Alabama has played UT-Chattanooga 3 times since 2008

[belcherboy]

Wait, what? Weren't you just arguing to keep divisions for the sole purpose of preventing Ohio State and Michigan rematch?

Yeah, but it's not like I'm going to boycott college football over it.

(plus you haven't been keeping up with the conversation...I conceded to your idea a while back)

 

[7Samurai13]

Yeah, but it's not like I'm going to boycott college football over it.

(plus you haven't been keeping up with the conversation...I conceded to your idea a while back)

I think Dantonio started boycotting it last season.

 

[belcherboy]

I think Dantonio started boycotting it last season.

I really am sorry to hear about all the troubles in EL. I still hate MSU, but I'd rather beat you when you are at full strength. It's just not as much fun when the other team is limping!

 

[4down20]

But there will still be inequity among schedules, so why change what is working well?

Some rivalries in conference will always happen every year, while other teams get an easier path without those rivalries. If you want to shuffle some teams around in conference divisions, than I could see doing that before scraping the entire thing. I don't like ideas that can mess with rivalry games.

Again, I'm probably overthinking it though!

Well if they do 2 groups of 5 in the rotation then they could likely do a better job than how it is now. Put Kentucky in one group, Vandy in the other. etc.

 

[Deep Creek]

But there will still be inequity among schedules,

No way to fix conference schedule inequities with conferences this big. And they ain't gettin' smaller.

 

[belcherboy]

No way to fix conference schedule inequities with conferences this big. And they ain't gettin' smaller.

That's why I say leave it as it is. If you add teams, maybe reshuffle the deck a bit, but don't scrap the entire divisions theme.

 

[belcherboy]

Well if they do 2 groups of 5 in the rotation then they could likely do a better job than how it is now. Put Kentucky in one group, Vandy in the other. etc.

But the idea presented was dropping divisions and just taking the best two teams in the conference at the end of the season. Basically what the B1G was about a decade ago. At least that is what I thought was being presented.


EDIT: I now see what you mean in terms of scheduling. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

 

[belcherboy]

You know what would be cool idea (at least in my head it is). If they did conferences like they do the World Cup drawing.

Every 2 years, they do a "ping pong" drawing to determine which division you will be in for the next 2 years. You still keep rivalry games, but you never know which division you will draw. It would probably be a popular "selection show" for the big conferences.

Or maybe I'm a complete idiot! (yeah, that is probably the case)

 

[7Samurai13]

Since you are completely missing everything I have said let me recap for you.

I do not agree with an 8 game conference schedule as the conferences are currently structured in the SEC, ACC, and BigTen (the 14 team conferences and yes I know the BigTen plays 9 conference games currently). If they got rid of divisions, had 3 permanent rivals, split the remaining 10 teams into two pools of 5, and required two P5 opponents in the non-conference schedule, then I would agree with an 8 game schedule. That gives each team 10 P5 opponents (which the majority of PAC and Big12 teams play) and prevents going years in between playing teams that are supposedly in your conference.

Example
2017 Michigan State
Non-Conference = Bowling Green, Western Michigan, Notre Dame, @Alabama
Permanent Rivals = @Michigan, Penn State, @Indiana
Odd Year Opponents = Ohio State, @Nebraska, Minnesota, @Rutgers, and Purdue

2018 Michigan State
Non-Conference = Utah State, Central Michigan, @Arizona State, West Virginia
Permanent Rivals = Michigan, @Penn State, Indiana
Even Year Opponents = @Wisconsin, Iowa, @Illinois, Maryland, and @Northwestern

Then 2019 you rotate back to the odd year opponents but the home games become away games.

But the idea presented was dropping divisions and just taking the best two teams in the conference at the end of the season. Basically what the B1G was about a decade ago. At least that is what I thought was being presented.


EDIT: I now see what you mean in terms of scheduling. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

This is what I had in mind then the top 2 conference records play for title.

 

[AlaskaGuy]

Has there ever been a thread on here that didn't turn into a B1G cage match?

 

[ralphiewvu]

Nothing to combat so gif away. Great work

 

[4down20]

Nothing to combat so gif away. Great work

 

[ralphiewvu]

Again, Great Work.

Can you find one with the Cookie Monster for my son??

 

[4down20]

Again, Great Work.

Can you find one with the Cookie Monster for my son??

 

[ralphiewvu]

He actually liked that, thanks.

 

[Innermind]

14, 15, or even 16 team conferences would be fine......

..... as long as we get rid of divisions.

In a division-less system each team in the conference can choose to play one or two annually protected conference opponents, and rotate the others. This way, a team would be able to play everybody within the conference at least every other year.

The two best teams at the end of the regular season then play each other in the CCG. For the perennial top teams in the conference, simply reserve Thanksgiving week for a high profile out-of-conference match-up in order to avoid having the top conference teams play each other two consecutive weeks.... Florida & Florida State already do this, as sometimes does Notre Dame & USC, and Georgia vs Georgia Tech..... let's also have Texas vs Texas A&M every Thanksgiving week, as well as Nebraska vs Oklahoma, and Pitt vs West Virginia, South Carolina vs Clemson, etc.

