NCAA Football 2012 Season Catch-All

Kansas is trying so hard to be Notre Dame West that I have to hop on the Notre Dame bandwagon. Plus, I really, really want them to knock off the SEC.

So, how many weeks will the NCAA expect players to practice and prepare for the National Championship Game? It's right around the corner, right?

Weis can be a jerk, but he did a nice thing recently by his old players. He sent Kelly a note last week before the USC game congratulating him and talking about the seniors, the players Weis had recruited:

Brian Kelly wrote:

I got a wonderful note from Charlie last week. It was heartfelt and talked about the seniors, wishing them the best. It was really a terrific note from Charlie. Very classy.

firesloth wrote:

Weis can be a jerk, but he did a nice thing recently by his old players. He sent Kelly a note last week before the USC game congratulating him and talking about the seniors, the players Weis had recruited:

Brian Kelly wrote:

I got a wonderful note from Charlie last week. It was heartfelt and talked about the seniors, wishing them the best. It was really a terrific note from Charlie. Very classy.

Weiss has been 100% the polar opposite of what I thought he would be like. He has been open and honest with the press and fans. He has brought in folks and gave them the freedom to their jobs. It was obviously a poor season from Kansas, but they improved all year long and fought hard until the end.

For last Jayhawk home game, Weiss offered to buy a ticket for any student that wanted to come to the game, in an effort to fill the stands for Senior Day. He started a tradition of having the team go to the student section after games to sing the alma mater with fans. He has sincerely worked hard at creating, not just a better team, but a better college football atmosphere in all of the right ways.

I wish the ND guys that came panned out better (especially Crist), but they all really helped lay the foundation of the kind of program Weiss envisions, which mimics what he loved about Notre Dame.

Jayhawker wrote:

So, how many weeks will the NCAA expect players to practice and prepare for the National Championship Game? It's right around the corner, right?

There is literally an exact number of practices teams are allowed for bowl games. Not sure what it is, but I think it's a bit more than a week's worth.

Fedaykin98 wrote:
Jayhawker wrote:

So, how many weeks will the NCAA expect players to practice and prepare for the National Championship Game? It's right around the corner, right?

There is literally an exact number of practices teams are allowed for bowl games. Not sure what it is, but I think it's a bit more than a week's worth.

I'm sure there is. But the absolute worst part of the bowl system verus playoffs are the long layoffs the top teams have before playing.

Jayhawker wrote:

I'm sure there is. But the absolute worst part of the bowl system verus playoffs are the long layoffs the top teams have before playing.

True, except: it's about 3-4 weeks before final exams at most places. If they didn't have that time off, most of the players wouldn't be able to make good enough grades to be able to continue to play. Hell, I wouldn't have been able to if I were completely distracted and traveling for the two weeks preceding finals.

Which makes me wonder how they'll do the playoffs. I bet they do it around the New Year, as they currently do.

On the other hand, I'm sure it all depends on which path gives them more money rather than a chance to study for finals. (Although, I'd bet many university presidents will balk if they try to put the playoffs on top of finals. Most still have *some* integrity...)

Whats the chance that Rose takes Oregon over furd/fUCLA winner? Honestly seeing either of those two teams makes me sick to my stomach.. rather Oregon just keep going to the rose until Cal can get there in 2080. Ugh.. i know its impossible, just throwing it out there.

ND does probably get it all, but they get no other bowl revenue from conference mates, and in non-bowl years, get nothing.

Now, many bowls are money-losing propositions for schools, anyway.

i38warhawk wrote:

Last year when Alabama won the SEC recieved all(since it was all SEC teams) of the $21.2 million payout, which it split 13 ways (this year it would be 15). Meaning the home office and every member school received $1.42 million. The playing schools get some travel allowances to cover prep/travel expenses and pocket a slight profit. UF AD said when Florida won it in 2007 the profit was $47,000. So I was wondering if Notre Dame gets to keep the entire bowl pay out?

Not any more. They did when they went to a bowl in Weis' first year (and got walloped by OSU). That was about $15 million (which they put into student need scholarships and a fund for the library...not bad!).

Subsequently they made a deal with the BCS that shut down the huge payoff for a BCS appearance. Notre Dame now gets ~$1.5M per year whether or not they go to a BCS bowl. If they do get into one, they get an additional ~$4.5M.

So, here is a good discussion of this issue with the details:

The $4.5M is what a second place team from an AQ conference would get. That is, if Bama goes to the Championship and Florida the other BCS bowl, the SEC would take in only ~$4.5M for Florida's trip. (These are all numbers old by a few years.)

While the $1.5M a year for potentially "doing nothing" sounds like a lot, it is ~1/66th of the BCS payout, or essentially the same as any team in one of the BCS conferences gets. There were 65 teams in those BCS conferences when the deal was signed a few years back, with ND being the 66th.

So, they effectively get paid like any other school when they're not in the big BCS bowls, but they get paid less than the full conference payout when they go to a BCS game. Expenses to travel to a bowl are ~$2M.

