College Football

[Minneapple]

Camp reports are everywhere and the season starts in just a couple weeks! Pretty great lineup to kick things off.

 

Some major games for Thursday, August 28

Texas A&M at South Carolina (SECN) 6:00 PM
Ole Miss vs. Boise St. (at Atlanta, GA) (ESPN) 8:00 PM
Rutgers vs. Washington St. (at Seattle, WA)  (Fox Sports) 10:00 PM
 

And for Saturday, August 30

 

Penn St. vs. UCF (at Dublin, Ireland)  (ESPN) 8:30 AM (c'mon, we're all waking up for this, right?)
UCLA at Virginia (ESPN) 12:00 PM
Appalachian St. at Michigan (ESPN2) 12:00 PM (yes, I had to put this on here as a major matchup)

West Virginia vs. Alabama (at Atlanta, GA) (ABC) 3:00 PM

Oklahoma St. vs. Florida St. (at Arlington, TX) (ABC) 8:00 PM

LSU vs. Wisconsin (at Houston, TX) (ESPN) 9:00 PM

 

But these are just a few of the big games out there. There is literally too much football to watch on TV that first weekend, and I cannot wait.

[Madness]

Love college football! Can't wait for the season to begin!

[xaxat]

N.C.A.A. Votes to Give Greater Autonomy to Richest Conferences The rules changes apply to all sports, but it's football that is driving the bus.

[AimingforYoko]

RIP NCAA. You were pretty much useless.

[Minneapple]

Honestly it only makes sense to me. It's really stupid that the schools with lots of money have to follow the rules made by schools with little money. People say, oh, increase the value of a scholarship, pay the players -- well, the schools that have the ability to do that now have the choice to do that.

 

Yeah, it's one more coffin in the nail of the NCAA. But the NCAA has been dying a slow death since the TV ruling in the early '80s anyway.

[xaxat]

The biggest loser in this has to be Connecticut basketball. Both programs will find it a lot harder to recruit against schools that can offer their players a lot more.

[benteen]

As much as I like the NFL, it's college football that I look forward to the most.  Only 10 games left until the first games start!

[Minneapple]

Shame about Braxton (and I say this as someone who hates OSU). He was a fun player to watch. I doubt he takes a medical redshirt as some have speculated -- or even if he does, there is little chance he sticks around college ball for another year.

[Rum Punch]

I can't say I think the new four team playoff system is going to make too much of a difference. We will still have the usual suspects playing for the national championship, while other teams, the TCU's, Boise St.'s and the like, will continue to be frozen out, no matter how well they play. I'm tired of hearing people say that in college football every game is a playoff game. That might be true for Alabama and LSU, but for many teams the season is over before its begun, because even if they beat everyone on their schedule by 50 points, they'll still be overlooked in the Final Four in favor of some two loss SEC team.

Edited September 1, 2014 by Rum Punch

[Minneapple]

The charm of college football is that it was a regional game, with all of its history and pageantry. To Utah and BYU fans their traditions and their game meant as much to them as Michigan-Ohio State means to those fans. With the conference networks, realignment, playoffs that heavily favor P5 programs (and really, what did the small schools think would happen when they repeatedly blatted about playoffs?), college football is increasingly resembling the pros and losing that charm.

I still love college football of course, but things like Big Ten program Rutgers just feel all wrong to mr.

Edited September 2, 2014 by Minneapple

[nowandlater]

The charm of college football is that it was a regional game, with all of its history and pageantry. To Utah and BYU fans their traditions and their game meant as much to them as Michigan-Ohio State means to those fans. With the conference networks, realignment, playoffs that heavily favor P5 programs (and really, what did the small schools think would happen when they repeatedly blatted about playoffs?), college football is increasingly resembling the pros and losing that charm.

I still love college football of course, but things like Big Ten program Rutgers just feel all wrong to mr.

 

College Gameday kicked off the season at a shopping mall plaza in Ft. Worth...that's what annoys me. And it'll continue like that with JerryWorld hosting big-time college games.

[BitterApple]

I've never been a big football fan, college or otherwise, but I do enjoy supporting my school, and while I do think our new stadium is pretty, I have to think about how a good chunk of that money could have been used to fund scholarships. At the end of the day, I say you're there to get an education, not play a sport. I hate to think what will happen if they allow players to be paid, union-style.

I remember watching a 60 Minutes interview with the Michigan AD. He said the revenue generated by the football team basically subsidizes all the other sports at the University. It can seem ridiculous how much money gets pumped into these programs, but the colleges make it back in spades.