I'd hate this scenario...especially if Michigan and Ohio State had to play each other back to back games (same goes with Alabama and Auburn). The only way I'd want to see them play each other twice in a season is if they played in a playoff game.

If you look at/re-read my scenario again for division-less conferences, you will see I emphasize the strategy of playing high profile out-of-conference match-ups Thanksgiving week. This would greatly reduce the chances of perennial top level teams in each conference playing each other two consecutive weeks.


Examples----

PAC
The PAC would be no problem as Oregon v Oregon State, Wash v Wash St, Cal v Stanford, and Arizona State v Arizona Thanksgiving games are generally/usually no risk to be played again the next week in the CCG. So... as long as USC faces Notre Dame each Thanksgiving, then there should be no back-to-back rematches in the PAC. Note.... I would like to see BYU join the Big 12 so that each Thanksgiving week Utah v BYU could be played as a power 5 OOC contest. That would leave UCLA and Colorado either facing each other or perhaps playing an OOC match-up Thanksgiving week.

Big 12
For OOC games, the Big 12 should have Texas play Texas A&M, Oklahoma play Nebraska, and West Virginia play Pitt each Thanksgiving, thus the Big 12 should then be fine with not having a back-to-back rematch in the CCG. Other OOC games during Thanksgiving week could feature Kansas v Mizzou, and Iowa State v Iowa. That would leave Baylor, TCU, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and K-State to figure out what to do Thanksgiving week.

ACC
For the ACC.... Florida State v Florida, Clemson v South Carolina, Louisville v Kentucky, Pitt v West Virginia, Syracuse v Rutgers, and Georgia Tech v Georgia would be good Thanksgiving week OOC games, as well as in-conference Virginia Tech v Virginia, North Carolina v NC State, and Duke v Wake Forest. That would leave Miami and Boston College either facing each other or perhaps playing an OOC match-up Thanksgiving week. So.... the ACC should also be safe from having back-to-back rematches in its CCG.

B1G
The B1G presents a tougher challenge, because even if we have Michigan v Michigan State play each Thanksgiving week (which is probably a minimal risk CCG rematch), we still have the problem of what to do with Ohio State and Penn State each Thanksgiving week. Thanksgiving week in the B1G we will already have Wisconsin v Minnesota, Purdue v Indiana, and Northwestern v Illinois. And OOC we would hopefully have Nebraska v Oklahoma each Thanksgiving, as well as perhaps Iowa v Iowa State. Ideally, I would like to eventually see the SEC enter the Ohio market and invite Cincinnati. This way, each year Thanksgiving week could feature Ohio State v Cincinnati in a B1G v SEC match-up! Penn State v Maryland would be a nice annual in-conference Thanksgiving rivalry with minimal risk of being a CCG rematch. Rutgers and Syracuse hate each other, perhaps that could also be an annual Thanksgiving OOC matchup.

SEC
In the SEC during Thanksgiving week we could have Georgia v Georgia Tech, Florida v Florida State, South Carolina v Clemson, Kentucky v Louisville, Texas A&M v Texas, Mizzou v Kansas in OOC games.... and for in-conference, we could have Ole Miss v Miss St, Tennessee v Vandy, LSU v Arkansas... very minimal risk of those three match-ups being played again the next week in the CCG. The problem will be Alabama v Auburn..... that Thanksgiving match-up has a decent chance of ending up being a rematch the very next week in the CCG.



So, with the exception of Alabama v Auburn, we can easily reduce the chances of back-to-back contests occurring in every power conference by using the strategy of playing high profile/rivalry out-of-conference match-ups in a division-less conference setup.

 

[socaljim242]

If you look at/re-read my scenario again for division-less conferences, you will see I emphasize the strategy of playing high profile out-of-conference match-ups Thanksgiving week. This would greatly reduce the chances of perennial top level teams in each conference playing each other two consecutive weeks.


Examples----

PAC
The PAC would be no problem as Oregon v Oregon State, Wash v Wash St, Cal v Stanford, and Arizona State v Arizona Thanksgiving games are generally/usually no risk to be played again the next week in the CCG. So... as long as USC faces Notre Dame each Thanksgiving, then there should be no back-to-back rematches in the PAC. Note.... I would like to see BYU join the Big 12 so that each Thanksgiving week Utah v BYU could be played as a power 5 OOC contest. That would leave UCLA and Colorado either facing each other or perhaps playing an OOC match-up Thanksgiving week.

Big 12
For OOC games, the Big 12 should have Texas play Texas A&M, Oklahoma play Nebraska, and West Virginia play Pitt each Thanksgiving, thus the Big 12 should then be fine with not having a back-to-back rematch in the CCG. Other OOC games during Thanksgiving week could feature Kansas v Mizzou, and Iowa State v Iowa. That would leave Baylor, TCU, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and K-State to figure out what to do Thanksgiving week.

