I am in California and this morning we are watching college football. My son-in-law is breaking his son in right. Keller Bork has his Wisconsin Badger stuff on, and I am sure after it is soiled he will find something else to wear. I bought him an Illini onesie but he has to grow into that one. Look for his name suiting up somewhere in 18 years. The kid has big paws and big feet. Got a linebacker ring to it, doesn’t it?
I was looking at the college football lineup. I notice that many Power 5 schools have scheduled Cupcake U for a guaranteed win home game. Of course, last week a lot of those schools got a comeuppance. It’s the way business is done in college football as they all try to get to 6 wins and a bowl game.
I don’t think that’s the way to build a program and a following. If Illinois beats Directional State U or Name of City U (thinking MAC schools), no one cares. It’s crappy for fans too. It makes for crappy bowl games. Illinois would be better off scheduling a state school like Kansas and doing a home and home. It’s better for fans and a more appealing travel spot for a road game.
It’s worse when Cupcake U beats you at home. Years ago, I saw Southern Mississippi beat Nebraska at home. An ominous silence enveloped the stadium. Nebraska fans should have seen the writing on the wall then. It wasn’t Tom Osborne’s Cornhuskers anymore. Nebraska hasn’t been relevant in the national title conversation since.
Back in 1990, I watched Howard Davis break Red Grange’s touchdown record against….SIU. Yawn. They crushed the Salukis. I mean, it’s a record but it’s hardly the same. The Galloping Ghost earned his nickname and set it against perennial power Michigan. Who do people remember, Grange or Davis? Here is a hint.
People remember Appalachain St beating Michigan in Ann Arbor but it was a one-off, although App St seems to be a giant killer. Michigan gets a lot of publicity because of its rabid alumni network, but truth be told they are never contenders for the national title. Always bet against Michigan and ND in a big game. Your FanDuel account can thank me later.
Last week, seeing Notre Dame and Texas A&M go down was fun but not good for either program. Texas A&M would have been better off scheduling Oregon State or California and ND would have been better off playing one of the service academies or another Power 5 school that values academics. Like Northwestern. Will those programs go the way of Nebraska? My guess is yes. I don’t think either will win r really compete for a national championship in the next twenty years.
Sure, if you are in the SEC West, virtually every game you play is going to be against some brutal competition. The worst team in the SEC West has been Missouri and Missouri could beat a lot of schools in the other Power 5 conferences. But, I still think instead of scheduling Multidirectional U and rolling up the score, it’s better for the game and the fans to schedule a non-conference school with some appeal, like Syracuse. The SEC West is the only conference like that. The SEC East is tough, but it’s not the SEC West.
With conference realignment, we will see College Football change big time. With the money that is being spent on television contracts and NIL money, no one wants to see Small School Non-Power 5 Conference U play Power Five Conference U in a game. They do want to see traditional rivalries. It’s cool that Nebraska is playing Oklahoma today. Who doesn’t love Rivalry Weekend? Who doesn’t love the Red River Rivalry, the World’s Largest Cocktail Party, and seeing USC vs Notre Dame? I think they ought to play every year. My friend James has suggested the NCAA do something like the Premier League in “footie”. Merit based. I think he might be right.
I'm an Illinois alum and never cared for those games with Directional U teams either. Years ago watching an Illinois - SIU game in Champaign where the winner was going to be whoever had the ball last, it got so ugly many in the Illinois crowd switched allegiances to the scrappy Salukis.
Seems like every passing year brings requires more effort to keep up with the various new NCAA conference teams or realignments. Can't even tell you how many extra teams there are in the Big 10.
I was wrong about Mizzou, they are in the SEC East, not West. The point about the West stands.