2007 College Football Season Talk

[GoWings1905 2,694]

Big ten is considering having 12 schools in it... http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID...6/70726104/1048

this would most likely mean 2 divisions and playoffs/championship game... is this a good idea, and which school would be added?

I can tell you one school that it will not be ... Notre Dame.

[Guest jaytan]

USC pretty much has a cake walk to the title game. The only game they can lose is Cal (like said above), and if Oregon shows up to play they might be able to. I know I am looking over a year ahead, but I can't wait for Ohio State to play USC in 2008!

Oregon is going to be mediocre this year.

As for the Big Ten, watch out for the GOLDEN GOPHERS to get third or even second (!) place in the conference! They'll have an easy time with the non-conference schedule, and have an easy path for the early part of the season. Plus, they'll have a good defense and finally don't have an idiotic Glen Mason coaching the team.

[Guest jaytan]

Big ten is considering having 12 schools in it... http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID...6/70726104/1048

this would most likely mean 2 divisions and playoffs/championship game... is this a good idea, and which school would be added?

Obviously, Notre Dame would be a perfect fit, since they're right in the region, without a conference and a longtime rival of Big Ten programs.... But that won't happen.

How about Syracuse? They're in the Big Ten region (kind of), and would add a new state. Plus, it's an established program from a conference that has had some shake-ups lately.

If not them, how about some MAC school that is in a position to move up? Toledo, perhaps, or even Marshall could be a good addition to the Big Ten cellar. Maybe Iowa State, if we could steal them from the Big 12.

[timothy1997 0]

Obviously, Notre Dame would be a perfect fit, since they're right in the region, without a conference and a longtime rival of Big Ten programs.... But that won't happen.

How about Syracuse? They're in the Big Ten region (kind of), and would add a new state. Plus, it's an established program from a conference that has had some shake-ups lately.

If not them, how about some MAC school that is in a position to move up? Toledo, perhaps, or even Marshall could be a good addition to the Big Ten cellar. Maybe Iowa State, if we could steal them from the Big 12.

I have often thought that Syracuse or Pitt would be a good fit. That way your divisons could look like this.

East

Syracuse

Penn State

Ohio State

Michigan

Michigan State

Indiana or Purdue

West

Northwestern

Illinois

Wisconsin

Minnesota

Iowa

Purdue or Indiana

Article

Jim Harbaugh, coach of Stanford and former Michigan QB, says USC is the best team .........in college football history.

I personally don't see it compared to the powerhouse teams of past and/or too early to call them the best ever but curious to know what your opinion is.

[Guest jaytan]

I don't think you could have Ohio State and Michigan in the same division. I always thought they'd be separated, but obviously still scheduled to play each other every season.

[GoWings1905 2,694]

Article

Jim Harbaugh, coach of Stanford and former Michigan QB, says USC is the best team .........in college football history.

I personally don't see it compared to the powerhouse teams of past and/or too early to call them the best ever but curious to know what your opinion is.

Even though it is extremely early, I think Harbaugh has a very valid argument.

The defense that USC has going into this season should be purely dominant. The offense could probably get away with 14 points most games, and still win. I believe Pete Carroll has even referred to this unit as his best defensive group at USC. Although recently USC teams have been defined by their high-octane offense, this year's version will be led by their outstanding defense.

Needless to say, their offense won't be too bad either. JD Booty will probably be a Heisman Trophy candidate, they have five running backs that would all start at most other schools, and Patrick Turner should replace Dwayne Jarret's production at receiver. They also have one of the best tight-ends, Fred Davis, in all of college football. I can't imagine what Marc Tyler and Joe McKnight on the field together is going to be like. The two highest rated running back recruits in the country, in the same backfield.

The only problem I can see for USC is most of their "tough" games are on the road. Not that it will really matter where they play. They are easily the best team in college football, and I would be shocked if they lost a game.

Edited July 27, 2007 by GoWings1905

[BlakChamber 8]

I have often thought that Syracuse or Pitt would be a good fit. That way your divisons could look like this.

East

Syracuse

Penn State

Ohio State

Michigan

Michigan State

Indiana or Purdue

West

Northwestern

Illinois

Wisconsin

Minnesota

Iowa

Purdue or Indiana

Cuse is a poor choice for the Big 10. The school only has 19,000 students. The football isn't that great, although they have been. The basketball team is better, but they still lack the facilities. The carrier dome only holds 55,000 for football. We've already got a small private school in the Big 10 with Northwestern. We don't need another.

