Hey folks - as a member of the DawgNation community, please remember to abide by simple rules of civil engagement with other members:
- Please no inappropriate usernames (remember that there may be youngsters in the room)
- Personal attacks on other community members are unacceptable, practice the good manners your mama taught you when engaging with fellow Dawg fans
- Use common sense and respect personal differences in the community: sexual and other inappropriate language or imagery, political rants and belittling the opinions of others will get your posts deleted and result in warnings and/ or banning from the forum
- 3/17/19 UPDATE -- We've updated the permissions for our "Football" and "Commit to the G" recruiting message boards. We aim to be the best free board out there and that has not changed. We do now ask that all of you good people register as a member of our forum in order to see the sugar that is falling from our skies, so to speak.
- Please no inappropriate usernames (remember that there may be youngsters in the room)
- Personal attacks on other community members are unacceptable, practice the good manners your mama taught you when engaging with fellow Dawg fans
- Use common sense and respect personal differences in the community: sexual and other inappropriate language or imagery, political rants and belittling the opinions of others will get your posts deleted and result in warnings and/ or banning from the forum
- 3/17/19 UPDATE -- We've updated the permissions for our "Football" and "Commit to the G" recruiting message boards. We aim to be the best free board out there and that has not changed. We do now ask that all of you good people register as a member of our forum in order to see the sugar that is falling from our skies, so to speak.
Options
Comments
Winner: Notre Dame and its fans from now until shortly after the first quarter. After the first quarter all of the viewing world will realize, yet again, that Notre Dame should not have been in the playoffs. Apparently, the shine will never wear off of ND.
Loser: A&M and its fans. How in the world they have one loss to the number one team in the nation and are not in the playoffs is beyond reason.
I would agree with College football being a loser but I would also add the bowl system, the players, fans and schools. The college game was a mess before 2020 & all this season has done is prove how big of a train wreck the sport truly has become. Everything from recruiting to the NFL draft and in between is broken & needs to be overhauled. It's been building for years now but I actually do not have any interest in the bowl season or the CFP and likely will watch little if any of the games. Based on how I view the sport now & even though I think opting out is a bad business decision for most players entering the draft, I certainly can blame players for doing so. In reality, players opting out opens up the spot for next year's team to gain some experience so that maybe the Dawgs can win that one coveted playoff spot behind Bama, Clemson & Ohio State who will all be in the CFP whether they play or not.
I'd also add that non-championship-track bowl games are nothing new. Bowl games are like the sport itself - their significance is what we decide it is. For as long as anyone can remember, there have been bowl games - prestigious, respected ones - that didn't factor into the national championship every year. And in the years that they didn't, people still got up for them. The advent of the playoff didn't change anything - people have arbitrarily decided that games which for decades were considered the pinnacle of the sport suddenly no longer mean anything depending on their spot in a rotation. So saying the bowl game doesn't matter is not a reasonable basis for skipping out on it. The last hundred years or so of college football is proof that if these players (and anyone else making the claim) wanted it to matter, it would matter.
Remember what UGA was told a few years ago, that if you don't win your division you don't get to go, until BAMA didn't win it, then it was OK, same for Notre Dame. Liars. As someone on 92.9 the game said, it's all about a TV Show and the money to be made off of commercials. HAs nothing to do with anything else.
Congrats on being a fellow alum. The difference is you and I paid tuition and fees and perhaps housing and meals while football players bring in tens of millions of dollars in revenue. I enjoyed watching all the non-revenue sports including basketball, baseball, tennis, and gymnastics while I was a student. That would not have been possible without the revenue brought in by football players. Besides, whether the classroom has 10 students or 200 students it costs the university no more to have an extra butt in the seat for someone who is producing millions for the university. UGA has one of the healthiest athletic departments financially in the country due to football players. If a few want to make a financial decision in their own best interest, I say, “Thanks for being DGDs while you were here!”
I have a question. If a senior stays for the extra year awarded by the NCAA, does he have to be accepted and work toward a master’s degree if he has completed his under grad work?
Is standard practice for a writer/columnist/sports reporter to insult their readers? Well that's what you did Conner. So let me criticize you. Your opinion makes you the loser here. You insulted the fan base and that makes you lower than slime. The players QUIT on their team, university, coaches and fans. Its about ME is their mantra. I am tired of being chastised for voicing my opinion on them QUITTING. They get tons of extra perks that a regular student does not. Guess who pays for that with millions of dollars....the FANS you insult. File your idiotic opinion under moronic. You are the loser Conner. Hide behind that keyboard... fraud.
Well, I hope we dominate Cincinatti - we certainly would've had it been a "normal" game and not a bowl game.
Sorry, but the whole "shared", "co-champion" crap is BS. It wasn't like Cincy was dominating every team they played:
You're in a "lower league". Don't pretend that you would beat the "big boys" of Ohio State, Clemson and Bama. If you beat Georgia, it'll only because of the opt outs and lack of prep/enthusiasm. Bama would shut-you-out.
That being said, I look forward to the game and DO hope we dominate.
Not sure though what the difference in playing in the Senior Bowl and playing in a New Years Day bowl. Both are opportunities to get hurt. Both are opportunities to compete and get noticed. One is for yourself and the other is for your school.
