538: Make College Football Great Again

[Alsacs]

Make College Football Great Again

I love this idea. Too bad conferences won't try it. It would make great games each week and help schools rebuild at the bottom.

 

[TheCusian]

Make College Football Great Again

I love this idea. Too bad conferences won't try it. It would make great games each week and help schools rebuild at the bottom.

Love it. Not only does it pair the top of the conference better, but for a team like Syracuse - it would smooth out some of the schedule imbalance created by the divisions. We might have gotten UVa instead of NC State. Or Duke instead of Clemson.

Downside is the home schedule might look a lot less appetizing.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

That's pretty cool.

 

[Toga]

Takeaway - Nate was a master debater in high school. No surprise there.

 

[PAcuse]

Takeaway - I'm still shocked Rutgers beat anyone in the conference.

 

[longtimefan]

Make College Football Great Again

I love this idea. Too bad conferences won't try it. It would make great games each week and help schools rebuild at the bottom.

And the conference that put the kibosh on the ACC's proposal to permit leagues to choose a champion without resorting to divisions? The B1G.

 

[OrangeFoo]

"Coordinating travel logistics would become mildly more annoying."

That might be the understatement of the year... In Big 10 country and in the SEC college football weekends are scheduled a year in advance. You can't expect this to work if the schedule was set on a week by week basis. This idea would totally screw fans.

 

[Alsacs]

"Coordinating travel logistics would become mildly more annoying."

That might be the understatement of the year... In Big 10 country and in the SEC college football weekends are scheduled a year in advance. You can't expect this to work if the schedule was set on a week by week basis. This idea would totally screw fans.

It would only affect road visiting fans.
Home teams would know which weeks they would have home games on before the year started.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

It would only affect road visiting fans.
Home teams would know which weeks they would have home games on before the year started.

How. Match ups depend on records.

 

[Alsacs]

How. Match ups depend on records.

Matchups depend on records based on who is scheduled to be at home and who is scheduled to be on the road. Read the article.

 

[44PRIDE]

Travel considerations, logistics and contractual obligations make this impossible to execute.

Great internet chat room fodder tho...

 

[Dmcnabbrules]

Not bad. I have said there needs to be three major changes in my opinion.
1. Form seven power conferences with 10 teams. 9 game league schedule. Total of 11 regular season games with no conference championship. Take the seven conference champs plus one wild card. There is your playoff.
2. Pay players $5000 per semester they are enrolled and in good academic standing.
3. Change rules for transferring after a coach voluntarily leaves for another job.


College sports needs to be more about the student athletes and less about the "adults."

 

[Eric15]

I know the title is just a play on words, but I think college football right now is the best its ever been in history.

The fact that seasons used to end with split national champions, and 1 & 2 playing in separate bowl games is just incomprehensible. And ties, and rock hard astroturf -- just awful.

 

[Millhouse]

It would only affect road visiting fans.
Home teams would know which weeks they would have home games on before the year started.

something like this could work decades from now if attendance trends continue. as the tv experience improves relative to the in person experience, the less travel considerations for fans will matter. of course by then we'll all be dead and our ancestors will think we are barbarians for ever enjoying this sport

 

[General20]

I think Nate Silver's idea is a great one, but to get to that point college football (and basketball too) needs a commissioner. Really worthwhile change is not going to come when hundreds of school presidents all have to compromise with each other. What we need is for the power 5 (or whatever it turns out to be) schools to break away from the rest, and name a commissioner to look out for what is best for the league. And for the love of god have some kind of central scheduling. Whenever competitors choose their own schedules (like you see with college sports and in boxing) its a travesty.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Matchups depend on records based on who is scheduled to be at home and who is scheduled to be on the road. Read the article.

Yeah, but planning a big tailgate for a particular weekend is tougher even for the home team when you don't necessarily know who your opponent will be.

 

[TheCusian]

Travel considerations, logistics and contractual obligations make this impossible to execute.

Great internet chat room fodder tho...

Travel considerations could be massaged, the logistics are not that complicated, and TV would be giddy over better matchups to solve the contractual issues.

 

[TheCusian]

Yeah, but planning a big tailgate for a particular weekend is tougher even for the home team when you don't necessarily know who your opponent will be.

If your team is good, you'll be playing someone good. I'd sign up for that.

Plus you can just make one of the 3 "rivalry" games your big tailgate.

 

[BlazeOrange]

Travel considerations could be massaged, the logistics are not that complicated, and TV would be giddy over better matchups to solve the contractual issues.

The potential options for games will become increasingly predictable as the weeks go by and I'm sure some entrepreneur will develop an app to easily exchange lodging/travel cost items on a secondary market. Though they'll probably take a bath finding takers on weeks like when Rutgers has to go to Nebraska on short notice.

 

[longtimefan]

The potential options for games will become increasingly predictable as the weeks go by and I'm sure some entrepreneur will develop an app to easily exchange lodging/travel cost items on a secondary market. Though they'll probably take a bath finding takers on weeks like when Rutgers has to go to Nebraska on short notice.

Nebraska can sell out their building regardless of the opponent.

Rutgers to Purdue or Indiana, or even Iowa, could be a problem. Or Rutgers to Minnesota (haha),

 

[Quazzum69]

Leagues should use the previous year's results (based on computer ratings like BCS composite) to ensure each team has about the same strength of schedule (maybe make 2 or 3 permanent opponents but this would be adjusted for).

 

[kirbivore]

Takeaway - Nate was a master debater in high school. No surprise there.