm a
person who's invested in private private equity. However, I will
tell you this is it is about the bottom line.
It is when college football and college athletics is about
(22:25):
passion and subsidizing things that don't make money like Olympic sports.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
It's just the truth. But welcome to the new age
of college football. Inc.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
Let me break down to you what Utah is doing
and why it matters, because this could be the start of, honestly, something.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
Huge, and it feels really good.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
I'm like this makes sense or it could be a
huge regret for Utah over the next thirty years. So,
in plain English, the University of Utah is creating an
a for profit company called Utah Brands and Entertainment, and
that new company is going to control most of the
(23:07):
money making side of Utah Athletics. We're talking tickets, concessions, sponsorships,
corporate deals, and a lot of the commercial and marketing operations.
Sounds like a company that's operating a business, you know,
like any other business. And on top of that, it'll
be the vehicle that they use to pay players in
(23:31):
this new revenue sharing era. Hmm.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
This is where it gets fun.
Speaker 2 (23:36):
Because and also while because Utah is bringing in a
private equity firm called Otro Capital Otro Capital as their partner,
and they're putting in a big chunk of chess cash
nine figures. And Utah is also here is where the
here's where the actual magic of this deal is is
(23:58):
that Utah is letting a group for wealthy donors by
equity in this company.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
So all together, this thing.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
Is expected to generate about five hundred million dollars in capital,
five hundred million for Utah athletics. Now you're like, okay, okay,
hold up, hold up. So Boosters are going to own it? Yes,
this is why it matters and why it might work
because who's going to control it. Utah is still keeping
(24:27):
the majority of the ownership of Utah brands and entertainment,
and they will also keep final making final decision making
power on paper. But this new company is going to
be run by an executive team from the private equity
firm plus Utah athletic staff, which is going to be
led by a president from outside the university, and they
(24:48):
will be reporting to a board that includes Utah's athletic director,
Mark Harlan, and then some university folks and executives from
the private equity side. So, when you strip away all
the fancy language and everything, Utah basically has created a
many pro franchise and instead of just boosters and a
(25:08):
school board, now they have professional investors at the table
whose entire goal is to make money. And the reason
why Utah is doing this is because the arms racing
college football is now out of control. Bigger coaching salaries,
bigger staffs, bigger facilities, nil turning up in the straight
up revenue sharing with players and player acquisition costs are
(25:31):
going up, and Utah sitting in the Big twelve talking
about some hey hey wain trying to survive in the
Big twelve and in the college football Playoff.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
We want to be a power in this new world.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
So they're grabbing a half a billion dollars worth of
financial firepower and they're saying, we're going to professionalize the
business side. Let experts squeeze more money out of tickets,
out of sponsorships, out of media, out of branding, and
then we're going to turn around and use that's a
fund winning because this is now a power play because
(26:03):
they're trying to run Utah football into a long term,
big time national brand in the Big twelve in the nation,
not just this cute overachiever. But here is where everything
kind of gets spicy in this deal, because players are
going to get a revenue sharing.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
Through this setup.
Speaker 2 (26:22):
They will get checks and they will participate in the money,
but the players will not get equity. Equity is for
the private equity firm and the wealthy donors. So instead
of this now being a charity event in boosters giving money,
boosters are actually going to be able to help generate
(26:43):
money and get some cash out of it on the
back end.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
So for the people who.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
Don't take snaps, don't lift the weights, don't risk their knees, shoulders, heads,
they get the ownership upside. And the players who are
the product, they get checks but no stake. We have
to finally fully admit that this is a business and
the Utah Football in Utah Athletics are an asset because
(27:10):
why do billionaire investors and rich donors get ownership but
the people whose labor creates the value in it don't?
Speaker 1 (27:17):
Because that is real life.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
The NFL teams, right, they will play pay Dak Prescott.
The Cowboys will pay Dak Prescott sixty million dollars a year,
but he don't own part of the Cowboys. That's exactly
what this set up is. Now you're gonna actually have players,
I guarantee you, when you have like a legendary player
(27:43):
like a Jeremiah Smith or something like that, they're gonna
be asking for equity pools, just like Caleb Williams and
his dad wanted some ownership with the Bears and it
ain't happening.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
Though.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
If these play, if these places are smart, because nobody
can be bigger than the university, nobody can be bigger
than than the logo nobody. But now the question is
is this private equity situation. Is this a lifeline or
is this a problem? That's the question because these firms
(28:16):
in private equity, they are not charities, they are not boosters,
and they are not fans. Their job is simple invest money,
grow it, cash out with a profit. Now, that usually
means raising prices, drive more revenue per fan, cutting costs
wherever they can, and commercializing every single inch of the product.
(28:39):
So for Utah fans, this can either go one or
two ways. The deal kept us competitive when everybody else
was rounding. We upgraded everything, we paid our players, we
stayed naturally relevant.
Speaker 1 (28:52):
Great move.
Speaker 2 (28:53):
Or ten years from now you could be saying we
turned our program into a Wall Street asset tickets costs more.
Everything is corporate, and we don't control our own house anymore.
And the must the mighty Utah student section is just
is now a shell of itself, like this is the
Chicago Parking Meters Fhere you get a bag of big
(29:17):
money up front and you give away a slice of
your future for a long, long, long time. Now, I
will tell you though, There is one significant argument in
favor of this that I actually understand, and I like,
is this really worse than living at the mercy of
(29:39):
a few powerful boosters, because we already know how that
story goes. One booster don't like the coach, then suddenly
there's pressure to fire the coach.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
One booster don't like a player.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
Suddenly the kid is a problem in the locker room
and he don't want to pay his nil. Boosters can
be petty, they can be short sighted, and they can
be emotional. Private equity at least is rational. They look
at the numbers. But here's the flip side.
Speaker 1 (30:05):
Though.
Speaker 2 (30:06):
Boosters care if the team wins on Saturday. Private equity
cares if the spreadsheet wins on Monday. So, if you
are a Utah fan, who do you trust with your
program sold Is it the university leadership, is it the
big money boosters?
Speaker 1 (30:21):
Is it a private equity fund?
Speaker 2 (30:24):
Or do you prefer the old school version where nobody
owned anything and it was messy and at least it
wasn't literally a portfolio company. College football is now forcing
you to pick your position and pick your poison. And
if I'm Utah, I believe that this is a much
better deal than the Big twelve or the Big ten
(30:45):
signing on with private equity a deal like this because
they're boosters who have bought into this. Yes, they care
about their money, but they also at the end of
the day, the most important thing is they.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
Care about UTAH winning.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
I love it, and I don't think that this stops
with Utah, not even a little bit.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
If sudden.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
The UTAH has the best facilities, a deep staff, the
revenue sharing, they're tearing up the portal like Texas, like
Texas Tech, because Texas Tech is essentially doing the same
thing with Cody Campbell. Every athletic director is going to
get a call from somebody in private equity saying, hey you, hey, hey,
foul do you want five hundred.
