Realignment Thread

[MattB4VT]

Big will look to add UVA, umd, gt, and also rutgers (if they can't get Notre dame, which I don't see them being able to do). I think they have a shot at a unc-duke combo though. Many of you will scoff at that last bit. But with the ACC dying, unc and duke will not allow themselves to go down with the ship.

 

[sparko]

It depends on how much .. if at all .. the ACC really "dies" .. If it happens, I sort of agree with you about UNC. I don't think, even with their basketball prowess and relationship with Duke, that they can pass up what they'd be giving up by staying. Duke really doesn't have anything to offer, other than academics and basketball. But if UNC has as much clout as I think they would, they could probably convince the B1G to bring Duke along with them. Duke's only card to play lies with Carolina. It really depends on what is highest on the B1G's priority list if expansion is imminent. They won't expand just to expand an and don't discount the academics piece of it with this conference .. at all or OVERALL sports success. Both of those are a very big deal to the B1G. Nebraska getting in was a stretch. That being said, I'd think that UNC would be at the top of their list, that UVA/VT/Duke/Pitt/GT would be in the mix. I don't see what UMD really has to offer that UVA can't. If they REALLY want the DC market, VT is the way to go. Rutgers? Nah. They're low on the list and the B1G can pretty much pick and choose. Their wish list would never get that low.

 

[sparko]

If a super-conference thing happened and the B1G expanded from 12 to 16, I'd have to GUESS, based on what I've heard and read, the 4 teams that they would WANT:

Notre Dame
UNC
UVA or VT (depending on how they weigh each school's pros and cons)
Georgia Tech

Pittsburgh, Maryland, Duke, Rutgers are at the bottom of the list

Maybe I'm wrong but it's been no secret that Maryland has had a crush on the B1G for YEARS. If the B1G REALLY wanted them, Maryland would already be there I think. That's why I don't think that Maryland is really that high on their list of expansion candidates .. but it's pure speculation on my part.

 

[hunzworth]

Big will look to add UVA, umd, gt, and also rutgers (if they can't get Notre dame, which I don't see them being able to do). I think they have a shot at a unc-duke combo though. Many of you will scoff at that last bit. But with the ACC dying, unc and duke will not allow themselves to go down with the ship.

switch rutgers and UNC and i agree with you about the Big10 <----matter of fact that is what i posted in the other realignment thread.

 

[MattB4VT]

UVA is a great fit for the big ten. Just like we a a great fit for the sec. Both schools and conferences get what's best for them. I hope the ACC dies and we go to the sec. If our admins our dumb enough to let us go to the big ten, and let UVA go to the sec, and have our football program's ass pounded by UVA each year for eternity, then I'd much rather keep together the all Carolina conference aka the almost competitive conference. We'd still be irrelevant in college football, but at least we wouldn't get raped by UVA every fall on top of that.

 

[757Hokie83]

UVA is a great fit for the big ten. Just like we a a great fit for the sec. Both schools and conferences get what's best for them. I hope the ACC dies and we go to the sec. If our admins our dumb enough to let us go to the big ten, and let UVA go to the sec, and have our football program's ass pounded by UVA each year for eternity, then I'd much rather keep together the all Carolina conference aka the almost competitive conference. We'd still be irrelevant in college football, but at least we wouldn't get raped by UVA every fall on top of that.

lol, being in the SEC doesnt magically turn teams into a football powerhouse, see Vandy, Kentucky....shit, the SEC is never all that amazing outside of their top 2 sometimes 3 teams, the middle of the road for the SEC is very middle of the road

 

[Ballboy534]

The football schools are flexing on the Tobacco Rd. cabal.

It would be about damned time for this to happen... Fucking Swofford and his bullshit...

 

[hokiegrad]

the SEC is never all that amazing outside of their top 2 sometimes 3 teams, the middle of the road for the SEC is very middle of the road

No conference is amazing outside of their top 2-3. That just goes without saying. But the SEC teams after the top 2-3 are still pretty good. The SECs 4th team is generally better than any other conference's 4th team. And so on through the middle of the SEC lineup.

 

[Rocky]

Last year, the highest ranked ACC team in the final AP standings was VT, at 21

There were 5 SEC teams in front of us.

The year before, the highest ranked ACC team in the final AP standings was VT at 16

The SEC again had 5 teams in front of us.

Six NCs in a row. They not only have the best teams, they also have the best depth.

 

[Camfantasy]

Last year, the highest ranked ACC team in the final AP standings was VT, at 21

There were 5 SEC teams in front of us.

The year before, the highest ranked ACC team in the final AP standings was VT at 16

The SEC again had 5 teams in front of us.

