Look Out Iowa, Here We Come

Let me get two things out of the way right now: I pretty much hate both the Cubs and Notre Dame. So it seems somehow fitting that Jeff Samardzija passed up an NFL career to toil away in the minor leagues. Drew Henson, anyone?

Of course, I don't think Drew Henson could hit a 97 mile per hour fastball. Or maybe he could. Whatever. As it stands, Samardzija is apparently a pretty good pitching prospect. Or at least the Cubs think he could be. Which are two completely different things. In any event, Samardzija signed a five year $10 million contract with the Cubs, thereby signing away his football future. Enjoy riding shitty buses all over the Midwest, playing a ridiculous baseball schedule, and humping the likes of Susan Sarandon instead of playing 16 games a year, flying around in a chartered jet, and humping the likes of Gisele Bundchen. Should be great. Hopefully neither you nor the Cubs regret this decision. And by that I mean I hope you both do.

In other Cubs news, Mark Prior claims he's ready to go for next season. Did you hear that, Cubs fans? Be sure to draft Prior early in your fantasy leagues; your fellow managers will thank you when he goes down with some mysterious arm injury a week into the season.

Oh, to live in Iowa this summer. You may get to see both Mark Prior rehab and Jeff Samardjiza get rocked. It's good to be a Cubs hater.

Did That Really Just Happen?

As I lay in bed last night waiting for my heart to stop pounding after that Boise State victory in the Fiesta Bowl, I couldn't help but think two things. First: was that the best game I've ever watched? Frankly, I'm not sure but in this world of short attention spans, it ranks right up there.

Second, and more interestingly to me, I just couldn't shake the notion that this game would never happen in the NFL. It's just the nature of the college game that can lead to these crazy matchups that make no sense. Nobody is really that big of an underdog in the pros because the league has created so much parity. So, yes you're surprised when Oakland wins a game, but at the end of the season, everybody wins a couple of games and everybody loses a couple. But BSU/OU last night you had an established powerhouse from an established conference playing a team epitomized by their quarterback. A redneck who outwardly discusses his seeing a shrink and has some ill-advised facial hair. It's a rag-tag bunch, they're scrappy, don't count them out, they're the underdogs... oh and they're undefeated. Still.

Having watched so many more NFL than college games this year I was ready to give up in the game after that horrendous interception thrown by the Z Man (as I'm told he likes to be called) I was considering writing a "most heartbreaking loss ever?" post. 18 points is a helluva lot to blow on the verge of an historic season. But, with the college football rules allowing the clock to stop on a first down Boise had time to drive down the field and get within striking range of the end zone. In the NFL they would have run out of time on the clock and had to throw a couple of hail mary's. Why doesn't the NFL have this rule? Isn't it unfair to watch the clock run out while some chubby referee takes his time spotting the ball? Thus, it eliminates any play not right next to the sidelines and your only chance is the defense completely falling asleep. Bah, I say.

Finally, how great was the lateral for the TD, WR pass for TD, Statue of Liberty play sequence? I know announcers like to suck off NFL coaches who call a trick play on 2nd and 1 in the third quarter, but it takes some serious balls to call those plays on 4th and the ballgame twice then a two point conversion for the ballgame. Just going for the conversion takes some serious cahones. I promise you there is not a coach in the pro game who has it in them to do it. It's becoming an old stodgy game and losingsome of the flare that really seperated it from football. Great game last night and substantially better than any pro game I've seen all year. Congrats blue fielders.

Big 10 Proving Fearsome in Early Bowl Games

Granted I haven't seen any of these games, but the Big 10 has actually proven anything but fearsome in bowl games so far this season, posting an abysmal 0-3 record. I don't know if you can blame it on the match-ups or what, but I kind of doubt it. One could be led to believe that middling teams in supposedly major "power" conferences like the Big 10 just... well... suck. Or maybe it's just the Big 10 that sucks and is annually overrated. If you want to hop over to the other major college sport, you could point to the fact that the Big 10 annually gets 6 or 7 teams into the NCAA tourney, only to have their middling teams consistently disappoint (and that's not even to mention the Big 10 getting annually embarrassed by the ACC-Big 10 "challenge" that hasn't been challenging in the least for the ACC).

