Nebraska and Tennessee Cancel Upcoming Games

[btowngopher]

That's too bad. I fear that this age of mega conferences will only provide less incentive for these type of marquee non-conference games.

The mega conferences do hurt non conf scheduling with teams going from four down to three non conf games. The expanded playoffs further kills the conf scheduling, as the incentive is gone.

 

[btowngopher]

Indiana ranked behind a Tennessee team with more losses and few quality wins. Indiana was ranked behind 5 two loss teams.
Boise got an automatic bid
SMU had two more wins than bama and the debate was over which of those two got in.

Notre dame had one loss and was ranked behind 3 two loss teams


The rankings being what they were proved that SOS does matter (I would argue that it more proved perception of SOS did matter)

But sos didn’t really matter as far as making the playoffs. Yes their was some talk as far as the last team in, but that was it, and the stronger sos didn’t win out.

 

[Some guy]

But sos didn’t really matter as far as making the playoffs. Yes their was some talk as far as the last team in, but that was it, and the stronger sos didn’t win out.

SOS did matter: and it’s why 10-2 Ohio state and Tennessee made the playoffs and 10-2 Miami, BYU, and Memphis did not.

It’s why 11 win SMU and Indiana made it but 11 win Army did not.

It’s why 9 win Alabama was in the conversation but 9 win Missouri and Illinois were not

I’m not sure how anyone with a straight face can make an argument SOS didn’t play a gigantic factor in the ratings.

Just because 9 win bama didn’t jump 11 win SMU doesn’t mean SOS didn’t matter. Bama’s SOS wasn’t enough to overcome having 3 regular season losses including two to 6-6 teams.
If bama was 9-3 but all the losses were to 8 win teams, they probably bump SMU,

There are cases of it mattering all over the rankings including who got in and who didn’t get in and including seeding

 

[CentralGopher]

 

[btowngopher]

SOS did matter: and it’s why 10-2 Ohio state and Tennessee made the playoffs and 10-2 Miami, BYU, and Memphis did not.

It’s why 11 win SMU and Indiana made it but 11 win Army did not.

It’s why 9 win Alabama was in the conversation but 9 win Missouri and Illinois were not

I’m not sure how anyone with a straight face can make an argument SOS didn’t play a gigantic factor in the ratings.

Just because 9 win bama didn’t jump 11 win SMU doesn’t mean SOS didn’t matter. Bama’s SOS wasn’t enough to overcome having 3 regular season losses including two to 6-6 teams.
If bama was 9-3 but all the losses were to 8 win teams, they probably bump SMU,

There are cases of it mattering all over the rankings including who got in and who didn’t get in and including seeding

The non conf sos doesn’t matter for B1G and SEC teams because the conf schedule is already strong. Losing a non conf game is far more detrimental as they likely don’t need an sos boost to make the playoff with 1 or two conference losses. There is a reason we don’t see primo non conf matchups as much as we used to. It kind of sucks for the teams from the lesser conferences because no one is going to want to schedule them, so it’s tough for them to even build a strong non conference schedule.

 

[Some guy]

The non conf sos doesn’t matter for B1G and SEC teams because the conf schedule is already strong. Losing a non conf game is far more detrimental as they likely don’t need an sos boost to make the playoff with 1 or two conference losses. There is a reason we don’t see primo non conf matchups as much as we used to. It kind of sucks for the teams from the lesser conferences because no one is going to want to schedule them, so it’s tough for them to even build a strong non conference schedule.

We are seeing more good non conference games than ever, in my opinion

Not sure what you’re talking about

 

[Ope3]

We are seeing more good non conference games than ever, in my opinion

Not sure what you’re talking about

Indiana played 3 Non-Conference dregs, all in Bloomington, and still got in the CFP.

100% of their discretionary schedule. 25% of their total body of work.

Blueprint.

 

[Some guy]

Indiana played 3 Non-Conference dregs, all in Bloomington, and still got in the CFP.

