B1G's Delany, Pac's Scott will try to weasel teams in CFB Playoff

[jbcarol]

Oregon and Ohio State have finally agreed to home & home football games.

The series is scheduled to take place in 2020 & 2021.

[jbcarol]

http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/53842/who-has-played-the-toughest-schedule

7. Arkansas: 26-17 (.605), Four of six opponents have winning records. Three opponents in the BCS standings.

12. Ole Miss: 21-22 (.488), Three of six opponents have winning records. Three opponents in the BCS standings.

[jbcarol]

Saban wants 9 SEC games, to see big teams play each other more

Bama has a Nov. 17 home game against Western Carolina, and the school still hasn't sold all the tickets. But if Nick Saban had his way, the Crimson Tide wouldn't play Football Championship Subdivision teams such as the Catamounts. Or lower-level Football Bowl Subdivision teams such as Western Kentucky or Florida Atlantic.

During his weekly radio show Thursday night, the Alabama coach said he would like Southeastern Conference teams to play nine league games instead of the current eight. And for nonconference games, there would be 60 or 70 major teams, and they would be required to play each other.

"The most important goal is to keep people coming to games," Saban said.

He said that would result in more one- and two-loss teams, which means teams wouldn't have to go unbeaten to have any shot at all at a title.

"Not many coaches agree with me because they want to be able to win certain games," Saban said. "Some teams that want to be bowl-eligible don't agree with me, either."
He voiced his dislike of conference realignment, too, "but nobody listens to what I say."

During Saban's show, ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach told the coach he thought it was good for college football for Notre Dame to be good.

"It's good for college football when Notre Dame is good? To me, it's good for college football when Alabama is good," Saban answered.

[jbcarol]

One wag said that the B1G's Rose Bowl representative may have five losses.

Not likely.

Still, the top team will be the one that will watch at home.

[jbcarol]

We're not anti-playoff here at MrSEC.com, but we sure hope people realize the risk the SEC is taking in going from a computer-enhanced BCS system to a very human selection committee.

With a month to go in the season, five of the top eight teams in the latest BCS standings are from the SEC (seven of the top 16).

In the system to come — with a few panelists perhaps wanting to spread the wealth — it's hard to imagine the league even getting two teams into a final football four.

We won't know that for sure, of course, for a couple more years.

[jbcarol]

Bruce Feldman ‏@BFeldmanCBS
Lane kiffin: we have no time to look back.. We re playing the best team in the country (oregon)."

[jbcarol]

BCS Championship Odds (with slideshow)

No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs, 20-1 odds
No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide, 13-2 odds
No. 3 Notre Dame Irish, 13-2 odds
No. 2 Oregon Ducks, 1-1 odds
No. 1 Kansas State Wildcats, 3-2 odds

[jbcarol]

Brett McMurphy: Six Bowls in Playoff Format

The BCS commissioners and Presidential Oversight Committee have settled on a rotation of six bowls for the semifinals of the upcoming college football playoff system.

Also, the highest-rated champion from the "Group o' Five" conferences -- the Big East, Conference USA, Mountain West, Sun Belt and Mid-American -- will receive an automatic berth in one of the bowls.

"Today's meeting is a unanimous ratification of what we announced last June in Washington, D.C.," Charles Steger, the chairman of the Presidential Oversight Committee, said in a release.

With the Group o' Five earning an automatic bid, that will lock up seven of the 12 berths in the six access bowls along with the Rose (Pac-12 vs. Big Ten); Sugar (Big 12 vs. SEC) and Orange (ACC vs. Big Ten, SEC or Notre Dame). The other five berths will be filled with at-large teams chosen, based on their final rankings, by a yet-to-be-formed selection committee.

[jbcarol]

NCAA presidents, commissioners reach final agreement on playoff structure, revenue distribution

The commissioners and presidents locked in a four-team seeded playoff, with the teams to be chosen by a selection committee and the semifinals utilizing a rotation of six bowls -- three "contract bowls" and three "host bowls." The highest-ranked champion from the five conferences that are not in contract bowls -- the Big East, Conference USA, Mountain West, Sun Belt and Mid-American -- will be guaranteed a spot in a host bowl.

