A New Era in College Football

[Jimmy3Putt]

Not sure how you can say that. Despite not being good for decades, their fans sell out their stadium every week during that time. Their fans are very special IMO.

It helps that there's no major sports competition (professional or college) in the state.
Those fans are loyal almost by default.

 

[forkbeard3777]

It helps that there's no major sports competition (professional or college) in the state.
Those fans are loyal almost by default.

Not a lot to do in the state of Nebraska. That said, I've been up there a very good amount (College World Series, upland bird hunting), and they truly are some great people and great fans. They're probably the most passionate group - and not in an "insane" way like Alabama (poisoning Toomer's Oaks) - that I've been around. No way I could live there, but I'd love to check out a big game at Memorial Stadium sometime.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

I would think 12 teams will encourage more ambitious scheduling, knowing you get a mulligan now. We should see some pretty good non-conference matchups coming up in the next decade.

I wish everyone boycotted the idea of neutral site bangers though. Alabama going to the Shoe would generate much more buzz than them meeting Ohio State at Jerry World or The Georgia Dome.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Agreed on no more neutral site games.

I think one unforeseen challenge for new B1G is the cross country travel. We’ve seen the toll a crazy cross-country travel schedule can do to ND regardless of opponent. The better more astute ADs (or whomever is charged w/ scheduling) would be wise to avoid a lot of back & forth travel for their teams in back-to-back weeks. I’m fascinated to see how it affects teams towards the latter part of the schedule.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

This list is silly. No one besides Bama, Georgia, and OSU should have "realistic" expectations to be in every year.

And OSU may be on their way out. CFB is a dynastic sport and only 2-3 programs should have those expectations annually.

No, what’s silly is that folks forget that Fan is short for Fanatic. Most fanbases are delusional & set their expectations accordingly.

 

[tussin]

No, what’s silly is that folks forget that Fan is short for Fanatic. Most fanbases are delusional & set their expectations accordingly.

Agree. And those expectations are not "realistic."

Only Georgia, Alabama, and OSU fans can say that with a straight face.

 

[IrishLax]

Agree. And those expectations are not "realistic."

Only Georgia, Alabama, and OSU fans can say that with a straight face.

Being Top 12? I mean, Notre Dame has finished in the Top 20 each year since 2016 and Top 12 in (I think) 5 of the last seven assuming we end up around 13 or 14 this year. So all things considered there are a lot of teams that should reasonably "expect" to being in the playoffs every year. In fact I'd argue it's a reasonable expectation for any team that consistently recruits Top 10 or finishes Top 15 75%-80% of the time. It's not just three teams that should expect to make the playoffs on a regular basis.

 

[thekid33]

Despite not being good for decades, their fans sell out their stadium every week during that time

Counterpoint - what else is there to do in Lincoln, Nebraska on a Saturday afternoon?

No offense to Lincoln, Nebraska.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

It's going to be hilarious to see James Franklin lose to Ohio State and Michigan every year but still get into a 12 team playoff because Penn State is 10-2. Can't wait.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

It's going to be hilarious to see James Franklin lose to Ohio State and Michigan every year but still get into a 12 team playoff because Penn State is 10-2. Can't wait.

So true. I’d throw teams like Iowa & Okie St in there too

 

[Sea Turtle]

Counterpoint - what else is there to do in Lincoln, Nebraska on a Saturday afternoon?

No offense to Lincoln, Nebraska.

Visit the Druze community, I guess.

 

[zelezo vlk]

Being Top 12? I mean, Notre Dame has finished in the Top 20 each year since 2016 and Top 12 in (I think) 5 of the last seven assuming we end up around 13 or 14 this year. So all things considered there are a lot of teams that should reasonably "expect" to being in the playoffs every year. In fact I'd argue it's a reasonable expectation for any team that consistently recruits Top 10 or finishes Top 15 75%-80% of the time. It's not just three teams that should expect to make the playoffs on a regular basis.

Yeah a lot of people in here are being kinda crazy thinking only 3 programs can expect to finish top 12 every year.

 

[ACamp1900]

Counterpoint - what else is there to do in Lincoln, Nebraska on a Saturday afternoon?

No offense to Lincoln, Nebraska.

I mean,… this can be said for over half the college towns in the country

 

[IrishLion]

Being Top 12? I mean, Notre Dame has finished in the Top 20 each year since 2016 and Top 12 in (I think) 5 of the last seven assuming we end up around 13 or 14 this year. So all things considered there are a lot of teams that should reasonably "expect" to being in the playoffs every year. In fact I'd argue it's a reasonable expectation for any team that consistently recruits Top 10 or finishes Top 15 75%-80% of the time. It's not just three teams that should expect to make the playoffs on a regular basis.

To add to this, there were a couple of years where you could’ve argued that ND should be closer to the top 10, but they were in the 15-20 range. It didn’t matter, because they were out of consideration for top-4 purposes, but it was still an argument you could’ve made based on the committee’s fluctuating rankings criteria.

Now, with expanded playoffs, you’ve gotta think that a fringe top-12 ND team is gonna get some extra love behind closed doors when it comes to rankings… they’ll want that brand in the playoff if it’s a borderline argument with a non-blue blood P5 school (or even over other blue bloods if it’s reasonable).

TL;DR it’s gonna be easier for a 10-2 ND to be ranked top-12 than it has been recently because TV and branding

 

[Rasputin]

Expectations vs. Reality

Final AP Poll Top 12 finishes in the last 10 seasons (2013 to 2022) by school:

10 of 10 (100%)
Alabama
Ohio State

8
Georgia
Oklahoma

7
Clemson

6
Notre Dame

4
FSU
Michigan
Michigan State
Penn State
TCU

3
Oregon
Stanford
UCF
Wisconsin

2
Auburn
Baylor
Cincinnati
Florida
LSU
Oklahoma State
Ole Miss
USC
Utah
Washington

1
Arizona State, BYU, Georgia Tech, Houston, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Northwestern, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Tulane, UCLA and Washington State

Rasputin fulling acknowledges that the final AP poll isn't a perfect indicator of the pre-bowl rankings and the playoff makeup, but it does give a decent data set to examine reality. Based on the above, if the baseline "expectation" is to make the playoff 75-80% of the time, then there will be a lot of unrealized fan "expectations" over the next 10 years. Only 4 programs did it in the prior 10 years. There should be no reasonable expectation that more than 4 will do it going forward.

Again, looking back at the prior 10 years, one could argue the fan bases of FSU, Michigan, Oregon, Florida, LSU and USC "expected" to be in the playoff most every year but none of them finished in the top 12 even 50% of the time. All good/great programs with high expectations but they failed more than they succeeded. If past is prologue, chances are the good to great programs will fail to make the playoffs more than they make it.

 

[tussin]

Expectations vs. Reality

Final AP Poll Top 12 finishes in the last 10 seasons (2013 to 2022) by school:

10 of 10 (100%)
Alabama
Ohio State

8
Georgia
Oklahoma

This is exactly my point. Only Bama and OSU have been top 12 every year and Georgia has vaulted into that category.

Lots of programs have fans with top 12 expectations annually, but they are not realistic.

 

[Huntr]

This is exactly my point. Only Bama and OSU have been top 12 every year and Georgia has vaulted into that category.

Lots of programs have fans with top 12 expectations annually, but they are not realistic.

So, you're saying if your team finishes in the top 12 most, i.e, > 50%, of the time, you shouldn't expect to finish in the top 12...most of the time.

 

[tussin]

So, you're saying if your team finishes in the top 12 most, i.e, > 50%, of the time, you shouldn't expect to finish in the top 12...most of the time.

No, this whole discussion started with this post:

Going off history, these are the schools that realistically should be in the 12 every year.

Alabama
Georgia
LSU
Texas
Oklahoma
Ohio State
USC
Florida State
Michigan
Oregon
Notre Dame
Utah

...which I maintain is a ridiculous expectations from fans. No schools outside of Bama and Georgia should "realistically" expect to be in "every year."

 

[Huntr]

No, this whole discussion started with this post:

...which I maintain is a ridiculous expectations from fans. No schools outside of Bama and Georgia should "realistically" expect to be in "every year."

Right, but if those teams generally are top 12, expecting to be top 12 isn't unreasonable.

 

[forkbeard3777]

Agreed on no more neutral site games.

I think one unforeseen challenge for new B1G is the cross country travel. We’ve seen the toll a crazy cross-country travel schedule can do to ND regardless of opponent. The better more astute ADs (or whomever is charged w/ scheduling) would be wise to avoid a lot of back & forth travel for their teams in back-to-back weeks. I’m fascinated to see how it affects teams towards the latter part of the schedule.

I loathe them...it makes me sick thinking of all these big neutral site games that LSU and others have participated in while Death Valley sits idly. I'm not even excited about playing USC in Las Vegas - I'd much rather a home and home in Death Valley and The Coliseum. The only one I enjoyed (despite the outcome) was seeing LSU - Wisconsin in Green Bay. That said, I still would have preferred to play them in Madison, and catch a Saints-Packers game in Green Bay.

College football is meant to be played at the school's stadium and on its campus.

 

[KMac151993]

Miami just had a TE announce he is returning for his 9th year...

Van Wilder of College Football...sport is officially a joke.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

Miami just had a TE announce he is returning for his 9th year...

Van Wilder of College Football...sport is officially a joke.

https://www.irishenvy.com/threads/acc-discussion-thread.91317/post-3311401

Nature is probably trying to tell him something, but he's not listening.

It's actually amazing the list of injuries he's had and he's not even 30. If Cristobal or anyone actually cared for this guy, they'd put a stop to this. I doubt anyone has tried to talk to him about going out and getting a job.

He's caught 24 passes in his career. This isn't even a blip on the radar.

 

[IrishLax]

Miami just had a TE announce he is returning for his 9th year...

Van Wilder of College Football...sport is officially a joke.

It's happening in every sport and it's a problem. I'm having a harder time than ever getting kids from the team I coach placed in colleges for two reasons:
1. Extra eligibility has effectively reduced roster spots by 10%-15% depending on the school, but at least we are almost done with blanket "COVID years."
2. The transfer portal has made it so that many schools are taking half to a quarter of their class in transfers each year instead of recruiting from HS.

So yeah... not great.

 

[Armyirish47]

It's happening in every sport and it's a problem. I'm having a harder time than ever getting kids from the team I coach placed in colleges for two reasons:
1. Extra eligibility has effectively reduced roster spots by 10%-15% depending on the school, but at least we are almost done with blanket "COVID years."
2. The transfer portal has made it so that many schools are taking half to a quarter of their class in transfers each year instead of recruiting from HS.

So yeah... not great.

And parents/family members are not hearing it so it ripples down through the whole system.

 

[irishff1014]

Miami just had a TE announce he is returning for his 9th year...

Van Wilder of College Football...sport is officially a joke.

Don’t make fun of others schools when ours will do the same. The walk in kick from the military is a head scratcher.

Thank you for serving for our country but they doesn’t mean at 27 you get on a college football team.

 

[SWirishfan]

Don’t make fun of others schools when ours will do the same. The walk in kick from the military is a head scratcher.

Thank you for serving for our country but they doesn’t mean at 27 you get on a college football team.

Well look at it this way
1. Someone at NBC isn't going to work too hard for a puff piece for the NIU or Miami (OH) game
2. They will likely make a movie in 20 years about it if he kicks the game winning FG against FSU. He'll be damn near 50 at the time, but still able to enjoy it. So win for him and win-win for the program

 

[rikkitikki08]

I almost guarantee you that kicker was brought in for his leadership skills and life experience, I would be stunned if he ever kicks in a game that isn’t a blow out

 

[stlnd01]

I almost guarantee you that kicker was brought in for his leadership skills and life experience, I would be stunned if he ever kicks in a game that isn’t a blow out

And he isn't taking a scholarship. It's a harmless move, not worth complaining about.

 

[Dizzyphil]

And he isn't taking a scholarship. It's a harmless move, not worth complaining about.

Agreed

 

[IrishLax]

There have been dozens of schools who have done something like this with retired military guys in walk on spots… goes way back to before extended eligibility. It usually comes down to wanting that guy in the locker room as a “value add.”

 

[IrishSteelhead]

There was a QB back in the 80s that was committed to USC. An old coach got him to dump SC, and go to Penn State.

Right before enrolling, his father died. He gave it all up to run the family farm in Texas.

Almost 20 years later, the same coach who got him to commit to Penn State became the DC at a local college that was crippled with sanctions.

He convinced the guy to play CFB at 34, and they beat the #1 ranked Texas Colts in a climactic season finish.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk