There was never a plan for college football. On Nov. 6, 1869 — only four years after Americans fought Americans on battlefields — Rutgers played New Jersey. The latter is now known as Princeton. Rutgers won 6-4. Nothing since has gone according to script, there having been no script. The sport hasn’t so much evolved as careened from place to place.
There was a time when Notre Dame, the biggest name of all, deigned not to grace any bowl. There was a time when bowl destinations — this when there were seven or so bowls, not seventy thousand — were determined by which team had visited Pasadena or Miami or New Orleans less recently. There was a time when the sport’s champion was decided by vote, a time when a player’s only way of pocketing money for his on-field service was to shake an alum’s hand.
That was then. This is now, though “now” will surely have a shortish shelf life. By the time Texas and Oklahoma begin SEC play — the date is set for 2025 — there mightn’t be a Big 12, which as of now has only eight committed members. The Big Ten might have merged with its little brother, the Pac-12. (Remember when those two decided NOT to play football in 2020? Remember how long that lasted?) Notre Dame, which played in the ACC on a guest pass last season, might have finally bowed to the inevitable and enrolled as a member in full. The ACC, which cannot stand the SEC, might well have said, “Can’t beat ‘em; better join ‘em.”
