Yesterday’s four-hour, OT, very enjoyable Rose Bowl game and the well-into-last evening’s Sugar Bowl thriller gave most NCAA College Football fans what they want and need.  An escape.

But, make no mistake about it.  The toothpaste is out of the tube and, as you know, it’s awfully hard to put it back in.

Conference realignments, opt-outs, transfer portal entries, expanded playoffs soon, TV money, coaching carousels, coaching buyouts, more opt-outs, and maybe most of all NIL money have transformed the game at a dizzying pace.

Three unnamed Athletic Directors in a sit-down round table interview offered some quick takes recently.    One said, “Be careful what you wish for.”    A second followed, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”  The third one uttered, ” The only thing constant in the game is change.  Embrace it.  Adapt to it.  Or, die from not.”

Is it possible that they are all right at the same time?  Is it probable?

Is the third one ahead of the others?  Yes.

It’s likely the new normal will be like a fine wine- an acquired taste.

Unlimited transfers through the portal are the college’s equivalent to free agency.  There’s one big difference though.

In the pros, you sign a binding contract for a specified period of years.  You give, you get.   In college you only get.  And, if the grass(read as money) looks greener at the next U, you go get it.

There’s nothing wrong with capitalism, it just reminds us that there never has been and will never be an “I” in “team.”  The reasons for that truism have multiplied.

So who’s on your team next year?  There is no static answer to that question.  It’s who’s on your team at this minute to buckle up a chin strap.  Tomorrow is a ways off, we’ll have to see.  It makes games like Army v Navy even more appealing to purists.

So, who wins?  When it comes to money, seemingly everyone does.  TV charges more to advertisers.  Then it doles out more money for big conference alignments.  Schools make more that are a part of the mega conferences.  Coaches make more.  And, with NIL the kids now get a legal bag, too.

But who consistently wins on the field?  Perhaps it will be the programs that offer the best chance at future development and convince the kids and their entourage that a long-term plan beats a short-term dash for cash.  A bunch of good 21-year-olds usually beat a bunch of good 18-year-olds.

Recruiting great players is still the path to success, but now the above-the-table cash has to be there as well.

Maybe the NCAA will strengthen the transfer rules a bit too.  How?  That’s the difficult part.  Lawsuits will challenge any restrictions from where we are today.

it’s doubtful that TV ratings will suffer.  It’s doubtful that in-person attendance will either.

But.

Fans are the one who pays for all of this(NIL indirectly as well) by watching at home or in person.

Doesn’t it feel like everyone involved wins, but the fan loses?