Fix the Fan Line

“You take the two top teams in each conference and you have a playoff system. It will never be done because it’s too simple and newspapers wouldn’t have anything to write about.” - November 5, 2008

Okay, our first two-year-old has stepped up to the plate.  You think you have a simple solution on your hands?

Do you mean just the BCS conferences?  That makes a 12-team playoff.  That doesn’t work out evenly into bracket format, so who gets the byes?  What about Utah?  They’re undefeated and ranked #8.  Shouldn’t they get a chance to play for the National Championship?

If you don’t mean just the BCS conferences, that makes a 24-team playoff.  Again, who gets byes?  How are you going to find the time to play all of those games?  Will fans travel to each round of the playoffs?  Where will the games be played?  Troy is the 2nd place team in the Sun Belt Conference.  They’re currently 5-3.  Do they really deserve a chance to win the National Championship?

What about Notre Dame?  Do they need to finally join a conference?  Are they always included in your tournament?  Never included in your tournament?

Finally, since the Big 10 is “super-weak” this year, does 2nd place Ohio State / Michigan State really deserve a shot at the National Championship, when Oklahoma (3rd place in the “super-strong” Big 12 conference stays at home?

What about the bowl games?  The Rose Bowl still wants to exist, and they would really prefer to see a Big 10 team and a Pac 10 team square off.  Have you taken them into consideration?

There’s really nothing simple about it.

“Penn State’s No. 3 ranking is completely bogus. They have played no one, and the Big Ten is one of the weakest conferences in college football.” - October 31, 2008

Here were my predictions for key arguments from the Fan Line following Penn State’s win over Ohio State.

“The Big Ten is still super-weak this year.  Penn State got lucky that Pryor fumbled.  How can Penn State be ranked #3 when they haven’t played anybody respectable other than Ohio State?  Ohio State is just another cupcake.  Paterno is a manager, not a coach.”

This call covers two of my predictions.  I had a hunch that Ohio State would qualify as another “nobody.”

As far as strength of conferences, don’t let ESPN brainwash you too much.  The Big 10 is actually one of the strongest conferences in college football.  I calculate it as 3rd strongest.

Big 12 - 5 teams in the Top 25.  4 of them ranked in the Top 10.
SEC - 4 teams in the Top 25.  3 of them ranked in the Top 10.
Big 10 - 4 teams in the Top 25.  1 ranked in the Top 10.
ACC - 3 - teams ranked in the Top 25.  Florida State leads the charge at #16.
Mountain West - 3 teams ranked in the Top 25 (Utah, TCU, and BYU)
Pac 10 - 2 teams ranked in the Top 25.  USC is ranked #7.  Otherwise, this is an empty conference this year.
Big East - South Florida is the only ranked team (#24), and they’ll be exiting the polls next week.  The UConn/West Virginia winner should enter the Top 25, and Cincinnati may have a shot, and Pitt could have a shot with a win over Notre Dame.
WAC - Boise State is coasting through the WAC.  Only their game against Fresno State will stop them from running the table.
Mid American - Ball State is coasting through the MAC.  Only their game against Central Michigan will stop them from running the table.
CUSA - Tulsa is still undefeated in Conference USA.  Can they survive Arkansas this weekend?

“I can’t understand it. Penn State only put up 20 points against Purdue. Notre Dame put up 38.” - October 6, 2008

“Penn State really looked sloppy on Saturday. Yes, they did hold Purdue to six points, but they only scored 20 points. In the bigger games, most notably those against Wisconsin and Ohio State, they will be forced to score bunches of points all game long.” - October 7, 2008

It’s key to understand that the object of the game of football isn’t to score as many points as possible.  The object is to score more points than your opponent.  A 38-21 win is no better or worse than a 20-6 win.

Saturday’s Penn State vs. Purdue game was never in doubt.  The Nittany Lions held a comfortable 20-0 lead in the 4th quarter, and they shifted their game plan into predominately a run game to take time off of the clock.  It was not necessary to attempt to score 38 points, only to outscore a Purdue offense that had been kept in check by the Nittany Lion defense all afternoon.

“To the caller who said he didn’t realize Charlie Weis had a helmet and shoulder pads on: By your logic, Ty Willingham should still be coaching at Notre Dame.” - September 24, 2008

Forget the helmet and shoulder pads.  Maybe Ty Willingham should still be coaching at Notre Dame.

Let’s compare the two “living legends.”

Year #1
2002 - Ty Willingham wows Irish fans by starting the season 8-0.  Later, he becomes the first coach in Notre Dame history to lead the Irish to a 10-win season as Notre Dame finishes 2002 with a 10-3 record

2005 - Feeding off some quality Willingham recruits, (I think Brady Quinn is still married to A.J. Hawk’s sister, by the way.)  Charlie Weis wows Irish fans by starting the season 5-2.  He wows the ND administration so much that they offer him new 10-year deal worth $30-$40 million.  Weis finishes the season 9-3.

Year #2

2003 - Ty Willingham leads the Irish through a difficult and disappointing 5-7 season.  Still, the Irish can hang their hat on defeating #9 Washington State.

2006 - Charlie Weis continues his success, taking Notre Dame to a 10-3 record, their best win coming against #24 Penn State.

Year #3

2004 - Ty Willingham takes Notre Dame to a 6-6 record before being fired following a loss to USC.  Kent Baer coaches Notre Dame in the Insight Bowl in late December.  Enter Charlie Weis.

2007 - Charlie Weis coaches one of the worst teams in Division I football.  The Irish go 3-9, including their first loss to Navy in 43 games.  Still, Notre Dame fans continue to be excited by Weis’s “great recruiting classes.”

Year #4

2008 - Things don’t seem to have improved much for Weis and his Golden Domers.  After a home scare against San Diego State and a 2nd win against a very weak Michigan team, the Irish drop a game to Michigan State.  Through their first three games, Notre Dame again seems to have one of the weaker offenses in the nation.

Ty Willingham

Charlie Weis

Ty Willingham vs. Charlie Weis.  You make the call.  We’ll get to see them go head-to-head next month!

“I don’t know about most Notre Dame fans, but I am a fan who is not going to be satisfied with winning nine or 10 games against a schedule that does not include anyone in the top 25. I want the Notre Dame that physically beat the Miami Hurricanes of old, the Texas Longhorns of old, the Penn State Nittany Lions of old.” - September 8, 2008

I want the Notre Dame football fans “of old” who defiantly defend the strength of their schedule.  Still, after Notre Dame’s 21-13 “squeaker” win at home against San Diego State on Saturday, fans should probably be more than satisfied with 9 or 10 wins this season.

Notre Dame’s schedule includes nobody in the Top 25, you say?  On November 29, the Fighting Irish travel to LA to face the USC Trojans.  I’m pretty sure that they’re sitting pretty at #1 right now.