Speaker 1 (31:29):
Million, you want three hundred million, We can do this
for you.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Because we've already seen team schools like Florida State flirt
with it, Big Ten flirt with it. But now Utah
is giving everybody a model. And I believe that owning
that boosters who already donate to the program, owning the
private equity fund, that's where the magic and the sweet
(31:55):
spot is because they get to make a return. And
these are shrewd and so they are going to be
on it to make more more money. But then that
money is not just a single case use. It's now
able to make money because it is a for profit
deal and you don't have to spend all the money
every single year. This is I love it. I love it,
(32:18):
but prices will go up and as a fan, are
you willing to do that if it means winning? Come on, man,
next thing up. I believe that how this has happened
(32:39):
has actually impacted tray Aman. So college football officially lives
in two worlds right now. On one side, you got
a guy like Trey Aikman, who is a fantastic NFL
broad former NFL player, NFL broad caster, and he is
(33:01):
sitting up here saying, I am done with nil. I
wrote a big check and the kid left and didn't
even say thank you. And it appears he's talking about
Dante More from University of Oregon who went to UCLA. Now, mind,
you could be talking about somebody else because the other
players transferred out, but that probably is a fair assumption.
(33:24):
Now on the other side, you got Utah saying, with
their five hundred million dollar investment that this is gonna
now become a business. This is a half a billion
dollar private equity partner and the boosters are involved with it.
So I'm gonna walk you guys through how these two
stories are actually in the same conversation. So Troy Aikman
(33:46):
was on a podcast and he said that he gave
a sizeable check to a UCLA player that he never
even met. Said the kids stayed for one year, transferred
to another school, no loyalty, I'm just thing here because
he said, no, I'm just staying here because Troy helped me,
not even send a thank you note. And his reaction
(34:08):
was simple, I'm done with nil. And truthfully, I get
it because from his perspective, he thought he was helping
the school, he thought he was helping a kid, and
he thought he was being a good luck. Now mind,
I'm a dude that has helped kids and gotten burned before.
This is part of the game. This is why the
(34:28):
private equity thing might actually be the best deal. Because
what Troy actually did, he wrote an emotional check in
the professional marketplace. He was operating out of feeling and
love and support in a business and the business always
gonna do what's best for the business, and chip Kelly
(34:49):
left and everything else. So that's what he should be
mad at as well, because when you listen to Troy,
he's not mad at the one kid. He's mad that
there's no structure. He says that support that. He supports
players getting paid, he supports players having freedom, and he
even gets why.
Speaker 1 (35:05):
They want to move when coaches move.
Speaker 2 (35:07):
He just wants accountability, he said, if I'm giving money
to this school, there should be some responsibility to stick around.
Speaker 1 (35:15):
Think that there's fair. You got Georgia who's then suing.
Speaker 2 (35:19):
A player who transferred out, but instead of just suing
him for the pro ration of the contract, they're suing
him for the whole thing, they're suing him for damages
and everything else. Now I think that that's a bit
too far, because it's just like coaches contracts, there has
to be buyouts in them, and if you break the contract,
(35:40):
you got to pay the buy out if the school
wants to recoup the buyout. Because right now NIL is
not built like the NFL. There are very few real contracts.
There's no standardization of the terms, there's no buyouts that
are national, there's not no trade claw, no cap hits,
(36:01):
even though they're supposed to be a cap It's a
bunch of rich people wiring money and hoping feelings and
loyalty fill out the gaps and they get some enough
wins along the way that they feel like it was
a good investment. And that ain't how billion dollar industries work.
Come on, like, let's look at this in comparison with
(36:23):
the Utah Youth situation where they're getting.
Speaker 1 (36:26):
A private equity partner five hundred million dollars.
Speaker 2 (36:29):
And creating a place where the boosters are part of
the private private equity, so that keeps the private equity
in check where the school and winning has to be
a priority because they're part of the private equity. And
then you got Trey Aikman saying I'm out, I'm out,
(36:50):
and because he is part of the old booster system,
he is the old model, one famous salum, one emotional
check to one player, no real contract, no structure, and
when it goes sideways, the donor then says I'm done
and the whole thing collapses. That's why a new model
(37:14):
has to be creative. Players just shouldn't get a handshake
deal it because we've seen instances where players don't get
paid and kids don't perform up to what's written in
the contract. Come on, man, this is this is real,
and booster fatigue is real. This was going to happen
(37:38):
where boosters are like I, if there's only so many
times that you can come to this, well, especially if
we gotta fire a coach.
Speaker 1 (37:47):
This ain't every state.
Speaker 2 (37:48):
Ain't Louisiana where they're gonna be willing to come out
of the state fund for fifty four million dollars and
you can only go to booster so many times for
big checks. Now, imagine a world where a boosters like,
all right, cool, I'll.
Speaker 1 (38:04):
Give you fifty million dollars.
Speaker 2 (38:07):
But this is gonna end up in an annuity or
some sort of you know fund that it just rotates
over and over and over and over again, and we
keep getting paid. So now I gotta donate less money
every single year because this money is making money. Instead
of just asking me for five million this year, ten
(38:28):
million the next year, seven million, the next year, here's
fifty and you're and it's gonna kick off five million
dollars a year at ten percent. Come on, man, and
have it worked like an endowment. Come on, man, we
gotta we gotta step into the new age of football
(38:50):
and how things have to be run.
Speaker 1 (38:53):
Just reality.
Speaker 2 (38:55):
So you can either keep leaning on tied boosters or
go all in on institutional for profit money like Utah
is create a real structured system that pays itself, and
stop trying to pretend that these are not for profit
businesses that need to zero out every year.
Speaker 1 (39:18):
Nah.
Speaker 2 (39:18):
The company can keep cash like Apple and then use
it ten years from now, five years now, three years
from now if it needs it. Thank you Utah for
ripping the band aid off. All right, But the last
part about it. If you're trading, are you wrong to
actually feel burned and walk away? I don't think so.
(39:41):
That's why UCLA is gonna have to do something different.
I would not be surprised if you see Oregon go
to a business model like this.
