Big12 Is Scheduling for the Playoff Era

[Iceland12]

Commish Delany applauds the Big10 for upping their schedules. Even without sanctions tOSU would be outside looking in.

Ohio State is the nation's only 10-0 team, but the Buckeyes aren't part of the BCS title talk because of NCAA sanctions.

What if the sanctions weren't there? Where would Urban Meyer's crew be in the championship chase?

The likely answer: on the outside looking in. The reason: its nonconference schedule. Partly because of bad luck and partly because of a pre-playoff approach to scheduling, Ohio State played a non-league slate -- Miami (Ohio), UCF, California and UAB -- that impressed no one. UCF (7-2) is the only foe with a winning record, while the other three are a combined 9-19. Ohio State's schedule ranks 60th nationally based on cumulative opposition, far behind Alabama's (33rd), Kansas State's (29th) or Notre Dame's (23rd).

A soft slate combined with a weak league would hurt Ohio State's chances, even if the four-team playoff were in place.

The good news is that as the playoff era nears, Ohio State and other Big Ten teams with national title hopes are making the necessary schedule upgrades to crack the field of four.


"We talked a lot about the programs that want to be considered and taken seriously, that they needed to go out and step up to the plate," Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said.
In recent weeks Ohio State has added series with the likes of Oregon, Texas and TCU. The Buckeyes also have upcoming games with Virginia Tech, Oklahoma, North Carolina and Cincinnati. Ohio State already has at least two major-conference teams confirmed for the schedule in 2014, 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2021.

Michigan State has been ahead of the curve with aggressive scheduling, and will face Oregon, Alabama, Boise State, Miami and other notable teams in future seasons. Michigan this week announced a home-and-home series with Arkansas, which will mark the first time the Wolverines visit an SEC stadium. Even a Wisconsin program that has been a longtime resident of cupcake city is making a scheduling push and will face the likes of Virginia Tech, Washington, BYU and Washington State during the playoff era. Nebraska soon will announce several future non-league games, including the resumption of its rivalry with Oklahoma.

http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/70832/delany-b1g-is-scheduling-for-playoff-era

 

[Schnauzer]

There aren't any teams trying to schedule MORE cupcakes, are there?

 

[Iceland12]

There aren't any teams trying to schedule MORE cupcakes, are there?

Don't look to me for that, I couldn't even type the HEADLINE right! Wait, maybe I was trying to be sarcastic.

 

[beavergopher]

There aren't any teams trying to schedule MORE cupcakes, are there?

Kill has a sweet tooth I guess.

 

[Ski U Master]

This thread doesn't apply to Minnesota.

Ohio State and other Big Ten teams with national title hopes

 

[Iceland12]

This thread doesn't apply to Minnesota.

Okay here. Happy? Gees..

"It's not a conference mandate. It's a conference philosophy that was shared."

Delany divides power conferences into three groups: programs that aim for national championships; programs that aim for strong bowl games but are realistic about their place in the national picture; and rebuilding programs trying to get to bowls. Scheduling reflects these positions. Minnesota made it pretty clear recently where it stands, while a program like Northwestern, which is heading to its fifth straight bowl, seems to fit in the second category and has bolstered its non-league schedules with teams like Stanford and Notre Dame.

 

[mnsports1]

Kill has a sweet tooth I guess.

There is a middle ground we have to go through first from where we are now to where we have to start worrying about our non-conf schedule affecting the NC picture. Get a clue...

 

[OddStack]

"Playoffs! Don't talk about playoffs. Playoffs? Are you kidding me? Playoffs?"--Jim Mora

We don't need to follow the conference for at least another few years. I'd be happy getting to a January bowl every year. A run every so often in the BCS would be nice, but we are not in that conversation as a program.

 

[beavergopher]

There is a middle ground we have to go through first from where we are now to where we have to start worrying about our non-conf schedule affecting the NC picture. Get a clue...

You must enjoy having the Crapsberg States of the world come to TCF. Much more fun having a USC, Cal, Air Force even if we lose. One decent BCS non-conf. is not too much to ask. Cupcakes do not expose your weaknesses and prepare you for B1G play. They also don't help put butts in the seats, which if you may have noticed is becoming a problem.

