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Realignment talk not going away


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1 hour ago, Not a Sock said:

That’s a conference that collapses and see’s USC Washington and Oregon in the Big10 or SEC in 15 years.

I think the only thing that might stop the PAC from imploding at this point is some kind of PAC / ACC merger...It doesn't make geographical sense at all, but it could help both conferences stay intact...

I feel bad for Tech and Okie State, but I don't think they are a cultural fit at all in the PAC.  The progressives on the West Coast would definitely try to change some of their traditions.  No more "guns up" for Tech for sure..

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3 hours ago, DFW Horn said:

IDK if the football itself is shitty, but the atmosphere at most Pac games lacks a big game vibe. A half-empty Coliseum and Rose Bowl detracts from the on-field product. FOX marketing and hype pales in comparison to ESPN, too.

The B1G still feels "big time" despite FOX's shortcomings bc their top brands usually play in full houses. Bottom line is Pac "fans" just don't care as much. Front-runners

I've been to games at Husky Stadium(Washington), Autzen (Oregon) and The Rose Bowl (UCLA) and each game had a pretty loud atmosphere with UCLA fans being the most casual (t-shirt type, though the Rose Bowl was surprisingly loud.  I thought there were 80k+ fans at the games rather then the 60k+ that actually was there).  

1 hour ago, Not a Sock said:

The SEC dropped the hammer with OU and Texas. Any conference scrambling to react to that is foolish, the SEC has all the cards trying to raise the stakes only plays into the SEC hands. The push back on the playoff is a perfect example, Sankey firing back the current status quo is fine and the SEC benefits either way but trying to torpedo the playoff expansion only hurts the other conferences.

One thing is for sure, the SEC and Blue Blood programs aren't specifically concerned with the long-term health of the sport, its all just a short-sighted cash grab that is killing interest in CFB as more and more programs and their fans get cut out of the competitive picture.  

Edited by SwAss
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5 minutes ago, SwAss said:

I've been to games at Husky Stadium(Washington), Autzen (Oregon) and The Rose Bowl (UCLA) and each game had a pretty loud atmosphere with UCLA fans being the most casual (t-shirt type, though the Rose Bowl was surprisingly loud.  I thought there were 80k+ fans at the games rather then the 60k+ that actually was there).  

One thing is for sure, the SEC and Blue Blood programs aren't specifically concerned with the long-term health of the sport, its all just a short-sighted cash grab that is killing interest in CFB as more and more programs and their fans get cut out of the competitive picture.  

Counterpoint, they might be more interested in the future of the sport by ensuring a good product and breaking away from the toothless and worthless NCAA. If the NCAA hadn't been gutless about pretty much everything except paying for their own bloated salaries, things might not have progressed this way at all. 

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2 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

Counterpoint, they might be more interested in the future of the sport by ensuring a good product and breaking away from the toothless and worthless NCAA. If the NCAA hadn't been gutless about pretty much everything except paying for their own bloated salaries, things might not have progressed this way at all. 

 

Fair point, the NCAA is unnecessary and toothless, we need a new central governing body for CFB.  However, culling the number of programs that can compete and regionalizing the sport isn't necessarily improving the product on the field, it's turning the game into NFL-lite, which goes opposite of what made CFB so great, fun and intriguing.  The intrigue is being eliminated as the sport gets more predictable and regionalized.   

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14 minutes ago, SwAss said:

 

Fair point, the NCAA is unnecessary and toothless, we need a new central governing body for CFB.  However, culling the number of programs that can compete and regionalizing the sport isn't necessarily improving the product on the field, it's turning the game into NFL-lite, which goes opposite of what made CFB so great, fun and intriguing.  The intrigue is being eliminated as the sport gets more predictable and regionalized.   

Some of that is true. But the regionalizing of the sport has been taking place for 50 years now. That's what blew up the Big 8 into the Big 12. 

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2 hours ago, SwAss said:

 

Fair point, the NCAA is unnecessary and toothless, we need a new central governing body for CFB.  However, culling the number of programs that can compete and regionalizing the sport isn't necessarily improving the product on the field, it's turning the game into NFL-lite, which goes opposite of what made CFB so great, fun and intriguing.  The intrigue is being eliminated as the sport gets more predictable and regionalized.   

There have been only about 20 programs who could compete for the last 50+ years.  Just take the AP champs going back to the start of the wishbone (1968), exclude Pitt and BYU, add Oregon and you have the 20 programs.  They have 51 of the last 53 championships and 145 of the 159 top 3 finishes.

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37 minutes ago, bullet said:

There have been only about 20 programs who could compete for the last 50+ years.  Just take the AP champs going back to the start of the wishbone (1968), exclude Pitt and BYU, add Oregon and you have the 20 programs.  They have 51 of the last 53 championships and 145 of the 159 top 3 finishes.

This is true.  But it leaves out a lot of programs that *almost* won a title.  WVU ('88, '93, '07), OSU ('11), KSU ('98), TCU ('14), and Baylor ('14) have all been agonizingly close to winning or playing for a national title.  That's just within the Big 12.  Even though they didn't win a title, those type of seasons keep those fans coming back, investing in tickets/donations, watching on TV, etc.  It's a major change to what college football is if you remove those "almost" seasons from the equation.  

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1 hour ago, camel at sea said:

This is true.  But it leaves out a lot of programs that *almost* won a title.  WVU ('88, '93, '07), OSU ('11), KSU ('98), TCU ('14), and Baylor ('14) have all been agonizingly close to winning or playing for a national title.  That's just within the Big 12.  Even though they didn't win a title, those type of seasons keep those fans coming back, investing in tickets/donations, watching on TV, etc.  It's a major change to what college football is if you remove those "almost" seasons from the equation.  

Would also cut out Wisconsin, Virginia Tech, Washington, and others.  Honestly feel that Washington deserves a seat at the table over Oregon, the O in the middle of Autzen means Zero National Championships after all.

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7 hours ago, DFW Horn said:

IDK if the football itself is shitty, but the atmosphere at most Pac games lacks a big game vibe. A half-empty Coliseum and Rose Bowl detracts from the on-field product. FOX marketing and hype pales in comparison to ESPN, too.

The B1G still feels "big time" despite FOX's shortcomings bc their top brands usually play in full houses. Bottom line is Pac "fans" just don't care as much. Front-runners

PAC-12.  It just means less.

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1 hour ago, camel at sea said:

This is true.  But it leaves out a lot of programs that *almost* won a title.  WVU ('88, '93, '07), OSU ('11), KSU ('98), TCU ('14), and Baylor ('14) have all been agonizingly close to winning or playing for a national title.  That's just within the Big 12.  Even though they didn't win a title, those type of seasons keep those fans coming back, investing in tickets/donations, watching on TV, etc.  It's a major change to what college football is if you remove those "almost" seasons from the equation.  

Probably just about the complete list of teams close to winning a title.  The leftover 8 has shown a lot more than the also-rans of the other conferences.

If you want to look at what will leave them out, just look at the NIL deals.  That is going to have a massive impact.

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48 minutes ago, The Grassy Nole said:

Would also cut out Wisconsin, Virginia Tech, Washington, and others.  Honestly feel that Washington deserves a seat at the table over Oregon, the O in the middle of Autzen means Zero National Championships after all.

I was including Washington.  Forgot that their MNC was coach's poll, not AP.  Miami won the AP that year.

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On 8/9/2021 at 11:25 AM, PandaPipe said:

Full transparency can’t be expected given what they were planning, but leaders in the Big 12 felt they were owed a lot more than what they got: a no-show for the key July 22 meeting (citing “conflicts”) and a pointless July 25 videoconference with Bowlsby and the Big 12’s executive committee one day before Texas and Oklahoma sent their exit letter.

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This is true.  But it leaves out a lot of programs that *almost* won a title.  WVU ('88, '93, '07), OSU ('11), KSU ('98), TCU ('14), and Baylor ('14) have all been agonizingly close to winning or playing for a national title.  That's just within the Big 12.  Even though they didn't win a title, those type of seasons keep those fans coming back, investing in tickets/donations, watching on TV, etc.  It's a major change to what college football is if you remove those "almost" seasons from the equation.  

It also leaves out those who tear down goalposts after beating #1. You are losing against all odds victories in generally less than thrilling seasons for those type of teams.

And the whole discussion as to who is or is not rivals. Texas fans may not consider Tech, TCU or BU rivals, but they treat us that way. That brings about intense, season altering moments.

It’s interesting about the toothless NCAA point comes up as it largely the SEC that exploits that. In my mind, no doubt they want to control it all. They forced Texas and OUs hand. Join us or we’ll bury you.
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22 minutes ago, Had Enough said:


It also leaves out those who tear down goalposts after beating #1. You are losing against all odds victories in generally less than thrilling seasons for those type of teams.

