College Football Week 15 (Championship) thread........

[st.cronin]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Interesting tidbit from an article in The Columbus Dispatch

There have been three BCS games involving schools from non-BCS leagues, and each is among the seven lowest-rated of the 42 all-time BCS games: Utah versus Pittsburgh in the 2005 Fiesta (a 7.4 rating), Boise State against Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta (8.4) and Hawaii versus Georgia in the 2008 Sugar (7.0).

That averages out to a 7.7 rating. Contrast that with 11.0, which is Ohio State's average rating in its three games as a BCS at-large team.

Bottom line? More people would rather watch tOSU get blown out than watch non-BCS teams regardless of outcome.

Playing Devil's Advocate, I would argue that the Boise-OU game helped strengthen the brand of the BCS/Fiesta Bowl, and thus has value beyond its ratings.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

Playing Devil's Advocate, I would argue that the Boise-OU game helped strengthen the brand of the BCS/Fiesta Bowl, and thus has value beyond its ratings.

Uh-huh ... strengthened it so much that they didn't want them back for another round.

It was a fantastic finish that relatively no one watched the game that went with it.

The last time a non-football big name drew a double-digit rating outside of the Rose Bowl was 2002 when Oregon beat Colorado in the Fiesta.

Otherwise, look at the list of top-rated games
2008 NCG: LSU vs Ohio State 14.4
2008 Rose: USC vs Illinois 11.1
2007 NCG: Florida vs Ohio State 17.4
2007 Rose: USC vs Michigan 13.9
2006 Rose(NCG): Texas vs USC 21.7
2006 Fiesta: Ohio State vs Notre Dame 12.9
2006 Orange: Penn State vs FSU 12.2
2005 Orange(NCG): USC vs Oklahoma 13.7
2005 Rose: Texas vs Michigan 12.4
2004 Sugar(NCG): LSU vs Oklahoma 14.8
2004 Rose: USC vs Michigan 14.3
2003 Fiesta(NCG): Ohio State vs Miami 17.2
2003 Rose: Oklahoma vs Washington State 11.3
2002 Rose(NCG): Miami vs Nebraska 13.9
2002 Fiesta: Oregon vs Colorado 11.3
Prior to 2002, 10 of 12 BCS games pulled double digit ratings

Now look at the lowest rated games
2008 Sugar: Georgia vs Hawaii 7.0
2008 Orange: Kansas vs Va Tech 7.8
2008 Fiesta: West Virginia vs Oklahoma 7.7
2007 Orange: Louisville vs Wake Forest 7.0
2007 Fiesta: Boise State vs Oklahoma 8.4
2005 Fiesta: Utah vs Pitt 7.4
1999 Orange: Florida vs Syracuse 8.4

No team guarantees strong ratings, but the presence of a non-traditional power team in a game virtually assures a low rating.

[Dr. Sak]

I thought that some of you would find this amusing...

[MJ4H]

That's pretty awesome.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

I didn't write the article so I'm not sure but looking at the list and trying to figure out when they were an at-large selection, it looks like

1999 - Sugar vs Texas A&M 11.5
2004 - Fiesta vs K-State 8.5
2006 - Fiesta vs Notre Dame 12.9

Ok, my point in asking was to determine if the other teams were driving OSU's higher ratings, since the non-BCS team's opponents aren't exactly huge markets that would deliver big ratings (those being Pitt, Oklahoma, and Georgia). While two of those are historically good, I'm pretty sure they don't generate large national numbers. Point being, Notre Dame surely drove that 12.9 more than OSU did, and I'm not exactly sure if there's a reason for the A&M number, but the OSU-KSU game is a bit more in-line with the numbers that those non-BCS teams got.

[Logan]

I'm sure most of you don't care, but Rutgers has come under fire by people within the state for the amount of money spent on the program over the past few years. The school President, Richard McCormick, and Athletic Director, Bob Mulcahy, have been targeted for letting spending get out of control in light of the school's budget cuts (as if spending on football, which does contribute revenue, even approaches the $75 million that the state has cut).

Anyway, word came down today that ahead of an important Board of Governors meeting, AD Mulcahy had resigned. We figured he was a political sacrifice, an old guy who was close to retiring anyway.

Turns out, not true. Below is the FULL text of the statement Mulcahy just issued:

“I was asked to resign. I have not offered my resignation.”

Maybe it's just me, but I thought that was awesome.

[Swaggs]

I really hope that Rutgers does not scale back on their football program.

