College Football 2010 Season - Preseason

[JohnBM01]

GTPlanet, I must announce... I will no longer cover college football on GTPlanet. But most of you know how I am. I still want a proper meeting place to discuss college football. I guess I've missed being a fan of college football rather than just trying to report on college football. So I'll provide my season thread for when the 2010 season starts up for real.

One thing I'll be interested in is the more exciting schedule for Boise State. Their schedule was discussed on ESPN2 and ESPNU on "College Football Live." I think the Broncos will get Virginia Tech in their 2010 schedule. In fact, Boise State will open with Virginia Tech in a neutral-site game at FedEx Field in Landover, MD.



If you care to chat about the upcoming season, this thread starts that multi-month grind into the upcoming season. So let's talk college football for 2010!

 

[JohnBM01]

How about this for a rule? It's said that the NCAA is considering a new rule that takes points off the board for taunting en route to getting a touchdown. Here's an example. If you start high stepping or you dive into the end zone to taunt, the touchdown will be removed, and you'll face a 15-yard penalty.

How do you feel about this new measure?

 

[Joey D]

That would be lame, if you are getting a touchdown easy enough to gloat you are probably entitled to a little celebration. And if you get to cocky you are just going to get tackled and lose the score, so it works itself out.

 

[JohnBM01]

I know most of the sports attention is on the NBA and the NHL, but the real hot-button topic is on Big Ten expansion. You know... is Notre Dame going to the Big Ten? Will schools like Missouri, Nebraska, Syracuse, or Rutgers join the Big Ten? I think two of the best fits would be either Missouri or Iowa State as far as regional schools are concerned.

However, you have to think about what you're getting in return. There was talk that Arkansas could leave the SEC for the Big XII. There was even talk that Texas A&M could be an SEC candidate. I mean, you have to think about what to get in return rather than haphazardly adding schools to a conference. The biggest move-and-shake deal was that WAC super-conference in 1992 with all these different teams either planned or part of the WAC. In that case, you may as well bring all of the former Southwest Conference schools (including my beloved Houston Cougars) as a brand-new SWC. TCU would have to leave the Mountain West for this conference as they used to be in the SWC.

Any thoughts on Big Ten expansion?

 

[Northstar]

I have a feeling that nothing will get done this year. Thus far it seems to be mostly talk and little action, although at least they are putting an actual effort behind it this time.

I would love to see Nebraska join just because it could bring the Oklahoma/Nebraska rivalry back to what it should be.

I also think Pittsburgh is another likely school, they always seem to get thrown into the discussion.

 

[Joey D]

Norte Dame should have been in the Big Ten a long time ago so I would fully support it. They have a big enough following and are a big enough school to justify it. Plus they don't completely suck either and can hold their own against other Big Ten schools so they won't get walked every season.

 

[Northstar]

Norte Dame should have been in the Big Ten a long time ago so I would fully support it. They have a big enough following and are a big enough school to justify it. Plus they don't completely suck either and can hold their own against other Big Ten schools so they won't get walked every season.

I don't see a whole lot of incentive for them to join, they already have pretty much everything being in a major conference would offer(as far as I know). Basically the only thing they would gain is the possibility of a Conf. Championship game.

Although ND joining would be a lot less confusing as there wouldn't be other conferences trying to replace an entire school.

 

[Joey D]

Rose Bowl bid would be huge for the school and their fans and it would be nice if they could actually get into a conference instead of being independent. But other then that they already have a TV contract and they are one of the most financially sound teams in the country, so money's not really the issue.

 

[JohnBM01]

I've always thought that Notre Dame should join the Big East just for all sports. But for many people, the Big East is such a vanilla football conference. The Big Ten would surely be a nice fit considering the rivalry series this school has. I'm not sure how you'd tie in a full schedule considering their great rivalries. How do you consider non-Big Ten opponents like USCal, Boston College, and Navy among others? Some of the Big Ten games would be moved and shuffled if Notre Dame joined Big Ten football.

Conference realignment is going to be insane if it has anywhere the stranglehold that it had back in 2005 or so.

 

[JohnBM01]

Old news- Boise State could join the Mountain West conference for the 2012 season. I can already imagine battles like Boise State vs. Utah, Boise State vs. BYU, and Boise State vs. TCU. This will likely make Fresno State the new power of the WAC conference if and when Boise State goes on to the Mountain West. That's IF the Mountain West expands.

 

[Omnis]

Isn't Boise State just a glorified trucker school?

 

[JohnBM01]

Conference realignment is crazy as it is. Mountain West will NOT expand soon. The superconference in college hoops is the Big East. The POTENTIAL superconference is... wait for it... the Pac-10. That's especially if the teams they send invites to accept their offers. You know... schools like, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State... those schools are a big deal, right? I'm more concerned about if college football is more like Survival of the Fittest for financial domination.

