College Football 2011

[Gold Storm]

could be way Pitt is thinking of going to the ACC with Syracuse.

[Rhaco]

I'm happy Iowa decided to field a defense for the first time this year, though why they waited until the 4th quarter of the third game is beyond me.

Still going to be a long year. I'd be surprised if they finish much better than .500.

I guess having the fewest number of returning starters in the conference and being ranked 100+ in the country in % of returning lettermen are bad things. Who knew?

[Bronn Stone]

Ha! The Big East must really hate the state of Iowa schools today. I can't believe Pitt let that lead slip.

Actually, I'd say losing to a couple of Iowa teams is the least of the concerns of the Big East today. "Will there be a Big East tomorrow?" is a much bigger question.

[Green Apple Fossoway]

Actually, I'd say losing to a couple of Iowa teams is the least of the concerns of the Big East today. "Will there be a Big East tomorrow?" is a much bigger question.

They have problems on multiple fronts, its true.

[Eponine]

Go Miami! I hate you so, but I hate Ohio State so much more!

[HokieStone]

Mixed feelings about the ACC expansion. On one hand, I'm glad the ACC is being proactive instead of sitting here waiting to be poached. On the other hand, I'm not overly thrilled about the addition of Pitt and Syracuse. Realistically, it was about the only thing the ACC could do...there's no football juggernauts sitting there ready to be scooped up (maybe...more on that in a second). And this should solidify the ACC as the best basketball conference (even more so with future additions...again, more in a second). The biggest ACC name to comment on the expansion so far is Coach K, who talked about how great it would be for basketball...which goes to show you where the ACC's mindset still is...trot out the basketball coach to talk about what is essentially football expansion.

Now as for the teams...I actually like the move to get Pitt...Syracuse leaves me a little cold, though. Pitt currently has an excellent basketball program, and I believe has the ability to become a player in football again. Syracuse...not so much, in football IMO. The ACC already has too many small private schools...another one doesn't help. I would have much rather had UConn...speaking of which...

In the (seemingly) inevitable move to 16, who will be the ACC's 15th and 16th? I'm thinking we're not done raiding the Big East, and my guess is that UConn tops the list. Excellent basketball program (although I'm not a huge fan of Calhoun), and they're trying to make the football program respectable. Well - it's already respectable, they're trying to make it something more (unlike BC, apparently). So, if UConn is next, who's 16? Rutgers? Maybe, if we keep raiding the Big East. But I honestly think Rutgers would be a fallback option. My guess is that the ACC is trying to land a big fish...

Notre Dame.

If the super-conference writing is on the wall, and no one outside the super-conferences will get part of the pie (including Notre Dame) - then they'll finally be forced to join a conference. And I think the ACC is trying to win the Notre Dame sweepstakes. Is it realistic that Notre Dame could end up in the ACC? I have no idea, but I think that's what they're going for. We'll see.

I think the Texas-to-ACC rumors never had much merit. I think Texas may have started that to continue to strongarm the remaining Big 12 and/or PAC-12, but I don't think there was ever any serious interest in Texas by the ACC. Some rumors in fact say that the ACC contacted Texas and said "don't bother to apply".

The VT fanbase is fairly split over this. Some preferred to stay in the ACC, and view bringing in Pitt/Syracuse and 15/16 as the cost of staying relevant. There is strong sentiment that we could have been the SEC's 14th at the drop of the hat, and some fans are fairly furious that we didn't go that direction. Meh...while it would have been exciting for the first year or two, I'm OK with not going to the SEC. I'm OK with being 4th best football conference and #1 in basketball - especially since I think such things are cyclical. Today, the ACC beat the defending national/SEC champion and defending Big 10 champion, while giving the #1 team a run for their money. The SEC is still clearly the #1 football conference, but I don't think it's a huge gap between ACC, Big10 and PAC12.

[BLU-RAY]

Ugh. Fleener's out, our best player on D just got what looks like a season-ender, our O-line doesn't look great and Foles is eating us up. Maybe this isn't an NCG caliber team.

[Spring Bass]

I just finished watching the Utes completely slaughter BYU (54-10).

Make no mistake, I love watching the Utes massacre the Cougars. That said, it was sad to watch BYU completely shit the bed like that, with literally the worst ball security I've seen in 11 years of watching this annual rivalry game. Seven turnovers, for fuck's sake, with six of them being fumbles. A couple of them were particularly embarrassing, like when the starting BYU QB double-fumbled the ball on their opening drive before the Utes recovered it in the Cougars' own end zone, giving the Utes a touchdown instead of a safety.

[lokisnow]

Speaking of ball security, USC's fumble in the third quarter came seconds after the announcer said, "USC showing impressive ball security today." I immediately lunged forward and rapped my solid wood coffee table three times to no avail. And that BYU beating makes me feel better about USC's struggle last week with the Mormons.

