CURIOUS INDEX 1/9/08
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Plus one, minus two. In the wake of a self-esteem promoting finish to the college football season–you know, where everyone’s number one, and we all win and no one’s feelings are hurt–Pete Thamel’s piece reiterates what you already know, which is that a plus-one is as close as you can get the herd of cats to come, and even then you’ve got the mysterious powers of the Rose Bowl keeping the Big Ten and the Pac-10 in thrall. What the hell do they have? The Philosopher’s Stone? Hitler’s brain in a jar, pulling the strings behind the scenes? The Ark of the Covenant, where they invite Mike Slive, John Swofford, and Bernie Machen into a room before pulling the lid and melting off their faces and their will to have a proper championship game? Heah’s Missah Cahh-ville staying on message about the BCS. He hates the Rose Bowl. He hates the Rose Bowl. He hates the Rose Bowl. Carville, in case you did not know is an LSU grad and rabid Tiger fan. (Note: things we never hope to run into ever for any reason: a rabid Tiger.) Carville is also dangerously sexy, so if you just watched this and drove the passenger jet into the ground because you were so aroused, we’re deeply sorry. We’d apologize, but you’re dead now, and probably shouldn’t have been checking a blog while piloting a jet anyway. Ratings are down across the board for the BCS and for college football bowls in general. The lone exception is the Capital One Bowl. The strong national attention paid to Florida being set on fire only reinforces the theory that America loves to watch Florida disasters, as also evidenced by strong ratings for disasters like Hurricane Andrew, the 2000 elections, and Florida Gators’ football ratings from 2002-2004. Tom Lemming, ever the starlet to Notre Dame’s cigar-chomping producer. According to Tom Lemming, Notre Dame! (slurp) has the number one (slurp) recruiting class in the (slurp) country! According to Notre Dame officials, Lemming was young, he was innocent, and he was the best piece of ass they’ve ever had. And they’ve had ‘em all over the world!
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1
Biggus Rickus says:
I tried to watch the Carville video, but then the Erin Esurance commercial came on and I had to run to the bathroom and rub one out.
January 9th, 2008 at 8:51 am
2
kleph says:
andrew was a cat five when it came ashore in louisiana (i was hunkered down in new ibera when it did) and did a devastating amount of damage on south louisiana. of course, it didn’t hit new orleans and so nobody gave a shit.
thus my enthusiasm for the katrina victims is somewhat muted. new orleans never gave a tinkers damn for the rest of the state, why should we care about the folks which they neglected all on their own?
as for florida, you should know better than to build cities along the gulf with cinderblocks, son.
January 9th, 2008 at 9:01 am
3
Will says:
Cajun style!
January 9th, 2008 at 9:06 am
4
Futbawl Fan says:
are we at the point where we thank you Orson for a great blog season? Thought so…
many thanks Orson….you da man
now on to the bleary off-season punctuated only by Bunda-Friday… please don’t forget us this week
January 9th, 2008 at 9:10 am
5
Allahver Fist says:
1) I’ll go for a +1
2) Blow up the Rose Bowl and bring the Gator Bowl on board
3) kleph, got a better idea than concrete block homes? Would you prefer wood frames and stucco?
January 9th, 2008 at 9:10 am
6
Ry says:
And then Urban Meyer comes along with his olive oil voice and Gator charm, and poaches my recruits. They threw it all away just to make me look ridiculous! And a man in my position can’t afford to be made to look ridiculous!
January 9th, 2008 at 9:10 am
7
Biggus Rickus says:
Does Gator charm mean the hypnotic repition of a player’s name while staring him in the eyes.
Also, I don’t care if they do a +1 or not. Georgia would have still been shut out of such a system this year. Amazingly, Michael Adams called for an eight team playoff almost immediately after LSU won. Proving what I knew – that he’s an asshole – but one who understands how to make himself a bit more popular with Georgia fans. Perhaps it was done in response to the lusty booing he received during the Sugar Bowl’s pregame bullshit.