 

[OddStack]

You must enjoy having the Crapsberg States of the world come to TCF. Much more fun having a USC, Cal, Air Force even if we lose. One decent BCS non-conf. is not too much to ask. Cupcakes do not expose your weaknesses and prepare you for B1G play. They also don't help put butts in the seats, which if you may have noticed is becoming a problem.

There were plenty of open seats when USC came!!! It's all about winning!

 

[Maximus]

You must enjoy having the Crapsberg States of the world come to TCF. Much more fun having a USC, Cal, Air Force even if we lose. One decent BCS non-conf. is not too much to ask. Cupcakes do not expose your weaknesses and prepare you for B1G play. They also don't help put butts in the seats, which if you may have noticed is becoming a problem.

So losing a close game at USC prepared the team for its trips to Michigan and Purdue last year? Imagine those two scores without that Trojan experience. Yikes!

 

[lakesgopher]

There were plenty of open seats when USC came!!! It's all about winning!

I bet it will be a sell out vs New Mexico

 

[MNVCGUY]

So losing a close game at USC prepared the team for its trips to Michigan and Purdue last year? Imagine those two scores without that Trojan experience. Yikes!

So sick of this argument. It can be debated how much playing any team helps you for a future opponent but if you want to look at it directly you are going to be more prepared to face Michigan haveing played a team on a similar level to them in the non-conf then you are playing 4 glorified HS teams.

This whole discussion is pointless at this point because no matter what the sides are not going to agree. The cupcake crowd is going to defend Kill and his scheduling with every breath they have and the 1 team with a pulse crowd is going to bash the decision with every breath they have. The reality is we are going to play cupcakes and in a few years we will proably be looking for a way out of the Oregon State series because that is what Coach Kill likes to do scehdule wise. He isn't the first, he won't be the last...it is what it is.

 

[OddStack]

I bet it will be a sell out vs New Mexico

Never said that.

This town/state will support a winner, period!

If you lose, it doesn't matter who you play...it won't sell out! If you are a winner YOU HAVE A CHANCE to sell out in spite of who you play.

 

[dpodoll68]

4 glorified HS teams

And I'm so sick of this argument. People want to pretend that we're playing Bethel or Concordia. These are still Division I-A schools with 85 scholarships, just like us, with the exception of the one I-AA school that most everyone plays. Make no mistake - even the worst Division I-A team in the country would absolutely destroy any and all HS teams without even breaking a sweat.

 

[lakesgopher]

Never said that.

This town/state will support a winner, period!

If you lose, it doesn't matter who you play...it won't sell out! If you are a winner YOU HAVE A CHANCE to sell out in spite of who you play.

I know I'm just saying if we can't put people in the stands for USC we probably aren't putting anyone in vs the likes of New Mexico

 

[MNVCGUY]

And I'm so sick of this argument. People want to pretend that we're playing Bethel or Concordia. These are still Division I-A schools with 85 scholarships, just like us, with the exception of the one I-AA school that most everyone plays. Make no mistake - even the worst Division I-A team in the country would absolutely destroy any and all HS teams without even breaking a sweat.

That's a fair point. They are Division 1 teams just not division one teams that should be able to compete with a BCS conference squad. My contention is you still get more in the long run from playing at least one somewhat talented team in your non-conf schedule, it is good for your fans, good for recruiting, and something that most (not all) but most teams from BCS conferences do. But in the end it doesn't matter what any of us want. Kill is going to schedule the cupcakes and for now the admisitration looks like they are willing to back him on it.

 

[Vegasgopher]

4 Cupcake wins to get in to a bowl and get 20-25 extra practices.. Is that not worth it for a few years? It's not about the bowl it's about playing later and getting reps I will take 3-4 years of a soft NC schedule to make it to play in that extra game in 2015 let's talk about getting USC and Alabama or Oregon in here… Wait for it, this is a young team and they could use the bowl(practice) more than packing in the stands with a ACC team

 

[bleedsmaroonandgold]

And I'm so sick of this argument. People want to pretend that we're playing Bethel or Concordia. These are still Division I-A schools with 85 scholarships, just like us, with the exception of the one I-AA school that most everyone plays. Make no mistake - even the worst Division I-A team in the country would absolutely destroy any and all HS teams without even breaking a sweat.

Its hyperbole. I have a problem with playing the small conference teams because one of three things happens: 1) we lose and it is really embarrassing, 2) we win but not big and the win was unimpressive and we can't play like that and expect to win in conference, or 3) we destroy them in every facet of the game, in which case we did exactly what is expected when B1G meets mid-major and we still haven't shown anything.

 

[MNVCGUY]

4 Cupcake wins to get in to a bowl and get 20-25 extra practices.. Is that not worth it for a few years? It's not about the bowl it's about playing later and getting reps I will take 3-4 years of a soft NC schedule to make it to play in that extra game in 2015 let's talk about getting USC and Alabama or Oregon in here… Wait for it, this is a young team and they could use the bowl(practice) more than packing in the stands with a ACC team

2 problems with this line of thinking

1. Thinking this way means you don't think we can win more than 2 conference games in a given year, that is just sad. I get it in year 1 and year 2 but by year 3-4 you should at least flirting with the idea of going 4-4 in conference play each year.

2. Kill is not going to up the non-conf schedule. His philosophy is to pad the schedule early, again he is not the first or last to do this but people who act like he is going to look to upgrade things in the relatively near future are kidding themselves. If he was those would be games that we would be scheduling now because things are done so far out.

It is what it is, this topic has been beaten into the ground. We are going to play cupcakes now and for the foreseable future. It is fine, it means we should expect to be an untested 4-0 every year when Big Ten play starts.

 

[bleedsmaroonandgold]

2 problems with this line of thinking

1. Thinking this way means you don't think we can win more than 2 conference games in a given year, that is just sad. I get it in year 1 and year 2 but by year 3-4 you should at least flirting with the idea of going 4-4 in conference play each year.

2. Kill is not going to up the non-conf schedule. His philosophy is to pad the schedule early, again he is not the first or last to do this but people who act like he is going to look to upgrade things in the relatively near future are kidding themselves. If he was those would be games that we would be scheduling now because things are done so far out.

It is what it is, this topic has been beaten into the ground. We are going to play cupcakes now and for the foreseable future. It is fine, it means we should expect to be an untested 4-0 every year when Big Ten play starts.

I agree with everything you said. Just wanted to bold your quote to emphasize that we really should expect 4-0 every year with this scheduling philosophy.

 

[RailBaronYarr]

There were plenty of open seats when USC came!!! It's all about winning!

Wasn't even a comparison of the Cal, Syracuse, and USC games for attendance vs. Miami (OH), New Mexico St, SDSU, etc etc. The only "cupcake" with good attendance was NDSU and that's simply due to a large contingency of fans here in the TC. Playing teams like this absolutely moves the local needle and can draw in casual fans without the huge risk of 30% of the crowd being opposing fans (like Iowa/Wisc/Nebraska games do if we're in a down year).

2 problems with this line of thinking

1. Thinking this way means you don't think we can win more than 2 conference games in a given year, that is just sad. I get it in year 1 and year 2 but by year 3-4 you should at least flirting with the idea of going 4-4 in conference play each year.

2. Kill is not going to up the non-conf schedule. His philosophy is to pad the schedule early, again he is not the first or last to do this but people who act like he is going to look to upgrade things in the relatively near future are kidding themselves. If he was those would be games that we would be scheduling now because things are done so far out.

It is what it is, this topic has been beaten into the ground. We are going to play cupcakes now and for the foreseable future. It is fine, it means we should expect to be an untested 4-0 every year when Big Ten play starts.

I recognize that we're not in the BCS title game conversation but that doesn't mean playing at least one respectable team (read: BCS conference with a history of finishing in the upper half on a consistent basis or Major Independent program with the same record pedigree) doesn't help our national reputation and bowl positioning down the line.

I agree with your 2 points. Kill has been very clear on his intentions for scheduling and has given reasons why. We are free to agree or disagree with him. I'm of the belief that being afraid of losing 1 NC game because it would put you out of bowl contention means assuming we will be struggling to win more than 2 BT games. That is unacceptable to assume for a coach not in his first or second year. Furthermore, a 4-0 with no challenging teams in the NC schedule will not get you poll votes until you win at least 1 decent BT game. 4-0 in NC with a decent BCS conference team you get ranked, which draws in fans to the game, gets better TV spots and times, and makes the team look relevant in the national eyes (media and recruits). To me, this is a big deal. And let's not forget students - they do not want to show up to games against New Mexico St & co.