NCAA Football 2012 Season Catch-All

Stele wrote:

Anyway here's ESPN's Bowl List.

All 35 of them. :lol:

I love the storied tradition of the bowl games.

Beef 'O' Brady's St.
R+L Carriers
Famous Idaho Potato
Little Caesars Pizza
Buffalo Wild Wings

Kirk Herbstreit is ridiculous. This video is proof of why anyone not in an AQ conference should just be put into the FCS. He's basically saying that the bar you have to clear from a small school is to go undefeated every year for years. You have to win by 50 points a game and maybe, just maybe you can go to one of the non championship BCS games.

College football is the only sport where literally half of the teams start the year with no chance of ever playing for the title, regardless of what they do on the field. Might as well move them to FCS or build an FBS1-AA.

Tennessee has supposedly interviewed a man...a 40 year old man (well 45 now)

Re: Herbstreit - I don't hear him bashing small schools. I hear him saying that NIU's resume is terrible. They played no one, they lost to a 4-8 Iowa team. He's saying that there are more deserving teams like Oklahoma (whose "spot" was taken by NIU). Oklahoma's only losses are to Notre Dame and Kansas State, the #1 team and the #5 teams in the country.

I don't think it's crazy to say that there are two-loss teams that are better than some one-loss teams (I think when Bama plays ND we'll find out that they're a one-loss team who is better than an undefeated team, but that's for another day).

And before anyone says that NIU beat all but one of the teams that were put before them, guess what? NIU pads their schedule with FCS teams, too. I'll bet they could easily trade those games away for games against FBS opponents.

Gumbie wrote:

Tennessee has supposedly interviewed a man...a 40 year old man (well 45 now)

I thought Gruden was 49?

Coaching searches suck...

Fedaykin98 wrote:

I don't hear him bashing small schools. I hear him saying that NIU's resume is terrible. They played no one, they lost to a 4-8 Iowa team. He's saying that there are more deserving teams like Oklahoma (whose "spot" was taken by NIU). Oklahoma's only losses are to Notre Dame and Kansas State, the #1 team and the #5 teams in the country.

I don't think it's crazy to say that there are two-loss teams that are better than some one-loss teams (I think when Bama plays ND we'll find out that they're a one-loss team who is better than an undefeated team, but that's for another day).

And before anyone says that NIU beat all but one of the teams that were put before them, guess what? NIU pads their schedule with FCS teams, too. I'll bet they could easily trade those games away for games against FBS opponents.

Right. So half of college football has no business being in the BCS talk and should probably be moved to a separate division. If we live in a world where NIU plays the teams in front of them based on where they sit in the college football universe, how can they be criticized for having a 1 loss season? The bar is impossibly high. Go undefeated for a decade, including numerous wins over better AQ schools and maybe you'll deserve respect. By that time your players will have turned over 3 times, but don't mind that.

I just don't get it. I don't get why NIU is even in the same division as Missouri and South Carolina. If those two teams will always get more respect at 3 losses than a Boise State or NIU going undefeated or having 1 loss, then just move them to FBS-AA.

Stele wrote:

Man. Kirk Herbstreit should be fired. He was the biggest asshole I've ever seen on TV tonight.

Remember when Billy Packer was a jerk to the selection committee a few years back for March Madness? And then he never got to call another game. Kirk was worse tonight, and he deserves the same.

Overreact much? Wow. What Herby said wasn't exactly outside the mainstream. It's not his fault that the BCS system is stupid and the committee made a bunch of awful pairings this year.

I think it is an overreaction to say he should get fired. Unfortunately (and this is a whole other topic) ESPN covers news, makes news and reports news. Not far off from video games journalism. In a perfect world know one would bat an eye when he questioned the selection committee. I think that only looks "off" because it's all on the same network.

I still think the essential point is that everyone seems to agree that half of college football rarely, if ever, has business being in a BCS game. So why isn't the BCS division composed only of the AQ conferences?

And yes, I know it's about more than just that. It's about Wisconsin playing in the Rose Bowl, etc. But part of how you get a 5-loss school in the Rose Bowl is by having AQ conferences in the first place.

BCS bowls are supposed to be the biggest and best. If NIU etc. want to play in them, they can schedule some harder games. As I said, they are just as guilty of scheduling FCS teams as Alabama is, and y'all railed against the SEC schools for that.

And I guarantee NIU's payoff to an FCS school is lower than they get from A&M, etc.