January 9th, 2008 at 9:17 am
8
Harvey Wireman says:
Someone wrote that the college football world is being held hostage by a PARADE! A parade that looks the same year after year after year. ‘Hey Maxine, isn’t that float lovely?” Bunch of commie lib college presidents! Is this not America, home of the free, the brave, or whatever the Chevy commercial says?
January 9th, 2008 at 9:17 am
9
CKGator says:
The solution is simple: Let the Rose Bowl stay the Rose Bowl, with an independent contract and let them keep the Big 10 and Pac 10. The rest of us will play for a national title in a 4 or 8 team playoff. The Rose Bowl does NOT get to participate, they don’t host a national title game, they get USC and the winner of the OSU Michigan game every year. After 3 or 4 years of that, the Rose Bowl will be completely irrelevant, Delany will have been killed by Penn State fans, and they’ll all come into the fold.
January 9th, 2008 at 9:22 am
10
Harvey Wireman says:
Having a playoff without USC and tOSU/Mich/State Penn is like having a Miss Universe contest without Miss America, Miss Latin America and Miss Sweden. Will not make sense.
January 9th, 2008 at 9:26 am
11
Harvey Wireman says:
Bribery works. how about making the Rose Bowl, which started the whole bowl mess to begin with, be the final championship game every year, and the other, lesser bowls be playoff bowls? That would be an offer the rose bowl might not be able to refuse.
January 9th, 2008 at 9:30 am
12
I R A Darth Aggie says:
He hates the Rose Bowl.
You mis-spelled Irrelevant Yawner Bowl.
January 9th, 2008 at 9:30 am
13
Harvey Wireman says:
college football: the most meaningful regular season
college football: the mose meaningless post season.
January 9th, 2008 at 9:31 am
14
Harvey Wireman says:
mose, meant “most”. where’s my meds?
January 9th, 2008 at 9:33 am
15
maskedavenger says:
Football is played in all types of weather. If we are going to a playoff I want home games in December in Michigan (assuming we could ever make the playoffs). Those of you with delicate sensibilities are free to stay in your exotic locales to watch the game while wearing jorts.
January 9th, 2008 at 9:45 am
16
Edsall is God says:
I vote for old-school bowl tie-ins with a plus one afterwards. It makes everyone happy, we’ll be closer to a true national champion and we’ll get more meaningful bowl games.
Seeding the top four = playoff. It will never, ever, ever, ever, ever happen unless the Pac-10 or Big Ten aren’t involved.
I have this bad feeling we’re getting close to the Pac 10, Big Ten and Rose Bowl taking their ball, going home and settling for winning AP Titles.
January 9th, 2008 at 9:45 am
17
Edsall is God says:
15 – If there ever was a playoff, it would have to be on-campus. Anyone who proposes a 8+ team playoff that involves bowl games should be shot on scene. I’m sure Ohio State fans really have the money to make, say, four trips in a month. It’s ridiculous to think that.
January 9th, 2008 at 9:48 am
18
Eric says:
#10 – what has the Big 10 done to show you that having their champion in the playoffs would make one iota of difference to the outcome? I’d rather have the CUSA champion than the Big 10 Champion.
Now – leaving out the Pac-10 Champ (USC) is different.
I do see this going, much like #9 said, that the other leagues strike off on their own, away from The Rose Bowl, and then the Big 10 and Pac 10 eventually capitulating.
If you’ll remember, that’s exactly what happened with the old Bowl Alliance back when Penn State and Michigan were prevented from winning an outright National Title, despite going undefeated, in ‘94 and ‘97.
Although – after the last 2 years – it’s pretty clear to me that both of those teams would have been slaughtered by mid-90s Nebraska.
January 9th, 2008 at 9:49 am
19
The underrated Sorola Palmer says:
# 15
Right. Why would Ohio State need to travel four times in a month after losing to a team that isn’t Michigan in the first round?
January 9th, 2008 at 9:54 am
20
Mr Pelican Pants says:
#17
I’m sure they have the money, but they would only need money for one trip since they’ll be knocked out of the first round anyway especially vs ____________(insert any SEC team here,except Ole Miss,Vandy and Ky next year)
January 9th, 2008 at 9:56 am
21
The underrated Sorola Palmer says:
My bad. Meant # 17
January 9th, 2008 at 9:58 am
22
DanF says:
#18
Guys on the 94 PSU team have kids who are starting to look at what college they should go to, I HIGHLY doubt the state of the conference in 2007 has any bearing on how good the team was in 94.