100% of their discretionary schedule. 25% of their total body of work.

Blueprint.

That has absolutely no contradiction from what I stated
Yes a team that went 11-1 vs a weaker schedule was seeded behind 5 two loss teams but ahead of 4 two loss teams

 

[Ope3]

That has absolutely no contradiction from what I stated
Yes a team that went 11-1 vs a weaker schedule was seeded behind 5 two loss teams but ahead of 4 two loss teams

I was responding to your "we're seeing more good Non-conference games than ever" aspect.

Going forward, teams from the Big 10/SEC seeing the easy path that the Hoosiers took to get to the CFP, may follow their lead.

Seems like Nebraska did. That's at least 2 fewer good Non-conference games on the docket.

 

[GopherGrit]

Indiana played 3 Non-Conference dregs, all in Bloomington, and still got in the CFP.

100% of their discretionary schedule. 25% of their total body of work.

Blueprint.

They got scheduled in conference to play both the teams in the National Championship game from the prior season.

 

[GopherGrit]

I was responding to your "we're seeing more good Non-conference games than ever" aspect.

Going forward, teams from the Big 10/SEC seeing the easy path that the Hoosiers took to get to the CFP, may follow their lead.

Seems like Nebraska did. That's at least 2 fewer good Non-conference games on the docket.

It sounds like starting in 2026 both leagues are going to get 4 teams in automatic.

The SEC is finally going to go to 9 conf games, as a result. I think this could also then open the door to every team in both leagues scheduling 10 P5 games, with a crossover for a majority of them

(Five of them already have that, with in-state rivalry games .... Iowa ... Florida, Georgia, SC, and Kentucky ... USC with ND ... not sure about UCLA, Wash, and Oregon .. or Oklahoma ... Mizzou-Kansas I think has stopped)

 

[Some guy]

I was responding to your "we're seeing more good Non-conference games than ever" aspect.

Going forward, teams from the Big 10/SEC seeing the easy path that the Hoosiers took to get to the CFP, may follow their lead.

Seems like Nebraska did. That's at least 2 fewer good Non-conference games on the docket.

Disagree that we are seeing fewer
It isn’t new that games get canceled

 

[WAGopher]

It sounds like starting in 2026 both leagues are going to get 4 teams in automatic.

The SEC is finally going to go to 9 conf games, as a result. I think this could also then open the door to every team in both leagues scheduling 10 P5 games, with a crossover for a majority of them

(Five of them already have that, with in-state rivalry games .... Iowa ... Florida, Georgia, SC, and Kentucky ... USC with ND ... not sure about UCLA, Wash, and Oregon .. or Oklahoma ... Mizzou-Kansas I think has stopped)

Unless there has been a recent change, the plan is to continue playing The Apple Cup.

 

[btowngopher]

Disagree that we are seeing fewer
It isn’t new that games get canceled

I guess there are still a good number, but far less than you saw 20 years ago. Lots of teams are now scheduling all patsies or at most one p4 team. It wasn’t rare to see blue bloods schedule two other strong teams in the past and was more rare to see fcs teams being scheduled.

 

[Texan Gopher]

This sucks. Josh was looking forward to beating the hell out of the huskers. Growing up in South Dakota, we had to watch big games on TV surrounded by husker fans.

 

[Some guy]

I guess there are still a good number, but far less than you saw 20 years ago. Lots of teams are now scheduling all patsies or at most one p4 team. It wasn’t rare to see blue bloods schedule two other strong teams in the past and was more rare to see fcs teams being scheduled.

