Notre Dame Football - Fanblogs.com

Gator Bowl to match SEC vs Big Ten; more bowl shakeups ensue

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 10:43:42 -0500

After months of wrangling and having the ACC reject the bowl's latest proposal, the Gator Bowl is finalizing a four-year agreement that will pit an SEC team against a Big 10 team in the 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 seasons.

Officials from the SEC have already confirmed their participation to The Birmingham News. Under the terms, the Gator will get "at least" the sixth pick of bowl-eligible SEC teams. The pick position could vary on a year-to-year basis, but more details would be announced once the Big 10 announces its bowl agreements next week.

The Gator Bowl is also in final talks to become part of a broadcast deal with ESPN, leaving CBS, in a move that could signal the end of the exclusive broadcast window that has been previously negotiated for the Capital One Bowl.

With the Cotton Bowl moving to January 2nd, the result of the Gator Bowl agreement means that all three non-BCS games on New Years Day will feature SEC vs Big 10 matchups.

With the end of the ACC / Big East relationship in the Gator Bowl, the ACC and Big East have signed an agreement with the Champs Bowl which will essentially recreates the conferences past Gator relationship in Orlando.

Under the terms to begin with the 2010 season, the ACC will send its #3 selection to the Champs Bowl to face the Big East's #2 selection or Notre Dame. The Champs can select Notre Dame once over the four year agreement if the Irish have seven wins and are within two wins of the #2 Big East school.

With the Gator Bowl now aligned with SEC, the Independence Bowl finds itself as odd-man out in the SEC bowl mix after 15 years with the conference. Instead, the Independence Bowl will look to sign a new bowl matchup between the ACC and Mountain West.

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2009-2010 College Football Bowl Game Television Schedule

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:09:51 -0500

Despite what you may hear from skeptics, there's no better season in all of sports than college football bowl season and the complete television schedule for the bowl games is right here on Fanblogs, brought to you by BangTheBook.com.

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Date/Time/TV	Bowl	Site	Matchup
Saturday Dec. 19 2 :30 pm ET ESPN	New Mexico Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Albuquerque, NM University Stadium	Mountain West vs. WAC
Saturday Dec. 19 8:00 pm ET ESPN	St. Petersburg Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	St. Petersburg, FL Tropicana Field	Big East vs. C-USA
Sunday Dec. 20 8:00 pm ET ESPN	R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	New Orleans, LA Louisiana Superdome	C-USA vs. Sun Belt
Tuesday Dec. 22 8:00 pm ET ESPN	MAACO Bowl Las Vegas Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Las Vegas, NV Sam Boyd Stadium	Mountain West vs. Pac Ten
Wednesday Dec. 23 8:00 pm ET ESPN	San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	San Diego, CA Qualcomm Stadium	Mountain West vs. Pac Ten
Thursday Dec. 24 8:00 pm ET ESPN	Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Honolulu, HI Aloha Stadium	C-USA vs. WAC
Saturday Dec. 26 4:30 pm ET ESPN	Meineke Car Care Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Charlotte, NC Bank of America Stadium	ACC vs. Big East
Saturday Dec. 26 5 :00 pm ET ESPN	Little Caesars Pizza Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Detroit, MI Ford Field	Big Ten vs. MAC
Saturday Dec. 26 8:00 pm ET ESPN	Emerald Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	San Francisco, CA AT&T Park	ACC vs. Pac Ten
Sunday Dec. 27 8:15 pm ET ESPN	Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Nashville, TN LP Field	ACC vs. SEC
Monday Dec. 28 5:00 pm ET ESPN	PetroSun Independence Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Shreveport, LA Independence Stadium	Big 12 vs. SEC
Tuesday Dec. 29 4:30 pm ET ESPN	EagleBank Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Washington, DC RFK Stadium	ACC vs. U.S. Military Academy
Tuesday Dec. 29 8:00 pm ET ESPN	Champs Sports Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Orlando, FL Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium	ACC vs. Big Ten
Wednesday Dec. 30 4:30 pm ET ESPN	Roady's Humanitarian Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Boise, ID Bronco Stadium	Mountain West vs. WAC
Wednesday Dec. 30 8:00 pm ET NFL Network	Texas Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Houston, TX Reliant Stadium	Big 12 vs. U.S. Naval Academy
Wednesday Dec. 30 8:00 pm ET ESPN	Pacific Life Holiday Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	San Diego, CA Qualcomm Stadium	Big 12 vs. Pac Ten
Thursday Dec. 31 Time TBA ESPN	Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Fort Worth, TX Amon G. Carter Stadium	C-USA vs. Mountain West
Thursday Dec. 31 12:00 pm ET CBS	Brut Sun Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	El Paso, TX Sun Bowl Stadium	Pac Ten vs. Big East / Big 12
Thursday Dec. 31 5:30 pm ET NFL Network	Insight Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Tempe, AZ Sun Devil Stadium	Big Ten vs. Big 12
Thursday Dec. 31 7:30 pm ET ESPN	Chick-fil-A Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Atlanta, GA Georgia Dome	ACC vs. SEC
Friday Jan. 1 11:00 am ET ESPN	Outback Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Tampa, FL Raymond James Stadium	ACC vs. Big Ten
Friday Jan. 1 1:00 pm ET CBS	Konica Minolta Gator Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Jacksonville, FL Jacksonville Municipal Stadium	ACC vs. Big East / Big 12 / Notre Dame
Friday Jan. 1 1:00 pm ET ABC	Capital One Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Orlando, FL Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium	Big Ten vs. SEC
Friday Jan. 1 5:00 pm ET ABC	Rose Bowl presented by Citi Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Pasadena, CA Rose Bowl	BCS (Big Ten) vs. BCS (Pac Ten)
Friday Jan. 1 8:30 pm ET FOX	Allstate Sugar Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	New Orleans, LA Superdome	BCS vs. BCS
Saturday Jan. 2 12:00 pm ET ESPN2	International Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Toronto, Canada Rogers Centre	Big East vs. MAC
Saturday Jan. 2 2 :00 pm ET ESPN	PapaJohns.com Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Birmingham, AL Legion Field	Big East vs. SEC
Saturday Jan. 2 2:00 pm ET FOX	AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Arlington, TX Cowboys Stadium	Big 12 vs. SEC
Saturday Jan. 2 5:30 pm ET ESPN	AutoZone Liberty Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Memphis, TN Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium	C-USA vs. SEC
Saturday Jan. 2 9 :00 pm ET ESPN	Valero Alamo Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	San Antonio, TX Alamodome	Big Ten vs. Big 12
Monday Jan. 4 8:00 pm ET FOX	Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Glendale, AZ University of Phoenix Stadium	BCS (Big 12) vs. BCS
Tuesday Jan. 5 8:00 pm ET FOX	FedEx Orange Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Miami, FL Dolphin Stadium	BCS (ACC) vs. BCS
Wednesday Jan. 6 7 :00 pm ET ESPN	GMAC Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Mobile, AL Ladd Peebles Stadium	ACC vs. MAC
Thursday Jan. 7 8:00 pm ET FOX	BCS National Championship Game Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Pasadena, CA Rose Bowl	BCS #1 vs. BCS #2

