As the college football season approaches, the excitement builds among fans all across the country. The beginning of the new season, however, has not come without lots of drama. A new loophole arose after new rules surrounding college eligibility were put in place. The new system gave players from the class of 2022 one more year of eligibility but didn’t include any specifications about players who had already gone to the NFL but would still have a year left. This has led to an onslaught of drafted players attempting to rejoin a collegiate team after already making it to the pros. Conferences only allowed this temporarily before ultimately deciding to ban professional football players from returning to college athletics altogether. As the schedule ramps up, there is less and less focus on this drama, but the attention on college football only grows. Fanbases have high expectations and are itching to have their Saturdays packed to the brim with football. Notre Dame and Ohio State lead the charge as favorites to win the national championship, closely followed by Oregon and Georgia. These teams, among others, will endure a 12-13 game season in hopes of reaching the championship. This 2027 national championship is being hosted by Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and should draw record-breaking crowds.
Around Pace, the hometown favorite is to be expected: the Georgia Bulldogs. With a lot of their roster returning from last year, there are a lot of expectations surrounding the team. “This year it’s championship or bust,” said Junior Carter Marsico. He is not alone with this opinion; the years of domination and championships have caused fans’ expectations to skyrocket to unreasonable heights. This is a common occurrence in college football, and 99% of the teams come up short every year. Another crucial aspect of college football is the growing influence of NIL in the game. Colleges are paying players, and the price of a premier player can oftentimes reach seven figures. This has substantially widened the gap between the top programs and those who simply don’t have the funding to keep up. As money becomes a primary factor in college football success, we will see the landscape of the game continue to change. Experts everywhere will be keeping an eye on how the influx of money in collegiate athletics will alter certain situations for better or for worse.
