James Madison, newly FCS, is 6-0 after handling Marshall. Bowl eligible, but ineligible for a bowl game.
In the last 2 minutes of game time of the James Madison/Marshall game, the announcers were bemoaning the insanity of the antiquated rules prohibiting JMU from participating in any postseason game because they are "transitioning" to FBS from FCS. The whining started out typical enough with mentions of the unfairness to the players who "work their butts off" and the silliness of the rule in general. Then, it got really ugly:
1) The announcers attacked the NCAA for being random in their enforcement of rules and always "making the wrong call"
2) They brought up the Tez Walker (UNC wide receiver) transfer case as being heavy handed and irrational
3) They called out former governor of Massachusetts, Charlie Baker, for being a politician and thinking and acting like one
All of this is true and deserved, but we have never heard a major network (ESPN in this case) rip into the NCAA with such viciousness. Their back-and-forth screed lasted about five minutes in real time (due to all the normal timeouts at the end of a game), plenty of time for the producers and higher ups at ESPN to shut them off.
One could get the impression that this was scripted and intentional on the part of ESPN. We'll see what happens next.
Wow. That's quite amazing. Has mrbuck been brought in on this case - as he most definitely should be?
This is a rare evening for college football viewing. In Wednesday MACtion, we have a clash of Bottom 10 heavyweights: 1-7 Akron vs 1-7 Kent State. College Football Playoffs are still months away, but this game has all the trimmings of a championship. 6:30 PM on ESPNU.
Well, someone was going to get screwed after the conference championship results and it looks like Florida State drew the short straw. I’d have been inclined to boot the SEC but past results came into the reckoning instead. My simple logic: you had three big-five conference champions undefeated and two with a single loss. Luckily, the two one loss champions already met in the regular season and Texas beat Alabama handily on the road. Seems like an easy decision - especially after’Bama needed a brain cramp by an Auburn CB just to keep their one-loss record intact in the Iron Bowl.
Now, did I write this, or did it come from chatGPT?
Some complaints: Now that 538 has sold out to ABC and Massey has stopped its computer rankings composite, it’s really hard to get any good (AKA unbiased) information on what’s mathematically most true about college football ( or life in general ). Seems like every time some scientifically based website/newsfeed gains some traction, the owners sooner or later sell out to some scumbag multimedia conglomerate or tech giant.
As to US college football, a 6-team playoff makes the most sense of all (going back and forward). This year you could have ‘Bama vs. FSU and UGA vs. Texas with the winners going on to play UW and UM respectively.
I couldn't believe it a few weeks ago when I went to the 538 site and saw it was now ABC 😲. Actually meant to post something about it somewhere on this site - but wouldn't have been this thread. I saw zero 'news' about it. It's a loss..... Sigh. 😕
FSU had every reason to believe that they would be in the playoffs: an undefeated big five conference champion had not been excluded before. They showed incredible resilience in their performances without their start quarterback. But, they also looked like a team that would get destroyed if they played a high-caliber offense.
It's a bummer that the playoff sits at only four teams. A larger field would have included some worthy teams, particularly FSU.
Next year...
):o Florida State was robbed. Alabama should concede their spot.
):o Moo.
Why Alabama? Why not Michigan, Washington, or Texas?
I didn't see it, but word is that the NDSU-Montana game was quite likely the best game in the country, by a longshot - at least 'til the national semis roll 'round.
I watched the game. It was a hard fought defensive battle for most of the game. Regulation ended 17-17, I believe. Montana's head coach is headed to USC to be their linebackers coach, but Montana agreed to let him coach through the playoffs.
The overtime periods were excellent. Hard-nosed running game on both sides.
On to Frisco TX on Jan 7 to face South Dak St for the championship.
... and now Florida State wants to take their ball and go home.
Big-time college athletics has turned pro, and I'm not sure they are particularly good at it. With the NCAA having been rendered toothless, the rules are evaporating:
Marvin Harrison Jr being offered NIL deal bigger than a pro deal???
In the meantime, I watched the DIII and DII championship games, knowing that these kids are truly scholar athletes. The early DI bowls, as always, both meaningless and played at a very low level. Gratefully, the NFL will be playing on Thursday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday of this week. I can get my football fix without watching a slew of NCAA games featuring 7-5 or 6-6 teams playing in empty stadiums.