The 2009 college football season will be capped by exciting college football bowl games, including the 2009 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, the 2009 Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona, the 2009 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana, the 2009 Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida and the 2009 BCS National Championship Game in Pasadena, CA.

The best college football teams from the major conferences, including the Big10 conference, Big 12 conference, Pac 10 conference, ACC conference, Big East conference, SEC conference, and Mountain West conference will face off in college football bowl games throughout December and into January.

If you're looking for updated matchups, odds, insights, betting lines and online wagering for the college football bowl games, please be sure to try BangTheBook.com.

Comment on 2009-2010 College Football Bowl Game Television Schedule...

CFB Hall of Fame Moving from South Bend to Atlanta

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:21:12 -0500

Early word leaked out from a state of Georgia official yesterday that the College Football Hall of Fame, currently residing in South Bend, IN, will be moving to Atlanta sometime in the next year or so after their contract with the city ends on December 31st, 2010. In South Bend since 1995 when it relocated from a suburb of Cincinnati, the Hall has never attracted the kind of visitor count that it had hoped. Initial projections were for 150,000 visitors a year, but only 115,000 came the first year, then only around 60,000 average for the succeeding years. The mayor of South Bend has also confirmed the pending move, saying he was told by Foundation members yesterday. In a letter to the city, National Football Foundation and CFBHOF chairman Archie Manning wrote this:

We take this action not because of any failure on your part, but because we have an opportunity to take the exposure of the Hall of Fame to an entirely new level.

Reportably, representatives from the Chick Fil A Bowl have been working earnestly for the last three years to attempt to lure the Hall to Atlanta, although officials from the Bowl and the Atlanta Sports Council, the group responsible for putting on the Chick Fil A Kickoff Game, the SEC Championship Game, the Atlanta Football Classic and the Chick Fil A Bowl, are not currently talking. The official news conference is slated for tomorrow at the ESPN Zone on Peachtree Road in North Atlanta.

Obviously, the backdrop of Atlanta and it's existing tourist attractions like Centennial Olympic Park, The Georgia Aquarium, CNN Center, the M.L.King Center and the World of Coca Cola played a large part in attracting the Hall. The number of high-profile companies supposedly offering generous sponsorship packages also were a huge incentive, said the South Bend mayor.

The current football Hall features 20 exhibits, including celebrations of past champions, chronicles of great rivalries and a level for visitors to practice passing and kicking. It honors more than 900 former players or coaches. Due to the lagging attendance in it's current location, rumors also had Dallas, TX in the running, with the backing of T. Boone Pickens, among other cities showing interest in the Hall.