And using your logic of judging past teams worth by this year’s performance. How can you say Nebraska would beat anybody ?
January 9th, 2008 at 10:05 am
23
DanF says:
# 9 Penn State fans are already looking for Delany, this scenario would just make them more sympathetic to a jury.
January 9th, 2008 at 10:07 am
24
yoyofutbawl says:
Do the Eight Dingoes get invited in lieu of the Big 2 + 9 Winner?
January 9th, 2008 at 10:10 am
25
shovel pass says:
CK Gator @#9
That’s the way to do it. Conform, or be left out. It is a bullshit system now and the people who are in charge have made it clear that they are not willing to change. So then you just exclude them from the game. I like it! It’s the way America USED to be.
January 9th, 2008 at 10:11 am
26
Will (the other one) says:
So am I the only one that thought the transition from Ark of the Covenant to Carville was a veiled reference to the Ragin’ Cajun’s appearance on Family Guy?
Won’t watch the clip though. I can handle ugly, but this is like circus ugly. Ohio St. vs. an SEC team in a bowl ugly.
January 9th, 2008 at 10:17 am
27
Dawg 05 says:
#23, You can’t try a zombie in federal or state court. Its in the Constitution. Let JoePa do the dismembering.
January 9th, 2008 at 10:18 am
28
D-nice says:
I said it before, the dragging of feet by the Rose Bowl, Big Ten and Pac-10 is unfair to the programs and coaches in those conferences who would welcome a plus-one playoff.
Guys like Carroll, Erickson, and probably Rich Rodriguez (just to name a few) would want the opportunity to go head to head with other top teams.
Carroll’s good at his “the Rose Bowl is what we work for” PR bullshit when the Trojans don’t make the NC game, but he’d clearly rather be playing for the BCS Trophy instead of beating up on a haphazard Big 10 team.
So, not only is the Rose Bowl and the conferences holding back football across the country, but also the teams in their own conferences.
January 9th, 2008 at 10:19 am
29
Albino Tornado says:
Lemming’s young and innocent the same way Asia Carrera is. Pull up the internet wayback machine and watch the lapdance he gave Bill Callahan (his longtime friend) during his Nebraska tenure.
January 9th, 2008 at 10:20 am
30
Crabapple Buck says:
Adams is placating the UGA crowd. I would love to see a playoff. tOSU would fare just as well as anyone else. The conferences would have to go to a 10 team max and no playoff IMO for it to work. Go the PAC 10 route with all teams played and the champ goes to the playoff. That means dropping some teams in some conferences and adding in others. I don’t picture that happening.
As for the cheap shots at the Big10 comparing it to the non-BCS leagues, you are proving your ignorance. Do everyone a favor and quit posting for the rest of your life, your opinion no longer matters. 117 teams watched, 2 played. The better team won. Amazing how everybody thinks they could do better, yet they can’t even win their conference or beat Stanford in U$C’s case. tOSU is a quality team in a down year for the conference, get used to it. FSU was in the same boat a few years back.
January 9th, 2008 at 10:24 am
31
Murphy says:
I’m all for a playoff as long as the Big Televen and Pac 10 are not invited to participate. I mean, seriously, does anyone give a flying fuck about the Pac 10 or Big Televen anymore. They are totally irrelavent to real college football. Let them play in their own sandbox, piss and moan and have their own little championship out in Pasadena. Would you miss them?
January 9th, 2008 at 10:27 am
32
charnold says:
ESPN vid won’t load. Just shows me Carvill’s face which is disturbing enough thank you. Oh and 2 ads for my trouble. its streaming you can just place the ad in the clip not reload a whole new clip after your stupid ad.
If you want the beginnings of a playoff (not that it would help-you need a 24 team playoff this year it seems). Then get tOSU and PSU to join the ACC. Then bypass the rest of the big 10 or 9. My guess: playoff in one hour. (When the Northwestern president finally jumps on the conference call.)
January 9th, 2008 at 10:28 am
33
D-nice says:
@31
Yes, I’d miss them.
January 9th, 2008 at 10:30 am
34
Boy Howdy says:
#17
To be fair, in an 8-team playoff, it seems like that fourth trip that the Ohio State fans would have to make would be a bit anticlimactic.
January 9th, 2008 at 10:30 am
35
Ground0EastLansing says:
Eh, that Carville rant leaves a little to be desired after the one he unleashed on First Take yesterday. Dana Jacobson brings up Lee Corso’s statement that LSU is not the #1 team, and Carville absolutely goes off on Corso, calling him everything short of a cannibal. Jacobson tries in vain to stop him, but the anger keeps coming. Simply. Awesome.
January 9th, 2008 at 10:34 am
36
Domer Guy says:
We need all the slurping we can get, even if it is from the equivalent of the highschool girlfriend who was your first (and visa versa). You know, the one who was two years younger than you that you got over real quick but she never quite got over you so you have a greencard to go back and hit it whenever you strike out at the bars. That one.
I agree with the spirit of Maskedavenger’s comment above (#15), but I don’t see that happening. The revenue to the campuses and towns would be amazing, the atmosphere unbeatable, but the playoff system would fall on or near finals time for most schools.
January 9th, 2008 at 10:34 am
37
Eric says:
#22 – it was more of a comment on mid-90s Nebraska and a) How dominant they were, and b) The fact that they were able to sneak alot of kids out of Cali, Fla, etc. (like Tommie Frazier).
At the time, it was a “National Program”, much like USC is now…not that they need to be to get good players.
Due to some questionable hires…okay ,1 questionable hire…their moment in the sun may have passed.
Nonetheless – back in that era, there was not a more brutalizing machine than those Husker teams. Doubtful that Penn State or Michigan would have fared any better than ‘94 Miami, ‘95 Florida, or ‘97 Tennessee. All teams who won National Titles within 3 years of losing to Nebraska, the latter 2 won one the very next year, after being blown out by Nebraska.
January 9th, 2008 at 10:37 am
38
Last Dragon says:
#9 – Right on. Fall in line or be left out. Despite what #10 says, it won’t matter much. The Pac 10 and Big 10 are more like Miss Morocco and Miss Guam. They won’t be there at the end anyways.
January 9th, 2008 at 10:43 am
39
PC-Gator says:
@30 Crabapple
Are you saying that Ohio State is going to turn into what FSU is now? I mean they were in the same boat a few years back, and look how well they and their conference are doing now…
January 9th, 2008 at 10:46 am
40
DanF says:
#37
Not criticizing those Nebraska teams by any measure. Just that the problem then, as it still is now apparently, is that the best 2 may not have been playing each other.
The PSU team demolished some teams that year as well.
January 9th, 2008 at 10:53 am
41
sjs1959 says:
As for Tom Lemming, doesn’t this mean Jimmy Clausen’s head will be found in Charlie Weis’ bed?
January 9th, 2008 at 10:59 am
42
PW says:
We’re not going to get a playoff or plus 1 system, so let’s stop kidding ourselves. And even if we had one this season, who would’ve played in it, LSU and Georgia/USC? Wouldn’t WFVU and either Georgia or USC still be in the exact same position they’re in now?
January 9th, 2008 at 11:05 am
43
PW says:
Meaning that a plus 1 would still leave possibly deserving teams out in the cold.
January 9th, 2008 at 11:07 am
44
D-nice says:
@ 38 “Right on. Fall in line or be left out. Despite what #10 says, it won’t matter much. The Pac 10 and Big 10 are more like Miss Morocco and Miss Guam. They won’t be there at the end anyways.”
I agree the Pac-10 and Big 10 should fall in line, but I don’t agree with the rest of the statement. Those conferences may be weaker overall right now, but that really doesn’t matter.
Their inclusion is necessary if even one team from those conferences is good enough and deserving enough to make the 4-team playoff, as USC has been in most of the past 5 years, and as OSU was last year when they beat the defending champs early in the season and then ran the table. Even if they did get killed in the NC game by Florida, they would have deserved to be in 4-game playoff.
January 9th, 2008 at 11:12 am
45
Mr Pelican Pants says:
LOL, go to http://www.buckeyecommentary.com…..read the first post, then read the comments….it was going on during the game…..and then you get gems like these to the SEC fans who were basically telling the truth to the Buckeye fans on the board on why they were getting blown up…..:
“I look forward to the first sally ass sec fan who has the sac to show up at my house. 5474 Coral Berry dr. call me at 614-403-9433 if you want your world destroyed. I am the Buckeye destroyer.”
kyle | 01.07.08 – 11:48 pm | #
Please someone give him a call
January 9th, 2008 at 11:16 am
46
D-nice says:
“Meaning that a plus 1 would still leave possibly deserving teams out in the cold.”
True, but who gets left out is less and less important as there are more teams. Granted, 4 is not a lot, so the 5th place team would still probably have a justifiable gripe, but not as much as the 3rd place team now (See, Auburn 2004).
January 9th, 2008 at 11:22 am
47
Harvey Wireman says:
miss morocco does not win Miss universe because there is discrimination against towel-heads
January 9th, 2008 at 11:22 am
48
Harvey Wireman says:
#46 – so that is the Artist formerly known as tosu lives!
January 9th, 2008 at 11:24 am
49
Harvey Wireman says:
that is WHERE he lives! man, gotsa take a nap, in addition to more meds
January 9th, 2008 at 11:25 am
50
Crabapple Buck says:
PCG@39
If you look back there are ebbs and flows in each conference and team. Nobody is immuned. Look at USC pre-Pete. ND currently, FSU, Miami was just great 5 years ago. I remember when Spurrier was hired, UF was terrible. These things seem to turn around fast.
I find it funny that the SEC fans want to have a playoff without the Big 10 & PAC10. Since their teams can’t beat Michigan or USC, that would pave the way to a tainted title that you protested so much in 2003 & 2004. Beating tOSU 9 straight in bowl games is akin to us being 2-10-1 vs. UM under Cooper. Ask Michigan how the turnaround is today. This too shall pass.
January 9th, 2008 at 11:34 am
51
Mr Pelican Pants says:
#50
No we will play anyone anywhere, period. The nancys in the PAC-10 and the Big 10 dont want a playoff because of the frickin Rose Bowl tie in , which they fear they will lose…..The SEC bows to no one….they are saying—hey they dont want to play in the games that matters and play in that Rose Bowl pity party? Fine, let em rot in it, the rest of college football will be doing a playoff while you two conferences sit around comparing floats……….
January 9th, 2008 at 11:56 am
52
Big 11 Blows says:
@ Crabapple Buck
I am immuned.
January 9th, 2008 at 11:58 am
53
DCDawg says:
Did anyone else notice that “Orson Swindle” was quoted on the front page of the Wall Street Journal today regarding McCain’s victory in New Hampshire. Now we know where Orson was yesterday…
January 9th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
54
Will (the other one) says:
Prior to the bowl games, the number of out-of-conference wins against BCS conference teams by the Big Televen=zero. None, nada.
To their credit, Meatchicken actually scheduled a good OOC BCS team…and promptly found themselves down 4 TDs by halftime.
Will the Big Televen get better? Sure. They were equal or maybe even better than the SEC in the very late 90s-early 200s (think back to when Saban was at MichSt and NW and Winsconsin would flukely get to the Rose Bowl thanks to the ineptitude of OSU’s coach.) At the time Bama under Mike DuBose won the SEC, UT started their slide from Manning/98-title dominance, and SOS spent more time golfing and less time recruiting. Meanwhile, UGA was still coached by Jim Donnan, Hal Mumme was at UK, and Jackie Sherril cheated MSU to a few 9 win seasons.
January 9th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
55
justanotherbuckye says:
#51
“No we will play anyone anywhere”
Such conviction, yet no proof.
A playoff takes all those southern bowl games you all love winning so much and puts them in places like Missouri, Chicago, Ann Arbor, College Station. I, for one, and all for it.
January 9th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
56
gosouthgohard says:
#54
Chicago? Whose home turf is Chicago? Do you expect Northwestern to suddenly get a lot better?
