2010 NCAA Football Thread

[Lights Out]

UConn's only been playing FBS football for ten years. Bad example.

30,000 and 40,000-seat stadiums pale in comparison to the likes of Alabama's, Ohio State's, Michigan's, etc. stadiums, which are over 100,000 seats. All those ticket sales allow those schools to have towering football budgets.

Pesky things, those facts are.

[HedleyLamarr]

How many concessions have the non-BCS conferences made since the inception of the BCS?

Just the fact that they're non-AQ conferences alone is a pretty major concession (and a forced concession). They also have been forced to concede in recruiting and football budgets because schools in non-AQ conferences simply don't make as much as AQ schools and don't have automatic bids. None of these concessions are fair, by the way, and smack of collusion by the AQ conferences.

The AQ/non-AQ thing is absurd. Could you imagine the NFL holding the NFC West to impossibly-high standards just to have a chance of sending a playoff team or two? Why do we accept this bullcrap in college football?

Like I said...the non-BCS conference schools bring very little, if nothing, to the proverbial table, except for one or two good football teams. They don't bring in money, fans, viewership, etc. The non-BCS schools are the homeless bums that pester you for beer money, clothes money, food money, shelter money...they want to think they're equals to the big boys when they clearly aren't.

Meanwhile, the BCS conferences have given the non-BCS access to the best bowl games. The BCS conference have given the non-BCS schools more money than they'd ever dream of making. The NCAA has given the small schools a better chance for success by limiting schools to 85 scholarships. These are way bigger concessions than Athletic Department budgets.

TCU's in the Rose Bowl. TCU has collected TV money that the University of Texas generated. TCU has gotten players that the University of Texas used to stockpile when recruiting wasn't so limited. Seems to me they're living a lot better life than they used to.

As a Boise State fan, which option makes you the happiest?

1. The current BCS format.

2. FBS returns to it's old format of bowl selections.

3. A NCAA-run playoff. (Remember, if this happens, the NCAA also gets to make the schedules, which means every non-BCS team....Boise State included...will eventually starve to death, financially-speaking.)

TCU is also in one of the country's biggest media markets - Dallas/Fort Worth (DMA #5), which helps their ratings and their appeal. They're also now moving up to an AQ conference anyway so it's basically a moot point. Comparable schools like Boise State (DMA #113), Utah (DMA #32), and BYU (considered part of the Salt Lake City market, DMA #32) do not have the luxury of a huge media market for local ratings revenue.

Media markets mean nothing for college football. If they did, the SEC would have been in trouble long ago, with schools in such cities as Starkville, Fayetteville, Tuscaloosa, Oxford, Athens, and Gainesville.

[Lights Out]

As a Boise State fan, which option makes you the happiest?

1. The current BCS format.

2. FBS returns to it's old format of bowl selections.

3. A NCAA-run playoff. (Remember, if this happens, the NCAA also gets to make the schedules, which means every non-BCS team....Boise State included...will eventually starve to death, financially-speaking.)

I prefer the playoff, but the NCAA wouldn't have to make the schedules at all. They should radically restrict the number of unranked and FCS out-of-conference opponents teams can schedule, but the nuts and bolts of scheduling agreements could still be conducted on a school-to-school basis. And with my proposed restrictions in place on cupcake opponents, big schools would be more likely to schedule a Boise State or TCU because they at least make their schedules look better.

Media markets mean nothing for college football. If they did, the SEC would have been in trouble long ago, with schools in such cities as Starkville, Fayetteville, Tuscaloosa, Oxford, Athens, and Gainesville.

The markets for SEC teams are so big (and spread across the whole country) by now that media markets don't mean a thing anymore to them. Non-AQ schools haven't built that kind of following yet.

---

Anyway, completely off-topic, but can we now bury the stereotypes that west-coast college football is "soft" and that the South is the only good region for college football? Take a look at the Heisman nominees: three out of the four are from west-coast schools, and two out of those three are from the PAC-10, a conference that constantly gets hit with the "soft" reputation.

[HedleyLamarr]

As a Boise State fan, which option makes you the happiest?