[jbcarol]

Miles said SEC champion should play for BCS title

Miles said the league's strength of schedule makes the winner of the league at least one of the top two teams in America.

"Everybody within this league plays a very difficult schedule," Miles said. "I think the champion of this league should very well have the opportunity to play in that national championship game until somebody proves that the winner of this league is not the nation's best team."

"On the cusp of the rule change, it'll be very interesting to see if some of the best teams are left on the sideline," Miles said. "Nationally, in this conference there are a number of very skillful teams that receive a strong national ranking and we play all of them.

"I think the team that stands on the podium with the SEC championship trophy should get great consideration to play in (the national championship game)," Miles said. "Period."

[jbcarol]

Paul Finebaum ‏@finebaum
ESPN's P12 Blogger Ted Miller on reax to Bama's loss,'Wide spread celebration. Outside the Southeast-everyone's sick of the SEC's dominance'

[jbcarol]

Paul Finebaum ‏@finebaum
.@TomLuginbill on BCS top 3 teams,'I think not this weekend, but next weekend could be some uh-ohs on the schedule for these teams.'

[jbcarol]

MrSEC: Steve Spurrier has always been in favor of a college football playoff.  His preferred system: eight teams, seven games.

"I have tremendous respect for playoffs.  If you have eight teams going at it, then all of those undefeateds and some of those with one loss would have a shot at going at it, but that's not the way we do college football.  So you accept the fact of the way we do it and whoever plays in the last game, one of those two has got a chance to win it all."

[jbcarol]

Paul Finebaum ‏@finebaum
Edwards : if BCS top 3 lose, 'SEC Champ is in, then it's a bit gray. Fla would be the #2 team in computers & could be in the NCG.'

-- ESPN BCS Guru Brad Edwards was on the Paul Finebaum show.

[jbcarol]

Paul Finebaum ‏@finebaum
Edwards on potential FSU case for BCSNC game if dominoes fall,'The computers don't just dislike FSU, they despise them.'

[jbcarol]

MIght be better for SEC champ to play another conference opponent in the BCS-NC.

SEC needs to demonstrate dominance.

SEC Champ would get a month to prep against a smaller foe.

[jbcarol]

The BCS top 12:

1. Notre Dame (11-0) .9973
2. Alabama (10-1) .0333
3. Georgia (10-1) .8763
4. Florida (10-1) .8434
5. Oregon (10-1) .8318
6. Kansas State (10-1) .7692
7. LSU (9-2) .7308
8. Stanford (9-2) .7077
9. Texas A&M (9-2) .6526
10. Florida State (10-1) .6363
11. Clemson (10-1) .6056
12. South Carolina (9-2) .5871

[jbcarol]

Bruce Feldman ‏@BFeldmanCBS
Big news: Lane kiffin announces max Wittek (sic) will start at QB for usc against Notre dame w matt Barkley injured.

[jbcarol]

Expand footprint to NYC and DC.  Don't expand SOS.

[jbcarol]

A few weeks ago Coach Saban was asked if Notre Dame being near the top again was good for college football.

He retorted that he thought Bama being on top was good for college football.

[jbcarol]

Clay Travis ‏@ClayTravisBGID
If Florida beats FSU, Gators will have more top 15 BCS wins than Bama, ND, UGa, & Oregon combined.


The computers love Florida and hate Florida State. Let them decide it on the field.

[jbcarol]

Chris Low: Playoff era won't slow SEC's title run

Look at the latest BCS standings.

Three of the top four teams are from the SEC, and once again, it looks like the SEC championship game will be a prelim for the national title game.

If Alabama beats Auburn this weekend and Georgia takes care of Georgia Tech, the winner of the Dec. 1 SEC championship game will lock up a berth in the Discover BCS National Championship Game.

Don't count out Florida, either.