They have made so much progress these last 3 or 4 years. It would be a shame to pull the rug out from under a program that has all the tools to become a very good team on a yearly basis.

[Logan]

Here's what gets me (I'm quoting the Bloomberg article because the local papers are responsible for the BS that I'm about to point out):

Robert Mulcahy will step down as athletic director at Rutgers University, three weeks after an independent investigation found the New Jersey school failed to provide proper oversight in building its football program over the past five years.

The five-month probe found that Mulcahy was given too broad of a scope of authority, while the school’s Board of Governors failed to adequately oversee the athletic department’s contractual agreements with football coach Greg Schiano and its dealings with the firm Nelligan Sports Marketing.

So the school and President gave him too much of an authority, and the Board didn't do their own job...and Mulcahy pays for it? So they sacrifice him to cover up their own poor job at handling the school's activities.

Originally Posted by Bloomberg

The investigation into the school’s athletic program followed a series of articles by the Star-Ledger of Newark, New Jersey, regarding a non-public $250,000 contract sweetener for Schiano...

As I wrote in this post in the recruiting thread:

Originally Posted by me

The $250k annual payment from Nelligan Sports was disclosed in his 2006 contract. Even better, the very same Star Ledger reported it in print in 2006. Not much of a memory there.

Originally Posted by Bloomberg

as well as a no-bid agreement with Nelligan after the sports-marketing firm put Mulcahy’s son on its payroll

Originally Posted by me in that thread

The contract between RU and Nelligan was signed in March 2002. Mulcahy's son went to work for them in May 2002, and didn't work in any area that related to the Rutgers program. Even still, the school sent the "case" to whatever panel decides these things, and they reviewed it and said there is no conflict of interest and the relationship could continue.

Originally Posted by Bloomberg

The Star-Ledger said that while the university increased its annual spending on football to $15.6 million from $7.5 million over the past five years, millions of dollars in direct sports expenses, including salaries, charter flights and facilities costs, were kept off the athletic department books.

Don't know about this, but considering that no money was being diverted from non-athletic department (because that would've been discovered in the report), I'm guessing this came directly from donations/boosters.

Originally Posted by Bloomberg

The study didn’t find any illegal or unethical behavior by any member of the public university.

And yet this is a huge issue?

Frustrates the hell out of me.

[Crim]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sak

I thought that some of you would find this amusing...

Funny ass shit.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Interesting tidbit from an article in The Columbus Dispatch

There have been three BCS games involving schools from non-BCS leagues, and each is among the seven lowest-rated of the 42 all-time BCS games: Utah versus Pittsburgh in the 2005 Fiesta (a 7.4 rating), Boise State against Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta (8.4) and Hawaii versus Georgia in the 2008 Sugar (7.0).

That averages out to a 7.7 rating. Contrast that with 11.0, which is Ohio State's average rating in its three games as a BCS at-large team.

Bottom line? More people would rather watch tOSU get blown out than watch non-BCS teams regardless of outcome.

More people would rather watch the Yankees in the World Series. Doesn't mean they should leapfrog the Devil Rays in the playoffs because of this.

[Vegas Vic]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

More people would rather watch the Yankees in the World Series. Doesn't mean they should leapfrog the Devil Rays in the playoffs because of this.

No, because if that happened, then the rules would have been violated. The choice of Ohio State over Boise State was in conformance with the rules.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Vegas Vic

No, because if that happened, then the rules would have been violated. The choice of Ohio State over Boise State was in conformance with the rules.

I know, just pointing out how absurd and retarded the rule is.

[sooner333]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

I know, just pointing out how absurd and retarded the rule is.

It certainly isn't the best if the overall goal is rewarding the very best teams. It probably is more on par with the goal of creating compelling matchups. It also is a huge step up from before a few years ago when teams like Utah, Hawaii, or Boise State wouldn't have even sniffed a major bowl.

[Vegas Vic]

Originally Posted by sooner333

IIt probably is more on par with the goal of creating compelling matchups. It also is a huge step up from before a few years ago when teams like Utah, Hawaii, or Boise State wouldn't have even sniffed a major bowl.

Also, even with its flaws, without the BCS we would have never seen that Texas/USC game for the ages. USC would have played in the Rose Bowl, and Texas would have played in the Fiesta Bowl.