In a related story, other things possibly leaving South Bend include:

1) Charlie Weiss

2) NBC Sports' nose

3) Jimmy Claussen to the CFL

4) Tough strength of schedule

5) National prominence and relevance

Comment on CFB Hall of Fame Moving from South Bend to Atlanta...

sim-BCS Standings: Week 1

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:00:04 -0500

Here are the top 20 in this weeks simulated BCS Standings. Since no official standings come out yet, this is as good as it gets. Samual Chi at BCS Guru does very good.

The highest ranked team from each BCS conference is in bold. Remaining teams from the SEC and Big 12 are in italics, as a second team from each should be expected. BYU, Boise State, TCU and Utah are in contention for the final automatic qualification (as long as at least one finishes in the top 12). The remaining teams are fighting for the lone remaining BCS slot. Gaps represent large seperations in rankings.

1) FLorida
2) USC
3) Texas
2) Alabama

5) Oklahoma State
6) Ohio State
7) Penn State

8) BYU
9) Boise State
10) California
11) LSU
12) Mississippi
13) Oklahoma

14) TCU
=== BCS Eligibility Line ===
15) Utah
16) Virginia Tech
17) Georgia Tech

18) Georgia
19) Missouri
20) Cincinnati
=== BCS Watch List ===
21) Miami (FL)
22) Nebraska
23) Notre Dame
24) Texas Tech
25) North Carolina

BYU at #9 this early, with a win over a top 15 team and 2 teams left in the top 20, is looking like a far better chance at the championship game than any team from outside the BCS has seen. The fact that TCU and Utah are not far behind indicates the MWC has drawn significant credibility in the BCS formula. CSU and Air Force also got some points towards the bottom of the listing.

Boise State has to hope Oregon turns things around this season. No other WAC or MAC team is earning any BCS points, and other than UC Davis this is all Boise State has remaining. Unlike BYU, Boise State does not have a schedule that will prevent significant numbers of teams from passing them in the standigns as the year goes on.

With four teams from outside the BCS conferences already in the top 15, and 2 in the top 10, I think we can assume at least one will make it in this year. It appears that Penn State (or Ohio State) and California (or USC) are the only impediments currently foiling a second such team from securing a BCS berth. The ACC is down. but not completely out here and Notre Dame is lurking just outside at #23

The Big East has emerged in the top 25, with Cincinnati breaking into the top 20.

Comment on sim-BCS Standings: Week 1...

2009 - Week 2 College Football Polls

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:10:24 -0500

College football polls for week two - games played through 9/7/2009.

AP College Football Poll
1. Florida (56) 1-0 1493 1
2. Texas (2) 1-0 1424 2
3. USC 1-0 1355 4
4. Alabama (2) 1-0 1331 5
5. Oklahoma St. 1-0 1201 9
6. Mississippi 1-0 1095 8
7. Penn St. 1-0 1082 9
8. Ohio St. 1-0 985 6
9. BYU 1-0 984 20
10. California 1-0 971 12
11. LSU 1-0 890 11
12. Boise St. 1-0 882 14
13. Oklahoma 0-1 782 3
14. Virginia Tech 0-1 652 7
15. Georgia Tech 1-0 630 15
16. TCU 0-0 523 17
17. Utah 1-0 404 19
18. Notre Dame 1-0 383 23
19. North Carolina 1-0 338 21
20. Miami (FL) 1-0 315 NR
21. Georgia 0-1 294 13
22. Nebraska 1-0 266 24
23. Cincinnati 1-0 248 NR
24. Kansas 1-0 196 25
25. Missouri 1-0 126 NR

Others Receiving Votes:
Oregon St. 113, Michigan St. 83, Pittsburgh 82, Texas Tech 53, Oregon 47, Clemson 40, Florida St. 39, West Virginia 32, Tennessee 30, Iowa 24, UCLA 18, Michigan 18, Baylor 17, Boston Coll. 14, Arizona 12, East Carolina 6, Auburn 4, Colorado St. 4, Air Force 4, South Carolina 3, Arkansas 3, Tulsa 1, Southern Miss 1, Houston 1, South Florida 1

USA Today Coaches Poll
1. Florida (56) 1-0 1472 1
2. Texas (2) 1-0 1407 2
3. USC (1) 1-0 1352 4
4. Alabama 1-0 1299 5
5. Penn St. 1-0 1145 8
6. Oklahoma St. 1-0 1114 11
7. Ohio St. 1-0 1106 6
8. Mississippi 1-0 1006 10
9. LSU 1-0 977 9
10. California 1-0 935 12
11. Boise St. 1-0 803 16
12. BYU 1-0 755 24
13. Georgia Tech 1-0 685 15
14. Oklahoma 0-1 682 3
15. Virginia Tech 0-1 633 7
16. TCU 0-0 543 17
17. Utah 1-0 503 18
18. Nebraska 1-0 360 22
19. North Carolina 1-0 358 20
20. Notre Dame 1-0 335 23
21. Georgia 0-1 304 13
22. Miami (FL) 1-0 276 NR
23. Cincinnati 1-0 187 NR
24. Oregon St. 1-0 169 25
25. Kansas 1-0 139 NR

