I used to live and die with college football. I didn't just focus on BYU, I watched all the big games throughout the season and lived and breathed it. But the last few years my interest has greatly diminished. I think it is for two main reason. These are not new, but for some reason, they have really become more apparent to me and I find they color how I view the whole sport. They are:

1) BYU - and teams like them (see UCF this year), will never again have a realistic shot at winning a national title. It is clearly a game being played by two groups (the P5s and the others) whether anyone wants to admit or not. UCF this year is a perfect example. They did all that they possibly could do, but in the end the establishment will not let them be a part of the playoff. I do not think they would beat either UGA or Alabama, I think Bama would crush them. But, I do think they deserved a chance to play for a national title. I guess, for me, knowing BYU, and more that half the schools out there will never be given the chance regardless of what they do on the field really turns me off to the sport.

2) The huge amount of money that is being made by the big schools in the name of "amateur sports". The latest example of this to me is LSU paying an assistant $2.5 million per year (see below). Perhaps it's because I work in education, but this just seems ludicrous to me for two reasons. A) How can public schools justify spending that much money on amateur sports? I have and currently do work at state-funded public universities that are under severe budget crunches, yet at the same time there are coaches at other state-funded universities making over $5 million a year. How can you tell me we are strapped for cash when the football coach makes so much. B) The players are the ones that everyone turns on their TV to watch. If they are producing so much money that you can spend $2.5 million a year on an assistant coach, why can't they earn any of this money? A scholarship is nice, but it is nothing compared to how much money they are making for the schools. It just not ethical. Sure, I agree there are many issues paying lots of money to 18-21 yr old athletes, but they should be entitled to some of it because without them there is no game.

Anyway, I may watch a little of tonight's game, but honestly, my sports attention has shifted greatly toward professional soccer and hockey. Ok, rant over.

$2.5 Million/yr for an assistant coach. At a public university. Amateur sports. https://t.co/W1Wk1aUbes

— RodGilmore@espn (@RodGilmore) January 4, 2018

https://twitter.com/RodGilmore/status/948757898145841157