Speaker 1 (39:49):
It just makes sense. All right. Now, let's talk about
the college football playoff.
Speaker 2 (39:56):
Oh, I am excited, But you got James Madison versus
Oregon in Eugene, and then the winner plays Texas Tech
in the Orange Bowl. You got Alabama playing Oklahoma, Winter
plays Indiana, Tulane playing Old Miss, Winter plays Georgia, and
(40:18):
Miami plays Texas A and m Winter plays the Ohio State.
Now we have had so many people talking about, oh
I don't want to the College Football Playoff, the G five,
G six is they shouldn't be in, and this and that.
Everybody knew the rules when you came into it. You
(40:39):
can't then decide because you didn't like the outcome that
now we should change the rules this year. You're going
to get outlier results sometimes. Think about the NCAA Tournament.
We had Oakland get in one year with a losing
record because they won their conference championship.
Speaker 1 (40:59):
These things happened.
Speaker 2 (41:01):
But the reason why we need to expand to sixteen
teams and the reason why we need to have some
sort of play in system is because of schedule roulette.
You have a team like Texas, A and M and
the SEC. This year they only played one team who
finished in the top eight of the SEC, and that
was Texas and they lost to Texas. So they had
(41:23):
a much easier schedule than in Alabama, Georgia, Texas, you know, Vanderbilt,
anybody else.
Speaker 1 (41:32):
Much easier schedule. So how do you nerf that?
Speaker 2 (41:38):
Because you and nerfing is like a nerf gun, and
you know it's not as potent as a real one.
Speaker 1 (41:44):
So let's look at this.
Speaker 2 (41:46):
Imagine a world where the college football playoff goes to
sixteen teams, three eight three Big ten and SEC teams
automatically get automatic births.
Speaker 1 (41:57):
That's six, two for the Big twelve, two for.
Speaker 2 (42:01):
The ACC that's ten. Group of five automatic birth at
that's eleven, and then you get five five at large bids.
And the truth is the majority of those are gonna
come from the Big Ten.
Speaker 1 (42:20):
And the SEC. It's just the truth.
Speaker 2 (42:23):
That's where the majority of the teenagers are ranked. And then,
because we want conference championships to still matter, the top
four teams, you're gonna get home games. Yes, you're gonna
get home games while everybody else plays in regular ball games.
(42:44):
And then for the at large spots, what we're gonna
have is we're gonna go down to eight conference games,
and then we're gonna have crossover games.
Speaker 1 (42:55):
SEC, Big Ten, Big twelve, and ACC.
Speaker 2 (42:58):
They're all going to play each other based upon the
previous year's standings. So now when it comes to the
at large bids, now we're gonna know who to prioritize.
The people the conferences that did better in the crossover games.
So if we're looking for that last playoff spot. Oh yeah,
(43:19):
the Big Ten was the best conference this year in
our conference matchups, you get an extra spot. SEC was best,
They get an extra spot. And then what you do
is is that way you don't have to worry about
Texas saying them not having the same schedule as another
team in the SEC, or Rutgers not having the same.
Speaker 1 (43:38):
Schedule as the Ohio State.
Speaker 2 (43:41):
What you do is is then you have three play
six on conference championship weekend and four play five. So
now that's another data point. And if the Big Ten
already has three teams that get in, or you can
play to have three play four, boom winner gets the
(44:01):
automatic birth and then the committee has to choose the
last five. Who says no, that makes too much sense.
That is how we can determine sixteen teams, and there
is fairness there. And even if you don't win the
(44:22):
schedule roulette and somebody else does, Like if you're in
Texas and you feel like your schedule was wade tougher
than Texas A and m's, now you get a chance
to go take Texas A and M spot. How can
you say no to that? This is an amazing set
of events.
Speaker 1 (44:39):
A way to do it. But let's go back to
this year. Now.
Speaker 2 (44:44):
I am gonna make a whole video on this, but
you guys put in the comments who you believe is
going to win. And I just find it funny when
I watch the ACC Network. I'm sitting here watching people
picking Miami to win the National Championship or make it
to the National Championship. I watched the SEC Network. Everybody's
(45:06):
picking Georgia. They're picking Georgia versus Oklahoma. I'm like, Oklahoma
or Georgia versus Alabama in the championship, And I'm like,
oh my god. Everybody on these networks is just lobbyist
for their own self interest. This is why you guys
watch the show because honesty matters. And I am college
(45:28):
Football's honesty broker and the truth teller. But you guys,
I appreciate your time. I appreciate your energy so much.
Jam packed show today. We will be back on Thursday.
We got interviews, popping, we got all sorts of stuff.
And make sure that you like, subscribe, get notifications, tell
a friend, and most importantly, be one of us.
Speaker 1 (45:50):
Because most important, your time is the most valuable thing
that you have. And I appreciate you spending it with me,
Welcome to the College Football Show.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
We got a lot to talk about today now, mind you,
it ain't nothing but the Army and Navy game going
on this week, but we gotta talk to college football playoff.
The transfer portal is going crazy, Notre Dame has lost
their entire minds, Utah is changing the world.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Of college football, and.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Troy Aikman is going after a current college football player
without calling his name out and why he is on
the losing end of nil and the transfer portal. So
we got so much to talk about today on a
week there ain't no game picks, nothing like that. And
we are going to talk about the CFP and my
(00:46):
early and initial predictions, and of course the game previews
will be rolling out starting tomorrow, so make sure that
you guys like subscribe, get notifications, tell a friend about
the show, and most important share. So we are gonna
start today where the transfer portal starts and begins right so,
(01:08):
and in case you have missed it, there's a really
good article was an article on Unafraid show dot com,
but also a video here on the channel where I
give you dudes who are going to hop in the
portal or most likely to hop in the portal that
are not in the power for schools right now that
your team needs to go after. So you guys make
(01:29):
sure that you guys go check that out. Some of
these names, you're gonna be like, Okay, just like I
gave you all the names for the transfer guys that
were transferred this year, and we're gonna make a big impact.
Most of them hit. So these are the guys that
you guys need to know, all right, So let's get
back to business. Though the transfer portal, we are seeing
(01:51):
names that are either in the transfer portal or believe
to going to hop into the transfer portal. You got
Sam Levitt from Arizona State hopping in the transfer a
portal and he's got a Liz Frank injury, had surgery.