[Minneapple]

I have to think about how a good chunk of that money could have been used to fund scholarships.

 

I don't know how Baylor's stadium was financed, but if it worked the way it does at most schools, it was probably largely through big private donations from rich alumni. That's how most athletic departments pay for big projects -- stadium renovations, new practice facilities and the like. They can't just use that money to fund scholarships; it was raised for a specific purpose.

 

He said the revenue generated by the football team basically subsidizes all the other sports at the University.

 

That's pretty much how it works at most schools.

[nowandlater]

I've never been a big football fan, college or otherwise, but I do enjoy supporting my school, and while I do think our new stadium is pretty, I have to think about how a good chunk of that money could have been used to fund scholarships. At the end of the day, I say you're there to get an education, not play a sport. I hate to think what will happen if they allow players to be paid, union-style.

 

We went through this at UC Berkeley. Our stadium, built in 1923, has a major earthquake fault running straight through the middle of the field.

 

A $330 million retrofit needed to be done, but the state of California had no money.

 

So we had to raise it through donations and seat licenses and borrowing (and we're going to be paying it off for the next three decades).

 

There was argument about not using the money for scholarships, etc. But think about it this way: This money wouldn't be going to scholarships anyway.

 

On the other hand, these six or seven football games a year bring in about 60,000 people to campus (when the team is decent), something no other event will do.

 

It gives alumni a chance to reconnect with the campus, and possibly donate to academic pursuits.

Edited September 3, 2014 by nowandlater

[xaxat]

 

He said the revenue generated by the football team basically subsidizes all the other sports at the University.

 

That's pretty much how it works at most schools.

 

Depends on the school. Top schools in the power conferences? Definitely. Middle tier? Probably. Lower? Possibly. Non-power conference? Almost certainly not.

 

Here's a couple of tools you can use to see how your school stacks up.

 

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/schools/finances/

 

http://ope.ed.gov/athletics/GetOneInstitutionData.aspx

 

One of the really smart things college football, as an institution, has done is to get people fixated on the revenues generated by a program. What they conveniently forget to talk about is how much money in expenditures it costs to maintain a high profile program. In addition, they prey on the Lake Wobegon fallacy, where every program proclaims it is above average, and pays money to be there.

[Rick Kitchen]

We went through this at UC Berkeley. Our stadium, built in 1923, has a major earthquake fault running straight through the middle of the field.

 

A $330 million retrofit needed to be done, but the state of California had no money.

 

So we had to raise it through donations and seat licenses and borrowing (and we're going to be paying it off for the next three decades).

 

There was argument about not using the money for scholarships, etc. But think about it this way: This money wouldn't be going to scholarships anyway.

 

On the other hand, these six or seven football games a year bring in about 60,000 people to campus (when the team is decent), something no other event will do.

 

It gives alumni a chance to reconnect with the campus, and possibly donate to academic pursuits.

 

There are also high school games played at Memorial Stadium.  I know at least four games were rescheduled for there because of problems with the grass at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara.

[Rick Kitchen]

Syracuse is the ugliest, by far.

 

http://www.faniq.com/images/blog/su32_web.jpg

 

I like that Oregon comes up with a different color combination every week.

Edited September 4, 2014 by Rick Kitchen

[Popples]

Syracuse is the ugliest, by far.

 

http://www.faniq.com/images/blog/su32_web.jpg

 

I like that Oregon comes up with a different color combination every week.

 

I agree with everything you've said. To me, orange as the main color seems to be really tricky to look decent.

 

My favorite Oregon uniform is the white-on-white where the light has to hit their name plate just right to be able to read them. Although I damn near went blind during their games against Tennessee and Oregon State (Oregon and Oregon State both wore the color uniforms and it looked like a battle of hi-lighters).

[benteen]

As usual, The Big Ten manages to make themselves irrelevant in the National Title picture by Week 2.  Kirk Herbstreit commented on Twitter this is why other conferences look down on the Big Ten.

[AimingforYoko]

C'mon! Michigan St. was competitive there for about ten minutes. I don't know what to say about Michigan, ouch.

[ebk57]

As usual, The Big Ten manages to make themselves irrelevant in the National Title picture by Week 2.  Kirk Herbstreit commented on Twitter this is why other conferences look down on the Big Ten.

