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When I click to request my…

When I click to request my instructions, it says I'm blacklisted and to contact a mod. My user on reddit is psychomatt93. I don't know who the mods are or how to contact them. I joined reddit just to help with risk.

Strategy for next round

I have a strategy idea but don't want to post it here. Is there someone in the small secure group of leaders I can send it to? Dischord is not secure.

p.s.

I am psychomatt93 on reddit CFBrisk and need karma to get my third star. Would appreciate any upvotes if you see me.

16 Team Conferences

IMO 16 team conferences make sense only if the NCAA rules are modified to permit semi-finals and a final championship game at the conference level. In that case, 16 clearly seems better than 14 and arguably is better than 12 (depending on which schools you add).

A sixteen team conference with four divisions of four teams each would allow each team to play its three in-division rivals along with two teams from each of the other three divisions every year without exceeding nine conference games. And if you organize the divisions in a way that avoids guaranteed cross division games, you get to play every out-of-division team in a cycle that is two games on and two games off. The break is never longer than two years.

As far as money, the semi-final games would bring in a fortune, probably more than enough to come close to covering the cost of losing an OOC baby seal game for all but three or four schools. Also, FWIW, in basketball you could do exactly the same thing and play everyone on your schedule twice (home and away) every year using an 18 game conference schedule. And the B10 basketball tournament could be a 16 team tourney with seed based on division results (division winners get #1 seeds, runners up get #2 seeds, etc.)

Bo-Woody: OSU, UM, MSU, Syracuse

Rocke-Paterno: PSU, ND/Miami, Virginia, Maryland

Stagg: Wisconsin, Illinois, NW, Minnesota

Osborne: Nebraska, Iowa, Purdue, Indiana

Metric system?

Metric system?

J.J. Deman

J.J. Denman

4-star OT

6'6" 310 lbs

He is from Pennsylvania, but committed to Wisconsin because of their recent success getting offensive linemen to the NFL. Now that their entire offensive coaching staff is gone, he is looking around along with Kyle Dodson. Scout and Rivals have downgraded both Dodson and Denman to "soft verbals". He and Dodson might visit Ann Arbor together.

Duke

And I'm not saying this just because I hate them. The cult around Coach K is very similar to the one around JoePa. He gets a little more like Bobby Knight every year in terms of being dismissive and even mocking to the press and no one dares say a word. He could cover up just about anything in his program if he wanted to IMO.

Duke

And I'm not saying this just because I hate them. The cult around Coach K is very similar to the one around JoePa. He gets a little more like Bobby Knight every year in terms of being dismissive and even mocking to the press and no one dares say a word. He could cover up just about anything in his program if he wanted to IMO.

Chuck Martin to OC

I also wonder if Chuck Martin's move from DBs coach to OC will have any effect on Yuri Wright's decision. As DBs coach, Martin would have been Wright's position coach at the time Wright visited South Bend. Presumably, he spent time with Wright during the visit telling how they intended to use him, etc. and now Wright will have to build a new relationship with someone different.

Wolverine60614

#5. Had NW in the Insight but they let me down. Where is everyone else?

It's not that special of a deal

People make a big deal about the "top 8" ND rule but, really, what elite program wouldn't get an at-large bid if it ended up in the top 8? We just got one by being ranked #13. If it was an exception offered to BSU or KSU, sure it would make a difference. But there is no scenario that ND would not get an at-large bid if it were ranked in the top 8. In practice, it's a totally worthless rule.

Go do it, then

If it works so well for you, why don't you go do it? Who is forcing you to play B10 teams? You didn't need to wait for the B10 and P12 to cut this deal before rearranging your schedule as you just wrote down. What are you waiting for?

ND has no good options

ND has no good options left. Even the ACC option has major problems, most notably the size of the conference. ND would be the 15th school and the ACC almost certainly will not stop with an odd number so that means someone else will join to make 16. Even if the ACC sticks with its current format of 9 conference games, ND will limited to three OOC games each year. Assuming they elect to keep the USC and Navy games, which are the two they always insist are non-negotiable, they will only have one game a year to schedule. Bye-bye to Michigan, MSU, Purdue and Stanford.

USC and Stanford

It's actually going to put USC and Stanford in a tough situation. They might not want to drop ND, but Larry Scott has said the P12 plans to keep its 9-game conference schedule. That means that if they play both a B10 team and ND every year, they will only have one game left to schedule. I'm pretty sure most Michigan fans would throw a tantrum if we ever boxed ourselves into a situation where we were effectively limited to selecting one different team to play every season.

Double post.

Double post.

Ditto.

Everything isn't always about ND. Who cares what they do?

Two-year hiatus

A two year hiatus is already built into the current contract. I believe it was originally written in for 2017-2018, though Brandon has said they are looking at the contract with ND and the two schools might agree to move the dates.

Ummmm ...

College football makes money for most D-1 schools. Most athletic departments are in the red not because of football but because they support many non-revenue sports beyond football. In fact, football is the funding source for most of the money needed to operate those non-revenue sports. Even in the situations where football itself does not make a profit directly, it can be a valuable PR tool. A successful program on the field (e.g. Boise State) raises the profile of the school in the media and often can be tied to an increase in the number of student applications. If budgets continue to be tight, it is the non-revenue sports rather than football that are the most likely to be cut.

Agree.

When I look at the schedule each season, I look to see how many marquee games we have at home and ND is always one of those games. The thought that we are going to drop them from the schedule and replace them with someone better every season is unrealistic. Brandon will end up replacing ND with another high profile opponent (e.g., Georgia, Texas) about half the time and then stick us with a bunch of additional MAC teams or worse for the remainder. Be very careful what you wish for.

Also, the idea that ND would not be able to find another high quality opponent to replace us is equally delusional. They are one of the elite programs/brands that help sell tickets and generate TV ratings. Just like Michigan, they will have no problem getting Georgia or Florida or Oregon or LSU or some similar program to fill the slot if that is what they want. The losers in any concerted effort by the B10 to cut out ND will be Sparty and Purdue.

NSFMFs

My prediction:

1. We have bought our way out of that crappy UConn return game

2. The Great Brandon is revealing our new mascot

Buildings are named after ADs

Michigan has historically named its major athletic buildings after ADs (Yost, Crisler, Canham, Schembechler) not coaches. So unless you want to watch hockey games in Dave Brandon Arena, let's hope Yost is the home of Michigan hockey for a long, long time.

Yes.

The NCAA has an automatic rule that goes into effect with post-season bans. If a player's entire remaining eligibility is covered by a post-season ban, that player can transfer without sitting out a year. That means all seniors can transfer if they want.

Yessssssss!

There is a Santa Claus after all and his name is Mark Emmert.

I was just going to say this

Garnett gives a glowing review of everywhere he visits. Also, FWIW, I asked Justin Hopkins (who Steve Wiltfong got this info from) about two or three months ago whether Michigan had a shot at Banner or Garnett and he told me he would be very surprised if they both didn't stay on the West Coast. Hopkins and Wiltfong don't know any better than we do where these kids are going. They just put out "updates" like this to get more web hits.

Agreed.

And Dunn's decision bodes well for the future in the broader sense. It is the first sign that Urbie might run into some of the same problems that RR had in terms of trying to recruit elite players from the State of Ohio and throughout the Midwest who do not want to play in a spread offense.

Over-rated

Sorry, but I don't see what apparently everyone else sees. He is a good D-1 LB, but certainly not among the best defensive players we see every year. Jerel Worthy is better. Gholston is better. David is better. Still is better.  Our own Mike Martin is better. Mercilous (sp?) of Illinois. Many of the Ohio linebackers we have faced over the past decade, such as Laurenitis, have been better. I even think the LBs that Sparty put on the field this year were as good or better. It's great that Teo wants to stay and get his degree from ND, but beyond that it's a non-event. He will not be the player we are worried most about when we line up against them next year.

OK if limited to HC

I think it would be ok if it was just limited to the incoming HC. In most of these situations, much/most of the existing staff is not being retained so in a way they are at a recruiting disadvantage. But the way I read the NCAA waiver, Ohio could actually hire an entirely new staff and thereby have 10 guys out recruiting full-time while the staffs of most other teams are preparing for bowl games. That is crazy. Well, it would be crazy if it weren't a decision made by the NCAA.

I suppose that's possible

... but even if that is true, this guy isn't Dan Mullen. I think whoever Urbie hires as his DC and the rest of the defensive staff will be more important than the QB coach. Again, with the caveat about recruiting. Some coaches are literally hired more for their recruiting prowess than their coaching ability, so if this guy is some killer recruiter, that would be significant.

Firing of RR

How much do you know about the decision to replace RR? Specifically, do you know if Dave Brandon thought he had Harbaugh locked up and that fell apart at the last minute or did Brandon really wait until after the bowl game to make a decision and ultimately talk to candidates?

Not a big deal

It's not a big deal, one way or the other. Urbie is the brains behind the offense and I think he said he even intends to call his own plays. And this guy is not even the OC, he is the QBs coach. Unless he is an amazing recruiter, this is not the guy we need to worry about.