I don't know what happens financially when the playoff system is adopted.

EDIT: Oops. It seems the non-BCS years give either a $1.1M or $1.3M payout to ND. Not sure about the real numbers, as there are several different values out there, some of which are old.

Last year when Alabama won, the SEC received all(since it was all SEC teams) of the $21.2 million payout, which it split 13 ways (this year it would be 15). Meaning the home office and every member school received $1.42 million. The playing schools get some travel allowances to cover prep/travel expenses and pocket a slight profit. UF AD said when Florida won it in 2007 the profit was $47,000. So I was wondering if Notre Dame gets to keep the entire bowl pay out?

I'm probably the only person in the country that was thinking about this last night.

Oh well, rumor has it Pinkel will resign at Mizzou tomorrow after what has been a mess of season mixed with off the field issues. Add another log to the SEC coaching search fire.

Since College football is over now (right?), figured everyone would be interested in Cal's coaching situation :). We're next on the Peterson watch list with some sort of conversation happening this week. Rumor has it that Peterson who hails from Davis not too far from Cal would only take a Cal or Oregon job, but of course every school puts their name in that rumor. Whats clear is money is not the motivator as he makes around $2MM a year at Boise, UCLA offered him around $4MM, and I'm not sure how much Arkansas threw at him. Even Cal in its financial situation would spring for that and he's probably the one hire that would make the alumni actually shell out more donations. Personally I think its a long shot, but hey, why not dream.

Hue Jackson, former Raiders HC and current Bengals coordinator is also rumored to be speaking with Cal this week.

The other news is that Justin Wilcox, UW's DC is NOT in the running for the Cal position. After the Tosh Lupoi betrayal, we want nothing to do with it.

Also, from the Pac-12 both Wilcox and our own Jeff Tedford are being considered for the now vacant Colorado coaching job.

I really hope Tedford takes a year off to recharge his batteries. He'll be making around $3.5MM for sitting around as part of his buyout next year, let him figure out where he really wants to be and go from there.

So Teddy Bridgewater did break his wrist Sat, and still came back in for a lot of the 2nd half and OT. Apparently he can't take snaps from center, which we noticed Sat whenhe was one hand catching shotgun snaps, so backup Will Stein will play some snaps Thurs. night at Rutgers. But despite the broken wrist, Teddy is going to start and play, for the chance to be BE Champs and get a BCS Bowl bid.

Love his heart. Hope he doesn't hurt himself more.

Carlbear95 wrote:

Since College football is over now (right?), figured everyone would be interested in Cal's coaching situation :). We're next on the Peterson watch list with some sort of conversation happening this week. Rumor has it that Peterson who hails from Davis not too far from Cal would only take a Cal or Oregon job, but of course every school puts their name in that rumor. Whats clear is money is not the motivator as he makes around $2MM a year at Boise, UCLA offered him around $4MM, and I'm not sure how much Arkansas threw at him. Even Cal in its financial situation would spring for that and he's probably the one hire that would make the alumni actually shell out more donations. Personally I think its a long shot, but hey, why not dream.

Hue Jackson, former Raiders HC and current Bengals coordinator is also rumored to be speaking with Cal this week.

The other news is that Justin Wilcox, UW's DC is NOT in the running for the Cal position. After the Tosh Lupoi betrayal, we want nothing to do with it.

Also, from the Pac-12 both Wilcox and our own Jeff Tedford are being considered for the now vacant Colorado coaching job.

I really hope Tedford takes a year off to recharge his batteries. He'll be making around $3.5MM for sitting around as part of his buyout next year, let him figure out where he really wants to be and go from there.

So much to follow, I heard Houston Nutt's name was in the running for Colorado and Boston College. Then just about fell out of my chair laughing. I almost hope someone would hire him because I love the antics. The Boise State forums have a great coaching rumors section that cover all the reasons Peterson won't leave Boise. The current coach was fired Friday evening and the job has been posted. It has to legally be up for ten days before a hire can be made. So I'm hopeful that we'll have the new coach in by the end of next weekend, whomever it is.

Coolbeans wrote:

Well, surely all ND doubters have finally seen all they need to see. All they did was go 12-0 against quality opponents every single week. ...

You're kidding, right? About the quality opponents, I mean. I'm pretty sure ND went undefeated.

I'm pretty sure ND went undefeated

Stanford is pretty sure they didn't.

Stele wrote:
I'm pretty sure ND went undefeated

Stanford is pretty sure they didn't. ;)

I can't decide whether I think this should be mentioned more or less. On the one hand, hell yes it should. On the other hand, I wouldn't want people to do it to me, should my team run the table.

Or if, say, my favorite player won the Heisman, I wouldn't want any sour grapes about that...even in advance!

So maybe it's okay to do it to Notre Dame.

Stele wrote:
I'm pretty sure ND went undefeated

Stanford is pretty sure they didn't. ;)

Ha! Well, the scoreboard was sure they did!