Pitt would be a possibility. Decent football and good basketball, but they're a smaller school as well. While it would renew their rivalry with Penn State, the Nittany Lions might not go for it, since they'd have to share being the Penn Big 10 school.

Rutgers might be a decent fit. Their football and basketball programs are improving, it's a much larger university than Pitt or Syracuse and they're a good research school. And (I say this because you know its on the Big 10's mind) they're in a much better TV market than either Pitt or Cuse. Granted, from what I've heard, college football really isn't big in the NYC market. Acedemically, they're ahead of Cuse and just barely behind Pitt.

Notre Dame is obviously the best choice. But I doubt they'll ever go for it unless they lose their contract with NBC. I've also seen people suggest Louisville, West Virginia, and Missouri.

And Timothy, the Big 10 would never allow Penn State, MSU, UM, and OSU to be in the same division. It would probably be better to split them into north/south.

North

Minny

Wisconsin

MSU

UM

Northwestern

South

Indiana

Purdue

Illionis

Ohio State

Penn State

Iowa

If the new school was farther south, Iowa or Penn State could move north. Although in the interest of balance, it would probably be best for Purdue to be the swing school.

[Guest jaytan]

I like those divisions. There's good balance for football, and most seasons, the basketball wouldn't bee too unbalanced. One change I'd make is to put Iowa in the North division and let the new team join the South.

[GoWings1905 2,694]

Regarding this topic, "College Football Live" on ESPN had a segment discussing the Big Ten today. The schools mentioned earlier in this thread, such as Rutgers, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse were all brought up as well on ESPN. The ever-intelligent Mark May suggested Colorado , further proving that he is a complete moron. Colorado is nowhere near any of the Big Ten schools. Nice suggestion Mark. Maybe the Big East can expand, and try to get USC to join.

I honestly think the most logical choices are either Pittsburgh or Iowa State. Adding a school on the east coast is probably the most appealing to the Big Ten though in terms of expanding their region and fan base, especially with the creation of their own TV network.

Edited July 28, 2007 by GoWings1905

[Guest jaytan]

Colorado?

Yeah, why not go the full monty and just add USC?

Sheesh.

[GoWings1905 2,694]

Yeah Colorado. I would have been dumbfounded, but coming from Mark May I just laughed.

May is the biggest moron on ESPN. This is the guy who said Notre Dame would start 0-6 in Charlie Weis' first season, and they went to a BCS Bowl.

I love watching Mark May, just because anything he says, I know won't ever happen. At first I hated him, but now I get a kick out of his complete dumbness.

[BlakChamber 8]

I honestly think the most logical choices are either Pittsburgh or Iowa State. Adding a school on the east coast is probably the most appealing to the Big 10 though in terms of expanding their region and fan base, especially with the creation of their own TV network.

The problem with both Pitt and Iowa State is that it doesn't expand the Big 10. Pittsburgh doesn't seem to be much of a college football town, so putting them in the Big 10 probably wouldn't be much of a boost. Plus in academics, Iowa State is ranked behind the rest of the Big 10.

[betterREDthandead 58]

I'd love for the Big Ten to add Notre Dame. It's the only one that makes perfect sense.....except from Notre Dame's view. But if the Big Ten is thinking expansion, you have to believe they'll knock on Notre Dame's door.

I've heard it said in the past that Iowa State or Missouri would be possible expansion choices. It'd be tough to raid the Big 12, but I bet if the Big 12 could shed Iowa State and add TCU, they'd do it. ISU wouldn't do much for TV money though.

I wouldn't mind seeing the Big Ten raid the MAC instead and pick up Miami of Ohio. That's a school with a ton of underrated football tradition. Though, it's another small private school and would do nothing for the desired TV money.

I think the most likely candidate to lose a school to the Big Ten would be the Big East. Pittsburgh makes sense geographically and is in a big city. It also wouldn't surprise me to see Cincinnati as a candidate.

But I think the best non-Fighting Irish choice is......Louisville. New state, as mentioned by Delany as a priority? Check. Big city with lots of TV revenue coming? Check. The Big Ten could horn in on SEC territory without actually taking on the SEC for a team. Louisville makes great sense geographically, it's just a short bus ride from IU, Purdue, and OSU. Big Ten coaches would have an inroad to recruit the South. The Cardinals have an excellent program in both football and basketball and a lucrative rivalry with UK. Louisville has all the ingredients.

[BlakChamber 8]

But I think the best non-Fighting Irish choice is......Louisville. New state, as mentioned by Delany as a priority? Check. Big city with lots of TV revenue coming? Check. The Big Ten could horn in on SEC territory without actually taking on the SEC for a team. Louisville makes great sense geographically, it's just a short bus ride from IU, Purdue, and OSU. Big Ten coaches would have an inroad to recruit the South. The Cardinals have an excellent program in both football and basketball and a lucrative rivalry with UK. Louisville has all the ingredients.