January 9th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
57
bonden says:
Is the “Rose Bowl question” really that hard?
Look at the ratings again. The top two TV-audience bowls were the two that featured traditional rivalries at traditional times: Rose (B10 #1/Pac10 #1) and Citrus (B10 #2/SEC #2). The Citrus, a non-BCS bowl aired in the afternoon, outdrew the Fiesta, Orange and Sugar. The Rose dominated the ratings war despite a matchup that no one thought would be close — and a completely crappy game, to boot.
If you are the Rose, do you have any reason to listen to what the other BCS bowls have to say about making money? I would think that the better route would be to copy the Rose and Citrus — lock in traditional matchups for the long term.
January 9th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
58
Beatuofa says:
Hey I’ve got an idea…since the SEC doesn’t really believe that anyone else in the country plays “real” college football anyways, why don’t they just secede from the NCAA and declare whoever wins their conference to be national champion? One great big southern circle jerk where they all tell each other how fantastic they are, while the rest of the country goes about our business. Would fit right in with the mindless provincialism they seem to be so good at anyways.
January 9th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
59
D-nice says:
“Chicago? Whose home turf is Chicago? Do you expect Northwestern to suddenly get a lot better?”
Notre Dame (if they ever return to glory) would be huge in Chicago.
January 9th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
60
Chg says:
58- Your post makes no sense. If you were talking to a fanbase that has obvious delusions of grandeur like Ohio State, fine. Given the SEC’s dominance in the BCS title games, people would definitely notice if they weren’t there.
FWIW, we generally believe our conference champ is the best in the country regardless. That tends to happen when your conference champ always wins when given the opportunity to prove itself the best.
January 9th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
61
Chg says:
11- Lesser bowls? Screw the Rose Bowl. Kids across the South grow up dreaming of playing in the Sugar Bowl. If you’ve paid attention, you’ll notice that kids from the South are pretty decent at college football.
If the BCS dumped the Rose Bowl and ESPN/ABC won the new contract, Southern Cal/Michigan/Ohio State would eventually cave and come crawling back to the fold.
The fact that ABC/ESPN holds the contract through ‘14 is the only thing giving them any leverage whatsoever. They would follow Tyson into Bolivian if the Mouse didn’t have the financial incentive to protect their investment by pumping up whichever team is on the path to Pasadena.
The Rose Bowl put up good ratings because it was the only game on during the prime traditional Jan 1 viewing hours, and it was promoed non-stop by ESPN during every other bowl.
January 9th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
62
beckett929 says:
#57 – The Rose drew the biggest ratings because the rest of the BCS games werent on that day/time… they were going up against a Gator Bowl featuring two teams that I think were 7 wins a piece (7 does get you the #2 bowl in the ACC, right?).. right after a Cotton Bowl ass-schalacking that no doubt left alot of fans ready to go out and do something with their lives, and also after a Michigan/Florida game that was surprisingly very good…. So of course it drew a big number… unoppossed, traditional time slot… Big 10 fans everywhere up north PRAYING they didnt get embarrassed again… The fact is if the rest of the games were on the same day… thatd be about the 10th most interesting matchup, plain and simple…
January 9th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
63
decemberist says:
If Beano Cook was still alive, he would resent Tom Lemming’s Irish-piece-of-ass status.
January 9th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
64
beckett929 says:
I’d also like to point out that the BCS games on fox ended around midnight or shortly there after. Thats asking a large commitment on a short work week for alot of fans…
January 9th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
65
SpartanDan says:
Enough with the ignorant Big Ten bashing already. Yes, the conference was down this year. That’s not going to last forever.
And no, Will, the number of other-BCS-conference wins prior to bowl season was not zero. Not even close, as a matter of fact – OSU beat Washington, Illinois and Iowa beat Syracuse, Wisconsin beat Wazzu, four teams beat Notre Dame [I know, not technically a BCS conference team, and they sucked this year ... but 4 for 4 is a hell of a lot better than the Pac-10's 1 for 3 against them], MSU beat Pitt. That’s five wins not even counting Notre Dame.