Tonight, Barkley was positively Leinart esque for some of those throws, and when the run game opened up in the second half and Kiffin started calling the classic play action, things felt old-school Carroll to me. How badly did Curtis McNeal want a TD for himself. Dude was a beast on the garbage time run plays, ran down the entire field himself on half a dozen plays, probably should have scored, had it scored, it really would have been a Carroll era style victory when even garbage time possessions accidently scored. :-p

I thought USC looked a lot better last week than they got credit for from pundits, they put together the complete game this week, and Monte's defense is starting to do quite well. Cover two still leaves that short pass hole, but we're really flying to the ball much faster this year.

I love how many times we line up for a 2pt only to switch to a extra point at the last second, keeps defenses on their toes. Also loved the use of the wildcat for third and short. Smart and effective, Tyler is well suited to getting the ball that way.

In one of the most predictable and classic trap games ever, Arizona State went SPLAT at Illinois. I didn't even need to check the scores to know that was going to happen.

Speaking of trap games, Oklahoma is on notice. :-p

The annoying thing about the stupid Sooners is their win will start serious Heisman talk for Landry Jones to steal it from Andrew Luck. That game winning pass will be the called the Heisman pass for the next couple months. It's also going to really ramp up Ivan Maisel's stupid talk about the NC game being a rematch of Oklahoma and Florida State. Because that's such a strong narrative, I'd expect such a rematch to occur even with a one loss SEC champ or undefeated Boise, Big 10 and Pac 12 champs also vying for the NC slot against the Okies. So everyone needs to root against Oklahoma and Florida State to lose soon so we don't have to hear fucktard morons like Mark May and Lou Slobtz babbling non-stop about the rematch NC game for the next three months.

As for expansion, if it were only football I could easily see the Big 12 poaching TCU, Louisville and Cincinnati from the Big East or I could see the Big East asking Kansas and Missouri to join them and share in some equal revenue delights. I could also see the Big 10 getting its ass in gear and try to line up Kansas and Missouri which are its best two non ND prospects. hell, if they want to do their Penn Stateesque expansion bs dance again, add KState and keep the 16th slot open for ND to amble their way in to the Big10 a few years late. If the Big10 or East poaches the Big 12, I expect the Pac12 to take the Oklahoma and Texas teams, but in a surprise move, take Baylor and Texas rather than Tech, leaving Tech and Iowa State in fucked-ville.

I guess the ACC makes sense for ND if they get the deal Texas wanted from the ACC. The big 10 wouldn't allow ND to do that, but I have a feeling the ND alumni base, and perhaps even the Athletic department really really want to stay playing the Big10 schools. If ND goes ACC it has to give up a service academy games to maintain it's Michigan game, for example. There's just too many games that are too important to ND boosters, imo, that may wind up deep sixing an ACC deal and leave ND having to make a late deal with the Big10 when they're in threat of being locked out of the NC game and four big bowls that rotate through the NC game 'playoff'. because the super conferences will get the guaranteed spots, locking out the non super conference teams.

Worst case scenario would be the ACC getting Notre Dame and Kansas as 15 and 16 and leaving Missouri totally fucked again, stuck with the cash hogs Oklahoma and Texas, and then we'd expand the big 12 up with the leavings of the Big East being divided up with the Big 10. I can see so many scenarios possible where Missouri is a team wanted by a lot of conferences, but not wanted badly enough for them to really go after us, and thus we'll still be chained to glutton teams.

Missouri took care of business against an Illinois team that wasn't super-scared to play them, like the Illini were. Tied a school record at 69 points, only allowed one first down the whole game. Nice.

[S John]

Well I hope the ACC is happy. No matter where WVU ends up, every single one of our traditional rivalries is now gone.

Fuck you.

[Bronn Stone]

I just finished watching the Utes completely slaughter BYU (54-10).

Make no mistake, I love watching the Utes massacre the Cougars. That said, it was sad to watch BYU completely shit the bed like that, with literally the worst ball security I've seen in 11 years of watching this annual rivalry game. Seven turnovers, for fuck's sake, with six of them being fumbles. A couple of them were particularly embarrassing, like when the starting BYU QB double-fumbled the ball on their opening drive before the Utes recovered it in the Cougars' own end zone, giving the Utes a touchdown instead of a safety.

I think this is a rivalry that will begin to fade. I just do not believe that independent BYU can compete with Pac 12/14/16 Utah in the long term. The BYU network exists for evangelism more than for football. It won't be enough of a cash cow to keep that program in the 'just-short-of-elite' status it has enjoyed over the past thirty years. They are going to start losing recruits in droves. You can get almost everything you want from BYU at Utah and compete in an elite conference. Provo just doesn't have enough that can't also be found in SLC. This is headed for one-sided rivalry status.

