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Army didn't go on a 19-play…

Army didn't go on a 19-play drive because it takes rare extenuating circumstances to produce one of those. However, they did produce 4 drives of 10 or more plays.

Hey, this is awesome! But,…

Hey, this is awesome! But, some guy already did it better.

https://mgoblog.com/diaries/proposal-division-1-fbs-1-college-football-scheduling-champions-and-playoffs

Outside of ^ that, I have several other issues/comments on this.

1. Speak for yourself on conference championship weekend being "awful". While we only get 10ish FBS games that weekend, it allows more focus on each game, instead of being swallowed up in the Saturday flood like the regular season Saturdays. Plus, each game is the best each conference has to offer. Is every game a classic? No, but you're guaranteed at least some pretty good football, and in virtually all seasons, there is meaning and implications to multiple conference title games.

2. It's super cute that you think Indiana-Vanderbilt on the first Saturday of December will bring fans out and have them "glued to their tvs". You're telling me that if this was around in 2013/2014, you would be seriously interested in watching Michigan take on Kentucky/Vanderbilt/Arkansas in December, AFTER The Game? Give me a break. Rivalry weekend serves as borderline bowl teams' regular season climax as it is. Adding an extra game like that would devalue rivalry weekend and further devalue the regular season as a whole, IMO. This is also quite perilous for a team that happens to not be in the conference title game but still has a shot for a playoff bid (2016 Ohio State, 2017 Alabama). I don't agree with putting a non-conference/non-division champion in the playoff, but the committee has done it twice, so it looks like that door is perpetually open. Why would a 1-loss Ohio State, a 1-loss Michigan, a 1-loss LSU, etc., want to go play another game against a tough opponent that could give them a loss that would ruin any outside shot of them getting into the playoff? The last thing a 1-loss non-division champ would want would be to play an opponent of similar caliber, no matter where it is. It's one thing if it's in a conference title game, at least there is a conference trophy at stake.

3. See my post about doing basically this exact same thing, but just doing it in September, on the 2nd week of the season. That way, fans, coaches, players, stadium staffs, etc., have 9 months to prepare for a game AND the bemoaning of the quality of play being down in the first game, or having to play a comparable P5 opponent in the first game of the season would be lessened. You can still schedule Western Carolina in W1 if you want as a tune-up (apologies to the Catamounts!). 

4. I know Big Ten people and midwestern fans love to talk about "playing in cold/harsh weather", but if we're going to go down that road, let's be real and also admit that B1G teams aren't exactly rushing to play teams in the Deep South in late August/early September when it's 95 degrees and 100+ in the sun (Michigan just canceled a game at Arkansas). Every team in the Deep South goes through August practice in the heat and humidity, so I laugh whenever I hear about the "tougher, rugged" Big Ten playing in cold and snowy conditions. If you look at what past and current players say, most actually prefer to play in colder weather instead of hotter weather. Good try, though.

5. Your Problem #1 shows you are just immune to reality. Sure, we don't know for sure who is in each conference title game until the week before. Sometimes it can be 2-3 weeks out, but sure, we don't know even in late October/early November. But those respective cities at least know that there will be A GAME taking place, and can allocate staff/resources to prepare for it ahead of time. With your scenario, everyone has to keep that week open "just in case" we have to play a 7-5 Minnesota team. It's also hilarious that you simply submit the solution in case College Campus A's stadium isn't available of, just play down the road in NFL Stadium X! As if those venues just sit empty, waiting for a contrived, end-of-season interconference P5 matchup with nothing else going on. Your aforementioned "Georgia Dome" (Mercedes-Benz Stadium, guy) and Lucas Oil Stadium would both be unavailable in that case. Again though, good effort.

6. Problem #2, okay, I'm one of those fans that watches college football for the stories outside of the national championship race. But this "solution" still doesn't solve who the best teams or conferences are, because we still have home-and-away scenarios. Neutral site games are the best barometer of a "fair" matchup, even though most fans hate them. Your theory that SEC fans want to come up to the midwest in early December is also rich. If that was the case, why aren't there more bowl games in the midwest? There are like, less than 5? Even the B1G bowl games are in the South. Good try again, but juuust a bit outside.