[jbcarol]

Bonnie Bernstein ‏@BonnieBernstein
I feel sick. Part of my identity has been stripped. Priority 1 better be reinstating those 7 sports we cut. Goodbye, ACC. #Terps

[jbcarol]

Bruce Feldman ‏@BFeldmanCBS
Alabama is projected as a 10-Pt favorite over Notre dame if they meet in BCS title game, per @RJinVegas

[jbcarol]

The Dallas Morning News reports that Texas AD DeLoss Dodds has requested to the Big 12 that the Longhorns get to play at home on every Thanksgiving.

[jbcarol]

Looking ahead, oddsmakers, of course, have Georgia as an underdog against Bama. Some project UGa as a favorite against Notre Dame.

[jbcarol]

Paul Finebaum ‏@finebaum
Schlabach on FSU,'There's a lot of concern about the ACC. I think it'll be difficult for FSU/Clemson to get into the SEC.'

Paul Finebaum ‏@finebaum
Schlabach on expansion,'Va Tech & NC St more likely than FSU/Clem to the SEC. If B12 expands, I think those two (FSU/Clem) would be a fit.'

[jbcarol]

Paul Finebaum ‏@finebaum
B1G's Jim Delany on Auburn, to SI:"One yr AU is winning the NC, the next yr they haven't won a game [in their league]'

Paul Finebaum ‏@finebaum
Bachman,'The SEC Network is in a better position than others. Great potential for carriage deals, more than B1G.'

[jbcarol]

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith: 11-0 Buckeyes should not be banned from a bowl because of NCAA sanctions.

[Albert Einswine]

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith: 11-0 Buckeyes should not be banned from a bowl because of NCAA sanctions.

Yeah... they should be treated differently than every other team who ever incurred a bowl ban because they're Ohio State. Arrogant bastage!

[jbcarol]

https://twitter.com/JBradEdwards, ESPN's BCS guru:

Brad Edwards ‏@JBradEdwards
Interested to see where Boise St is in BCS. They were 22 this week, and 15-21 all lost in front of them.

Brad Edwards ‏@JBradEdwards
Boise will steal a spot (probably from Big 12) if they can reach top 16

Brad Edwards ‏@JBradEdwards
Today's results should put Florida in Sugar Bowl and Oregon in Fiesta. Almost all other BCS spots to conference champs.

Brad Edwards ‏@JBradEdwards
SEC has six 10-win teams. One of them has to fall to Chick-fil-A Bowl. Probably not SC, because Clemson should be there.

Brad Edwards ‏@JBradEdwards
Florida will get really close to UGA in this week's BCS, and could even move to 3. But won't matter if UGA beats Bama.

Brad Edwards ‏@JBradEdwards
If UCLA (at Stanford) & Texas (at KSU) both lose, it will be really close for Boise or MAC champ to reach top 16 and BCS game

Brad Edwards ‏@JBradEdwards
I think Sugar would take Big East champ vs Florida and let non-AQ team go to Orange to play ACC champ

Brad Edwards ‏@JBradEdwards
Non-AQ team wouldn't have to pass the 2nd Big 12 team to bump it from BCS. Just has to finish top 16 and ahead of Big East champ

Brad Edwards ‏@JBradEdwards
Why? Because BCS rules say the highest-ranked non-AQ conference champ is in BCS if top 16 and ahead of an AQ champ

Brad Edwards ‏@JBradEdwards
The non-AQ team would take 1 of the 4 BCS at-large spots. At-large teams would be ND, Florida, Oregon and non-AQ

[jbcarol]

At basically the end of the regular season, who played most games against BCS Top 10 Teams:

Missouri     0-5

Florida       3-1 (by whooping Fl. St. they ensure Fl. St. is not in the Top 10)
LSU           2-2
Arkansas    0-4
Auburn       0-4
Ole Miss     0-4
Tennessee 0-4
...
Bama        2-1
Georgia     1-2
A&M          1-2
So. Car.     1-2
Washington 1-2
Kentucky    0-3
MS State    0-3
USC           0-3
Vandy        0-3
...

Notre Dame 2-0
Stanford    1-1
Arizona      0-2
Cal Bears   0-2
Colorado   0-2
Miami (F)   0-2
Michigan    0-2
Oklahoma  0-2
Oregon St. 0-2
Wash. St.  0-2
...