Others Receiving Votes:
Michigan St. 133, Missouri 97, Iowa 70, Florida St. 62, Texas Tech 53, Oregon 50, Pittsburgh 26, Clemson 24, South Carolina 23, Tennessee 21, West Virginia 13, Auburn 13, South Florida 12, Kentucky 8, Arizona 5, Northwestern 4, Michigan 4, Boston Coll. 3, Arkansas 2, UCLA 2, Baylor 2, Tulsa 1, Colorado St. 1, Minnesota 1

CBS College Blogpoll

Comment on 2009 - Week 2 College Football Polls...

2009 Preseason BCS Standings (Simulated)

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 09:46:08 -0500

The legendary BCS Guru has his simulated preseason BCS standings posted for the 2009 season. With the Coaches poll on the books along with three computer polls already posted, it's never too early to dig deeper on the BCS implications.

The results? No big surprises, but a few interesting notes....

BCSGURU.COM Simulated BCS Preseason Standings
For the purpose of this preseason simulation, BCSGURU uses AP, Coaches, and three computer polls. Remember that AP poll is *not* a BCS component. This is a simulation.

1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Oklahoma
4. USC
5. Ohio State

BCSGuru already sees a lean for USC in the computer polls over Texas and Oklahoma. It will be interesting to keep an eye on this trend, especially when you factor the bump that the USC-Ohio State winner will get after week one.

Three non-AQ teams are lumped together in the simulated BCS, just as they are in the human polls. Boise State (#15), TCU (#16), and Utah (#17) all have an outside chance to make a run into an qualifier position.

Finally, Notre Dame is *not* getting any respect in the computer polls. The Irish average a #47 ranking, which means they will really need to prove it on the field this year. It seems unlikely that UND will crack the BCS top 15 without some really strong performances against what has the appearance of a soft (by UND standards) schedule this year.

For much, much more analysis, check out the entire preseason simulation at BCSGuru.com.

Comment on 2009 Preseason BCS Standings (Simulated)...

Has the time come for an ACC/Big East Superconference?

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 06:20:19 -0500

Desmond Conner, the Hartford Courant blogger, has a proposal to push the profile of the Big East & ACC back to the top of college athletics - form a superconference.

Conner proposes combining the eight football schools of the Big East with the twelve schools of the ACC, creating the largest conference to "control the entire East Coast's TV markets, rule the world in basketball with crazy competition and paydays in football and basketball?"

With logistics in mind, let's pull out a map here...oh yes: you could have a four divisions of five: You could put, say, UConn, Boston College, Rutgers, Syracuse and Maryland in one division; Pitt, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Wake Forest and say Louisville in another; Virginia, Virginia Tech, Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State in one and then group Clemson, Georgia Tech, South Florida, Miami and Florida State together?

How's the scheduling work?

Well, you would play the other four teams from your division, play another division and one team from the other two for a total of 10 league games and then schedule two non-conference games.

In the realm of crazy ideas, I've heard crazier.

If the ACC folks aren't interested, Connor suggests walking this idea to the Big 10 and adding Notre Dame to form a 20-team superconference, but I see that as the less likely scenario, actually.

If you could rewrite the BCS eligibility to ensure the superconference maintains its two guaranteed spots (BE spot & ACC spot) as well as permit up to two additional schools (as the BE & ACC can already have two each), then you might be on to something.

Anybody up for a Big East / ACC Superconference?

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Grading the contenders non-con schedules

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 17:06:51 -0500

Eric Sorenson, who seems to have quite the little man crush on Florida head coach Urban Meyer, details the non-conference schedules of the consensus contenders for CBS Sportsline.

The results? Well... pretty interesting, unless you're a Texas, Penn State, Florida, or Ole Miss fan. But - then again - if you're a Texas, Penn State, Florida, or Ole Miss fan, you probably already know that your non-con sucks this year.