[Logan]

Anyone looking for a ticket to the Maryland - Nevada Humanitarian Bowl? I think there's good seats left:

As of Monday afternoon the University of Maryland says it's sold about 16 tickets to the game. The University of Nevada says it's sold 8 so far.

http://www.2news.tv/news/35767489.html

[Crim]

This sucks for Sooners fans, and for the kid himself: DeMarco Murray to miss the BCS championship game. At least he's a sophomore and will be back next year.

Oklahoma RB Murray to miss title game with injury - College Football - Rivals.com

[terpkristin]

Wasn't he hurt last year, too? College kids getting hurt before playing big games always makes me sad. Kinda like Greg Oden. I felt really bad that he was hurt for his entire real rookie season in the NBA and then, in one of his first games this season, got hurt again (even though it was a significantly lesser injury).

/tk

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by Logan

Anyone looking for a ticket to the Maryland - Nevada Humanitarian Bowl? I think there's good seats left:



http://www.2news.tv/news/35767489.html

HAHAHAHA.

Even if I don't end up traveling for work, I'm certain that I'd rather be in my warm house watching the game on my HDTV than at the game in Boise.

/Maryland Football Season Ticket Holder

[sooner333]

Originally Posted by Crim

This sucks for Sooners fans, and for the kid himself: DeMarco Murray to miss the BCS championship game. At least he's a sophomore and will be back next year.

Oklahoma RB Murray to miss title game with injury - College Football - Rivals.com

Yeah, it's too bad. He's been out both bowl games in his career due to injury (and effectively, both Big 12 Championships). The only good news as a fan is that RB is a deep position with three quality guys, but still, you hate to lose someone as dynamic running and catching like Murray.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

HAHAHAHA.

Even if I don't end up traveling for work, I'm certain that I'd rather be in my warm house watching the game on my HDTV than at the game in Boise.

/Maryland Football Season Ticket Holder

I have to say when Clemson went to Boise 6-7 years ago, I went begrudgingly simply because Id never seen Idaho.

It was amazing, probably our best bowl trip ever. Seeing as the fine folks of Boise dont see many tourists I bet we were thanked no shit 30 times those 3 days just for coming to their town.

neither the wife nor I had ever ridden a snowmobile so we rented two at this outdoor park place and they gave us buy 1 get 1 free just because we had on bowl team colors.

All in all, it was cool....ok it was fucking cold, but fun. I would return if we get sent back again, which is highly unlikely with the current tie ins.

[Vegas Vic]

Originally Posted by sooner333

Yeah, it's too bad. He's been out both bowl games in his career due to injury (and effectively, both Big 12 Championships).

And both of his injuries came while playing special teams. Last year, he suffered a broken kneecap while trying to recover an onside kick against Texas Tech. This year, he ruptured his hamstring on the opening kickoff return against Missouri.

I guess the "good" news is that he's never sustained any ligament damage to his knees, which is what tends to have a permanent effect. He should be able to fully recover from this. He's a redshirt sophomore, and there was some speculation that he would go to the NFL after this season, but he will need to come back and play through another season to improve his draft stock.

[Cuckoo]

More bad news for OU... It seems DT Granger will miss the game because of back surgery. He has been a really solid run-stuffer in the middle. And rumors are coming out that starting safety Lendy Holmes might be having grade problems.

This is like last year all over again. OU had to play without Murray, Granger and Holmes, and we all know how that one turned out.

[Dr. Sak]

So when Oklahoma loses to Florida they can get made fun of cause they've lost 3 BCS titles (that they were in) in a row. Ohio State only lost two in a row.

[Cuckoo]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sak

So when Oklahoma loses to Florida they can get made fun of cause they've lost 3 BCS titles (that they were in) in a row. Ohio State only lost two in a row.

Go ahead... Mock my pain.

It's for this reason alone that I'm more nervous about this game than any other I can remember. OU really needs a redeemer.

[Vegas Vic]

Originally Posted by Cuckoo

This is like last year all over again. OU had to play without Murray, Granger and Holmes, and we all know how that one turned out.

OU was without five starters in the Fiesta Bowl last year. In addition to the three players you cited, All-Americans Reggie Smith (safety) and Malcolm Kelly (WR) missed the Fiesta Bowl last year with injuries.

[Eaglesfan27]

The NCAA is changing their rules to allow both teams to wear home uniforms next year if agreed upon by both coaches. Glad to see that USC-UCLA will be able to keep up this tradition in future years without having to sacrifice a timeout.

[Crim]

I like it. Common sense move, therefore I did not expect it.

[Poli]

\o/