2021 College Football Thread

[unclevlad]

13 hours ago, Pariah said:

Texas A&M has been effectively irrelevant since they joined the $EC. Perhaps renewing the annual rivalry with Texas will change that back.

 

Doubtful.  I don't think it's likely but they may choose to leave the SEC for something like C-USA.  The SEC is bloated right now.

 

The Big 12 is flailing;  the letter to ESPN was just more evidence, IMO.  It's clearly too late to do anything for this year;  it might be too late for '22.  The lead time for a lot of things is pretty long.  That said, the Big 12 is likely a dead man walking;  it might survive by drawing in new members to be a secondary football conference, primary basketball conference, but that's hard to pull off and probably not stable.  I don't expect the Big 12 to still be around a year from now.

 

Mentioned this earlier, but another point...larger-scale shifts are more likely.  The SEC alone might have enough muscle to force changes in the core structure...they're pushing to be a super-conference of their own.  If they could get the Big 10, you largely have it.  Who else is left?  The ACC..Clemson, but that's largely it in the last 10 years.  Pac-12 has become Mr. Irrelevant for the most part.

[Pariah]

An interesting proposal:

 

The Texas Conference: A Plan to Save College Football in Our State

[unclevlad]

Yeah, the author notes that it'd be almost impossible to pull off, and probably not viable...there isn't national appeal, there's national anti-appeal.  Texas is rather disliked by many.

 

But it's not the worst idea I've ever heard.

 

I wonder if a new Southwest Conference might be feasible.  But the problem to me is, there's the significant Texas schools like Baylor and Houston and a few others, but in the neighboring states...who else could you get?  Oklahoma State, sure.  New Mexico has no schools worth pursuing.  Arkansas and Louisiana...the biggest names are positioned quite nicely now.  The Ragin' Cajuns in Lafayette?  They actually did break into the top 25 last year...but for the first time.

 

I think you'd have a hard time calling any such conference a second-tier conference.

[Pariah]

R.I.P. Mr. Bowden

 

 

Bobby Bowden dies at 91: Florida State coach built a Hall of Fame career and championship program from scratch

[unclevlad]

So...remember last year, when Scott Frost and Nebraska were all up in arms about NCAA and conference restrictions?

 

Reported today that the program's being investigated for breaking the pandemic protocols with improper practice and training sessions...and there's proof Frost was there.  May be a blame game building;  Frost is asserting "they were all approved by higher-ups"...but the higher-up would be the athletic director...who resigned in June.  

 

Obviously nothing's proven yet, but this is definitely quite pungent....and it's not rose attar.

 

Then again, this is still the NCAA, so we'll be hip-deep in the 2024 presidential race before they do anything.

[Pariah]

News like this is almost enough to make me feel sorry for Nebraska.

 

Almost.

[Pariah]

Local team Weber State is ranked #6 in the preseason FCS poll behind Sam Houston, James Madison, South Dakota State, North Dakota State, and Delaware. The Wildcats are one slot ahead of Southern Illinois, who booted them from the playoffs this spring.

 

The Big Sky has four other teams in the preseason Top 25: Montana (9), Eastern Washington (11), Montana State (12), and UC Davis (23).

 

The Western Athletic Conference, one-time home to storied programs like BYU, Utah, Boise State, TCU, and Air Force, returns to football this year after dropping the sport in 2012. The league will feature six teams playing at the FCS level: Abilene Christian, Dixie State, Lamar, Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, and Tarleton. 

[Cancer]

They should have let football stay dead, but that may not be a viable option.

[Pariah]

One article I read said that with the influx of teams from Texas, the WAC was planning to make a push for FBS status in the next couple of years. 

 

Where that leaves schools like U of Seattle and Utah Valley, which don't have football teams, I don't know.

 

(One of the jokes around these parts is "Why doesn't Utah Valley University have a football team? Because if UVU had a football team, BYU would want one, too!")

[Cancer]

Frankly, Seattle U would much rather be in the WCC (which is entirely non-football, as well as all faith-based universities), but they don't bring enough bulge to the table for them to be accepted.

