2011 College Football

[Ingmar]

How about that, multiple non-shitty non-conference games from SEC teams. Nice to see that changing, if it is an actual trend.

[Paelos]

How about that, multiple non-shitty non-conference games from SEC teams. Nice to see that changing, if it is an actual trend.

I think the Chick-Fil-A kickoff and the Jerryworld Kickoff have gone a long way in that regard. I don't see that changing either. I think we'll see more of that in the beginning of the season instead of less.

[ghost]

The Cal guy is bringing shit....

Playing Tennessee a couple of times in the '90s when they were turd central doesn't count.   

[Ingmar]

Yeah, we've gotten stuck with some I-AA teams the last couple years, I'm not sure why they're having trouble filling the schedule until so late now.

[Abagadro]

Just booked my plane ticket for the Utah/USC game. First PAC-12 game evar!

[Paelos]

I have big hopes for the PAC 12. I think they have the potential to draw a lot of cred away from the Big 10, especially after the Ohio State junk.

[Abagadro]

I'm waiting for the Oregon shoe (wink, wink) to drop. No way that much money flowing around hasn't corrupted that program to its core.

[SnakeCharmer]

31 days!!!

[ghost]

I'm waiting for the Oregon shoe (wink, wink) to drop. No way that much money flowing around hasn't corrupted that program to its core.

If there's any beans to spill you better start spilling.   

I would love to see Oregon take it in the ass.

[Paelos]

12 DAYS! until we hear if Ohio State gets off the hook.

It's going to be a huge story either way. If they get the book thrown at them, it's a huge shakeup in the Big10. If they don't it's an even bigger story of the NCAA turning a blind eye and the press will have a fucking field day for the 3 weeks leading up to kickoff.

[01101010]

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/6833448/oklahoma-sooners-no-1-preseason-coaches-poll

Have at it...

[Paelos]

Is this the place where we all agree preseason polls are bullshit and invented by the press to stir the pot when they have nothing to talk about nationally?

Because I put as much stock in them as I would in Dwarf Fortress ever getting a decent GUI.

[ghost]

NCAA mulls simpler rulebook.

 

It's about time those idiots realized their rules were too fucking thick. 

[Paelos]

Here's how you fix it. Bring back actual academic standards if you want student athletics. Nobody gives a shit that the kids out there are the fastest or the meanest right now. They just want them to win. If you force it across the board that we're not going to tolerate the stupidity anymore on campuses, you don't have the arrests, issues, and problems you get with the current crop of athletes.

Second, use TV bans. Use them a lot. Scare the shit out of programs and hit them in their wallets. That's all they care about anyway. They don't want to win, they just want to get paid. If they just know winning = more money.

Third, get rid of the stupid bowls. It's a bad economy, we can't support 35 bowl games. FBS football lets more teams play in the postseason than the NCAA basketball tournament. It's ridiculous. I can name 10 bowls right off the top of my head that have no reason for existing in cities with no football background. Dump them and quit watering down your product.

Fourth, kick out the Fiesta bowl and the Orange Bowl from the BCS. The Orange Bowl is a joke, and the Fiesta Bowl couldn't keep it in their pants. Make the Cotton Bowl and the Peach Bowl the new BCS bowls. They have better matchups anyway.

[Margalis]

It seems like the main point here is to find some way to avoid all the recent embarrassments. When I heard all these bigwigs were going on this deep-thoughts retreat I actually had some hope that they would be addressing the exploitation of student-athletes, but that's completely off the table.

Here's how you fix it.

What is the "it" here?

[Paelos]

It = the majority of the violations. When you make it so people actually want the education, the schools get hit in the wallet, the bad bowls get punished and the worthless bowls get removed. Cut off the gravy train to these pitiful schools who only exist in the NCAA for getting paid to lose.

As for exploitation, you have two choices: pay the athletes and require nothing from them academically, or raise the standards and get people who actually value the education they receive.

[ghost]

They really won't fix the problem until they get rid of athletic scholarships or the NBA/NFL have a better developmental league like minor league baseball.

[HaemishM]

They really won't fix the problem until they get rid of athletic scholarships or the NBA/NFL have a better developmental league like minor league baseball the European football leagues do with academies and semi-pro contracts.

Fixed that for you.

[ghost]

Either way would work.  I suspect that an MLB system would be more likely implemented in the US as that is what people here are used to. 

[ghost]

Here's a little gem to get you excited about the idea of Notre Dame getting the shit kicked out of them this year. 

[HaemishM]

How did they make an albino clone of Bootsie Collins with the talent removed?

[Paelos]

I respond with this!

Here's to you, Mr. Irrational Notre Dame Fan!

[Ingmar]

Here's a little gem to get you excited about the idea of Notre Dame getting the shit kicked out of them this year. 

 

[Margalis]

I have a fundamental moral problem with lots of old white dudes getting rich off of college students who are risking injury while getting worthless educations and working for essentially room and board.