So we're talking five six months and but you just
think about how this has.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Been handled with him and his family.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
This hasn't been good because the team was still playing,
there was rumors about him hopping in the portal.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
It's just a.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Really bad look. But now the question is why was
he even hopping in the portal? Ben These are the
questions that we're gonna get from a lot of these
you know, surrounding quarterbacks. In particular, you had nico E
a Malaba hopping the portal last year, and then now
you're talking Dylan Ryola over there at Nebraska. His brother decommitted,
(02:41):
his uncle, the old line coach got fired. This is
how this situation where everything just because the player goes
to your team, it appears that he's the starter.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Stuff's going well.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
We don't know what's going on behind the scenes, and
we also don't know what's going on with these players
families and handlers and everything else. Because this is like
ring culture when it comes to college football, where people
are so enamored with if you want a championship, have
you not won? Yes, you made it to the playoffs,
(03:13):
but you didn't win anything Like It's like there's no
value in anything except for holding up the trophy, when
in life, there's value in the journey. Kobe's told us
that other the journey matters so much. But we're caught
up so much, and a lot of these kids are
looking for ideal and perfect circumstances to get to the
(03:35):
NFL and to strive and to do well. Did Patrick
Mahomes have a perfect situation at Texas Tech? No, did
Tom Brady have a perfect situation. How about Joe Flack
go over there Delaware did did he have a perfect situation?
Speaker 1 (03:51):
No? It is very few quote unquote perfect situations.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Like a Bryce Young goes to Bama, everything works out,
didn't and then all of a sudden he ends up
the first pick of the draft. It doesn't really go
like that very often. The majority of the time when
you have NFL success.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
A lot of it was built upon the.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Hard stuff that you had to go through in college,
and a lot of times it didn't look pretty all
the time, but it built the resiliency and everything. And
I think sometimes this is getting lost with some of
these kids. But sometimes, like a kid like Leonora's Sellers
over there at South Carolina, I was concerned about the
(04:36):
coaching around him and the offensive coordinator. So South Carolina
they hired a new offensive coordinator to try to keep
Leonora's Sellers out of the portal and to keep the
head coach, Shane Beemer, keeping a job.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
So they hired Art Brow's.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Son, Kendall Briles, who's done a good job coordinating offenses
since he's been in college football. So he's doing a
good job there. And these are moves that coaches are
gonna have to make. You look at the University of Oregon,
Dante More, He's losing his offensive coordinator and will stein
to go to Kentucky. Right, so people don't feel like
(05:16):
there's a threat that he's gonna leave and go to Kentucky.
But what they do fear and are concerned about is, well,
his offensive coordinator left, is he then gonna go to
the NFL? Because part of this is preparing kids for
the league, giving them the best opportunity. But also if
you want to retain players, there has to be some
sort of continuity there and another place that is dealing
(05:41):
with a quarterback potentially hopping into portal. You got Bryce Young,
I'm sorry, excuse me, Bryce Underwood up there at Michigan,
Dave Portanoy talked about this. He was like, well, if
he wants to hop in the portal for more money,
then let him be like be sure about that. We
sure about that because replacing him is not gonna be
(06:03):
super easy. But also there could be a better replacement.
So there's a time for pay and a time for play.
There are some teams who are still in playtime that
are going to the college football playoffs or significant bowl
games and all of that. And then for some players
it's time for pay, whether they're hopping in the portal,
(06:23):
whether they're testing their NFL draft stock, anything like that.
And we can't begrudge people for doing that. And this show,
honestly is a lot about money, because Utah is getting
five hundred million dollars from in a private equity situation,
which is actually I am not against this one compared
(06:43):
to what the Big ten was gonna do.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
And then there is Troy Aikman as well.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Troy Aikman is upset about the money that he gave
and not getting to thank you and not getting a
return on invest So this is time. This is pay
time for a lot of people. And one thing involved
in pay time is the college football playoffs and Notre Dame.
These people from Notre Dame have lost their entire minds
(07:18):
over the college football playoffs. Here is the truth. I
one hundred percent understand why Notre Dame is upset. I
also think that the committee got it right putting Miami
in over Notre Dame. Two things can be true at
(07:38):
the same time. But the issue is is that Notre
Dame is blaming everybody but themselves for missing the twelve
team playoff. They're blaming it. You even got people crazy,
people like with locktalkerbou So war on Catholics.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
No, it's not.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
There's only so many spots in the college football playoff.
But in the last forty eight hours, No Dame has
blamed everybody except the person who should be blamed for this.
Notre Dame has blamed the playoff system. They have blamed
the ESPN ranking show. They have blamed the ACC saying
(08:15):
that they went too far and then they opted out
of a ball game like they were too wounded to play.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
But here is the.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Person, the thing that is the missing factor from all
of this blame. It is Notre Dame itself. They started
zero to two. They chose to open with Miami and
Texas A and M. Had they won one of those games,
they would be fine. Now, yes, Notre Dame is judged
(08:47):
by a different set of standards because they are an
independent and truthfully, they value their independence. Marcus Freeman talks
about the independence, the athletic director talks about the independence.
So you're mad at the ACC, but you can't have
it both ways. We are an independent, We are an
(09:07):
independent in football. Yes, we're in ACC and all the
rest of the sports, but in football we are an independent.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
We value our independence.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
So then why do you want the ACC to cape
for you? Why are you upset that the ACC did
not cape for you? Now, when I say that Notre
Dame needs to be blaming itself, they stumbled. Marcus Freeman
stumbled out of the early in three out of four seasons,
(09:37):
Northern Illinois in twenty four, Marshall in twenty twenty two,
and then two games in twenty twenty five. And when
you don't play in a conference championship game or play
in a conference, you are going to have a different
type of standard. And also Notre Dame typically gets the
benefit of the doubt. Even starting next year, they have
a sweetheart deal with the College Football Playoff. If they
(10:01):
are in the top twelve, they get in. So that
means that this year, if Notre Dame were ranked number twelve,
the cutoff would have actually been number nine. That would
have been number nine because they would have been a
guaranteed spot, so they would have gotten in. That would
have left Miami and alab I'm sorry that would have
(10:24):
left Miami BYU and anybody else behind them out, So
that would have been another team that would have been out,
including in James, or they would have bumped out James Madison.
Either way, they have a sweetheart deal. So let's go
into talking about why I believe that Notre Dame is
(10:47):
correct in being upset. Notre Dame is right in being
upset with the college Football Playoff Committee because they felt
like they had been led on.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
For weeks upon weeks.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
And I've said, if the committee was going to switch
Miami and Notre Dame, they should have did it on
Tuesday or the previous Tuesday, because any rational person can
understand how these teams got so far apart because Miami
lost two of three games in the middle of the
season compared to Notre Dame, who lost their games in
(11:23):
the first two weeks and then went on ten games straight.