7. The only people that harp about Problem #3 are you guys. Get over yourselves about being "tougher" because of colder weather. Play down south in 95 degree heat and then we'll see where we're at.

8. About your Benefit #1, see my Point 6.

9. Benefit #3 is part of the reason why some people lament the current college football setup. Money. But you can't have your cake and eat it, too. Which do we want? "A great weekend of football". To each his own...

10. Benefit #4, players would sit out these just like they do the RedBox Bowl. They wouldn't look at it as a chance to play more, they would see it as another opportunity to get injured.

11. Benefit #5, see my Point 4, and the "nation's world's best stadium"? haha. Also, nobody is stopping you from going to an Ole Miss game. If you want to check out other teams' game day atmospheres and traditions, just, like, go to one of their games, man.

12. Benefit #6 again you are completely wrong here. I guess you haven't been watching the SEC title game ever, or even the B1G title games are good most years and have playoff/Rose Bowl implications. I'm not sure what you're looking for out of these games.

13. Benefit #7, you complain about the fan experience being "watered down", yet this is exactly what that would continue to do, a 13th game for everyone in which 90% of the teams involved will have no interest in playing. It's basically the bowl setup we have now, except a lot worse.

14. Benefit #8, you would be racing to your seat to watch Stanford/Minnesota, on the first Saturday of December? While Alabama and Georgia are having a titanic matchup in the SEC title game? You do you, man.

The answer to this question…

The answer to this question is easy.  NASCAR.

The NASCAR season in 2001, 2002, and 2003 were, to many, the last organic seasons of a great racing association. Brian France became CEO in September of 2003 and immediately instituted the "Chase for the Cup" which has since undergone many iterations, but essentially transformed the final 10 races into a playoff to determine the champion.

2008 saw the full-time introduction of the colossal disaster called the Car of Tomorrow (COT).  Every car had the same body that included an unsightly rear wing and front splitter braces in place of the old air dam.  Just flat disgusting.  This is also where the economy's bottom fell out.

Over the past 18-20 years the driver corps as a whole, especially in the younger series, became insanely young.  Guys no longer are Cup rookies at age 30 or 35, and there are no longer drivers hanging around that are in their mid 50s. Nowadays if you don't have a Cup ride by age 25, man, what's wrong with you?

Unique tracks with personality but perhaps in remote locations were dropped for generic, antiseptic superspeedways that each look like the other that seated 100k+ people in metro areas with lukewarm fan passion for racing.

Stage racing was introduced in 2017 with largely influence from new title sponsor Monster Energy Drink that awards extra points twice per race at predetermined lap ends.

One positive change has been safety developments.  Driver deaths and severe injuries on-track used to be pretty common, but they rarely happen, now.

The answer to this question is definitely NASCAR.

Man, full disclosure, I'm…

Man, full disclosure, I'm just now getting to this, and legit this made me shed a tear or two.  I was lucky enough to meet Ace via David a couple of times and the man is as sincere and personable/relatable off air and offsite as he appears.  From what I read, it sounds like the Michigan community represents the bulk of what he's got left.  It does my heart good to see the rally behind this cause.

Sit back and relax, Ace.  We've got you.

at Michigan State is a…

at Michigan State is a losable game and has been since 2009.

I love how Dave Brandon is

I love how Dave Brandon is the scapegoat for the conference adding teams in 2014 and therefore having the same matchups from 2013-2014.  That was unavoidable.  Minnesota had to play at Michigna twice in a row and I'm not sure they bitched about it.  GA Tech had to play twice in a row at Clemson, we knew that was part of it.  Georgia had to play twice in a row at Auburn, now they have Auburn and GA Tech on the same rotation and Auburn has Alabama and Georgia on the same rotation.  Are all those AD's incompetent like Dave Brandon, then?

Oregon State is not considred

Oregon State is not considred cold-weather?

For me it's PS Vue no contest

You can stream PS Vue on up to five devices at the same time.  It can be on more than 5, but you can only stream PS Vue on 5 at a time.

I live in Atlanta, so that is my disclaimer when speaking about local channels, but I get the big four locals (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC).

I get every channel I could ever need for sports with PS Vue, including, yes, BTN.  Even the BTN Alternates are on it.

If you live in an area that can get it, I would highly recommend some sort of fiber.  I went from 150 Mbps of Comcast to AT&T Fiber at 100Mbps and it's better than Comcast for streaming IMO.

On PSVue you can select your favorite channels and they will all populate at the top of your guide.  That saves time scrolling on game day or any day.

One thing about DVR on PS Vue, which is the only service I can speak to, is in order to DVR something, you have to add a "show" to "My Shows", AND you cannot start watching the same show after it's already started if it's still recording.  So for instance, for a noon kick, you couldn't start watching it on your DVR at 1pm and "catch up".  I found that out the hard way about a year and a half ago.

How did UM-D become better than Minn?

For someone between a college hockey newb and novice.

Anthony's hockey analysis is

Anthony's hockey analysis is quite sharp.  The guy watches any hockey any time and it shows in these podcasts.

That NHL '94 theme music sounds familiar...

Just another player the NFL

Just another player the NFL is trying to downgrade based on some BS health issue.  Their only motive is to get a good talent for as cheap as possible, that's the whole reason for the combine and everything else.  They are just looking for a way to stiff you.

Such a reversal from one night to the next

Some really good-looking stuff in the first game on Thursday, I like that kind better.

Greyson Lambert (QB, Georgia) and Kurt Benkert (QB, Virginia)

Are two grad transfers I can remember that played two years at their final schools.

Love these features.
Looks

Love these features.

Looks like Saturday we're gonna get some classic FOOTBAW WEATHER

I hear they have a 2-for-1

I hear they have a 2-for-1 sale on Rutgers at Kroger right now.

Cloudy, windy weather, a bad

Cloudy, windy weather, a bad QB, a bad OL, inexperienced/droppy WRs, facing a good DL and at least one good cornerback, is not a recipe for success.

This will probably be a slog, similar to recent Indiana games.

Some teams in the Coastal do it almost every year

You will see either have a week off or play Army/Navy before they play us.  Duke has done it several times, Wake Forest, Pitt, etc.

Air Force has beaten Boise

Air Force has beaten Boise each of the past three seasons prior to this one.

Chicks dig dudes with money.

Chicks dig dudes with money.

Heat is crazy

It's just as steamy in Atlanta, as well. Seems like both the entire midwest and southeast has been stuck in this stationary heat and humidity for the past week.

*ducks*

Michigan is my second favorite team.  I have lived my whole life in Georgia and graduated from GA Tech (yes, I'm sitll licking the wounds from Monday night). Tech is in my blood, but I have friendly connections in Michigan and have attended games there for the past decade.

Weather or not

He looked like a short dog in tall weeds.  It's also not like Michigan was trying to throw it every play and he was missing guys because of the cold and precipitation.

I hope I am wrong, and that he is legit good, and if he needs to come in for a play or a series if needed, there is minimal dropoff.

O'Korn

must be one of those guys that tears it up in practice when guys are going 80% or so, because his practice reports have always been glowing.  Doesn't really jive with the Indiana game at all.

Georgia would be great

From a personal and overall perspective.

Personally, I live in ATL area and am a GT graduate, so I could invade Athens for a game and root against the Dwags.

Overall, it's another trip in addition to the future ones already booked that you can sell to recruits, and JH and company can get some recruiting done in the rich state of Georgia.

Oh, and probably (most importantly) leave Athens with a big DUB.

Not sure about Kurt

I know two things.

I saw him in person last season during the Grayson-IMG game and he did not move the pile or break tackles.  He took his 3-4 yards and that was it.  Not much wiggle, not much giddyup.  Just nothing more than present. IMG kids are what he's going to be seeing every week in college.

He's a Georgia kid that really wanted to go to GA Tech, but Paul Johnson saw him several times at camps and did not offer him.  Paul Johnson.  Paul Johnson did not want Kurt Taylor for HIS offense.  That and the IMG game told me all I needed to know.

Live in Atlanta, GT season ticket holder this year

So will be doing all home games except Wake Forest (due to a fall wedding, yes really), and the neutral site Labor Day game against Tennessee.

Doing one Michigan game this year, v Air Force.

