Desmond Howard Talks CFP Expansion, Realignment and 'College GameDay'
ESPN's Desmond Howard on the expanded college football playoff, conference realignment, Nick Saban joining 'GameDay,' and more.
The college football season is finally here. We sat down with Sling ambassador Desmond Howard to get his take on some of the hottest topics in the sport. This season we have new teams in new conferences, new coaches in new places, and even a new member of ESPN's College GameDay, which Howard has appeared on for nearly 20 years.
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Sling TV: What are your initial thoughts about the College Football Playoff expanding to 12 teams?
Desmond Howard: I think that the College Football Playoff should have expanded to eight teams. I think 12 teams is a little bit more than what I would have liked to have seen. But, I think it's still going to be exciting. I don't think we're going to solve any problems as far as the selection process, meaning teams who are ranked 13th, 14th, and 15th, are probably still going to be pissed off like the teams who were ranked fifth, sixth, seventh in the old four-team format. So I don't think you really solve that problem, but it's going to be interesting and it's going to be very exciting. I also wish that the teams with higher seeds would get home field advantage. I know they get a bye, but as an NFL player, that's really what we played the regular season for, not only to get into the playoffs, but to get home field advantage throughout the playoffs. I don’t think they should get it throughout the whole playoffs in college, but at least that first playoff game.
Sling: What do you think about the Big12 adding Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah?
DH: The Big 12 obviously took a big blow when they lost Texas and Oklahoma. They were the signature schools of that conference. But bringing in Colorado and Utah… Especially Utah, who I think is a really underrated program as far as what college football fans know about them. But we analysts love what Utah brings to college football. I think they're going to bring a hell of a fan base to the Big 12 and so will Arizona State and Colorado. Obviously, with Prime being the coach at Colorado, that brings a lot of fanfare and attention. So it's going to be interesting to watch the Big 12, this year moving forward with the new additions.
Sling: What do you think about the SEC adding Texas and Oklahoma?
DH: Texas and Oklahoma finally join the SEC! We've been waiting for this to happen. We were obviously aware of it for a couple of seasons now. So it's not like a big thing, but the fact that they're now stamped with the SEC logo is really kind of crazy to see. I believe that Texas seems to be the team that's more ‘ready’ for SEC competition because of what they did a year ago. Not only did they make it to the College Football Playoff, but earlier in the season they went down to Tuscaloosa and beat Alabama. It's not like they just won that game. There was no doubt when you left the stadium that the Texas Longhorns were the better team on the field that night. So with that being said, it's going to be interesting to see if Texas and Oklahoma can keep that level of play throughout a whole season. Obviously, I think Georgia is the favorite, but people are looking at Texas like they're on Georgia's heels and will make the College Football Playoff. So expectations are high for the Longhorns. But you know, don't count the Sooners out either. I think they know they're in the position now to make a name for themselves too. So two big brands are joining the SEC.
Sling: How will the four former Pac-12 schools (Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington) fare with a different brand of football in the Big Ten?
DH: It’s going to be really interesting to see how these former Pac-12 schools blend into the Big Ten brand of football. Obviously out there on the West Coast they're more offense-oriented and fast-paced.
USC had Caleb Williams, a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, so I’m really curious to see what they're going to look like offensively and what they're going to be able to do without that type of talent. Then Washington just played in the National Championship game against a Big Ten team and it didn't fare well. But they bring a physical brand of football up front, as they won the Joe Moore Award for the best offensive line in the country last year. So if they're able to continue that, this is going to be very exciting to see what they're able to do in the Big Ten. Let’s not forget they got a new coach in Jedd Fisch after Kalen DeBoer moved to Alabama. Jedd used to coach in the Big Ten, so he kind of understands what it takes to compete in that conference. I think the biggest challenge for all four teams will be how they recruit towards the competition that they're going to face in the Big Ten. Recruiting towards that competition that you're going to face week-in, week-out as opposed to the competition that you used to face week-in and week-out in the Pac-12.
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Sling: What’s Coach Saban going to bring to the show on ESPN’s College GameDay?
DH: We’re so excited to have Coach Saban on GameDay. I've known coach since he was the coach at Michigan State. He used to recruit me when he was up in East Lansing. I was down in Cleveland, Ohio, playing high school football, and he used to drive down to recruit me. So it’s great to have coach as part of the show. He's going to give us in-depth, coaching perspectives. He's also going to provide wonderful stories. I think that we got a glimpse of that during the NFL Draft coverage we did in Detroit in late April and he was just fantastic.
Sling: Is there a site you haven’t been to for College GameDay that you’re itching to go to?
DH: Yeah, I haven't been to Syracuse. I want to get there because as a high school football player, I was actually recruited by them and took one of my five official visits to Syracuse. But we haven't been there for the show, or at least since I've been on the show. So I would love to take the trip to Syracuse.
Answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
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