Or if, say, my favorite player won the Heisman, I wouldn't want any sour grapes about that...even in advance!

To be clear, I won't be upset if Manziel wins the Heisman. There should be a fair shake for all players, regardless of position, though. I don't see that in the media. Hell, I've only seen Manziel play once (against Alabama), and he played great.

Also, to be fair to Kelly, my paraphrase of a paraphrase of his comments aren't as nuanced as his words:

Brian Kelly wrote:

“If a guy like Manti Te’o isn’t going to win the Heisman, they should just make it an offensive award,” Kelly said. “Just give it to the offensive player every year and just cut to the chase. He is the backbone of a 12-0 football team that has proven itself each week. He showed it again tonight with a key interception and a great play in the end zone. If the Heisman Trophy is what it is, I don’t know how Manti Te’o is held out of that conversation.”

Maybe you still find that offensive, but I don't personally find that as offensive as putting your star QB in to kick a PAT against a team that is getting squished in order to elevate his hopes at the award.

I'm just going to put this here

Rad!

Any predictions for the SEC championship? I've not watched any Georgia games and have only seen Alabama's loss to A&M (I was rooting for the latter, naturally). I get the sense that this has all the makings of a very good game...any reason to think otherwise?

Yeah Alabama has 39th SoS and Georgia 42nd. So probably pretty close. :p

Florida with its 13th best schedule and the same record will be watching and pissed.

ukickmydog wrote:

I'm just going to put this here

I will never forgive you for posting this...

firesloth - Kelly must REALLY avoid listening to the press if he thinks Teo is being held out of the Heisman conversation.

Johnny with a PAT attempt was just kind of a fun gimmick, for levity. You know, like the idea of a linebacker who gets INTs but no linebacker stats like sacks and tackles for a loss.

Georgia and Bama are really mirror images of each other. Both like to run to set up the pass and have the two most efficient QBs in the country. Both defenses are tough, though Bama is way better statistically, largely due to a bunch of Georgia starters being suspended for the first 4 games. They even have both lost two starting WR this year, though Georgia is probably deeper at that position.

To me this is a complete mental game, if the Dawgs come out focused and Murray avoids the big game jitters I think it will come down to the last minute and could go either way. If the Dawgs commit ugly turnovers then ESPN will get their prayed for Bama vs ND match up.

Badferret wrote:

Georgia and Bama are really mirror images of each other. Both like to run to set up the pass and have the two most efficient QBs in the country. Both defenses are tough, though Bama is way better statistically, largely due to a bunch of Georgia starters being suspended for the first 4 games. They even have both lost two starting WR this year, though Georgia is probably deeper at that position.

To me this is a complete mental game, if the Dawgs come out focused and Murray avoids the big game jitters I think it will come down to the last minute and could go either way. If the Dawgs commit ugly turnovers then ESPN will get their prayed for Bama vs ND match up.

TL,DR: Someone will win 14-10.

I don't know what it is about SEC football, but some of their biggest games turn out to be their worst. By "worst," I mean slow and uninteresting.

Don't blame the Aggies, Enix - all our games are exciting!

But two short paragraphs = TLDR now? Geez!

I'm pulling for Georgia because I'd rather see the NC game appearance / potential win love spread out in the SEC rather than Bama potentially winning 3 of the last 4. That said, I have more trust in Bama actually beating ND. I'm conflicted.

And I hope Grump will understand.

I have nothing against Georgia, but I think Florida has a more legit record to be in a national championship game. This is all assuming Georgia beats Alabama.

And yes I know Georgia beat Florida. Look at the rest of Florida's schedule compared to Georgia's.

TL,DR: Someone will win 14-10.

I don't know what it is about SEC football, but some of their biggest games turn out to be their worst. By "worst," I mean slow and uninteresting.

Am I the only one that finds tense defensive battles more exciting than offensive shoot-outs? If it's 9-6 because the coaches are just being ultraconservative and trying not to lose, that's one thing. But, if the defenses are playing extremely well, and the offenses are battling them, I find those games awesome. One mistake by one of the defenses that allows a TD, and the game could well be over. What's not exciting about that?

Then again, I grew up as a Chicago Bears fan and and became a Ravens fan when I was in Baltimore (just in time to see them win a Super Bowl on the backs of a great defense).

Fedaykin wrote:

Johnny with a PAT attempt was just kind of a fun gimmick, for levity.

For A&M...for Sam Houston? Not so much.

You know, like the idea of a linebacker who gets INTs but no linebacker stats like sacks and tackles for a loss.

Some QBs have better rushing stats than passing because that's what they're asked to do (e.g., option QBs as at Navy). Now worries there, as stats don't make the player.

firesloth wrote:

Am I the only one that finds tense defensive battles more exciting than offensive shoot-outs?

If we wanted that we would watch soccer

ukickmydog wrote:
firesloth wrote:

Am I the only one that finds tense defensive battles more exciting than offensive shoot-outs?

If we wanted that we would watch soccer :)

Here here.