There are good sides to this as well as bad. There always are...it's an inherent part of the sport culture. You might have different thoughts on this other than mine so feel free to share them. Here are mine:
Good side-- The B1G Ten is looked down upon nationally for it's "cupcake" scheduling. I've heard it so many times but I do not understand it. Every major BCS AQ-conference operates this way. Savannah St played both Florida State and Oklahoma State this past season and was destroyed in both. They won one game all season (against Edward Waters College) but I'm sure their athletic department didn't mind one bit because they received huge payouts for those 2 games against BCS schools. Now when the rest of the B1G Ten schools are not forced to do that, it'll not only look good to national analysts and pundits, but also make the rest of the BCS schools sit up and take notice. In an era where SEC dominance is so popular, that for the B1G Ten to make waves is a GOOD thing. This whole idea won't happen for a few years but imagine when it does that people won't be able to say "Hey Michigan just went undefeated, but they did play North Dakota State and Jacksonville St"...it's win/win.
Bad side-- Yes in 2014 Michigan has rescheduled Appalachian St, and any Michigan fan out there will be wanting revenge from "The Horror." However, normally when you look at a football schedule such as Michigan's, you'll see a couple MAC Teams (which were better in 2012) and then maybe a FCS school once in a while because the conference schedule begins soon after and is usually pretty brutal. Athletic directors try to not make it difficult for all 12 games, and with the talks continuing about having a 9 or 10 conference game schedule once Rutgers and Maryland joins--these particular schools almost need a cupcake game or two. There will always be MAC teams to pick on so that helps...but not every game needs to be equal in competitiveness.
So, bottom line is that this will most likely happen. There are good arguments and bad arguments alike but the B1G Ten is doing it's best to avoid stagnancy. I know they don't mind paying the smaller FCS schools a big payday and after all, it's pretty much another home game built in but in the end...it's better for the bigger schools such as Michigan to not have to worry about it. Now let's see if any other conferences follow their lead.
I think this is a good idea when thinking in terms of what makes sense for "a" conference. But when thinking in terms of conference vs. conference competition, not as sure.
ReplyDeleteThis issue, and the issue of 9-10 league game scheduling models, raises the issue of increased total B1G team losses, which can have an impact on the national picture.
The SEC is going to hold tight at 8 league games, because that means 7-14 less certain SEC losses in a season. If they play less league games, and more FCS opponents, then the B1G will struggle to narrow the gap with the SEC.
Wow what a concept!!!! Whoever thought of scheduling tougher opponenents I bet he/she is making millions....fu$#ing idiots!!!! Long overdue...I think this will help the B1G in the future to be more competetive. I'd like to see some of those Florida schools come up north in November!!! Or an Oregon or Texas for that matter...let's get it on!!!!
ReplyDeleteI don't think it changes that much. We scheduled App St. twice. Have we played another FCS school? I think its a great idea, but I don't really think that many B1G vs FCS games are scheduled yearly. The SEC on the other hand... if they don't have 1 or 2 on their schedule then something's wrong.
ReplyDeleteDo we play them often? No. But teams such as Iowa, Northwestern, Indiana, Minnesota, etc...they do.
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