A B1G Change

Due to COVID this year the B1G season has been delayed and now that it is starting back, it has been decided there will be an 8 game season after which they will play a championship game.  With 7 teams in each division that means they will play 6 divisional opponents and 2 cross-division opponents.  This is not too different than usual.  

What will be different is what happens in the 9th game.  It's going to be December 9th and usually, this would be the league championship game.  Because of the shortened schedule, they've decided to let every team play that weekend with the 1st place team in each division playing each other, then the 2nd place team, and so on down to the 7th place teams.

This is such a good idea that it's something I really think they should consider doing on a permanent basis.  Ostensibly you'd get some really good matchups but the best game might be watching the 7th place teams play each other.  It would be a bowl of sorts for teams who haven't qualified for a bowl and a way to end a season on a positive note.

Last season would have had 2-10 (0-9) Rutgers facing 3-9 (1-8) Northwestern.  I'm pretty sure I would have watched this instead of the 2nd place game of Penn State vs Minnesota.

This got me to thinking as definitive crowning a league 'cellar dweller' could add a bit of excitement to the league with the addition of relegation.  I've seen people joking that the B1G would trade their 14th place team for the MAC champ but that's fantasyland.  There's too much money passing hands in the conference and they can't just boot someone to a league that makes $50million less a year.

What you could do is create two divisions that relegate back and forth but if you do that then 14 teams aren't enough.  Seven teams would play each other one time and leave you with another six games to fill out a schedule.  Of course, teams will want to 3-4 out of conference games and you might want to protect an interdivisional game in case Michigan gets relegated but they are Ohio State's traditional rival. :P

I'd see it like this: 

3 - Out of conference games
2 - Protected Rivals 
7 - Conference Games

* Note - If your protected rival hasn't been relegated then the league scheduler will match you up against a team in the other division based on league finish the previous season.

What this would mean is the B1G would need to add 2 teams to give them two divisions of 8 for a total of 16 teams.

Who might be good candidates?  Virginia has always been a school I'd like to get academically, Virginia Tech is a better fit football-wise.  Missouri is a good fit geographically.  Texas/Oklahoma would be great but I doubt they'd leave the Big 12.  Notre Dame probably won't come either but we should ask.  Two other schools that fit into the footprint as research institutions would be Georgia Tech and Pittsburgh.

Let's assume we get Missouri and Virginia.  These aren't perfect fits but they should be representative.

Both newcomers would be added to the bottom league as part of their 'initiation' (this clearly wouldn't be the case for Texas, Oklahoma, or Notre Dame).

Based on last years results we'd have a league that looks like this

Upper
Ohio State
Penn State
Michigan
Iowa
Minnesota
Wisconsin
Indiana
Michigan State

Lower
Nebraska
Illinois
Rutgers
Northwestern
Maryland
Illinois
Purdue
Missouri
Virginia

The beautiful part of this is the best teams in the league get more matchups meaning games that ESPN, Fox, etc, and up the value of the league's media rights.  A side benefit is the teams in the lower league aren't stuck in purgatory forever with annual losses to perennial powers.  A traditional school like Nebraska could really turn around the program with a year in the Lower Division.  A school like Rutgers is facing lesser competition and allowing the program a chance to gain some pride.

Of course, increasing the difficulty of the schedule means you wouldn't do something like this without an automatic bid to the college football playoffs for the B1G.  After all, Alabama has Arkansas on their schedule every year and this league would have no padding which will make it harder to get into the playoffs.

There's another catch too.  If the top teams in the B1G play each other every year then that will mean more losses and a possibility of fewer bowl appearances for teams better than their record might appear.  This is where the league needs to flex its TV muscle and insist teams from the Upper-Division that finish in the top 6 get a bowl bid.  The teams in the lower division that finish in the top 4 get a bowl bid.  That would give the league a guarantee of 10 bowl bids.  They got 9 in 2019.

Assuming all this happens, this is where things get fun.  Can you imagine the matchups?  Every week of the season would be a battle.  There'd be no ducking good teams from the other division to pad your record.  That would happen in the lower division by design and that's ok.  It breaks up the monotony and gives every team a chance to shine while giving increased competition in the upper-division that should be attractive to any recruit hoping to get to the NFL.

We'd still have the matchup games during championship week.  Using last year as a guide, Indiana would have played Michigan State to see who would get relegated.  Nebraska would have played Illinois.  Can you imagine the tension in Lincoln during that game?  A win by Indiana to stay in the upper-division would be talked about for generations.

The tension and interest in those games would almost surely outstrip the championship games and fetch a pretty good payday.

It will probably never happen but it would be amazing.

2018 college football playoffs using the Australian NRL Finals System

I saw a twitter post by Dan Wetzel that mentioned the NRL finals system.  The system seems complex at first but after studying it I really started to love it.  Granted, this will never happen but it is fun to dream about doing something like this.  Here's the 2018 college football final standing with first-round matchups in parenthesis.

1. Alabama (home vs #4)
2. Clemson (home vs #3)
3. Notre Dame
4. Oklahoma
5. Georgia (home vs #8)
6. Ohio State (home vs #7)
7. Michigan
8. Central Florida

I think in real life the system would put Washington in since they won the Pac 12 and also keep Central Florida since they were the highest finisher of the Group of 5.  That would mean Michigan would be eliminated but I'm going to keep the standings as determined by the current system. 

Here's the games and the final score from one iteration at College Football Sim.com.  The home team is the one listed first:

41 Alabama (Alabama was projected winner in 57% of all simulations)
13 Oklahoma

41 Clemson (Clemson was projected winner in 56% of all simulations)
17 Notre Dame

35 Georgia (Georgia was projected winner in 88% of all simulations)
17 Central Florida

23 Ohio State
30 Michigan (Michigan was projected winner in 64% of all simulations)

Just imagine a weekend with these games.  The next weekend would pit the losers of the 1-4 and 2-3 matchups vs the winners of the 5-8 and 6-7 games.  Home teams listed first.

19 Oklahoma (1-4 Loser) (Oklahoma was projected winner in 52% of all simulations)
24 Georgia (5-8 Winner)

10 Notre Dame (2-3 Loser)
19 Michigan (6-7 Winner) (Michigan was projected winner in 64% of all simulations)

The visitor won in both simulations though both would be great games.  That would set up the semifinals with the winners from the 1-4 game in week 1 playing the winner of the opposite bracket from week 2.  The 2-3 winner from week 1 would play the other winner from week 2.

24 Alabama (Alabama was projected winner in 66% of all simulations)
15 Michigan

10 Clemson
20 Georgia (Georgia was projected winner in 70% of all simulations)

I know this seems confusing but it's not too bad once you see it in action (check out the NRL wiki as it explains it well).  Here's the final game played on a neutral field.

24 Alabama (Alabama was projected winner in 55% of all simulations)
30 Georgia 

Wouldn't this be amazing?  I'm not a big SEC fan but this would allow the 5th team a shot at redemption from their championship.  It also reward teams who had the best regular seasons.  The teams that finished #1-#2 would be guaranteed 2 home games.  The teams that finished #3-#6 would get 1 home game.

Just look at the matchups this system created:

• Ohio State - Michigan
• Alabama - Oklahoma
• Clemson-Notre Dame
• Oklahoma - Georgia
• Notre Dame - Michigan
• Alabama - Michigan
• Clemson - Georgia
• Alabama - Georgia
• UCF - Georgia

Can you imagine a season that ending like this?  There is not a dog game among them (except maybe UCF) and I'd bet all these games would get a 10+ share.

Here's the ratings for last year's games bowl playoff system:

• Peach: 4.6
• Cotton: 5.3
• Orange: 6.3
• Fiesta: 5.7
• Sugar: 11.7 (Semi-final)
• Rose: 13.7 (Semi-final)
• Championship: 15.6

ESPN is currently paying $470 million / year for these 6 bowl games plus the championship game.  How many of these games do people actually want to watch?  What would ESPN pay for 9 games that actually matter?  Would the number double?  I'd bet you could easily figure it at an extra $300 million in revenue and college football would own the month of December.

While this would add 3-4 games for the teams involved, the money would also help them head off a looming issue for the NCAA.

128 teams in Division 1-A x 85 scholarships = 10,880
$300 million / 10,880 = $27,574

My preference for this fund would be to enable the NCAA to make sure all schools can afford to allow their student-athletes go back to school to finish their education if circumstances force them to leave for some reason.  It would also enable the NCAA to pay a stipend for college football players  who graduate based on every year they were on scholarship.  Play football for four years, graduate, and get $100,000 to start the next phase of your life?  You could even add additional for the players that made it to the playoffs and played in these games.  Win - win - win.

I know there are Title IX issues along with a myriad of other things that make this impossible but it's fun to think about.

What if national champions - 2010

So I couldn't stop with my last post.  There's a website that simulates game results of past teams based on an algorithm.  I thought it might be fun to play a couple of these playoffs out with a seven game series like baseball (only with home/neutral field restrictions).  Here's 2010:

Boise State (10) at Auburn (1)
Oklahoma (7) at Oregon (2)
Ohio State (6) at TCU (3)
Stanford (4) at Wisconsin (5)

Boise State at Auburn:

Game 1 - BSU 23 : Aub 20 - Kellen Moore throws for 401 yards.
Game 2 - BSU 41 : Aub 21 - Doug Martin runs for 83 while making 5 catches for 58
Game 3 - BSU 56 : Aub 23 - Kellen Moore throws for 423 yards with 4 TDs
Game 4 - BSU 42 : Aub 31 - Kellen Moore throws for  339 and 3 TDs

This was a shocker.  I don't know much about the website's algorithm but I'm sure it wasn't made by an SEC fan.  I ran this another 4 times and Boise won 3 of them.

Oklahoma at Oregon:

Game 1 : Ore 38 : Okl 10 - LaMichael James goes for 209 and a TD
Game 2 : Ore 48 : Okl 17 - LaMichael James goes for 350 and 4 TDs
Game 3 : Okl 27 : Ore 22 - DeMarco Murray runs for 102 and a TD
Game 4 : Okl 24 : Ore 21 - Landry Jones throws for 303 and 2 TDs
Game 5 : Okl 41 : Ore 21 - DeMarco Murray runs for 129-2 TDs and 122 receiving with a TD
Game 6 : Ore 41 : Okl 23 - LaMichael James and Kenyon Barner combine for 258 yds rushing
Game 7 : Ore 58 : Okl 27 - LaMichael James goes for 192 and 4 TDs

Tight series.  James was a beast.

Ohio State at TCU

Game 1 : TCU 28 : OSU   9 - Andy Dalton with 148 yards and a TD in the air.
Game 2 : TCU 23 : OSU 15 - Andy Dalton with a group effort.
Game 3 : TCU 30 : OSU 17 - Andy Dalton with 256 yds passing and a TD.
Game 4 : TCU 38 : OSU 31 - Andy Dalton throw for 220 and 3 TDs.

I can't say this result is especially surprising.  Those last Tressel teams relied on Terrelle Pryor to hide a lot of holes.  TCU had a good defense and a future NFL QB running the offense.

Stanford at Wisconsin

Game 1 : Wis 31 : Stan 6 - Scott Tolzien throws for 253-2 TDs.  John Clay runs for 100-1 TD.
Game 2 : Stan 41 : Wis 33 - Andrew Luck throws for 375 and 2 TDs
Game 3 : Wis 37 : Stan 36 - John Clay and Montee Ball run for 207 yds and 3 TDs
Game 4 : Wis 29 : Stan 28 - Scott Tolzien throws for 20-23-257-1.  Clay and Ball combine for 179.
Game 5 : Wis 22 : Stan 20 - Clay goes for 111.  Ball for 94.

Andrew Luck had a lot of yards but the balanced attack of Wisconsin won out.

Boise State vs Wisconsin

Game 1 : BSU 26 : Wisc   7 - Kellen Moore throws for 28-40-382-2 TDs
Game 2 : BSU 38 : Wisc 22 - Kellen Moore throws for 24-40-264-3 TDs
Game 3 : BSU 43 : Wisc 35 - Kellen Moore throws for 26-35-398-2 TDs
Game 4 : Wisc 38 : BSU 31 - John Clay runs for 172 and 2 TDs
Game 5 : BSU 54 : Wisc 21 - Kellen Moore throws for 28-38-387-7 TDs

Kellen Moore was a beast in college.  If he actually had done this in a college playoff he might have gotten a better shot in the pro's.

Oregon vs TCU

Game 1 : Ore 38 : TCU 22 - LaMichael James runs for 150 and 2 TDs.
Game 2 : Ore 42 : TCU 39 - Darron Thomas throws for 20-26-230-4 TDs
Game 3 : TCU 33 : Ore 28 - Matthew Tucker and Ed James combine for 212 and 3 TDs
Game 4 : Ore 37 : TCU 33 - LaMichael James runs for 141 and 1 TD.
Game 5 : TCU 27 : Ore   9 - Ed Wesley runs for 136 and 2 TDs.
Game 6 : TCU 37 : Ore 27 - Ed Wesley runs for 141 and 2 TDs.
Game 7 : TCU 59 : Ore 14 - Waymon James runs for 141 and 2 TDs.  Dalton passes for 3 TDs.

TCU relies on its running game to come back for the win.

Boise State vs TCU

Game 1 : BSU 45 : TCU 31 - Doug Martin goes 98-2TDs on the ground and 86 receiving with a TD.
Game 2 : BSU 43 : TCU 20 - Doug Martin runs for 108 with 2 TDs.
Game 3 : BSU 34 : TCU 32 - Kellen Moore throws for 352 with 4 TDs.
Game 4 : BSU 42 : TCU 24 - Doug Martin runs for 66 yds with 3 TDs.  Catches 5-68 and a TD.

This certainly wasn't what I expected when I started.  There's no doubt the TV executives would be crying with a Boise State - TCU championship game.

A perfect playoff is almost in our grasp

This season shows us one more time that the college football playoff just isn't big enough.  The main cause is combination of 130 teams, all who have the ability to cherry pick their schedule and so we are left to eye test who should be in the final four.

The ideal number for a playoff is 6 as it gives you 1 team from each conference and a wildcard.  The thing is bye week's are stupid especially when you consider we really don't know who is really deserving.  I do understand the complaints of those that say expanding it that far will harm the regular season but 4 hasn't done that and neither will 8.  After that, I will join the ranks of that reject expanding the playoffs.  College football has the most important regular season of any American sport.  We can't lose that.

The process to get the teams is simple and I've kept my same idea for years as it is the only one that really could work.  The playoff is one week after the college football championship games.  The rules are simple.  The five conference champions get in - One 'Group of Five' team gets in if they are ranked in the top 15 - The remaining teams are pulled from the final College Football ranking - you have to be a conference champ to get home field in the first round.

This year would look like this:

UCF (12) at Clemson (1)
USC (8) at Oklahoma (2)
Wisconsin (6) at Georgia (3)
Alabama (4)  at Ohio State (5)

Clemson, Oklahoma, Georgia, Ohio State, and USC are conference champs.
Home field is assigned from this group based on final ranking.

UCF gets in because they are the top ranked group of five team.
Alabama and Wisconsin are the two highest ranked teams remaining.
Visiting teams assigned based on final ranking.

Under this system Auburn (7) gets left out and I'm sure there would be complaints as they'd beaten Alabama and crushed Georgia.  They have a valid argument but they'd lost in their conference playoff.  While Wisconsin did the same, the committee ranked them higher.  Bottom line - don't lose in the championship game.

Based on what we know from the bowl games these December matchups would have been fun to watch.  My picks are UCF, Oklahoma, Georgia, and Ohio State (call me a homer but the Buckeyes would have played Alabama at home in 20 degree weather).  Ohio State vs UCF would have been interesting but I'd pick the Buckeyes.  Georgia beat Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl setting up a Buckeye-Bulldog final.  I'd love to see that game.

Here's the playoff from 2016:

Western Michigan (15) at Alabama (1)
Oklahoma (7) at Clemson (2)
Michigan (6) at Washington (4)
Ohio State (3) at Penn State (5)

The biggest complaint here would be the rematch between OSU and Penn State.  Other than that it looks pretty standard.  I'd pick Alabama, Clemson, Washington, and Ohio State.  This happens to be the exact final four from that season and we know how it turned out.

Here's 2015:

Notre Dame (8) at Clemson (1)
Ohio State (7) at Alabama (2)
Stanford (6) at Michigan State (3)
Iowa (5) at Oklahoma (4)

This is a much more standard playoff though I'm sure there'd be a push to put Houston (18) in place of Notre Dame (8) for a Group of Five representative.  I'd pick Clemson, Ohio State, Stanford, and Oklahoma.  Clemson and Ohio State in the final and the Buckeyes to win it all.  That team was beastly though the first round matchup at Alabama would be a tough one.

Here's 2014:

Michigan State (8) at Alabama (1)
Mississippi State (7) at Oregon (2)
TCU (6) at Florida State (3)
Baylor (5) at Ohio State (4)

I'd pick the home teams to set up the eventual playoff we got though TCU might beat Florida State.

The question from critics of expansion is whether these games would hurt the regular season.  I think it wouldn't as these people are underrating the value of getting a home field game in the first round which means 1) the conference championship games are important and 2) finishing in the top 4 is important.  One unexpected loss in a conference championship game will scramble everything and fans from other leagues want to know their next opponent.

Let's use 2014 as an example.  Ohio State needed a convincing win vs Wisconsin to be ranked ahead of Baylor/TCU and get the home field.  They got it.  If they didn't they end up on the road at Baylor or Florida State.  But lets assume they somehow lost this game.  Here's the new matchup.

Wisconsin (10) at Alabama (1)
Michigan State (7) at Oregon (2)
Mississippi State (6) at Florida State (3)
TCU (5) at Baylor (4)

That's an entire new set of matchups with only one unexpected loss.  (I love some of these matchups - TCU and Baylor get a rematch to determine their conference champion plus Jameis vs Dak).  The final in this world would probably end up with Alabama and Oregon in the finals with Alabama winning.

You can do the same thing with any conference championship and most of the games at the end of the regular season.  This playoff wouldn't lessen the regular season it would enhance it.

The title of this article calls this a perfect playoff.  I realize there are still people that could complain but of the 4 seasons I reviewed only 1 has a real gripe (Auburn) and they lost in their championship game, which I consider part of the playoffs.

It would be great if we moved to a system like this but until then I will just be happy in my belief that there's an alternate universe where the Buckeyes have won 3 of the last 4 national championships. :P

-----------------

I had to do a couple more because it was fun to consider:

2013:

Central Florida (15) at Florida State (1)
Ohio State (7) at Auburn (2)
Baylor (6) at Michigan State (4)
Alabama (3) at Stanford (5)

This looks like a lot of fun.  Ohio State gets a shot at redemption after failing in the B1G championship game.  As punishment they have to face the SEC champs at home.  My picks - Florida State, Auburn, Michigan State, Alabama.  Same final game.

2012:

Wisconsin (NR) at Notre Dame (1)
Florida State (11) at Alabama (2)
Stanford (6) at Oregon (4)
Florida (2) at Kansas State (5)

This is one of those seasons that shows anything can happen.  Wisconsin was 4-4 in league play but due to NCAA violations neither Ohio State or Penn State could play in the B1G championship game.  Then Wisconsin beat Nebraska making them champions.  It probably would have been Notre Dame, Alabama, Oregon, Florida with Florida and Alabama in the final.  We would have ended up with the same result but with a lot more fun on the way.

2011:

Virginia Tech (11) at LSU (1)
Wisconsin (10) at Oklahoma State (3)
Oregon (5) at Stanford (4)
Alabama (2) at Boise State (7)

This year is a beautiful mess.  The group of Five representative is ranked higher than the B1G or ACC champs so they get the 4th home game.  Can you imagine the furor if #2 Alabama had to travel to Boise?  I'd love that.  The results most likely would be LSU, Oklahoma State, Oregon and Alabama with an Alabama - Oklahoma State final.  That was much better than the LSU-Alabama SEC lovefest we actually got.

2010:

Boise State (10) at Auburn (1)
Oklahoma (7) at Oregon (2)
Ohio State (6) at TCU (3)
Stanford (4) at Wisconsin (5)

This year was pretty straight forward.  The team on the bubble was Arkansas at 8.  It's been a while but I'd pick Auburn, Oregon, Ohio State, and Stanford.  Auburn and Oregon in the final with Auburn winning.  No one was beating Cam that year.

The Three Commisioners of College Football

In 2010, three college commissions met in a secret underground bunker to discuss the future of the game.  This is their story.

Commissioners:
Dan Beebe – Big 12
Mike Slive – SEC
JIm Delany – Big Ten
Larry Scott – Pac 10

Delany and Slive at the same time: I’d like to thank you both for coming to the nation’s capital to meet with me.

Scott: *Shakes his head at the other two*  Look guys, if this is going to work, we have to work together.  The Mountain West and the WAC are stirring the pot and Congress may force us to have a true college playoff on our hands if we don’t do something.

Delany and Slive nod their heads and answer together:  Yeah, no one wants that.

Scott: Exactly, that would cut into our profits.  The Big East is taking too much already and we can get it all back but we have a small window and need to act fast.  My conference is in 4 states on the west coast, Jim, you are in 8, and Mike you are in 9.  That’s only 21 total states and while we dominate our respective areas, the politicians are going to kill us in congress if we don’t take drastic action. Jim, you started the ball rolling with your statement that you are ‘looking to add a team’.  What’s your plan.”

Delany: We are doing a thorough investigation and….

Slive:  Cut the bullshit Jim.  Who do you want?

Delany: Texas and Notre Dame.

Slive and Scott:  Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! *catches breath*

Delany: The metrics make……..

Slive and Scott: Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!  *eventually they stop laughing*

Scott: Notre Dame hates you and Texas isn’t going anywhere without Oklahoma.

Delany: We are the Big Ten!

*An awkward silence fills the for a few seconds*

Slive:  You can have Nebraska and Missouri.

Delany: Nebraska and Notre Dame?

Scott: If you can convince them.  The state of Texas is mine.

Slive: Not so fast.  I want A&M.

Delany: I want Texas.

Scott: It’s not going to happen Jim but do your best.  Let’s get Beebe in here.  I need to tell him.

Beebe: Hey guys!  For some reason the door was locked.

*The others smile*

Scott: Sorry about that Dan.  I just wanted you to know I’ve sent an offer to Texas that I’d take them, Colorado and 4 others of their choosing to join the Pac 10.

**Delany, Slive, and Beebe look shocked**

Beebe: Aren’t we supposed to these these things in advance?

Scott: That’s what we are doing right now.  I need you to get Texas to agree to my deal and you can be my special asst commissioner in Austin.

Beebe:  *gulp*  Um sure Larry.

Scott: I hear the pizza guy outside.  Can you go get it?

Beebe:  Sure Larry.  *Beebe leaves and Scott locks the door behind him.*

*Slive and Delany look angry*

Scott: I want Texas.

Delany and Slive: Obviously.

Slive: Texas won’t come.

Scott: If you want someone take A&M.  I don’t need them.  Jim you take Nebraska.

Slive: Who’s taking Missouri?

Delany smiles: You are.

Slive looks angry:  You win this round Jim but you should remember that I have a long memory.

--------------------------------------

In 2012,  they reconvene.

Slive starts the conversation by asking Scott:  How’d Texas work out for you?

Scott: Fuck off.  We did get Utah.

**Delany and Slive snicker while Scott glares at them both**

Scott:  Look you assholes.  This isn’t about getting the best football teams or creating good matchups.  We are getting votes.  The congressmen in Utah were talking too much and I took care of it.  Have you heard a peep from them since?

**Delany and Slive nod and answer in unison** Thanks Larry.

Scott:  With Colorado and Utah, I’m up to 6 states in the west and most of the votes west of the Rockies.  There isn’t much else I can do so the ball’s in your court.

Delany: What about BYU and Boise State?

Scott: The hippies in Berkley won’t let the former happen and do we really want to share our money with a bunch of potato farmers?  It’s not many votes.  You guys have better options.

Delany:  I added Nebraska and Mike added Texas A&M and Missouri.  That gives us 26 states though I’d say our hold on Texas, Georgia and Florida is tenuous.

Scott turns to Slive: Can you make A&M look good this year?  Whatever we can do to make the Longhorns look bad should help us get them in line.

Slive:  I see you still hold a bit of a grudge but it’s doable.  Saban owes me big time but we still need more votes. *He looks at Delany and smiles* You get Rutgers.

Delany: Fuck that!  I crawled out of that hell hole as a boy and said I was never going back.

Slive:  Do you remember remember Missouri?  *Slive laughs* I can sweeten the deal to give you your alma mater North Carolina too.

Delany:  Don’t you think I haven’t already tried?

Slive: How about this?  You take Rutgers and Maryland.  I’ll follow by taking NC State and Virginia Tech which will cripple the ACC.  You should then be able to easily get Virginia and your precious, North Carolina.  It even fits with your CIC BS of wanting only AAU members.

Delany brightens: That might work.  I’ll do it.

Scott pats them both on the back:  That’s great.  That will give us 30 states.  We will even be filibuster proof.

The three begin to laugh maniacally.

Delany: Then can I have Notre Dame?  I’ll take Georgia Tech too to ensure our hold on that state.

Scott and Slive at the same time: Only if I can have Texas……. 

**shouting ensues**

….. to be continued …..

Have we missed anyone in the Buckeye Ring of Honor?

Any fan of Ohio State that has been to the stadium notices the names surrounding the field below C deck.  These are the players and coaches who have been inducted into the Ring of Honor.  As of this writing they are:

Chic Harley (47)
Vic Janowicz (31)
Hopalong Cassidy (40)
Archie Griffin (45)
Les Horvath (22)
Eddie George (27)
Bill Willis (99)

To these, the names of 2 Hall of Fame coaches have been added:

Paul Brown
Woody Hayes

Last year Gene Smith announced the school would no longer retire jerseys as there are too many people that need to be honored and not enough numbers. That is a smart policy and frankly I think they should 'unretire' the above but only give out sparingly (more on the later).

This has opened the field to see if any players have been ignored as this practice started in the 1990s and memories are short. I put together a list of names I think should be considered:

Wes Fesler - 3 time All American led the powerful Ohio State teams of the late 1920s and an All-American in Basketball in the 1930-31 season. He probably won't ever be considered because the way his coaching career ended at Ohio State. He led the school to their first Rose Bowl victory after the 1949 season but left the school in ignominy after the upset at the hands of Michigan in the 1950 Snow Bowl.

Gomer Jones - The linchpin on both the offensive line and the defense at middle linebacker of teams that routinely beat that team up north in 1934-36. Twice named All American, his teams cemented Ohio's love of the Buckeyes and set the stage for college football's greatest rivalry (started as the last game in 1934). Asst Coach at both Ohio State and Oklahoma before transitioning to Athletic Director at Oklahoma.

Don Scott - He was the quarterback in the single wing for the 1939-40 teams and named All American both years. He died in a training accident in World War Two and the school named their airport after him.

**** Note - College players went both ways from 1954-1964

Jim Parker - Parker was a unanimous All America selection in 1955-56 and won the Outland Trophy in 1956. That year Parker himself finished eighth in the Heisman vote. 8 time Pro Bowler in the NFL and many consider him the best linemen ever.

Jim Houston - All American and team captain that played both ways (end/linebacker) in 1958-59 and named team MVP both years. Played for the Browns in the NFL and named to the Pro Bowl 4 times as a linebacker.

Bob Ferguson - One of the best fullbacks in Ohio State history. Led the team's rushing attack that position from 1959 to 1961 and finished with the 2nd highest rushing total to that point. He was named Team MVP in 1960-61, All American both years, and finished second in the voting to Ernie Davis in a vote that some feel was making up for Davis' snub the previous 2 years.

Jim Stillwagon - Stillwagon was a three-year starter with the Ohio State Buckeyes from 1968 - 1970. He was a consensus All-America selection as a junior and senior, and won the Outland Trophy and was the first-ever winner of the Lombardi Award. He also won the 1970 UPI Lineman of the Year.

John Hicks - During Hicks' three years, Ohio State posted a 28-3-1 record, and each year (he missed the 1971 season with a knee injury), Ohio State won the Big Ten Championship and went to the Rose Bowl, making Hicks the first person from OSU to play in three Rose Bowls. Was named All American/All Big Ten in 1972-73. Hicks won the Lombardi Award as the nation's most outstanding lineman and the Outland Trophy as the nation's best interior lineman in 1973 along with being named 2nd in Heisman voting.

Randy Gradishar - Started a trend of Linebacker U that continues to this day. Twice All American in 1972-73, Woody Hayes called him 'the best linebacker I ever coached'. Went to the NFL and was a perennial All Pro and already in the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame.

Chris Spielman - He was a two-time All-American, intercepted 11 passes, and won the Lombardi Award as the best college football lineman or linebacker in 1986. In the NFL he played for 12 seasons and still leads the Lions as in career tackles.

Mike Vrabel - Two Time Defensive Lineman of the year in the Big Ten and All American in 1995-96. Followed that with a productive NFL career and now is an assistant coach at Ohio State.

Orlando Pace - Two time Outland Trophy winner in 1995 and the best linemen I've ever seen in person.

Antoine Winfield - A homer pick on my part but I love this guy. Two time All American in 1997-98 and still making hits in the NFL after a dozen years in the league.

Mike Doss - Three time All American and an all time hero to Buckeye Nation when we returned for his senior season to lead the team to a national championship in 2002.

AJ Hawk - Twice All American at Middle Linebacker in 2004-05. Now in the NFL for the Packers.

James Laurenitis - Three time All American at Middle Linebacker from 2006-08 and Pro Bowler in the NFL.

Troy Smith - Won the Heisman in 2006 and almost led the Buckeyes to a national championship. There are rumors there are rifts between Smith and the school which need healing before this will ever happen.

Jim Tressel - It will take a few years but he belongs up there with the other two coaches that won national titles. I hope it happens before 2020 but I know some still hold a grudge.

People left off the list - Cris Carter, Art Schlitchter for off the field reasons. I'd love to include both but they had incidents after their OSU careers ended that make it impossible for them to be put in the highest honor at the school. I'd be ok with Carter getting in. As much as I loved Art as a kid there's no way it will ever happen.

Post note - I'd love for certain numbers to be permanently retired as a nod to the past and given to deserving players in their junior/senior years.  Only the best would get them after proving their worth.

Quarterback - 10 for the last two National championships - Rex Kern and Troy Smith
Running back - 27 / 45 / 31 / 22 / 47 - Already retired and used on a rotating basis
Wide Receiver - open
Lineman - 75 - Orlando Pace's number
Defensive Line - 99 - Already retired for Willis
Linebacker - 36 for Spielman among others
Corner - 11 for Winfield though there are others like Springs, Gamble, Jenkins, that would work.
Safety - 2 for Doss

This would replace the retirement process and allow older numbers to be reserved/honored.

Great recruiting class–What’s next

It’s always great to finish off a recruiting class strong and the next question the coaches need to figure out is what do we need next year.  I’d bet they already know this but I thought I’d give it a quick shot.  Here’s our current list of scholarships:

Current Roster (Already Enrolled) – 63 (5 Early Enrolled)

QB (4) – B.Miller (Jr.), K.Guiton (Sr.), C.Jones (rFr.), J.Barrett (Fr.)
RB (5) – C.Hyde (Sr.), J.Hall (rSr.), R.Smith (rJr.), B.Dunn (So.), W.Ball (rFr.)
FB (0)
WR (6) – C.Brown (Sr.), D. Smith (Jr.), E.Spencer (Jr.), M.Thomas (So.), C.Fields (Sr.), F.Epitropolous (rFr.)
TE (3) – J.Heuerman (Jr.), N.Vannett (rSo.), B.Thomas (rFr.)
OL (12) –J.Mewhort (rSr.), A.Norwell (Sr.), C.Linsley (rSr.), M.Hall (rSr.), T.Decker (So.), K.Dodson (rFr.), A.Underwood (Jr.), J.Boren (So.), C.Farris (rSo.), D.Baldwin (rJr.), P.Elflein (rFr.), T. Brown (rSo.)
LEO (3) – N.Spence (So.), S.Miller (Jr.), T.Lewis (Fr.)
DT (4) – M.Bennett (Jr.), J.Hale (Jr.), T.Schutt (So.), C.Carter (rSo.)
SSE (4)- A.Washington (So.), J.Moore (rJr.), S.Pittman (rFr.), T.Sprinkle (Fr.)
LB (7) – R.Shazier (Jr.), J.Perry (So.), C.Williams (So.), D.Perkins (So.), J.Marcus (So.), C.Grant (Jr.), L.Roberts (rFr.)
CB (7) – B.Roby (rJr.), D.Grant (Jr.), A.Griffin (rJr.), A.Reeves (So.), N.Murray (So.), E.Apple (Fr.), C.Burrows (Fr.)
S (6) – C.Barnett (Sr.), C.Bryant (Sr.), C.Brown (Sr.), D.Bogard (So.), R.Tanner (rSo.), T.Powell (So.)

K (1) – D.Basil (Sr.)
P (0)
LS (1) –  B.Haynes (rSo.)

Incoming Freshmen (Not Enrolled) – 19

QB (0)
RB (1) – E.Elliott
FB (0)
WR (4) – J.Marshall, C. Smith, J. Clark, D. Wilson
TE (1) – M.Baugh
OL (2) – E.Lisle, T.Gardner
LEO (0) –
DT (3) – M.Hill, B.Price, D.Munger
SSE (1) – J.Bosa
LB (2) – M.Mitchell, T.Johnson
CB (1) – G.Conley
S (3) – J.Thompson, D.Lee, C.Worley, V. Bell
K (0)
P (0)
LS (0)

P (1) – J Townsend (one player currently enrolled will drop out to make room for him)

Here’s what I expect to lose by position:

QB (1)
RB (2)
WR (2)
TE (0)
OL (4)
LEO (0)
DT (0)
SSE (0)
LB (1)
CB (1)
S (3)
K (1)
P (0)
LS (0)

That’s 15 recruits and that’s assuming both Roby and Shazier leave early.   That’s means they will need to be very picky this year.  I’d expect a recruiting class of about 20 as some kids will leave school to various issues including playing time.  This is what I’d expect next year:

QB (1)
RB (1)
WR (2)
TE (1)
OL (4)
LEO (1)
DT (1)
SSE (1)
LB (1)
CB (2)
S (2)
K (1)
P (0)
LS (0)

That’s 18 with the extras mostly on the defensive line as we have no seniors.  I could see them take a few less defensive backs but they are important on special teams.  After that it is just a matter of what players are making progress letting the coaches focus on other positions for 2014 when the sanctions come off and which players leave the school.

One other thing that is obvious is the 2014 team is going to be stacked if the younger players step up on the offensive line and at running back.  If Roby and Shazier come back the defensive will be nasty.

College football alignment–2 years from now

 

Something I spoke about back in 2010 was a fair solution to college football.  I split the country into 5 quadrants and created 12 team leagues with another 12 teams set up as the lower division.  The thought was to create a ‘socialist’ version of college football where everyone is included but the best teams would play one another.

This will never happen because there is no reason the have’s need to share with the ‘have-nots’.  What has happened since then has proven this thought as the Big 5 have fleeced the other conferences for their best teams.  Trying to predict how college football will look in 5 years is still a fun exercise and I thought I’d take a look at something similar using the changes from the last year.

Current members are in black, teams leaving are in red, and teams joining are in blue.

If there is one guarantee it is the above will not happen exactly as I have it.  It is not out of the realm of possibility that something like this will occur.  The reason is the Big Ten’s drive to add additional markets and the SEC moves to block.  It is also in the Big 12’s interest to expand by at least two teams so they can have a championship game.  Here’s how I see something like the above happening.

The B1G added two teams in the ACC – Virginia and Georgia Tech.  That move encourages the Big 12 to move on Clemson and Florida State who they’ve coveted since last summer.  The SEC moves into the ACC and grabs a North Carolina team along with Virginia Tech expanding their footprint (I used NC St as I think NC would prefer the B1G if they have to join another conference).  When one of the North Carolina schools leaves the ACC it will be the death knell of the conference and all schools will be looking for options.  The Big Ten will pick up North Carolina and Notre Dame will finally join the league (though the B12 is a option as many of their fans do not want to join the B1G).  The Big 12 has a few options and can remain at 12 teams or add markets like BYU, Miami, Wake Forest, and Louisville (if I had to guess I ‘d say yes to the first two and no to the last two).  The SEC can stand pat or go pick up the remaining worthwhile teams in the East of Syracuse and Pitt (which I doubt).

I have looked at the numbers in the past and most of these moves don’t makes sense, especially for big schools like Ohio State.  The issue is Delany is looking 40 years down the line and I’m sure his numbers take many things into account I haven’t considered.  Like 2010, the Big Ten will be the catalyst for further change in there bid for growing markets.  It is possble the Big 12 will move first as they do need to get to 12 teams but Florida State is waiting to see how the Maryland exit fee works before they do anything.  It is possible that Georgia Tech and Virginia are waiting on the same thing so once that ruling happens things may move fast..

It should be interesting…..

** – If you are wondering how the B1G will be able to compete with an 18 team conference it will be pretty simple.The teams are separated into East and West and there will be no conference games played between the divisions.  Teams like Michigan are able to schedule games with teams like Notre Dame but it will be the same as a non-conference game.  I like this solution as with 9 teams it allows an 8 game division schedule and great flexibility for the other 4 games.

Revisiting John Cooper

Everyone needs a hobby and one poster on the forums continual rant is that Jim Tressel was a terrible recruiter and the only reason he won a national championship is because John Cooper left him talent.  He continually raves about Cooper and tells everyone that we need to look past his record vs Michigan.  The reason for his ranting is that he believes that Urban Meyer is going to dominant and combine the recruiting of Cooper with the ability to use it.

I love this guy’s enthusiasm about the future but I hate it when we feel the need to tear down others to make ourselves feel better about the future.  I decided to look at some of the facts.

I got out my handy recruiting database and value any recruit since 1968 on a scale based on where they were recruited.  The first pick is worth 250 pts decreasing by one to the 250th pick.  The reason I used 250 is that today’s drafts around that number and it equalizes the days when the NFL had 26 teams and the draft had 17 rounds.