And the whole discussion as to who is or is not rivals. Texas fans may not consider Tech, TCU or BU rivals, but they treat us that way. That brings about intense, season altering moments.

It’s interesting about the toothless NCAA point comes up as it largely the SEC that exploits that. In my mind, no doubt they want to control it all. They forced Texas and OUs hand. Join us or we’ll bury you.

I don't want anything to do with these schools.  Fuck em.  

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I don't want anything to do with these schools.  Fuck em.  

I understand a number of people feel this way. But you can exchange those names with others in the PAC, Big10, ACC, whose value to the college football world is not them threatening to make the playoff but rather potential upheaval when they beat someone who is a threat. Plus they can bring some hate which is a positive factor for the ultimate good of college football. I do think the hate these days has crossed the line and just become general shiftiness towards each other.
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1 hour ago, Had Enough said:


It also leaves out those who tear down goalposts after beating #1. You are losing against all odds victories in generally less than thrilling seasons for those type of teams.

And the whole discussion as to who is or is not rivals. Texas fans may not consider Tech, TCU or BU rivals, but they treat us that way. That brings about intense, season altering moments.

It’s interesting about the toothless NCAA point comes up as it largely the SEC that exploits that. In my mind, no doubt they want to control it all. They forced Texas and OUs hand. Join us or we’ll bury you.

 

ESPN buried Texas 10 to 11 years ago when they got them to agree to the Longhorn Network and broke up the original BIG 12 to let the SEC get a bigger footprint in Texas recruiting..

Texas and OU joining the SEC is just the final outcome of the plan ESPN put in motion back then.  You are right, they did not have much choice except to join the SEC or ACC because of ESPN... Texas (powers that be back then) was playing checkers while ESPN was playing chess.  

Edited by Azbadlands
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18 minutes ago, Azbadlands said:

 

ESPN buried Texas 10 to 11 years ago when they got them to agree to the Longhorn Network and broke up the original BIG 12 to let the SEC get a bigger footprint in Texas recruiting..

Texas and OU joining the SEC is just the final outcome of the plan ESPN put in motion back then.  You are right, they did not have much choice except to join the SEC or ACC because of ESPN... Texas (powers that be back then) was playing checkers while ESPN was playing chess.  

ESPN was all about ESPN.  ESPN stopping our move to the Pac prevented Fox from having a strong foothold.  B1G blew it this go around by thumbing their nose at ou.  Now, the SEC is Thanos.  This imbalance is because of ESPN and the B1g's actions/inactions. 

 

I wanted to leave last go round, but could I blame DD for wanting his own network?  Guess not.

Edited by closetohumping
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40 minutes ago, Had Enough said:


I understand a number of people feel this way. But you can exchange those names with others in the PAC, Big10, ACC, whose value to the college football world is not them threatening to make the playoff but rather potential upheaval when they beat someone who is a threat. Plus they can bring some hate which is a positive factor for the ultimate good of college football. I do think the hate these days has crossed the line and just become general shiftiness towards each other.

Too psycho,  too douchey, too rapey respectively 

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The PAC 12 commissioner meeting with Bowlsby feels like a professional courtesy. Feel him out, confirm he’s a an empty suit and move on. If the PAC 12 can work out a “scheduling alliance” with the Big Ten, there’s no need to associate with the Irate 8. They’d get better games in the EST and the CST. 
 

Tech needs to cut Baylor and TCU loose and do what’s best for Tech.
 

Ditto for Oklahoma State. They owe the old Big 8 teams nothing. 

Edited by billfromlaketravis
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Just now, billfromlaketravis said:

The PAC 12 commissioner meeting with Bowlsby feels like a professional courtesy. Feel him out, confirm he’s a an empty suit and move on. If the PAC 12 can work out a “scheduling alliance” with the Big Ten, there’s no need to associate with the Irate 8. They’d get better games and EST and CST games. 
 

Tech needs to cut Baylor and TCU loose and do what’s best for Tech.
 

Ditto for Oklahoma State. They owe the old Big 8 teams nothing. 

Kansas too.  They actually bring something to the table for the B1G.  The St. Louis  and KC market.

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12 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

The PAC 12 commissioner meeting with Bowlsby feels like a professional courtesy. Feel him out, confirm he’s a an empty suit and move on. If the PAC 12 can work out a “scheduling alliance” with the Big Ten, there’s no need to associate with the Irate 8. They’d get better games in the EST and the CST. 
 

Tech needs to cut Baylor and TCU loose and do what’s best for Tech.
 

Ditto for Oklahoma State. They owe the old Big 8 teams nothing. 

Didn't Bowlsby come from the PAC12?

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44 minutes ago, closetohumping said:

ESPN was all about ESPN.  ESPN stopping our move to the Pac prevented Fox from having a strong foothold.  B1G blew it this go around by thumbing their nose at ou.  Now, the SEC is Thanos.  This imbalance is because of ESPN and the B1g's actions/inactions. 

 

I wanted to leave last go round, but could I blame DD for wanting his own network?  Guess not.

They should have most definitely left back then, but i'm not sure the PAC or Fox was the best option..  One of OU's gripes for leaving was Fox scheduling too many 11 AM games for them and not being flexible..Who knows what timeslots we would have gotten playing PAC teams...

I think in the end, for recruiting and financial benefits, the SEC is the best move...I could see Texas (the state) recruiting being locked down now by the SEC  which Texas (the school) should hopefully be a major benefactor of with the right coaching staff...It may take a few years after they join the SEC for it to happen, but they should be able to build a wall around Texas and the entire deep South now....

It may not be the best thing for all of college football right now for the SEC to be that powerful, but who knows what moves the other conferences will make in the future to counteract what the SEC did..

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2 hours ago, closetohumping said:

ESPN was all about ESPN.  ESPN stopping our move to the Pac prevented Fox from having a strong foothold.  B1G blew it this go around by thumbing their nose at ou.  Now, the SEC is Thanos.  This imbalance is because of ESPN and the B1g's actions/inactions. 

 

I wanted to leave last go round, but could I blame DD for wanting his own network?  Guess not.

ParallelCorruptBantamrooster-max-1mb.gif.69d471cac3aa85727822793bd2b887b2.gif

SEC is Thanos and nobody has a Stormbreaker (that ax that easily defeats the supposedly-invincible full-powered Infinity Gauntlet).

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7 hours ago, bullet said:

There have been only about 20 programs who could compete for the last 50+ years.  Just take the AP champs going back to the start of the wishbone (1968), exclude Pitt and BYU, add Oregon and you have the 20 programs.  They have 51 of the last 53 championships and 145 of the 159 top 3 finishes.

Where is aggy in all of this?

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14 hours ago, Not a Sock said:

The SEC dropped the hammer with OU and Texas. Any conference scrambling to react to that is foolish, the SEC has all the cards trying to raise the stakes only plays into the SEC hands. The push back on the playoff is a perfect example, Sankey firing back the current status quo is fine and the SEC benefits either way but trying to torpedo the playoff expansion only hurts the other conferences.

Agreed. They could have gone from a position of having the SEC typically have two teams, or 50% of the spots, in the playoff, to a position where at most the SEC would get four spots and they would be guaranteed a spot themselves. They've let their emotions (panic, outrage, disappointment) override their common sense. But if humans didn't act with their feelings, even sometimes to their detriment, I guess we wouldn't be human would we?

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1 hour ago, ouflak said:

Agreed. They could have gone from a position of having the SEC typically have two teams, or 50% of the spots, in the playoff, to a position where at most the SEC would get four spots and they would be guaranteed a spot themselves. They've let their emotions (panic, outrage, disappointment) override their common sense. But if humans didn't act with their feelings, even sometimes to their detriment, I guess we wouldn't be human would we?

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On 8/10/2021 at 5:14 PM, J.R. Juniors Junior Jr. said:

My guess it was better academics and a big city market over anything else.

Agree on academics, but technically WVU is in the Pittsburgh DMA, so its the same city market, but I'd wager Pitt threw the "we draw all of Pennsylvania" card.   Which, they don't, they barely draw Pittsburgh.

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18 hours ago, Had Enough said:


It also leaves out those who tear down goalposts after beating #1. You are losing against all odds victories in generally less than thrilling seasons for those type of teams.

And the whole discussion as to who is or is not rivals. Texas fans may not consider Tech, TCU or BU rivals, but they treat us that way. That brings about intense, season altering moments.

It’s interesting about the toothless NCAA point comes up as it largely the SEC that exploits that. In my mind, no doubt they want to control it all. They forced Texas and OUs hand. Join us or we’ll bury you.

Yeah.  I think FBS is too glutted (130 FBS teams is way too many) but the reaction to that is going too far in some quarters.  Separate from some Sun Belt and CUSA teams in football?  Sure.  Stop playing P5 programs and G5 programs that have been at the highest level for 100 years?  That's too far.  NFL Lite is a short term cash grab that is a bad idea in the long term.

Same thing with the NCAA tourney.  Reclaiming some of the revenue from that event for the P5 basketball programs that make most of the money is a good idea.  Uninviting 75% of the schools that currently compete to play in the NCAA tournament is a bad idea.   The interest level in a P5 only NCAA tourney would be way down from the current tournament.  

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3 hours ago, camel at sea said:

Yeah.  I think FBS is too glutted (130 FBS teams is way too many) but the reaction to that is going too far in some quarters.  Separate from some Sun Belt and CUSA teams in football?  Sure.  Stop playing P5 programs and G5 programs that have been at the highest level for 100 years?  That's too far.  NFL Lite is a short term cash grab that is a bad idea in the long term.

Same thing with the NCAA tourney.  Reclaiming some of the revenue from that event for the P5 basketball programs that make most of the money is a good idea.  Uninviting 75% of the schools that currently compete to play in the NCAA tournament is a bad idea.   The interest level in a P5 only NCAA tourney would be way down from the current tournament.  

David vs Goliath makes for the best stories of the NCAA Tourney. It shouldn't change at all, IMO. It's the one thing NCAA butt-wipes do right.

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https://medium.com/run-it-back-with-zach/which-college-football-programs-bring-in-the-most-tv-viewers-efc03c689e50

Don't remember if this article has been linked.  Author took 5 year's average TV ratings excluding the CCGs and bowl games.  Ranked 1 to 73.  SMU was #73.  Below are the top 25 in the list.

  1. Ohio State (5.19M)
  2. Alabama (5.09M)
  3. Michigan (4.18M)
  4. Notre Dame (3.61M)
  5. LSU (3.22M)
  6. Auburn (3.12M)
  7. Georgia (2.91M)
  8. Oklahoma (2.90M)
  9. Clemson (2.67M)
  10. Penn State (2.55M)
  11. Florida (2.46M)
  12. Wisconsin (2.27M)
  13. Texas (2.269M)
  14. Florida State (2.23M)
  15. Michigan State (2.20M)
  16. Southern Cal (1.98M)
  17. Tennessee (1.85M)
  18. Texas A&M (1.75M)
  19. Oklahoma State (1.64M)
  20. Mississippi (1.61M)
  21. Iowa (1.57M)
  22. Nebraska (1.51M)
  23. Miami (1.503M)
  24. TCU (1.495M)
  25. Stanford (1.43M)

 

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23 minutes ago, bullet said:

https://medium.com/run-it-back-with-zach/which-college-football-programs-bring-in-the-most-tv-viewers-efc03c689e50

Don't remember if this article has been linked.  Author took 5 year's average TV ratings excluding the CCGs and bowl games.  Ranked 1 to 73.  SMU was #73.  Below are the top 25 in the list.

  1. Ohio State (5.19M)
  2. Alabama (5.09M)
  3. Michigan (4.18M)
  4. Notre Dame (3.61M)
  5. LSU (3.22M)
  6. Auburn (3.12M)
  7. Georgia (2.91M)
  8. Oklahoma (2.90M)
  9. Clemson (2.67M)
  10. Penn State (2.55M)
  11. Florida (2.46M)
  12. Wisconsin (2.27M)
  13. Texas (2.269M)
  14. Florida State (2.23M)
  15. Michigan State (2.20M)
  16. Southern Cal (1.98M)
  17. Tennessee (1.85M)
  18. Texas A&M (1.75M)
  19. Oklahoma State (1.64M)
  20. Mississippi (1.61M)
  21. Iowa (1.57M)
  22. Nebraska (1.51M)
  23. Miami (1.503M)
  24. TCU (1.495M)
  25. Stanford (1.43M)

 

I'm surprised UT isn't in the Top 10 and that TCU is in the Top 25.

7 SEC teams - it must mean more

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30 minutes ago, DFW Horn said:

I'm surprised UT isn't in the Top 10 and that TCU is in the Top 25.

7 SEC teams - it must mean more

Alot of that is the channel and timeslot they are in. And of course opponent Aggy gets a boost cause they play 2 teams people want to see every year.

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5 hours ago, DFW Horn said:

I'm surprised UT isn't in the Top 10 and that TCU is in the Top 25.

7 SEC teams - it must mean more

As already has been said on the SEC Network many times now, with the addition of Texas and Mobilehoma, "It means more-er."  Lulz.

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