Week 1
Alabama vs Florida state
LSU vs Clemson
Tennessee vs Syracuse
Texas vs Ohio State
Auburn vs Baylor
Georgia Tech vs Colorado
Notre Dame vs Miami
South Carolina vs Virginia tech
TCU vs North Carolina
Utah vs UCLA

Week 2
Arizona state vs Mississippi State
Oklahoma vs Michigan
Ok State Vs Oregon
Iowa vs Iowa State
Illinois vs Duke
Stanford vs BYU
Michigan State vs Boston College


Week 3
Wisconsin vs Alabama
Notre Dame vs Texas a&M
Minnesota vs Cal
Texas Tech vs Oregon State



Im not sure what percent of teams in the top 4 leagues play a non conference team from another top 4 league/Notre Dame/Oregon State/Washington State but it’s gotta be close to 80-90%

I am not convinced scheduling is significantly different than it was 10-20 years ago
You’d have to provide some data for me to believe it



In 1990 there were 25 independents which made scheduling major non conference opponents easier because people were looking for a lot more games.

Teams wanting 7 home games every year plays a bigger factor in not scheduling major conference opponents than running away from competition does. But that has been the case for a couple of decades already

 

[btowngopher]

https://www.bcftoys.com/fcs/. This shows the increase of teams scheduling fcs teams. Also this is despite some teams going from four non conf to three.

On a side note, I think teams would be silly to not follow the Indiana model. Seems the way to go for everyone who isn’t an established power.

 

[Some guy]

https://www.bcftoys.com/fcs/. This shows the increase of teams scheduling fcs teams. Also this is despite some teams going from four non conf to three.

On a side note, I think teams would be silly to not follow the Indiana model. Seems the way to go for everyone who isn’t an established power.

The rise of more FCS games is to get to 7 home games
That’s the cheapest way to do it.

It has nothing to do with ducking games that are harder


There is no “Indiana model”
9 of the 12 games aren’t set by Indiana.
At least 2 of the 3 games you control are going to be buy games against non p4 programs for 95% of teams.

If Indiana had played 6-6 North Carolina instead of 5-7 Charlotte their SOS would not have moved very much.


If by Indiana model you mean be in a power conference and win 11 games…yes that’s a really good model. That will make the playoff 100% of the time. Poor Miami and BYU only had 10

 

[GopherGrit]

Well, in any case, unless it is dictated I don't think major college teams will schedule more than 10 P teams.

Reason? Because if they went to 12, then the maximum number of home games in the regular season would be 6.

Teams want 7 (sometimes 8!) out of 12 at home in the regular season.

So that's 10 P (5 at home) and then 2 buy home games.

 

[Some guy]

Well, in any case, unless it is dictated I don't think major college teams will schedule more than 10 P teams.

Reason? Because if they went to 12, then the maximum number of home games in the regular season would be 6.

Teams want 7 (sometimes 8!) out of 12 at home in the regular season.

So that's 10 P (5 at home) and then 2 buy home games.

Correct.
There definitely is a consistent scheduling of FCS teams and it’s rare to see a team schedule two power 5s non conference. But that is about getting at least 7 home games more than it’s about running away from people to set up a soft schedule. And it isn’t new in the playoff era. It has been the case since teams were allowed a 12th game around the year 2000

 

[Ope3]

Disagree that we are seeing fewer
It isn’t new that games get canceled

Sure it's not new for games to cancelled. My opinion is there will be more cancellations and fewer scheduled to begin with.

If 3 Ls are deemed the line of being out of the CFB, more teams in their discretionary part of their schedule are going to give them as much of a chance as possible to avoid that.

The Cornhuskers will have 8 games in Lincoln in 2027. That included Northern Illinois, Miami (OH) & Northern Iowa. They replaced going to Knoxville with UNI coming to Lincoln.

 

[Ope3]

Between that and (maybe?) canceling the spring game, Nebraska is down about $1.5 million.

No, they are going to be ahead probably in the $10 5 million range.

They replaced going to Knoxville in 2027 with hosting Northern Illinois giving them 8 home games that season (3 Non-Conf & 5 Big 10). They were only going host 7 games in Lincoln with the game against the Vols on the docket.

EDIT after MaxyJR post.

