Gonna have to give Nate a call on this over the clear plagiarism.
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/make-college-football-great-again/
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/make-college-football-great-again/
Interesting Thoughts on College Football
- Thread starter stonedlizard
- Start date
I'm all for competitive scheduling, but this is taking it to an extreme.
Waiting until after the week 4 game to schedule the week 5 regular season game is downright goofy. In all, there are four regular season flex games Nate is proposing to be scheduled that all have to be coordinated with just one week's lead time.
In Nate's Big 10 scenario, week five would pit 1-3 Rutgers against 1-3 Minnesota and 3-1 Iowa against 3-1 Maryland. Looks great from a competitive standpoint, right? Well, I say it looks great to everyone except the athletic department of the team that has to travel on one'week's notice.
We're not talking a bus ride from Ann Arbor to Lansing or West Lafayette to Bloomington (traditional rivalry games that would be scheduled each and every year in Nate's scenario).
Take Rutgers and MInnesota in week 5, for example, and let's assume the game is at MInnesota. When you add up the players, cheerleaders, student managers, traveling staff (coaches, trainers, etc.) and equipment that have to be transported from New Jersey to Minnesota AND BACK on one week's notice, that's a pretty tall order for an athletic department to coordinate. Air transportation, ground transportation, lodging, cultivating/entertaining local donors and alumni groups, etc. This is just from the school's perspective and addresses nothing with respect to the Rutgers fan base that would need to make its own travel arrangements on short notice to attend the game. Most of these things are usually all tied up nice and neat well before the season begins.
And, there is nothing to prevent Rutgers from traveling to Nebraska on one week's notice later in the season!
I realize one week's notice happens all the time in the playoffs, especially in the non-FBS divisions. But, these aren't the playoffs we are talking about; it's the regular season. One of the big reasons why schools belong to a conference to begin with is the benefit of advance scheduling of regular season games.
Two thumbs down on this really dumb idea.
Waiting until after the week 4 game to schedule the week 5 regular season game is downright goofy. In all, there are four regular season flex games Nate is proposing to be scheduled that all have to be coordinated with just one week's lead time.
In Nate's Big 10 scenario, week five would pit 1-3 Rutgers against 1-3 Minnesota and 3-1 Iowa against 3-1 Maryland. Looks great from a competitive standpoint, right? Well, I say it looks great to everyone except the athletic department of the team that has to travel on one'week's notice.
We're not talking a bus ride from Ann Arbor to Lansing or West Lafayette to Bloomington (traditional rivalry games that would be scheduled each and every year in Nate's scenario).
Take Rutgers and MInnesota in week 5, for example, and let's assume the game is at MInnesota. When you add up the players, cheerleaders, student managers, traveling staff (coaches, trainers, etc.) and equipment that have to be transported from New Jersey to Minnesota AND BACK on one week's notice, that's a pretty tall order for an athletic department to coordinate. Air transportation, ground transportation, lodging, cultivating/entertaining local donors and alumni groups, etc. This is just from the school's perspective and addresses nothing with respect to the Rutgers fan base that would need to make its own travel arrangements on short notice to attend the game. Most of these things are usually all tied up nice and neat well before the season begins.
And, there is nothing to prevent Rutgers from traveling to Nebraska on one week's notice later in the season!
I realize one week's notice happens all the time in the playoffs, especially in the non-FBS divisions. But, these aren't the playoffs we are talking about; it's the regular season. One of the big reasons why schools belong to a conference to begin with is the benefit of advance scheduling of regular season games.
Two thumbs down on this really dumb idea.
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* No rankings until Week 4
* Expand playoffs to 8 teams
* Cut the 42 bowl games down to 25
* Booster money must be made public
* Pay the players for the labor they provide
* Expand playoffs to 8 teams
* Cut the 42 bowl games down to 25
* Booster money must be made public
* Pay the players for the labor they provide