1. I don’t want to get on a soapbox, but …

So that was Kirby Smart, sitting at the Orange Bowl dais after yet another postseason rout, decrying the ills of the game.

Somebody “fix” this, Georgia’s wildly successful coach said to no one in particular.

Just like when he — and many other coaches, and many others with no skin in the game — declared 2 years ago that college football’s new, unbridled landscape is not “sustainable.”

Never in my life have I seen more people with their hands in others’ pockets — and all for selfish reasons.

Coaches want players to play in non-Playoff bowl games because they want to win and strengthen their positions at their respective universities.

The vocal idiots on social media want players to play in non-Playoff bowl games because — take your pick — they’re fans, gambling, or living vicariously through young men. Or all 3.

Coaches know this, so they give soundbites to chum the waters and fire up fan bases — all while giving themselves a built-in excuse (win or lose) while earning millions upon millions of guaranteed money in their preferred profession.

Meanwhile, there are the players: asked to play in a meaningless postseason game out of “loyalty” and “pride” — never mind that they could sustain significant injury in those games and severely damage or eliminate their ability to earn as professionals.

It’s enough to make you want to puke.

“People need to see what happened tonight and they need to fix this,” Smart said after his team beat undermanned Florida State by 60 points in the Orange Bowl.

Fix, everyone, is an interesting choice of words. Because “fix” implies a problem — and I’m still trying to figure out the problem.

Because a group of elite FSU players decided it was in their best interest to opt out of the Orange Bowl and protect their financial futures — frankly, one could argue it’s fiscally reckless of them to play in postseason games of no meaning — suddenly the college game has a problem?

This wasn’t about the transfer portal, though that’s another thing that apparently needs to be “fixed.” The transfer portal had nothing to do with elite FSU players protecting their ability to earn in the NFL.

This is about power and control. Coaches losing it, and players gaining it.

The same thing it has been since the NCAA decided in the summer of 2021 that there were 2 roads college sports could take: Allow players to earn off their name, image and likeness and give them free movement, or face the unknown of future legal battles that would go all the way to the Supreme Court — and could gut the entire system.

And needless to say, the NCAA legal team in these archaic arguments of the “amateur model” is Vanderbilt football. They’ve lost ever major case.

By allowing NIL and free player movement, the NCAA hoped to slow the rush toward revenue sharing under the guise of being more “player-friendly. Imagine the chutzpah of the “player-friendly” ideal — after 150-plus years of doing whatever they wanted and pocketing a large majority of the earned revenue.

Now, as players begin stretching into the passing lane of change, everything must be “fixed” because coaches think other coaches should have complete rosters when competing. And because Joe Sixpack in his basement in Birmingham doesn’t want to watch a 60-point blowout — especially when he had the Noles +20 in a 3-team parlay.

Meanwhile, there are the players — the actual product — painted as the villains.

It’s enough to make you want to puke.

2. Making it work

We’ve all seen the ideas floating around, and most are just as ridiculous as the argument itself.

Have the bowls pay players a stipend to play. Structure NIL deals around complete seasons. Get the NFL involved.

There’s 1 way, and 1 way only to “fix” what doesn’t need fixing: shared revenue and collective bargaining.

And even that — the mother of all scenarios to end the “amateur model” — might not work.

Because once FBS university presidents agree to share media rights revenue — which will surpass $3 billion annually with the expanded Playoff in 2024 — players become employees and can collectively bargain.

But even if university presidents willingly agree to share revenue unless forced to by law, there’s no guarantee NFL Draft eligible players will collectively bargain away their ability to opt out of postseason games to protect their ability to earn much more with a professional contract.

See where that’s headed?

Then there’s the stipend idea. Forget about the dynamics of who gets paid and who decides who gets paid; the idea of players choosing, let’s say, $50,000, to potentially jeopardize an NFL contract is laughable.

Does anyone really think Keon Coleman — a potential top 20 pick — is going to play for FSU against Georgia if the Orange Bowl gives him $50K? Come on, people. This isn’t a video game.

As for the NFL stepping in? Why would the NFL change anything about a free minor league system?

3. Fixing it, The Epilogue

The least amount of problems, the fewest amount of collateral damage to the rest of the system, is the current setup.

It’s the player’s choice. If he wants to play, he does. If he doesn’t, he won’t.

Just like Georgia cornerback Kamari Lassiter.

Lassiter had a 1st- or 2nd-round projection by the NFL Draft Advisory Board, and will likely be among the top cornerbacks selected in April. He had a choice: opt out and protect his health, or play in the Orange Bowl with teammates he had won back-to-back national championships with in 2021 and 2022.

Smart said Lassiter took a few days to make a decision, before coming back to practice.

“I met with him and his Mom and talked to him, and fully expected him not to play in this game,” Smart said. “He called me 2 days later, and said, ‘Coach, I can’t do it. I want to be out there. I want to play with my guys.’”

It’s a personal decision. It’s a financial decision.

Stop trying to “fix” something that doesn’t need fixing.

4. The portal game

Now that we’ve “fixed” the opt-out problem, next up is the transfer portal.

Because, apparently, it’s a problem when players move freely and potentially earn while in college, too.

Now the calendar needs to change. Now national signing day must change, too. Now there needs to be more restrictions on player movement because it’s ruining the game, and of course, because it’s not “sustainable.”

It is sustainable. So sustainable, in fact, that players move and rosters change and seasons come and go — and the sport is thriving.

College football has never been more popular, and it will become more popular beginning next season with the expanded 12-team Playoff. And that inane argument that there’s a select group of elite teams running the sport and leaving scraps for the rest?

