CFB is messy...but when anyone claims it's "ruined" I always ask the same question: Do fall Saturdays still feel the same?

for anyone telling me they are fundamentally different (for the worse) give me specifics as to why

Do you have the right weather app for this season?

As a diehard Georgia fan, I can say with full honesty — they don’t. Last year I watched UGA lose to Ole Miss. Their fans stormed the field, and I didn’t feel that pit in my stomach I would’ve felt 5–10 years ago. Why? Because with a 12-team playoff, we all knew it didn’t really matter. UGA could lose one or two more and still be in. The stakes weren’t the same. The regular season used to feel like life or death — every Saturday could end your season. That’s what made it electric. Now? It feels like a warm-up for the playoff bracket. And then there’s the roster turnover. I help run recruiting for a high school program. I spend hours helping kids get offers, build relationships with coaches, and navigate a system that’s gotten more chaotic every year. When 20–30% of a college roster is new every year — not due to graduation, but because of portal movement — how can fans build any real connection with the players? You used to know a team’s core. Now you just hope your guys didn’t hit the portal after spring ball. Conference realignment has made it worse. When USC is playing Rutgers in the same conference, what are we even doing? Rivalries are getting shoved aside. Geography doesn’t matter. Tradition is being sold off for short-term media deals. I still love college football. I still plan my Saturdays around it. But the magic has dulled. The pageantry is still there, the bands still play, and the stadiums still roar — but deep down, fans know something’s off. It’s ok to admit that. It doesn’t make us less loyal. It just means we know what we’ve lost.

Not all players care about winning vs losing as much. As long as the paycheck clears. And that sucks.

bad teams have included poor competitive character forever. this is also easily corrected with performance incentives which most newer deals already have.

To be honest, no they don’t feel the same. When a team can lose to their 7-5 rival at home for their second loss of the season, finish 4th in their conference, and it really didn’t impact anything for their main goal, that didn’t feel nearly the same as a Saturday in 2016. It’s not ruined, but it’s not on a great path. Destruction of the PAC-12, regionality gone, everything geared toward the CFP, bowl season getting crushed by opt outs, SEC & B1G begging for special treatment any chance they can, TV/NIL/money the main focus in everything, etc. Not ideal.

Ohio State just finished 4th in their conference and lost to their biggest rival but still won the championship. Ruined feels like the right word Not even close to the sport we enjoyed 15 years ago

you aren’t responding to anything I actually said

No Josh. They do not feel the same any more. Part of the fun of CFB was getting to know players over 3-4 years and watching them develop. That’s mostly gone now- Your team (/your rivals) are filled with a bunch of mercenaries- and my school is better at retention than most..

this is a valid criticism but one I think will be fixed with new structure

No, they don’t. Media (you) have destroyed the sport and have so much influence it is embarrassing

I can't wait to hear this evidence