[chrisk]

The extra COVID year eligibility will essentially be a non-factor going forward.

There are 2 more seasons total where it will still be a factor, as there are plenty of seniors who came in as frosh in 2020 (Covid year freebie), redshirted in a subsequent year, and thus have 2 more years left to play after this one. Those are the last ones.

You're totally right that this is an unheralded yet massive contributor to the landscape (and our current detriment). There are 23-year-old grown ass men playing all over college football right now (as opposed to just at BYU/Utah) while our roster is incredibly young.


Related: For those wondering "why is Duke so good?" They have maybe the oldest starting 22 in the country, which especially matters upfront. All 5 OL starters are 4th/5th years, 2 of whom are transfers, and they have 2 more grad transfer backups. All 4 DL starters are 5th years, 2 of whom are transfers, and their key rotational nose tackle is a senior.

Northwestern, which is not so good, came back to upset Minnesota yesterday, led by a 6th year grad transfer QB from Cincinnati/EMU.

[chrisk]

The extra COVID year eligibility will essentially be a non-factor going forward.

There are 2 more seasons total where it will still be a factor, as there are plenty of seniors who came in as frosh in 2020 (Covid year freebie), redshirted in a subsequent year, and thus have 2 more years left to play after this one. Those are the last ones.

You're totally right that this is an unheralded yet massive contributor to the landscape (and our current detriment). There are 23-year-old grown ass men playing all over college football right now (as opposed to just at BYU/Utah) while our roster is incredibly young.


Related: For those wondering "why is Duke so good?" They have maybe the oldest starting 22 in the country, which especially matters upfront. All 5 OL starters are 4th/5th years, 2 of whom are transfers, and they have 2 more grad transfer backups. All 4 DL starters are 5th years, 2 of whom are transfers, and their key rotational nose tackle is a senior.

Northwestern, which is not so good, came back to upset Minnesota yesterday, led by a 6th year grad transfer QB from Cincinnati/EMU.