ACC
For the ACC.... Florida State v Florida, Clemson v South Carolina, Louisville v Kentucky, Pitt v West Virginia, Syracuse v Rutgers, and Georgia Tech v Georgia would be good Thanksgiving week OOC games, as well as in-conference Virginia Tech v Virginia, North Carolina v NC State, and Duke v Wake Forest. That would leave Miami and Boston College either facing each other or perhaps playing an OOC match-up Thanksgiving week. So.... the ACC should also be safe from having back-to-back rematches in its CCG.

B1G
The B1G presents a tougher challenge, because even if we have Michigan v Michigan State play each Thanksgiving week (which is probably a minimal risk CCG rematch), we still have the problem of what to do with Ohio State and Penn State each Thanksgiving week. Thanksgiving week in the B1G we will already have Wisconsin v Minnesota, Purdue v Indiana, and Northwestern v Illinois. And OOC we would hopefully have Nebraska v Oklahoma each Thanksgiving, as well as perhaps Iowa v Iowa State. Ideally, I would like to eventually see the SEC enter the Ohio market and invite Cincinnati. This way, each year Thanksgiving week could feature Ohio State v Cincinnati in a B1G v SEC match-up! Penn State v Maryland would be a nice annual in-conference Thanksgiving rivalry with minimal risk of being a CCG rematch. Rutgers and Syracuse hate each other, perhaps that could also be an annual Thanksgiving OOC matchup.

SEC
In the SEC during Thanksgiving week we could have Georgia v Georgia Tech, Florida v Florida State, South Carolina v Clemson, Kentucky v Louisville, Texas A&M v Texas, Mizzou v Kansas in OOC games.... and for in-conference, we could have Ole Miss v Miss St, Tennessee v Vandy, LSU v Arkansas... very minimal risk of those three match-ups being played again the next week in the CCG. The problem will be Alabama v Auburn..... that Thanksgiving match-up has a decent chance of ending up being a rematch the very next week in the CCG.



So, with the exception of Alabama v Auburn, we can easily reduce the chances of back-to-back contests occurring in every power conference by using the strategy of playing high profile/rivalry out-of-conference match-ups in a division-less conference setup.

Pretty sure in the PAC you're playing the other division early in your schedule and last five conference games are against your division so no chance to play back to back in the CCG.

 

[Innermind]

Pretty sure in the PAC you're playing the other division early in your schedule and last five conference games are against your division so no chance to play back to back in the CCG.

Exactly..... but..... we were discussing what happens in a division-less scenario. Many folks, myself included, believe college football conferences should go to a division-less system. Under a division-less system, teams in large conferences would be able to play against each other more frequently than under the current system with divisions.

Teams would protect one or two important annual conference rivalries, and rotate the remaining conference opponents. Thus...a team would be able to play every team in their conference at least every other year even in a 15 member conference with only 8 conference games! All while still protecting two annual conference rivalries. That's awesome.

Look at Alabama for example. The Tide only really need to play Auburn and Tennessee every year... the other conference opponents can be rotated. Most teams probably only have one (sometimes two) conference rivalry game that needs to be played each year.
For USC it would be UCLA.... the Trojans can rotate the other conference opponents.
Ohio State needs to play Michigan each year, that's it.

Also, in a division-less system, we don't have to worry about unbalanced divisions!.... the two best teams in the conference play each other in the CCG.

Also, in a division-less system, a conference can have an odd number of members (11 or 13 or 15), no problem.

 

[AlaskaGuy]

Exactly..... but..... we were discussing what happens in a division-less scenario. Many folks, myself included, believe college football conferences should go to a division-less system. Under a division-less system, teams in large conferences would be able to play against each other more frequently than under the current system with divisions.

Teams would protect one or two important annual conference rivalries, and rotate the remaining conference opponents. Thus...a team would be able to play every team in their conference at least every other year even in a 15 member conference with only 8 conference games! All while still protecting two annual conference rivalries. That's awesome.

Look at Alabama for example. The Tide only really need to play Auburn and Tennessee every year... the other conference opponents can be rotated. Most teams probably only have one (sometimes two) conference rivalry game that needs to be played each year.
For USC it would be UCLA.... the Trojans can rotate the other conference opponents.
Ohio State needs to play Michigan each year, that's it.

Also, in a division-less system, we don't have to worry about unbalanced divisions!.... the two best teams in the conference play each other in the CCG.

Before we make that jump, lets see the SEC play a 9 game conference schedule. Make those fvkers play the teams in their conference for once.

 

[4down20]

Before we make that jump, lets see the SEC play a 9 game conference schedule. Make those fvkers play the teams in their conference for once.

It's funny that other conferences need the SEC to beat each other because they can't seem to do it.