The SEC's 3% Decision, EA Sports Boycott & How to Load a Dishwasher

1) The SEC sides with the 3%. At least, for now.

The SEC is nothing if not a master at creating headlines in the middle of the offseason. Last Thursday, I wrote about the ongoing debate over whether the conference should play eight or nine conference games in 2024 when Texas and Oklahoma officially join the league. A day later, commissioner Greg Sankey announced that the conference was sticking with eight games after the topic was put to a vote, setting a tidal wave of near-universal disdain. (On a personal level, it would’ve been great for the newsletter if they didn’t wait until after last week’s email, but I digress.)

Brett McMurphy had the scoop on the official vote count:

For what it’s worth, we conducted our own poll last week and 97% of you preferred a nine game conference slate. (Ninety-seven percent!) Nick Saban appears to be in the 3% that isn’t so sure, at least for the moment. On today’s episode, Dan compared Saban’s comments to those of an older gentleman angered by new hours at his favorite breakfast spot.

Look, they’re eventually going to do the nine game thing. It’s a matter of when, not if. In the interim, it feels like the conference missed a great opportunity to make a better product and that’s a bummer. We’ll get through this together.

2) Blind items rule!

Our friends over at Athlon dropped their 2023 college football preview magazine and, per usual, featured anonymous jabs from opposing coaches on nearly every team. This is absolutely my favorite part of preview season. Who isn’t a sucker for a little gossip?

247Sports posted a few snippets from the Big 12. Here were a few that stood out:

On new Cincinnati coach Scott Satterfield: “Bringing Satt in doesn’t seem to make a ton of sense, but maybe it will work.”

On Baylor’s 2022 defense: “What really stood out is how they weren’t as physical on defense. Guys weren’t playing as hard, to be honest. Just a weird vibe for an Aranda team.“

On the puzzling Oklahoma State: “Probably the most confusing team in the entire league. They can beat the crap out of you or beat themselves the same way; it really just depends on the week.”

On West Virginia: “This might be the worst roster in the league. They have some talent, but they’re not physical at all.“

There’s a lot more where that came from, most of which is less scandalous!

3) Boycott schmoycott

Just when you thought it was safe to get excited about the upcoming EA Sports College Football video game, this. As reported by On3, the College Football Players Association (CFBPA) is urging athletes to opt out of the upcoming title in response to unfair compensation. At present, players who allow their likenesses to be featured in the game would receive $500 each, per reports. The CFBPA argues that this is not “just compensation.”

This creates a dilemma for the majority of us who support both a new game and adequate compensation for players. The obvious question is “how much should players be paid to be in the game?” I don’t know the answer to that question, so we’re working with the CFBPA to set up an interview sometime soon. Follow The Solid Verbal on Apple or Spotify (or elsewhere!) so you don’t miss out, and hit us up on Twitter with any questions you’d like to have answered.

In other related news, Urban Meyer equated NIL to “cheating” and a convoy of prominent SEC representatives descended on Washington to lobby lawmakers to pass federal NIL legislation.

4) The 2023 Blue-Chip Ratio

In what’s become something of an annual tradition, our friend Bud Elliott of 247Sports published his updated Blue-Chip Ratio for the 2023 college football season.

As Bud adamantly asserts, the 16 teams in the graphic above are the ones that can actually win a national championship in 2023. I have a great deal of respect for Bud’s insight and the energy that he puts into maintaining this historical standard. This year’s breakdown is well worth your time.

5) Your weekly Pac-12 Health Check

When we last wrote about our heroes out West, Colorado was having “substantive” talks with the Big 12, per a story that felt ghost-written by Brett Yormark. This week featured Arizona considering a move to join Yormark’s version of a nationwide basketball conference. Is any of this true? I’ll get back to you.

We’ve spent so much collective attention on the rumors that the “Corner Schools” (Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah) might bolt if the Pac-12’s looming media deal wasn’t lucrative enough. What happens if it ends up being just two of the four?

The good news is that we should have some real answers by the end of this month. The conference reportedly agreed to equally share its TV revenue, though it doesn’t feel like everyone got the memo. Additionally, San Diego State, a popular candidate for Pac-12 expansion, needs to notify the Mountain West by June 30th if it plans to jump ship in time for 2024.

Stay tuned!

Others Receiving Votes

😬 Apple’s new Vision Pro will set you back $3500 and is, by all accounts, pretty dope. Also, it’s $3500…

🧽 Apparently, it’s a thing that couples argue over how to properly load a dishwasher? This seems like good reference material.

🌪️ “We’re innnnn itttttt! WE’RE IN THE TORNADO!!!!”

WHAT'S GOOD IN THE VERBALLERHOOD?

This week we concluded our journey through notable schedules for the upcoming 2023 college football season. On Tuesday, we tackled the Big 12; earlier today, we took down a dozen schedules from the Group of Five.

Listen to the podcast by clicking here or check out our individual episodes below. You can also view full episode videos and smaller clips on our YouTube channel. If you've read this far, this is the part where I ask you to refer your friends to our show.

THIS WEEK'S PODCAST EPISODES: