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2009-2010 College Football Bowl Game Television Schedule

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 18:09:51 -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	Wyoming vs. Fresno State
Saturday Dec. 19 8:00 pm ET ESPN	St. Petersburg Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	St. Petersburg, FL Tropicana Field	Rutgers vs. Central Florida
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	Southern Miss vs. Middle Tenn St
Tuesday Dec. 22 8:00 pm ET ESPN	MAACO Bowl Las Vegas Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Las Vegas, NV Sam Boyd Stadium	BYU vs. Oregon State
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	Utah vs. Cal
Thursday Dec. 24 8:00 pm ET ESPN	Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Honolulu, HI Aloha Stadium	SMU vs. Nevada
Saturday Dec. 26 4:30 pm ET ESPN	Meineke Car Care Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Charlotte, NC Bank of America Stadium	North Carolina vs. Pitt
Saturday Dec. 26 5 :00 pm ET ESPN	Little Caesars Pizza Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Detroit, MI Ford Field	Ohio U vs. Marshall
Saturday Dec. 26 8:00 pm ET ESPN	Emerald Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	San Francisco, CA AT&T Park	Boston College vs. USC
Sunday Dec. 27 8:15 pm ET ESPN	Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Nashville, TN LP Field	Clemson vs. Kentucky
Monday Dec. 28 5:00 pm ET ESPN	AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Shreveport, LA Independence Stadium	Texas A&M vs. Georgia
Tuesday Dec. 29 4:30 pm ET ESPN	EagleBank Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Washington, DC RFK Stadium	Temple vs. UCLA
Tuesday Dec. 29 8:00 pm ET ESPN	Champs Sports Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Orlando, FL Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium	Miami vs. Wisconsin
Wednesday Dec. 30 4:30 pm ET ESPN	Roady's Humanitarian Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Boise, ID Bronco Stadium	Bowling Green vs. Idaho
Wednesday Dec. 30 8:00 pm ET ESPN	Pacific Life Holiday Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	San Diego, CA Qualcomm Stadium	Nebraska vs. Arizona
Thursday Dec. 31 2:00 pm ET NFL Network	Texas Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Houston, TX Reliant Stadium	Missouri vs. Navy
Thursday Dec. 31 Time TBA ESPN	Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Fort Worth, TX Amon G. Carter Stadium	Air Force vs. Houston
Thursday Dec. 31 12:00 pm ET CBS	Brut Sun Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	El Paso, TX Sun Bowl Stadium	Stanford vs. Oklahoma
Thursday Dec. 31 5:30 pm ET NFL Network	Insight Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Tempe, AZ Sun Devil Stadium	Minnesota vs. Iowa State
Thursday Dec. 31 7:30 pm ET ESPN	Chick-fil-A Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Atlanta, GA Georgia Dome	Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee
Friday Jan. 1 11:00 am ET ESPN	Outback Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Tampa, FL Raymond James Stadium	Auburn vs. Northwestern
Friday Jan. 1 1:00 pm ET CBS	Konica Minolta Gator Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Jacksonville, FL Jacksonville Municipal Stadium	FSU vs. West Virginia
Friday Jan. 1 1:00 pm ET ABC	Capital One Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Orlando, FL Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium	Penn State vs. LSU
Friday Jan. 1 5:00 pm ET ABC	Rose Bowl presented by Citi Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Pasadena, CA Rose Bowl	Ohio State vs. Oregon
Friday Jan. 1 8:30 pm ET FOX	Allstate Sugar Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	New Orleans, LA Superdome	Florida vs. Cincinnati
Saturday Jan. 2 12:00 pm ET ESPN2	International Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Toronto, Canada Rogers Centre	South Florida vs. Northern Illinois
Saturday Jan. 2 2 :00 pm ET ESPN	PapaJohns.com Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Birmingham, AL Legion Field	Connecticut vs. South Carolina
Saturday Jan. 2 2:00 pm ET FOX	AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Arlington, TX Cowboys Stadium	Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss
Saturday Jan. 2 5:30 pm ET ESPN	AutoZone Liberty Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Memphis, TN Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium	East Carolina vs. Arkansas
Saturday Jan. 2 9 :00 pm ET ESPN	Valero Alamo Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	San Antonio, TX Alamodome	Michigan State vs. Texas Tech
Monday Jan. 4 8:00 pm ET FOX	Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Glendale, AZ University of Phoenix Stadium	TCU vs. Boise State
Tuesday Jan. 5 8:00 pm ET FOX	FedEx Orange Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Miami, FL Dolphin Stadium	Georgia Tech vs. Iowa
Wednesday Jan. 6 7 :00 pm ET ESPN	GMAC Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Mobile, AL Ladd Peebles Stadium	Troy vs. Central Michigan
Thursday Jan. 7 8:00 pm ET ABC	BCS National Championship Game Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Pasadena, CA Rose Bowl	Alabama vs. Texas

