“Point of no return”: CFB analyst makes a blunt observation on spring game in college football

The period for college football spring games is fast approaching as teams will once again showcase the level of their roster for the upcoming season. However, there are many concerns around the age-long college football tradition due to recent changes.

Nebraska announced that the program will not have a spring game this year. This comes after there was a lot of tampering following the Cornhuskers' spring game last year, as revealed by the team's coach, Matt Rhule. Greg McElroy offered his view on the development in a recent installment of “Always College Football.”

“With the era that we're in right now, I really believe the spring games are reaching to the point of kind of no return,” McElroy said (Timestamp: 19:04). “And this all started this past week with Matt Rhule. Matt Rhule came out and said Nebraska is going to cancel their spring game because of tampering and all these other reasons.”

The Cornhuskers lost six players to the transfer portal aftermath of the 2024 spring game. The program is out to avoid something like that this year, sparking a monumental change that could be witnessed wide across the landscape in the next couple of years.

Greg McElroy refuses to blame Matt Rhule for spring game cancellation

Canceling the spring game means ending a long-time tradition in the college football landscape. Actions like this often garner much criticism within the realm. However, considering the reason behind the decision, Greg McElroy refused to blame Matt Rhule.

“I can't blame him [Matt Rhule] at all, and this is not the first time we've seen this,” McElroy said (Timestamp: 20:12). “We saw this last year with Ole Miss where they basically had a spring festival instead of a game. They had a tug of war, slam dunk contests and fun activities for their players to participate in.”

“The elimination of spring is the result of tampering, injuries, and the amount of NIL earnings that a lot of these players might have access to. And Nebraska is not the only one, by the way. UCF said they will not hold a traditional spring game this year,” he added.

Nebraska will have some activities that won’t be televised instead of the spring game later this year. However, the decision is bound to bring about many changes across the landscape. A couple of other college football programs are expected to have a change in their spring schedule over the next few years.