Hard to think of too many industries where the talent brings in so much money while making literally zero dollars.

[Paelos]

I have a fundamental moral problem with lots of old white dudes getting rich off of college students who are risking injury while getting worthless educations and working for essentially room and board.

Hard to think of too many industries where the talent brings in so much money while making literally zero dollars.

I don't really think the "talent" brings in jack shit tbh. It's not like the NFL. People don't pay to see that player play. They pay because it's their school. They watch because they have a connection to it or they have money on it. If you removed them from the pool and just said you were done with being the feeder leagues, the NFL would be forced to set up their own minor league or just accept them into the pros after high school. Either way, it's not going to be a huge cash cow.

The difference is that the kids are essentially unknowns going into college unless you're a sports nut or a scout. If you set the standards, I don't think for a second that people would suddenly stop going to games, watching them on television, or decide that this was "second tier" in their eyes. The only reason that college sports are as big as they are now is because television has expanded so much to cover so many markets.

[ghost]

Here we go again......

Aggies to SEC?

I figure the SEC folks might realize by now that the Aggies are just using these negotiations to try and push the Longhorns around.  While I do think that A and M would be a good fit for the SEC, who could they bring with them?  I doubt they will take just one team, and preferably it would be a team that could integrate into the SEC East.  There's nobody in the east that might be looking to switch conferences that I know of.  Oklahoma might jump.  I suppose they could move Alabama over to the East (because technically they would be one of the easternmost schools then) but that would make everything even more top heavy in the east. 

[01101010]

Here we go again......

Aggies to SEC?

I figure the SEC folks might realize by now that the Aggies are just using these negotiations to try and push the Longhorns around.  While I do think that A and M would be a good fit for the SEC, who could they bring with them?  I doubt they will take just one team, and preferably it would be a team that could integrate into the SEC East.  There's nobody in the east that might be looking to switch conferences that I know of.  Oklahoma might jump.  I suppose they could move Alabama over to the East (because technically they would be one of the easternmost schools then) but that would make everything even more top heavy in the east. 

UNC could fit over in the SEC East even Clemson - I'd like to see FSU though. Normally I'd say there are no teams in the Big East or ACC that would survive in the SEC, but when you are talking SEC east, with teams like Vandy and Kentucky and Tenn and UGA...well, they might be respectable. But yeah, A&M would have to con someone else into heading over to the SEC and I can't see who would atm. Big money draw though... so who knows.

[Paelos]

Tennessee and UGA are just in downward swings in their programs though. They aren't the constant losers that Kentucky and Vandy happen to be. Almost a decade ago, Tennessee was the NCAA champion, and three years ago UGA was carrying a #1 ranking.

We'd never take Clemson, simply because we already have the South Carolina market. Same thing for a team like Georgia Tech. I wouldn't mind seeing FSU, but I'd rather take Virginia Tech. It's a better draw than it used to be and we already have a team in Florida.

[01101010]

Tennessee and UGA are just in downward swings in their programs though. They aren't the constant losers that Kentucky and Vandy happen to be. Almost a decade ago, Tennessee was the NCAA champion, and three years ago UGA was carrying a #1 ranking.

We'd never take Clemson, simply because we already have the South Carolina market. Same thing for a team like Georgia Tech. I wouldn't mind seeing FSU, but I'd rather take Virginia Tech. It's a better draw than it used to be and we already have a team in Florida.

Auburn/Alabama :: Clemson/USCocks

Just saying.

[Paelos]

Only someone from Carolina, or someone who had never seen that Alabama rivalry would remotely believe that's true.

Where you from? 

[01101010]

Only someone from Carolina, or someone who had never seen that Alabama rivalry would remotely believe that's true.

Where you from? 

You said SC market, not rivalry. Rivalries are a completely different beast entirely. And there are pretty stalwart fanbases for both teams in the state. But, this is all a moot point. Texas should just give A&M the finger and then turn around and beat them into submission in Nov.

[ghost]

Auburn/Alabama is from before we had the Longhorn Network and ESPN.  It's now all about markets.

I don't see UNC coming in because of basketball.  They don't want to lose that status from the ACC.  I actually think Virginia Tech would be a great choice, as well as Oklahoma.  Another possibility would be Virginia, but they're a bit of a bottom dweller in all sports.

[Paelos]

You didn't answer my question  

Markets are funny. The reason Alabama is different from the Carolinas is because they have no professional sports and only two college programs of note. That and everyone's insane for one or the other.

The Carolinas have UNC, SC, Duke, NCState, Clemson, an NHL team, an NFL team, and an NBA team. They also have 16 minor league baseball teams.

The point is, if you pick up Bama and Auburn, you own Alabama. If you pick up two of any of those five colleges, you by no means own the Carolinas. There's too many other things going on.

[caladein]

But who wants to own Alabama?

[ghost]

But who wants to own Alabama?

I hear from Nick Saban that it's quite lucrative to own Alabama.