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.
Dreaming of a White Week Before Christmas
In the 26 seasons in which college football made varying degrees of effort to pick a national champion on the field, one thing was consistent from the BCS to the four-team CFP: the games that mattered were played in a controlled climate, indoors or in great weather cities. That changes this season when the expanded playoff will see teams rated five to eight host first-round CFP games on campus on Friday, Dec. 20, and Saturday, Dec. 21.
Some of these games will be played on campus in warm weather climates. Others will not. And that's something northern college football fans have dreamt about for decades.
Matt Stahl of AL.com looked at historical weather conditions for these first-round games had they been played from the start of the BCS era in 1998. While not every game would have kicked off in a blizzard, there would have been plenty of fun on the weather front.
The snowiest first-round game would have come in 2016, when 7.4 inches fell in Madison on December 18 and 19 when Wisconsin would have hosted Southern California at Camp Randall. No other game even came close, with the second-snowiest Friday-Saturday coming that same year, when Michigan would have hosted Florida State
Stahl's research found snowy conditions in 15% of these games and wet weather in nearly half of the 104 games.
Cincinnati might have hosted the third-rainiest first round game seven years later. In 2020, Cincinnati would have played Georgia during a Friday and Saturday when 1.2 inches of rain fell.
A substantial 65 of the 104 games would have been played during a two-day stretch in which the low temperature dropped below freezing. Think cold alone does not matter? Some might remember the 2009 Champs Sports Bowl, played in unusually cool 40-degree weather in Orlando. Miami players wore sleeves and huddled around heaters on the sidelines, while the underdog Badgers wore no sleeves and proceeded to bully the Hurricanes up and down the field.
December can't get here soon enough.
OREGON RISING
It's not often that a program can lose a coach to another school and then seemingly upgrade on the replacement hire. However, that appears to be happening at Oregon, where the Ducks snagged Dan Lanning to replace Mario Cristobal. Lanning is 22–5 in Eugene, while Cristobal is roasted for the clock management skills of a nine-year-old playing Madden.
Lanning and the Ducks are gathering momentum off the field as well. The Ducks will play this season as a brand new member of the bougie Big Ten Conference, and they're killing it on the recruiting front, having just delivered a gut punch to Ohio State fans with Saturday's commitment of Dorian Brew. Oregon now has a top-five 2025 class with an average prospect ranking of 93.69, just off the average prospect ranking of 93.70 in the Buckeyes' top-ranked class.
Oh and with 2/1 odds to win the Big Ten this season – again, just behind Ohio State's 3/2 odds – that October 12 tilt between the Bucks and the Ducks in Autzen Stadium continues to gather hype.
The Pac-12's Slow Death Continues
Yesterday, the Pac-12 updated its composite schedule to reflect reality. Just the two remaining programs – Washington State and Oregon State – are listed.
At midnight tonight, the Pac-12 Networks will officially go dark.
Pour one out.
ICYMI
Gene Smith Leaves Ohio State Comfortable with His Decision to Retire
Today is the last day of Gene Smith's tenure as athletic director at Ohio State. He told Eleven Warriors he's comfortable with the timing of his decision and what's next for him.
Elite Defense = Elite Defensive Recruiting
Andy Anders goes deep on how Ohio State's improved defensive play under Jim Knowles is leading to better recruiting efforts on that side of the ball.
Meet Neimann Lawrence, the 8th Grade Quarterback with an Ohio State Offer
Garrick Hodge caught up with Neimann Lawrence, a class of 2028 quarterback who already holds an Ohio State offer despite not playing a snap of high school ball yet.
UP NEXT
- 62 Days Ohio State welcomes the Akron Zips to Ohio Stadium to kick off the season
- 153 Days The Game