[unclevlad]

Everyone is reporting that there are talks ongoing between the Big 10, Pac 12, and ACC...translation:  everyone meaningful NOT in the realigned SEC, really...about some form of coordination.  Not combining into a single, unwieldy conference, but some kind of looser alliance.  Details are non-existent, and yes, everything IS that vague at this point.  THe key point would seem to be to ensure a counterweight to the SEC should the NCAA collapse...or even sooner, for football.  The SEC went from the 800 pound gorilla to King Kong

[Pariah]

Seattle U would be a great fit for the WCC, I think. Regional rivalries with Gonzaga and Portland seem like no-brainers. 

[Cancer]

The problem was that when Seattle returned to Division I status 6-8 years ago, they had not demonstrated that they could be any sort of box office draw, so they were not bringing any revenue stream into the conference with them.  Division I being strictly about money, the conference did not embrace them at that time. 

[Pariah]

According to Dave Wannstedt, part of last week's discussion between the B1G, ACC, and PAC included plans for dismembering the carcass of the Big XII. Wannstedt claims to have heard talk of the following moves:

 

* Kansas and Iowa State to the Big Ten.

* West Virginia to the ACC.

* Oklahoma State and Kansas State to the PAC-12.

 

Makes sense. Kansas and Iowa State are both AAU schools and fit the geography. West Virginia may not exactly fit in academically, culturally, or even necessarily geographically with the rest of the ACC, but Louisville is already in, so why not? Oklahoma State and Kansas State might seem like a stretch for the PAC-12, until you consider that Colorado is already part of that conference and both of those states border Colorado.

 

So where does that leave Texas Tech, TCU, and Baylor? Probably the American. The only other reasonable option is the Mountain West, and I'm 99.7% confident that TCU doesn't want to go back there. I'm not convinced the Mountain West would even want them back. They might be interested in Texas Tech or Baylor, though.

 

Which brings up another question: where does this leave the Mountain West? Probably exactly where they are now. There aren't really any other logical candidates to try and recruit to expand the conference. I think there are probably still too many hurt feelings over BYU's exit for that to be a possibility, even if BYU wanted to go back (which they don't), and there's really no one else in the vicinity worth bringing in. Yes, I suppose you could talk about UTEP and or New Mexico State, but I don't know that either of those adds value to the conference. If North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Montana, or Montana State decided they wanted to move up to FBS, the Mountain West might make a good landing spot. But I don't see that happening anytime soon. (I remember reading somewhere that the Montana State legislature stipulated that Montana, a perennial FCS power, cannot move up to FBS unless Montana State comes up with them.) University of Idaho tried to move up when Boise State did, but was unable to maintain any kind of conference affiliation. They're now back in the Big Sky.

 

I've seen a couple of articles suggesting that the PAC-12 is going to announce some kind of expansion by the end of the week. I guess we'll see.

[Cancer]

Meanwhile, the guy who is still offended by the admission of the two Arizona schools (Arizona?!? That doesn't touch the Pacific!) into the Pac-8 right after he graduated from Washington is flat-out (and yes, it's "Flat?!?  OUT!!") mortified at the idea of flatland places in Iowa and Kansas being in the conference.

[Iuz the Evil]

On the up side, if you care at all about College basketball (which I do not), the PAC would reign supreme.

 

It’s kind of weird, the shockwaves are really jacking up any illusion of the traditions which college football has clung to. The money is in full display, which at least is honest…

 

and I can’t wait until they lace ‘em up this season.

[unclevlad]

Ehhh...OK State and K-State wouldn't add that much to the Pac-12 in basketball.  They're reasonably good teams most years, but not enough to elevate a conference at all.  And overall, the Pac-12 has been mediocre *at best* in the 21st century.  Conference has 5 Final Four appearances, total...4 by UCLA.  2021 was a good year for the conference, yes, but they've been completely out of the tournament by the end of the 2nd round in a few different years recently, IIRC.

 

I also don't see that they fit, but as noted, that hardly matters.  Do they add value to the Pac-12?  That DOES matter, and I don't really see it.

 

But....yeah, the Texas and OU move was the latest money grab, and this time I think also a power grab.  The NCAA is so shaky right now.  The SEC wants to dominate any post-NCAA college sports world.  And that's leaving everyone else to scramble.

