By: Drayton Hogarth

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

All of the talk in the college football universe is about the eventual move for the so-called power five conferences to expand more and further monopolize the college football playoff.

The SEC, ACC, Big 12, Big 10, and Pac 12 comprise the power five conferences.

These five conferences tend to lord over the remaining conferences, known as the group of five, which are made up of the American Athletic Conference, Conference USA, Mid-American Conference, Mountain West Conference, and the Sun Belt.

The goal, which has been stated by the so-called experts, is that the power five conferences will eventually separate from the rest, and hoard the vast majority of the revenue that comes with the college football television deals and playoff deals.

Not only that, it has been said that the power five schools will be pressured to only play other power five schools to fill out their schedules. After the first couple of weeks of the football season, it is going to be even more difficult to convince football fans that is a viable option.

There have been several games in recent years that have been too close for comfort for power five schools against “lesser” competition. In several instances, the group of five or lower classified team has actually left the home of the big time program with not only a fat check, but also the victory.

The most well-known upset was then football championship subdivision member, Appalachian State, going into the Big House in Ann Arbor and coming away with a dramatic win on a last second blocked field goal.

The upsets and near misses have continued this season as well, as South Alabama travelled to Starkville, Mississippi, and defeated Mississippi State 21-20. A team ranked even higher, the Georgia Bulldogs were extremely fortunate to escape with a win over lowly rated Nicholls State, 26-24.

Did I mention, these smaller schools leave these games with a fat check? In fact, schools such as Troy, Appalachian State, Georgia Southern, and many others at both the group of five and FCS level schools are able to fund their entire athletic budget for the year because of playing these games against the Goliaths of the power five conferences.

So it isn’t just for the thrill of playing a game against the big boys of college football as to why these games are scheduled. It is a win-win situation for both programs, as the power five schools use these games to make a great profit because most fan bases are so starved for football they will jam pack the home stadium to see their beloved school beat up on any opponent and enjoy tailgating all day with family and friends, and all at regular price.

What is the reason why football has become so much more competitive across all levels of conference affiliation? There seems to be two reasons, one schematic and another rules based.

The schematic reason is the implementation of the spread offense with run pass options or RPOs.

The regulated reason, meaning NCAA rules of the 85 scholarship limit has seriously spread the talent across all levels of football. The spread allows teams that are not as talented as the deeper programs across the country to spread defenses out to create more one-on-one match ups and open up running lanes as well.

If the NCAA has any smarts about them, which is very debatable in and of itself, they will not allow expansion to the point of eliminating the group of five programs, and continue the power five schools to play the group of five programs.

Without such paydays, the group of five and FCS schools will not be able to field teams and take away opportunities to student athletes, in all sports, and prevent them from continuing their education and chances to improve their lives.