Partial listing of schools who played one Top 10 team

Baylor       1-0
Clemson    0-1
Fla. St.      0-1
Ga Tech    0-1
Iowa St.    0-1
Kansas      0-1
OK St.       0-1
Oregon      0-1
Tejas        0-1
TCU          0-1
Texas Tech 0-1
WVU         0-1
...

Partial listing of schools who played no Top 10 teams to-date

Kansas St. 0-0
Nebraska   0-0
Ohio St.    0-0
Va Tech    0-0

[jbcarol]

Odds-maker: Notre Dame would be underdogs against only five or fourteen SEC teams

Internet odds-maker Bovada published their estimates today of how Notre Dame would fair against all teams in the SEC:

Notre Dame vs.:

Alabama:                      -9.5

Georgia:                      -3

Florida:                        -1.5

LSU:                             -3

Texas A&M:                 -3.5

South Carolina:            +3.5

[jbcarol]

Dan Wetzel ‏@DanWetzel
StubHub cheapest title game tix: MAC $2.95, ACC $4, B10 $16.99, P12 $69, SEC $295. Should count in BCS formula

[jbcarol]

http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/72703/pac-12-has-7-5-disease

ESPN Pac 12 Blogger Ted Miller becomes the living embodiment of the OP of this thread as he cries about the Pac 12 nine game schedule and takes on SEC#9 of all teams, Mississippi State for scorn.

[jbcarol]

On Nov. 26, Sports Illustrated gathered Jim Livengood, now UNLV's athletic director, and 10 of his colleagues to simulate the process that will select participants for the first four-team college football playoff following the 2014 season. Using this season's results, the committee selected a mock playoff field for the 2012 postseason.

[jbcarol]

Probably better for SEC to play a non-SEC opponent in the National Championship Game. Ensures there is no excuse for "SEC fatigue" and accusations of it being an "inside job".

If Notre Dame wins, they win over a well-prepared, top notch opponent.

[jbcarol]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/gameon/2012/12/03/fbs-re-rank-1-124/1742041/

USA Today NCAA re-rank: Our final regular season list from 1-124

1. Notre Dame (12-0, 0-0)
2. Alabama (12-1, 7-1)
3. Ohio State (12-0, 8-0)
4. Florida (11-1, 7-1)
5. Georgia (11-2, 7-1)
6. Oregon (11-1, 8-1)
7. Kansas State (11-1, 8-1)
8. Stanford (11-2, 8-1)
9. Texas A&M (10-2, 6-2)
10. LSU (10-2, 6-2)
11. Oklahoma (10-2, 8-1)
12. South Carolina (10-2, 6-2)

31. Vanderbilt (8-4, 5-3)

43. Mississippi State (8-4, 4-4)

54. Mississippi (6-6, 3-5)

73. Missouri (5-7, 2-6)

78. Tennessee (5-7, 1-7)

84. Arkansas (4-8, 2-6)

106. Auburn (3-9, 0-8)

109. Kentucky (2-10, 0-8)

[jbcarol]

Joe Schad ‏@schadjoe
Larry Scott says playoff will be 4 for foreseeable future in part b/c Rose Bowl should not include third- and fourth-tier programs

[jbcarol]

NCAA was so mad at Auburn that they gave Ohio State a post-season ban? Gordon Gee clears things up out of Columbus.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/67335/gees-logic-flawed-on-osu-bowl-ban

"We were caught in the tsunami of all the things that were going on and we were the big fish on the line, and the NCAA was under great pressure to impose sanctions and my strong belief is ... if we would have self-imposed, we still would've had a bowl ban," Gee told The Dispatch.

Again, this is extremely faulty logic by Gee, who has proved to be a very smart guy who sometimes says dumb things.

[jbcarol]

Ralph D. Russo ‏@ralphDrussoAP
Delany: Some of the same people who criticized the BCS for not having access are now criticizing those schools having access.