But it's the propaganda that has taken things to a
whole different level, because Notre Dame's athletic director comes out
in the press conference talking about, oh my god, this
is the toughest, one of the toughest or most impressive
ten game schedules of all time, and I'm like, what
(11:46):
are we talking about. I'm a person who likes Notre Dame.
So this is not me somebody who is critical of
Notre Dame doesn't like them or anything else. Because I
believed that when the committee switched Notre Dame and Alabama.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
The week before the playoff.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
And well the week before the final rankings, I was like,
m this feels like they want to insulate Alabama in
case BYU beats Texas Tech, so then Alabama doesn't get
pushed out of the playoff, because there was nothing that
happened in Alabama beating a five and seven Auburn team
(12:31):
that should have switched the rankings between and the Notre
Dame Stanford game. Nothing about the outcome of those games
or any other games dictated that those two teams teams
should be switched.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
So that was my first conspiracy.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
So if I were Notre Dame, I would already at
that point in time, my alarm bells would have been
going off. Alarm bell's going off because if BYU wins now,
all of a sudden, we got a problem, or could
have a potent problem because people have been crying on
TV for so long about the head to head with Miami,
and yes, it had to matter at some point in
(13:08):
time if those teams were close. Because any person who
says Notre Dame should have never been ranked in front
of Miami isn't being intellectually honest. That's like saying that
Florida State should stay in front of Alabama all season,
or that, you know, Florida should be in front of
Texas right now. They shouldn't. These are teams going in
(13:30):
two separate directions. But this Notre Dame. It The idea
that this is anybody's fault other than their owns is wrong,
but the committee led them on. This is like somebody
pretending they want to be in a relationship with you
and then at the last minute they put all right,
(13:51):
I'm gonna give you a quick story. I was dating
a fantastic young woman when I was in the NFL,
good girl everything. Christmas time comes one year, I show
up with mind you we have been dating for a while.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
I show up with a box.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
The box has some ear rings in it, and I
showed it to my sisters before Christmas and they were like, Yo,
those are dope earrings, blah blah blah. And I'm like, yeah, okay,
let me give her some earrings. And they were like
George change the box, though I was like, why would
I change the box, because you know it's just some
(14:32):
stud diamond stud ear rings, and you know, it does
look like a ring box. My sisters were like, George
changed the box because she's gonna think it's a ring
and it's not gonna go well. And I was like, man,
y'all don't know what y'all talking about. Blah blah blah
blah blah. Well they were one hundred percent right, and
(14:52):
that's what happened to Notre Dame because I gave her
the box. She's opening up the present and then she
sees the box and it does look like a ring
box because it's earrings in it, and she's like, and
then she opens it up, seize the diamond earrings. And
of course she's happy to get diamond earrings. But at
the same time, her hopes that were were no, they
(15:15):
weren't even there at first all of a sudden went
way up here to then get dashed. And that's what
happened to Notre Dame because the committee flirted with him,
led them on, and then pulled the rug from out
under them. So I won one hundred percent understand Notre
Dame being upset, but the outcome was correct, but the
(15:38):
committee did not handle it properly. But let's talk about
Notre Dame self inflected inflicted wounds. They lost to Miami.
They only gave a Heisman finalist ten carries in the game,
while having a first time starter throw the ball over
thirty times. Against Texas A and m they left wide
receivers open all night. Chris add did a terrible job
(16:01):
in that game. Come on, man, like Notre Dame is
not taking any ownership. Think about what Vanderbilt Clark Lee
did about missing the college football playoffs. He was like, Oh,
there's nobody's fault except for our own. We are not
victims in this process. And I was like, I love that,
(16:25):
and it's crazy because I'm a Marcus Freeman guy, but
I wish he had come out and said that. Come on, man,
I just hate the fact that we always want to
come out and blame everybody else.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
And peep bet back who their athletic director.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
Oh he is blaming everybody else, the selection committee, the
weekly CFP rankings, the ACC's promotion of Miami. And you
know his answer when he was asked what Notre Dame
could do different. Internally, he was like, let's go back
in time and beat Miami in A and M. From
(17:15):
that moment forward, we couldn't have done anything better. What what.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
Come on? Man? Like?
Speaker 2 (17:24):
There are valid arguments, but historically the committee, they have
done this baiting sweet switch.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
Late a bunch of times.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
Think about twenty fourteen, when Ohio State wins the National Championship,
TCU dropped from number three to number six after a
fifty two point win in their last game, from three
to six.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
A fifty two point win, what are we doing?
Speaker 2 (17:52):
In twenty twenty three, Florida State dropped out for Alabama
and they were thirteen and oero. Nothing is final until
Hill It's final. And if we want to talk about anything,
and I've talked about this, it's the Alabama situation.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
It ain't even Miami.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
Because they struggled to beat Auburn and then still move
from ten to nine. They were insulating Alabama. They didn't
want to leave them out, and then Alabama went and
got beat up in the SEC Championship and it still
didn't matter. So that's why Notre Dame is upset as well,
because it is there. They feel like their brand was disrespected.
(18:38):
Compared to Alabama's. That is the true crux of this.
And then Notre Dame is saying that the ACC damaged
Notre Dame by pushing Miami and then negative campaigning Notre
Dame because the ACC they reherit that Miami Notre Dame
went thirteen times on ACC network.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
What dude, That is politicking at its finest.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
Now, the ACC they went to bat for its full
member over their friends with benefits, because that's what Notre
Dame is for the ACC, they are friends with benefits.
They used them up for everything and every other resource
that helps Notre Dame get into the basketball tournament, any
(19:28):
other sports that they participate in.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
But in football, nah nah nah, you can't have our money.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
We we're gonna keep our media rights separate because the
a SEC would get way more if Notre Dame was involved.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
We're gonna keep all the good stuff.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
But but we need you for schedules though, or we
need the Big ten or the SEC. We need somebody
for these schedules.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Was Notre Dame gonna then? Uh?
Speaker 2 (19:55):
If they go to the national championship, did did did
when well? When they went to the national championship last year,
did you hear anything about the ACC, then no. And
the ACC saved Notre Dame's twenty twenty season when they
allowed them full membership for one year and then they
had a title game appearance when everybody else went Conference only.
(20:20):
But Notre Dame wants all the benefits, and this is
just like people in life in general. They want all
the benefits of things, but want none of the bad
stuff about it. Notre Dame, you had your chances. Stop
trying to blame the ACC for this. You are a
Friends with Benefits member. You can't on one hand, we
(20:42):
are independent. Why in the world did the ACC lobby
for their full member over me?