I'd probably agree with you on all those counts. But looking at college football by itself, I'd argue that nothing -- nothing -- can be discerned from bowl game performances because in the end, you guessed it, there is no playoff system. I'm not arguing that the players don't care about playing in a bowl game four weeks after their last regular season game, but at some level every single one of those guys must realize that their bowl game is essentially meaningless. Yeah, they're playing for pride, personal and for their school. And no, I don't want to take anything away from Rutgers who won their first bowl game in school history (and probably deserved a tougher opponent). Yeah, Purdue was embarrassed by Maryland, but is anyone going to give a shit next season? Why are college teams judged on a game played a month after their normal season is done? If that affects recruiting, then that's just idiotic. One game in December or January against a nearly random opponent does not a program make.

If I was a player, I'd just as soon be with my family and friends over the holidays rather than playing in the Champs Sports Bowl. Maybe that's just me, but this whole bowl system is so fucked up--from the way teams are selected from major conferences (perennially snubbing mid-major teams) to the lack of a playoff system--I find it hard to understand why any fan gives half a shit about a game other than the National Championship game, regardless of whether or not their team is playing in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.

Iowa lost a close game tonight to Texas, Minnesota blew the biggest lead ever in a bowl game to lose to Texas Tech, and Purdue lost an utterly unremarkable game to Maryland. But all three of those schools made their money for a bowl appearance and everyone's happy. That's what it's all about, right?

Count Me Grumpy About College Football

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Counterpoint: BCS Is Total Shit

One of our frequent commenters (and a good friend, surprise!), Jason decided he felt the need to weigh in on the whole BCS situation in order to shoot down my every argument. So, I present to you our very first ever guest post.

College football needs a change. While I believe the BCS system has enhanced college football, a simple playoff system would increase its popularity and fairness. First, what has the BCS done right? The BCS allows the number 1 and number 2 ranked teams to play each other for the national championship. This was a very important step for college football and took a great deal of work. A playoff system is the next step in the evolution of college football.

We will start with a little history. In 1990 and 1991 college football saw co-national champions. Because we don’t like ties, for the 1992 season the Bowl Coalition was formed. This system tried to improve upon the system of conference tie-ins to bowl games by allowing the top two teams to play for the national championship. The problem was that the Rose Bowl would not break its tie-ins so the Pac 10 and Big Ten were excluded from the arrangement. In 1995 this system became the Bowl Alliance which changed a few things but still did not include the Pac-10 and Big Ten. Only in 1998 were these two conferences included to create the BCS. The BCS tweaks its formula each year, but in 2006 has automatic bids for the ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-10, and SEC conferences. On top of that, four other schools can earn bids through a number of detailed rules. Finally, if Notre Dame wins more games than it loses and Charlie Weis tells the media he deserves to be in a BCS bowl, Notre Dame goes to a BCS bowl.

In order to make a playoff work, it has to improve upon the BCS, but stay within a number of ground rules.

Players are student athletes and a playoff should not increase the number of games. This is a major argument against a playoff. To think that major conferences and FOX really care about the education of the football player is a stretch. Why would you introduce a twelfth game if you’re worried about the education of the youth? Because of this rule, a playoff system can only contain two or three rounds.

Don’t kill the regular season with a playoff. Any playoff system needs to ensure teams can’t coast at the end of the season. It also has to keep the interest of the lower tier schools.

College football has peculiar institutions that add to its appeal. College Football has unique systems like polls and bowls that should be a part of any playoff. Any system that allows Boomer Esiason and Anthony Munoz to vote has to be kept in order to keep the support of the Bengals fans.

Respect the conferences. Conferences and conference rivalries are huge in college football. A playoff system should respect the major conferences by giving automatic bids to conference champions.

