For a few months, it looked like this would be the most normal college-football season in recent memory. Sure, there were some minor cosmetic changes, namely the resurrection of the Pac-12 (though the fact that every team has the word “State” in its name is a strange touch), as well as some small modifications to how the College Football Playoff is seeded. But on the whole, the sport, for the first time since Brett Kavanaugh (of all people) changed college-sports history forever, mostly looked like it did the previous season. There will be just as many playoff teams (12) as there were last year, and the major conferences all look the same. There’s even the same brand-name headliner quarterback as there was 12 months ago. For a sport that has broken with just about every tradition over the last half-decade, it almost felt like, at least temporarily, stability reigned.

Not for long. In June, the NCAA announced a new rule known as the “five for five.” This regulation was logical and straightforward. Beginning with the 2027–28 season, all athletes would receive five years’ eligibility, starting at age 19, no matter what. No more years of sitting out after transferring from another school. No redshirts, medical or otherwise. No players coming over mid-career from Europe and pretending to be freshmen even when they’re old enough to rent a car. Almost everyone liked this rule: players (who got one more year of eligibility than they used to have), coaches (who at last had clarity as to who was eligible and for how long), and fans (who could finally have a set of rules that they could understand and follow). The only catch was that it would go into effect next year,........

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