"covered the spread". Exactly, but we need Ryan Day's head on a pike because we didn't look dominating enough. I have news for ya, the transfer portal has changed college football forever. There is more parity in talent today because of it, and that is going to continue. Domination in college football is going to be less and less. The best players will go where they can play immediately with other good players and have the best NIL deals
You're absolutely correct. Gone are the days of Alabama stacking 4&5 star recruits into the third and fourth string. Before removal of the 1 year penalty for transfer, they could stack positions and develop those players for the first two years. They would see play time after the 1st and 2nd string ran up 30+ points on an opponent, or due to injuries. As a result, by the time they saw play time when it mattered they were in their junior and senior year and highly coached and developed with big shoes to fill. That's how Alabama was able to be there year after year and have the depth to win championships. Those guys are no longer content waiting for their opportunity while being developed so they hit the portal and go to a lesser school where they can start games and try to get NIL deals. In some instances, this is great for kids, especially ones with shit coaches and programs. Take Joe Burrows for example, his move to LSU was great and he was never going to see play time at OSU. But for teams like Alabama where there's a proven program of development and creation of stars, then it's nothing but a bunch of inpatient kids who can't see the big picture. Is this great for football? Meh.. It will make for more entertaining games as talent is more spread out. But I enjoy watching high school games too because they're close and usually evenly talented, that doesn't mean it's good football though.
Such is life though. Anyone paying half attention since the BCS days can plainly tell the NCAA's intent is to dismantle any dominance and normalize everything up the middle. It's the same as when NASCAR added restrictor plates to even out the field.