 

[Northstar]

Colorado has made the first move and is expected to announce a move to the Pac-10 today. Supposedly more may follow later on today.

 

[JohnBM01]

Colorado to Pac-10, Nebraska to Big Ten, the Pac-10 may well be called the "Pac-16." And... that wooden stake must have already been driven through the Big XII. The coming weeks and months will be absolutely hectic!

 

[Nicksfix]

Rumours are flying hard around here in Ohio that this may be the last year for coach Rich Rodriguez of the Michigan Wolverines. Unless he can produce something good this year,he's out. Anyone hear of this one,perhaps Joey - since your a Michigander ? I have a friend who is a Mi. fan and he says he has heard this to.

It could be the typical Big 10 bashing going on or it could be true. Michigan is a school rich in tradition and over the last couple of years that tradition has declined bad.They need to do something up north. New coach ? Better recruiting ? Forget trying to run the spread and play ball the typical Big 10 way ?

O.S.U. Bucks,should be a Big 10 contender this year.The problem is - can they climb that hill and win the big one ? We'll see.

 

[Northstar]

Rumours are flying hard around here in Ohio that this may be the last year for coach Rich Rodriguez of the Michigan Wolverines. Unless he can produce something good this year,he's out. Anyone hear of this one,perhaps Joey - since your a Michigander ? I have a friend who is a Mi. fan and he says he has heard this to.

It could be the typical Big 10 bashing going on or it could be true. Michigan is a school rich in tradition and over the last couple of years that tradition has declined bad.They need to do something up north. New coach ? Better recruiting ? Forget trying to run the spread and play ball the typical Big 10 way ?

O.S.U. Bucks,should be a Big 10 contender this year.The problem is - can they climb that hill and win the big one ? We'll see.

Typically whenever a team struggles these rumors pop up, although they usually turn out to be true they are usually based on nothing.

I do think they need a coaching change though, Rodriguez hasn't produced anything great and last year really hurt the school image with the rule violations.

 

[JohnBM01]

More old news... Utah joined the Pac-10. I guess Utah got fed up with trying to make a name for themselves with the Mountain West that they needed better competition. So they'll be taking on Pac-10 opposition in conference in the future.

Conference realignment is just crazy.

 

[Nicksfix]

last year really hurt the school image with the rule violations.

Yeah,that really added more fuel to this fire.

Conference realignment is just crazy.

Yes it is.

 

[Nicksfix]

Nebraska is now a Big 10 conference member.Now comes the tough part - scheduling and division alignment.

The general assumption is that the Big Ten will follow other conference models, splitting into two six-team divisions, with teams playing each of the other five teams in their division and then three teams in the other division on a rotating basis.

There is also some talk that football teams might eventually play a nine-game Big Ten schedule, five in the division and four out.

Even arriving at names for the divisions could be contentious - North and South? East and West? Bo and Woody? Paterno and Osborne?

No matter how the schedules are drawn up, some schools will likely grumble quietly. The conference will try to preserve old rivalries, but there are no guarantees that all will be played annually. There's no question that new ones will be created.

Full story.

 

[JohnBM01]

That's one thing I always think about with conference realignment- "what am I getting in return?" Think about when you trade players in pro sports. What do you get in return? You usually don't just send a player without giving up something in return. As for Nebraska's scheduling, I'm not sure how you build a schedule for the Cornhuskers in the Big Ten.

I think the thing that hurts Nebraska most in this move is their rivalry game against Oklahoma. I'm still sure they can play this rivalry out as much as they like, but it just doesn't really have that kind of spice to it now that Nebraska will be in the Big Ten. At least like Texas vs. Oklahoma or Florida vs. Georgia, you have that conference spice to it, making victory all the sweeter. I'd have to see what Nebraska comes up with for a schedule (and who will agree to play them).

 

[Northstar]

BYU announced they will become an Independant school for football. Big Ten will also announce divisions later today.

 

[JohnBM01]

Can you believe it? College football starts up proper for every division [except Division 2, which already began] tomorrow! Now, I've read about that BYU deal. BYU will join the non-football West Coast Conference for all other sports. It probably makes sense for the other sports since BYU is a religious-type school, but its geographic location is unfitting. The WCC has mostly religious small schools along or near the Pacific coast. You got schools like San Diego, San Francisco, St. Mary's, Gonzaga, and schools like that. Then again, is Utah a real west coast team, since they'll be joining or joined the Pac-10?



Remember- I will NOT be covering college football anymore here. I will offer this thread for mostly casual discussion of college football. So have at it, people! I do want to see how Boise State fares against Virginia Tech. Some say Boise State will likely run over their remaining opposition if they take down VT this weekend (or whenever they play). Whether or not this happens (and if Boise St. beats VT) remains to be seen.