The Bear

A lot of detail into what was going on behind the scenes once Franklin was hired.

the usual "haves" are not having such as easy time of it...

IF (big if) you can evaluate talent to fit your system and have the resources ($$) to go get them and the ability/mechanism to go find them, recruiting (long-term) and portal (short-term), it can be done!

In this new NIL and Transfer Portal world of college football, this shows that any program can be turned around relatively quickly. I am cautiously optimistic - Go Hokies!

Some of you youngsters may not know the reference...

Those already in the portal can still sign with teams for a while. And UM and IU players can still enter the portal for a few days after tomorrow’s game..

I’d like to cheer for Ole Miss since it’s a great story, but that means Kiffen gets paid even more. Good on him (or his agent), but I have a hard time rooting for him. He's this generation's Spurrier - you love him if he's your coach. Hate him, otherwise

I want to cheer for Ole Miss, but that means Kiffen gets paid even more. Good on him (or his agent), but I have a hard time rooting for him. He's this generation's Spurrier - you love him if he's your coach. Hate him, otherwise...

Clemson? Down. FSU? Down. Miami? Average. VT? Down, but rising out of the ashes...

I know he can be frustrating sometimes, but every issue on offense is not his fault.

can say you told us so...

Since the game’s not that good…😆

or if the team had just given up on Pry, but that game was a lot more of what we've been expecting from this team. Sounds like he's put everyone on notice and has given some younger guys a chance to play and they've responded! Looking forward to seeing what happens...

“The Human Bowling Ball”… Similar in height, weight and running style.

And is t leading with your hard to the “head or neck” area of a defenseless player targeting?

We need Tony Elliott to have a good season and not get fired. We don’t need both schools looking for head coaches…

At least I can’t hear them on the TV…

But in our case, both are insufficient… And to think I had this as one of our “guaranteed” two wins…

somehow it needs to stay connected to college. So you need to marry the two systems together.

I'm not sure about the rest of you, but college football has lost its luster, at least to me. Between NIL, transfer portal, lack of leadership, conference realignment, etc., it's just not as enjoyable as it used to be. We were traveling before Christmas and while adjusting our schedule so we'd be somewhere where we (my wife and I are both Hokies) could watch the Mayo bowl, imagine our surprise when the Virginia Tech team we watched all season was no where to be found... Anyway, here are some of my ideas on the different issues. What are yours? 1. Paying the players We need a consistent and fair set of rules across the board. It's the wild, wild west out there right now. Should each conference have their own rules? No. It needs to be across the board. It needs structure. It needs terms and conditions to keep players from bouncing around. Minimum two year contracts. Include an agreement to purchase insurance for players who want to go pro and not playing in the bowl games or playoffs. Amount based on what round they're slated to go in the draft. 2. Conference realignment It's just ridiculous right now. I'm all for breaking it up into tiers and geographic divisions - similar to what the pros do. Maybe two big conferences (think NFC and AFC) with four divisions in each with 8 teams in each division. Total of 64 teams. And a second level for the next 64 teams. Add promotion and relegation between the levels. Does this require breaking football away from the NCAA? Maybe, if they can't get their poop in a group and lead. 3. Portal If we have minimum two-year contracts for the players, that may help. Don't open the portal until after the playoffs/bowl games. Let's stop pretending these are students and have to move programs before the next semester starts in January. Or let them take online classes at their new school until they move at the TRUE end of the season. Or should we make them sit a year before playing? Keep their eligibility, but not play? I would let them void their contract if their head coach leaves. That seems fair. These are just some of my thoughts. What are yours? What are other issues that need to be addressed? Because I think people will quit watching if it keeps going in the direction it is now. And I'll tell you like I used to tell my kids. Don't complain about something or shoot holes in someone's ideas without bringing solutions of your own.