Fedaykin98 wrote:

BCS bowls are supposed to be the biggest and best. If NIU etc. want to play in them, they can schedule some harder games. As I said, they are just as guilty of scheduling FCS teams as Alabama is, and y'all railed against the SEC schools for that.

Yes and no. NIU, perhaps. But Boise State, Utah (now in an AQ conference) and other schools have been scheduling UP for years. And often this does them little good. It takes a lot of time for those wins to accumulate and matter. I just don't think AQ conferences and the non-AQ conferences should be in the same division. AQ schools never travel to non-AQ schools. They often won't schedule non-AQ schools that are tougher (Boise State, etc.). They're playing the same game but with different rules. Why are they in the same division? An NIU can never rise to be a "legitimate" school without a decade of sustained dominance and then maybe they'll got a slot in an AQ school. It's silly.

I just don't get it. I don't get why NIU is even in the same division as Missouri and South Carolina. If those two teams will always get more respect at 3 losses than a Boise State or NIU going undefeated or having 1 loss, then just move them to FBS-AA.

Money.

The cold hard truth is that a shot at big bucks trumps a shot at championships. I-AA schools keep moving up, not the other way around. Probably the two most successful I-AA programs, Ga. Southern and App State are rumored to be actively trying to move up; do you think either school thinks they will ever sniff another National Title? Of course not, but the do plan on greatly increasing their TV revenues and alumni contributions.

DSG, why must you speak in absolutes so frequently? Texas A&M travelled to two non-AQ schools this season alone (SMU and LA Tech, both FBS teams).

Fedaykin98 wrote:

DSG, why must you speak in absolutes so frequently?

Absolutes meaning what? That sometimes AQ schools travel to non-AQ schools? Yes, I know this happens. Just rarely.

Fedaykin98 wrote:

Texas A&M travelled to two non-AQ schools this season alone (SMU and LA Tech, both FBS teams).

I doubt that will continue now that they're in the SEC.

Badferret wrote:
I just don't get it. I don't get why NIU is even in the same division as Missouri and South Carolina. If those two teams will always get more respect at 3 losses than a Boise State or NIU going undefeated or having 1 loss, then just move them to FBS-AA.

Money.

The cold hard truth is that a shot at big bucks trumps a shot at championships. I-AA schools keep moving up, not the other way around. Probably the two most successful I-AA programs, Ga. Southern and App State are rumored to be actively trying to move up; do you think either school thinks they will ever sniff another National Title? Of course not, but the do plan on greatly increasing their TV revenues and alumni contributions.

I get that. And I wish the NCAA would fix that somehow. Either don't allow those schools to jump or ensure they have a shot of winning the championship, however remote that shot is. The prestige of being an FBS school means nothing if you're destined for the Idaho Famous Potatoes Bowl even in a good year.

I can't imagine the Orange Bowl (or ESPN, for that matter) is thrilled with Northern Illinois, no matter how the (fill in the team's nickname here - I have no idea what it is) ended up there. Maybe they'll travel. Maybe there won't be anything else on TV that night.

And Georgia in the Champs Sports bowl? That's a kick in the crotch for a team that was about 10 feet away from a BCS title game berth.

A few of these bowl games look OK. A lot of them look pretty sorry.

Outside of the national championship game I think the best game is Oregon versus Kansas State.

Maybe there's still a chance for a scenario where Oregon smokes Kansas State and the other game is ugly and the AP break for Oregon.

And yes, Georgia deserves better.

f*ck the division talk,
Is a team that lost to the number 1 and number 5 teams worse off than a team that lost to a 4-8 team in an AQ conference?
Surely it's a messed up question to ask (downfall of the BCS, blah blah blah), but I just can't buy the assertion that dropping games to #1 and #5 should put you behind a team which didn't beat a 4-8 AQ team.
That dog don't hunt.

DSGamer wrote:

AQ schools never travel to non-AQ schools.

Fedaykin98 wrote:

DSG, why must you speak in absolutes so frequently?

DSGamer wrote:

Absolutes meaning what?

...

DSGamer wrote:

AQ schools never travel to non-AQ schools.

Lol, Grump.

Also: Georgia is going to Capital One, the best non-BCS SEC bowl. That's hardly terrible. Maybe they deserve BCS, but let's at least get the bowl name right.

Finally, Ruh Roh! Saw this on Twitter:

"@howielindsey: Strong was asked if he will say he is coaching Louisville next year, declines by saying "I will say that at the right time."

