2011 College Football

[01101010]

Florida will block FSU.

Meh... FSU, AFAIK, didn't provide much of an obstacle when Miami moved into the ACC. Besides, I doubt FL alone would prevent anything. Now, FL and UGA... 

Bottom line though, all this realignment is just a sign that the end is nigh for these conferences as we know them. Very soon we'll be presented with some template for the super-conferences in college football. Which I odubt will be that groundbreaking and will have a bit more influence on Hoops at first. However, the super-conferences in football, I truly believe, will also lead the way for a football playoff system and a true champion outside of some mystery math computation. I like that...

[Paelos]

UGA wouldn't block it. They would want someone else to compete with Florida on their recruits so we can draw a fence around our state. Georgia is one of the top 4 states in recruiting in the nation.

[ghost]

I don't think Florida would block it.  FSU was almost admitted back in the 90s.  They chose to go to the ACC instead. 

[Paelos]

I like FSU as a program, but I don't think they are up to the challenge unless they get in. It would be years before they competed for the title.

[ghost]

I like FSU as a program, but I don't think they are up to the challenge unless they get in. It would be years before they competed for the title.

I'm not sure why you would think that.  It might be decades, in reality, if they join the SEC because it's been years since 1999 when they last competed for the title while being in the weak ACC. 

[Paelos]

Well part of the problem is that FSU can't recruit in Florida when kids want to play in the SEC.

[01101010]

Well part of the problem is that FSU can't recruit in Florida when kids want to play in the SEC.

Or those kids that take their talents to South Beach to get paid! 

FSU has been struggling in the ACC but really only in the last 5 years. It might take a year or two, but not decaded. Saban brought LSU back into the fold in 2 years recruiting and working with DiNardo's cast offs. And you'd have to figure, FSU would play in the SEC East which is good, but not SECWest good. US.Car. and FL right now, and FL is a little suspect and USC is one lopsided loss away from a Spurrier meltdown. So really, FSU could probably hang around in the East. And everyone can get lucky in the SEC championship game.

[Paelos]

UGA is probably further away from an SEC title than FSU would be if they joined tomorrow.

[ghost]

Let's look at Rivals recruiting rankings for FSU:

2002-  4
2003-  21
2004-  3
2005-  2
2006-  3
2007-  21
2008-  9
2009-  7
2010-  10
2011-  2
2012-  2

Average-  7.6

Now, for kicks and grins, let's look at Florida and Miamuh over the same time frame:

Floriduh

2002-  20
2003-  2
2004-  7
2005-  15
2006-  2
2007-  1
2008-  3
2009-  11
2010-  2
2011-  12
2012-  4

Average 7.1

Miamuh

2002-  8
2003-  5
2004-  4
2005-  7
2006-  14
2007-  19
2008-  5
2009-  15
2010-  16
2011-  36
2012-  7

Average-  12.4 (throw out 2011 outlier and average is 10)

So you can see that FSU only does marginally worse than Floriduh in recruiting and has done spectacularly shitty in a shitty football conference.  Well, shitty for the level of recruiting. 

[Paelos]

Look at the head to head battles last year. It's a better indicator.

Jacoby Brissett, Jabari Gorman, Javares McRoy, Ja'Juan Story all were 4star recruits that had offers from FSU and went to Florida.

Kelvan Benjamin, Devonta Freeman, Rashad Greene, Bobby Hart, Timmy Jernigan, Nile Lawrence, Josue Matias, Giorgio Newberry, Nick O'Leary, Nick Waisome, James Wilder, Karlos Williams all chose FSU over offers from Florida.

FSU kicked the shit out of Florida last year in the recruiting battles. Part of that is that coach Jimbo can recruit better than ole' Bobby, and part of it is that Florida isn't playing well post-Tebow. That's only a development over the last year though. Florida knows they can steal recruits from FSU if they stumble, and because Florida won't stay down forever. Add them to the conference and suddenly people don't have to go to Florida to play big boy football.

[ghost]

They may have lost some in head-to-head recruiting battles but that doesn't really mean anything if you've come away with the better class in the end.  Losing a few recruiting battles certainly doesn't excuse them from finishing with barely .500 seasons.  They play in the ACC for fuck's sake.  This is what we're talking about here, unless I missed the point-  the fact that I don't believe that FSU can compete in the SEC has little to do with their recruiting prowess.  They've outrecruited everybody but Florida and maybe LSU.  On that alone they should be able to compete in the SEC very well, but their coaching has been very suspect in the past 10 years.  Bowden was run out of town 10 years too late and I'm not sure Fisher is up to the task. 

[Paelos]

I think Bowden was the obvious problem. Fisher is fine, but he needs time to get out from under the losing culture in FSU, still I'd take West Virginia over FSU in a heartbeat.

[ghost]

I think Bowden was the obvious problem. Fisher is fine, but he needs time to get out from under the losing culture in FSU, still I'd take West Virginia over FSU in a heartbeat.

For the SEC?  I think that's crazy.  Florida State is a much better choice to join the conference.  I do, however, like WVU a lot better than most seem to.  I think they've got a great upside.  I say take both.  And then a fourth team to go with them like Maryland.

[Paelos]

Maryland? Pass.

I'd take both but I'd grab Clemson.

[ghost]

Maryland? Pass.

I'd take both but I'd grab Clemson.

Clemson would also be fine, although I think UGA and South Carolina would argue more about them than Florida would argue about FSU.  I think Maryland is an option due to the DC market and markets is really what drives all this unless you can get a team the caliber of FSU. 