My wife has a friend from college in El Paso, so we're taking a trip out there in October.  I politely pushed for us to attend a UTEP game while we're out there, which will be Western Kentucky.  They'll probably get boat raced, but the experience and seeing El Paso and the Sun Bowl will be fun.

My wife and I are thinking about doing the Magic City Classic in Birmingham between Alabama State and Alabama A&M, but it's not certain yet.  Her brother played a couple of season of football for Alabama State a few years back.

 

You only get one chance to play college football

You have four years of playing eligibility, and then that's it.  I will never understand why people rag on kids for transferring for a better opportunity within that four year window.  Most people in the same situation would do the same thing.

Give me a break

This kid talking like he enjoys school and is trying to accomplish both in the classroom and on the field.

We'll see how much he enjoys school when the NFL underclassman entry deadline approaches.

Richard Petty days

Richard Petty days

The only reason those games are on Aug 26

is part of the "Hawaii rule".

A team that plays at Hawaii AND also uses the ability to schedule a 13th game because of that, is allowed to play their first game the Saturday before Labor Day.

Not every *team* playing on Aug 26 is playing that extra 13th game, but there is at least one team involved in each game that is taking advantage of the early start, including Hawaii themselves.

Yes

If you're really into numbers, this is heaven for you.  If you're not, you can still read the text and get an idea of how the team is expected to look in 2017.

 

Connelly is well-respected when it comes to this, arguably the most respected.

I'm not sure why everyone is

I'm not sure why everyone is excited about this when it makes the institution look bad.  Back in December, Perry was suspended until all legalities were resolved.  It hasn't been resolved, yet he's back.  Not a good look.

I think it depends on your fandom

I agree with Norris, I'm as much of a college football fan as I am of my own teams.  Yes, I love attending the games just as much as the next person, but I equally enjoy sitting on my ass and indulging myself with college football for hours upon hours.  With noon kicks, fans like me/us get the best of both worlds, so to speak.  Now, if you only care about your own team, then I completely understand wanting to maximize your gameday experience at the stadium.

Only faced it once at BC

A 48-27 home win v Army, but it was 31-20 at halftime, and both teams scored on the first overall six possessions, and nine ouf of the first ten.  Army actually cut it to 31-27 in the third quarter before BC put it away. Seems like once Don figured it out, the clamps came down.  M is probably looking at a similar scenario on September 16.

That will probably end up a

That will probably end up a 6-12 day selection.

The SEC's solution is simple, if they want to keep divisions

Move Alabama and Auburn to the East, and move Missouri and Vanderbilt to the West.

You lose UT/Vandy, but just protect that rivalry only, like the B1G does with Ind/Purdue.

Given the schedule

At *most* it will be a middling AAC team, at least it will be a Sun Belt/MAC team. It will probably be Western or Ohio.  Solich's teams are tough and dependable but I'd rather face them than some of the other upper tier mid majors.

They just played UNLV so I doubt they'd grab them again.

We (GT basketball) got a

We (GT basketball) got a coach fired?!

Interesting topic

These types of things are very difficult to project, but if the pool is limited to "first national title ever", then there are some candidates that jump out.

The other thing is that it's much more difficult to win a national title now than it was even 20 years ago.  There are conference title games and playoff semifinals now.  Essentially, you have to win two extra games to be crowned national champion than you did 20 years ago.

I'll also limit the pool to post-WWII, going by more dependable records.

 

I think the first team you have to look at is Louisville.  As long as the reptile Bobby Petrino is there, they'll have talent and be able to score points.  The institution has also essentially thrown academics to the wind and has invested a hoard of resources into all of its athletic programs.  They can get basically any and every athlete they want into school because of the lax schooling, as well.  They do have Clemson and Florida State in their own division, but they blew FSU out of the water last year and took Clemson down to essentially one play, in Clemson.

I think Oklahoma State should also be in this conversation.  The program has shown under Gundy that they can remain nationally relevant.  It's not hard to envision one magical year out of Stillwater.

Washington State also popped into my mind.  While Mike Leach is overall a quirky individual, his system does work if given time to implement it.  Lately that has translated into actual wins on the football field in Pullman, and that air raid style could present some matchup problems for some hypothetical playoff teams.  Wazzou also has shown overall as a program that they can have that pop-up season and win a bunch of games, so there's at least a history of a few magical seasons here and there in the Palouse.

