Colin Cowherd gives take on scheduling differences with USC, UCLA moving

Despite being on vacation, ESPN staple Colin Cowherd recorded an emergency podcast following the news of USC and UCLA heading to the Big Ten on Friday. The radio show host went on a bit of a rant about how he believes the move benefits the sport and the fans overall.

“My initial thought was ‘great,’ because college football is not right, right now,” Cowherd said. “It’s in a seven-year attendance decline and TV rating decline. So I don’t want to hear how everything’s good. There are too many crappy games. Go look at Labor Day weekend, the week before the NFL starts, there are not five watchable games. It’s junk mail. The sport needs more quality games. So, holistically, I now get USC-Ohio State, USC-Michigan, USC-Penn State, USC-Wisconsin, USC-Michigan State those are bigger games. UCLA-Ohio State, not UCLA-Washington State.

“College football needs more great games,” Cowherd continued. “Go look at Alabama’s schedule – maybe three games you have to watch, and then 7-8 blowouts. That’s what makes the NFL so compelling. Week in, week out, not just the parity, but on multiple platforms, Red Zone, Fox, CBS, MNF, TNF, there’s just a conveyor belt of wildly entertaining close football games. For the sport, for the improvement, Texas-Oklahoma going to the SEC, there’s going to be more good games. Yes, college football is pruning its tree, and the very best are joining the very best. So, USC, UCLA, against more quality Big Ten schools.

“You’re naive if you do not think television networks and money are driving the sport – it has to. Nothing else collegiately makes any money. Somebody’s got to pay the bills, it’s football. So this is great, holistically, for the sport. More big games.”

Pete Thamel reveals USC, UCLA departure could negatively affect Pac-12 TV deal

All of this change is occurring as the Pac-12 is hoping to get a new television contract within the next two years.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel recently spoke about how brutal the loss of two Los Angeles schools will turn out to be for the Pac-12. He said losing USC Football may be the biggest blow of them all. Thamel also pointed out that TV networks that would be bidding for the Pac-12 will now be going after the Big Ten.

“It’s hard to overstate what a bad day yesterday was for the Pac-12 conference,” Thamel said. “You have to remember — part of the reason why USC and UCLA are leaving when they did was because the league was on the cusp of a new television deal. Which, obviously, is going to happen after the 2023 season. So they’re essentially entering negotiations and instead of pocket aces now with the LA market and USC Football as the two biggest draws to the Pac-12, they now have to recalibrate the league.

“And the suitors that would be paying for the Pac-12 and have in the past, are dumping more money into the Big Ten. So, everything is spiraling wrong for the Pac-12 right now and it’s going to be a true test of Commissioner George Kliavkoff — who is just celebrating his one-year anniversary in the league — how he puts Humpty Dumpty back together out west.”

On3’s Griffin McVeigh contributed to this report.