1. Why shouldn't they be discussing NIL and direct payments from the schools to their players? It is literally the driving force of college football at this time and it is a show about......college football. You may disagree with their stances, but to expect them to just ignore it is ridiculous. You think the NFL pregame shows wouldn't talk about new deals between the NFL and the players' union?
2. Yes, free market principles should prevail.....if this was a for-profit industry without government funding and oversight involved. These schools get federal funding, treated as non-profits with the various advantages they get, and are beholden to Title IX rules. This isn't the NFL. Now, will the superconference form and football programs separate from their tax-exempt, non-profit institutions into separate for-profit organizations? Most likely. Until then, it's not the free market.
3. Even if they do become for-profit entities, the idea that there would be no regulation at all is preposterous. None of the major professional leagues are set up that way. Why do you think college football would be?