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...

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.

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

How good is Auburn?

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 08:01:59 -0500

Two weeks into the 2009 season and the Auburn hype machine is getting ready to move into full swing.

Say what you will about the Tigers strength of schedule so far -- which has featured two impressive home wins against Louisiana Tech (W 37-13) and Mississippi State (W 49-24) -- but no one can dispute that Auburn is seriously moving the football.

In two games, the Tigers have 1,145 yards of total offense under new head coach Gene Chizick. Yes, you read that right - one thousand one hundred forty five... in two games.

Where's all that offense coming from?

Quite simply, the big boys in the trenches are getting it done. The Tigers have rushed for 691 yards in two games. At school long known for outstanding running backs, Auburn set a new rushing mark this week with two running backs going over 100 yards each for two consecutive weeks. Against SEC West division competition this past weekend, the Tigers AVERAGED 6.6 yards per rushing attempt. Are you kidding me? That's sick. That's vulgar. That's just nasty. This O-line is seriously pushing and clearly believe in this offensive system.

The defense? Not great, but pretty salty. The Tigers are getting it done - creating some turnovers and putting their offense in a position to win... even when the offense isn't needing a lot of help. I'm not certain you can measure this defense against LaTech and the Bulldogs just yet, but.... there could be something happening here.

But the question remains... how good is Auburn? The honest answer is nobody knows.

Auburn plays host to West Virginia this weekend in a nationally televised game for ESPN. While WVU represents another BCS test for the Tigers, the early lines have Auburn at nearly a touchdown favorite, with that number expected to trend up. After WVU, Auburn gets an over-matched MAC conference opponent Ball State at home. In other words, it's quite likely that the Plainsmen will finish September at 4-0.

And what will all that mean? Expect Auburn to get a big boost in the polls by the first of October and the hype machine to be in full effect. Pundits will begin repeating the observation that the Tigers miss Florida in the SEC East rotation this season... ramping up expectations that could place Auburn in the SEC championship game.

But the million (or in the SEC's case, multi-million) dollar question remains.... how good is Auburn?

Comment on How good is Auburn?...

Preview of 100+ game series

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 16:44:53 -0500

I am ready for football. The final weekend without real college football is now behind us! Can we please fast forward to Thursday? Until then I thought it would be fun to look at the most played series in college football. These 36 pairings will be playing their 100 or more game in 2009. They are listed in order of the number of games played followed by how close the series is all time. Predictions based on the preseason Sagarin Rankings are listed as well.

119th meeting
Minnesota vs. Wisconsin, October 3, 59-51-8, Minnesota by 0.72

This storied rivalry, dating back to 1890, has been celebrated with two trophies, the slab of bacon and the current Paul Bunyan's Axe.

Minnesota's glory days are far in the past but Wisconsin has struggled of late. Wisconsin has been gaining on Minnesota and likely will have a better season again this year. The gap does not overcome the home field advantage in Sagarin's rankings, giving Minnesota a very slight edge.

