Own the group chat with The Weekender, highlighting the biggest stories in college sports, standout writing from Eleven Warriors, and a glance at what's next.
FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL INVESTIGATES COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF COMMITTEE
Look, there's approximately a 0.5% chance that this is anything but some weird grandstanding, but it speaks to the level of anger (and lack of other issues to investigate in the state of Florida, apparently) at Florida State University at being left out of the College Football Playoff that Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has launched an antitrust investigation into the committee.
Moody said the state's antitrust division is sending a civil investigative demand to the committee for "more information about the nature of possible contracts, conspiracies in restraint of trade or monopolization of trade and commerce relating to anticompetitive effects of the College Football Playoff."
Moody has requested all kinds of documents, including records of communications between committee members, and the state of Florida has set aside a million bucks for the investigation.
I'm skeptical that this will go anywhere, in part because Moody will first have to get past the keen legal mind of Kirk Herbstreit.
SOME FUN BIG TEN COACHING HIRES
Initially this section would just be about Alabama bringing on former Michigan assistant George Helow ahead of their playoff matchup (which is funny, because it feels like this is a much easier way to get intel on a future opponent than running a massive cheating scheme involving disguises and sideline spies, but what do I know), but as it turns out, Penn State is making moves too!
After losing defensive coordinator Manny Diaz to Duke, where he'll be their new head coach, James Franklin is reportedly bringing on former Indiana head coach Tom Allen, a longtime DC at various levels of college football.
THE EXTREMELY PETTY DEATH OF THE PAC-12
When the rest of the Pac-12 left Oregon State and Washington State holding the bag, the apparent expectation is that later those schools would open up said bag and share what's in it with their former conference mates. Wrong!
The legal fight over control of the Pac-12 took another turn last week when Oregon State and Washington State blocked a traditional multimillion-dollar revenue distribution from the conference office to the campuses, the Hotline has learned.
OSU and WSU called their decision “responsible” and suggested any other action would not be in the best interest of the future of the conference.
The money involved is somewhere north of $60 million, so this isn't just a tiny disagreement between friends, and it'll be extremely interesting to see just how many pounds of flesh the remnants of the Pac-12 can extract from everyone else.
ICYMI
Ryan Day Indicates Devin Brown Will Start In Cotton Bowl
While Day hasn't made a formal decision, all indications are that the Cotton Bowl is Brown's opportunity to show what he can do on a national stage.
Marvin Harrison, Jr. Becomes Ohio State's Fifth Two-Time Unanimous All-American
An incredible accomplishment for one of the greatest players in Ohio State history.
Lots Of Ohio State Players Making Playing Decisions
It isn't a shock to Ryan Day, but several Ohio State players still have decisions to make about their football futures. One player who already made his choice is Cody Simon, who will be returning in 2024.
You might've already seen this news, but good luck to McCord in New York.
Ohio State Takes Down UCLA in Atlanta
It was a sloppy game, but as long as Mick Cronin is sad, I'm happy.
WHAT’S NEXT?
- 12 Days Until: Cotton Bowl vs. Missouri, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
- 258 Days Until: 2024 season-opener vs. Akron, TBD
- 349 Days Until: Michigan @ Ohio State, TBD
- Women’s Basketball: vs. No. 2 UCLA, Dec. 18
- Men's Basketball: vs. New Orleans, Dec. 21
