The coach of Notre Dame, Brian Kelly, coached at the University of Cincinnati prior to accepting his current position.
On Sunday, Quarterback Tom Brady of the Tampa Bay Bucs set the all time passing yards record against his old team, the New England Patriots, in the second most watched NFL football game in history.
You keep bringing up rankings and flavor of the month programs which don’t mean all that much. Football wise, the big-12 is in trouble, they have no program that can bring in the TV subscribers that Texas and OU could, even with that “juggernaut” ISU program, and their up and coming coach.
“And the B1G will have a strong case to make for that next TV contract with 5 teams in the top 11, at the moment.”
Let’s assume for a second that rankings actually meant something in TV negotiations, these five teams all play each other and the big ten will have at most 2 schools in the top-10, maybe 3 at the end of the year.
But the SEC has two of the top two and the B1G will have one top four team after today.
A big part of the Big 12 struggle is with TV audiences. Nebraska has history but KSU, Kansas and IA State football has very little. At least Nebraska hosts Michigan tonight in an interesting game. The B1G has more blue bloods but has its fair share of meh teams as well.
I agree that current year rankings won’t be a huge factor in TV contracts. Alabama and Georgia have potential to have 1 loss between them at the end of the season. Assuming things hold expected form, they wil meet in SEC title game.
5 Big10 teams in top 11 have something like 8 losses between them at a minimum (assuming Iowa makes the conference title game which is expected and its hard to see someone other than the other 4 teams being the other conference title game participant). Iowa/Penn State game today will create a loss. Big 10 could have an undefeated champ with a one loss runner up but that is less certain than it is for SEC.
But again the current year rankings aren’t going to play a big role in tv contracts.
Even with that history, Nebraska bolted to the big-10 the first chance they had.
“The B1G has more blue bloods but has its fair share of meh teams as well.”
Agree, and I actually enjoyed the style of play in the big-12, especially the offenses.
“Iowa/Penn State game today will create a loss. Big 10 could have an undefeated champ with a one loss runner up but that is less certain than it is for SEC.”
Only one way that can happen, Iowa wins out and plays an undefeated Michigan or MSU.
Also assumes no upsets along the way.
Personally, I tune into watch good football played by ranked or good teams. I’m not watching bad teams just because they’re in a big market and/or in he SEC or B1G.
Rankings are ratings. That’s why when a game is advertised on TV the network has those tiny little numbers next to the college name advertising a game. 
And rankings attract talent. Talent typically translates to wins. And wins bring more talent and higher rankings. And on and on.
As for the B1G teams playing each other, that’s why they have a power index. Iowa has one tough game on the schedule left, today against Penn State. And just because Michigan State (5-0), Ohio State (4-1), Penn State (5-0) and Michigan (5-0) play each other in the B1G East doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll drop all that far in the rankings, because the teams below them will also have 1, 2 or 3 losses.
Let’s wait and see how the season plays out. If any conference is in trouble, I’d nominate the Pac-12. The conference is almost unwatchable at this point.
Does anyone know the results of the Alabama game which was played yesterday ?
Oh! Oh! I do! I do! 
What an ending to that game!
Go Dawgs! #1
Iowa is #2.
Lots of close games on Saturday. Ole Miss & Arkansas ended up at 52-51 because the Arkansas coach decided to try for a 2 point conversion rather than continuing the game at 52 each by kicking an extra point. I would love to read the Arkansas newspapers today regarding the coach’s decision to try for 2 instead of the near automatic one point kick. Arkansas was ranked at #13 while Ole Miss was a few spots lower. Ole Miss took over the #13 spot while Arkansas fell to #17.
New rankings: Georgia #1, Iowa #2, Cincinnati at #3 and Oklahoma, Alabama,then Ohio State. Penn State, Michigan, Oregon, & Michigan State.
5 Big Ten teams in the top 10.
University of Kentucky is #11.