1. The current BCS format.

2. FBS returns to it's old format of bowl selections.

3. A NCAA-run playoff. (Remember, if this happens, the NCAA also gets to make the schedules, which means every non-BCS team....Boise State included...will eventually starve to death, financially-speaking.)

I prefer the playoff, but the NCAA wouldn't have to make the schedules at all. They should radically restrict the number of unranked and FCS out-of-conference opponents teams can schedule, but the nuts and bolts of scheduling agreements could still be conducted on a school-to-school basis. And with my proposed restrictions in place on cupcake opponents, big schools would be more likely to schedule a Boise State or TCU because they at least make their schedules look better.

Yes, they would. They want the power to control the playoff format and the scheduling. They aren't going to take one without the other. They're about "all things equal" in their eyes. The conference commissioners and school presidents don't want to lose these powers. They'll gladly give up some mega-money that a playoff would bring in order to keep the powers they currently own.

Anyway, completely off-topic, but can we now bury the stereotypes that west-coast college football is "soft" and that the South is the only good region for college football? Take a look at the Heisman nominees: three out of the four are from west-coast schools, and two out of those three are from the PAC-10, a conference that constantly gets hit with the "soft" reputation.

The Heisman is all about stats, with some credit being given towards value to the team. More often than not, these gawdy stats are collected through soft-styles of play.

Look at Colt Brennan. The guy collected a ton of passing yards and TD's in their quirky offense. When he faced an actual defense with a pulse, he got sacked 7 times, zero passing TD's, and was licking his wounds on the bench when the 4th quarter started.

[infrared41]

Anyway, completely off-topic, but can we now bury the stereotypes that west-coast college football is "soft" and that the South is the only good region for college football? Take a look at the Heisman nominees: three out of the four are from west-coast schools, and two out of those three are from the PAC-10, a conference that constantly gets hit with the "soft" reputation.

That could be a decent point if the Heisman meant...well...anything.

[Lights Out]

Well, yeah. If/when Scam Newton wins the Heisman tonight, they might as well throw out the whole part of their guidelines about integrity, because he doesn't have a lick of it. He'll be giving it back in a couple years.

[Seadragon76]

Well, yeah. If/when Scam Newton wins the Heisman tonight, they might as well throw out the whole part of their guidelines about integrity, because he doesn't have a lick of it. He'll be giving it back in a couple years.

Well, time for me to play Devil's Advocate.

The Heisman is about the best player in college football for that season. The whole integrity issue was thrown out the door when Reggie Bush gave back his trophy 5 years after he won it for his issues with the home and whatnot.

It has been proven all season that Cam Newton has been the best player all season long. His performance against Alabama alone was Heisman worthy. I think it's pretty much straightfoward tonight. The real test comes on the 10th of January... If Newton can lead Auburn to the National Championship, you can pretty much throw all the alligations out the window (for at least 5 years)

[Shmee]

While you guys whine at each other about which corner of the country produces the best football, Army/Navy is on CBS right now. It's a game between two teams whose players have a much bigger chance of going to Afghanistan than the NFL draft. Enjoy that for a few hours.

For anyone who's watching it, I think CBS really outdid themselves on the pregame video this year. The stories they chose to feature about former Army and Navy players was great, and particularly cool to see UFC fighter Brian Stann make the cut. Stann is a former Midshipman linebacker and WEC champion who won a Silver Star for his service in the Marine Corps in Iraq. He coordinated air and tank support for six days while his platoon was surrounded and being shelled by enemy forces. All 42 Marines in his service survived the assault.

[Lights Out]

His performance against Alabama alone was Heisman worthy.

If you're going to call someone Heisman-worthy based on one comeback win, Kellen Moore's comeback against Virginia Tech was just as good if not better (in terms of the excitement factor). Same goes for Andrew Luck's comeback against USC.

Reggie Bush returning the Heisman did hurt the integrity of the award, that's a fact. However, I think it would be stupid to give the Heisman the very same year to someone with cheating and stealing on his record who has been followed by pay-for-play accusations, especially when there's three other deserving players in the running who don't have that aura of untrustworthiness around them.