Money Money Money Any system needs to make boat loads of money because that’s what its all about these days, right?

With these rules I propose my plan which has probably been proposed by 500 other people. I’m sorry. I’m too lazy to read what other people wrote unless it was put on The Goat.

The Proposal

I propose an 8 team playoff to decide the national championship. The eight teams would come from automatic bids from the six major conferences and two at-large bids. The two at-large bids would come from the two highest ranked teams which are not conference champions. The polling could use the current system or some other alternative as long as Boomer and The Rocket still have a voice. All other bowls should be kept and this system will not detract from them anymore then the BCS does now

An eight team playoff would require three weeks. By subtracting the twelfth game (Should teams really be able to go to a bowl with a .500 record?) this would be in line with the current system. Only two teams would play a fourteenth game. Just this year, Purdue will play fourteen games so the academic argument is void. The first round of the playoffs would be played the week after the final week of the season. The top four teams would play home games to give them an advantage. This keeps the regular season competitive. Teams will need to compete to win their conference and will also have to win to stay in the top 4 because of the importance of home field advantage. It also adds a second tier of interest for the schools competing for the two at-large spots. Those schools will add the spoiler element that makes college basketball so enjoyable.

After the first week the winning teams would play each other and the losing teams would play each other in the traditional bowl games. The winner and loser bowls would rotate with a loser bowl always hosting the national championship game. This is how the money comes into play. The first week will add a lot of TV revenue and the second week will keep or exceed the current BCS revenue. Finally, the national championship game would pit the two top teams against each other a week after the bowl games just like the current system.

Discussion

The proposed playoff system is an easy architecture to implement to advance the current BCS system. The system does not increase the number of games. It keeps the regular season competitive. It keeps the bowls, the polls and the importance of the conferences. I know people will argue that this system will have its own controversies and its own problems. This is true. The system will not be perfect, but it will improve upon the system that we have today. In 1992 people argued about the Bowl Coalition because it crowned mythical national champions. They cried in 1995 when the Bowl Alliance did nothing to fix the problems. Today we still argue about the BCS. Many of us relish the days of the 10-10 tie or think about the replay implications of the Stanford band entering the field or the personal four for running over the trombone player, but those days are over. College football is big-business, and if that’s the way it has to be then lets at least continue the trend of improving the crowning of a champion by implementing a playoff system.

(I’m sorry this is so boring. I write technical papers for the government. Passive voice is my life. Think about it: Jeanne Zelasko as a sideline reporter.)

Without The BCS There Would Be No Crystal Football

As a Purdue alumnus I really don't have any pipe dreams wherein I see the Boilermakers going to the national championship game...um, ever. Hell, we only win the Big Ten every thirty years or so. Thus, I don't really have a personal interest in any system that's in place. Just thought you should know.

It's getting to be a lonely club; those of us who don't hate the Bowl Championship Series. Now in its ninth year, the system that was supposed to cure the ills of college football's ranking system has become the most convenient whipping boy (with the possible exception of Pete Rose) in all of sports. Of course what people often neglect to mention is that there's only been one split championship (Auburn and USC in 2004) and a lot griping from teams who feel slighted. But surely the entire system can't be dismantled simply due to a bunch of whining, can it? Wouldn't that just be encouraging Jay Mariotti?

Let's get it out of the way: no system is perfect. Whether you favor a four team or eight team (or even the clinically insane 16 team) playoff there still will be unavoidable controversy. There are a lot of people who love the NCAA basketball tournament and have managed to convince themselves that it's the perfect system. Guess what, it's not (more on this later). While the idea of striving for perfection is noble, the BCS has accomplished what everybody wanted and expected. It created a Super Bowl of college football. And, nobody misses that game (except for my mom, but she's more of a pro football fan). The matchups have been complelling and entertaining, and generally more fun to watch than the Super Bowl. Sounds like a system that's working to me.