Speaker 1 (20:50):
How could they do that?
Speaker 2 (20:53):
Because that's what they should be doing because Notre Dame
is gonna look out for Notre Dame. They're not gonna
look out for the ACC. I'm talking about in football,
so the ACC should be looking out for the ACC.
Lines have been drawn, and Notre Dame droom all right,
next thing that we gotta talk about college sports. They
(21:17):
just crossed a line that everybody's been talking about for years.
And you taught the University of Utah, the Utah Utes.
They are the first one to step all the way
over the line. I'm not talking about nil We're not
talking about collectives. We are talking about private equity owning
a chunk of a Power five athletic department's money machine. Now,
(21:41):
remember this has come up with the Big ten and
private equity, and I have one hundred percent been against
that deal because it messes with the grant of rights.
It has to be extended for another ten years, and
all that is gonna do is tie teams to end
up being in trouble so and making less money. While
(22:03):
the SEC expands and all this stuff happens, you will
have significantly less flexibility. Bad idea and private equity sucks
the life out of things. Now, mind you, I'm a
person who's invested in private private equity. However, I will
tell you this is it is about the bottom line.
It is when college football and college athletics is about
(22:25):
passion and subsidizing things that don't make money like Olympic sports.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
It's just the truth. But welcome to the new age
of college football. Inc.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
Let me break down to you what Utah is doing
and why it matters, because this could be the start of, honestly, something.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
Huge, and it feels really good.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
I'm like this makes sense or it could be a
huge regret for Utah over the next thirty years. So,
in plain English, the University of Utah is creating an
a for profit company called Utah Brands and Entertainment, and
that new company is going to control most of the
(23:07):
money making side of Utah Athletics. We're talking tickets, concessions, sponsorships,
corporate deals, and a lot of the commercial and marketing operations.
Sounds like a company that's operating a business, you know,
like any other business. And on top of that, it'll
be the vehicle that they use to pay players in
(23:31):
this new revenue sharing era. Hmm.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
This is where it gets fun.
Speaker 2 (23:36):
Because and also while because Utah is bringing in a
private equity firm called Otro Capital Otro Capital as their partner,
and they're putting in a big chunk of chess cash
nine figures. And Utah is also here is where the
here's where the actual magic of this deal is is
(23:58):
that Utah is letting a group for wealthy donors by
equity in this company.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
So all together, this thing.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
Is expected to generate about five hundred million dollars in capital,
five hundred million for Utah athletics. Now you're like, okay, okay,
hold up, hold up. So Boosters are going to own it? Yes,
this is why it matters and why it might work
because who's going to control it. Utah is still keeping
(24:27):
the majority of the ownership of Utah brands and entertainment,
and they will also keep final making final decision making
power on paper. But this new company is going to
be run by an executive team from the private equity
firm plus Utah athletic staff, which is going to be
led by a president from outside the university, and they
(24:48):
will be reporting to a board that includes Utah's athletic director,
Mark Harlan, and then some university folks and executives from
the private equity side. So, when you strip away all
the fancy language and everything, Utah basically has created a
many pro franchise and instead of just boosters and a
(25:08):
school board, now they have professional investors at the table
whose entire goal is to make money. And the reason
why Utah is doing this is because the arms racing
college football is now out of control. Bigger coaching salaries,
bigger staffs, bigger facilities, nil turning up in the straight
up revenue sharing with players and player acquisition costs are
(25:31):
going up, and Utah sitting in the Big twelve talking
about some hey hey wain trying to survive in the
Big twelve and in the college football Playoff.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
We want to be a power in this new world.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
So they're grabbing a half a billion dollars worth of
financial firepower and they're saying, we're going to professionalize the
business side. Let experts squeeze more money out of tickets,
out of sponsorships, out of media, out of branding, and
then we're going to turn around and use that's a
fund winning because this is now a power play because
(26:03):
they're trying to run Utah football into a long term,
big time national brand in the Big twelve in the nation,
not just this cute overachiever. But here is where everything
kind of gets spicy in this deal, because players are
going to get a revenue sharing.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
Through this setup.
Speaker 2 (26:22):
They will get checks and they will participate in the money,
but the players will not get equity. Equity is for
the private equity firm and the wealthy donors. So instead
of this now being a charity event in boosters giving money,
boosters are actually going to be able to help generate
(26:43):
money and get some cash out of it on the
back end.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
So for the people who.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
Don't take snaps, don't lift the weights, don't risk their knees, shoulders, heads,
they get the ownership upside. And the players who are
the product, they get checks but no stake. We have
to finally fully admit that this is a business and
the Utah Football in Utah Athletics are an asset because
(27:10):
why do billionaire investors and rich donors get ownership but
the people whose labor creates the value in it don't?
Speaker 1 (27:17):
Because that is real life.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
The NFL teams, right, they will play pay Dak Prescott.
The Cowboys will pay Dak Prescott sixty million dollars a year,
but he don't own part of the Cowboys. That's exactly
what this set up is. Now you're gonna actually have players,
I guarantee you, when you have like a legendary player
(27:43):
like a Jeremiah Smith or something like that, they're gonna
be asking for equity pools, just like Caleb Williams and
his dad wanted some ownership with the Bears and it
ain't happening.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
Though.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
If these play, if these places are smart, because nobody
can be bigger than the university, nobody can be bigger
than than the logo nobody. But now the question is
is this private equity situation. Is this a lifeline or
is this a problem? That's the question because these firms
(28:16):
in private equity, they are not charities, they are not boosters,
and they are not fans. Their job is simple invest money,
grow it, cash out with a profit. Now, that usually
means raising prices, drive more revenue per fan, cutting costs
wherever they can, and commercializing every single inch of the product.
(28:39):
So for Utah fans, this can either go one or
two ways. The deal kept us competitive when everybody else
was rounding. We upgraded everything, we paid our players, we
stayed naturally relevant.
Speaker 1 (28:52):
Great move.
Speaker 2 (28:53):
Or ten years from now you could be saying we
turned our program into a Wall Street asset tickets costs more.
Everything is corporate, and we don't control our own house anymore.
