I understand the old "you can't show the same thing over and over" (that doesn't explain how "Meet The Press" has been on since 1947 but whatever).
CGD started out really fun, it was a sign "this is the biggest game in town that we're allowed to cover" happening this weekend - and yes, Fox getting into the football business with their Typhoid Mary approach to everything cut down a tad bit on their big venue every so often. And they deserve credit for going to places like Bison Land and Boone, NC a couple of weeks ago.
But - and I don't mean to be age-ist here - Lee Corso has been in that job six or seven years too long. Go back and look at some of the older stuff and he has verve and vibe and he's really into it. I understand he had a stroke awhile back - but TV is a visual medium, and AT BEST he'd be served by, oh, maybe a two-minute Zoom call in every week if you HAVE to use him.
What got me out of the habit was the two years I got tickets for the whole season and had no choice but to miss it because I was en route to our game. I'd still DVR it, but by Monday morning, it has lost the cache, so I'd go through and see if there were any interesting stories. (Note: I know he's elsewhere now, but if Tom Rinaldi shows up to do a story on you, it's BECAUSE YOU ARE DEAD!!!!).
I have nothing wrong with a "feel good" or "inspirational" story (Adam Griffith was a good one, Sal Aunese's kid playing for Miles at LSU was good, Chucky Mullins's tragic paralysis) - but once it's as predictable as Auburn's always high drama head coaching searches that end with a thud every time, it loses some of its impact. And with a game that now has a 150-year history, do an actual segment on something important BESIDES (and this is important) segregation in the South in the 60s. This week should be a segment on "One Rises, One Falls: 48 Hours That Started One Dynasty and Ended Another".
(For those who don't know what I'm talking about, over a 48-hour period the last weekend of September 2008: a) USC lost to Oregon St, b) Florida lost to Ole Miss and Tebow gave his speech; c) we boat raced UGA in the infamous blackout game). That network makes specious connections by the truckload - but they haven't looked at the 48 hours that pivoted the history of CFB. USC sank, Tebow became a legend, Alabama entered the national picture and has yet to leave. And Georgia, thought to be on the precipice of national attention, regressed for the better part of a decade.
You HAVE to connect with the not-so-distant past, the present, AND the future to cover the spectrum. Also - and I like Reece Davis - but he doesn't have the comfort level of a Fowler at that desk. He's good, but he always looks like an actor reading his lines to manage the show while Fowler had a better flow to what he was doing.
Hell, do a piece on that dreaded (mostly a mythical excuse) illness known as "the Bama fatigue," which exists among FANS but not among TV executives or the CFP selection committee. Have celebrity after local moron saying "I hate them, I wish they'd lose every week" and Tide fans with accents saying about how "da Bama fateeg is weal" and PUTTING IT IN CONTEXT. I mean, if you're so into the young folks and Internet - why not cover one of the most hackneyed topics that has been out there for 7 years now? Have a TV executive talk about how generally speaking, Alabama being in the game is a draw (just like Ohio St). Have that bozo say, "Fans say they want different teams, but how many college football fans do you really think would watch a Wisconsin-TCU title game on Monday night?"
There's still a lot of potential there - but I've watched only a snippet here and there for the last seven seasons, too.