So, why are people completely obsessed with the concept of a playoff? Best I can tell, we have a playoff in every other American sports league and people don't know any other way. But, hasn't anybody noticed how we've completely undervalued the regular season? The Steelers won the championship from a Wild Card and the Cardinals squeaked into the playoffs in the middle of an almost-epic backslide with a barely better than .500 record. I probably don't even need to mention the NBA, but let me remind you that over half the teams make the postseason. In the NCAA basketball tourney, fourth and fifth place teams from some conferences get in every year.

We've created an atmosphere where it's not the team who plays great all season who is lauded as the best team, but rather the team who gets hot at the right time. I, for one, like the idea of that early fall game between Notre Dame and Michigan having the potential to make or break a season. This is why it's so goddamned exciting. Plus, there's the argument that in the Ohio State and Michigan game this year, both teams would have already qualified for a playoff and thus could have rested players and not had to give 100%. How sad would that be for a game with so much tradition? I kind of like the idea of every game being for all the marbles.

Then, of course there's the money. You've probably heard it all, but basically the current bowl system is insanely profitable for the NCAA, the host cities and particular the participating schools. Fans seem to travel regardless of the status of their team's bowl (for example the Champs Sports Bowl in tropical Orlando, Florida). Everybody is fat and happy right now. Do I think that a playoff could potentially make everybody just as much money? Probably. It's like your one buddy who's been at the same job even though he's had other opportunites that could probably make him more successful. You keep asking him about it and he just shrugs and says "yeah, but I'd have to learn a whole new job and I might even have to move." Hard to argue with, really.

Finally, at the end of the day everybody controls their own fate. Think you deserve to be in the big game, Michigan? Maybe you should have won that game in Columbus. And, there's still the reasonable subjective qualities of the coaches' poll in play. Living in SEC country I get force-fed a lot of Florida games. And, realistically, anybody who has watched the Gators barely edge out South Carolina and a crummy Florida State team in recent weeks cannot reasonably think that they are the second best team in the country. Beat FSU by four touchdowns and then we'll talk. What I'm trying to say here is: if you want to be considered in the top two teams in the country, go out and play like it.

In the end, I'd like to think the designers of the BCS had two (at least somewhat) noble priorities in mind when designing the stystem. One, have one game to determine the national championship. And two, do so without completely dismantling the current system. I'd say they accomplished said goals. Now let's not ruin it Fox by letting Joe Buck announce the game.

Avoiding Work With Gage - 9/29

- Big news of the day: Pedro Martinez is out until next season. Well goddamn. I generally loathe New York teams with gigantic payrolls but this is dissapointing on a few levels. First, I've always been an NL guy and it just blows nuts that now there's not one single team worth a damn out there. Can we get commissioner Skeletor to just call off the NL playoffs all together? Plus, love him or hate him, Pedro is both really good and really entertaining. There's only a select few players who actually give good quote instead of "it was a hard fought game and I'm just proud to be a part of it."

- I just realized while typing that last paragraph that I have no team to root for in the playoffs. Jeeze, maybe I'll get on the A's bandwagon. I like the fact that I don't know enough about them to hate them.

- I think I believe TO's story. Almost.

- For those of you not paying attention, which should be most of you, the Reds are still only 2.5 games out of the NL central. There is no way that they win the thing but this is so typical of a really bizarre season. Mathematical elimination probably won't happen until the last day or two of the year thus keeping me hanging by a thread for an entire summer. Of course, if there was some miracle and they did get in I would probably have a stroke. Not sure which way to root.

- I'm starting to feel pretty good about the Reds chances next year. Harang and Arroyo are solid and inning eaters. Milton seems to give them a QS two-thirds of the time and Bailey coming up in June and be a complete stud seems more likely than not. Obviously the bullpen is still a nightmare, but when they have to pitch 4-5 innings a game that will happen. Grrrr I shouldn't even be saying this. Jinx jinx jinx.