And the must the mighty Utah student section is just
is now a shell of itself, like this is the
Chicago Parking Meters Fhere you get a bag of big
(29:17):
money up front and you give away a slice of
your future for a long, long, long time. Now, I
will tell you though, There is one significant argument in
favor of this that I actually understand, and I like,
is this really worse than living at the mercy of
(29:39):
a few powerful boosters, because we already know how that
story goes. One booster don't like the coach, then suddenly
there's pressure to fire the coach.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
One booster don't like a player.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
Suddenly the kid is a problem in the locker room
and he don't want to pay his nil. Boosters can
be petty, they can be short sighted, and they can
be emotional. Private equity at least is rational. They look
at the numbers. But here's the flip side.
Speaker 1 (30:05):
Though.
Speaker 2 (30:06):
Boosters care if the team wins on Saturday. Private equity
cares if the spreadsheet wins on Monday. So, if you
are a Utah fan, who do you trust with your
program sold Is it the university leadership, is it the
big money boosters?
Speaker 1 (30:21):
Is it a private equity fund?
Speaker 2 (30:24):
Or do you prefer the old school version where nobody
owned anything and it was messy and at least it
wasn't literally a portfolio company. College football is now forcing
you to pick your position and pick your poison. And
if I'm Utah, I believe that this is a much
better deal than the Big twelve or the Big ten
(30:45):
signing on with private equity a deal like this because
they're boosters who have bought into this. Yes, they care
about their money, but they also at the end of
the day, the most important thing is they.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
Care about UTAH winning.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
I love it, and I don't think that this stops
with Utah, not even a little bit.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
If sudden.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
The UTAH has the best facilities, a deep staff, the
revenue sharing, they're tearing up the portal like Texas, like
Texas Tech, because Texas Tech is essentially doing the same
thing with Cody Campbell. Every athletic director is going to
get a call from somebody in private equity saying, hey you, hey, hey,
foul do you want five hundred.
Speaker 1 (31:29):
Million, you want three hundred million, We can do this
for you.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Because we've already seen team schools like Florida State flirt
with it, Big Ten flirt with it. But now Utah
is giving everybody a model. And I believe that owning
that boosters who already donate to the program, owning the
private equity fund, that's where the magic and the sweet
(31:55):
spot is because they get to make a return. And
these are shrewd and so they are going to be
on it to make more more money. But then that
money is not just a single case use. It's now
able to make money because it is a for profit
deal and you don't have to spend all the money
every single year. This is I love it. I love it,
(32:18):
but prices will go up and as a fan, are
you willing to do that if it means winning? Come on, man,
next thing up. I believe that how this has happened
(32:39):
has actually impacted tray Aman. So college football officially lives
in two worlds right now. On one side, you got
a guy like Trey Aikman, who is a fantastic NFL
broad former NFL player, NFL broad caster, and he is
(33:01):
sitting up here saying, I am done with nil. I
wrote a big check and the kid left and didn't
even say thank you. And it appears he's talking about
Dante More from University of Oregon who went to UCLA. Now, mind,
you could be talking about somebody else because the other
players transferred out, but that probably is a fair assumption.
(33:24):
Now on the other side, you got Utah saying, with
their five hundred million dollar investment that this is gonna
now become a business. This is a half a billion
dollar private equity partner and the boosters are involved with it.
So I'm gonna walk you guys through how these two
stories are actually in the same conversation. So Troy Aikman
(33:46):
was on a podcast and he said that he gave
a sizeable check to a UCLA player that he never
even met. Said the kids stayed for one year, transferred
to another school, no loyalty, I'm just thing here because
he said, no, I'm just staying here because Troy helped me,
not even send a thank you note. And his reaction
(34:08):
was simple, I'm done with nil. And truthfully, I get
it because from his perspective, he thought he was helping
the school, he thought he was helping a kid, and
he thought he was being a good luck. Now mind,
I'm a dude that has helped kids and gotten burned before.
This is part of the game. This is why the
(34:28):
private equity thing might actually be the best deal. Because
what Troy actually did, he wrote an emotional check in
the professional marketplace. He was operating out of feeling and
love and support in a business and the business always
gonna do what's best for the business, and chip Kelly
(34:49):
left and everything else. So that's what he should be
mad at as well, because when you listen to Troy,
he's not mad at the one kid. He's mad that
there's no structure. He says that support that. He supports
players getting paid, he supports players having freedom, and he
even gets why.
Speaker 1 (35:05):
They want to move when coaches move.
Speaker 2 (35:07):
He just wants accountability, he said, if I'm giving money
to this school, there should be some responsibility to stick around.
Speaker 1 (35:15):
Think that there's fair. You got Georgia who's then suing.
Speaker 2 (35:19):
A player who transferred out, but instead of just suing
him for the pro ration of the contract, they're suing
him for the whole thing, they're suing him for damages
and everything else. Now I think that that's a bit
too far, because it's just like coaches contracts, there has
to be buyouts in them, and if you break the contract,
(35:40):
you got to pay the buy out if the school
wants to recoup the buyout. Because right now NIL is
not built like the NFL. There are very few real contracts.
There's no standardization of the terms, there's no buyouts that
are national, there's not no trade claw, no cap hits,
(36:01):
even though they're supposed to be a cap It's a
bunch of rich people wiring money and hoping feelings and
loyalty fill out the gaps and they get some enough
wins along the way that they feel like it was
a good investment. And that ain't how billion dollar industries work.
Come on, like, let's look at this in comparison with
(36:23):
the Utah Youth situation where they're getting.
Speaker 1 (36:26):
A private equity partner five hundred million dollars.
Speaker 2 (36:29):
And creating a place where the boosters are part of
the private private equity, so that keeps the private equity
in check where the school and winning has to be
a priority because they're part of the private equity. And
then you got Trey Aikman saying I'm out, I'm out,
(36:50):
and because he is part of the old booster system,
he is the old model, one famous salum, one emotional
check to one player, no real contract, no structure, and
when it goes sideways, the donor then says I'm done
and the whole thing collapses. That's why a new model
(37:14):
has to be creative. Players just shouldn't get a handshake
deal it because we've seen instances where players don't get
paid and kids don't perform up to what's written in
the contract. Come on, man, this is this is real,
and booster fatigue is real. This was going to happen
(37:38):
where boosters are like I, if there's only so many
times that you can come to this, well, especially if
we gotta fire a coach.
Speaker 1 (37:47):
This ain't every state.
Speaker 2 (37:48):
Ain't Louisiana where they're gonna be willing to come out
of the state fund for fifty four million dollars and
you can only go to booster so many times for
big checks. Now, imagine a world where a boosters like,
all right, cool, I'll.
Speaker 1 (38:04):
Give you fifty million dollars.