118th meeting
Kansas at Missouri, November 28, 55-53-9 or 54-54-9, Missouri by 6.12

This rivalry dates back before the football game to an intense rift dating back to Civil War era disputes. The Border War started on Halloween in 1891. It is not even agreed who deserves the win in 1960. The controversy revolves around the fact that Kansas won 23-7 but was found to have used an ineligible player. The Big 8 officially declared a forfeit, which the NCAA was no part of. The Big 12 lists the series as 54-54-9.

Missouri has the slight edge in Sagarin's rankings and the home field. Both teams should be in the running for the Big 12 north and this game should be expected to have major implications for the Big 12 championship game.

116th game
Texas at Texas A&M, November 26th, 74-36-5, Texas by 15.22

Texas dominates the Lone Star Showdown in football in recent years, but Texas A&M holds their own in other sports and currently holds the crown.

Texas is a strong favorite this year despite being on the road.

Nebraska at. Kansas, November 14st, 89-23-3, Kansas by 3.78

Due to Nebraska's dominance this is not viewed as much of a rivalry.

Kansas has a slight edge in Sagarin's to start the season and a home field. If they can get a few wins at this low point in Nebraska history this old traditional game may begin to thaw.

114th games
North Carolina at Virginia, October 3rd, 57-52-4, Virginia by 5.27

The South's Oldest Rivalry started in 1892. North Carolina leads the series but Virginia has been dominant for the past 2 decades.

This game is expected to be close as North Carolina is beginning to restore some of their old glory. The home field and a slightly better ranking give Virginia the edge to close the gap further.

Miami(OH) vs. Cincinnati, October 3rd, 59-47-7, Cincinnati by 15.83

The victory bell is the oldest non conference rivalry in college football, with the first meeting in 1888. Miami (OH) has a deep and undervalued history, arguably better than Miami (FL)'s flash in the pan success in the late 80's and early 90's. Cincinnati has been the lead for recent history.

This is likely to continue as Cincinnati is strong road favorites to close the historic gap further.

113th game
Auburn at Georgia, November 14th, 53-51-8, Georgia by 9.13

The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry has been played very closely since 1892, with breaks for the 2 world wars.

Georgia has a slightly better ranking and a home field for a moderate edge. This has a history of being meaningless in the outcome of this game.

Oregon vs. Oregon State, December 3rd, 56-46-10, Oregon by 4.89

Somehow the Ducks vs. the Beavers in the Civil War for the Platypus Trophy could make one suspect Oregon does not take football as seriously as other parts of the country.

Last year's game cost Oregon State a Rose Bowl berth and if either team can beat USC again this year this game might have Rose Bowl implications again this year. Oregon's home field and slight ranking advantage give them the edge to expand their lead.

112th game
Purdue vs. Indiana, November 21st, 69-36-6, Purdue by 12.25

In games played for the Old Oaken Bucket Purdue leads 55-26-3. No change is expected this year.

110th game
Navy vs. Army, December 12th, 53-49-7, Navy by 16.81

This rivalry that needs no other discussion will be played after the BCS bowl selections in 2009. Army is still looking to find a way to become significant in the commander in chiefs trophy again, and this should not change this year.

109th game
Utah vs. Utah State, September 3rd, 76-28-4, Utah by 30.40

This rivalry, first played in 1892, looked to be thawing a few years back as Utah State pulled of a couple of upsets. It has refroze to the point that it will not be played in 2010 and 2011, without much objection from the alumni of either school. With Utah favored by 9.56 points more than any other game on this list it is not hard to see why.

107th game
Clemson at South Carolina, November 28th, 65-37-4, South Carolina by 0.24

This rivalry is steeped in political state infighting as much as football tradition. Interestingly a player, Cary Cox, managed to become a team captain for both teams thanks to World War 2 politics. This is one of several premier SEC vs. ACC rivalries that end the regular season each year.

This game should be close, with South Carolina's home field making up for Clemsons slightly better ranking.

Kansas at Kansas State, November 7th, 65-36-5 or 64-37-5, Kansas by 3.76

Once again Kansas has a dispute involving a forfeit due to an ineligible player, this time in 1980. Kansas State is in troubled times but their home field should make the game interesting.

