Money is the answer to your College Football Playoff expansion questions

Expansion in the professional ranks is awarding franchises (for a large fee, of course) to business groups in various cities, which increases the number of teams competing for a championship and expands the fanbase, which ultimately translates into greater revenues through added television markets, ticket sales, team apparel, etc. Translation: more money, and lots of it.

It's no different in college football, which is why the SEC invited Texas and Oklahoma to join the conference. The only distinction is there's no fee involved.

Then there are the playoffs. The more games, the more television money and the more revenue. Just three months ago, the committee on expansion was ready to support an increase in the College Football Playoff format from its present four teams to as many as 12 for the remainder of the contract (which runs through 2025). Then Texas and Oklahoma threw kerosene on the idea. The talks were immediately postponed and were just tabled again until at least December. While there may be a consensus to expand to at least eight, there will be no expansion without an agreement on the number of teams that can qualify from one conference.

And then there is the Notre Dame issue, which we all know has no conference affiliation in football. If nothing is agreed to by January, the present four-team format will remain in effect until 2025. The SEC is waiting to see if Texas and Oklahoma can leave the Big 12 early to play in the SEC, which would clearly give that league more leverage. Either way, the SEC will have all the cards when negotiations begin on a new contract in 2025. That's good for the SEC but bad for college football. The rich just continue to get richer.

◘ Terrible news out of Athens, Georgia, where starting linebacker Adam Anderson, has been accused of rape. He was immediately suspended from the team. We don't take a position here about one's guilt or innocence and our heart goes out to all victims of any crime.The Athens-Clarke County Police Department is investigating the accusation and, at the time of this writing, Anderson has not been arrested and has denied the allegation. It remains to be seen whether this affects the Bulldogs' so far storybook season.

◘ Remember when Texas was 4-1, ranked No. 17 and preparing for its annual battle with Oklahoma? The Longhorns are now 4-4 after blowing 10-point second-half leads in three straight games. New coach Steve Sarkisian is already feeling the heat. It says here Texas has too much talent to be average and Sarkisian better get it fixed quickly. Worse than that, Sarkisian faced embarrassing questions this week about special-teams coach Jeff Banks whose girlfriend apparently invited neighbors and guests on social media to a Halloween party. Nice thing to do, right? Only one problem. Her "pet" monkey apparently got loose and bit a child. Now Sarkisian is being asked about the monkey story instead of his football team. Wow!

◘We told you a few weeks ago that Washington State head coach Nick Rolovich had been terminated as a state employee for refusing a COVID vaccination. This week, Rolovich filed an appeal to Washington State University athletic director Pat Chun to rescind the firing because it was an "illegal and unconstitutional act." This is a precondition procedural step necessary before this case ends up in a court of law. Rolovich alleges he was denied a religious exemption and Chun referred to him as a "con man, selfish" with "extreme views." Whatever happens, do not expect Chun to change his mind.

◘Everything at LSU comes back to coach Ed Orgeron who is gone after this season. Evidently, he's decided to blame his early termination on others. The Tigers, just 4-4, come off a bye week and play at Alabama, but Orgeron had lots to say. "We're too predictable by formations. We're too predictable on first down. ... There's just not much disguise. What we line up in, we are in. The biggest part of us on defense is adjusting. We have not been in the right positions, according to some formations." Well, isn't that refreshing. A head coach who calls out his offensive and defensive coordinators without taking any responsibility. He might as well have named the coordinators by name and called them deplorables. Is there no accountability even at the top anymore? Wait, don't answer that. No, there isn't.

◘Here's a story about how not to react. James Madison plays football at the FCS level in the Colonial Athletic Association, the same league as your URI Rams. Last week, the school announced it had been approved to move up from the FCS to the FBS and explored joining an FBS conference. No different than what UMass, UConn, Appalachian State, Georgia Southern and a host of others over the years have done. The CAA's reaction? Ban James Madison from competing for any league titles for the remainder of its membership with the league. Why is the league penalizing James Madison for wanting to play at the highest level of football? Because they are vindictive! What kind of message is the CAA sending to all the athletes at James Madison who had nothing to do with the decision? A clear and convincing one. "We don't care about you and will punish you and your university just because you are seeking to voluntarily compete at the FBS level." Despicable.

What's next

No. 13 Auburn (6-2) at No. 14 Texas A & M (6-2) -4.5: The only top-25 matchup of the weekend. Both teams are still in the hunt for an SEC West championship, so this is, in effect, an elimination game. It seems like every game Auburn plays, the outcome depends on quarterback Bo Nix's performance. He's been very good at home and not so good on the road. Meanwhile, A&M quarterback Zach Calzada, who started the season on the bench, has progressively improved. He played brilliantly in the upset win over Alabama as well as recent victories over South Carolina and Missouri. The crowd will be a deciding factor in this one. Expect this to be a high-scoring game with the Aggies running away with it late.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: On College Football: Money is what's driving CFP's expansion plans