NCAA Football - These Games Shouldn't Count

This past weekend saw 4 of the NCAA Top 25 rated teams run up over 70 points in their games.  This was a record.  Every one of these games was a sham.  Ohio State (ranked 4) beat Florida A&M 76-0.  No. 7 Louisville edged Florida International 72-0.  No. 16 Miami had a hard time getting past Savannah State 77-7.  Baylor, No.20, handled U La-Monroe 70-7.  All of the winning teams were at home.

It is a time honored tradition that powerhouse college teams play a few 'scrub' games early in the season, non-conference games against second or third tier teams that have a very small chance of even scoring, much less being competitive.  These games serve two purposes for the BIG team - first, since the NCAA does not have any pre-season games, these games serve as the pre-season tuneups before the teams start playing their regular foes.  Second, it allow the BIGs to run up horrendous scores against hapless defenses, to help drive up their rankings and gain national attention.

For the SMALL teams, there is but one benefit - money.  The BIG teams pay the SMALL teams to be cannon fodder.  The SMALL college's AD and Administration love to get their hands on the cash.  The players who are thrown out on the field, embarrassed, and sometimes injured are of no consideration.

This crap has been going on for as long as I have watched college football.  Teams I like and dislike both take advantage of the situation.  It sucks.  It is intentional manipulation of the standings, almost cheating I think. 

I propose that any game like this should not count in the standings.  Either give the BIGs a couple of 'pre-season' non-conference games for a tuneup, or make sure that any sham game is of no consideration.  Let's see then how many lamb colleges continue being sent to the slaughterhouse.

A blatant example of this is happening this year.  Baylor is ranked in the Top 20.  In their first three games, they have scored 69 or more points in each, including a school record 70 twice.
In this 3 game stretch, they have barely beaten the mighty Wofford Terriers, 69-3; the invincible U of Louisiana-Monroe 70-7; and the powerhouse Buffalo Bulls 70-13.  I'm sorry - Baylor has a good team, but this Top-20 ranking is based on crap, and the university should be ashamed for paying three small colleges to come to Waco to get slaughtered. 

Update - while I can't exactly claim that ESPN stole my thoughts on this, I did hear an extended discussion of this on their Mike and Mike Radio Show the following day. 

Bowl Season Silliness

There are just too many college football bowl games. From a week before Christmas to a week and a half after New Years day, we are bombarded with meaningless bowl games with marginal football teams clogging up the TV channels.

It used to be so simple. Bowl games were on January 1. They started very early, with the Cotton Bowl, and they ended very late with the Rose Bowl. You had 8-10 teams playing, most of which would be nationally ranked in the top ten. The mythical National Champion would be crowned the next day in the polls, based upon the results of those bowls.

Now we've got the BCS, and it truly sucks. Now we've got corprate sponsorships run amok, sprouting all these no name bowls. The National Champion won't be crowned until the middle of January.

A prime example in my local area occurred on Jan. 1, and will conclude on Jan. 7.

The TicketCity Bowl took place on Jan. 1, in Dallas. Texas Tech played Northwestern in the Cotton Bowl. (Tech won, but that is besides the point of my argument.) The game was played on New Years Day, in the Cotton Bowl, but it wasn't the Cotton Bowl.

The Cotton Bowl will be held on Friday, Jan.7. LSU will play Texas A&M. The game will be played at Jerry World, in Arlington, TX.

Wait just a damn minute ... The Cotton Bowl isn't going to be played in the Cotton Bowl, and it isn't going to be played on New Years' Day?

But there was a Bowl game played in the Cotton Bowl on New Years' Day ... but it wasn't the Cotton Bowl?

How freaking stupid ...

Congress taking over the NCAA

With all of the critical issues facing our country, you would think that Congress would have more than enough to fill their agenda. Apparently not ....

The Senate Judiciary Committee is calling for hearings on why NCAA college football does not have a playoff system to determine the national champ. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) is behind the push. Apparently his constituents are not happy that undefeated Utah was bypassed for the national championship game this past season.

A committee spokesman said that Hatch would introduce legislation to 'rectify the situation'.

A similar effort is going on in the House, where the Energy and Commerce Committee is looking into it. Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) has sponsored legislation that would prevent the NCAA from calling a specific game a 'national championship game' unless the participants were determined by a playoff system.

Obama the Immaculate and many Dems have also stated their opinions supporting a playoff.

OK ... I agree that a college football playoff is long overdue. However, why in the hell is the Federal government sticking its nose into it? In spite of the fact that two Republicans are sponsoring the legislation (which makes me sick), this is just another example of big government getting bigger, and taking more of our freedoms and choices away from us.

What's next? Obama asking for a law giving him the task of picking the March Madness brackets next year? Sounds silly, but who knows with this bunch of idiots in Washington.