Six NCs in a row. They not only have the best teams, they also have the best depth.

They also always have about 7 or 8 ranked in the preseason before any of them ever take the field. SEC teams always get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to rankings.

 

[Camfantasy]

Average Sagarin Ranking of the 6 BCS conference teams since the BCS was started (1998):

SEC - 39.5
PAC-12 - 41.6
Big 12 - 42.4
Big Ten - 44.7
ACC - 45.8
Big East - 78.1

ACC
1. Virginia Tech - 14.7
2. Florida State - 16.4
3. Miami - 24.3
4. Clemson - 33.9
5. Georgia Tech - 35.0
6. Boston College - 38.5
7. NC State - 46.1
8. Virginia - 48.4
9. Pittsburgh - 48.6
10. Maryland - 50.7
11. North Carolina - 55.9
12. Wake Forest - 59.2
13. Syracuse - 65.6
14. Duke - 104.1
AVERAGE - 45.8 (w/o FSU & CU - 49.2)

BIG 12
1. Oklahoma - 11.1
2. Texas - 14.0
3. Texas Tech - 31.5
4. West Virginia - 31.9
5. Kansas State - 36.1
5. TCU - 36.1
7. Oklahoma State - 40.4
8. Iowa State - 64.1
9. Kansas - 69.6
10. Baylor - 89.6
AVERAGE - 42.4 (w/FSU & CU - 39.6)

BIG EAST
1. Boise State - 29.3
2. Louisville - 46.9
3. Cincinnati - 62.0
4. South Florida - 68.5
5. Rutgers - 79.2
6. Houston - 79.8
7. Connecticut - 80.3
8. Navy - 81.1
9. San Diego State - 82.1
10. Central Florida - 86.4
11. Temple - 103.1
12. Memphis - 106.3
13. SMU - 110.6
AVERAGE - 78.1

BIG TEN
1. Ohio State - 15.4
2. Wisconsin - 25.1
3. Nebraska - 25.4
4. Michigan - 27.3
5. Penn State - 30.5
6. Iowa - 39.9
7. Michigan State - 43.3
8. Purdue - 46.9
9. Minnesota - 58.4
10. Northwestern - 66.2
11. Illinois - 67.6
12. Indiana - 90.3
AVERAGE - 44.7

PAC-12
1. Southern Cal - 15.8
2. Oregon - 20.5
3. Oregon State - 33.9
4. Utah - 37.6
5. California - 39.9
6. UCLA - 41.5
7. Arizona State - 42.2
8. Stanford - 46.1
9. Arizona - 51.5
10. Washington - 52.8
11. Colorado - 53.6
12. Washington State - 64.0
AVERAGE - 41.6

SEC
1. Florida - 13.3
2. LSU - 18.3
3. Georgia - 20.4
4. Auburn - 25.8
5. Alabama - 26.6
6. Tennessee - 28.1
7. Arkansas - 29.8
8. Texas A&M - 38.0
9. Missouri - 41.6
10. South Carolina - 44.7
11. Mississippi - 56.4
12. Mississippi State - 61.2
13. Kentucky - 64.8
14. Vanderbilt - 84.1
AVERAGE - 39.5


Not as big of a gap as you probably thought is it?

 

[TagAndBrag]

And VT is 4th overall.

 

[MattB4VT]

If you give mike London the sec brand.... We're toast. I think we end up there. Look at everything we have done recently to "SEC" our program. Coaching staff loopholes, new facilities, bringing Shane back. This is OUR time.

 

[Rocky]

Not as big of a gap as you probably thought is it?

There is a huge dampening effect on conference stats.

For every win in conference, there is a loss in conference.

Something more meaningful would be to look at the top 5 (pick a number) in each conference, over a time frame that is more recent, like the past 5 years.

That would tell you who is the conference beast for the past five years. However, It still wouldn't tell you how each conference compares with any other conference, ie, a winning team in a shitty conference, would have an impressive W/L record, but it wouldnt necessarily mean shit.

So, things like strength of schedule and other factors also come into play.

Thats why going by the end of season BCS rankings, with all the computer crap, and other things that go into the BCS, like strength of schedule, quality wins, etc, come into the final ranking.

And, taking the whole conference again will dampen what you really want to know, ie, how each conference does annually in placing teams in the top 25

So, my take, the final top 25 BCS standings are the simplest thing to use.

That would be a more accurate barometer of the best conference today, IMO.

 

[hokiegrad]

Not as big of a gap as you probably thought is it?

There are a lot of flaws to that Sagarin argument. But even if we use those numbers just as you provided them it only bolsters what I was saying, so I don't know what you were trying to get at...