 

So...this means I shouldn't feel so great that the Terps are now 2-0 in our first year in the Big Ten.  Not that we've actually played a team in-conference yet, but let's not let the facts get in the way here.  :-)

 

I'm grasping at straws...

[benteen]

So...this means I shouldn't feel so great that the Terps are now 2-0 in our first year in the Big Ten.  Not that we've actually played a team in-conference yet, but let's not let the facts get in the way here.  :-)

 

I'm grasping at straws...

 

No, definitely be happy about that.  At least they've managed to go 2-0.

[AndreaK1041]

C'mon! Michigan St. was competitive there for about ten minutes. I don't know what to say about Michigan, ouch.

We are cleaning our battle wounds with the tears of Buckeye fans.

Man, the Big Ten looks *awful* this year.

[Rick Kitchen]

After two weeks of play, California has twice as many wins this season as all of last season.  :)

[Evolution101]

Things I learned from this week in college football:

•     The Big Ten never fails to disappoint...when it comes to being disappointing.
•     Ohio State is really gonna miss Braxton Miller on the field this season.
•     That USC/Stanford game was sloppy as hell.  Neither team deserved to win.
•     Despite losing, Michigan State still looks like the class of the Big Ten.

And I have to laugh at the pundits asking if Florida is back after putting up 65 points against frakking Eastern Michigan.  Granted, the Florida of last year never would've done that, but let's see how well they do against Alabama in 2 weeks before you start tooting their horn, kthx.

[benteen]

My old high school's football team could beat Eastern Michigan.

 

I still think Michigan State is a good team but that loss pretty much finished them off as a playoff contender this year.

 

The ACC is a better conference right now than the Big Ten.  At least they are capable of winning a big game.

 

My guess is after Michigan fires Brady Hoke and their AD (whose tenure at Domino's Pizza was followed by the next CEO of that company talking about how bad the company's product was) they'll likely throw a ton of money at Jim Harbaugh and prey he'll leave San Francisco. 

[xaxat]

My guess is after Michigan fires Brady Hoke and their AD (whose tenure at Domino's Pizza was followed by the next CEO of that company talking about how bad the company's product was) they'll likely throw a ton of money at Jim Harbaugh and prey he'll leave San Francisco. 

 

 

The might not have to pray that hard. Report: Jim Harbaugh already losing 49ers locker room

 

 

 

 

Adding more intrigue to this thing is Jay Glazer of Fox Sports. In 2011, Glazer was one of the first to report that the 49ers were interested in Jim Harbaugh. Now Glazer believes that 2014 will be Harbaugh's last season in San Francisco.

"I'd be surprised if Jim Harbaugh is back in San Francisco next year," Glazer said on Sunday.

 

Brady Hoke might want to start working on his resume.

[Evolution101]

What I learned in week 3 of college football:

 

• Boston College saved the ACC from being embarrassed.
• Ohio State's loss to Virginia Tech last week looks worse now.
• Todd Gurley is good.  Georgia's defensive secondary is not good.  Neither is South Carolina's, but we learned that in week 1.
• After going to triple overtime with Kentucky, Florida is clearly not back.  Granted, Kentucky is better than its been in recent years, but still....Kentucky should not be taking Florida to OT.
• Tennessee still isn't close to being back.
• UCLA still has yet to look impressive, despite being 3-0.
• Iowa showed us why you should not ice the kicker.

[xaxat]

This weekend Boston College honored Welles Crowther, an alumni who lost his life helping others survive on September 11th. The crowd was filled with people wearing red bandannas, Crowther's signature apparel. A really nice tribute.

 

What did Under Armour decide to do? Commercialize the thing. They decided that red bandannas weren't enough, so you can now buy red bandanna cleats, and red bandanna jackets, and red bandanna receiver gloves. . . 

 

You suck Under Armour.

Edited September 15, 2014 by xaxat

[Minneapple]

Yep, I'd say Harbaugh is toast in San Francisco.

 

Er, but maybe Michigan shouldn't be so hot to hire him after the way his team lost tonight...

[xaxat]

It's been interesting listening/watching sports reports dance around what Jameis Winston said that got him suspended. But the fact that he uttered a phrase  making light of non-consensual sex tells me that no matter what he says in his press conferences, he has not learned a damn thing.

[Rick Kitchen]

Winston got away with rape, why shouldn't he consider himself above  it all?

[Rick Kitchen]

What the hell is wrong with Jameis Winston?  He actually went to the stadium, dressed, and expected to get into the game.  He obviously has never heard the word "No", or ignores it when he hears it.