A few points of note:

• The numbers do no match recruiting class as that would have taken too much time. I used the NFL draft and backdated 4 years. I looked at the 2004 class and only Chris Gamble was a Tressel recruit.
• In 1988, college football players started leaving after their 3rd year of school though it is rare and because this is about Cooper/Tressel I checked 2004.
• Redshirting allows players an extra year of college which affects this slightly. 
• Earle Bruce’s 1979 to 1982 classes were affected by the USFL as if it didn’t exist, the number of players drafted would have been better than the above.

John Cooper had many great drafts and based on the numbers, he recruited as any program in the county.  During the time period I studied, USC averaged 894.  Jim Tressel wasn’t too bad during his tenure as he averaged 769 which is better than the second place team during the period (Miami-FL) which averaged 707.  Ohio State was 3rd at 692.

Based on the numbers it is safe to say that both Cooper and Tressel recruited very well during there tenure and Tressel did more once the kids got to school.  As a point of comparison, Urban Meyer’s 2005-2008 classes at Florida has averaged 734.  For what it is worth, both Tressel and Meyer have two years left until their kids are gone from Ohio State/Florida respectively.

I personally respect the job that Cooper did and know better than most just how close he was to being an all-time great.  He should have won at least 4 more Michigan games (at a minimum 1990,1992,1996,1997) and if that happened he finished at 6-6 and his reputation much better.  If only it were true.

I hope Urban Meyer is successful and the results of the last season back that up and there’s no reason to believe it is an anomaly.  That should not diminish Jim Tressel’s era as his recruiting was top notch and we were lucky to have him.

The BEast is dead.

The Big East is dead.  Thank God or more precisely, thank the basketball schools.  This league was founded as a basketball league but slowly morphed into a hybrid of basketball only and BCS schools.  The basketball schools pulled out leaving behind a weird mix of schools that all joined in hopes of getting BCS money.

The league died as a real football conference 10 years ago when Miami, Boston College and Virginia Tech decided to leave for the ACC and you could make an argument that this was inevitable ever since the basketball schools voted against Penn State’s entry in 1987.  The only reason the league kept their BCS status was politics allowed it.  This caused more schools to ask for a greater share of the pie and the ultimate result is the bowl system that shuts the door in 2014.

The Big East caused more damage to college sports than the SEC or the B1G combined.  I’m sure apologists would disagree but the basketball-only schools were tired of the revolving door as the basketball product was becoming a joke.  Replacing Syracuse, Pitt, and West Virginia with South Florida, Tulane and East Carolina was going to reduce revenues for them.  While the football schools held the league hostage to BCS money, it is ironic that the final straw that killed the league was the threat to basketball revenue.  Things had come full circle.

The Big East was the inspiration for the Boise State’s, Cincinnati, and Temple’s of the world that they could make the move from non-BCS status of $100,000 a year and start getting BCS money which is close to $2,000,000 (for an 8 team Big East).  With that came the hope of television revenue even if they had to play most of their games on Monday - Friday.

Football money is fools gold for most athletic departments.  Only 6 of the 65 schools in the BCS make money from college sports.  Revenues at these schools are dependent on 3 things, ticket sales, tv revenue, and bowl money.  The B1G gives it's members about $30-$40 million per year.  In comparison the number is between $1-2 million for schools outside of the BCS.  With that level of revenue, schools depend on donations, student fees, and general fund allocations (ie – state money that comes from taxes) to make up the difference.  As schools ‘invested’ to get to BCS status, costs escalated.  The USA Today has an annual database of information that shows just how bad this has gotten in recent years.  This is just a sample:


As you can see, the expenses of the average school in the sample rose by $13 million in the last 5 years.  Taxes and student fees rose by $5 million to help offset it as ticket sales, donations and TV revenue only rose by $8 million.  Most of the increase came from the increase in coaches salaries and buildings (almost $10 million combined).  Compare the numbers to Ohio State and you can see these schools aren’t even in the same ballpark and never will be.

Rutger’s gamble paid off as they will soon be getting an extra $30 million in the B1G (paid for by their cable subscribers).  East Carolina, Boise State, and Cincinnati are left scrambling for a league and will most likely end up where they started.
 
Maybe now that this has happened, sanity will return to college athletics and all schools will start to face their real issues.

Ohio State - Michigan : Same Division!

I was inspired this morning when I saw that the celebration for the 12-0 Buckeye football team was only 2/3 full when the press had stated it was sold out earlier this week.  I was thinking of taking my niece and nephew to it but didn't bother when I saw it was sold out.  I'm sure that happened to many others as well.

My anger of this issue led me to the thought that Gene Smith really needs a better publicist and as I thought that four words popped into my head.  I realized Gene doesn't need a publicist he just needs to go public with four little words and all would be forgiven.

Ohio State - Michigan: Same Division!

Gene needs to be seen leading the fight to make this happen and we wouldn't care about the past as the future would be bright.  Here's my open letter to Gene:

Do you remember when you said you felt very strongly that Ohio State's self accessed penalties were appropriate and if the NCAA felt different you would fight them? Do you remember when you caved when the NCAA made their announcement? Of course you do.

How about when Jim Delany came out and said Ohio State / Michigan were going to be moved into separate divisions and The Game would be moved. You abdicated before the fight even occurred. We forced you to keep The Game where it was.

Despite all evidence to the contrary I know you aren't stupid. I'm sure there is a lot more to these stories than can be said in the public. The issue is you've lost all credibility with Buckeye Nation but the good news is you have a great opportunity to get it back by publicly standing up to Jim Delany and saying four little words.

Ohio State - Michigan : Same Divsion!

Let's look at other rivalries and see how they've fared lately:

Alabama-Auburn: Same division - No change
USC - UCLA: Same division - No change
Oregon - Oregon State: Same division - No change
Texas - Oklahoma: Same divisison - No change

Oklahoma - Nebraska: Different divisions - Nebraska left the league
Miami - Florida St: Different divisions - Fl St is thinking of leaving the ACC

I know you guys dream of an OSU-UM rematch championship game but as Stanford-UCLA and Alabama-LSU proved in the last year, the public isn't very interested in rematches. What is also apparent is a B1G championship game without either Ohio State or Michigan is a ratings disaster and poorly attended. Do you know how to make it more likely one of them is in the game? Put them in the same division!

You can have expansion and hold on to your traditions. Buckeye Nation doesn't care what teams are in their division as long as one of them is Michigan. We'd gladly sacrifice a yearly matchup with Penn State to make this happen though I'm not sure why you'd want to do that. I'd think sending your top three media draws into the 1st and 4th media markets every year would make a lot of sense.

OSU/UM/PSU/MD/Rutgers: That's 5 teams for the EAST division. Fill in the rest with whomever else you'd like. We don't care.

Decisions are being made right now determine the divisional lineup and who knows if there is going to be another chance to fix this. We need to know our athletic director understands what is important. Ohio State and Michigan made this league and our athletic director needs to say it loud and proud.

Win us back Gene! All you have to do is publicly announce is that you are going to Chicago to make our case. Use every bit of political power that being the leader of the most popular (and hated) football team in America can wield. Just make it happen.

Ohio State - Michigan : Same Division!

BCS Bowl Chaos & the non-BCS league dilemma

Yesterday the internet exploded when traditional powers Georgia and Oklahoma were excluded from the BCS to let in MAC champion Northern Illinois.  Here’s the matchup’s that set up the furor:

Champion: Notre Dame vs. Alabama

Rose Bowl: Wisconsin vs. Stanford

Fiesta Bowl: Oregon vs. Kansas State

Sugar Bowl: Florida vs. Louisville

Orange Bowl: Northern Illinois vs. Florida State

The Championship game and the Fiesta bowl look like good matchups but the other three appear to be mismatches.  I expect ratings to be as bad as last year which is what led the Presidents/ADs to finally allow a playoff.  One of the reasons for the uproar is the Final BCS standings:

1  Notre Dame (1st at large)
2  Alabama (SEC Champ)
3  Florida (2nd at large)
4  Oregon (3rd at large)
5  Kansas State (B12 Champ)
6  Stanford (Pac 12 Champ)
7  Georgia
8  LSU
9  Texas A&M
10 South Carolina
11 Oklahoma
12 Florida State (ACC Champ)
13 Oregon State
14 Clemson
15 Northern Illinois (Small school qualifier)
16 Nebraska

The Big Ten champ Wisconsin was 26th and the Big East champ Louisville was 21st in the final standings. 

4 teams ranked higher than 12 are in a BCS game.  When you consider that 10 teams make it into the BCS fans have a right to feel upset.  SEC fans feel they should have at least 1 more team but there is a rule that a conference can only have two participants.  One complication that hasn’t happened since 2007 is Notre Dame had a good year they took one at large position.  Then there is the weak champions from the ACC, B1G, and Big East.  The most controversial entrant is Northern Illinois who got in using the rule that Utah/TCU/Boise State’s success created.  All these schools are now in BCS conferences but it was created to forestall government intervention into the bowl system.  It guarantees one small school from a non-BCS conference a spot if they meet 2 rules: the team is ranked better than 16 and the team is ranked ahead of two BCS champions.  Northern Illinois met this and they had to be given a spot.

Someone on the O-Zone made the comment that the NCAA caused their own mess.  By penalizing Ohio State and Penn State they weakened the B1G to the point that gave a 3rd place Wisconsin a spot in the B1G championship game.  If neither is penalized then the game features an undefeated Ohio State or a 2 loss (at most) Penn State vs Nebraska.  Both teams would have been ranked in the top 10 as would the winner of the championship game.  The matchups would look something like:

Ohio State vs Notre Dame
Alabama vs Stanford
Florida vs Oregon
Oklahoma vs Florida St
Kansas St vs Louisville

Even if Penn State or Nebraska won it would have looked something like this:

Notre Dame vs Alabama
Stanford vs Penn St/Nebraska
Florida vs Oregon
Oklahoma vs Florida St
Kansas St vs Louisville

Television would have loved these matchups and ratings would have set records.  It’s really too bad as I’m only looking forward to the Rose Bowl and the BCS game right now.  We are stuck with this system for another year and then the bowls will be allowed to pick whomever they choose and not be beholden to rules that don’t work.

Sports Illustrated did a mock with a bunch of people that would make up the selection committee and the discussion was much different than I expected.  Polls and computer rankings were used but who is playing the best at the end of the year and gut feeling also played a part.  It was an interesting look at the troubles facing this committee in a year I thought would be easy but after looking closer it isn’t.  Notre Dame, Alabama, Stanford, and Kansas St. are the obvious subjects with 3 conference champs and 1 at large but Florida and Oregon are difficult to ignore.  The consensus from the men in the mock was that they need to expand it to 8 which is the best solution in my opinion.  An eight team playoff would have the six I mentioned and then it would depend on how they set it up.  If you go with five automatic qualifiers then Florida State and Wisconsin would be included.  Otherwise it would probably be Georgia and Oklahoma (no way they let 4 SEC teams in the playoff).

The new system is set up to put the major conferences into major bowls but the little guys are getting squeezed out of the picture.  That's why I hope the non-BCS qualifiers come to their senses and create their own system.  There is no doubt in my mind that when college football switches to a system where the bowls can get whoever they want the matchups will always exclude the small schools.  There is talk of adding a 6th bowl to accommodate them but that is a bit funny since that is the same reason they added the 5th game.

The system for the future is taking shape but what about the small schools that are getting shut out in 2014?

In my opinion they should try for is a payout double to what they get now (approx. $100,000 per school) plus a guarantee that if they are in the top 6 AP/Coaches poll they will be included in the playoff.  The sad truth for many of these schools is even if they go get to a major bowl they lose money because of ticket guarantees they can’t meet (UConn lost $2million to go to the Fiesta Bowl).  Big schools are attractive for bowls because their fans travel and bring 20,000+ fans into the local economy and spend $1000 each on flights/hotel rooms/food/etc.  Small schools only benefit to bowls is in television and ESPN/Fox only pay top dollar for something that will attract viewers.  It is a situation begging for a small school playoff played at modest sized stadiums.

There are 6 small conferences right now though some might argue the ACC should be included:

Sunbelt
Conference USA
Big East
MidAmerican
Mountain West
Western Athletic

I was surprised on Saturday to find there was no big game until 5 pm.  The SEC is a 5pm game, the B1G was at 8PM, and so was the ACC.  The MAC and the Pac12 played on Friday night.  The leagues do this because I’m sure the networks have told them the ratings are better at those times.  The earlier games on Saturday were a mishmash of small schools and Big 12 games that no one cared about.   The small schools need to take advantage of this situation and give people quality football played between teams that are playing for something. 

It would be easy to convince the NCAA of an 8 team playoff for the small schools.  If the small schools agreed to this, the big schools would agree to most anything so they can avoid litigation and government interference.  It would be easy to accomplish as all they’d need to do is rank the teams and form playoff brackets with seeds 1-4 having first round home games.  The Big East and the MAC have gotten people used to watching them on Thursday so put one game there and other three on Saturday morning.  Stagger the Saturday starts so that the first begins at 11am and the last will end just before 5pm.  That allows everyone to watch the ending of every game.  The key is to hook them so they watch the bowl and championship game.  As the NCAA tournament has proved, people are more willing to watch if they know something about a team.

How would it look this year? (Team (Conference) – AP Rank)

N Illinois (MAC) – 16
Utah ST (WAC) – 18
Boise St (MWest) - 20
Louisville (Big East) - 22
San Jose St (At large) - 24
Kent St (At large) - 25
Arkansas St (Sunbelt) - 36
Tulsa (C-USA) – 38

The schools/conferences would make money on these home games and it would create interest for the winners in the semifinals which would be given a slot between Christmas and New Years with no competition (ideally a Saturday).  The losers could play in the Motor City Bowl, Las Vegas Bowl, or where ever they can negotiate.

It’s a win/win and whoever wins the championship will have something very special to celebrate.  If a team has continual success then perhaps a team will gain a following that the big bowls can’t ignore.

Maryland/Rutgers added to B1G –What does it mean?

Yesterday the Big Ten added a 13th member in Maryland and today will add Rutgers.  My first reaction was to get upset as the traditionalist in me hates expansion and what it will do to our traditional rivalries.  If you forget, 14 teams means we have two divisions of 7 and with a six game division schedule.  That leaves 2 games for interdivision and with one protected (Michigan), we will see the other teams in the division once every 6 years.  Even if they add another conference game we will only see teams like Nebraska and Iowa, once every 3 years.  Replacing more frequent matches against these teams with Rutgers and Maryland makes me sad and it is probably going to get worse as I don’t think it is done.

That leads to the question – Why is the Big Ten doing this?

The answer is easy.  Money.

I’m sure many people’s first reaction was …. Maryland? Rutgers? That’s stupid!

At first glance it seems like this as neither school has much of a football tradition.  Neither school sells out their stadium which are half the size of Ohio State’s.  What makes them more attractive than schools with more football history like Pitt, Syracuse, or West Virginia?

This addition isn’t exciting to football fans but college president love this for three reason: 1) TV market, 2) Political access and 3) Research.

1. TV Market – As I’ve written before there are two parts to the B1G fees. There’s the 1st tier games that will be broadcast nationally and 2nd tier that will be broadcast on BTN. 
• 1st tier - The B1G is renegotiating its TV contract for football and basketball and the recent trend is to sign them for 15 years. That’s a long time and the B1G needs to do whatever possible to be attractive to Fox/ESPN/CBS/etc.  Adding teams near the big markets of New York, Washington DC, and Baltimore makes the league more attractive.  It wouldn’t shock me to hear that the TV networks have pushed for this because they know these markets are untapped.
• 2nd tier – The B1G charges $.10 to cable companies in states without a B1G team and $1.10 for states with a B1G team.  These schools are surrounded by huge populations.
• The odds are pretty good that the B1G will be added to basic in Maryland because of the popularity of Terrapin basketball.  At an estimate of 2 million households that’s an extra $2 million PER MONTH.  That alone pays for Maryland’s entry.
• It’s trickier in Rutgers as the pull for that school isn’t great in New York.  The interesting thing is Fox just bought YES which broadcasts the Yankees.  Fox is the majority owner of the BTN and it isn’t a huge stretch to see them pair the two to force New York cable companies to buy the Big Ten Network as well.
2. Political Access – One thing that was mentioned yesterday was that the Big Ten is opening an East Coast office to support the schools in this area.  The location is going to be interesting and will tell volumes of what the league expects from this office. 
• Philadelphia – The midpoint of the three eastern teams is Philadelphia.  This happens to be the hometown of Comcast which is the largest cable provider in the country. 
• Washington DC – Maryland is close to these schools but if they locate here I’d expect it to be a lobbying office which I will get into more in point #3.
• New York – The media companies all have a strong presense here and the home of ESPN (Bristol, Conn) is right up the road.
• Other – I doubt it would be located somewhere else but if the B1G expands elsewhere in the east it could affect the location.
3. Research –
• It is no secret that research departments are going to experience a period of reduced budgets.  Federal and state governments are deep in debt and have to make cutbacks.  That means schools will have to do more with less and cooperation with organizations like the Big Ten’s CIC will be more important.
• I touched on a secondary consideration in point #2.  If the B1G opens their branch in Washington it would be a great place to work on lobbying the government for additional dollars.  It can’t hurt the league to have a presence at the major universities in the states of New Jersey and Maryland.  The political votes in two heavily populated states help too.
• 10 of the current B1G members are ranked in the top 55 of research spending.  Maryland is 39th and Rutgers is 57th.  This represents almost a quarter of the top 50 research universities and the fact they work together means makes them an attractive destination for funds.
4. Olympic sports - The Big Ten has 12 of the top 48 in the Director’s cup standings which measures overall program success (Ohio State is the highest at #4).  Maryland is 27th and Rutgers is 111th.  Both programs have certain programs where they excel but Rutgers is definitely is a dog in this regard but they have lots of potential.
5. Fertile recruiting grounds – Something that I mentioned yesterday on the Ozone forums which Gerd copied and a few other Buckeye columnists copied (/pat-myself-on-the-back).
• 2013 3+ Star recruits per 247 / Rivals
• Maryland - 46 / 35
• New Jersey - 41 / 33
• Indiana - 26 / 26
• Illinois - 36 / 37
• Wisconsin - 9 / 14
• Minnesota - 5 / 5
• Michigan - 32 / 34
• Pennsylvania - 39 / 33
• Iowa - 6 / 6
• Nebraska - 3 / 4
• Ohio - 80 / 91
• The population that runs through New York, New Jersey, Maryland, N Virginia, and E Pennsylvania is one of the largest in the world.  The colleges in this area are mostly private and have de-emphasized scholarship sports.  Rutgers changed this trend in the early 1990s but still have a long ways to go.  The key for B1G schools is they can recruit the east coast and tell parents they can not only see their kids on TV but now see them in person.

The overriding theme in every one of these points is that by adding these two schools you lock down more of the country than you would with many other more successful programs.

• There are many ways to look at areas with the propensity to support a football team but the best is possibly to look at the NFL.
• Currently the B1G has Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, Indianapolis, Chicago, Green Bay, St. Louis and Kansas City.
• Adding these two teams is like adding Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore, and Washington.
• If the NCAA ever consolidates to make a league like the NFL they’ve already locked down these markets.
• As a side note, Syracuse and Boston College makes some sense to get Buffalo/New England but I’m not sure either make sense academically and no other schools are much better.
• To the south Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia Tech only add Atlanta and Carolina which would be split with other schools.

In essence, these two schools have the greatest potential to lock down more fans and biggest payback for the Big Ten that are also great research institutions and close to the financial, media, and political power in the country.  That’s why the decision was made to add Rutgers and Maryland.  Only time will tell if it was a good one.

I"m so tired of the Gene Smith apologists

I'm talking about the people that say if we self accessed a bowl ban last year we would have gotten another year.  Here's an argument I've fought repeatedly:

I stipulate that Gene Smith is an idiot & should be fired. However, there was always going to be a 2012 bowl ban...There is nothing Smith could have done to prevent it...with the possible exception of banning Bobby Di from the program the day he (Smith) was hired.

My response:

You don't know this and it is most likely it would have been 1 yr. Why? USC got 2 years for LOIC. We were barely FtM.  The NCAA doesn't go against precedent and while Gene Smith thought there was no precedent for a 1 year ban there definitely wasn't precedent for a 2 year ban. They'd need a LOIC charge and that didn't happen.

His response:

You (and a lot of others don't get it). Ohio State was a REPEAT OFFENDER w/that FTM. The hammer was coming down. 

I clarified my statement as I hate getting into specifics with the NCAA as it always takes paragraphs and still isn't enough because all of their cases are messy.

The only case where a school got a two year ban without a LOIC was the Alabama Albert Means case in 2002.  If you don't remember that's where it was proven that multiple Alabama boosters were giving money to Alabama recruits a few years after they'd been caught doing the same thing in the mid 90s.  The only thing that saved the school was the NCAA couldn't prove a direct link to the school in directing the payments.  That saved them from a LOIC but the NCAA charged them similarly.

 Ohio State's football program was only repeat offender because an individual football case that was promptly dealt with (Troy Smith's $500 payout) was included with the O'Brien's scandal.  The Compliance Group felt the football program would be exempt from repeat violator penalties because cases against players are handled differently than cases against programs.   

Even though BobbyD gave us a FtM the two combined pale in comparison to Alabama's situation that was lucky to not get a LOIC.  You can look at the penalties to see how the NCAA viewed the severity.

• Alabama lost 21 scholarships and a two year bowl ban
• OSU lost 9 scholarships and a one year bowl ban. 

Are we to believe that because we self imposed a bowl ban last season that the NCAA would have upped the bowl ban out of spite?  The scholarships give a clue about how the NCAA felt about the severity of the two cases and they just don't arbitrarily give longer sentences because we proactively gave ourselves a bowl ban during a bad season and they didn't feel it was harsh enough.  It would create precedent they'd need to live with forever.

A good example is the USC situation.  They took 2 years pre-emptively while protesting the scholarship reduction.  This season they are bowling while the scholarship reductions started this year.

I understand people wanting to believe this as they want to see the NCAA as an arbitrary monster that needs to be struck down. It is really a bunch of lawyers using a set of overly complex rules to govern something that is impossible to govern.  They have little authority to actively police the schools and I'm sure they feel helpless at times.  College sports is tailor made for abuse and while the penalties can seem arbitrary when you look at case law there is precedent and a methodology for every thing they do. That leaves little room to give Ohio State another year 'just cause they felt like it'.

A crazy thought on Braxton Miller

Braxton Miller is the main reason Ohio State is 9-0 right now mostly by using his legs.  Here are his stats on the year:

Rushing 166-1093 yds, 12 TDS, 6.6 ypc
Passing 112-198, 12 TDs 6 Int’s, 135.3 rating

He’s being considered for the Heisman and most likely will be in attendence but lose out to someone on a team eligible to play in a bowl.

After watching last night’s game I began to wonder if there were times where we were using him incorrectly and getting the most from this offense.  A case in point is almost the entirety of the first half.  Braxton made continual bad reads on the option and it seemed like he determined before the play what he was going to do. This was made worse by his continued struggles in the passing game.  He missed open receivers, didn’t go through his progressions and stayed in the pocket until it was too late to escape the pass rush. 

These issues are all common for a true sophomore quarterback and it is scary to think how good he could be by his senior year.  This season however we have the following situation:

Running: One of the top 5 in the country
Passing: Needs at least another year plus film study
Decision Making: Making the wrong call around half the time because the game is still moving too fast
Pocket Presence: Poor
Receiving: Unknown

Looking at that you might think I’m not a fan of Braxton and I want to reiterate that this is a situation where he’s just young.  It does make me wonder if there is another option.  One that utilzes Braxton’s main talent of running the ball and hides his deficiencies in passing and decision making.

The inclusion of receiving on the list above gives away my ‘crazy solution’.  Move him into Corey Brown’s spot and Kenny Guiton to quarterback.

Not on every play as it would be crazy but I’d love to see this for a few series/plays a game.  Corey Brown has the surest hands on the team and we don’t want to lose him.  Saying that, I’d love to see how the offense works with Kenny making the decisions/passes with Braxton in the slot.  Every play he’d go in motion behind the line with Devin Smith releasing downfield.  Based on keys Guiton could 1)hand off to Braxton if they bunch up the middle, 2) hand off to Hyde if the middle is open, or 3) pass it to Devin Smith or a releasing tight end if there’s a favorable matchup.  There are many variation off of the play and I know it sounds crazy but it wouldn’t shock me to see something like this at Michigan.

Ohio State vs. the top 25

I was looking at the top 25 and thinking there are a lot of teams behind the Buckeyes that are better due to the current state of our defense.  This team has obvious issues vs the spread offense due to their lack of playmakers at linebacker and safety so I thought it might be fun to predict how the team would do against the rest of the top 25.

L  Alabama Crimson Tide – We’d do better than Michigan but not by much
L  Oregon Ducks – The defense would struggle to stop them
-   Florida Gators – I think we could hang with them as they played the same D last year and our O is better
W Kansas St. Wildcats – Snyder is a miracle worker but we win this one
L  Notre Dame Fighting Irish – Their D could stop us which would let them score enough to win
L  LSU Tigers – This is mainly on reputation as I’m not convinced yet that this team is for real
L  South Carolina Gamecocks – See LSU
W Oregon St. Beavers  - I don’t see it happening
L   Oklahoma Sooners They have the offensive firepower to beat us
-    Ohio St. Buckeyes – This would be a tie but a high scoring tie
-    Florida St. Seminoles – It depends on which Seminole team shows up.
L   USC Trojans This is a talented team and USC always shows up for the big games
L   Georgia Bulldogs – This is a talented team that seems to choke.  Cooperesque.
W  Mississippi St. Bulldogs -  I refuse to believe the 6th best team in the SEC is better than the Buckeyes
W  Louisville Cardinals – Big East teams are always overrated due to their schedule
-    Clemson Tigers – Boyd might win this game
-    West Virginia Mountaineers – Whoever scores last gets the Heisman
W    Texas Tech Red Raiders – Based mainly on their win vs West Virginia.  They won’t finish this high.
W    Rutgers Scarlet Knights - See Louisville
W    Texas A&M Aggies   - This is a decent team but not enough on offense to beat the Buckeyes
W    Cincinnati Bearcats  - See Louisville
W    Stanford Cardinal -
W    Ohio Bobcats – They might pull an upset but I doubt it
W    TCU Horned Frogs – They just lost their best player on offense.
-     Michigan Wolverines – This is always a tough game and Denard vs this Defense is scary.

I didn’t put a ton of thought into it and if I cared enough I would have looked at the stats for each team and offensive philosophies.  My guess is our record would be 11-8-6 vs the top 25.  Before the season I would have taken a team that good in a second. I just didn’t think the thing holding us back would be our defense.

We don’t deserve to go any higher until the defense puts back to back decent performances together.  Which I can’t imagine is going to happen based on what I’ve seen so far this season.

Buckeye defensive woes continue

Last night the Buckeyes defensive issues continued in a 52-49 win over Indiana.  The high score is a bit amazing and even more so when you consider the score was 10-14 with 5 minutes left in the first half.  That means the score was 42-35 in a little more than a half.  Good offense but really bad defense.

The game wasn't as close as the final score as the defense has some huge mental breakdowns late in the game.  It is troubling though that the defense continues to give up big plays so I decided to watch the game in slow motion to see what is causing it.

1st quarter - 2 minutes left - OSU 10-Indiana 0 - Indiana on their 41 yard line (59 yd run)

Indiana lined up in the shotgun with one man in the backfield, a tight end to the short side and 3 receivers split to the wide side.   The play was a simple handoff left designed to go the short side between Left Guard and Tackle.  The Buckeye defense line was Simon on the Right side (from the Indiana point of view), Hale at right tackle, Goebells at left tackle and Spence at left end.  The line double teamed Hale and did straight up blocking on the rest of the left side.  The Indiana left tackle pushed Goebells back and the tight end destroyed Spence.  As Ohio State didn't put anyone over the Indiana right guard, the line call pulled the guard into the designed hole.

The odd thing is as the right side was overloaded with 3 receivers, one safety and the nickel back shifted to line up over them.  In addition, the other safety (Bryant) lined up as if he was covering the deep right half on the right side as well.  The way the safeties lined up, the left corner (Roby) seemed to have responsibility for the left half of the field but he was lined up as if he was covering the short zone and expecting help from deep middle.

When the running back hit the hole, Goebbels was blocked and Spence was blocked.  Shazier filled the hole but didn't see the guard coming who kicked him out and the running back ran inside him.  , Roby attempted to get there but the play was too far inside for him to close.  It fell to Bryant who was 15 yards off the ball and beyond the right hash and he barely made it into the television screen as the running back raced for a score.

 I think the blame for the big play falls on Bryant who seems like he was out of position and took a bad read.  Certainly credit has to goto the Indiana offense who executed the play well for a touchdown.