In other news, the All-American Team came out, and Scam Newton isn't on it.

[Viper]

Well, yeah. If/when Scam Newton wins the Heisman tonight, they might as well throw out the whole part of their guidelines about integrity, because he doesn't have a lick of it. He'll be giving it back in a couple years.

Well, time for me to play Devil's Advocate.

The Heisman is about the best player in college football for that season. The whole integrity issue was thrown out the door when Reggie Bush gave back his trophy 5 years after he won it for his issues with the home and whatnot.

It has been proven all season that Cam Newton has been the best player all season long. His performance against Alabama alone was Heisman worthy. I think it's pretty much straightfoward tonight. The real test comes on the 10th of January... If Newton can lead Auburn to the National Championship, you can pretty much throw all the alligations out the window (for at least 5 years)

Exactly. The Heisman Trophy's integrity is a direct function of that of Bowl Subdivision football in general. If the FBS's integrity is already shot, which it is, then by definition so is the Heisman's. For Newton not to win the Heisman because of the scandal surrounding him would be nothing more than a textbook case of locking the stable door after the horse has already bolted.

And as I already mentioned farther up the thread, the Newtons, the Heisman and the FBS all richly deserve one another.

[JayJaxon]

I love the Army/Navy game. It's so awesome watching it in Iraq with Soldiers and other Marines and Navy personnel. What I like most about it in country is the fact that the Marines and Army cats actually get along more during the game than any other time we are together. We laugh and swap stories and sometimes you will find people that are from the same area as you. The last time I watched it with a bunch of other military was in Kuwait in 2008. A bunch of the Army guys watching with us were from Fort Stewart which is right next to where I grew up. It's like Veterans Day for us all over again and it's really cool.

Here's to ya Buc!

[DG_YouKnowWhatThatMeans]

In other news, the All-American Team came out, and Scam Newton isn't on it.

Oh, I get it. "Scam" instead of "Cam." Good one.

Repeating Viper, but this was a pretty stupid decision. Cam Newton -- to me as a casual observer -- is as good as Vince Young was when he was with Texas, or Michael Vick when he was in Virginia Tech. There's no more exciting, or dominant, player in college football this season and he absolutely should be recognized for his achievements on the field.

What happens off the field, to me, is more an indictment of the college football system than any one player. If you think Newtown is the only player paid to play, you're crazy.

[Panhead1]

Rats. My Kentucky Wildcats are bowling against Penn State, and we won't have Mike Hartline on the field. He got suspended. Well, at least Wildcat Nation can see what we'll have in Morgan Newton for next year.

[MattF]

Rats. My Kentucky Wildcats are bowling against Penn State, and we won't have Mike Hartline on the field. He got suspended. Well, at least Wildcat Nation can see what we'll have in Morgan Newton for next year.

Penn State is playing Florida.

[dfwabel]

TCU is also in one of the country's biggest media markets - Dallas/Fort Worth (DMA #5), which helps their ratings and their appeal. They're also now moving up to an AQ conference anyway so it's basically a moot point. Comparable schools like Boise State (DMA #113), Utah (DMA #32), and BYU (considered part of the Salt Lake City market, DMA #32) do not have the luxury of a huge media market for local ratings revenue.

Also, non-AQ schools are generally smaller schools. Smaller schools means less seats at the stadium. Less seats mean less tickets sold, and less tickets sold means less money being taken in by the athletic department. This puts small non-AQ schools at a disadvantage in spending when compared to large schools. Every college in America isn't going to be the size of an Ohio State or Alabama, but that doesn't make the small colleges somehow worse at football or undeserving of a chance at a national title. Small colleges certainly shouldn't be told to shut up and accept discrimination.

As 'Headly" has stated, media size does not matter since we cannot compare local media contracts like we do in MLB. TCU is in a market in which Texas, aTm, Baylor, SMU, Tech, and UNT all have games aired on radio. Plus, they also have to compete with the Cowboys, Rangers, Mavericks, Stars, NASCAR, and horse racing for the sports dollar as well. GaTech, Northwestern, Miami and to a lesser extent, Vandy are in the same boat in terms of local relevancy. They have to work much harder than to stay in the mind of the people, they have to take more of a "minor league baseball" approach, or sell booze at games.