- Two big football games this weekend. First, Purdue @ Notre Dame. God I would love to win this one. There's nothing quite like seeing the looks of dissapointment on ND fans faces. A group that consists of east-coast rich kids, catholics and bandwagon jerkoffs who don't know any better. Look, nobody thinks the Boilers (4-0, by the way) can compete. And they almost certainly have inferior talent, but there are two things in their favor:
1) The "nobody saw it coming" game. Pundits talked all preseason about how tough the Irish's September schedule was while always managing to forget to mention Purdue. We all know these players watch SportsCenter (lord knows they don't study) and don't like being treated like patsies. This might be their biggest game of the season.
2) The "letdown game." The Irish know they shouldn't have won that game last week. MSU decided to give it away and Christmas came early to South Bend. It hardly seems possible that they are going to be able to get completely hyped for this game.
That said, before the 2004 game (one of my favorite games ever) the Boilermakers hadn't won in South Bend in something like 30 years. Not an easy place to play.

- Then there's the Patriots @ Bengals game. Frankly, this one makes me real nervous. The Patriots are still the kind of team whow knows how to get enough done during the season to make the playoffs. And with the Bengals coming off a bigtime road victory last week they could come in and steal one. I'm not sure if Palmer was trying to lull the Steelers into a false sense of security with the 10 sacks and multiple fumbles last week, but I don't know if that's the best strategy for winning games. Oh yeah and SI put them on the cover. Fuckwads. I still like the Bengals to win, but I'd guess the Pats have a good chance of covering.

- Finally, I will be present at the Bengals game again this week, and I would like to solicit comments to yell at the the New England players. I could be really vile towards Corey Dillon, but I'd like to avoid the jerk line if at all possible. It would be nice to be humorous so that the people around me don't get upset. So, I beg of yee all five regular readers, suggest any outbursts in the comments section. Together we might just have an impact on the game.

Wanton for Football

I am a Purdue alumnus and a Purdue fan. I went to a Big Ten school knowing that I was going to see big time college sports. Maybe this shouldn't have mattered to me, but it did. I drove from Indiana to the Rose Bowl in the 2000 season, I still maintain there is nothing like being in the student section at a Big Ten football game. This is a serious part of my life, again probably too serious but that's another post.

Alas, as we dive headfirst into another season, I would love to write a long drawn-out post breaking down all the pointless minutia of this team. It would make my day to tell you all about Curtis Painter's footwork or how well the left guard pulls on a sweep right. Nothing could make me happier, but this 2-0 team heads into their third game and not a single one will have been on tv. Oh for three.

Which leads me to my point (two paragraphs late). I have 300 digital cable channels and get a ton of sports. These are the games I will be getting this week instead of Ball St. @ Purdue:

BYU @ Boston College (ESPN2)
If you can tell me one thing about either of these teams, you get a cookie. Is this on just because ESPN is in the northeast? Does the camera crew just want to save some travel money? Last I checked, Steve Young doesn't work for ESPN anymore, you don't have to show BYU just for him. Maybe those rumors about Mormons running the network are true. Division of Sports and Church!!! I demand justice.

Marshall @ Kansas St. (Fox Sports Something)
Why are these teams even playing each other? Is Marshall still in West Virginia? I can hardly see how anything good comes out of WV. Plus, this is a MAC team playing a lesser Big 12 team. Purdue vs. Ball State is a MAC team against an-admittedly not elite-Big Ten team. But I'm telling you, the Big Ten outweighs the Big 12 any day of the week. Don't give me Oklahoma and Texas because I will throw Michigan and Ohio State all up in your shit.

Kent St. @ Miami University (Fox Sports Ohio)
Woah, hold your jets there. Who decided this one? Just because there's two teams from Ohio playing they have to be on tv? What's that? You thought this was the University of Miami? Whoops. There's still time, give me some Purdue. You know you want to. (By the way, I understand that if you say "Miami Ohio" certain people don't take kindly, just a heads up to anyone traveling through the Oxford, OH area)

So there you have it. A Big Ten school with a HUGE alumni playing an in-state school can't get on tv, not anywhere. At least we have the MAC everywhere. Bleh.