1st Quarter - 30 seconds left - OSU 10 - Indiana 7 - Ohio State punt (blocked)

Camren Williams misread the play and helped Boren double team to his right while the guy to his left ran in unblocked.  Indiana also lined up one more person wide to the right than we had blockers and he would have had a good shot at making a block even if Williams man didn't get there first.  That may have been Williams issue.  It seems he assumed that everyone would shift over a man which is why he blocked the way he did.

 Part of the issue is the Buckeye are sending 5 men sprinting downfield to cover the punt (2 wide on each side and the long snapper) and when the other side only initially drops 4 for the return like Indiana did on this play you have 5 on 7 situation.

I'd say some of this is scheme and but the block probably wouldn't happen without Williams' misread.

2nd Quarter - 14:30 - OSU 10 - Indiana 7 - Indiana on OSU's 10 yard line (10 yard run)

Simple run to the right.  Boren blitzed from the left linebacker spot and Shazier moved into his position.  The Indiana tackle on that side did a nice job reading the play and after sealing Boren inside moved downfield to take both Bryant and Barnett out of the play.  Shazier took a bad angle and the running back run into the end zone untouched.

This seems to be on Shazier, Bryant and Barnett as they had 3 on 1 blocker and couldn't make a tackle. 

 3rd Quarter - 14:30 - OSU 24 - Indiana 14 - Indiana on their 35 yard line (40 yard pass)

This was a simple situation where Indiana's best receiver was matched up against Doran Grant, the backup cornerback and he couldn't make a play.  Howard got banged up in the first half and they put Grant in to start the 2nd but after this and a bad pass interference on the next play Howard came back in.  Indiana got 3 points out of this drive almost entirely because of Grant's mistakes.  That's not a good sign for next year when both starting cornerbacks will likely be gone.

3rd Quarter - 9:30 - OSU 31 - Indiana 17 - OSU on the Indiana 4 (Interception)

I'm including this because it was so frustrating based on what happened right after this.  A score and Indiana starts to quit.  The bad decision to throw the ball late off his back foot kept them in the game.

 3rd Quarter - 8:50 - OSU 31 - Indiana 17 - Indiana on their 26 (74 yard pass)

Storm Klein took his drop a bit too deep covering the inside receiver and let the middle receiver (Shane Wynn from Glenville who'd look great in Urban's offense) cut over the middle for an easy 6 yard curl.  The deep help on the other side of the field (Bryant) got caught up with the receiver running a hook pattern.  Wynn cut behind this block taking both Bryant and Klein out of the play.  At this point it was a sprint to the end zone.

Shazier might have had a chance to make a play but Roby was blitzing from the right side and Shazier had responsibility for short coverage on that side.  The blitz meant Bryant had play up closer as well.  If Klein were a bit fast or Shazier reacted quicker this would might have been stopped but the real key was the play call was perfect for the defense Ohio State ran. 

4th Quarter - 1:40 - OSU 52 - Indiana 41 - Indiana on the OSU 25 (25 yard pass)

After a really bad onside kick call by the refs, Indiana scored a few plays later.  They got a good rush with 4 defensive linemen and forced a shovel pass.    Zach Boren missed the tackle, Bryant took a bad angle, and Roby got caught on the wrong side of the receiver he was guarding who pushed him out of the play.

As I re-watched this there weren't as many big plays as I remembered.  That's actually bad because it means that Indiana was scheming us which would have taken way too long to review.  Kevin Wilson really had done a nice job with the talent at Indiana and I wonder if are going to make a push for the top half of the league in the future.

The players I am really liking on offense right now is Braxton, Corey (don't call me Philly) Brown,  Carlos Hyde, and Rod Smith.  I'm sure many would include Devin Smith as well but he's dropping too many easy passes right now.  The offensive line has been a nice surprise all season too.

Defensively it is hard to say.  Simon, Big Hank, and Roby all seem to be exceptional but without reviewing each play it is hard to say.  The bad thing is poor linebacker and safety play overshadows everything.  One bright spot is Zach Boren led the team in tackles at middle linebacker despite not playing the position since high school.  As he gets comfortable he might be a real nice surprise.

It should be interesting to hear Urban Meyer's comments this week after he looks at the film.

The delusion continues in Happy Valley

One of my shameful secrets this past year is how much time I've spent reading threads over at Blue and White Illustrated.  That's a Penn State Rivals.com website that is one of the teams most popular forums so it gives a good idea of their fan's opinions.

This past week there was a thread on BWI titled "Completely absurd that people are claiming 'of a sexual nature' is equivalent to MM having conveyed that he just WITNESSED criminal sexual assault".  I thought one person summed the whole thing up nicely essentially stating that "Previous accusation + naked + shower + 60 year old man + 12 year old boy = Police".

The responses are really sad as the fans just can't let it go and want to protect Coach Paterno.  Here are some of them:

• Paterno DID REPORT IT BY THE BOOK (i.e., PSU HR Manual) you blithering, obfuscating a-hole! Your full of crap that it isn't "relevant" -- MM went to Paterno to make an HR Report (Dr. Dranov's testimony confirms this quite clearly). He did not go to Paterno and allege seeing CRIMINAL sexual assault (i.e., it is impossible to allege WITNESSING criminal sexual assault without witnessing a sex act of any kind!). The people who screwed up "the investigation" were above Paterno and they absolutely had all THE FACTS they needed to make the correct decisions but still failed THEIR OBLIGATIONS! 

• The text comes from a transcript of testimony that was transcribed unprofessionally. Simply read the two sentences of Joe's statement regarding this matter. Where he seems to contradict himself. Then have the sense to understand the first statement was a statement of incredulity or you could say a interrogatory in the form of a statement. Joe did this all the time... repeating what he was asked...then giving his response. The transcriber should have typed....something to the effect...."It was of a sexual nature(?)" Then Joe's supposedly contradictory response.... not: "It was of a sexual nature(.)" then Joe's response. It's not that damn complex. 

• It is absurd for people to keep saying that "of a sexual nature" amounts to a de facto description of a CRIMINAL sexual assault (i.e., no internal investigation of the matter required????). Simply absurd.

• ["It seems to me that the only fair criticisms of Joe would be if he discouraged the administration from reporting the incident to DPW."] ---- Joe never changed anyone's mind. All Freeh would have had to have done was read Curley's 26 pages of Grand Jury testimony and put it together with the February 12th meeting that was documented between Curley and Schultz. Curley was asked over and over and over again in the Grand Jury as to how he came about making his decision, what it was based on, and who influenced him. Joe had nothing to do with it. 

• Anybody saying that Joe was part of some conspiracy and was part and parcel to this whole thing is wrong. No sense trying to convince them otherwise more than trying to convince somebody the world is not flat. The only thing anybody can say about Joe is that being who he was and what he stood for and his ultimately high moral character, we wish he would have followed up a little harder with C/S/S on what the end outcome was.

There are threads like this that happen at least once a week.  Penn State fans are more than willing to through the administrators under the bus but still protect Joe.  They blame the board and the governor more about the situation than the coach who was the face of the school for almost half a century and was the first person told of the incident.

If I look at this from an apologist angle I can understand how this happened.  All you have to do is look at the amount of national publicity Pizza-Gate got this week in Columbus to see why Penn State acted as it did.  Any top program is hesitant to release any information they aren't 100% sure because even small items becomes national news overnight.  As a result, a culture of protection that has been built up over decades at many programs that includes players, coaches, administrators, alumni, fans and local media.  If you view the scandal in that light it is easy to see what happened.  In 1998, Sandusky was accused of molesting a child but the DA investigated and the case was dropped.  Three years later Mike McQuery sees something that he thinks is of a sexual nature between Sandusky and a young boy.

When you face a harassment claim two things always muddy the issue, namely perception and reputation.  The facts are rarely as clear cut as the initial discussion and most times can be resolved behind closed doors with a quick investigation and quick disciplinary action.  One of the keys is most times it is kept entirely quiet.  Imagine if every time a Fortune 500 company had a claim like this it was put in the Wall Street Journal.  The reputation and stock price of that company would take a hit.  The managers and the employee involved would be forever tainted and never able to work again even if the process proved that it was all a misunderstanding.  That's why there is always a reluctance to speak in publicity situations.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying I agree with Penn State's actions I'm just saying that I understand how it could happen.  They were faced with a situation where a man who had worked with children for over 20 years and had already been investigated once and nothing was found and again faced with an accusation.  It is normal not to want deal with something like this because if nothing is found the accused, the victim, the whistleblower, the school, and the reputation of all involved is harmed forever and nothing you do can change it.

I want to restate that I know that Penn State made egregious mistakes.  In any organization the first thing you do is get Human Resources/Legal involved.  If it is criminal you get the police involved.  If it is less than that you investigate and document your findings.  Penn State did none of this because they wanted to protect the school and the reputation of a man that worked there from 30 years.  In hindsight their actions are certainly wrong and in some cases, criminal.

The worst part of all this is Bill O'Brien has done a fantastic job of keeping his team focused as they are now 4-2 and undefeated in the Big Ten.  It's the type of comeback story that Americans love but Penn State fan's focus on the past is making it impossible for anyone to root for their team.

I am well aware to paint all fans with a broad brush using posts from a website is unfair.  If this happened at Ohio State I know the lunatic fringe on the O-Zone website would be saying similar things.  For anyone who doubts that all you need to do is go back a year to the Jim Tressel scandal and see the posts regarding a simple case of him hiding/lying for his players when they broke NCAA rules.  It took almost six months before the majority of posters accepted the truth but even today there is the occasional thread that claims that "Tressel took the hit for the university" or my personal favorite "Tressel is still working with the FBI in a sting operation and saying more would hurt an ongoing investigation."

This level of delusion happens at all big programs and it is what causes some fans to go too far and do things like poison your opponents trees.  It's just sad to see what is happening in Happy Valley and I've got to force myself to stop reading the BWI website as it is not fun to watch them continue to mire in their delusion.