Cal will enjoy the holidays at the Albany Bowl. Less than 10 miles from campus and has 36 lanes and a lot of bigscreen TVs, and great thing is you don't even need a head coach to get there!

As far as Cal coaching search goes:

Formal interviews have happened with LA Tech's Sonny Dykes and Notre Dame's DC Bob Diaco. Supposedly there has also been conversations with Kent State's Darrell Hazzell and Michigan State's DC Pat Narduzzi. The last one sort of came out of left field and its the first I've read his name.

Meanwhile, we continue to pray to the college football gods that Chris Peterson is ready to leave the miserable weather and blue turf and come to Cal. As far as we know nothing formal has happened yet other than a whole lot of rumors and debunking thereof.

Grumpicus wrote:
DSGamer wrote:

AQ schools never travel to non-AQ schools.

Fedaykin98 wrote:

DSG, why must you speak in absolutes so frequently?

DSGamer wrote:

Absolutes meaning what?

...

DSGamer wrote:

AQ schools never travel to non-AQ schools.

Okay. I should say that I've never heard of a major AQ team travelling to a non-AQ team. Find more than a handful of recent examples and I'll retract that.

I really wish the Pac-12 got some better bowl affiliations. Larry Scott and company have done a great job upping the revenue, now we need to have better bowls. Still no SEC/PAC bowl games, and of the 6 non-BCS bowl games the Pac is affiliated, 3 are with non-AQ teams, and only the Alamo Bowl actually has a #3 or better AQ-team in conference playing against the Pac-12.

Hey, Carl, if you like great matchups of top ranked teams, you're a bastard just like Herbstreit and those of us who want the BCS bowls to be a big deal! Welcome to the club!

Fedaykin98 wrote:

Lol, Grump.

Also: Georgia is going to Capital One, the best non-BCS SEC bowl. That's hardly terrible. Maybe they deserve BCS, but let's at least get the bowl name right.

Finally, Ruh Roh! Saw this on Twitter:

"@howielindsey: Strong was asked if he will say he is coaching Louisville next year, declines by saying "I will say that at the right time."

Yar, Capital One, but as I said before the game, the Dawgs could be going to the Sugar Bowl and it would feel hollow after coming so close....

5 yards.

/sniffle

Much gnashing of teeth over a MAC school getting a BCS bowl bid. I love it. Go BSU.

DSGamer wrote:

Okay. I should say that I've never heard of a major AQ team travelling to a non-AQ team. Find more than a handful of recent examples and I'll retract that.

The best I can think of is UNC, N.C. State and Virginia Tech making the trip to Greenville to play East Carolina.

VT and ECU were independents at the same time back in the day. The Wolfies and the Heels use it to get a road W without much travel.

For ECU, though, it just gets their hopes up.

/lowers voice ... No one wants them!

I'm really interested to see the Oregon-Kansas St. game. I suspect A&M pulls away from Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl, but that should also be a fun one to watch.

A couple of nuggets from Yahoo's Dr. Saturday blog:

* NIU will give free Orange Bowl tickets to any student who wants one.

* The locals near NIU respond to the criticism on ESPN:

IMAGE(http://l.yimg.com/os/en/blogs/sptusncaafexperts/NIUsign.jpg)

* Also, awesome play to win the game in the Division III playoffs:

Fedaykin98 wrote:

Hey, Carl, if you like great matchups of top ranked teams, you're a bastard just like Herbstreit and those of us who want the BCS bowls to be a big deal! Welcome to the club! :lol:

Heh, well I don't know enough about NIU one way or the other, so I'll stay out of that. There's no shame in playing Boise State in a BCS bowl or in a small bowl, but looking at all of the non-BCS bowl affiliations and who plays non-AQ teams:

SEC: 1 (Liberty) v. CUSA #1
Big 10: 1 (Little Caesar) v. MAC #1
ACC: 1 (Military Bowl) v. CUSA or Army
Big-12: ZERO

Pac-12: 3 (Las Vegas, Kraft Fight Hunger, New Mexico)

I think IA state was dropped into the Liberty Bowl, so you can swap the # of non-AQ opponents this year in the non-BCS bowls, but either way, no other AQ conference is supposed to play more than 1 non-AQ bowl, while the Pac gets 3. Hard to raise the profile of a conference if we play non-AQ'ers in our big bowl games. Heck the Big-10 plays the SEC in like 4 games? Why not swap one of those out for the Pac-12.