College football is dead. Long live college football.

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UPDATE: This piece has even more relevancy today, with the news of Nick Saban's retirement:

As the four-team playoff era came to a close with Jim Harbaugh hoisting the College Football Playoff trophy above his head –Sorry, Michigan subscribers. That's all you're getting from me about them winning– I couldn't help but think how quickly we're flipping the page to a new, and honestly scary, period of college football.

The introduction of the 12-team playoff, bringing an even lessened importance of bowl games with it. The dissolution of the Pac-12, the probable dissolution of the ACC (eventually), and the mega-expansion of the Big Ten/SEC. 17 and 18 year-olds asking for a kings ransom of money before they even step on campus. The sport turning roster management into what essentially amounts to NFL free agency every year with the transfer portal, especially if players are allowed to transfer as often as they like. There's so much dramatic change happening all at once, with seemingly no regard or second thought to how it might impact the health of the sport. It all makes me keep coming back to the same thought:

The college football we knew has been dead for a while, and there's officially zero chance of ever bringing it back to life now.

I miss the days when players had passion for the game, and not just money:

I miss the days when players and coaches actually cared about bowl games:

I miss the days when recruiting was wholesome, and not about just trying to give a kid the largest bag:

I miss the days when we used to have superstar head coaches:

I miss the days when scandals like Michigan stealing signs weren't the main talking points:

I miss the days when players got treated like felons in front of a national audience because they had the audacity to accept free merch: