Fix the Fan Line

“I’m not trying to bash Penn State, but playing a team that only started its football program in 2003 is absolutely ridiculous. There is no preseason in college and it’s sad that a team like Penn State is playing Coastal Carolina.” - August 31, 2008

I agree that schools like Penn State should not play I-AA opponents.  However, currently this is the reality across the country in college football.

Teams that played I-AA opponents last weekend include: Penn State, Georgia, LSU, Arkansas, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Miami, Maryland, Cincinatti, Connecticut, Boise State, Georgia Tech, Iowa, BYU, South Florida, West Virginia, and Ohio State.

Florida State (2 times!), Colorado, Wisconsin, Illinois, Syracuse, Clemson (2 Times!), Hawaii, Utah, Auburn, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech (a 2nd!), Texas Tech (a 2nd!), Oklahoma State, Minnesota, Rutgers, Indiana, Kentucky, Purdue, Boston College, Virginia, Kansas, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Missouri, Northwestern, Louisville, Florida (a 2nd!), and South Carolina will all play a I-AA opponent (or 2!) later this season.

So, why pick on Penn State and Coastal Carolina, when 17 teams currently listed in the AP Top 25 play a I-AA opponent and five major college football programs play two I-AA opponents?

This particular caller thinks that Penn State should not play Coastal Carolina because they “only started their football program in 2003.”  I disagree.

Teams have shown that successful college football programs can be built relatively quickly, with proper leadership and coaching.  South Florida began its college football program in 1997.  By the 2005 season, they played in a bowl game.  By the 2007 season, they rose to #2 in the national rankings.

Coastal Carolina has already shown that they can be a successful I-AA football program.  In their inaugural season, they went 6-5.  In 2004, they went 10-1, winning the Big South Conference.  They went 9-2 in 2005, sharing the conference title.  In 2006, they went 10-3, again winning the Big South Conference championship.

So, I’ll ask again.  Why not Coastal Carolina?  To me, Coastal Carolina is no lesser of an opponent than Tennessee-Chattanooga, Eastern Kentucky, Villanova, James Madison, Delaware, or even Appalachian State.

They’re a I-AA program (and a successful one at that).  Penn State shouldn’t be playing Coastal Carolina (or any I-AA opponent, for that matter), but it’s not ridiculous or sad.  It’s just the nature of the college football landscape.

Why Coastal Carolina?  Another caller to the Fan Line seems to have hit the nail on the head.

“It’s really simple why Penn State played Coastal Carolina. [CCU AD] Warren Koegel was the captain of the Penn State football team in the late 1960s, so Penn State donated $450,000 to the Coastal Carolina athletic program.” - September 3, 2008

Koegel was a part of Penn State’s undefeated 1968 and 1969 teams (introduced at halftime - see video below), and he served as co-captain on the 1971 squad.  Certainly, Koegel was instrumental in making sure that Penn State and Coastal Carolina crossed paths.

Hopefully, we’ll reach a point where I-AA teams are scheduled far less frequently on I-A schedules than they are today.  Weak schedules are looked down upon in the rankings (especially in computer rankings), and we’ve already seen some of the consequences of scheduling I-AA opponents.  Georgia lost their #1 ranking despite beating Georgia Southern when USC travelled to (and manhandled) Virginia.

“Talk is cheap when it comes to Pitt fans in the preseason. Now they’ve turned green … Bowling Green. That’s the problem when you play in a league that has one decent team — West Virginia.” - September 3, 2008

• Please tell me how playing in a weak conference has anything to do with fans promoting their team in the preseason or a team losing to Bowling Green.
• Less than one week ago I wrote about South Florida.

“I realize, Penn State fans, you do have a lot of talent in your skill positions, but you’re playing Coastal Carolina. Anybody could have looked good against them. The Big Ten is super weak this year and it looks like they might have three or four teams that might be decent.” - September 3, 2008

A super weak conference?  Wow.  And I thought the ACC was down-and-out this year.  So… what makes a team decent, by your standards?  How about being ranked in the Top 25?  That’s a pretty tough standard for decency, and the Big 10 currently has four of those.  Does being bowl eligible make a team decent?  The Big 10 will likely have seven (and possibly eight) bowl eligible teams.

Only the season will tell how each conference’s teams will stack up in 2008, but for now, it’s easy to compare the conferences based on the number of teams that are currently ranked in the AP Top 25.