[Ken Stone]

The annoying thing about the stupid Sooners is their win will start serious Heisman talk for Landry Jones to steal it from Andrew Luck. That game winning pass will be the called the Heisman pass for the next couple months. It's also going to really ramp up Ivan Maisel's stupid talk about the NC game being a rematch of Oklahoma and Florida State. Because that's such a strong narrative, I'd expect such a rematch to occur even with a one loss SEC champ or undefeated Boise, Big 10 and Pac 12 champs also vying for the NC slot against the Okies. So everyone needs to root against Oklahoma and Florida State to lose soon so we don't have to hear fucktard morons like Mark May and Lou Slobtz babbling non-stop about the rematch NC game for the next three months.

They just had boners about it because it was the big game of the week. By next week they will have forgotten that OK and FSU even played.

[S John]

http://espn.go.com/c...ove-source-says

Welp, UConn is in panic mode according to that article. I figure the next 2 to go will be UConn and Rutgers. With Rutgers gone, WVU is the only remaining original member of the Big East. Great.

I'm curious about the Big 10 though. I think they would be interested in UConn or Rutgers with Syracuse off the table. They seemed to be interested in picking up an eastern team during last years' round of expansion.

I really just want this to be over so I can know whether I should be happy or pissed off.

[HokieStone]

I really just want this to be over so I can know whether I should be happy or pissed off.

Strong rumors floating now that WVU will be the SEC's 14th. So, that should make you happy.

[Gold Storm]

I just finished watching the Utes completely slaughter BYU (54-10).

Make no mistake, I love watching the Utes massacre the Cougars. That said, it was sad to watch BYU completely shit the bed like that, with literally the worst ball security I've seen in 11 years of watching this annual rivalry game. Seven turnovers, for fuck's sake, with six of them being fumbles. A couple of them were particularly embarrassing, like when the starting BYU QB double-fumbled the ball on their opening drive before the Utes recovered it in the Cougars' own end zone, giving the Utes a touchdown instead of a safety.

, I have no idea what he was trying to do. Just surprised I have never seen BYU that sloppy before.

Well I hope the ACC is happy. No matter where WVU ends up, every single one of our traditional rivalries is now gone.

Fuck you.

Will PITT still play WVU in OOC games? That would be a big rivalry game too lose.

[Kalbear]

One thing that put me on the pay em bandwagon is that if they get injured they get no workers comp because technically it's not a job. Not do they get insurance. Especially after they graduate. Which is utter crap.

As to who gets paid, it's what the market will bear. If a school wants to pay the five best female volleyball players? Go nuts.

[ObsidianEdge]

In the name of competitiveness, which theoretically the NCAA (how about the NAIA?) are intended to govern, the schools would have to have a common and equal platform for compensation. I don't mean that the Sacramento State water polo team players should get the same as Florida football players get, just that the "pay plan" be based on the same factors.

All players get basic compensation: tuition reimbursement, insurance, a stipend or minimum wage for hours spent training, practicing and competing for starters.

Expenses for the programs the school wishes to pursue need to come next. Whatever revenue the school can generate dictates how many sports they can compete in.

Finally sales of jerseys and merchandise with the school's athletic logo got to profit, a portion of which should be given back to the programs in proportion to how much revenue they generate for the school to pay in profit sharing to the student athletes.

So long as the pay plan and methodology is common across competing schools, it makes the successful schools more appealing to recruits, but not so much that other schools have no chance to get any players at all.

Like a salary cap or like the current NCAA regimen, I'm certain that the more enterprising and ambitious schools will figure out ways to circumvent whatever gets put in place...that will just keep the regulators on their toes.

Well...now that I have unilaterally and singlehandedly settled the issue, I shall now move on to peace in the middle east and cold fusion.

Let you know when I am finished.

[Kalbear]

So long as the pay plan and methodology is common across competing schools, it makes the successful schools more appealing to recruits, but not so much that other schools have no chance to get any players at all.

And as long as that's the case we'll still have Miami hookers and abortion scandals. We'll still have schools paying Cam Newton $200k.

Why not let rich schools pay kids what they can? How is that fundamentally different from the system that is in place now? What schools are competitive now that wouldn't be in that system?

[Spring Bass]

, I have no idea what he was trying to do. Just surprised I have never seen BYU that sloppy before.

Great video. I love the music.

I can understand the first fumble, considering how badly the center fouled up that long snap. The second one, though . . . I mean, what the hell? It wasn't raining that day. Did he have grease on his hands or something? Not to mention that he then completely failed to pick up the ball before tumbling to the ground.

[ObsidianEdge]

What school would agree to play against any other school where the athletes didn't have a level playing field or an equal chance during competition? The league they are both in must have identical rules, hence 'league'.

Are you proposing some kind of Champions League of College Football with USC, Florida, Nebraska, Ohio State, etc? That would be like, the NFL, except it would be in LA, too.