How's your chin feel, Connor...you took a lot on it. These commenters are spot on. ...mostly. The game of college football has certainly evolved. My peeve is scholarships for essentially three-year students playing football knowing they are treating UGA like a prep school for the NFL draft after junior year. Few see the value of an education and degree...some do. I worked my way through UGA as a private photographer for the University. Long nights developing film and printing photos for the coaches. Few opt-outs back then..actually none as I recall ,except for injury. Players and coaches looked forward to bowl games. They capped the season as a highlight. Maybe this is the business of football...much like my business. The perks were zero for me and all favored college players. I recall the dean coming in one class and excusing a high-profile player to practice for an upcoming game. The prof was livid. Money talks....let's face it. NFL payouts are enormous. Now legislation pending that will actually pay players at the college level..that will involve agents. Connor? Take it easy on us fans. We know a thing or two about football ourselves. Some of the posters are extremely knowlegable and have invested heavily in the life of this game. Players opting out (quitting) bowl games, except for injury, should be banned (full-stop)...just another opinion, Connor.
I find it funny that he says that there are several players that have opted out but at the same time accepted bids to the Senior Bowl. I'm sorry, but isn't that another game with another opportunity to get hurt? It seems to me that playing with the team that got you the opportunity to even THINK about going pro deserves your loyalty more than a bunch of people you don't know, playing for a "coach" you aren't familiar with.
Surely I must be missing something here.
It is ridiculous to say my opinion is hogwash when you spout nonsense like they deserve to quit on their team. They deserve to complete the season in which they signed on and finish that season with their team representing their University and putting on a show against a solid opponent.
Understand the difference of opinion Connor; after all, it's a sports blog. But calling those who disagree with you "losers" and "weak" is beneath you. I get it. You come from the fan boy school.
But your argument that players have "earned" the right to quit on their team because they played during a pandemic, is nonsense. The whole team played through the pandemic. What's that have to do with bailing? Are they afraid of getting COVID in the next 11 days? By your metric, the whole team could just say never mind, we're not playing and they would have all "earned" the right. That's just silly.
But this "opt out" (nice word for it) mania definitely brings out differing opinions. What would sports be without some good-natured arguing?
For me, there's one question that answers itself, and sheds a great deal of light on the subject: If UGA was one of the four playoff teams, would these 8 players not be playing? Check on AL, ND, OSU for their opt-out lists.
And if the answer is yes, these dudes would be playing, then that's the answer. They're not playing because there's nothing in it for THEM. At least in their mind.
Preparing for the NFL? The Peach Bowl is in 11 days. The NFL draft is 123 days from today. That's a crock.
Could they be injured? Yep. Could have against Missouri, Florida, blah, blah, blah.
It's fine. They're not playing. Cincinnati's not complaining about 4 DBs being out, for sure. At least these GA "opt-outs" have made somebody happy, other than themselves.
87dawg.....very good post.
I forgot to tell this genius reporter earlier....so here goes:
Don't ever tell me or other fans how to think, feel or express their opinion. We have to read your drivel almost daily. No more. Despite liberal ideals, this is still America and we as fans have a right to free expression and you calling us losers is in effect telling us to shut up.
Well that goes both ways....shut your pie hole. The fans lost a season as well. Then to have them QUIT is beyond maddening. Remember this too....those opting out sometimes go undrafted or so that they are likely to be cut. NFL be damned here. Is everything just about $$$? Everyone keeps spouting unity and coming together and then this article calls us losers? And players show unity by QUITTING on their teammates. Spare me the dramatic commercials and SEC talking points from now on.
I don't always agree with you, Connor, but I'm with you today. I used to be on the other side, but now, with all the money everyone else is getting from college football, I believe players have THE RIGHT (since we're in America and all that) to do what they think is best for them. Who knows if they're making the right decision or not, but all that matters is that THEY think that it is. And regardless of what we fans say or spout off about, they're going to keep on doing it because that's what human beings do -- what's best for them. And yes @DeppDogg , theoretically the entire TEAM could opt out for whatever reason. The only reason more freshmen and sophomores don't leave is because they can't get paid. Notice how top basketball players leave after their freshman years. So blast Connor as much as you like -- neither his opinion or the college football system is going to change anytime soon. I do, however, like the idea (if it's legal) to make players sign an addendum or something to their scholarship papers that says they will refund the university the cost of that scholarship year if they opt out of playing in all the team's games, including any bowl or playoff games, unless they are injured. And the injury has to be one that is mutually agreed to by the university. That way, players still have THE RIGHT to leave if they like, but now, at least, it would cost them something to do so. For guaranteed first- or second-round picks, they probably wouldn't care about the money. But for those borderline guys, they might think twice.
Well, at the risk of quibbling, yes it's a privilege to play, but it is definitely a right NOT to play if they don't want to. Don't get me wrong, I don't like it. It just seems silly to me for them to say, No I couldn't possibly go one more game... after 3-5 years. Especially, as has been pointed out, if they're then going to turn around and go play an exhibition game that doesn't even count for anything. And if you want to say there should be some kind of consequence for quitting before the season is over, I wouldn't disagree with you (within reason of course). But let's not act like they don't have a right not to play a game they don't want to play.
Losers: Columnists who call fans losers for wanting players to not QUIT on their team, coaches, university, and fans that have given so much for them to be able to play Div I football and showcase their talent for the pros. Without the fan base support monetarily....there would be no college football....period!
**Know what is ironic....these same players will "use" their coaches, facilities, and university again to train and perform at Pro Days held at the school they no longer want to represent/play for. Talk about the height of arrogance.