Arizona State currently does not claim a national title, interestingly.  Back in the 70s they were essentially the Boise State of their day, and it was primarily because of their success as a mid-major program at the time that the Fiesta Bowl was created, to make sure Arizona State would have an appropriate postseason bowl destination. Despite this, they do not have their name signed to any national titles.  I'm not sure Todd Graham is the right guy, but there is potential there in Tempe.

Stanford certainly remains relevant nationally, but I'm not sure they could ever get the athletes necesary to make a playoff run.

I think Wisconsin certainly is a possibility; the Big Ten West is manageable, but their last three wins would have to be against the East champion and then two playoff teams after that.  Tough sledding.

 

While I do think it's certainly possible for a G5 team to have a "rise up", it's going to be very difficult with the semi-final format, so I stayed away from that.

As much as a 15 > 2 tourney win reverberates

No one has brought this up yet.

But, they beat my Jackets, at Bobby Dodd, in 2012, by three touchdowns.  Tech's worst loss in probably 30 years.  They had come close to getting a couple P5 teams before that, too. I'd argue that vaulted them up a level or two in fans' and college football followers' eyes as much as anything.

They have gone with continuity with the football program, and it's paid off.  Rick Stockstill, in this day and age, has a tenure that borders on eternality.  His first season there was 2006, and has taken the program to heights never before seen, not only bowl appearances, but a few bowl wins. They are definitely on the up, but they will always have that in-state gaudy orange hovering over them.

*ASIDE*  bordering on irrelvancy concerning this topic, but they have a pretty interesting and long-standing rivalry with W Kentucky called "100 Miles of Hate", as the two schools are, you guessed it, approximately 100 miles apart either side of Nashville, Tennessee.  The rivalry goes back to the respective programs' D2 and 1-AA/FCS days.

Fire Drill Field Goal

Fire Drill Field Goal

My interest in college

My interest in college baseball has increased steadily over the past 3-4 years. Both my teams have already achieved six wins and have looked good doing it.

Brian wrote it.

Brian wrote it.

I endured the entirety of the podcast!

They saved the good stuff for the end...classic show move.

Yost Arena at Berenson Rink?

Overall I agree

But they got a Sugar Bowl for the first time since 1970.  That's not nothin'

1 problem with Hugh Sleaze's comparison

Jesus was persecuted for being perfect and blameless.

Ole Miss has not been perfect nor blameless.

I wasn't aware Bonamego and

I wasn't aware Bonamego and Lester were alums of their respective current coaching stops.  Thanks for the information.  I'd probably put them in the "waiting for success" category for right now.

They'd probably at least ask

They'd probably at least ask Gary Patterson first; he's a graduate of KSU.

I'm not sure Venables is HC material.  He has to have a personal restrainer on the sideline every week.

I can think of a few current

I can think of a few current cases and some potential cases that fit the "alumni" portion but not the "success" portion yet.

Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State certainly.  He has had that program at as high of a level as it's been over the past 6-7 seasons.

Troy Calhoun at Air Force. Actually graduated from the Academy and served his active duty.

Pat Fitzgarald and Paul Chryst at Northwestern and Wisconsin, respectively. I think both Fitz and NW will have each other as long as the other is willing. Chryst grew up in Madison and played at Wisconsin, and finished 11-3 in his first season there with perhaps the toughest schedule in the country, so he has to be included.

Bryan Harsin at Boise State. Played QB at Boise in the late 90s and, while the program slipped a bit at the end of 2015 and into 2016, they remain strong and a contender in the MWC.

Everyone seemingly keeps anticipating Stanford to fall under David Shaw, but that hasn't happened yet.

Scott Satterfield has Appalachian State at their traditional high level as a contender in their conference, now the Sun Belt. Satterfield played at App in the mid 90s.

 

POTENTIAL candidates (fit the alumni criterion but not the succes as of yet).

Nick Rolovich (Hawaii), Mark Richt (Miami, YTM), Kliff Kingsbury (TX Tech), Kirby Smart (Georgia), Kalani Sitake (BYU), Barry Odom (Missouri).

But I got a solution!

That's what you said last time!

South Carolina! What's up??