Moving the Chains: Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?

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No, this isn’t about the hit song by Chicago.  My apologies if the title was misleading.  

But to answer the question it poses, it’s time for college football. 

I actually used the title as a segue to the song’s next line, which is:  

‘Does anybody really care?’

Care about what, exactly?

That would be the 2026 season of college football where, for the first time in history, the Hoosiers of Indiana University are the defending national champions.

If anybody really cares.  

As excited as I was to witness Indiana’s dream season last year, I’m unsure if I’ll ever have that same feeling watching college football ever again.  

I put the blame on the recent changes to the game.  The NCAA is turning the game into a business rather than a sport.      

 At the moment I can think of a half-dozen ways they’ve changed the game:  

1. The transfer portal, which makes it an everyday thing for one player to attend as many as three, four, and sometimes five different schools.  (Note: an executive order signed by the president may limit athletes to just one transfer before having to sit out a year.  Legal battles are almost certain to follow.)   

2. The expansion of conferences by adding teams without any geographical ties to them, thereby causing geographical complications and/or inconveniences that just aren’t practical – nor fair to the fans.  (If you were a UCLA grad living in Los Angeles, would you travel all the way to New Jersey to see the Bruins play Rutgers?)    

3. The 12-team expansion of the College Football Playoffs and, God forbid, any further expansion which will only make things worse (i.e. an 8 – 4 team could make the playoffs; perhaps even a team with a record of 7 – 5).  (The Big Ten has expressed interest in expanding the playoffs to 24 teams.  The only positive thing from that is making some of the lesser bowls more attractive by hosting a playoff game.  Otherwise, the idea is ridiculous.)    

4. The reconstruction of the Pac-12, which includes teams that don’t stand a chance of making the playoffs – even if the Big Ten gets their way and it expands to 24 teams.    
5. It’s no secret that many players are opting to play for pay rather than pride.  (If you’re 19 or 20 years old, when money talks how can you not listen?)    

6. Name, image, and likeness – NIL – has effectively changed the landscape of college football.  (And I don’t mean that in a good way.)    

In fact, things are getting to be so bad that the NCAA recently asked the U.S. government to assist in regulating college sports.  That makes about as much sense as putting a college football coach in Congress.  Case in point: Tommy Tuberville.    

So, getting back to the original question: does anybody really care about the upcoming season of college football?

As an alumnus of the University of Florida, I still do because:  

• Jon Sumrall, the new head coach, isn’t viewing this season as a rebuilding year: he wants to put a winner on the field right away.   

• The Gators just might have a capable quarterback for the first time since Tim Tebow graduated – and that one year Kyle Trask should have won the Heisman.  

• CBS Sports projects the Gators to earn a bowl bid, and ESPN believes they’re capable of a playoff run.

Then again, the Gators open their season at home against Florida Atlantic.  Sports Illustrated magazine has them ranked in their preseason top 25.  I’m referring to FAU, not the Gators.       

There are several other things I’m looking forward to seeing play out this season:  

• How will Lane Kiffin do in his first year at LSU?  

• Can the Big Ten make it four national championships in a row?  

• Will this be the last season for bowl games that aren’t involved in the college football playoffs?  

• Was Indiana’s 2025 season a ‘one off,’ or are they here to stay?

• What impact will the new rule changes for targeting, offensive pass interference, fair catches on kickoffs, and player celebrations have on the games? 

• Will Notre Dame live up to its lofty expectations – or do yet another face plant in the big game?       

Then again, there are still those six other things I mentioned earlier.  It’s naïve to think they won’t make some sort of an impact.  

Whether it’s for better or worse, that still remains to be seen.  But if I were to guess …    

For my part, I’ll still spend every Saturday this fall in front of the television – taking in as many games as I possibly can between the hours of noon and midnight.  

Because I, against my better judgment, still care.