1. SEC - 6
2. Big 12 - 5
3. Big 10, Pac 10 - 4 each
4. Big East, Mountain West - 2 each
5. ACC, WAC - 1 each

Bowling Green- 27

Pittsburgh - 17

“I talked to a lot of smart football people and everybody feels that Pitt has the positive momentum and Penn State has a negative momentum. You can see it, feel it, and it is definitely happening.” - August 17, 2008

“I’m a Pitt fan in his mid-30s and I like seeing Joe Paterno as coach at Penn State. Not because I like seeing them lose, but because every fall he’s the coach there it’s like I haven’t grown any older.” - July 26, 2008

“As a diehard Pitt football fan since 1979, I can tell you for sure that this returning Pitt football team is as great as the teams that were returning during the Marino era.” - July 21, 2008

“The college football championship will be between Pitt and Auburn. Auburn will win 17-3. Penn State will not even be in the Top 25 this year. Go, Auburn.” - July 21, 2008

“Pitt’s football team is great. They beat three Top 25 football teams. Don’t even get me started on referees and injuries. Oh, that so-called Eastern football conference? The reason Pitt didn’t join is because Paterno wanted it to be geared toward certain schools and with his own rules.” - July 19, 2008

“Pitt doesn’t need Penn State to sell out Heinz Field. They have LeSean McCoy.” - July 12, 2008.

“Penn State’s best player is Maurice Evans, who was a high school All-American and a top-20 recruit. If you recruit enough of the top players, it will pay dividends. Penn State is not able to do this lately.” - August 30, 2008

They don’t give Top 20 recruit status to just anybody. Evans wasn’t in the 2006 Top 20 on Scout.com or Rivals.com, but another future Nittany Lion was. Defensive Back A.J. Wallace hit #19 on Rivals.com.

OL Antonio Logan-El, WR Chris Bell, QB Pat Devlin, and DT Jared Odrick all appeared before Evans on the Scout.com list for 2006.

Scout.com has Evans listed as #62 in 2006. Rivals.com has Evans listed as #46.

“I like Mark May but he’s going through a hallucination. Question was, “What team could wind up in the top 10?” Surprise, he says Pitt. I had to giggle. He says South Florida could be a tough game for them. South Florida. Please.” - August 30, 2008

Giggle all that you want, but South Florida will be a tough game for Pitt. When the two teams play on October 2, South Florida will likely be favored by at least 14 points. South Florida could quite possibly go 10-2, 11-1, or 12-0 this year.

South Florida may have only had a football program since 1997, but this is 2008, and they’re legit.

“All-American running back [Chris] “Beanie” Wells from Ohio State gained 1,600 yards last year and is projected to get 2,000 yards this year. He stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 240 pounds. Because of his size, he would have been switched to a blocking fullback position. This should tell you all you need to know about the Penn State football philosophy.” - August 26, 2008

Wells is listed as 6′1″ and 237 pounds on www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com.

Let’s look at some of Penn State’s recent leading rushers.

Tony Hunt (2004 - 2006) was 6′2″ and 230 pounds and not exactly a blocking fullback.

Larry Johnson (2001 - 2002) was 6′1″ and 230 pounds and not exactly a blocking fullback.

Curtis Enis (1995 - 1997) was 6′0″ and 242 pounds and not exactly a blocking fullback.

So… what exactly do I need to know about the Penn State Football philosophy?

“I wonder if there are any other teams in the preseason top 25 besides Pitt that can barely get 25,000 fans to show up for their games.” - August 22, 2008

Based on the AP Preseason Top 25, Pitt had the 2nd lowest average attendance in 2007. Pitt averaged 33,315, while Wake Forest averaged slightly less with 32,595.

Average 2007 Home Attendance

1. Georgia - 92,746
2. Ohio State - 105,110
3. USC - 87,476
4. Oklahoma - 84,858
5. Florida - 90,388
6. Missouri - 60,232
7. LSU - 92,619
8. West Virginia - 60,400
9. Clemson - 81,335
10. Auburn - 84,689
11. Texas - 85,144
12. Texas Tech - 51,911
13. Wisconsin - 81,747
14. Kansas - 46,784
15. Arizona State - 62,875
16. Brigham Young - 64,497
17. Virginia Tech - 66,233
18. Tennessee - 103,918
19. South Florida - 53,170
20. Illinois - 54,872
21. Oregon - 58,845
22. Penn State - 108,917
23. Wake Forest - 32,595
24. Alabama - 92,138
25. Pittsburgh - 33,315

“Just some information for the Big Ten fans. They have won five out of 15 bowl games in the last two years, and one of those wins was Purdue having to squeak out one over Central Michigan. Meanwhile, the Big East has won eight out of 10 bowl games.” - August 20, 2008

Since when have bowl wins become the way to evaluate the strength of a conference?

Ironically, you mention another, possibly more important factor in your call, but you neglect to include it in your argument. How about bowl appearances? Aren’t bowl appearances a good measure of the number of quality football programs in a conference? Doesn’t a bowl appearance signify a quality season (at least 6-6) for a team, as opposed to a bowl win which is just a single game against an unknown opponent some 30 days after a team’s final regular season game?

In two years, the Big Ten has seen 15 teams in bowl games, while the Big East has seen only 10. The Big Ten has 11 teams, and the Big East only has 8 teams, but the Big Ten still owns a higher Bowls/Teams ratio.

The final polls are an even better measure of the strength of a conference.

2007 - #5 Ohio State, #6 West Virginia, #17 Cincinatti, #18 Michigan, #20 Illinois, #24 Wisconsin

2006 - #2 Ohio State, #6 Louisville, #7 Wisconsin, #8 Michigan, #10 West Virginia, #12 Rutgers, #24 Penn State

Preseason 2008 - #2 Ohio State, #8 West Virginia, #13 Wisconsin, #19 South Florida, #20 Illinois, #22 Penn State, #25 Pittsburgh

“If Pitt got as much press as Penn State, you would know that Pitt has more than one good player, that the Big East has won more bowl games in the last three years than the Big Ten, and that in strength of schedule, Pitt’s schedule is tougher than Penn State’s.” - August 19, 2008

A) Yes, Pitt has more than one good player, and they should have a solid team this season.

B) Yes, but how is this fact relevant for anything? The Big East has won 9 Bowl Games in the past 3 years (none of which belong to Pitt). The Big Ten has won 8 (three of which belong to Penn State).

2005
Sugar Bowl - West Virginia 38 - Georgia 35
–
Fiesta Bowl - Ohio State 34 - Notre Dame 20
Orange Bowl - Penn State 26 - Florida State 23
Capital One Bowl - Wisconsin 24 - Auburn 10

2006
Gator Bowl - West Virginia 38 - Georgia Tech 35
Papajohns.com Bowl - South Florida 24 - East Carolina 7
Texas Bowl - Rutgers 37 - Kansas State 10
Orange Bowl - Louisville 24 - Wake Forest 13
International Bowl - Cincinnati 27 - Western Michigan 24
–
Outback Bowl - Penn State 20 - Tennessee 10
Capital One Bowl - Wisconsin 17 - Arkansas 14

2007
Fiesta Bowl - West Virginia 48 - Oklahoma 28
International Bowl - Rutgers 42 - Ball State 30
Papajohns.com Bowl - Cincinnati 31 - Southern Mississippi 21
–
Alamo Bowl - Penn State 24 - Texas A&M 17
Capital One Bowl - Michigan 41 - Florida 35
Motor City Bowl - Purdue 51 - Central Michigan 48

C) Difficulty of the two schedules is up for debate.

Based on USA Today Preseason Top 25 Rankings:
Pitt’s Ranked Opponents

#21 South Florida
Rutgers (received votes)
Notre Dame (received votes)
Louisville (received votes)
Cincinatti (received votes)
#8 West Virginia
Connecticut (received votes)

–

Penn State’s Ranked Opponents

Oregon State (received votes)
#19 Illinois
#12 Wisconsin
#24 Michigan
#3 Ohio State
Michigan State (received votes)

“I talked to a lot of smart football people and everybody feels that Pitt has the positive momentum and Penn State has a negative momentum. You can see it, feel it, and it is definitely happening.” - August 17, 2008

Let’s pull out the trusty FixTheFanLine dictionary to help us decipher this call.

Smart Football People - my friends

Everybody - my friends and I

The Positive Momentum - my allegiance

A Negative Momentum - my dislike

It - my friends and I cheering for Pitt and cheering against Penn State