 

[Ope3]

They got scheduled in conference to play both the teams in the National Championship game from the prior season.

Penn St was also removed as part of their previous Big 10 East slate.

I'm sure Indiana's Non-Conference opponents in 2024 (FIU, UNC-Charlotte, Western Illinois) was determined even before they knew Washington (& UCLA) were going to be part of their Big 10 slate.

I doubt gaming the system for a CFP berth was even remotely part of their plan. More likely it was just to get Bowl eligible and knowing how rugged their Big 10 East schedule was to give themselves a couple of breathers.

Going forward, other teams can see how well it worked and will try to copy them if the same parameters for getting into to the CFP remain.

 

[Some guy]

Sure it's not new for games to cancelled. My opinion is there will be more cancellations and fewer scheduled to begin with.

If 3 Ls are deemed the line of being out of the CFB, more teams in their discretionary part of their schedule are going to give them as much of a chance as possible to avoid that.

The Cornhuskers will have 8 games in Lincoln in 2027. That included Northern Illinois, Miami (OH) & Northern Iowa. They replaced going to Knoxville with UNI coming to Lincoln.

Yes. Nebraska has reduced capacity due to a construction project in 2027. They canceled it to have an 8th game to make up for lost revenue in the other 7.

 

[MaxyJR1]

According to one of the Nebraska insiders, Nebraska makes $8 million with all streams of revenue Bill Moo’s once said.

Pay Tennessee $1M
Pay Bowling Green $1M
Pay UNI $1M

Play an extra home game and come out $5M ahead.

 

[Ope3]

According to one of the Nebraska insiders, Nebraska makes $8 million with all streams of revenue Bill Moo’s once said.

Pay Texas $1M
Pay Bowling Green $1M
Pay UNI $1M

Play an extra home game and come out $5M ahead.

I think you mean Tennessee (not Texas).

 

[Some guy]

According to one of the Nebraska insiders, Nebraska makes $8 million with all streams of revenue Bill Moo’s once said.

Pay Texas $1M
Pay Bowling Green $1M
Pay UNI $1M

Play an extra home game and come out $5M ahead.

Yeah except since their stadium is under construction they won’t make the same amount per home game anymore.

If everything you say here is correct but they make 7 million per game all told instead of 8 million, they come out behind

 

[GopherTheJugular]

Yeah except since their stadium is under construction they won’t make the same amount per home game anymore.

If everything you say here is correct but they make 7 million per game all told instead of 8 million, they come out behind

Maybe I'm missing something, but @MaxyJR1 got his number by saying one extra home game is worth $8 million and then he subtracted the 3 payouts to arrive at $8M - $1M - $1M - $1M = $5 million.

If it's only $7 million per home game, wouldn't the math be $7M - $1M - $1M - $1M = $4 million ahead by having the extra game?

 

[MaxyJR1]

Maybe I'm missing something, but @MaxyJR1 got his number by saying one extra home game is worth $8 million and then he subtracted the 3 payouts to arrive at $8M - $1M - $1M - $1M = $5 million.

If it's only $7 million per home game, wouldn't the math be $7M - $1M - $1M - $1M = $4 million ahead by having the extra game?

He's saying they lose seating to the renovation for all home games, so they are trying to recoup as much as possible.

 

[Some guy]

Maybe I'm missing something, but @MaxyJR1 got his number by saying one extra home game is worth $8 million and then he subtracted the 3 payouts to arrive at $8M - $1M - $1M - $1M = $5 million.

If it's only $7 million per home game, wouldn't the math be $7M - $1M - $1M - $1M = $4 million ahead by having the extra game?

Because you also lose 1 Million per game in the other 7 home games

7 games times 8 million = 56 million
8 games times 7 million = 56 million - two buyouts to change from TN to BGSU = 54 million.

I have no idea how much revenue they are losing though. They could be coming out ahead or behind. But I tend to believe them that they’re trying to make up revenue because their capacity will be smaller for a year.