There are few college football figures as polarizing as Colorado head coach, Deion Sanders. From his bravado to his on-field success – to an extent – Sanders tends to rub folks the wrong way. He’s confident, knows what he’s doing, and does it well. He has made Colorado, a program with eight 10-win seasons and one title in its history, a nationally relevant entity. He may have stumbled upon a really good idea.
As of this writing, 20 Power 4 programs have either reworked or completely canceled Spring Games. Sanders has an idea. He believes that intra-squad scrimmages tend to get monotonous. Instead, why not treat Spring Games like the NFL’s preseason? Syracuse’s Fran Brown piped up and offered his team up to face off against the Buffaloes. Could this be the future?
If Ryan Day and Ohio State’s plan to scrap the traditional Spring Game for a “Spring Showcase” is just in years following national championships, then, never mind. If they plan on not playing the Spring Game as it has been for the foreseeable future, perhaps they should consider Sanders’ proposal writ large.
Ohio State Should Consider Deion Sanders’ Spring Game Idea
For the longest time, the Spring Game has just been a scrimmage. Until Urban Meyer, it wasn’t much of a to-do and more of just a fun end-of-Spring event. Then, Meyer made it more of a thing and Day continued the tradition. Now, with a longer season, that wear and tear could take a toll on the team. Would adding a scrimmage against another team add to that? Perhaps. However, it would spice things up. Plus, it would be free content for those who need to write about sports in order to feed their families…
In-State Programs
Quite possibly the best and most likely outcome if Sanders’ idea comes to life, it will result in pseudo “buy games” with flagship programs scrimmaging smaller in-state programs.
Ohio is home to plenty of Division-I programs, both FBS and FCS. The best way that Ohio State could go about this is to take a lead on the who thing and schedule out when it would play these other programs. One year, it could be Bowling Green, the next, Youngstown State, etc. Cincinnati could get in on the action as well and the two Power 4 programs in the state can take turns helping out the smaller programs in the state. Considering the Bearcats and their Victory Bell rival Miami (OH) are currently expected to end the rivalry following the 2029 season, this could be a good way of keeping it going.
Obviously, the financials would be very different. Ohio State would not pay out quite as much as it does for a regular-season buy game. This year, the Ohio Bobcats will travel to Ohio Stadium in the “what will Michigan fans call either team” bowl. The Buckeyes will pay Ohio for the privilege to, probably, get destroyed on national television.
These scrimmages are just that. What better way to see what the early enrollees have? Why not get some better data for positional battles? Even if the competition is less than what the Buckeyes would face in practice, those smaller school players will be doing what they can to show they can hang.
Made for TV
Over the last few years, Spring Games have been featured on national television. Of course, this is probably why coaches are worried about poaching. Ohio State vs. Dayton will not be an event that non-Ohio State fans would care about. It would likely be a Big Ten Network exclusive broadcast. Now, why not think outside the box.
Ohio State vs. Colorado.
Ohio State vs. Boise State.
Insert any top-half program not usually on the schedule.
Would an SEC team agree to a home-and-home, so to speak? Probably not. The Buckeyes are not likely going to nab a team it often recruits against on the national stage. However, imagine how fun it would be to see Clemson in the Horseshoe in April.
Targeting higher-profile programs for this would be ideal. Since this is influenced by the NFL preseason, every now and then, teams who face off in the preseason end up playing later in the year in the playoffs. So, Ohio State shouldn’t be afraid of eventually double-dipping opponents.
College football in mid-April is a far cry from what it is in October and November. If programs want to scrap their Spring Games, coaches should not be gunshy. Go play a team you don’t often play. It could be fun. It could establish a new tradition!
Main Image: Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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