​NIL, Transfer Portal, 12-team playoff. The world of College Football changes by the day, and often for the worse. It’s no secret that the days of amateur kids playing for the love of the game and to create value for themselves in the future, whether in the NFL or not, are over.

Instead, it’s been replaced with a professional league where some kids make more than NFL players, and loyalty has been thrown out the window. Rather than having pride for your school and sticking around when things get hard, the only thing that matters is how much 18- to 22-year-old kids are gonna make to spend on who knows what.

Now, I’m not naive enough to believe kids weren’t getting paid before. However, what was once a shameful, fringe, and illegal action is now institutionalized and necessary for a program to have any chance at succeeding. We can discuss the widespread ramifications across all of College Sports, and the effects revenue sharing now has on other athletic programs.

But for the sake of this column, let’s discuss the main culprit. The latest rodeo kicking up dust involves the most notorious pot-stirrer in the sport. That would be Lane Kiffin and LSU’s latest courtroom victory to allow NFL players to return to play in college. Although this is a victory for now, the fight is far from over.

On Thursday, LSU and Lane Kiffin won a major legal victory against the NCAA as a judge granted an injunction allowing Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris, two former Ole Miss and NFL players, to play for the Tigers. What was a major story in College Basketball last season, especially with Charles Bediako seeking to return to Alabama, has now inevitably made its way to the gridiron.

However, the SEC has now filed suit against the Tigers and Kiffin in federal court in the Northern District of Alabama. What this will come down to is how much authority the SEC has to govern its own league and enforce its own rules. The SEC made it clear recently that it will not allow former professional players to play in any of their sports, and threatened severe punishments if these rules were broken. According to this judge, however, “rules schmooles. Geaux Tighas.”

Although I’m increasingly devastated by the broken system of College Football, I also completely understand Lane Kiffin’s decision. The current landscape is kill or be killed, and if you don’t strike first, you’ll be on the losing end. Kiffin is making it clear: the precedent has been set, and I might as well be on the winning end of it. Never one to shy away from some negative press to put his team in the best position to win, Kiffin decided to fire the first shot.

The question is, will it pay off? Is it worth the risk to go to war with your conference for just two players? It appears so. Yet again, we’re watching another dramatic twist in the never-ending saga of Lane Kiffin. If LSU wanted the full Kiffin experience, it didn’t take long. Albeit, with respect to Kiffin, he’s far from responsible for the current mess we’re in. He’s simply playing by the new rules, or lack thereof.

The bottom line is this: conferences and the NCAA must be able to enforce their own rules. If a homer judge right down the road from the stadium has the final say vs. the NCAA, the program is almost always going to win. There shouldn’t have to be national legislation. Nick Saban shouldn’t have to film commercials advocating for the Protect College Sports Act.

These schools are willing participants in their conferences, as well as the NCAA as a whole, and therefore must abide by their rules. Period. Now, you could argue the NCAA has been rather subjective as to who they allow extra eligibility or not, but that’s beside the point. The SEC made it clear that it will not allow pros to come back, and LSU did it anyway while a judge endorsed it. That’s a major problem. The SEC is essentially non-existent if that’s the precedent that has been set; they have no authority over their own teams.

This circus must come to an end if we want to preserve our beloved sport. Black and white rules must be enforced. Conferences shouldn’t have to lobby Congress for help, but if that’s what it takes, so be it. Until then, you can count on your local judge continuing to cause confusion and chaos. Blame Kiffin all you want, but he didn’t start the fire.