106th game
Michigan vs. Ohio State, November 21st, 57-42-6, Ohio State by 8.49

This game is one of the most legendary rivalries in college football. Usually Big 10 title implications are at play and often this game is for the conference title. Usually at least one team has an opportunity at the BCS national championship game, if not both (2006-almost.)

While Ohio State might be able to run with the potential champions, Michigan is not ready for the big time yet. Look for Ohio State to gain on the all time record in this one.

Mississippi at Mississippi State, November 28th, 60-39-6, Mississippi by 5.53

The Egg Bowl has the distinction of traditionally playing at a neutral field that is now inferior to the fields of both teams. Often both teams have been far from being in the running for the SEC title picture, so this game has been a major goal for both teams.

Ole' Miss is expected to be in the SEC chase this year and Mississippi State is not. Look for Mississippi to extend the lead in 2009, over the objections of many cow bells.

Texas A&M vs. Baylor, November 21st, 65-31-9, Texas A&M by 8.63

The Battle of the Brazos has the dubious distinction of a fatality attributed to a half time brawl in 1926. This lead to the schools ending competition in all sports for 4 years and in football until 1931.

I really don't know on this one. This should be a close game and might be for a bowl berth.

105 games
TCU vs. Baylor, Next game in 2010, 49-49-7, N/A

This series has been tied since 2007.

105th game
Tennessee at Kentucky, November 28th, 72-23-9, Tennessee by 1.01

This rivalry features domination by Tennessee in football, and the other team in another sport I can not bring myself to mention (As a Utah fan). An annual blood drive aimed to see which school can donate the most is the most competitive aspects of this rivalry.

Tennessee is in transition at head coach and is coming off one of their worst seasons in the history of the program. This should be a year for Kentucky to make some headway at evening the score.

104th game
Texas vs. Oklahoma at Dallas, October 17th, 58-40-5, Oklahoma by 1.67

The Red River Shootout has become one of the most anticipated annual games in college football. This game often decides the Big 12 South and the winner usually has a clear chance at the national championship game.

this year should be no exception, except the Big 12 south will not be as much of a given for the winner as they have previously experienced.

Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, November 28th, 59-39-5, Georgia by 12.8

This game is another quality season ending SEC vs. ACC game with deep roots and Clean, Old-fashioned Hate. The Nats and U(sic)GA fans simply despise each other.

This game should be very high quality and has the potential to be for a BCS at large spot for at least one of these teams this year. It is certainly a strong contender for a top 25 games to watch.

Michigan at Michigan State, October 3rd, 69-29-5, Michigan State by 1.84

Apparently the Big 10 is a Paul Bunyan fan, with his axe awarded for Minnesota and Wisconsin and a trophy awarded here.

Michigan is still adjusting to their new coach and Michigan State is coming off a successful year with confidence and has the home field. I look for this lopsided battle to get one step closer to even.

Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State, November 28th, 79-17-7, Oklahoma by 15.25

This rivalry (though in track and field) features a trophy that was retired, stolen, reclaimed and buried, found in an excavation and put on display.

Oklahoma State should be tougher than years past, but not enough to vault them over the Sooners.

Nebraska vs. Iowa State, October 24th, 85-16-2, Nebraska by 17.22

This game might be close only because Nebraska is not anything like the team they once were.

103 games
North Carolina vs. Wake Forest, Next meeting in 2010, 67-34-2, N/A

This game is one of the unfortunate casualties of the current ACC alignment in 2009.

103rd game
Illinois vs. Northwestern, November 14th, 52-45-5, Illinois by 2.77

This year will break in the Land of Lincoln Trophy for this contest, replacing the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk used since 1945. The home field gives Illinois the edge over a recently improved Northwestern team.