January 9th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
66
Thundersnatch says:
#64, I’d also like to point out that the BCS games were on fucking FOX. I actually turned down the audio with 8 minutes left in the 1st quarter.
January 9th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
67
beckett929 says:
Thundersnatch (very kickass name by the way)
I have to agree with ya on that on… OMG I was almost ready to check ESPN Radio in hopes Pam Ward was doing the simulcast
January 9th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
68
Edsall is God says:
The Big Ten & Pac-10 would make more money from sending their champions (only their champions, no Illinois) to the Rose Bowl every year because ESPN/ABC would pay millions to air it and they’d almost always have one of the top two teams. And big name teams too. You don’t think ESPN/ABC would have liked these matchups…
2003: Michigan/USC
2004: Michigan/USC
2005: Penn State/USC
2006: Ohio State/USC
2007: Ohio State/USC
That’s why the Rose Bowl and the conferences ain’t giving it up. More $$$$ to be made. The Rose Bowl already gets the highest, non-title game ratings and would get higher (see 2003 season) ratings if even a split-title is on the line.
That’s why the only plus-one model that will work is the traditional tie-ins with a game afterwards. And I would like that better than what we have now or a playoff.
January 9th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
69
Edsall is God says:
65- The Big Ten has been, and will be, Ohio State, Michigan and everyone else. So if those two teams struggle (and you can’t say Michigan didn’t struggle this year) the league is bad.
It’s just like the Pac-10…if it weren’t for USC ruling the world, they’d get bashed too. It’s not like the Pac-10 is all that great but USC is so damn good, everyone gives them a pass. Much like the Big East getting a pass this year because West Virginia killed OU.
January 9th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
70
Lawrence Ross says:
Has anyone thought that we might have misinterpreted Charlie Weis? When he was talking about a “schematic advantage”, I think he was really talking about the Nutrasystem “glycemic advantage”. Either way, neither worked well for him.
January 9th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
71
bonden says:
The “Rose Bowl question” has nothing to do with the Mouse or with midnight games (which don’t seem to be an issue for Monday Night Football, after all). It’s the highest-rated game every year because the most people want to watch it. If other bowls thought that they could draw better ratings in the early evening on January 1, they would broadcast then. They don’t think that, and never have.
The Rose has the most consistent, and largest, crowds, ratings and (in the old days, at least) purses. It’s kind of hard to fault them for their reluctance to give up a formula that works on the advice of others whose formulas haven’t worked nearly as well.
The more interesting thing this year is that the Citrus out-rated all of the prime-time bowls. The Citrus has an unusually favorable matchup, of course, but it tells me something about the national market for college football when two traditional 9-4 teams outdraw 11-2 teams playing in bigger venues at more prestigous times.
Go for the tradition, college football. +1 or +3 after that.
January 9th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
72
Andy says:
Apparently Scout.com (slurp!) and Rivals.com (slurp!) agree with Lemming.
January 9th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
73
PorTrojan says:
A plus one would be great, even if one or two teams get left out every other year. If you do an 8 team playoff, the first round would have to be at the higher seed’s home. The only issue I have with an 8 team playoff is that it will make so much money that it will be expanded to a 16 team playoff thus truly diluting the regular season.
I’ve been to five Rose Bowls and I love it, but fuck’em if they don’t want to join the 21st century.
January 9th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
74
Edsall is God says:
73 – If that Illinois WR doesn’t fumble and the Illini make it 21-17…none of this Rose Bowl bashing happens.
January 9th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
75
beckett929 says:
If ‘ifs’ and ‘but’ were candy and nuts….
Look man, Illinois wouldve just found another way to blow it… I hate that shit.. ‘If we did THIS on one play’… its part of the game that everything doesnt go according to plan..