Clark as WR

I agree on Clark. He is on the tall side for a safety and who's to say he's done growing. Gotta say, though, it's great to be talking about what we are going to do with all the DB talent we have instead of trying to figure out which true freshman we are going to be forced to put on the field.

Not sure about Cam ...

But I wouldn't mind it if Armani stopped by Noah Spence's house and brought him along for an official visit.

Team Effort

Hopefully, all of the returning DL players will work extra hard in the offseason knowing they are going to need to step up as a group to fill some pretty big shoes. It's not impossible, but it needs to be a group effort. The same is true on the OL. We lose a couple of very good players there too, but we have enough talent that the transition can be managed so long as there are not too many injuries and everyone works hard in the offseason.

Exactly.

Tickets would be allocated largely the way they are for a normal home game. That is one of the things that makes the home field advantage so valuable, and it virtually guarantees a sell-out because all of the season ticketholders and local fans would quickly snap up tickets to another big home game.

Agree

I have no problem with Brian or anyone else pointing out the flaws in the bowl system, but at the end of the day, no one is forcing conferences or schools to participate. And no one is forcing the major conferences, as a group, from getting together and deciding to run their own bowls or at least demanding reforms to the current system.

Like it or not, what we have here is the free market system at work. Schools are tripping all over themselves to get invited to these bowls for a reason. Even teams like MSU, who whine and complain about the bowl they are going to, do not turn down the invites. That tells you something very important. Specifically, it tells you there is a lot of value to the schools in the bowls. Whether it is PR value or recruiting value or extra practices or even just the net dollars received by the schools, the bowls clearly provide the schools with substantial value.

And, again, if the point of complaining is to encourage reforms that will reduce or eliminate the flaws in the bowl system, fine. That's great. But no system is perfect. And the NCAA and major conferences are smart enough and have plenty of fancy lawyers to negotiate the best possible deals with the bowls. The idea that Jim Delany and Mike Slive are incompetent or ingorant buffoons who easily could demand a better deal from the bowls but simply don't is a simplistic view of the world that is divorced from reality. They don't do that with the other aspects of their jobs (see rapidly increasing new TV deals), so there's no reason to believe they approach the bowls that way. They are negotiating the best deals with the bowls that they can.

Unfortunately ...

... no one really sems to have noticed.

All the chatter is about either VaTech getting into the BCS or the LSU-Bama rematch. And even the people complaining about the teams left out of the BCS seem to be more interested in BSU or Baylor. No one cares about K-State.

Also, FWIW, no one has noticed that the Sugar Bowl could have selected Oklahoma because they ended up at #14. Oklahoma is a huge name in CFB and an Oklahoma v. Michigan match-up in the Sugar Bowl would have looked pretty sweet on the marquee. But the Sugar Bowl picked VaTech instead. Why? I don't know. But it's hard to understand that decision from a purely economic standpoint.

Which is perfect.

Because Pat Forde is a travesty. And a buffoon. If he supported the bowl selections, I would immediately begin to question them.

The rules are the rules

All of the FBS teams signed up for a system with a set of rules and now they have to live by them. The rules say that any team in the top 14 of the final BCS rankings can be selected as an at-large pick to a BCS bowl. They don't say #7 must be selected over #13. Sometimes the rules work in your favor and sometimes they don't. For example, if Michigan did not work its way back into the top 14, we would not be going to the Sugar Bowl. But we did and we are. Period.

If the schools, as a group, want to change the rules next year (or after 2013, actually), they can. But individual schools can't sign up for a system with one set of rules and then complain about those rules later simply because they don't happen to work out in their favor. And if the BSU's and KSU's and MSU's do not like the current CFB system, they are free to go off and start their own. No one is forcing them to ride on the coattails of ND and Michigan and Texas and Alabama and USC and all the other elite programs that spent the last 100+ years investing in and building CFB into what it is today.

Not true

Last time I checked, the cost of everything is going up. That means the cost of virtually everything a student athlete receives from a school - tuition, room & board, books & fees, coaches and trainers, facilities, equipment, training table, travel - has increased over the past 20 years just like TV contracts. Also, the amount of money an athlete expects to earn if he successfully makes it to the pros is continually going up. The "value" of what every student athlete receives goes up every year, to some extent in direct correlation with the amount of money each athletic department brings in. It's actually a pretty good system when you really sit down and think about it.

Baby w bathwater

You don't throw out the baby with the bathwater. If, as you claim, Denard is getting screwed, let him go directly to the pros. Either he wants to play college ball or he doesn't, but you don't turn the system on its head to accommodate the small number of athletes who are the exceptions to the rule.

