Friday, February 24, 2012

New rules in 2012

The big headline grabbing rule change is that kickoffs have moved from the 30 to 35-yard line.  But after the NFL did it last year, is it really that surprising?  Especially when the NCAA has to be even more concerned about player safety than the pros.  After all, in theory, the playing career of a student-athlete comes second to their education, and a serious injury could jeopardize both, as well as future earnings.

But the rule I'm more interested in is regarding helmets coming off.  I've seen entirely too many helmets flying off of players in the last few years, both at college and pro levels.  I like the idea that if a helmet comes off, the player has to sit out a play.  There are very few legitimate reasons for a helmet to get knocked off, and most of the time, it's the result of a hard enough hit that's going to require the player to leave for a while anyway.

Click here for the Yahoo! Sports news article.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Temple back in the Big East?

Temple and the Big East are talking about getting back together.

The same Temple that was so bad they were kicked out of the Big East.

It should mean something that the Big East - who has been hurting for teams since 2004, and has had pretty much a revolving door on membership since then - kicked someone out.  And now they want them back - is that desperation?

FSU has filled out their schedule!

Let's hope this means the ACC schedule will be out by the end of the week.


Friday, February 17, 2012

Why a larger playoff system would be more beneficial to college football.

After reading "Death to the BCS (2011 edition)" by Dan Wetzel and others, I've come to accept the idea of a larger playoff system that includes all conferences.  The book proposes a 16 team playoff, which includes 11 conference champions and 5 at large spots.

With the news of the CUSA/Mountain West merger, that means we'll be down to 10 conferences within a couple of years.  Seeing as how scheduling 8 playoff games in one weekend could be problematic without having them be simultaneous, perhaps a 12 team playoff is more equitable?  Ten champions, 2 wildcards, and the top four get byes.  It would basically be the NFL system.

And, if each conference has an equal chance of getting into the playoffs, then there shouldn't be so much conference realignment.  Unless you get some middle of the road team thinking they could become the big fish in the small pond of the Sun Belt or MAC.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Possible Solution for Big East 2012

With West Virginia headed to the Big 12, each of the seven remaining Big East Schools now have yet another hole to fill. In addition, WVU had to cancel its out-of-conference game at Florida State in order to make room for their Big 12 schedule.


Now, I'm sure the Big East is in talks with Boise State to come on over a year early; so far, it appears that Boise is content staying in the Mountain West for one more year.


If, in fact, the Big East is left with just the 7 teams for 2012, one non-obvious possibility for a schedule filler could be: each other!


Each of the 6 northern Big East schools could pair up for a non-conference game. Conference play usually doesn't start until October, which means the September matchups can all be the ones not counted in the conference standings.


In addition, USF could pair up with FSU for a second non-conference game. The Bulls and Seminoles are already scheduled for a game in Tampa, why not add one more in Tallahassee (or even Jacksonville to get a home-away-neutral)? The Bulls would have had to travel to Morgantown anyway.


I doubt the Big East will take this approach. It's a shame the 7 schools might be in this bind, and as an ACC fan, I wish FSU could land a decent game so that I can finally get the ACC schedule. Hopefully we get our answers...and in good time!

2012 Wish List: If the VT/GT Labor Day night game is true....

Please, ESPN, keep Kirk Herbstreit away from it.

Never mind the fact that I just don't like him calling VT games.  He hasn't yet called one that Tech wins (at least not in the last three or four years).

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Dear ACC, please release your 2012 schedule.

Some of us require as much notice as possible to plan football games.  (Not everyone gets every Saturday off.)  So, please, hurry up and release the 2012 football schedule already.  It's already later than you've released it in past years.

Is it really that hard to formulate a schedule?  The SEC released theirs back in January (or was it December?) and they had to make two or three different schedules depending on how many teams they had!

We know the ACC is staying still at 12 for 2012, so there's not a lot of variables here, except maybe we get the battle of the Techs in Blacksburg on Labor Day.