The one problem with Louisville is that their academics are waaaaay behind the rest of the Big 10. Indiana and MSU are lowest ranked Big 10 schools, at 70. Louisville is a tier 3 school, being they're not even in the top 125.

[betterREDthandead 58]

The one problem with Louisville is that their academics are waaaaay behind the rest of the Big 10. Indiana and MSU are lowest ranked Big 10 schools, at 70. Louisville is a tier 3 school, being they're not even in the top 125.

Ah.....that does cause problems.

All the more reason for the Big Ten to make Notre Dame an offer they can't refuse

[Guest jaytan]

I agree that the Big Ten shouldn't do anything to harm their academic credibility. We've got some of the best public universities in the country and, in some areas, arguably the best private school as well.

[GoWings1905 2,694]

Ah.....that does cause problems.

All the more reason for the Big Ten to make Notre Dame an offer they can't refuse

There is no offer good enough to get Notre Dame to join the Big Ten. The only remote hope they have is NBC doesn't renew the TV contract, which is very unlikely. As a Notre Dame fan, I would like to see them join the Big Ten (provided they keep USC on the schedule), but I don't blame them for remaining an independent.

Edited July 28, 2007 by GoWings1905

[mannysBETTER3434 1]

I think the Big 10 should add Louisville, or West Virginia. It would make the Big Ten a much better conference at football, and basketball. Big problems with these schools are their stadium size, and acedemics.

What I think will happen: The ND contract with NBC ends in a few years. After this ends the Big Ten will make one final push for them. If they say no we head out east and go for Rugters.

Heres another team to think about: Boston College. Great acedemics, solid in football/basketball, and is on the coast (which would expand the wanted coverage).

Edited July 28, 2007 by mannysBETTER3434

[Hockeytown Red Wings 245]

Of the schools I've heard that are realistic, West Virgina and Louisville or Pitt make the best sense to me.

What I wonder about is the divisions...assuming they'd do East-West, you'd have Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, and possibly WV/UL in the same division, with powerhouses like Indiana, Illinois, Northwestern, and Minnesota in the other. It wouldnt be a very balanced conference.

[BlakChamber 8]

Of the schools I've heard that are realistic, West Virgina and Louisville or Pitt make the best sense to me.

What I wonder about is the divisions...assuming they'd do East-West, you'd have Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, and possibly WV/UL in the same division, with powerhouses like Indiana, Illinois, Northwestern, and Minnesota in the other. It wouldnt be a very balanced conference.

Both West Virginia and Louisville don't have the academics to be a Big 10 school. West Virginia really doesn't add anything in the way of expanding the market. Yeah, it opens up the West Virginia market, but there's only 1.8 million people in the whole state. Pitt isn't a bad choice sports and academics wise, but it really doesn't expand the Big 10 that much. The league is already in Penn, and given Pittsburgh doesn't seem to be a big college football town.

As far as divisions, earlier in the thread I suggested a north/south breakdown that I think would work.

[Guest jaytan]

BC might be a little too far east for me..

[betterREDthandead 58]

I think the Big 10 should add Louisville, or West Virginia. It would make the Big Ten a much better conference at football, and basketball. Big problems with these schools are their stadium size, and acedemics.

What I think will happen: The ND contract with NBC ends in a few years. After this ends the Big Ten will make one final push for them. If they say no we head out east and go for Rugters.

Heres another team to think about: Boston College. Great acedemics, solid in football/basketball, and is on the coast (which would expand the wanted coverage).

Boston College only just made the jump to the ACC a couple years ago, I really doubt they'd want to be on the move again. Plus, the ACC successfully raided the Big East for three premier schools.....no doubt they have the ability to fight off any advances from other conferences. BC ain't happening.

[Hockeytown Red Wings 245]

I think you guys put a little too much emphasis on academics. Yeah, its important, but to the people who make these decisions, its not as important as money.

[mannysBETTER3434 1]

I think you guys put a little too much emphasis on academics. Yeah, its important, but to the people who make these decisions, its not as important as money.

I agree with you totally, but after I did some researching and figured out UL/WV's academics are miles behind every single Big Ten school I don't think they can be an option.

[BlakChamber 8]

I think you guys put a little too much emphasis on academics. Yeah, its important, but to the people who make these decisions, its not as important as money.

Because of the CID, there's a lot of money in Big 10 academics as well.