Tuesday, December 7, 2010

12/7: My CFB Play-Off, Heisman talk & Happy Trails

MY COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAY-OFF




This is the time of the year we all realize that we have to wait over a month to see the only real play-off of the college football season, but it's just one game. My solution isn't overly complicated, and there are some kinks that would need to be worked out. It may not be perfect, but I do expect to sit back and see the money roll in on this idea shortly.


The first round would be the 4 BCS bowl games. The 6 BCS conference champions will have a permanent, traditional bowl destination. 2 non-AQ schools will fill the gaps, with the highest ranked non-AQ facing the lower ranked of the 2 AQ opponents.
The second round, the national semi-finals, will be at a location that rotates within the regions of the 3 AQ conferences represented by that semi-final.
The third round, the national championship, will be at a location that rotates around the  6 AQ conferences so that the same conference will not select a semi-final and a national title location in the same year.


Here is how it might look this year


First Round - Jan 1st/2nd
ORANGE BOWL: Virginia Tech (ACC) vs Connecticut (Big East)
SUGAR BOWL: Auburn (SEC) vs Nevada (Non-AQ, WAC)
FIESTA BOWL: Oklahoma (Big XII) vs TCU (Non-AQ, Mountain West)
ROSE BOWL: Oregon (Pac-10) vs Wisconsin (Big Ten)


Second Round - Jan 7th
Semi-final #1 (Big East - Tampa)
ORANGE BOWL WINNER vs SUGAR BOWL WINNER
Semi-final #2 (Big XII - Kansas City)
FIESTA BOWL WINNER vs ROSE BOWL winner


Third Round- Jan 14th
National Championship (Big Ten - Indianapolis)
Semi-final winner #1 vs Semi-final winner #2


Cons
1) It does stretch the season a week longer.
I would argue that the season stretches across academic semesters already, and that the college baseball play-off takes place entirely when the school is out of session for the summer. So BS to that argument against my plan.
2) The incentive for non-conference games amongst the AQ conferences is significantly lower.
I agree this would suck, but the carrot of a locked in slot to the play-off is also what would lure the conferences to support this plan. So, you have a point, but I like mine better.
3) Travel, who would be able to manage this travel.
Have you ever seen the basketball tournament? So BS to that argument.




HEISMAN TALK




This topic is getting a lot of play right now, so I thought I'd throw out my quick thoughts on the subject.
I understand there is an argument for leaving Cam Newton off of a Heisman ballot. Any so-called "integrity" clause is not something I support, there are simply too many past and current candidates who would be eliminated depending on how the voter feels about this. The argument against including Cam Newton is because you know the NCAA ruled that a violation occurred when Cecil Newton tried to solicit money for Cam during his recruiting process. The argument is that you know full and well that the NCAA ruling on this case is completely inconsistent with past rulings and with common sense. I know people who study and work as lawyers, and none of them say "on behalf of the student-athlete" implies knowledge on the part of the student-athlete. In other words, Cam is ineligible. It doesn't matter that the NCAA ruled otherwise, because they ruled under the pressure of a sure lawsuit if they had ruled the clear Heisman leader and leader of a team on a national title run. You can make your own statement that Cam Newton shouldn't be eligible, and I happen to agree with this statement.


If I did vote, which as an Underwriting Technician at a Insurance MGA I obviously don't, this would be my ballot:
1) Andrew Luck - Stanford QB (the run vs Cal was his Heisman moment, his season said it all)
2) LaMichael James - Oregon RB (An amazing season, on a really good team, the biggest cog)
3) Colin Kaepernick - Nevada QB (Passing: 2,830 yards 20 TD. Rushing: 1,184 yards 20 TD)






HAPPY TRAILS
It's time to review what is surely an incomplete list of coaches who have been given the boot this season, with some of the fondest memories.


Steve Roberts, Arkansas State, 2002-2010 (45-63)




Stan Parrish, Ball State, 2008-2010 (6-19)




Dan Hawkins, Colorado, 2006-2010 (19-39)



Bill Lynch, Indiana, 2007-2010 (19-30)



Doug Martin, Kent State, 2004-2010 (28-53)




Rickey Bustle, Louisiana-Lafayette, 2002-2010 (41-65)



Randy Shannon, Miami (FL), 2007-2010 (28-22)
Go straight to the 1:10 mark



Tim Brewster, Minnesota, 2007-2010 (15-30)



Todd Dodge, North Texas, 2007-2010 (6-37)




Robbie Caldwell, Vanderbilt, 2010 (2-10)





I JUST FIND THIS PICTURE TOO FUNNY NOT TO INCLUDE


34-17, 29-7




and now, your moment of zen...