Dog days of summer content. Also, F*^% ATM.
Hey Grace, love your work! What teams would you say have the best chance to move from “normally 6-6/7-5” to “perennially challenge for the playoff” thanks to their NIL setup? — Peter L.
Thanks for reading, Peter!
Going from around .500 to the Playoff is still quite a leap and could require a multiyear build regardless of how strong a school’s NIL outlook is. But this is a fun question because there’s a ton of different possibilities.
The first team that comes to mind is Miami. The Hurricanes have won eight or more games just once in the past six years but have gone all in on talent acquisition and are landing some of the biggest names in the sport — hello, Cam Ward! Given how aggressive they’ve been in the NIL space, it’d be a letdown if they weren’t competing for ACC titles and a spot in the Playoff sooner rather than later.
Texas A&M is another one. The Aggies haven’t won 10-plus games since 2012 (!) and are averaging 7.7 wins over the past 10 seasons. But they obviously have the resources to compete at the highest level if Mike Elko can provide some stability.
USC theoretically has enough NIL and name recognition to take the next step, as does Florida if both schools can get out of their own way. Texas Tech is the last one that comes to mind. The Red Raiders haven’t historically recruited on par with the nation’s best programs but just signed their highest-rated recruit of the modern era in five-star wide receiver Micah Hudson and should have enough oil money to make competitive pitches to other top prospects to join him.
Hey Grace, love your work! What teams would you say have the best chance to move from “normally 6-6/7-5” to “perennially challenge for the playoff” thanks to their NIL setup? — Peter L.
Thanks for reading, Peter!
Going from around .500 to the Playoff is still quite a leap and could require a multiyear build regardless of how strong a school’s NIL outlook is. But this is a fun question because there’s a ton of different possibilities.
The first team that comes to mind is Miami. The Hurricanes have won eight or more games just once in the past six years but have gone all in on talent acquisition and are landing some of the biggest names in the sport — hello, Cam Ward! Given how aggressive they’ve been in the NIL space, it’d be a letdown if they weren’t competing for ACC titles and a spot in the Playoff sooner rather than later.
Texas A&M is another one. The Aggies haven’t won 10-plus games since 2012 (!) and are averaging 7.7 wins over the past 10 seasons. But they obviously have the resources to compete at the highest level if Mike Elko can provide some stability.
USC theoretically has enough NIL and name recognition to take the next step, as does Florida if both schools can get out of their own way. Texas Tech is the last one that comes to mind. The Red Raiders haven’t historically recruited on par with the nation’s best programs but just signed their highest-rated recruit of the modern era in five-star wide receiver Micah Hudson and should have enough oil money to make competitive pitches to other top prospects to join him.