Stanford vs. California, November 21st, 50-42-10, California by 8.82

The Big Game was christened in 1900, a game that also tragically demonstrated that if you are watching the game from the roof of an industrial site that overlooks the stadium, make sure it is rated to hold the weight. The 1982 game featured a final kickoff with 5 laterals ending with a TD scored through the opposing teams band, which began marching onto the field a few seconds early.

California expects to make a bid for USC's PAC 20 crown and should extend their lead again. Please keep the bands off the field until the end of the game.

Minnesota at Iowa, November 21st, 59-41-2, Iowa by 12.7

The trophy for this game was formed in an attempt by the governors of Minnesota and Iowa attempting to diffuse hostilities caused by extremely rough treatment of a black Iowa running back by Minnesota in 1934. The live pig exchanged died a few years latter and was replaced with a bronze replica.

I am not sure I am biting into the Iowa hype. That said, Minnesota is far from their legendary tradition. Iowa should close the gap, but I suspect it will be closer than the line above.

NC State at Wake Forest, October 3rd, 61-35-6, Wake Forest by 9.05

If I were talking Basketball I'd be talking about something called "The Chair." I'm not, and their is not much to talk about.

Apparently NC State was once the dominant team. This has not recently been the case, though both could be a dark horse for the wide open ACC.

Nebraska at Missouri, October 8th, 63-36-3, Missouri by 6.76

This series started with a forfeit in 1892 because Missouri had a policy prohibiting playing a team that allowed black players. It was close until the mid 70's when Nebraska began to dominate.

Nebraska has fallen on hard times and Missouri has found a solid footing. Look for this series to begin to become relevant again, with Missouri closing the gap over the next few years.

LSU at Mississippi State, September 26th, 66-33-3, LSU by 17.53

Nothing new here. LSU wins again, and again.

Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt, November 21st, 70-27-5, Tennessee by 9.04

Nothing like piling on a team when they are down. Tennessee will be playing down to Vanderbilt's level again in 2009.
Bowl game anyone? This game might put one team over the 6 wins needed.

102nd game
Washington vs. Oregon, October 24th, 58-38-5, Oregon by 14.60

This heated rivalry features one team lobbying with conference member, Montana, for the 1948 PCC Rose Bowl berth.

Will Washington win a game in 2009? Not this one.

Missouri vs. Iowa State, November 14th, 58-34-9, Missouri by 20.84

Apparently in 1959 it was possible to accidentally wire up the coaches boxes so that both sides could hear the other, and this was discovered to have been done for this game. The problem was fixed, but no one told the coaches. The Telephone Trophy commemorates this event.

Missouri looks to extend their lead again with little difficulty.

Pittsburgh at West Virginia, November 27th, 61-37-3, West Virginia by 10.70

The first ever radio college football broadcast covered this "Backyard Brawl" in 1921. Pittsburgh has lead this series since taking a 6-5-1 lead in 1910, though West Virginia has had the edge recently. Who can forget the 2007 game where Pittsburgh came out and beat West Virginia and the refs?

Both teams should be in the race for the wide open Big East title and this game will have implications in that race and its automatic BCS slot.

Washington vs. WSU, November 28th, 64-31-6, Washington by 3.89

Sorry. The fact that last year these teams combined to win a single game, the one they both played, is distracting me from the history of this rivalry.

It should be close this year for the same reasons.

101st game
CSU vs. Wyoming, November 27th, 55-40-5, CSU by 7.22

This is one of two games the mtn. has contractual guarantees to cover (Utah vs. BYU being the other), all other games may be selected by the MWC's other TV sponsors prior to selections by the mtn.

Both teams are rebuilding and experiencing recent coaching changes. Both are looking to becoming relevant in the top heavy MWC. This game could go either way and might be for a bowl berth.

100th game
New Mexico vs. New Mexico State, September 26th, 66-28-5, New Mexico by 18.82
.
This series was played 6 times prior to New Mexico gaining statehood in 1912, the first time in 1894. This rivalry is far more heated than the record would suggest.

New Mexico is in an upswing and should win the only series to be having its 100th meeting this season.

Comment on Preview of 100+ game series...