What, exactly, do you think it is now? And has been for decades?

Don’t listen to the nattering nabobs of negativism in the social media sewer blaming players for the ills of the game, or coaches complaining about roster management. You’re getting paid $9 million a year.

Figure it out.

If young men chase money instead of professional development, that’s on them. If coaches can’t figure out roster management, that’s on them.

Because there are more players and more coaches more than willing to fill the void. You know, in the name of sustainability.

5. The Weekly 5

Five things Alabama must do to win the Rose Bowl semifinal on Monday and advance to the national championship game.

1. Get RB Jase McClellan involved early. When he’s invested from the jump, the offense is balanced and dangerous.

2. Be disruptive on the defensive front. When Justin Eboigbe, Tim Keenan III and Tim Smith control the interior, everything changes — and OLBs Dallas Turner and Chris Braswell affect the quarterback.

3. Trust the arm of QB Jalen Milroe. Make 2nd- and 3rd-level throws to WRs Jermaine Burton and Isaiah Bond.

4. Play safeties Malachi Moore and Caleb Downs closer to the line of scrimmage, bringing more in run support than Michigan can block.

5. More designed quarterback runs. Get Milroe — the fastest player on the team — to the edge.

6. Your tape is your resume

An NFL scout analyzes a draft eligible SEC player. This week: South Carolina WR Xavier Legette.

“A great story. Got his chance when Juice Wells went down, and exploded. A big, physical presence with a wide catch radius and the ability wall off defenders. Excellent straight line speed, and is explosive when he sticks his foot in the ground and goes. He reminds me a lot of DK (Metcalf). I think there’s legitimate concern about where it was early in his career, but the ceiling far outweighs it. I could easily see him picked in the first 15 (selections).”

7. Powered Up

This week’s Power Poll, and 1 big thing.

1. Alabama: Since the loss to Texas in September, Alabama has forced 16 turnovers and has 35 sacks.

2. Georgia: The next 2 weeks will be critical for Georgia’s 2024 season, with decisions on early NFL entries and the pursuit of impact players in the transfer portal.

3. Ole Miss: What’s bigger: Setting a school record for wins in a season (11), or raising expectations to unthinkable levels for 2024?

4. Missouri: Tigers figured it out late in the Cotton Bowl and now take the next step in 2024: avoiding a letdown season.

5. LSU: An important game Monday for QB Garrett Nussmeier, who must prove he can play well against an overmatched team (Wisconsin) — especially with LSU adding talented former Vanderbilt QB AJ Swann from the transfer portal.

6. Tennessee: Yeah, it’s Iowa. Yeah, the Hawkeyes are limited offensively. The Citrus Bowl will still be a heavy lift for new starting QB Nico Iamaleava against a stout Iowa defense.

7. Texas A&M: Aggies can’t afford more significant defections to the portal.

8. Kentucky: Gator Bowl played out just like the 2023 season: plenty of promise, flat when it mattered most.

9. Auburn: An ugly loss to an average Maryland team with a backup quarterback isn’t necessarily a red flag, but it sure isn’t the way to start the offseason.

10. Florida: 20 players have left for the transfer portal, including 9 multi-game starters.

11. South Carolina: The wide receiver room is thin, and the Gamecocks have zeroed in on James Madison WR Elijah Sarratt, who had 82 catches and 8 TDs in 2023.

12. Mississippi State: No team has been hit harder than the Bulldogs this offseason with portal defections (16) and early NFL entries (5) — including double-digit players with starting experience.

13. Arkansas: Georgia LB Xavian Sorey is a big addition for a defense that lacked impactful players who can run and chase plays.

14. Vanderbilt: Offensive philosophy should change in 2024 with Utah transfer QB Nate Johnson, who can stress defenses in the quarterback run game.

8. Ask and you shall receive

Matt: I know you don’t think the SEC is interested in FSU, but if they break the ACC, what’s there for the SEC to take? — Helene Colby, New Orleans.

Helene:

It’s not that the SEC isn’t interested in FSU, it’s that there are plenty of obstacles to clear before it’s possible — beginning with the Noles (and any other ACC team) being free and clear of litigation from the ACC.

Now consider this: FSU (and other ACC schools) may use an argument of unenforceable liquidated damages. In other words, a court could rule that punishment to leave the ACC (estimated at more than $500 million) doesn’t fit the “crime” of leaving.

Why, you ask? Because it bears no reasonable relationship to the actual damages suffered by the ACC from a member’s exit.

Under Florida law, although “parties to a contract may stipulate in advance the amount that is to be paid of retained as liquidated damages in the event of a contract breach,” liquidated damages can still be held invalid if deemed disproportionate.

If that becomes a way out for FSU and other ACC schools, the SEC can’t afford to ignore expansion. New states (North Carolina, Virginia) would more than likely be first priority, but the idea of adding FSU to block the Big Ten from moving into the state of Florida has to be addressed, too.

9. Numbers

34. Of all the impressive work from Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin in the transfer portal, none has been bigger than keeping RB Quinshon Judkins.

In 2 seasons, Judkins has accounted for 34 touchdowns and more than 3,000 all-purpose yards (2,725 rushing). Kiffin’s career as a coach has been built around his ability to develop quarterbacks and passing game, but the Rebels have become a run-based offense with Judkins and the running of QB Jaxson Dart.

In his 2 seasons in Oxford, Judkins is averaging 6.3. yards every time he touches the ball (rush and receiving).

10. Quote to note

Auburn coach Hugh Freeze: “I don’t need anyone to tell me when we don’t measure up. I’m probably my hardest critic. I don’t think I did a very good job in a lot of areas this year with our staff, and with our team.”