The next thing you will be doing is demanding that Ivy League students be given scholarships and be paid. Or even that top HS athletes should have agents and get paid. No. The Ivy League has chosen a system based on certain values and goals for that system and they should be allowed to do so. No one forces a kid to go to Harvard instead of Pitt. Just like no one forces a kid to go to Michigan on full athletic scholarship and play football. If there is a flaw in the system, it is in the restrictions that prevent HS students from going directly to the pros. Fine. Fix that. Let them go. It is an extremely small number of athletes and it can easily be handled by allowing those special athletes to skip college. But turning the NCAA into a pro system will destroy much of what makes it different and special. It is not the NBA. It is not the NFL. And most fans of college sports don't want it to be.

Players ARE paid

Sorry, but i don't get this "players need to be paid" argument. They already ARE paid. My argument is based on (a) what the players actually get and (b) the fact that most kids coming out of HS would literally give their left testicals to be on full athletic scholarship in college even if they knew they had zero chance of going on and making it to the pros.

In exchange for playing college ball, players get a free college education (tuition, room & board, fees & expenses) from the best schools in the country. The average direct cost of such an education is probably somewhere in the neighborhood of $100,000 and is much higher at the best schools. They also get elite-level coaching, strength & conditioning, training table, medical care and academic assistance as well as tons of TV exposure so that the few who are actually talented enough have the best possible opportunity to make it into the pros at the end of the college careers. And, if that were not enough, they also get to be BMOC. Everyone wants to be their friend. They get all the hot chicks. They get untold "freebies". And they get lifetime membership in a fraternity - comprised of the school itself and other former players, alumni and fans - that is always there for them whenever they need a job or helping hand. Did Kirk Herbstreit and Jesse Palmer really end up making millions working for ESPN because of their amazing broadcasting talents or did they end up there largely because they played football at two of the top college programs in the country?

All of the above is an amazing package of benefits that every college athlete receives. If you need proof of its value, just consider the hundreds of thousands of HS kids who scratch and claw and beg to to be invited into this select group of special college students every year. And they do that fully knowing that the vast majority of them never will go on to play professional sports.

Yes, there are a relatively small number of athletes every year who are so gifted that they probably could jump directly to the pros without first going to college. Fine. Let them. But for the rest, including the vast majority of recruits who make up the the recruiting classes at all the elite football and basketball schools in the country every year, college is either essential to developing their talents and bodies and raising their games to the level that a pro team will be willing to take a chance on them or it is the last stop at which they can participate in athletics at the highest level in a sport that they love. IMO those athletes are extremely well compensated for their efforts.

Others ...

I would think Chryst and Narduzzi would be somewhere on the list. And, in fact, this would even be a step up for someone like Charlie Strong. Illinois has a much stronger history in football than Louisville and way more money. Strong also might want to extricate himself from the sinking Big East before it truly has morphed into CUSA 2.0. If I were the Illini (or any of the schools with job openings in the South or Midwest), Charlie Strong would be on my very short list.

Neutral Site CCG

The problem with neutral site conference championship games is that both teams will be going to a major bowl game shortly thereafter. That means fans are expected to travel and stay overnight for the CCG and then again for a bowl game. It's asking a lot, especially in a down economy.

The B10 should closely watch how the P12's CCG goes the next couple of years. In the P12, the CCG is hosted by the team with the best record. I realize the Midwest is cold in December and all of our CFB stadiums are outdoors, but the CCG still would easily sell out every year if it was held at the home field of one of the participants. And that is despite the fact that the most likely locations (i.e., Michigan, PSU, OSU, Nebraska, Wisconsin) all have significantly larger seating capacities than any NFL stadium in the B10 footprint. It would also further strengthen demand for season tickets for most of the schools, because season ticketholders would be entitled to first rights to CCG tickets (similar to what is done in MLB, NFL, etc).

Top 3 rated regular-season CFB games

Top 3 rated regular-season CFB games:

1. 1989 ND v. Miami (overnight rating: 14.5)

2. 2006 Michigan v. OSU (overnight rating: 13.7)

3. 2011 LSU v. Bama (overnight rating: 11.9)

 

http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2011/11/lsualabama-earns-best-non-bowl-…

Other Notable 2011 Games

Here are a few other games, for comparison:

 

ND v. Michigan (9/10 @ 8:00 pm): 4.8

LSU v. Oregon (9/3 @ 8:15 pm): 4.7

Bama v. PSU (9/3 @ 3:30 pm): 3.9

 

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/hiestand-tv/story/2011-09-12/w…

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/hiestand-tv/story/2011-09-06/C…

Reeks of panic

There's way too much chatter from multiple different places for the Urbie to OSU rumor not to be likely true, but the 7 years / $40 MM detail is either wrong or reeks of panic. Meyer had three or four very good years at Florida, but his last year was mediocre at best. He was having trouble competing with Bama once Saban got fully established there and even the LSU and Auburn programs were in better shape than Florida's by the time Urbie left Gainesville.

