FOOTBALL THOUGHTS:
TV Rules?
The B1G has made a hire to replace Kevin Warren and it is puzzlingly interesting. By hiring former MLB and CBS Sports Executive Tony Petitti as the next commissioner, the conference has positioned itself uniquely. Kevin Warren proved that the B1G really did want to look as close to a professional sports league as possible – and now they have hired a television sports executive to run their conference. Not an academician. Not a longtime athletics administrator. Not even a former politician.
The interesting thing here is that the conference just negotiated its long-term television rights and is seemingly set for a while when it comes to revenue. But as I have been saying for some time – even if nothing happens now with further expansion, the future is all about a model that resembles the NFL more so than the old days of college football. And while we can lament this loss of innocence, in some ways, if college football creates a sort of ‘Super 64’ setup, it will more closely resemble the regional game that many remember so fondly with exceptional matchups and more tradition than we have known for at least the last 15 years.
I cannot say for sure that the B1G is going to expand again before the Pac-12 finishes its next television rights deal, but I don’t think that realignment will stop if the Pac-1X does sign a new television rights deal. That deal will be in the four-to-six-year time frame and then we will face this all over again.
There is a pattern that might be somewhat discernible here: the last three conference commissioner hires (Brett Yormark, George Kliavkoff, and now Petitti) have a television background. That does not necessarily mean that each has been successful, but it shows that the broader organization of college athletics is thinking more like an entertainment business than an amateur athletic association.
Clear Message
On Tuesday Oregon head coach Dan Lanning mentioned that the Ducks need ‘to start a little bit faster at practice so we finish with great competition. We got to start that way.’ This was not the first mention of a slow start to practice this season and I would expect it won’t be the last.
Last season, Oregon averaged 38.8 points per game – but they tended to start slowly. Oregon scored just 85 points in the first quarter last season. That equates to less than a touchdown per game in the first quarter. Exceptional ‘middle’ quarter performance (187 in the 2nd, 135 in the 3rd quarters) made a significant difference for the Ducks a season ago, but they need faster starts to games.
They also need stronger finishes after giving up more fourth-quarter points than they scored last season. Some of that is skewed by a late-season fourth-quarter malaise, but it was a season-long issue with Oregon running into a sort of fourth-quarter wall from a scoring perspective.
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