View from the East
Friday, December 9, 2011
By Al Myatt |
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Sands of
Conference USA still shifting
By
Al Myatt
©2011 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
Britton Banowsky may be
afraid to answer his telephone, check his email or watch ESPN's
SportsCenter. The news lately has not been good for Conference USA and
its mild-mannered commissioner.
Houston, Southern Methodist and
Central Florida comprise the latest wave of defections, effective 2013,
and surely have sent Banowsky scurrying for his list of contingency
members.
C-USA needs to have 12 schools
in order to have a league championship football game, just one of the
repercussions of the recent raid by the Big East.
Just days ago, a merger between
C-USA and the Mountain West looked like a promising development in the
aftermath of East Carolina's apparent rejection by the Big East.
The reality of the quicksand
that is the college athletics landscape at the moment is that ECU could
still get a Big East invitation. The decision of Air Force to remain in
the Mountain West rather than fall in with the Big East's western sweep
could send some dominoes falling in the Pirates' direction. Navy may be
more reluctant to join without its fellow service academy accompanying
it and that may mean a space at the table for another Eastern team.
ECU athletics director Terry
Holland has been monitoring the pulse of the situation. He said the Big
East wanted to address its Western expansion but indicated the league
might evaluate additional expansion afterwards. The implication was that
ECU's opportunity to join the Big East could possibly ensue.
There are still enough teams in
a combined C-USA and Mountain West to make a mutual alignment functional
but the Pirates would have to consider a Big East bid if one is
forthcoming.
The situation most beneficial to
the Pirates may depend on potential changes to the structure of the Bowl
Championship Series. ECU wants to be in the best possible position
financially and maintain its appealing nonconference regional football
scheduling relationships.
BCS Executive Director Bill
Hancock said there may be as many as 30 different models for a
restructured BCS that will be examined next year.
The appeal of the Big East for
ECU was the league's automatic qualifying berth in the BCS and its
corresponding revenue. If the BCS system changes, it could affect the
Pirates in terms of what conference affiliation would be most
beneficial.
If a Big East invitation comes
before the BCS determines its course for the future, ECU officials will
have to project their most favorable position and act accordingly.
The Big East has out-USAed
Conference USA. The Big East's footprint will span the country in 2013.
A potential trip from Connecticut to San Diego State is roughly 6,000
miles round trip. It's a good thing that no one in college athletics
bothers to consult academicians about these matters. Missed class time
isn't a factor when the almighty dollar is driving the bus.
Speaking of dollars, Southern
Miss' win over Houston in the C-USA championship game cost the league
between $10 and $13 million, according to various estimates as the
Cougars were knocked out of a big payday from a BCS bowl. Golden Eagles
coach Larry Fedora apparently will reap some personal benefits with a
new, lucrative contract as Butch Davis's successor at North Carolina.
June Jones was briefly on the
coaching carousel himself but his agent's understanding with Arizona
State went awry and Jones is fortunate to be at SMU for the time being.
The situation was typical of the
general uncertainty that pervades various dimensions of college
athletics today.
Virtual playoff
A few years ago, Doug Groome
organized a virtual bowl for ECU in a down year and actually raised some
significant money for the Pirate Club in the process.
In response to some of the
dissatisfaction generated by a rematch between Alabama and LSU in the
BCS title game, I would like to join those who favor a 16-team playoff
among current Football Bowl Subdivision members.
The format would be similar to
the NCAA Tournament in basketball — the 11 conference champions and five
at-large teams.
First-round games in the virtual
playoff this season in my bracket:
- Arkansas State (Sun Belt) at
top-seeded LSU
- Northern Illinois (MAC) at
second-seeded Alabama
- Louisiana Tech (WAC) at
third-seeded Oklahoma State
- West Virginia at fourth-seeded
Stanford
- Southern Miss at Oregon
- Clemson at Arkansas
- Texas Christian (Mountain West) at
Boise State
- Wisconsin at Kansas State.
If the higher seeds survived, the
second round would have Kansas State vs. LSU, Boise State vs. Alabama,
Arkansas vs. Oklahoma State and Oregon vs. Stanford. The second round
would be the point at which the playoffs would move into the existing
bowl structure with games at neutral sites.
The Oregon-Stanford winner would play
the Kansas State-LSU winner on one side of the bracket in the semifinals
and the Arkansas-Oklahoma State winner would meet the Boise
State-Alabama winner in the other bracket.
As a fan, I would much rather see these
teams progress toward a true national champion, determined on the field
over the next few weeks, instead of hearing the talking heads on ESPN
hyping the second coming of the game of the century, which won't take
place until next month.
The second tier bowls would remain
active and provide postseason opportunities for teams which didn't
qualify for the playoffs. The playoff semifinals would be hosted by the
Orange and Sugar Bowls in my 2011 model. The Rose Bowl would host the
championship.
State Line Power Rankings™
South Carolina's win over Clemson
provided some clarity as to the top spot among the FBS teams in the
Carolinas. The problem with the next three spots is that Wake Forest
beat N.C. State, North Carolina beat Wake Forest and State beat
Carolina. The Deacons actually had a better ACC record (5-3) than the
Wolfpack (4-4) or Tar Heels (3-5) but Wake played poorly in a
regular-season-ending loss to Vanderbilt.
1. South Carolina ... The Gamecocks
beat Clemson for the third straight time and will meet Nebraska in the
postseason.
2. Clemson ... The Tigers bounced back
from their loss in Columbia to take the ACC championship and will go
bowling against West Virginia.
3. (tie) North Carolina ... Tar Heels
dispatched Duke on Senior Day and face Missouri in Shreveport, LA, on
Dec. 26.
3. (tie) N.C. State ... Miraculous
winners against Maryland, the Wolfpack will travel to Charlotte for a
Dec. 27 date with Louisville.
3. (tie) Wake Forest ... The Deacons
saved their worst for last in the regular season but Mississippi State
offers an opportunity for redemption.
6. East Carolina ... Pirates were a
play or two away for much of a 5-7 season; recruiting is the focus now.
7. Duke ... The Blue Devils were better
but only had a 3-9 record (1-7 ACC) to show for it.
E-mail Al Myatt
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01/03/12 02:39 AM.
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