Against my better judgment, I had one of the bowl games on in the background as I prepared dinner last night. Va Tech vs Tulane. The Tulane qb's name is Horton, but the play-by-play dude was totally incapable of pronouncing it. For him, the man's name was Hor-uh. It was grating. A running back for Va Tech is named Tuten, and the pronunciation varied from Too-uh to Tuten. The idiot color commentator could pronounce both properly with no difficulty.
This verbal affectation seems to be a trending thing, and I believe it's regional. (It absolutely is not ethnic or cultural.) Peyton Manning become Pay-uh. Couldn't becomes cuh-uh.
If there is a purpose to this, it is hi-uh from me. I really wish this di-uh exist.
Buzz, I was thinking that affliction/affectation was generational. Certainly around here it is.
FSU really showed the FBS that they made the wrong decision 😉
Well................with a GIGANTIC asterisk of the Seminoles being without 28 players - some injured, but many sitting out for portal or future-NFL reasons. The outcome would likely have been the same, but far, far less egregious. GA's coach made strong comments to that effect, politely(?) calling out the NCAA to somehow "fix" the problem.
Kirby Smart's comments were on the money: nobody want this. Next year with 12 playoff teams, there will still be bowl games outside of the playoffs.
Opt-outs (NFL prospects avoiding injury) have always diminished bowls, but the transfer portal is the biggest problem. Massive numbers of starting players are bolting to other teams -- not for starting positions but for money. These kids, many of whom will NEVER have the talent to play pro ball, are getting paid 6 and 7 figures for one year of mediocre play. NCAA FBS is rapidly turning into the crappiest pro league on the planet.
Well, the FBS selection committee sent the message to the ACC, that they were least among the big money conferences (helped by the fact that the other weak sister, the PAC-12, had a banner year). And, Louisville losing was part of the same self-fulfilling prophecy.
Speaking of next year’s revision: It would be interesting to know if said Louisville would have made it into a cut of 12. I’m guessing it would have been a no. Especially with having to include undefeated Liberty - hardly a top-30 team.
Whoa, great outcome from my perspective with Michigan and Washington making it to the national championship final. What’s really ironic is that they were the #1 and #2 seeds by the FBS Committee and both big underdogs by the Las Vegas crowd. Of course, the pros setting the betting lines in Las Vegas are balancing the perceptions of the betting public against what they actually believe will transpire.
Louisville finished 15 in the rankings. They were an unlikely pick for a 12-team playoff. Liberty would have had no guarantees.
The two semifinal games were such a breath of fresh air compared to the miserable bowl games. It was great to see four teams with no opt-outs, no late-season transfers playing at a high level.
ESPN's Game Day had a lively debate about canning the non-playoff bowl games moving forward. The only strong voice in favor of killing the worthless bowls was Herbstreit. McAfee and Galloway (both former players) were emphatic that the players spent their whole lives preparing for football and "they earned the right for a post season game." That was the dumbest logic ever. This year, four teams "earned the right" for a post season game (three total games). The other FORTY bowl games -- EIGHTY TEAMS -- fell short and earned nothing. Participation ribbons all around and a trophy for everyone.
Capitalism dictates the other bowls won't go anywhere, may still even proliferate (market determination).
I hear you, Brewski, but the bottom-feeder bowls are barely scratching a profit. The participating schools are obligated to buy a huge block of tickets that are nearly impossible to pawn off on the fans. Add the costs of getting the team (cheerleaders, and maybe the band) to the game and housing them, and the costs are significant. Quite often, the schools lose money because the low-end bowls have a miserable payout. The stadiums are nearly empty, so it's not like the good folks of the hosting town care about the game.
I had YouTube TV set to record all the bowl games, but only watched about 10 of them, and only three to completion. And that includes the high-end, non-playoff bowls. I'll watch all the new playoff games and none of the 2024 Green Ribbon bowls.
"The stadiums are nearly empty"...I suspect so Buzz, but cable, satellite, and pay-per-view's ad dollars is a tough pest to control, much less terminate.
One can, of course, be a fan of whatever team one wishes.........................but.............I simply can't understand how one could pull for cheaters in this post-season (or at any other time, for that matter):
Doyel: National title for Harbaugh's cheating would render college football meaningless (msn.com)
Now, to be clear.............I'm no fan of 'bama and Saban, as they've won FAAAR too many titles for their 'fair share', but vs. the blatant Harbaugh antics.............
We pretty much know all this, but it's a well-written analysis/lament:
Opinion: Welcome to the end of college football as we know it | CNN