Brett McMurphy ‏@McMurphyESPN
Delany said he did not talk to Fox Sports before deciding to add Rutgers & Maryland

Brett McMurphy ‏@McMurphyESPN
Mike Slive admits "Project X," better known as SEC Network, could be announced as early as next month

[jbcarol]

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/fbc12.htm

Looking at Sagarin SOS prior to the bowl games, the beneficiary from conference schedule in 2012, for what it's worth, is the Big 12.

Notre Dame's SOS at 31 was actually a little tougher than Bama's at 34.

No B1G team had an SOS as tough as LSU's whose SOS was good for 8th in the SEC.

Again, referring to the OP for example, the SOS calculated by Sagarin does not fully account for the gauntlet some SEC teams went through regarding consecutive games against Top 10 opponents.

[jbcarol]

Ted Miller's Pac-12 bowl primer: Hyundai Sun

This week we'll be taking a snapshot look at all of the bowl games including Pac-12 teams.

USC (7-5, 5-4) vs. Georgia Tech (6-7. 5-3)

USC, if you haven't heard, ends up in El Paso after beginning the season with its eyes on Miami -- as in a spot in the BCS national title game...

The Yellow Jackets are the ACC Coastal Division champions, but they needed a waiver to become bowl eligible after finishing the season 6-7...

[jbcarol]

ESPN's Brian Bennett looks at the B1G Bowl Game ticket sales:

Minnesota: The Gophers have sold a little more than 2,000 tickets to the Meineke Car Care of Texas Bowl... Minnesota is on the hook for 12,000 tickets.

Purdue: The Boilers have moved about 2,500 of their 6,000-ticket allotment to the Heart of Dallas Bowl. School officials think the school's large alumni base in the area -- more than 12,0000 (sic) alums in the Dallas radius -- could mean a big Boilers crowd at the game.

Michigan State: The Spartans put out a news release earlier this week saying they had sold only about 2,000 of their 11,000-ticket allotment to the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl game against TCU. In the release, athletic director Mark Hollis urged Michigan State fans to buy tickets in order to maintain the school's reputation as a team that travels well to bowls.

Michigan: The Wolverines have sold more than 9,000 tickets and are nearing 10,000 for their trip to the Outback Bowl against South Carolina, school officials said Wednesday. The allotment was around 12,000.

Northwestern: For the second straight year, Northwestern was the only Big Ten team that refused to give out any information about its bowl ticket sales [and they will not]...

Nebraska: According to reports, the Huskers had sold fewer than 4,000 of their 12,500 tickets to the Capital One Bowl game against Georgia. A lousy Big Ten title game performance and a repeat trip to Orlando are likely to blame for the slow sales. By contrast, Georgia has reportedly sold more than 10,000 tickets to the game.

Wisconsin: The Badgers report that they've sold about 15,000 tickets so far for the Rose Bowl, out of an allotment of 24,000... this is also the third straight year that Wisconsin has gone to Pasadena, and the team was just 8-5 this season.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/67844/looking-at-big-ten-bowl-ticket-sales

[shotgun7]

I think, for what ever it is worth the whole thing is done wrong instead of a play off... simply, the top 10 teams in the country should be playing in bcs games... #1vs#2 in NC game and the rest in other BCS bowls. there should be no AQ conferences... just let the top 10 best teams in the country play in the top 5 games. 

[jbcarol]

ESPN B1G Blog: No league needs a strong bowl performance more than the Big Ten, which has been the national punching bag since a horrendous performance in Week 2.

None of the Big Ten's seven bowl teams are favored to win. The league annually plays by far the nation's toughest bowl lineup, and this year's is no exception with three top 10 opponents -- No. 6 Stanford, No. 7 Georgia and No. 10 South Carolina -- on the slate, plus the standard smattering of high-powered Big 12 offenses (Oklahoma State, Texas Tech). The Big Ten hasn't had a winless postseason since 1977, when it played in just three bowls (Rose, Sugar, Hall of Fame), but few would be surprised if the league went oh-fer after a season like this one.