[Minneapple]

Let's also give kudos to ESPN for continually showing him on the sideline celebrating and mentioning him. There's the Worldwide Leader we know and loathe.

Ah, Nebraska and Miami returning to their roots with bench clearing brawls. I feel like its the '80s all over again.

[topanga]

Oregon's defense looked horrible today, although they did play better in the 2nd half. And the offensive line was shaky as well. It it weren't for their amazing quarterback, the Ducks wouldn't have been able to squeak by Washington State.

[benteen]

Another great day of college football but no one played defense whatsoever.

[xaxat]

Wisconsin ran up video game numbers on the ground.

[Evolution101]

What I learned in week 4:

 

• The gap between the SEC and the other power conferences continues to shrink.
• Kansas State needs a better kicker.
• The SEC East is really wide open, and whoever wins that division will likely lose again to the winner of the SEC West.
• The ACC Coastal is also wide open, and whoever wins that division will likely lose to Florida State.
• Jeff Driskel is still awful, and Florida's defense isn't any better.  Giving up 645 yards of offense?  Really?  In short, Florida sucks, and Will Muschamp needs to be fired.
• Speaking of coaches who need to be fired, Brady Hoke is so gonna be gone after this year.
• Clemson should have beat Florida State, but all of a sudden they remembered, "Hey!  We're Clemson!"  And sure enough, they lost...after getting stopped on 4th and short...in overtime...when they had first possession.

Edited September 21, 2014 by Evolution101

[Minneapple]

Not even sure how Clemson managed to blow that game. The defensive back falling down, the late fumble deep in FSU territory and the mind-blowing execution in overtime.

Craaaaazy ending to the Arizona/Cal game though.

Indiana loses to Bowling Green last week. At home. Then beats Mizzou this week. At Mizzou. Someone figure that out because I sure as heck can't.

Jeff Driskel is still awful,

He was one of the top rated qb recruits in the country IIRC. Shows that recruiting is an inexact science.

[Mischievious]

Nebraska is my alma mater. Oh how I  wish I could have been at that game. It was fantastic. And of course, I am still giggling over Mizzou losing. That always makes everything better.

 

I held out hope for Clemson to win and they were so, so close. Why can't I have nice things? Why?

[xaxat]

This whole "uniform of the week" thing is ridiculous. I should not have to repeatedly look at the score in order to figure out who is playing. WTF was Syracuse wearing tonight?

Edited September 28, 2014 by xaxat

[Rick Kitchen]

Syracuse always has horrible unis.

[Minneapple]

SO OF COURSE Mizzou beat South Carolina after losing to Indiana.

 

Bowling Green>Indiana>Mizzou>South Carolina.

 

It's SIMPLE MATH.

[BigDfromLA]

Akron should be ranked in the top 10!!!!!!!!

 

Akron def. Pittsburgh who def. Boston College who def. USC who def. Stanford.

[Mischievious]

Does anyone think Nebraska will beat Michigan State this Saturday? Also, I'm so happy it is football season again.

[xaxat]

Her music is not my style, but Katy Perry doing picks was a lot of fun. Loved her Heart Herbie sign. The Oklahoma quarterback's Twitter must be blowing up after her "call me".

 

Katy predicted it would be a great day for the state of Mississippi, she was right!

 

(Although it didn't work out too well for her "boyfriend".)

Edited October 4, 2014 by xaxat

[Rick Kitchen]

#2, #3 and #4 all lost,  What a bloodbath!

[janeyjay]

Crazy day yesterday -- but some fantastic games. Can't classify my Gators in that group, but at least we didn't lose. The state of Mississippi must have one gigantic happy hangover today. 

[Evolution101]

Here's what I learned in week 6:

 

• Ole Miss and Mississippi State are going to be ranked in the Top 10...at the same time...and have earned it.
• Oregon, Alabama, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, and UCLA were all given reality checks.
• Who would've guessed that the only undefeated team left in the Pac-12 would be Arizona?
• LSU is gonna have a very tough time competing in the SEC West.
• South Carolina proves yet again to be one of the most overrated teams of the season.
• Remember when the Florida/Tennessee game determined who would play in (and likely win) the SEC championship game?  Those days are long gone.
• USC apparently forgot how to defend against the Hail Mary.

[AimingforYoko]

Boy, those BCS backers were right. The new playoff system has rendered the regular season meaningless. Whatever, guys.