Speaker 2 (38:07):
But this is gonna end up in an annuity or
some sort of you know fund that it just rotates
over and over and over and over again, and we
keep getting paid. So now I gotta donate less money
every single year because this money is making money. Instead
of just asking me for five million this year, ten
(38:28):
million the next year, seven million, the next year, here's
fifty and you're and it's gonna kick off five million
dollars a year at ten percent. Come on, man, and
have it worked like an endowment. Come on, man, we
gotta we gotta step into the new age of football
(38:50):
and how things have to be run.
Speaker 1 (38:53):
Just reality.
Speaker 2 (38:55):
So you can either keep leaning on tied boosters or
go all in on institutional for profit money like Utah
is create a real structured system that pays itself, and
stop trying to pretend that these are not for profit
businesses that need to zero out every year.
Speaker 1 (39:18):
Nah.
Speaker 2 (39:18):
The company can keep cash like Apple and then use
it ten years from now, five years now, three years
from now if it needs it. Thank you Utah for
ripping the band aid off. All right, But the last
part about it. If you're trading, are you wrong to
actually feel burned and walk away? I don't think so.
(39:41):
That's why UCLA is gonna have to do something different.
I would not be surprised if you see Oregon go
to a business model like this.
Speaker 1 (39:49):
It just makes sense. All right. Now, let's talk about
the college football playoff.
Speaker 2 (39:56):
Oh, I am excited, But you got James Madison versus
Oregon in Eugene, and then the winner plays Texas Tech
in the Orange Bowl. You got Alabama playing Oklahoma, Winter
plays Indiana, Tulane playing Old Miss, Winter plays Georgia, and
(40:18):
Miami plays Texas A and m Winter plays the Ohio State.
Now we have had so many people talking about, oh
I don't want to the College Football Playoff, the G five,
G six is they shouldn't be in, and this and that.
Everybody knew the rules when you came into it. You
(40:39):
can't then decide because you didn't like the outcome that
now we should change the rules this year. You're going
to get outlier results sometimes. Think about the NCAA Tournament.
We had Oakland get in one year with a losing
record because they won their conference championship.
Speaker 1 (40:59):
These things happened.
Speaker 2 (41:01):
But the reason why we need to expand to sixteen
teams and the reason why we need to have some
sort of play in system is because of schedule roulette.
You have a team like Texas, A and M and
the SEC. This year they only played one team who
finished in the top eight of the SEC, and that
was Texas and they lost to Texas. So they had
(41:23):
a much easier schedule than in Alabama, Georgia, Texas, you know, Vanderbilt,
anybody else.
Speaker 1 (41:32):
Much easier schedule. So how do you nerf that?
Speaker 2 (41:38):
Because you and nerfing is like a nerf gun, and
you know it's not as potent as a real one.
Speaker 1 (41:44):
So let's look at this.
Speaker 2 (41:46):
Imagine a world where the college football playoff goes to
sixteen teams, three eight three Big ten and SEC teams
automatically get automatic births.
Speaker 1 (41:57):
That's six, two for the Big twelve, two for.
Speaker 2 (42:01):
The ACC that's ten. Group of five automatic birth at
that's eleven, and then you get five five at large bids.
And the truth is the majority of those are gonna
come from the Big Ten.
Speaker 1 (42:20):
And the SEC. It's just the truth.
Speaker 2 (42:23):
That's where the majority of the teenagers are ranked. And then,
because we want conference championships to still matter, the top
four teams, you're gonna get home games. Yes, you're gonna
get home games while everybody else plays in regular ball games.
(42:44):
And then for the at large spots, what we're gonna
have is we're gonna go down to eight conference games,
and then we're gonna have crossover games.
Speaker 1 (42:55):
SEC, Big Ten, Big twelve, and ACC.
Speaker 2 (42:58):
They're all going to play each other based upon the
previous year's standings. So now when it comes to the
at large bids, now we're gonna know who to prioritize.
The people the conferences that did better in the crossover games.
So if we're looking for that last playoff spot. Oh yeah,
(43:19):
the Big Ten was the best conference this year in
our conference matchups, you get an extra spot. SEC was best,
They get an extra spot. And then what you do
is is that way you don't have to worry about
Texas saying them not having the same schedule as another
team in the SEC, or Rutgers not having the same.
Speaker 1 (43:38):
Schedule as the Ohio State.
Speaker 2 (43:41):
What you do is is then you have three play
six on conference championship weekend and four play five. So
now that's another data point. And if the Big Ten
already has three teams that get in, or you can
play to have three play four, boom winner gets the
(44:01):
automatic birth and then the committee has to choose the
last five. Who says no, that makes too much sense.
That is how we can determine sixteen teams, and there
is fairness there. And even if you don't win the
(44:22):
schedule roulette and somebody else does, Like if you're in
Texas and you feel like your schedule was wade tougher
than Texas A and m's, now you get a chance
to go take Texas A and M spot. How can
you say no to that? This is an amazing set
of events.
Speaker 1 (44:39):
A way to do it. But let's go back to
this year. Now.
Speaker 2 (44:44):
I am gonna make a whole video on this, but
you guys put in the comments who you believe is
going to win. And I just find it funny when
I watch the ACC Network. I'm sitting here watching people
picking Miami to win the National Championship or make it
to the National Championship. I watched the SEC Network. Everybody's
(45:06):
picking Georgia. They're picking Georgia versus Oklahoma. I'm like, Oklahoma
or Georgia versus Alabama in the championship, And I'm like,
oh my god. Everybody on these networks is just lobbyist
for their own self interest. This is why you guys
watch the show because honesty matters. And I am college
(45:28):
Football's honesty broker and the truth teller. But you guys,
I appreciate your time. I appreciate your energy so much.
Jam packed show today. We will be back on Thursday.
We got interviews, popping, we got all sorts of stuff.
And make sure that you like, subscribe, get notifications, tell
a friend, and most importantly, be one of us.
Speaker 1 (45:50):
Because most important, your time is the most valuable thing
that you have. And I appreciate you spending it with me,
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Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
The Brothers Ortiz
The Brothers Ortiz is the story of two brothers–both successful, but in very different ways. Gabe Ortiz becomes a third-highest ranking officer in all of Texas while his younger brother Larry climbs the ranks in Puro Tango Blast, a notorious Texas Prison gang. Gabe doesn’t know all the details of his brother’s nefarious dealings, and he’s made a point not to ask, to protect their relationship. But when Larry is murdered during a home invasion in a rented beach house, Gabe has no choice but to look into what happened that night. To solve Larry’s murder, Gabe, and the whole Ortiz family, must ask each other tough questions.