Sunday, December 02, 2012

Pac-12 schedule

The Pac-12 title game was this Friday. UCLA played Stanford. 6 days before, they also played each other. Who could have ever seen this coming? I mean, UCLA only played in the title game last season, and Stanford was second in their division. Not a chance of them coming on top, eh? You think they could have avoided them playing each other the last game of the season?

Or, better yet, avoid all cross-division games at the end of the season. Even a Washington State-Colorado game could potentially be a rematch game. (Maybe they both turn it around next year.)

The Pac-12 championship game has a lot to be desired. The conference plays a 9 game schedule with 12 teams. With 5 games against division opponents, that leaves 4 games against the other division. 4/6 means there is a 2/3rds chance that the championship game will be a rematch. Ugghh.

In the current Big-10 and ACC, they have an 8 game schedule. With 12 teams and 5 conference games, that leaves just 3 games in the other division, so a 1/2 chance of a rematch. The SEC (and future fourteen team ACC/Big-10) have 14 teams. 6 division games + 2 in the other division games leaves 2/6 or 1/3 chance of a rematch.

As for scheduling, the SEC has a "rivalry" game the last week. Most of these are non-conference games. The Pac-12 is instead trying to "create" a rivalry with Colorado and Utah. Why not let them play their natural rivals (BYU and Colorado State) on the last week? Then we can have all teams playing their natural rivals the last week.

As for the Notre Dame game? Well, they have the ACC deal now. Let them play a Boston College or someone like that in the final week and restore USC/UCLA and Cal/Stanford for the last week.

I wonder if the days of college football are numbered. They seem to be reaching too far for money, and alienating most of their core constituents. What happened to the good 'ol Saturday afternoon games? (I remember going home from games when it was still light outside. Now there are few games that even start with light in the sky.) And there were once local rivalry games you cared about and could actually travel to. Now, it is all about TV and money - until the NFL decides they should just make a development league and shut the colleges out altogether.

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