Conclusions regarding Playoff possibilities

[cincibuck]

but my point is that northern teams (ie big ten, and bc, colorado, uconn, pitt-lesser extent rutgers, wv, kansas/mizzou/nebraska-maybe) have to be built to play in the north. so their games have to be built for the warm and cold. so the football and the best teams early on (sept/oct) arent always the best teams. this was a huge issue under our previous coach, a good ol boy from east TN who spent time in the lower plains and the desert...

I would have agreed with you twenty years ago, but Big 10 teams play pretty much the same offense and defense as any other conference. Coaches like WVU's Dick Wad and T Tech's Mike Leach may come in and bring a more wide open game to try and compensate for lack of depth, but the name teams SEC, Big 10, Big 12 and USC play a very similar style of football.

 

[jimotis4heisman]

I would have agreed with you twenty years ago, but Big 10 teams play pretty much the same offense and defense as any other conference. Coaches like WVU's Dick Wad and T Tech's Mike Leach may come in and bring a more wide open game to try and compensate for lack of depth, but the name teams SEC, Big 10, Big 12 and USC play a very similar style of football.

how are those teams doing? coach rods team? purdue on tiller?

08- osu, psu
07-osu
06-osu
05-osu, psu
04-iowa, um
03-um
02-iowa, osu.

guess you cant convince me based on champions. the razzle dazzle isnt winning conference titles. good defenses and teams who can run the bowl have. non of those teams play a cooper style, and none of them have the mike leech, coach rod, or razzle dazzle. now that being said are some southern teams capable of winning with that style up here, sure. are some southern teams built for the style im talking about, absolutely.

 

[Nutriaitch]

how far is ATL from your house? its 8 hours for us (columbus) if you drive it pretty good. (580 miles or so). from nawlins youre looking at 470 miles (less for most tigers fans aka over the bridge etc). that would be our closest half way decent bowl game, 8 hour drive. and no one, i mean no one has peach bowl ambitions...

I'm also about 8 hours from ATL (SEC CG), roughly the same to Dallas (Cotton).
10.5-11 from here to Tampa or Orlando (Outback and Cap One).


so other than the Sugar, which we've been to 13 times in 75+ years, we're in the same boat.
8 hours to next decent bowl.
no i don't consider the Independance to be a real bowl game.

 

[cincibuck]

how are those teams doing? coach rods team? purdue on tiller?

08- osu, psu
07-osu
06-osu
05-osu, psu
04-iowa, um
03-um
02-iowa, osu.

guess you cant convince me based on champions. the razzle dazzle isnt winning conference titles. good defenses and teams who can run the bowl have. non of those teams play a cooper style, and none of them have the mike leech, coach rod, or razzle dazzle. now that being said are some southern teams capable of winning with that style up here, sure. are some southern teams built for the style im talking about, absolutely.

You missed my point entirely. I said the Leach program is his way of working around the fact that he's way out gunned by Oklahoma and Texas in his conference, same, same Tiller at Purdue, Dick Wad at WVU. That's what makes the Dick Wad deal so interesting to me. What happens if a program that can draw talent like Michigan gets a coach who wants to go with wide open? We may have only two more years of shits and grins, or we may be in for another decade of wolverine follies.

But my major point is that the top 25 teams of the major conferences don't vary much in play. Yes, they passed a good deal in the Big 12 this year... because they had good QBS and receivers at Texas and Okie. Not because of weather conditions.

 

[methomps]

I agree with your point, but chances are that is not how the college game would draw their field.
The conferences would never sign off a system that doesn't give their champ an automatic bid.
That puts a 4 loss Va Tech into the playoffs last year.
Without watering down the field with multiple "at-large wild card" type teams, that takes a spot away from a 1 loss non-conf champ like Bama, Texas, Ohio State, etc.

If we go by just the polls, Texas probably gets in last year, but Texas Tech probably doesn't. Even though they had identical records, and TT won the head to head match-up.

Yes they would, if the money is right. They would take an automatic bid to a BCS-level bowl.

I think the weather argument is weak. It's the geography/fan base issue that needs to be drawn. Green Bay has won and lost home games in December/January to teams from warmer climes. Same, same the Chicago Bears, Pittsburgh Steelers and NE Patriots and of course the Vikings lose any important game indoors, outdoors, warm, cold or medium. BUT the revenue flow favors the home team and home field advantage remains in the 6 to 7 point range in Vegas. Right now SEC teams seldom leave their region (and I consider Texas to be a part of their Region) for a Bowl game. USC has won only one of its National Championships away from LA. I believe there's a correlation.

USC has only had one opportunity to win away from LA. That isn't a correlation, its a contract.

 

[cincibuck]

USC has only had one opportunity to win away from LA. That isn't a correlation, its a contract.

I rest my case...