Skull Session: Let's Hear From the New Commish, the Big Ten Isn't Choosy, Beef Over Player Video Game Compensation, and Viva La Mexico!

Thursday! What a concept!

Back up! I'm about to bust up; dropping words, shifting verbs, and news that disturbs. A slow hand cat on the keyboard in a chair, old underwear, greasy hair while his momma rings the bell and yells down the stairs. "It's breakfast time!" Oh goody, bits and vittles, Ginter serves you a meal with a side of truth and minimal spittle.

Chase your tail around for the better part of a week, pencil-necked geeks and freaks wanting meat: well here it is friends, skim it real quick so you can start commenting "he's trash" again. Or sing my praises, hit the Dry Goods and give us all raises, whatever gives you palm sweat, just don't forget that Johnny will always kill it on the weekday Skully set.

TONY PETITTI DIVES RIGHT IN The incoming Big Ten Commissioner has a lot on his plate, and that's why his comments in an interview with Rich Eisen are so interesting, particularly as they relate to the integration of USC and UCLA to the conference.

@bigten Commissioner Tony Petitti

Great chat today the Big 10 head honcho on adding #USC + #UCLA to the mix, the logistics behind scheduling and what it all means going forward:#CFB #B1G pic.twitter.com/KsNNOTHU4E
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) June 6, 2023

Also, it never stopped being Legends and Leaders to me, dammit!

BIG TEN COACHES, UNFILTERED Athlon Sports' offseason anonymous coach spite-fest is the article that I look forward to the most every offseason (you know, the one where they ask coaches their opinions on other teams in the conference in exchange for crossing their heart and hope to die that they won't say who said what), and while you're going to have to pick up their preview magazine to get the full thing, 247Sports.com has the tastiest morsels to get you interested:

Northwestern

"They seriously need to evaluate what they're doing as a staff. Quarterbacks do not develop into playmakers at that program."

Rutgers

"Whatever buzz Greg (Schiano) had by going back, it's pretty much gone."

Michigan State

"In the Big Ten, they're Ole Miss."

Penn State

"You have to be curious how they're going to handle the hype and the pressure."

Hell yeah, now that's the ol' Big Ten cattiness that I know and love. Yes, Michigan and Ohio State are mentioned as well (Michigan is good and Ohio State has "the only roster in the league that could've beat Georgia last year," yeah no kidding, you don't need to remind me), but really this annual article is fun because everyone else cathartically dunking on the rest of the conference, safely behind a veil of anonymity, is the most Midwestern thing ever and it rules.

DARE TO BE STUPID That's not fair of me. Just because a university isn't in the AAU doesn't mean that it's a bad college, or that the kids who go to such schools are dummies, or anything of the sort. I'm just a two-time Ohio State grad resting on my laurels while watching today's hyper-successful incoming freshmen make my degree look a lot better than it did back when I got into OSU with a 2.8 GPA (I did much better in college, I swear).

ANYWAY:

AAU membership not a requirement, to join Big Ten, sources told @ActionNetworkHQ. Maybe (AAU status) is a preference, but solid academics are measured variety of ways, source said. B1G's 16-members, including USC & UCLA, are all AAU except Nebraska. NU was AAU member in 2010,
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) June 7, 2023

I'm not actually convinced that the Big Ten is super excited to add a bunch of teams right this second, but also I don't think that they'd pick up Florida State or Clemson before any of the other aforementioned teams in McMurphy's tweet even if they were. Not just because of academics, but also because there are other white whales to chase.

PAY UP! The EA Sports college football game is likely going to happen regardless, but that doesn't mean that everyone is super stoked about it. The College Football Players Association is attempting to organize a boycott of the game, according to On3.com:

“All current players should boycott this deal. It is an opt-in deal, and they should not opt into it. It is just a ridiculously low amount of money,” [CFBPA Vice President Justin] Falcinelli told On3. “Given the context and the hype that surrounds this game. When we first heard the number, we’re like, ‘Alright, that sounds low. Let’s go figure out if it is low.’ And started talking to guys, talked to some of my friends, some guys who are still playing in the NFL. ‘So, what are NFL players getting paid for Madden?’ And the numbers we were given were from 2019, it was disclosed that they got, I think, about $17,000. And then a current NFL player told us that he got a check for $28,000 this year for Madden.

“You should not participate in this. It is a simple cash grab to just try to get you for the lowest amount possible.

500 bucks does seem extremely low! We'll have to see how this plays out, and if it changes how EA Sports approaches development. Those Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V's from Madden don't grow on trees.

VIVA LA MEXICO! The concept of international college football bowl games is funny to me on about fifteen levels, so I heartily endorse this practice and volunteer to be 11W's representative the next time Ohio State has a random inexplicably terrible season and ends up playing Arkansas St. in Latvia or something.

From ESPN.com:

The Big 12 conference is exploring starting a bowl game in Monterrey, Mexico, as a linchpin of the league's push into the country, sources told ESPN on Wednesday. The game would begin in the postseason following the 2026 season and has been targeted for Monterrey, the sources said.

Along with the plans for the postseason bowl game, the Big 12 also plans to hold other sports in Mexico as part of a greater strategy in the country.

RIP the Bacardi Bowl, played in pre-Castro Cuba.

JUST REMEMBER ALL CAPS WHEN YOU SPELL THE MAN NAME