2010 College Football

[WayAbvPar]

If they are in the same division, they should be treated as equals. Otherwise why have the other divisions?

[Paelos]

If they are in the same division, they should be treated as equals. Otherwise why have the other divisions?

Those teams are in the division to support the now 35   bowls we have.

[Abagadro]

I will just say that Utah was willing to go play in places like Michigan with no return game at all in its climb up to respectability. The system is rigged but sometimes you need to just grit your teeth and pay the unfair dues.

[Paelos]

I will just say that Utah was willing to go play in places like Michigan with no return game at all in its climb up to respectability. The system is rigged but sometimes you need to just grit your teeth and pay the unfair dues.

And you move up, while Boise whines about fairness. Frankly, I'm glad. I think Utah is a hell of a program with a better tradition, better attitude, and a history of producing fine players and coaches at the NFL level.

[ghost]

I will just say that Utah was willing to go play in places like Michigan with no return game at all in its climb up to respectability. The system is rigged but sometimes you need to just grit your teeth and pay the unfair dues.

Right, it may not be fair, but it's the way things go.  The current BCS conference schools really  have no reason to do a home-and-home with anyone outside their conference.  That's why it's so cool when we see Texas go to Wyoming or Ohio State.  Ohio State gets a bad rap, but it had a home and home with USC, Texas and they played Miami this year.

[Abagadro]

One thing to keep in mind though is that doing that takes lots of money and so it is more difficult for smaller dollar programs to do it even if they want to.

[ghost]

One thing to keep in mind though is that doing that takes lots of money and so it is more difficult for smaller dollar programs to do it even if they want to.

They usually get reimbursed pretty handsomely for doing those games.  That is why the state of Ohio "encourages" Ohio State to play all the little schools like Akron and Kent and Bowling Green because it keeps that money in-state.  Payouts of $500k to a million are numbers I've read before, which is more than a lot of those schools will pull down in a single game at home. 

[Nebu]

There is really no financial way that Boise State can maintain a competitive program.  I think this situation will resolve itself soon enough when Boise State stops being competitive in a couple of years.

[ghost]

There is really no financial way that Boise State can maintain a competitive program.  I think this situation will resolve itself soon enough when Boise State stops being competitive in a couple of years.

They're going to join the MWC, which will give them a huge leg up.  That is unless TCU goes to the Big East or the Big 12, either of which seems pretty likely at this point. 

[Abagadro]

One thing to keep in mind though is that doing that takes lots of money and so it is more difficult for smaller dollar programs to do it even if they want to.

They usually get reimbursed pretty handsomely for doing those games.  That is why the state of Ohio "encourages" Ohio State to play all the little schools like Akron and Kent and Bowling Green because it keeps that money in-state.  Payouts of $500k to a million are numbers I've read before, which is more than a lot of those schools will pull down in a single game at home.  

Those are called guarantee games and they are negotiated, not something that happens automatically. Big schools are willing to pay that much because the schools are usually patsies so its a "pay for an easy win" situation. They won't do that for Boise State and would look at it as a favor to them to have them play there so won't pay much.   It also costs a good chunk to take a team to a road game and they get no TV rights money unlike what they would get with a home game.  Playing on the road is a money losing proposition for a type of program like Boise State unless they get the return trip (where the money is in the TV rights, not the attendance)

[Paelos]

That's all true, except that the WAC's TV deal with ESPN is paltry. I can't imagine Boise is making so much on TV dollars that they can't make up the difference by spending the money to get more national cred.

[Abagadro]

Hey, I hate Boise State. We Utes fans call them the "Tater Zoobs" (BYU are the Zoobs so they are nearly equivalent in disdain among Utes) because they are unduly arrogant and general pains in the ass. I just don't think it is as easy as some people seem to think to just "schedule up" for a team like BSU. It's actually very, very difficult.

[ghost]

Those are called guarantee games and they are negotiated, not something that happens automatically. Big schools are willing to pay that much because the schools are usually patsies so its a "pay for an easy win" situation. They won't do that for Boise State and would look at it as a favor to them to have them play there so won't pay much.   It also costs a good chunk to take a team to a road game and they get no TV rights money unlike what they would get with a home game.  Playing on the road is a money losing proposition for a type of program like Boise State unless they get the return trip (where the money is in the TV rights, not the attendance)

You act as if they get absolutely nothing out of the situation, which is not true.  Boise gets the opportunity to "show their stuff", if you will.  The traditional power is risking a lot to bring in a school like Boise, but Boise gets a shot a kicking them in the nuts.  Sure, it's a gamble, but it is a gamble that Boise will have to be willing to take to make it to the next level

[Abagadro]

Of course they get benefits but athletic departments run off of budgets.  If you can't afford to go do something it won't matter how great it would be.

[Paelos]

Boise State's entire Athletic budget in 2009 was ~$25.6M, $7.8M of which came from student fees and subsidies.

[Nebu]

For comparison, the U of Minnesota is about the worst team in the Big 10 this year and they have a budget near $70 million.  The Ohio State athletic department operates on over $100 million. 

Goes back to what I said a few posts ago.  Boise State is an outlier right now.  They'll never be able to recruit and maintain a team of this caliber on their budget.  

[Paelos]

Not in their current conference, no. In the Mountain West, they have a better shot if they continue to go undefeated.

They need to be in the PAC-10 to be a legitimate program though, and they will fizzle out if they don't press their bets by taking on bigger matches.

[ghost]

In the Mountain West, they have a better shot if they continue to go undefeated.

Unless TCU moves on, and they appear to be actively shopping themselves at least to the Big East.  The MWC right now deserves to be an automatic BCS qualifier right now, but without TCU and Utah they aren't much stronger than the WAC. 