[01101010]

They may have lost some in head-to-head recruiting battles but that doesn't really mean anything if you've come away with the better class in the end.  Losing a few recruiting battles certainly doesn't excuse them from finishing with barely .500 seasons.  They play in the ACC for fuck's sake.  This is what we're talking about here, unless I missed the point-  the fact that I don't believe that FSU can compete in the SEC has little to do with their recruiting prowess.  They've outrecruited everybody but Florida and maybe LSU.  On that alone they should be able to compete in the SEC very well, but their coaching has been very suspect in the past 10 years.  Bowden was run out of town 10 years too late and I'm not sure Fisher is up to the task. 

Well technically they had a few bad years (4) two of which had their wins vacated. But during those years, the ACC was a tad stronger than you might give it credit. BC had a good run then and so did Clemson. And GATech was pretty impressive with that idiot triple option hit... and there is always VaTech. Knock out 2006-2007 and FSU has been in the thick of it save for 2009. Regionally, FSU makes more sense... but TCU to the Big East and OK/TX to the PAC?  Well fuck the regional issue... seems conferences are brand names, not tied to area.

[Paelos]

Maryland's useless. Clemson is the big dog in the ACC in terms of fans. The NY times article rates Maryland at ~500,000 fans as opposed to Clemson's 1.8M

Grab West Virginia, Clemson, and A&M, and you have either the #1 or #2 school in every conference market surrounding you coming to the SEC.

[ghost]

With a team like Maryland they aren't going for a quality team, they're going for a market.  I'm reading on my Texas board that Missouri has an SEC invite on the table.

[01101010]

With a team like Maryland they aren't going for a quality team, they're going for a market.  I'm reading on my Texas board that Missouri has an SEC invite on the table.

 

I'd much rather them get swallowed up by the Big Ten (12, 14, wtf ever #)... but I am an elitist pig.

[ghost]

Honestly, does it really matter for LSU.  Unless you're losing to Kentucky they're all kind of the same.   

My personal druthers would be an SEC that added A and M, UT, OU and one other.  Missouri would be just fine. 

[01101010]

Honestly, does it really matter for LSU.  Unless you're losing to Kentucky they're all kind of the same.   

My personal druthers would be an SEC that added A and M, UT, OU and one other.  Missouri would be just fine. 

Well even a win against Kentucky hurts when Kentucky is 3-8 at the end of the season. Stupid ass strength of schedule sorta fucks things up when you start adding all these "lesser" teams to a conference, AND you have to play all those teams in your conference. This is why I really think this super-conference chatter is actually good for ridding the system of the BCS fuckstupid math calculations and we drop into a playoff system. Funny part is you get to a critical mass with these super-conferences in that you can't have that many teams given an 11 game season without killing non-conf games entirely. As it stands, adding TA&M and Missouri to the West blows the conf up to 7 conference games each leaving 5 outside - doable, but if your conf is filled with cupcakes, that does nothing for your chances with the computers, just ask Boise St. Of course, then the remedy is to split the super conf up to schedule those schedule booster teams. . . which all gets me stabby thinking about the circle jerk it becomes.

[Ingmar]

7 conference games isn't really very many.

[01101010]

7 conference games isn't really very many.

In a season of 12 games?

[Ingmar]

We played 8 for decades in an 11 game schedule in the Pac-10.

[ghost]

I personally love the BCS/poll circle jerk.  It's so much more interesting than the NCAA basketball tournament.  I love hearing the whining and bitching.  I think you could safely get rid of 50% of bowls though.  That is not entertainment. 

[Paelos]

I personally love the BCS/poll circle jerk.  It's so much more interesting than the NCAA basketball tournament.  I love hearing the whining and bitching.  I think you could safely get rid of 50% of bowls though.  That is not entertainment. 

Gamblers like myself disagree. 

[ghost]

You don't strike me as a gambler. 

[Ingmar]

Gamblers are like the only people who truly give a shit about what happens in college football outside their own team/conference. The evidence was all there right in front of us!

[ghost]

I'm not a gambler and I care.  But then again, I'm a weirdo.  This board is full of weirdos though, so I'm still not convinced Paelos is really a gambler. 

[Paelos]

I do in fact bet on college football. I'm in a college football pool. And I will put $5 on various games at a time.

I am in no way trying to make money doing it. It's purely entertainment and the knowledge that I can pick well.

So it's like the conservative CPA version of "gambling"  


Plus my father and I compare notes and have a running rivalry about who is better at handicapping the sports.

Also, I watch full baseball games, I'm obviously a weirdo.

[Ingmar]

Nah, that last part is perefctly normal. 

[Abagadro]

Hah. PAC-12 told Texas to go fuck itself and in the process shut the door on everyone else:

PAC-12 AFFIRMS DECISION NOT TO EXPAND

WALNUT CREEK, Calif.-- In light of the widespread speculation about potential scenarios for Conference re-alignment, the Pac-12 Presidents and Chancellors have affirmed their decision to remain a 12-team conference. Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott said, “after careful review we have determined that it is in the best interests of our member institutions, student-athletes and fans to remain a 12-team conference. While we have great respect for all of the institutions that have contacted us, and certain expansion proposals were financially attractive, we have a strong conference structure and culture of equality that we are committed to preserve. With new landmark TV agreements and plans to launch our innovative television networks, we are going to focus solely on these great assets, our strong heritage and the bright future in front of us.”

[Paelos]

Aka Longhorn network didn't want to play ball because it's an ESPN property.

[Ingmar]

\o/

[ghost]

The Longhorn Network is a piece of shit.  They can't even get it into cable packages in San Antonio.  And lots of dedicated Longhorn fans are making it out to be some sort of awesome national branding tool.  Fuck, who is going to watch it that isn't already a Texas fan?  Even the Big Ten network is pushing the fringes of viability, in my book.