The Big Ten could quiet its critics, if only temporarily, with a Rose Bowl win and a 2-1 or 3-0 mark against the SEC. Remember, all Big Ten bowl victories qualify as upsets, so anything close to a .500 record would help the league put a bow on a miserable season.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/68091/b1g-most-in-need-of-good-bowl-season

[jbcarol]

Oregon, NCAA reach impasse in football investigation
By Charles Robinson and Rand Getlin | Yahoo! Sports – 1 hour 16 minutes ago

The University of Oregon's attempt to resolve an NCAA investigation through summary disposition has failed, two sources with knowledge of the Ducks' discussions told Yahoo! Sports.

The sources said Oregon is now anticipating an appearance before the NCAA's committee on infractions (COI) this spring – something the school was hoping to avoid following an investigation into the football program's financial relationship with prep adviser Will Lyles.

An NCAA spokesperson declined comment, citing its policy on ongoing investigations. Oregon officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The NCAA has upcoming COI hearings – most commonly held in Indianapolis – scheduled for the middle of the months of February, April, June and August. The sources did not know which month has been scheduled for Oregon's hearing.

Yahoo! Sports reported a $25,000 payment from Oregon to Lyles for "scouting services" in March 2011. In July 2011 the prep adviser alleged to Yahoo! Sports the money was for his ability to influence and deliver recruits to the Ducks program. Following an NCAA investigation, Oregon began seeking a summary disposition in the case in early 2012. As part of that process, Oregon presented its stance in writing to the committee on infractions, suggesting the violations the school believed occurred, as well as the sanctions it believed were appropriate.

The sources said the committee ultimately did not accept Oregon's presentment, disagreeing with "various aspects" of both the infractions the school believed occurred, and the sanctions the school deemed appropriate. That impasse has made a full-blown hearing necessary. Had Oregon's request for summary disposition been successful, the school could have avoided a hearing in which individuals such as head football coach Chip Kelly could be made to appear and take questions.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaaf--oregon--ncaa-reach-impasse-in-football-investigation-215913743.html

[jbcarol]

SEC vs. Big Ten: New Year's another day of opportunity in not-so-friendly rivalry

The first shots were fired by Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany shortly after Florida trounced Ohio State in the BCS National Championship Game in January 2007.

In an open letter, a bitter Delany denounced the SEC as a conference built around speed and attacked the character and intelligence of its players. Essentially, Delany, relying on a variety of well-worn stereotypes, insisted that SEC players weren't smart enough to play in the Big Ten, and that his league offered a better balance between academics and athletics.

Almost five years later, the SEC's vise grip on college football has only grown stronger with six straight national championships in the books heading into the highly anticipated Jan. 7 match-up between Alabama and Notre Dame in Miami.

Meanwhile, the Big Ten's star is fading...

http://thetandd.com/sports/sec-vs-big-ten-new-year-s-another-day-of/article_cdfc98c2-4d5d-11e2-9bed-0019bb2963f4.html

[jbcarol]

http://www.mrsec.com/2012/12/who-really-had-the-toughest-schedule-in-the-sec-this-season/

So who did the most against the toughest league schedule this past season?  Florida.  Easily.  The Gators faced three six-win (SEC games only) teams (LSU, Texas A&M and South Carolina) and a seven-win team (Georgia) this past season.  That's some heavy lifting and the Gators still wound up in a BCS bowl.

LSU, Alabama, Georgia, Texas A&M and South Carolina have nothing to be ashamed of, either.

Vanderbilt, Ole Miss and Mississippi State all achieved bowl eligibility with the aid of what turned out to be Cracker Jack conference schedules.

Auburn and Missouri — just look at that top chart again — had the roughest slates of games in the league.  Unfortunately, they couldn't do much with them.

[jbcarol]

What people outside the SEC fail to realize is this. The QB from Clemson had a great game against LSU, but he got BEAT DOWN by the LSU defense all game long and I appauld him for leading his team to victory. Now if he's in the SEC this Saturday he could be playing Bama, followed by Carolina, Florida or any other SEC team for that matter. There's no way that kid could take that BEAT DOWN week in week out.That what the  SEC DEMANDS. That's " The Difference" from the Rest. You've got to strap it up ever week.