Contract shuffles could swap Big East, Big 10 in Champs, Gator bowls

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 19:23:30 -0500

Word out of Orlando has the Champs Sports Bowl in negotiations with the Big East regarding a four-year contract to bring the conference's #2 team to the late December game.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, Florida Citrus Sports is negotiating a contract with the Big East that would drop the Big 10 from the Champs Bowl, pairing the first selection of Big East schools (after the BCS selection) with an ACC opponent. The bowl would also have the option to take Notre Dame twice during the four year span.

"I think that it's still right in the final innings, if you will, of the relationships on in our game matchups and something will probably shake out in the next four or five days, a week, I think for everybody," Hogan said. "I think still the result of who we would partner with the Big Ten, the Big East or anyone else for that matter is still a little bit in doubt."

The Big East has made it clear that it wants an exclusive arrangement with the Gator Bowl, rather than renew a deal that split appearances in Jacksonville with the Big 12 conference.

Not surprisingly, the Big 10 conference is involved in negotiations to place its number 4 or 5 pick in the Gator Bowl against the number three pick from the ACC. According to SI, the arrangement between the Gator & Big 10 would be exclusive, leaving the Big 12 out of the Gator mix.

Comment on Contract shuffles could swap Big East, Big 10 in Champs, Gator bowls...

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?

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

Now you can smell like JoPa, Les Miles

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 19:04:38 -0500

Can't get enough of the Penn State Nittany Lions? Does your committment to LSU more than skin deep? Your ship has come in.

Masik Collegiate Fragrances now offers you the opportunity to capture the essence of your team... and spritz a little along your neckline. What do they smell like? Well, the New York Times asked alums to pick their school's scent in a blind test & to describe their university's fragrance.

MEGHAN DAY, Class of 2003, Penn State

Blind sniff test: Incorrectly identified U.N.C.; found Penn State scent "distinctly L.S.U."
Personal memory triggers: "Cow manure, beer, barbecue and tailgating smells. I'm not sure I'd want to spray that on my body."

KELLEY GIROD, Class of 2004, L.S.U.

Blind sniff test: Correctly identified L.S.U. "It's the richest, most decadent scent. It reminds me of a sort of Southern, very L.S.U. elegance."
Personal memory triggers: "An old bookbinding smell, really musty, but somehow warm and comforting. Like, you could imagine sitting there for hours of lectures comfortably. But scents won’t bring me back to a moment and I don't want them to. I mean, who wants to walk around and smell like their grandma's mashed potatoes? That's what memories are for, not fragrances."

Masik is already selling UNC, LSU and Penn State, with Florida, Georgia, Bama, Tennessee and Auburn coming later this year.

And I know what you're thinking? Can I smell like a Cock or a Beaver? Alas... South Carolina and Oregon State aren't represented... yet.

Personally, I'd like to see a West Virginia cologne ("Ode de Couch") or perhaps Stanford ("Pine Tree Perfume"). What about you?

Comment on Now *you* can smell like JoPa, Les Miles...

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.

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Gator Bowl holding firm, may drop Big East for SEC

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 09:04:50 -0500

The Big East Conference has put the Gator Bowl on notice - it has grown tired of the hybrid arrangement with the Big 12 conference that was established for the 2006 season. Under the current deal, the Gator Bowl may choose a Big 12 team twice every four years or select Notre Dame once every four years, instead of taking a Big East team for the New Year's Day bowl.

The contract between the Gator Bowl and the Big East is in its final season, and the new Big East commissioner expects changes.

"We want an exclusive deal," Marinatto said, "and we've remained firm. And if (a deal) is not going to be with the Gator Bowl, then it will be with someone else."

Gator Bowl President Rick Catlett called the Big East's position "disappointing" but made clear that the hybrid model is in the best interest of fans and the bowl game, for now.

The Gator Bowl, which picks the third in the ACC selection, has traditionally chosen first from the bowl-eligible pool of Big East teams, but the bowl is making it known that it would like a future agreement with the SEC.