And most MNF games are over by 11:30, and theyre once a week… secondly I mentioned that it was a short *work week*… so asking a professional, who had monday and tuesday off, to show up and try to cram a week’s worth of work into 3 days while also staying up late to watch 2 non-contests and a game with two teams that dont exactly spark a tingle in your naughty football parts, is a bit much…
January 9th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
76
Futbawl Fan says:
let me just remind you what you end up with when you open the pandora’s box called “playoffs”
make it a “+1″ system and at least 4 teams protest they “was screwed”
make it a “4 team” contest and you get 8 teams saying they should have been there because they beat one of the teams that made it
make it an “8 team” playoff, and the next thing you know we will all be kissing words like “SEC” and “Big Televen” goodbye forever… and hello “Southeast Region”, “Northeast”, “Southwest” and “Northwest”… some ass clown may make up creative names(like ‘Microsoft Conference” and “Walmart Conference”), but we will all join in an NFL-like bracketing scheme.
Then comes regional playoffs and a final game rotating into a stadium willing to pay the most… as it should be… and when the Alaska Malamutes go to play the Havana Jefes in the national championship game there will STILL be at least 2-4 teams sayin “we wuz robbed” for some reason or another… only NCAA wins, they put kleenex boxes filled with 20’s in the bathroom to wipe their keisters with because when you make big money like they do it just don’t mean the same as it used to
Amen
January 9th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
77
Last Dragon says:
#76 – I’ll take my chances considering the clusterfuck we had this year. Seed the 4 BCS games. Take the winners and move on. You’ll still have people arguing over who was left out. But how many times is #8 going to win anyways? I’d rather be bitching about who was #8 than who was #3.
January 9th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
78
Edsall is God says:
77 – Appartently you don’t follow college basketball when the teams left out (66th and worse) throw hissy fits and Dick Vitale’s head explodes. Multiply that by a billion if there’s a four-team playoff.
I mean, you think the talk is bad now? Imagine a four-team playoff without USC, Georgia and West Virginia, as would have happened this year? I could see riots, I could see ESPN imploding, it just would not be good.
I just have to ask: how did college football exist for a century with just a mythical national champion? Is it a split championship REALLY the end of the world? Why can’t we just enjoy the games anymore?
January 9th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
79
beckett929 says:
I dont see any credence to a split championship if we move to a +1 and USC/Big Ten decide not to play… I mean really… I can start a magazine and give out a national title too, does it count for shit, no! I never understood the split title concept, especially when LSU got robbed a couple years ago. The NCAA put their horses in the BCS race… and THAT champion is the true national champion, no matter how its decided.
Fuck I hate the AP poll…
January 9th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
80
beckett929 says:
And is an ‘NFL’ bracket system with conference and divisional winners playing for a championship really worse than what we have! I mean holy hell, at least then theres absolutely no subjectivity to it… you win or you dont… noone gives a shit that the Vikings were playing great down the stretch, they still didnt make the playoffs, because, OMG, september actually matters!
January 9th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
81
You Are Tebows' Lunch says:
#78
I’m with you…
Everyone relax…and if there is a split champion that’ll give an extra fan base braggin rights for a year.
January 9th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
82
Last Dragon says:
#78 – I do follow college hoops. And every year when teams bitch about getting left out, most people don’t care. Because none of those teams were going to win it all anyways. That was my point. I’d rather be arguing over who’s #8 than who’s #3. #8 isn’t going to end up champion regardless.
January 9th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
83
John says:
Even with the potential controversies that might arise with a four team playoff, it would make sure that an Auburn-2004 situation would never happen again. Unless you were to have five undefeated major conference teams.
January 9th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
84
Mr Pelican Pants says:
Let Vegas seed the teams….should be done by point spreads anyway…..no more layoffs, just keep playing, like a tough man contest….the team with the most depth and talent will win out
January 10th, 2008 at 10:53 am
85
Mr Pelican Pants says:
Oh and Cah-ville goin off on Corso is a classic……is it me or did Lee Corso have plastic surgery to look MORE like a Cabbage Patch kid? I swear , looks like they purposely are trying to draw his eyes in ever closer together while making his cheeks larger and flatter…..
Plus, Carville looks like he should be some sort of half man/half reptile/fish/alien guy off of Star Trek or Deep Space Nine
January 10th, 2008 at 11:05 am
86
Georgia Dept. of Ed. says:
SpartanDan,
Those out-of-conference victories you cite are merely disputed theories, much like evolution.
January 10th, 2008 at 12:16 pm