 

Kickoff is 2 days away, altho the teams playing are barely recognizable by anyone not on their campuses....  The real "opening day" is Thursday the 2nd...looks like 16 games, leading into the big bash next weekend.

 

 

 

[Iuz the Evil]

1 hour ago, unclevlad said:

Ehhh...OK State and K-State wouldn't add that much to the Pac-12 in basketball.  They're reasonably good teams most years, but not enough to elevate a conference at all.  And overall, the Pac-12 has been mediocre *at best* in the 21st century.  Conference has 5 Final Four appearances, total...4 by UCLA.  2021 was a good year for the conference, yes, but they've been completely out of the tournament by the end of the 2nd round in a few different years recently, IIRC.

 

I also don't see that they fit, but as noted, that hardly matters.  Do they add value to the Pac-12?  That DOES matter, and I don't really see it.

 

But....yeah, the Texas and OU move was the latest money grab, and this time I think also a power grab.  The NCAA is so shaky right now.  The SEC wants to dominate any post-NCAA college sports world.  And that's leaving everyone else to scramble.

 

Kickoff is 2 days away, altho the teams playing are barely recognizable by anyone not on their campuses....  The real "opening day" is Thursday the 2nd...looks like 16 games, leading into the big bash next weekend.

 

 

 

Oh yeah, K State isn’t what I was thinking… was reading it while distracted and thought Kansas. UCLA + Kansas = basketball domination, but that’s not the case.

[Pariah]

Fire breaks out at Ole Miss' Vaught-Hemingway Stadium

[Michael Hopcroft]

20 hours ago, Pariah said:

Fire breaks out at Ole Miss' Vaught-Hemingway Stadium

Calling Mississippi's football program a dumpster fire should not be so literal. 

 

And sooner or later they will stop calling the program and the school "Ole Miss". The term dates back to the days of slavery, when the slaveholder's wife was usually referred to as "the Ole Miss" by their slaves. Originally Mississippi was a segregated school -- racial minorities couldn't get in -- and the term was used mockingly. 

[unclevlad]

The "Ole MIss" connotation you mention is probably not blatant enough to raise eyebrows, but eventually...I suppose I could see it.

 

Great joy...Scott Frost and Nebraska lose to an Illinois team that's one of the consistent cellar-dwellers in the Big 10.  4-5 in conference in 2019, but that was the high-water mark.  3 wins one other year...otherwise, 2 or less every year for the last 10.

[Pariah]

BYU has heard this song and dance before ... the last time the Big XII was rumored to be 'considering' expansion. I'll believe it when the contracts are signed.

 

Big 12 expansion: League wants four teams with focus on BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF, per report

[Pariah]

Heh. We have our first FCS vs. FBS upset of the season:

 

Eastern Washington stuns UNLV 35-33 in double-OT opener

 

I fully expect to see a second one tonight when South Dakota plays Kansas. Colorado State might also be on upset alert against South Dakota State (an FCS finalist in the spring).

[unclevlad]

23 minutes ago, Pariah said:

Heh. We have our first FCS vs. FBS upset of the season:

 

Eastern Washington stuns UNLV 35-33 in double-OT opener

 

I fully expect to see a second one tonight when South Dakota plays Kansas. Colorado State might also be on upset alert against South Dakota State (an FCS finalist in the spring).

 

The gap between the best of FCS and the low end of FBS is pretty small.  Article points out, this is the 4th time in 10 years that EWU's done this.

And it won't be the second, it'd be the third.  UC Davis beat Tulsa.  It turns out, this is really not newsworthy...which surprises me a bunch, too.  But:

https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/fcs-wins-vs-fbs-teams-all-time-victories-upsets

 

Forget 2020;  the matchups barely happened and nothing was normal.  But 2019's 3 cases were the aberration;  there've generally been a LOT more every year, for the last decade.

 

I'd guess that the strong favorite would be at least one of those games will see the FCS school winning.

[Pariah]

10 minutes ago, unclevlad said:

And it won't be the second, it'd be the third.  UC Davis beat Tulsa.  It turns out, this is really not newsworthy...which surprises me a bunch, too. 

 

Oooh, I'd missed that. Good catch!