The thing about 24 that bothers me most is… Who is this for? It’s not because TV was begging for it. ESPN had to be convinced. It’s not for a boatload of new cash. Losing conf champ games is gonna make this a minimal gain. It’s not because the 22nd team has any shot at a natty. It doesn’t. It’s certainly not done with the health, safety, or academic success of the players in mind since they don’t even get a say in this. It’s entirely to appease the people donating the money that keeps a financially irresponsible business model afloat. It’s discounting success so schools can say “look what your donation bought.” It’s an industry hellbent on treating investors and bosses as the customer, and customers as an infinite resource that will keep coming back no matter what.

NEW: Nick Saban says NIL wasn't his reason for retirement, instead it was his age: "That’s not why I got out of coaching. We had three years of this, you know, my last three years. I coached in the NFL, so I was used to managing the salary cap and that type of thing." Saban added: "The one thing I didn’t want to do is ride the program down. And once you get a certain age, people start using that against you in recruiting and your ability to attract the kind of players that you want to attract." (via @GetUpESPN) on3.com/news/nick-saban-reje…

UNC could have had either Jon Sumrall or Bob Chesney in 2025. Both now thriving in year one at Florida and UCLA Jon Sumrall, age 44 | 4-0 at Florida | Wins over Auburn (44-39), No. 4 Ole Miss (52-28) Bob Cheseny, age 49 | 4-0 at UCLA | Wins over Purdue (52-38), Maryland (54-3)

One takeaway from listening to Dabo the last week or so (and watching his team come back late vs. UNC): If Clemson doesn't want him anymore, there's probably 120+ FBS teams that would take him in a heartbeat.

"Shoot, if you would have quit as fast as some of your fans, shit, we wouldn't have won that game," Alabama OC Ryan Grubb on boo birds in Bryant-Denny Stadium.

I'm learning very quickly that UNC has a significant number of fans who would act exactly like the most disgusting of Penn State Paterno defenders, given the opportunity

One new nugget we can report in the light of today's UNC/Lombardi investigation news: Soon after Lombardi took over, staffers felt pressured to misrepresent UNC's academic offerings to recruits. nytimes.com/athletic/7604058…

"I can save you $33 and lots of reading time by summing up the book this way," Kiffin wrote to Mars in a text message, which was shared with ESPN. "Old unnamed sources say Lane used to argue with Saban, drink alcohol and hang out with hot women. New unnamed sources say Lane gets along with Saban, doesn't drink alcohol, but still hangs out with hot women." Great story by @Mark_Schlabach on ESPN about Lane. espn.com/college-football/st…

So in the same statement that UNC said to have found Steve Belichick to have “shown disregard” for UNC standards/conduct, reiterated that the GM resigned after same investigation, and a player picked up a gun charge last night, the school says there is systemic control…

#UNC has poured significant resources into its football program, but a report by The Athletic finds that the Tar Heels still rank just eighth in the ACC, while the average spending in the league ranks behind the SEC and the Big Ten. Follow the link in replies to read more.

From North Carolina statement: “The investigation determined that certain actions demonstrated a disregard for Carolina’s values and standards of conduct. The investigation also found that these actions were isolated in scope and not a systemic failure.” on3.com/news/report-unc-defe…

Starting to question the benefit of these FCS games. NC State leads 63-0, has more than 600 yards of total offense and has tied a school record with seven rushing touchdowns.

In Dabo’s defense though, I will say this… 1) LSU’s roster is probably $20M+ more than Clemson’s. It showed. 2) for all the “aw shucks” attitude, Dabo is EXTREMELY competitive & I don’t believe for a second he’s ok with this But i think he owes fans more than a “How dare you!” about the state of the program. And i do think - based on real reporting - that he’s struggling to reconcile wanting to stay true to his core principles and philosophies (which is good!) with not listening to new ideas about how best to organize those principles around a modern game plan for success (which is bad!). Dabo doesn’t need to sacrifice what’s made him great to meet the times… but he does need to reckon with how he can remain himself and still accept the world has changed.

Michael Lombardi has resigned as #UNC GM. Multiple sources tell us that UNC's investigation now expands to Steve Belichick and alleged drug use. As well as asst coaches & a player allegedly having sexual relationships with recruiting staff wral.com/sports/north-caroli…

Why did Lombardi resign so suddenly today? Came just minutes before @WRAL investigation with @patwelter was set to drop. Here it is: UNC investigators now looking at allegations of drug use, sexual relationships between staff, players, sources wral.com/sports/north-caroli…

“The Big Ten is the best league in football… We don’t run a hype machine up here in the Midwest. We believe everything’s earned, not given. And when we fall short, we say, ‘We fell short.’ We don’t cry a river and whine and complain. And that’s why we’re the best.” Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti’s final statement at Big Ten Media Days 😳