I agree with you on #1 and #2 but after that I’m not sure… I think Oklahoma may be #3. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. As long as UGA is #1, of course.
It was a good weekend with several exciting games! While it’s fun for bragging rights to have a shutout, those aren’t as fun to watch for me even if it is my team. I hope UGA - Kentucky will be fun next weekend (both undefeated).
New rankings are out. That is why I edited my post.
Georgia is amazing. Iowa is solid.
Why would ND want to join a conference? People have been begging them to give up their independence forever, and they have not budged. Football independence is part of Notre Dame’s identity.
For a better shot at making the CFP playoffs for the national championship. And for more money.
I would stick with independence.
Looking backward is eventually going to upend Notre Dame.
If you need proof, look at yesterday’s signing day. The only name being thrown around today is Travis Hunter, who changed his intentions yesterday away from Florida State to go play at Jackson State…for Deion Sanders.
His individual value has skyrocketed. If he went to Alabama (he could have gone anywhere in the country), he’d be another guy waiting to play for Saban. Today, he’s the talk of the country. Kids at Notre Dame want that sort of recognition, and the reality for many players is going to be that being the star at a good school will be worth more (short term at least) than being the 2nd string at a great football school.
To @Publisher 's point, the money in the playoffs and TV are going to dictate the future. ND games are generally blowouts, as they play a bunch of very average teams. Even their long-standing rivalry games have gotten soft (USC, GT, the academies).
It’s going to be very interesting to see if money finally creates a bit of parody in college football. If Deion can keep Hunter, and turn him into a pro (he’s a corner, and went to learn from arguably the greatest corner of all time), the path to the NFL will be permanently changed.
ND can’t operate like they always have because it’s worked for them. The rules of the game have changed.
People have been saying that ND can’t compete in the current environment for decades, but they are one of the most accomplished teams over the past five years. Things are changing, but ND is in a great position. One thing that ND provides that most other huge football programs don’t is a quality education and a meaningful diploma. Things change, but ND’s football independence will remain.
Time will tell. The winningest coach in school history just left a team ranked 6th with a chance to make the playoffs and win a national championship for an SEC school with a 6-6 record.
Good to know all those kids at Michigan, and Ohio State, and Penn State, and Alabama, and, and, and have meaningless diplomas. If you want to see what a quality education means to guaranteed success, look at Stanford…next year maybe, they aren’t bowl eligible.
I’ve been an ND fan since I was a kid, but “accomplished” seems more like a euphemism for “close, but no cigar” every year. Yes, they’ve had two CFP appearances, but they’ve been blown out in the semi’s. I’d like to think ND wants to win championships, not just “compete.” It’s Notre Dame for heaven’s sake!
Wow, there must be a huge academic drop off between ND’s USNWR ranking of #19 and Michigan’s USNWR ranking of #23, which is where my D18 attends. 
One huge difference between ND and other schools, regardless of USNWR rankings, is that athletes go to class with the rest of the student body. They don’t have their own classes or majors. They are regular students who also happen to play football. And ND still has high admission standards for their athletes, the football team included.
You are right - they have not won the big game. But aside from maybe 5 other teams (Alabama, Clemson, and Ohio State off the top of my mind), the rest of the college football world would love to have had ND’s success over the past five years. And with Brian Kelly gone, the future looks bright. Kelly did great things for the program, but he never had his team ready for the big game.
And you have proof beyond just telling me? That’s a pretty “hoity toity” thing to say. Certainly the athletes my D knows and go to class with over the past 4 years haven’t been taking Advanced Toe Nail Clipping.
Here’s the 2018-2019 Academic Progress Rate (via Alabama SB Nation) :
Ouch, Notre Dame is #39. Many of those less academic Power 5 football schools are doing a lot better than ND with their academic progress rate that’s for sure.
And regarding admission standards, certainly Michigan has repeatedly moaned about getting recruits and transfers through their admissions department.