[Nebu]

In the Mountain West, Boise state becomes another Wyoming or, at best, Colorado State.  You just can't recruit and maintain a competitive team with a university in the middle of nowhere.  Utah had at least some chance being in a metropolitan area.  

[ghost]

Once this current group of all stars is gone from Boise they probably will fall back into being just a very good MWC team.

[Ingmar]

In the Mountain West, Boise state becomes another Wyoming or, at best, Colorado State.  You just can't recruit and maintain a competitive team with a university in the middle of nowhere.  Utah had at least some chance being in a metropolitan area.  

There are certainly football teams that do well in towns in the middle of nowhere. Have you ever been to Lincoln, or State College? Iowa City doesn't look like a happening place either.

[Nebu]

There are certainly football teams that do well in towns in the middle of nowhere. Have you ever been to Lincoln, or State College? Iowa City doesn't look like a happening place either.

I've played in Lincoln and at Kinnick stadium.  

Lincoln is a large city near Omaha with major commerce (beef, insurance, etc.).  Iowa City is 2h to Des Moines and 3h to chicago.  Iowa City also has one of the largest teaching hospitals in the country (i.e. big $$$).  

Boise?  Tell me a major metropolitan area near Boise?  Moscow?  Pullman? As for commerce, do potatoes count?

We don't even need to mention that Nebraska and Lincoln have been contributors to the NCAA for a LONG time.  Especially in sports.  How many olympians have come from Boise State?

[ghost]

Hey, Boise is the third largest city in the Northwest United States at 205,000 

[Ingmar]

The Boise metropolitan area is ~500k, or about twice the size of Lincoln. Also, I really doubt "2 hours to Des Moines" is a recruiting plus. I mean, that's kind of like saying proximity to Los Angeles is a plus for Fresno State.

It certainly IS in the middle of nowhere, but so are a lot of places. ~5 hours to Salt Lake City is the closest thing I think.

It is funny you mention Pullman, though, now that is REALLY a shitty little town in the middle of nowhere (2 hours to Spokane, recruiting plus!), and yet there they are in the Pac 10, and have been to the Rose Bowl twice in the last 15 years, more than anyone but SC or Oregon (and they're tied with Oregon).

Sure, Wazzou isn't consistently successful, but that means nothing when it comes to deciding if a program should be in the championship game in a given year.

[Nebu]

Sure, Wazzou isn't consistently successful, but that means nothing when it comes to deciding if a program should be in the championship game in a given year.

I'm not saying anything about whether Boise should be in the championship or not.  If they're the best team, they should have a shot.  My point is that their current quality of football isn't sustainable.  

I support a fair playoff system 100%.  I also support getting big money athletics out of the NCAA and into NFL farm systems where they belong. I about fell off my chair laughing when one of the games showed a starter as being an academic all american with a 2.8 GPA. 

[ghost]

Nebraska and Oklahoma have a long history behind them that newcomers do not.  They could be located on an island in Lake Erie and still get troops.  And Iowa is one of the most well rounded and well respected universities in the country in one of the top 3 athletic conferences.  Those are all big differences as compared to a Boise.


Edit:

Looks like Newton may get Auburn in trouble......

Rumor of asking for a large sum of money for his services.

[ghost]

I'm going to bump this for Newton discussion.  I'm thinking this entire deal is BS.  It smacks of Floriduh, Urban Meyer and Dan Mullen getting involved. 

Former Mississippi State quarterback John Bond told ESPN.com a teammate of Bond's at Mississippi State in the early 1980s contacted him soon after Newton's official visit to Mississippi State during the Ole Miss game in December, and said he was representing Newton.

"He said it would take some cash to get Cam," Bond said. "I called our athletic director, Greg Byrne, and he took it from there. That was pretty much it."

This sounds like some bush league stuff.  I seriously doubt that the lack of subtlety displayed here could be real. 

[Paelos]

It's probably not BS, but it's probably no where near what they are purporting.

[ghost]

Oh, we all know that money changes hands for players.  That is common knowledge and can be seen in the $75,000 cars some of these guys suddenly start driving. 

But this particular claim reeks of treachery and incompetence.  We're actually going to see more and more of this type of stuff as internet networking gets more well established into every day life.  Another factor is that the more the NCAA tries to crack down on external payments, the more we are going to see foes try to use it as a leverage point to try and get people in trouble. 

[Abagadro]

I was worthless all week at work. This game is going to be epic. I really hope the Utes can pull it off. They actually feed on being an underdog and written off and the crowd will be completely nuts.  It will be on CBS College which is a station that is giving a free preview on most systems this weekend so look for it if you want to.

[01101010]

I was worthless all week at work. This game is going to be epic. I really hope the Utes can pull it off. They actually feed on being an underdog and written off and the crowd will be completely nuts.  It will be on CBS College which is a station that is giving a free preview on most systems this weekend so look for it if you want to.

Rather watch a real game, like Bama @ LSU 

[SnakeCharmer]

TCU / Utah is probably going to be a pretty exciting game, whereas the Bama/LSU is going to be a bunch of 3 down and outs.  Until the last 3 minutes of the game and The Cat In The Hat makes it as entertaining as any game ever.

[ghost]

Rather watch a real game, like Bama @ LSU 

Thankfully, since some idiots decided to make the games at the same time, you'll get to make that choice. 

[SnakeCharmer]

If you're not able to watch teh TCU Ute game, here's a stream:  http://www.firstrow.net/watch/35755/1/watch-utah-vs-tcu.html

[ghost]

Go mighty Rainbow Warriors!