Samson: Why college football conferences are changing rules midseason

Samson breaks down the changes happening in college football

David Samson sat down on his podcast, "Nothing Personal with David Samson" on Monday to discuss changing protocols and rules in college football and why these adjustments are really being made. 

The state of college football was very unknown as the season approached, with the coronavirus pandemic a major concern across the country. It was looking like college football wouldn't happen for many schools, and then just as that seemed to be the settled decision, it was reversed.

For instance, the Big 10 had a vote and said they were not going to play, but then changed their minds.

"All of a sudden there was some manipulation that went on and there was a new vote, because they put together a committee ... on how to play football," Samson said.

They put rules and regulations in place in what the podcast host calls "a haphazard way." He said it was with the goal to "quickly have the cover of a committee ruling to enable them to play."

These regulations included a minimum amount of games (six) a team needs to play in order to qualify for the championship -- which will likely be changed. That's because 5-0 Ohio State is in fear of missing out on a sixth game because their scheduled opponent for Saturday, Michigan, is in the midst of a COVID-19 outbreak.

"It doesn't matter how many games a team plays. We will let Ohio State as the best record in the Big 10, we will let them play for the Big 10 championship," Samson said, citing recent reports that the Big Ten is going to change that minimum number of games need from six to five.

Additionally, the ACC did something similar by canceling the last game of the season for Notre Dame and Clemson, so now they have a bye week before the ACC title game.

Samson believes these decisions all come down to money.

"The manipulation of the rules ... was done for the sole reason of making sure that that conference could reap the benefits of having a team in the College Football Playoff. They need that because of the money that comes by being one of the top 4 teams. That money is shared with the conference in addition to the team that goes," Samson said. "These conferences are bleeding money. They need the money for not just football, but for other sports on their campus."

The podcast host concluded by asking conference to just be more honest about why these changes were actually made. 

"Just admit why you want Ohio state to play in the championship game of your Big 7 conference and why you are going to change the rules, that you changed to begin with, that you made up from the start," Samson said.