Looking at the numbers you listed, the 4th best rating in the SEC (Auburn - 25.8) is better than the 4th best rating from any other conference (next would be Michigan - 27.3, and it falls off rapidly from there). The 5th best rating in the SEC (Alabama - 26.6) is better than the 5th best rating from any other conference (next Penn State - 30.5). The 6th best rating in the SEC (Tennessee - 28.1) is better than the 6th best rating from any other conference (next KSU/TCU - 36.1). The 7th best rating in the SEC (Arkansas - 29.8) is better than the 7th best rating from any other conference (Oklahoma State - 40.4). And so on. And you can see how the gap is widening as we go down the list...

And let's pull some more meaningful (for the purpose of this argument) averages from the data as well. First, you have to strip out the teams at the bottom so that each conference is comparing the same number of teams and you don't have conferences weighted down by the teams at the bottom (since we said we're comparing position to position between conferences). The averages for each conference top 10 teams are as follows:

SEC - 28.66
ACC - 35.66
BIG TEN - 37.84
PAC 12 - 38.18
BIG 12 - 42.44
BIG EAST - 69.56

But let's not stop there. We said we're talking about the middle of these conferences, not the top and bottom. Here are the averages if we only consider the 4th-8th best rankings per conference:

SEC - 29.66
BIG TEN - 37.58
ACC - 40.38
PAC 12 - 41.46
BIG 12 - 41.72
BIG EAST - 77.78

As you can see, the middle of the SEC blows the other conferences away...

Nice to see the ACC didn't do too badly when it comes to the runners up...

 

[MattB4VT]

Ok..... This idea of new divisions is bull shit. Probably end up as Us, Pitt, cuse, Maryland, UVA, an NC school (most likely wake or state) and bc ..... That's fucked up. Meanwhile the south would get Miami, fsu, Clemson, gt, and three of the other 4 other NC schools. Our division would be so shitty. The ACC sucks enough as it is.

 

[VTscores]

Ok..... This idea of new divisions is bull shit. Probably end up as Us, Pitt, cuse, Maryland, UVA, an NC school (most likely wake or state) and bc ..... That's fucked up. Meanwhile the south would get Miami, fsu, Clemson, gt, and three of the other 4 other NC schools. Our division would be so shitty. The ACC sucks enough as it is.

That's not going to happen.

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

If we do join the SEC, I am going to puke when Hokie fans start the "conference pride" bullshit as well. That talk is for fucking losers. I am a Hokie fan. Fuck the rest of the ACC. I could give a fuck about them.

Nothing is more lame then a stupid ass Georgia fan taking pride in an Alabama national title.

I know "but the image, strength of schedule, make us look good..." bullshit but in the new system it isn't going to matter anyway. I hope that UVA, UNC etc lose every game they play. I am not going to take pride in any win that another team gets.

 

[Sleepy T]

If we do join the SEC, I am going to puke when Hokie fans start the "conference pride" bullshit as well. That talk is for fucking losers. I am a Hokie fan. Fuck the rest of the ACC. I could give a fuck about them.

Nothing is more lame then a stupid ass Georgia fan taking pride in an Alabama national title.

I know "but the image, strength of schedule, make us look good..." bullshit but in the new system it isn't going to matter anyway. I hope that UVA, UNC etc lose every game they play. I am not going to take pride in any win that another team gets.

Amen to that. Same can be said (at least for me) when it comes to pro-football (Giants, Eagles, and especially the Boys). I would throw some others into that conference pride BS. I don't care if it makes our conference look bad if these teams are down. WHEN we start winning the big games that we could ('Bama, Wisky, OSU) conference perception/affiliation won't mean shit. Look at Boise. They have won some big OOC games..and despite the crap conference they play in, they have been rewarded (and justifiably so) for winning those games. With that being said, they would have never made it in over 2 other undefeated teams (from the PAC12, SEC, B1G, B12). And no ACC team will do that either..don't care if it is Miami or FSU...

 

[VTscores]

Fuck the rest of the ACC. I could give a fuck about them.

I disagree with you on that. It DOES make a difference who you play. Otherwise, why bother going from the Big East to the ACC? You certainly need to be in a conference with an automatic bid to the national championship game.

If the ACC sucks, we'll have to change conferences. If VT wants a national championship, VT is going to have to play some teams with good records, so strength of schedule really does matter.

I want the ACC to be a strong conference, because if they're not, we'll have to move to one that is. The weakest teams don't have to be stellar, but the strongest ones need to be top notch. The disadvantage of "being a Boise" is that you might have a championship team a year or two and not make it to the championship game -- even if you win every game. If you're not in a powerful conference, you can miss your year.