The 2020 college football season is going to take some getting used to. There are fewer teams and fewer games and fewer opportunities to enjoy the sport.
On the positive side, those adjustments are permanent.
If fitness situations improve, next year’s season will look a lot more like 2019 than we expect to see in the next 3 months. Fans and bands will come back eventually. Match days will feel general again. The delight of watching television will be what we remember.
Even with that optimism for 2021, there are some adjustments for this season in the COVID-19 era that will require an adjustment from normal.
Here are 10 that will be different:
The debate over which 4 groups will play for the national championship will replace which convention champion is left out and which convention has two groups. This is the scenario where Big Ten and Pac-12 are components of the conversation.
It’s hard to believe that the team at the moment might not come from the SEC given the strength of the league’s schedule with the 10 games opposed to the league’s opponents. The challenge for the contenders is to avoid traps that can open the door for the ACC or the Big 12 to bring their team to the field for now. There will be controversy. There is. What if an undefeated Oklahoma or Clemson loses in the convention naming game? Could that eliminate the SEC finalist?
The other of the playoffs is whether the Group of Five can legitimately be a component of the conversation. American Athletic is expected to have several groups leading the committee’s rankings. If an undefeated champion ever had a big claim, this would be the season.
The long-awaited festival between Ohio State quarterbacks Justin Fields and Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence for the greatest individual honor in school football was shaping up to be one of the wonderful careers in recent history. Half of that equation is gone because Fields may not have a match this season.
Lawrence is now the transparent leader who will detain Heisman in December. While there are benefits to being the runaway favorite, there is also scrutiny. Expectations will be unrealistic and each and every mistake will be magnified. A smart season can seem pervasive when under this type of microscope.
If Lawrence hesitates, the door is open for Sam Ehlinger (Texas QB) and Chuba Hubbard (Oklahoma State RB) or new Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler. In the SEC, there will be someone who comes up. A wonderful winner is not as unlikely as it sounds. LSU quarterback Joe Burrow was an afterthought last year and ended up with the hardware.
No state of Ohio-Michigan. Not Southern California-UCLA. The Oregon Civil War is also on hiatus. Wisconsin and Minnesota would not possibly play for Paul Bunyan’s ax, ending the longest uninterrupted streak of school football, dating back to 1891. The Apple Cup and Floyd of Rosedale were also released.
And those are notable rivalries in meetings that don’t unfold.
The SEC’s resolution to approve non-convention games closes in-state rivalries between Clemson-South Carolina, Florida-Florida and Georgia-Georgia Tech. The CCA’s limitation on unconventional road games ended the annual series between the Navy and Notre Dame that began in 1927.
They deserve to come back next year. It will be without them.
Magnolia State won the coaches lottery this offseason with Mike Leach moving to Mississippi State and Lane Kiffin returning to the SEC in Mississippi. Leach’s air raid on the SEC will be one of the wonderful chess games to watch. The uncertainty surrounding Kiffin implies how much he has matured since his only tough season at the helm of Tennessee. He seems to be calm during his first nine months at Oxford. But there is still a joy lurking below the surface that will actually bubble up.
The new teacher to look out for is Mike Norvell. The state of Florida has had poor effects for 3 seasons. Poor roster management under Jimbo Fisher and a frustrating two years with Willie Taggart left the Seminoles after the fact in the ACC race. Norvell has taken Memphis to new heights, but the strain will be on him to deliver instant effects for a show that has the highest expectations and turns out to be thousands Clemson.
Other notable debuts to watch come with Dave Aranda at Baylor, Eliah Drinkwitz in Missouri, Jeff Hafley at Boston College, and Jeff Scott in South Florida.
There were intended to be over 40 bowling games, however the relief for 76 playgroups was far fewer games with some cancellations and changes needed.
Citrus Bowl, Outback Bowl, and Alamo Bowl have one of their convention partners. The Holiday Bowl both. How are they going to be recalibrated?
The NCAA is still working out eligibility for the bowls due to reduced hours and primarily convention hours. Getting five wins can be a challenge for Power Five groups, especially in the SEC, where groups fill their schedules with simple non-convention games and only want two or 3 league wins to be successful in the playoffs. season.
When the stars walk through the door of the NFL, it leaves an opportunity for freshmen to make their mark. This year will not be the exception.
Bryce Young will push Mac Jones for the quarterback position in Alabama. Expect him to be on the field at some point and show what made him a five-star rookie.
Clemson had one of the hiring categories at the school. Defensive linemen Bryan Bresee and Myles Murphy are two of the team’s elite prospects, with Bresee already listed as a starter on the team’s intensity table.
In Texas, running back Bijan Robinson has been third lately, but don’t expect him to last too long. His speed will be hard to get off the field as the Longhorns try to get more explosive with their offense.
You may scratch your head the first time you wear the number 0. Yes, it is legal. This is one of the new regulations passed by the NCAA to be aware of.
Among the others, players sent off by goals may sit on the bench for the remainder of the game. Those who were sent off in the moment part and suspended for the first part of the next attack would possibly be marginalized at the start of this fight.
Instant replay extended reviews will be particularly reduced. There is a two-minute delay for delays, unless the appeal is deemed “exceptionally difficult” or reaches an end-of-game situation.
More attention will be paid to pre-adjustment activities. Referees will be at court speed 90 minutes before adjustment instead of 60. Players must also use warm-up numbers. This is an attempt to avoid disruption between groups and more fluidly identify those who behave inappropriately.
Traditions are what separates school soccer from other American sports. But without the tailgating, equipment, and other unique facets of the gaming experience, enthusiasts lucky enough to be in the stands or those who watch television will want to be open-minded and appreciate what they have, rather than sit still. . to complain about what is missing.
Considering that the season seemed to be on the verge of crashing last month, it is remarkable that the first big weekend is almost here. It took a lot of time and money to get the groups out into the field. It was stressful for everyone. Having games is going to be a relief and deserves to be enjoyed even if they are not what we are used to seeing.
As his colleague Dan Wolken wrote last week. the state of varsity athletic finances has led athletic departments to push coaches for their performance. Eight-figure refunds are not possible. Even the ones with the upper seven digits are not likely.
There is also an unreported popularity in the sense that coaches have been limited in their ability to resolve disorders without the advantages of spring practice and a shorter preseason. That means Texas and Southern California will likely give Tom Herman and Clay Helton a mulligan respectively this season if things go wrong.
With so much uncertainty and such an asymmetrical game box given the different fitness restrictions in the states, managers will have a hard time making adjustments even if enthusiasts don’t.
There have already been several stars who have retired from the season. LSU has lost 4 starters. Oklahoma doesn’t have its most sensible setback. Georgia wants to readjust after its scheduled quarterback makes the decision to resign. There may be even more in the season.
Coronavirus outbreaks are going to occur on campuses and among players. Games will be moved at the last minute or canceled. Key players will be sidelined, which can hurt their teams’ chances of reaching the playoffs or causing them to lose convention titles.
This is the sad truth of the pandemic. Accept the frustration and hope it isn’t for your team.
Follow Erick Smith, USA TODAY Sports College Reporter @ericksmith