Some highlights:

Florida: D+
Sept. 5: vs. Charleston Southern, F
Sept. 12: vs. Troy, D+
Nov. 21: vs. Florida International, D-
Nov. 28: vs. Florida State, B-

Oklahoma: C+
Sept. 5: vs. BYU (In Arlington, Texas), B
Sept. 12: vs. Idaho State, F
Sept. 19: vs. Tulsa, C
Oct. 3: at Miami, B

Texas: D-
Sept. 5: vs. UL-Monroe, F
Sept. 12: at Wyoming, D
Sept. 26: vs. UTEP, D+
Nov. 7: vs. UCF, D

Ohio State: C
Sept. 5: vs. Navy, C-
Sept. 12: vs. USC, A+
Sept. 19: vs. Toledo (at Cleveland), D
Oct. 31: vs. New Mexico St., D

Alabama: C
Sept. 5: vs. Virginia Tech (at Atlanta), A
Sept. 12: vs. Florida International, D-
Sept. 19: vs. North Texas, D
Nov. 21: vs. Chattanooga, F

Virginia Tech: B
Sept. 5: vs. Alabama (at Atlanta), A
Sept. 12: vs. Marshall, D
Sept. 19: vs. Nebraska, B+
Nov. 5: at East Carolina, B-

Florida State: B-
Sept. 12: vs. Jacksonville State, F
Sept. 19: at BYU, B
Sept. 26: vs. South Florida, C+
Nov. 28: at Florida, A

LSU: D
Sept. 5: at Washington, D
Sept. 19: vs. Louisiana-Lafayette, D-
Oct. 31: vs. Tulane, D-
Nov. 14: Louisiana Tech, D

Utah: D+
Sept. 3: vs. Utah State, D-
Sept. 12: at San Jose State, D
Sept. 19: at Oregon, B+
Sept. 26: vs. Louisville, D+

Just a side note: Why the hell is FSU considered a contender this year? Heh....

Check out the full grades at CBS Sportsline.

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2009 Preseason USA Today Coaches Poll

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:41:35 -0500

The 2009 USA Today Coaches Football Poll, released August 7, 2009.

1. Florida (53)
2. Texas (4)
3. Oklahoma (1)
4. Southern California (1)
5. Alabama
6. Ohio State
7. Virginia Tech
8. Penn State
9. LSU
10. Mississippi
11. Oklahoma State
12. California
13. Georgia
14. Oregon
15. Georgia Tech
16. Boise State
17. TCU
18. Utah
19. Florida State
20. North Carolina
21. Iowa
22. Nebraska
23. Notre Dame
24. Brigham Young
25. Oregon State

Others receiving votes (with 2008 records):
Kansas (8-5) 138; Michigan State (9-4) 136; Texas Tech (11-2) 114; Cincinnati (11-3) 90; Pittsburgh (9-4) 64; West Virginia (9-4) 55; Rutgers (8-5) 51; Miami (Fla.) (7-6) 46; Missouri (10-4) 44; Illinois (5-7) 38; Clemson (7-6) 30; South Carolina (7-6) 18; UCLA (4-8) 14; Auburn (5-7) 12; Nevada (7-6) 11; South Florida (8-5) 11; Kentucky (7-6) 9; North Carolina State (6-7) 7; Arkansas (5-7) 6; Wisconsin (7-6) 6; Northwestern (9-4) 5; Southern Mississippi (7-6) 4; Wake Forest (8-5) 4; Arizona (8-5) 3; Boston College (9-5) 3; Central Michigan (8-5) 3; East Carolina (9-5) 3; Colorado (5-7) 2; Maryland (8-5) 2; Navy (8-5) 2; Tennessee (5-7) 2; Houston (8-5) 1; Michigan (3-9) 1; Minnesota (7-6) 1; Troy (8-5) 1.

I know what you're thinking? Where's the ritual preseason vote for Duke? I have no idea. Although South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier is voting this year in the coaches poll, he did not cast his annual vote for the Blue Devils. Perhaps the uproar of blaming his assistant for snubbing Tim Tebow hit a little too close to home.

And not to beat a dead horse, but I *hate* preseason polls. They are *not* accurate indicators of success. Case in point? Last year's preseason coaches poll failed to rank 14 of the 25 teams in final season coaches poll. That's right. The 2008 preseason coaches poll failed to rank 56% of the teams in the 2008 final poll.

So... if you like you're football indicators with a 44% accuracy, then - by all means - go nuts over this one.

Comment on 2009 Preseason USA Today Coaches Poll...

Meyer gets raise, extension, & thank you notes from Saban, Miles

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 07:30:07 -0500

Florida head coach Urban Meyer inked a six-year contract extension this week, locking the Gators coach in Gainesville at a cool, crisp $4 million per year. The new deal, which runs through the 2014 season, keeps Meyer's $500,000 buyout option unchanged, according to ESPN.

The agreement - which runs roughly until Meyer's youngest, Nate, is finished with school - is a win-win for the coach and the Gators.

"I continue to be very thankful and appreciative for everything the University of Florida and the athletic program has done for me and my family," Meyer said in a statement. "Dr. [Bernie] Machen, Jeremy Foley and the community make this a special place, and I'm honored to be a part of it."

As a condition of the new agreement, Meyer will donate $1 million to the Florida Opportunity Scholars Program, which both he & basketball coach Billy Donovan are promoting to support first-generation, financially disadvantaged students.

The raise puts Meyer into lofty salary territory, as the highest paid coach in the SEC (for now, Saban is said to be renegotiating) and one of just a handful of coaches over the $4 million hurdle (Carroll and Weis are the others, reportedly, and Bob Stoops who earns over $6 million per year with loyalty incentives).

There's no arguing that Meyer is one of the finest coaches in the country. His track record, courtesy of the Miami Herald, speaks for itself.

Meyer is 44-9 at Florida and 14-3 against the Gators' traditional rivals: Tennessee (4-0), Georgia (3-1), Florida State (4-0), LSU (2-2) and Miami (1-0). Florida is 2-0 in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game and 2-0 in BCS National Championship games.
"I believe that Urban Meyer is the best at what he does," UF president Bernie Machen said by e-mail. "He demands excellence of his players on the field and in the classroom. Not only did the University of Florida win a national championship in January, but all 13 seniors earned degrees and the 2008 football team tied an SEC league record with 37 players named to the SEC academic honor roll."

The lone apparent blemish to Meyer's tenure at Florida is a troublesome string of arrests by his players. Since taking over in 2005, Meyer has seen nearly 30 of his players arrested for a variety of misdemeanors and felonies. Several, including former Gators Ronnie Wilson and Jamar Hornsby and current player Dustin Doe, were arrested more than once.

Meyer's new agreement should help quell the brouhaha created when he called Notre Dame his "dream job" more than once last season. At a charity golf tournament last month, Meyer again said that he was "never" going to Notre Dame.

I stand by what I said last November and still believe that Notre Dame should dump Weis and bring a truck full of money to Meyer's doorstep, but... this deal makes it damn near impossible to lure Meyer away with just money. Urbie is probably the Gator head coach for many, many, many years to come.

Of course, this likely puts Skip Holtz squarely in the sights for the Irish. Sorry, ECU.

But the biggest winners in the wake of Meyer's extension are Alabama's Nick Saban and LSU's Les Miles.

Saban, who is reportedly negotiating a new agreement with Alabama, had a huge bargaining chip thrown into his lap. News of Meyer passing the Crimson Tide coach could vault Saban into the $4.2M/$4.3M range.

For his part, Miles could put himself in line for a huge payday as a condition of his contract with LSU. The coach of the Tigers has language in his agreement that guarantees that he will be the highest paid coach in the SEC by at least $1,000 if he wins the national championship. In other words, raise the crystal ball this year and that $3.76 million paycheck takes a nice fat bump - no extension required.

Comment on Meyer gets raise, extension, & thank you notes from Saban, Miles...

Where would you play? A fans guide to non-traditional venues

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:22:01 -0500

With the announcement of a resumption of the Notre Dame - Army series, featuring a game in Yankee Stadium in 2010, and all of the hub-a-baloo about non-traditional venues... it got me thinking about y'all: Where would the Fanblogs guys like to see a game played?

To wet your whistle, here's a few ideas:

Tennessee vs Virginia Tech at Bristol Motor Speedway
You can pretty much bank on 170,000+ fans piling into BIS for this game. The high banking in the stands would provide great lines of sight for nearly every seat. Don't even get me started about the tailgating.

Army vs Navy on the National Mall in Washington DC
The crowd would be obscenely large - a boon for the service academies - but the seating would be less than ideal. With satellite screens set up, you could easily attract 300,000+ fans for the game.

Texas vs Southern Cal at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City
Bringing two of the nation's landmark teams to Mexico City would be a boon to college football, in general. The stadium had "only" 103,000 in attendance the last time the NFL was in town, but the capacity would likely be closer to 115,000 without upteen million NFL cameras in the way.

Illinois vs Northwestern at Wrigley Field
The NCAA has outlawed the "offensive" 'Sweet Sioux Tomahawk' trophy, so the Illini & Wildcats are getting a new trophy in 2009, so why not feature the game in a legendary venue? It might be the only way you get me to an Illini game, after all.

Auburn vs Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway
Can you imagine a crowd of 165,000 at the Iron Bowl? Boom!

Florida vs Notre Dame at Wembley Stadium in London
You know that Florida fans would be up for a chance to finally beat the Irish and Notre Dame fans, well, they're everywhere. The Brits love coming to Florida... so I'm thinking 105,000 for this one.

Alright, guys... whatchya got?

Comment on Where would you play? A fans guide to non-traditional venues...

Cha-ching: Top 10 football revenue schools

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:55:28 -0500

Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal unveiled the top ten football revenue schools for 2007-2008 and - not surprisingly - the list is dominated by schools in the South and Midwest... just as it has been every since we started blogging these results for 2003-2004.

Top 10 Football Revenue Schools for 2007-2008

1. Texas $72.95 million
2. Georgia $67.05 million
3. Florida $66.1 million
4. Ohio State University $65.16 million
5. Notre Dame $59.77 million
6. Auburn $59.67 million
7. Michigan $57.46 million
8. Alabama $57.37 million
9. Penn State $53.76 million
10. Louisiana State University $52.68 million

For comparison sake, the Longhorns were also number one for football revenue in 2003... with "just" $47.55 million. Missing since the 2003 top ten? Tennessee. I'm also a little surprised that Oklahoma wasn't into the top ten.

So... who's making the most for all sports?

Texas was the overall top sports earner -- shock! -- with $120.28 million, followed by Ohio State with $117.95 million and Florida with $106.03 million. The biggest surprise in the top ten for all sports? Oklahoma State at #10 with $88.6 million.

Note to new Auburn coach Gene Chizik - you got screwed on the contract, dude. Just sayin.

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2009 Spring Game Attendance Numbers

Mon, 11 May 2009 15:48:33 -0500

The Birmingham News must have a ton of interns scouring team press releases and scanning every beat writer. That's the only think I can think of to explain how they were able to compile spring game attendance statistics for 2009.

Some highlights:

- Ohio State "won" the annual spring game attendance battle. Although there is a growing tendency towards hyped & inflated numbers, there's little doubt that the Buckeyes had a huge turnout. The Ohio State University announced the crowd as 95,722.

- The SEC averaged 37,936 per game. TBN notes that is "more than 55 Division I-A schools averaged in 2008 regular-season attendance." Damn.

- Despite big numbers by tOSU and Penn State, the Big10 only managed second in average attendance (30,117), followed by the Big 12 (20,449), ACC (14,715), Big East (10,130) and Pac-10 (7,842).

- According to TBN, 26% of the BCS schools charged admission, up from 24% last year. In most cases the tickets were $10 or less, with many schools donating proceeds to charities or campus projects.

2009 ANNOUNCED SPRING GAME ATTENDANCE

1. Ohio State 95,722
2. Alabama 84,050
3. Nebraska 77,670
4. Penn State 76,500
5. Florida 65,000
6. Tennessee 51,488
7. Michigan 50,000
8. Auburn 45,381
9. Texas 44,000
10. Georgia 42,458
11. Virginia Tech 41,000
12. Florida State 36,000
13. Mississippi State 31,606
14. Notre Dame 31,104
15. LSU 30,532

A complete PDF of spring game attendance is online here.

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Congressional hearings on BCS prove to be a joke

Sat, 09 May 2009 07:47:18 -0500

On the day after Congress held hearings on swine flu, a House subcommittee set out to investigate the Bowl Championship Series. The results? Congressional leaders proved they know very little about college football, and even less about the BCS.

The House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection hosted the hearings. Of the twenty-nine House members on the committee, three showed up to participate

The hearing leader, Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), introduced the key guest, BCS coordinator John Swofford, as the commissioner of the Athletic Coast Conference. Rep. Rush, I pretty sure it's the Atlantic Coast Conference, although they do play athletics, so I guess we'll give you partial credit, Congressman.

Craig Thompson was introduced as the commissioner of the West Mountain. Seriously? The West Mountain? Is Thompson the chief ski lift operator there or something? Could someone not point out to the leader of the BCS committee hearing that MWC is an acronym for the Mountain West Conference and not West Mountain?

None of the congressmen attending the hearing was aware that all eleven major conferences are members and financial benefactors of the BCS.

I mean... seriously... is this how our congressmen prepare for an on-the-record House hearing? I cringe to think what would happen if the discussion was the future of medicare. In the words of Britney Spears, "Ding dang, y'all!"

Rep Joe Barton (R-Tex.), an outspoken advocate for scapping the BCS in favor of a playoff format, demonstrated his grasp of playoff proposals by insisting that a March Madness style bracket format may be the solution for college football.

"You could have a playoff system with 64 teams, and use every bowl that's currently in there," Barton said Friday. "You could do that."
No you couldn't.

"We'd still be playing," Alamo Bowl CEO Derrick Fox quipped.

Congressman, if 64 teams are play in a single-elimination format... then it takes 63 total games to determine the winner. That's how it works.

Barton has proposed legislation that would forbid the BCS from awarding a "national championship" trophy. Within the bill, any organization would be barred from "the marketing, promotion, and advertising of a postseason game as a 'national championship' football game, unless it is the result of a playoff system. Violations of the prohibition will be treated as violations of the Federal Trade Commission Act as an unfair or deceptive act or practice."

Let me see if I understand the implication: Since the BCS does not award a National Championship trophy... the BCS would continue unchanged. Yep. The American Football Coaches Association would still hand out the Coaches Trophy. The AP would still crown its own champion as well. In other words, Barton's legislation would permit the BCS to continue unchanged.

So... Barton's bill means nothing to the BCS... at all? Well, yeah. Congressman Barton told Swofford during the hearing that the BCS wouldn't be obligated to institute any change.

"You don't have to change it. Our bill doesn't say you have to change it."

(That said... I would still love for someone to start handing out the "Barton Cup".)

Later Barton -- who's bill was the entire basis for the hearings -- left the committee meeting to catch a flight home.

Now maybe it's just me, but when you introduce a bill to change the BCS... that you GO OUT OF YOUR WAY to explain will not change the BCS... and then you leave your own hearing to fly home... I'm going to have a hard time taking you seriously. Maybe it's just me.

Rep. Rush went on to ask the Athletic Conference and West Mountain conference commissioners if they believed the current BCS system was fair. Thompson stated that the current system was "grossly inequitable." Swofford said that the revenue distribution "represents the marketplace", which is really just a nice way of saying some BCS teams are drawing 70,000+... for their spring practice games. Blutarsky points out that Georgia drew 42,458... which would have ranked them 54th in attendance last season (pdf!), just ahead of... UTAH!

Was Thompson hoping for a federal bailout with the "grossly inequitable" comment? Seriously, man... some of your schools don't even offer ESPN on campus cable networks??

But Thompson got in his own polite comment when asked if he believed Congress should intervene in the BCS.

"The U.S. Congress represents fans and constituencies," Thompson said. "Our university presidents work with that same group of constituents."

In other words, they guy who is paying lobbyists to push for an eight-team playoff would kindly like Congress to mind its own business and stay out of college football.

Well said, Commissioner. Well said.

The full hearing is posted online at CSpan, but -- I'm warning you -- regardless of where you stand on this one, you're probably going to hate yourself for enduring this.

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2009 Preseason Rankings - Preview

Fri, 08 May 2009 22:58:48 -0500

The fine folks at lsufootball.net have collected and tabulated the published polls into an average that should be a good reflection of the initial AP poll.

They appear to update it as new polls come available, so this should be a good link to check out when the college football withdrawn pangs strike.

I have ported the data to excel to represent a more traditional vote count and compute a standard deviation. My average figures do not exclude the highest and lowest values, swapping FSU and Cal and a few ORV's.

The following data is static. For a current picture go here.

Top 25:

Team (FPV) Points, AVE, SD
1) Florida (11) 323, 1.15, 0.38
2) Texas (2) 307, 2.38, 1.12
3) Oklahoma 295, 3.31, 1.38
4) USC 276, 4.77, 1.96

5) Alabama 254, 6.46, 2.79
6) Oklahoma State 238, 7.69, 2.56
7) Virginia Tech 231, 8.23, 4.57
8) LSU 229, 8.38, 3.20
9) Ohio State 220, 9.07, 3.01
10) Ole Miss 214, 9.53, 3.60

11) Georgia Tech 176, 12.46, 1.85
12) Penn State 163, 13.46, 3.26
13) Oregon 149, 14.54, 5.75
14) Georgia 132, 15.85, 3.73
15) Boise State 130, 16.00, 6.26
16) Florida State 116, 17.08, 5.77
17) Cal 114, 17.23, 4.2

18) TCU 89, 19.15, 5.06
19-T) Utah 86, 19.38, 3.23
19-T) Iowa 86, 19.38, 5.22
21) North Carolina 74, 20.3, 6.17

[Note: If you are not one of the above teams nor play at least three of these teams you have no chance of at the 2009-2010 national title.]

22) Pittsburgh 51, 22.08, 5.19
23) Kansas 45, 22.54, 3.61
24) Notre Dame 41, 22.84, 4.88
25) Texas Tech 32, 23.54, 2.82

Others receiving votes:
Nebraska 29, Miami(FL) 23, Oregon State 19, Clemsonn 15, BYU 14, East Carolina 11, West Virginia 7, North Carolina State 6, Minnesota 5, Cincinnati 5, South Florida 5, Tennessee 5, Auburn 2, Boston College 2, Michigan State 2, Arkansas 1, Houston 1, Rutgers 1, Vanderbilt 1

Conference tallies:
SEC: 5
Big 12: 5
ACC: 4
PAC 10: 3
BIG 10: 3
MWC: 2
WAC: 1
Big East: 1
IND: 1

This looks be a fairly reasonable estimate of the staring positions for 2009, one I like a lot. I really want to see a #3 undefeated Big East champion lose to a #10 one loss MWC champion in the Orange Bowl this year. This smells like TCU's year to me.

[EDIT]: Remember, you heard it here first. - zac

Notre Dame might even go 9-3 and get a BCS Berth.

Now I am off to figure out the physics of Red Matter... (Warning, mild Star Trek spoiler)

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