Meet the ninth-year college football players. Plus the best SEC rivalries

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I'm back! Thanks to Manny Navarro for taking over last week. Today we talked about SEC rivalries, car dealerships and bowl schedules. But first, have you ever heard of a ninth-year senior?

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Still at University?

The first ninth-year senior

College football rosters are getting older! The NCAA's decision to give players an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-altered 2020 season opened the door for players to extend their college careers longer than we've seen before. That's one reason why the fourth annual Wait, they still play college football? Team by Stewart Mandel and Max Olson is such an outdated publication.

Seven players on this year's roster have played at three different schools throughout their career (Read here what it's like to split those loyalties). This roster also includes six players whose first season of college football was in 2018.

But no player has been in college longer than Miami TE Cam McCormick. He played his first season of college football in 2016, McCormick is our first known ninth-year senior. To put this in perspective, McCormick has been in college as long as Kirby Smart was head coach at Georgia (shout out to commentator Brian S. for the comparison) and in the the same recruiting class as Nick Bosa, who was drafted five years ago. McCormick spent seven seasons at Oregon, four seasons derailed by injuries before transferring to Miami and earning a starting role last season. And yes, he has a master's degree.

But McCormick isn't the oldest player on our roster. The 31-year-old Jordan Noyes is entering its fifth season. Noyes left for Utah in 2020 and spent three seasons with the Utes before transferring to Colorado State last season. The married father of three is from Kent, England and will turn 32 in August. He played American football, soccer, rugby and took part in gymnastics in England.

Utah QB Cam rising, Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel And Alabama S Malachi Moore also made the 2024 roster. Read more about the other veterans here.

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Full rides

Evolving ties between college athletes and car dealers

For as long as anyone can remember, the car dealership has been an explicit or implicit part of the college athletics process. In the 1933 film College Coach, a coach and a player were already negotiating car offers. So if you've ever wondered why you always see so many student-athletes posting photos with their new rides, look no further than The story of Chris Kamrani and Brian Hamilton today.

Local car dealers have long been behind the scenes of the whispered rewards that coaches or boosters promised to talented young players. But when the name, image and likeness legislation was passed in 2021, it opened the floodgates for these deals to become public. Student-athletes, from football to men's and women's basketball to volleyball, make NIL deals with local dealers, securing car leases in exchange for marketing, usually on social media.

What is the return on investment with these deals? Arizona State alum Parker Jones, now general manager of Jones Auto Centers in Phoenix, estimates his dealers have sold at least 20 cars in connection with his partnerships with Sun Devil football players. You can read the full story here.

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SEC's Best Rivalry

Your votes are in

Last Thursday newsletter, you voted on the rivalry situation in the SEC. With Oklahoma and Texas coming on board, is there a new top feud?

The Red River Rivalry may be new to the conference, but voters already suspect it will be one of the very best leagues. I'm surprised there's such a big drop after AlabamaAuburn (36.2 percent of the vote) and Texas-Oklahoma (27.6 percent of the vote) in the top two. Clearly, the Iron Bowl and Red River are the overwhelming fan favorites, so mark your calendars:

• October 12, 2024: Texas at Oklahoma
• November 19 August 30, 2024: Auburn in Alabama

Speaking of schedules

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Bowl schedules!

Why December 28 is the ultimate bowl day

The 2024 postseason will have a brand new look with the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff. The first round matches will be played on campus on December 20 and 21, a full month before the national championship on January 20.

What does this mean for the rest of the bowl season? Here are one some takeaways from the 2024 bowl schedule.

• The fan favorite of 2023 Pop-Tarts bowl will be played on December 28 in Orlando, Florida at 3:30 PM. It will be one of eight bowl games on the day, making it the busiest day of the bowl season. I suspected Arizona bowl played at 4:30pm this day and officially called the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl, presented by Gin and Juice by Dre and Snoop, will give the Pop-Tarts Bowl a run for its money on the fun-o-meter.
• December 14th is another CFB-packed day to mark your calendars, ranging from the HBCU national championship to an early FBS bowl, plus non-FBS playoffs. A quick schedule for now (times in ET): Celebration bowl and then, Army-Navy at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, Heisman ceremony at 8 p.m. and Camellia bowl at 9 o'clock in the evening
• Four non-CFP bowl games will be played after New Year's. These are the Gator (January 2), First Responder (January 3), Dukes Mayo (January 3) and Bahamas (January 4), while the holiday has yet to be announced.

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Quick snaps

Wisconsin returns 81.8 percent of its production to the defensive sector, and here's why Badgers writer Jesse Temple called it the strongest position on Luke Fickell's 2024 roster. Where does Tyler Van Dyke and the rank of the quarterback group? Read more here.

Which Iowa freshmen can make an impact in their first seasons? Scott Dochterman breaks down the incoming class with 21 players position by position today.

You can buy tickets to any college football game here.

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(Photo by Cam McCormick: Alie Skowronski/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)