The difference in the budgets does not come from local media dollars, it comes from university commitment. Heck, neither patter or Coach Fran had TV shows.

UConn's only been playing FBS football for ten years. Bad example.

30,000 and 40,000-seat stadiums pale in comparison to the likes of Alabama's, Ohio State's, Michigan's, etc. stadiums, which are over 100,000 seats. All those ticket sales allow those schools to have towering football budgets.

Pesky things, those facts are.

TCU's Amon Carter stadium held 44,000 before it the west stand was demolished last Sunday, when it demolished. they will come back with a 40,000 seat stadium in 2013. GaTech also reduced the capacity of Bobby Dodd. The athletic department can fund creative ways to still have revenue with a smaller venue, they just need to work on it and not go into a corner and cry about it. Ticket fees per seat is one easy way. If you wanted to go to the Rose Bowl and were not a TCU season ticket holder, the fee was $100/ticket. They still sold their 20k allotment.

[FiddySicks]

In other news, the All-American Team came out, and Scam Newton isn't on it.

Oh, I get it. "Scam" instead of "Cam." Good one.

Repeating Viper, but this was a pretty stupid decision. Cam Newton -- to me as a casual observer -- is as good as Vince Young was when he was with Texas, or Michael Vick when he was in Virginia Tech. There's no more exciting, or dominant, player in college football this season and he absolutely should be recognized for his achievements on the field.

What happens off the field, to me, is more an indictment of the college football system than any one player. If you think Newtown is the only player paid to play, you're crazy.

This is exactly how I feel about the whole situation. College sports as a whole, especially football, are run very poorly. In fact, it's such an incredibly poor setup in football that I really wouldn't be totally surprised to see it scaled back somewhat within the next decade. Eventually somebody will figure out a way to get players to play for their leagues over playing college football, and if they're ever able to scrape together the money, I could see a league like the UFL become to the NFL what the NBDL is to the NBA. If these players are really good enough (in some cases) to go straight to the NFL out of high school, then why in the world would they, not get paid for their services, worry about recruiting violations, go to classes, and everything else a college player has to deal with for three full years if they didn't have to?

[MC2]

It's REALLY bothering me how all of the analysts are basically saying Newton already won.

[TFoA]

Word on the street is that the following coaching transactions have taken place:

1) Bobby Petrino signs a new deal w/ Arkansas. 7 years, $3.56M a year. Also includes longevity bonuses totalling $725K if he stays there throughout the entire contract, and a non-compete clause with the entire SEC. Arkansas actually figured out how to keep this guy to stay in one place: Make sure he doesn't jump ship within conference, and pay him just for staying.

2) Now-former Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp is the new head coach at Florida. That sound you hear is me breathing a sigh of relief because IT'S NOT DAN MULLEN.

[JayJaxon]

Wow, they actually constructed a contract to keep the weasel in Arkansas huh? They can keep him.

[dfwabel]

Word on the street is that the following coaching transactions have taken place:

1) Bobby Petrino signs a new deal w/ Arkansas. 7 years, $3.56M a year. Also includes longevity bonuses totalling $725K if he stays there throughout the entire contract, and a non-compete clause with the entire SEC. Arkansas actually figured out how to keep this guy to stay in one place: Make sure he doesn't jump ship within conference, and pay him just for staying.

2) Now-former Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp is the new head coach at Florida. That sound you hear is me breathing a sigh of relief because IT'S NOT DAN MULLEN.

That TIS the word on the street. He was making $900K at taxes this season. Since he was "coach in waiting" at Texas, he was to earn $2MM if Mack retired this year, $2.25M if Mack retired after next season. Plus, here is no buyout clause for him to become a head coach.

If true, nice work Jeremy Foley.

Aside: Luck, James, and Moore are very homely looking in suits. If they were not star players, they would never get any on campus.