Whiny College Football Coaches Deserve No Sympathy

1. This is going to be short and sweet.

Earlier this week, USC head coach Lincoln Riley complained because his team played at 11 p.m. ET last week at home against Michigan State and they play at noon ET this week at Illinois.

Lincoln Riley isn’t thrilled about USC’s early kickoff this week in Champaign.

“Going from the absolute latest kick in the country to the absolute earliest kick in the country has its challenges. But the challenges — like, it is what it is. We don’t make the schedule. Clearly.” pic.twitter.com/BZxA2udfZR

— Ryan Kartje (@RyanKartje) September 25, 2025

Then, Penn State coach James Franklin moaned and groaned because Fox makes his team play at noon when the Nittany Lions want to have a “white out” game and white outs aren’t as cool during the day as they are at night, or some nonsense like that.

James Franklin tonight on the impact of a primetime White Out (with a subtle jab at Big Noon along the way):

“I know FOX tried to argue that a 12 o’clock White Out was the same as a 7 o’clock White Out. I think people would disagree with that…It’s just turned into a special… pic.twitter.com/BrIHFM5hty

— Basic Blues Nation (@BasicBlues) September 25, 2025

Ohio State fans have also complained for a while about Fox scheduling so many of the Buckeyes’ games at Noon.

Here’s the reality:

NBC pays $350 million a year for rights to Big Ten games.

CBS pays $350 million a year for rights to Big Ten games.

And Fox pays WAY more than that for rights to Big Ten games.

In addition, USC decided to bail on the Pac-12 to join the Big Ten for one reason and one reason only: Money.

So the amount of sympathy any college football fan should have for these whiny coaches is exactly zero.

These conferences made deals with the networks and took a boatload of money. The trade-off is that the networks schedule games to maximize their ratings. That’s the business.

So when it comes to Lincoln Riley and James Franklin and all the others who are crying about scheduling issues, only one thought comes to mind.

2. I had a bunch of people hit me up yesterday after The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand broke the news that next season’s stand-alone Opening Day game between the Yankees and Giants would air exclusively on Netflix.

Wellness check on @JimmyTraina pic.twitter.com/CY92ccHCgN

— Paul Gerard (@PaulGerard) September 25, 2025

My take may surprise you, but I don’t care. Obviously, it’s so stupid to do this to fans, but it’s one game and Opening Day stopped being special many, many years ago. At least baseball is upgrading and making deals with the top streaming service in the world and not freakin’ Roku.

3. A couple of nights ago, Mets broadcaster Gary Cohen said he thought it was “weird” that Cubs rookie Matt Shaw skipped out on a game to attend the memorial service for Charlie Kirk.

Naturally, these comments caused a big stir online, with one outlet even “reporting” that Mets fans are refunding tickets until Cohen apologizes.

BREAKING - Mets fans are boycotting the team and refunding tickets until announcer Gary Cohen publicly apologizes for criticizing Cubs player Matt Shaw for missing a game to attend Charlie Kirk’s memorial, pointing out Cohen himself skipped a game after the death of a pet. pic.twitter.com/OmXdmtD46k

— Right Angle News Network (@Rightanglenews) September 25, 2025

I tell you all this to show you how we live in the stupidest possible times because there is one problem with the boycott and refund strategy: What tickets, exactly, are Mets fans refunding since the team didn’t have any home games left at the time Cohen made his comment?

4. Referee Alex Kemp channeled his inner Ken Rosenthal and gave Seattle’s Jaxson Smith-Njigba a major staredown after the wide receiver let him know that his holding call against him was bulls---.

Of course, what stood the most to be about this clip was rules analyst Terry McAuley defending the refs and acting like the holding penalty was a no-brainer when it was extremely questionable.

Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit react to Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba voicing his displeasure to a ref (who didn't appreciate that).

"Just a misdemeanor this time."🏈🎙️🦓🤬 #NFL #TNF pic.twitter.com/NzO8DXtQdj

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 26, 2025

5. As someone who spends way too much time each day scrolling through TikTok, I can’t tell you how absolutely terrifying this is.

NEW from @pewresearch: 20% of US adults now regularly get news from TikTok, up from 3% in 2020.

Among the youngest adults, 43% now regularly get news there, up from 9% in 2020.

Full analysis: https://t.co/2Thjk20qWb pic.twitter.com/I0RJFyjIgJ

— John Gramlich (@johngramlich) September 25, 2025

I can understand how a kid can duped into thinking TikTok is a reliable news source, but for 20% of adults to be using the social media app for news is just another sign of how doomed we are as a society.

6. Play-by-play guy Bob Carpenter spent 16 years at ESPN and he’s been voice of the Nationals since 2006. Carpenter will call it a career this weekend and the Nationals will hold a ceremony for him on Saturday. His home run call has become a staple in the sport over the past couple of decades.

One fun fact about Carpenter: He was the host of College GameDay for the 1989 season.

Every year I remember a great time with Lee Corso at the old Orange Bowl Notre Dame vs Colorado January 1, 1990. I think it was the first time College Gameday hit the road! What an amazing man with whom to share a national championship day! 🏈 pic.twitter.com/O01VR0O4sn

— Bob Carpenter (@scorebook_bob) January 1, 2024

7. This week’s SI Media With Jimmy Traina features a conversation with ESPN and Amazon Prime’s Kirk Herbstreit.

Herbstreit talks about what College GameDay has been like without Lee Corso, the popularity of the show’s field-goal contest segment, Pat McAfee volunteering Herbstreit to donate money to the contest winners without clearing it with Herbstreit first, McAfee’s viral dive in a speedo on a recent GameDay episode and what Nick Saban brings to GameDay.

In addition, Herbstreit breaks down his crazy schedule with Thursday Night Football, College GameDay and ABC’s top game of the week, explains his issues with college football’s schedule, and reveals where he stands on the Tush Push.

Following Herbstreit, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, we discuss my  appearance on a Bill Simmons Reddit page, our weekly gambling outcomes, baseball implementing the ABS challenge system, the NFL Today’s throwback edition featuring Brent Musburger, Sal having to go to a 50th birthday party during the Oregon-Penn State and Alabama-Georgia games and much more.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Sports Illustrated‘s YouTube channel.

8. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: I know a lot of you are all pumped for the Ryder Cup this weekend. Whenever there is an event with the U.S. against other countries (or continents), I always think of how good this old-school WWE bit was with Nikolai Volkoff and the Iron Shiek. THAT’S heat.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on X and Instagram.

This article was originally published on www.si.com as Whiny College Football Coaches Deserve No Sympathy.