Also, Urbie has shown no ability to run a pro style offense, so either he plans to bring his spread to Columbus or he comes with a big question mark as to how succesful he will be running a pro style team. I'm not among the naysayers that claim a spread cannot work in the B10, but if he converts Ohio to a spread that should make it easier for Michigan to recruit elite level Ohio kids who want to play in a pro style offense.

Why would OSU pay nearly $6 MM per year for this? If true, it's probably just Gee and Smith trying to save their jobs with a high profile hire. It also reminds me of the Charlie Weis 10-year deal at ND. Just like Charlie, if Urbie isn't dominating Michigan and winning national championships by year two, the $40 MM price tag is going to look pretty stupid.

Bingo?

Who is Bingo and what position does he play?

NCAA should stay out of this.

First, there is no way in hell that PSU is going to provide information to the NCAA that might potentially impact the pending criminal cases or expected lawsuits. And that is, more or less, exactly the type of information the NCAA has asked PSU to provide.

Second, if the NCAA gets involved here, it sets a precedent. It will then have to get involved in every other potentially serious criminal situation. For example, they will need to investigate the ND situation where the female student accused a player of sexual assault and shortly thereafter committed suicide. Did ND investigate that properly? Did they cover anything up? What about all of the other situations in which athletes, coaches or administrators are charged with serious criminal activity every year? If a HC is charged with domestic abuse, does the NCAA launch an investigation? How about a player? AD? President? Are all schools properly handling criminal allegations against athletes, coaches and administrators or is it possible some are systematically covering them up?

We have law enforcement agencies and courts whose job it is to handle exactly this type of situation. The NCAA adds nothing by getting involved. In fact, the NCAA barely does a competent job investigating and enforcing its own rules. The last thing the NCAA should be doing is running around trying to investigate and enforce potential violations of criminal law.

Gene Smith is incompetent

According to the Plain Dealer, the NCAA is still waiting for paperwork from OSU on the summer employment violations that triggered the extended suspensions a month ago. How does Gene Smith still have a job?

[blockquote]

Ohio State spokesman Dan Wallenberg told The Plain Dealer Tuesday that the school is still finalizing its response to the employment issue that saw four Buckeyes suspended after Ohio State and the NCAA ruled they were overpaid by former booster Bobby DiGeronimo. Wallenberg said there are no new issues, but Ohio State hasn't completed its report on these violations, which were first revealed at a news conference on Oct. 3.

Once the school submits that response, it will then wait for word from the NCAA. Every indication is that the OSU administration still does not expect a post season ban to be part of any penalties, and OSU coach Luke Fickell said he had no update on any postseason problems. In the last 10 years, five major college football programs were given postseason bans of one or two years.

In three cases, the schools were cited for lack of institutional control, and in the other two, there were major recruiting violations that angered the Committee on Infractions because of their severity. Neither situation would apply to the Ohio State case as it stands, though a lack of institutional control charge could be added.

The Big Ten will not allow a team that is banned from the postseason to play in the championship game.

[/blockquote]

http://www.cleveland.com/osu/index.ssf/2011/11/post_73.html

Only the NCAA knows

"Experts" originally estimated the timing to be approximately 8 weeks from the August 12 hearing, but Gene Smith said he expected things to be pushed back a bit when the subsequent violations came out about players accepting money for work they did not do. Bucknuts insiders are suggesting it will be mid November. Really, since we don't know everything the NCAA is looking at and if all the investigations are even completed, who knows. One thing to consider, however, is that if the NCAA is going to hit OSU with a post-season ban, it will be awkward if that ruling comes down after the BTCG (especially if OSU wins and is slotted in for the Rose Bowl). I would think the B10 is pushing the NCAA to issue its ruling, if at all possible, prior to the end of November.

^^^ This ^^^

There is a reason Michigan can sell out a 100,000 seat stadium every game, year-in and year-out, and Indiana can't give their tickets away. It is called winning. The last three years have been tough all around and a slight drop-off in student interest is unsurprising. The exact opposite is happening with men's basketball (season ticket sales have doubled). If the football program gets back to winning the way it has over the past 40 years, the issue will disappear.