"We have had a lot of conversations with the SEC," Catlett said. "It's a natural tie-in. We sit in their geographic footprint. We would very much like to be a part of the SEC's bowl picks. The problem is they've got some awfully good partners."

While the Gator Bowl would be a nice fit for the SEC, the current arrangement with ABC and the Capital One Bowl guarantees that no other SEC team will play in their early afternoon time slot (which is shared by the Gator Bowl) on New Year's Day. The Gator is not interested in moving its time slot, so a new arrangement would be required before the bowl could select an SEC team.

So is the Gator barking up the wrong tree? Maybe not. The Gator Bowl's gestures to the SEC come during the exact time that the Capital One Bowl is negotiating with ABC... who - by the way - just signed a huge deal with the SEC.

The Gator is hoping it's prime television slot and $2.5 million payout will prompt the SEC to work on its behalf, provided the bowl can pick within the first five slots of the conference.

In other words, stay tuned. This might get interesting.

But the Gator Bowl isn't putting all it's eggs in one basket. It has also held talks with the ACC, Big 10 and Big 12 conferences in hopes of reaching a long-term arrangement for the Jacksonville game.

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Bigger East? Rumors float BC, Maryland to Big East

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 08:27:37 -0500

From the no way in hell department, comes this report in the New York Post regarding possible Big East expansion:

Two sources said the eight-team Big East would consider adding a ninth member by exploring whether there was interest on behalf of Maryland to jump from the ACC, and for Boston College to rejoin the league.
Both seem a little far-fetched on the surface, but Maryland always has played Big East schools, and the balance of power in the ACC is in the south. And Boston College is learning that life in the ACC, where it has no natural rivals, isn't all it's cracked up to be.

A little far-fetched? The Smoking Musket breaks it down.

Hahahahahahahaha. No, really. Why either one of these schools would ever leave their nice home with a warm bed in the ACC to join or rejoin the Big East is beyond me. Despite the conference's recent struggles, they are making more money and getting far more TV exposure in the ACC than they ever could in the BE. And what about the basketball schools? "Hey DePaul, thanks for letting our old guard pad their tournament resume's against you for a few years, but we think the conference needs to make a more concerted effort to constrain itself to one time zone. Have fun in the Horizon league." Yes, we would all love to see BC, Maryland, Penn State and Notre Dame join the BE for all sports, but we would also all love to see Megan Fox lying in our bed in nothing but a Noel Devine jersey when we get home from work. Neither is going to happen any time soon. That being said, if either happened, I would definitely have to change my pants.

Not sure if the changing pants reference is a Big East or Megan Fox callback, but I digress....

Obviously the new Big East commish is trying to shake things up. Good for him, but... I think we need to come back down to reality.

For all the knocks on the ACC for not having a recent contender for a BCS title, you cannot fault the business acumen of the conference. The ACC is in a position to renegotiate both its HIGHLY lucrative basketball television contracts AND football contracts - at the same time - next season. The likely outcome is a huge increase in revenues as the conference looks to bundle its offerings for a big payday. (Maybe not SEC big, but keep in mind that the ACC was already making $260 million... just on the football side.) In other words, there's no financial incentive to leave the ACC right now.

Does BC want to return to the Big East and cut travel expenses? I'll split on that. No, to the Big East and yes, to cutting expenses. Talk has already surfaced among the ACC presidents to realign the conference as ACC North and ACC South. That move alone would save BC a pretty penny. Perception of a problem (as opposed to an actual "problem") resolved.

I can't fault the Big East for trying. Heck... maybe they should try swapping Maryland for... say... South Florida. Or dishing Rutgers to the ACC. I'm sure the Swofford would love to have a foot hold in the New York TV markets.

Or... if you really want to get serious, Big East, go knocking for FSU, Miami and Virginia Tech. If you're going to dream... DREAM BIG! (Hey... that could be the slogan!)

But... seriously... silly season is over. It's August. No more fantasy talk, Big East. Let's play some damn football.

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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?

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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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