Big Ten football

[Kolumbo]

....I enjoy watching college football, and I think it is the most strategic of the major sports. College football is rotten to its core, and trails only international soccer in terms of corruption among major sports. It is a sport that permanently maims a large percentage of its participants, most of whom come from poor backgrounds. The sport is predatory and exclusionary, and has created a monopoly that has devalued the athletic programs of dozens of schools, including UConn. It maintains a bowl system that makes no sense at all and costs the schools, and the taxpayers that support those schools, millions of dollars in lost revenue. And they do this so a few hundred middle aged and old men can pull in huge salaries and hang out with rich boosters. So no, I would not put it past the major conferences to fix games given all the other crap the sport does.
....

Good points. I am not saying any school would tank a game, but given how conferences rather than individual schools are tied to huge $'s, there is potential for some maneuverings. This business is all about squeezing every dollar out of the consumer so where there is money to be made...there is potential.

 

[Kolumbo]

This is why it is so difficult being an independent in college football. I figure it costs us between 3 and 10 points per game.

Oh for the love of God....

 

[DarthGrumpy]

1998 Texas A&M over Kansas St, knocking them out of championship game.
2007 Oklahoma upset Missouri knocking them out of BCS championship
2007 Pitt over #2 WVU knocking them out of championship game (not a CCG, but in effect the same end result).

Two programs I hate; but Syracuse crushing #17 BC in 2004 keeping the soon to be ACC members out of the Big E's BCS Bowl slot.

 

[Kolumbo]

Good points. I am not saying any school would tank a game, but given how conferences rather than individual schools are tied to huge $'s, there is potential for some maneuverings. This business is all about squeezing every dollar out of the consumer so where there is money to be made...there is potential.

And that said, Wisconsin is a program which always gains more by winning. Now if you were talking about the state university of NJ flopping, not only would I believe it, I would bet on it.

 

[Rocktheworld]

That was about as douchey a response as I have ever seen on this board, and Whaler posts here several times a day. If you weren't such a dick, you would have seen the post where I said that players don't throw games, I wouldn't put it past coaches or officials to put their finger on the scale though.

But I have been in the business world for a long time, and I have also seen lives ruined when people let pride cost their company money. Pride is a terrible influence on business decisions, and in case you haven't been paying attention, college football is a business.

Call out a guy condescendingly claiming all he knows is middle school athletics
Dude turns it around and own your ass
He's the

Classic Nelson.

 

[dayooper]

That was about as douchey a response as I have ever seen on this board, and Whaler posts here several times a day. If you weren't such a dick, you would have seen the post where I said that players don't throw games, I wouldn't put it past coaches or officials to put their finger on the scale though.

But I have been in the business world for a long time, and I have also seen lives ruined when people let pride cost their company money. Pride is a terrible influence on business decisions, and in case you haven't been paying attention, college football is a business.

No more douchey than a number of your posts, including the one where you belittled my point as coming from the aspect of a middle school coach. Eye for an eye? Yet now, you sink so low as to call me a dick. Funny, you were accusing others of name calling, yet now the same doesn't apply to you. Got it.

As far as officiating goes, that's another story. The NBA has long had the stigma of leaning calls toward star players. So does NCAA basketball (Blake Griffen and his plowing people over is one that I will always remember). Could the Big10 have their officials call it towards OSU? Sure, it's more likely than a school throwing a game themselves.

Of course it's a business. They will see more money pass through their coffers than we could ever imagine. These schools know how much money they will receive when one of their conference mates makes the playoffs ($6,000,000) and when they make one of the other bowls in the series ($4,000,000). Let's say that Wisconsisn would have won that game. It would have bumped OSU to one of the other bowls and bumped up a Big12 team. My guess is the Big10 would have had Wisconsin and OSU, bumping out MSU. in those games. Loss of $2,000,000 million. Divide that by 11 (worst case scenario that UNL, UMD, and Rutgers aren't getting a bowl share), and Wisconsin would lose $182,000 dollars. There's a slight chance that all three could have made the bowls. In that case, they would have made $182,000 for not throwing the game.

Link to college football playoff distribution

Unless the page is lying (it's the NCAA, you never know), I don't see the cost benefit to Wisconsin throwing that game.

 

[Adios]

Usually, douches get ignored/banned elsewhere...

 

[dayooper]

1998 Texas A&M over Kansas St, knocking them out of championship game.
2007 Oklahoma upset Missouri knocking them out of BCS championship
2007 Pitt over #2 WVU knocking them out of championship game (not a CCG, but in effect the same end result).

2013 - #10 MSU beats #2 OSU (who was 12-0) in the Big10 championship game

 

[kyleslamb]

That was about as douchey a response as I have ever seen on this board, and Whaler posts here several times a day. If you weren't such a dick, you would have seen the post where I said that players don't throw games, I wouldn't put it past coaches or officials to put their finger on the scale though.

But I have been in the business world for a long time, and I have also seen lives ruined when people let pride cost their company money. Pride is a terrible influence on business decisions, and in case you haven't been paying attention, college football is a business.

You've said that you think Wisconsin threw the game against Ohio State. If you don't think the Wisconsin players did it, how in the world did Ohio State win 59-0? You think the officials and possibly the Wisconsin staff managed to spot OSU a 59-point win? Wisconsin was only flagged three times the entire game (Ohio State five).

So how did that game get so lopsided if the players weren't the ones tanking?

I think where you're going wrong here is being so definitive about this and acting like the opposing team would be in on it. You're not going to find many coaches or players that would purposely lose a game, especially a conference championship. Flat out, that just wouldn't happen. I happen to believe conspiracies are more common in life than people want to admit, and anytime money is at stake, definitely there's a chance of corruption. But most people simply aren't going to be willing to purposely lose a huge game. If you are agreeing players wouldn't do it, then there's no way Wisconsin lost to Ohio State because of tanking. The officials were not even noticeable that game. There's no way coaches are going to let the conference bribe them out of trying to win a title and going to a major bowl game, either.

 

[Adios]

2013 - #10 MSU beats #2 OSU (who was 12-0) in the Big10 championship game

All this drama for nothing.

 

[Durks07]

Ding. Ding. Ding. Say hello to ignore, someone. I can't be bothered with such stupidity anymore.

Yes you can. You love this place

 

[Seaa Blue]

I know, but staying independent is so important to us that we are willing to deal with the obvious downside.

Once, no 300 times, I've explained to Domers that for the last many years, when playing at Michigan, the refs were not Big Ten refs.

 

[kyleslamb]

I will say RE: that Pitt-WV game in 2007 that if ever there appeared to be a 'conspiracy' by a league to get someone to win, that was probably it. I remember thinking that game was absurdly one-sided in the way it was being officiated. That's the one college football game in my lifetime that I was pretty close to being convinced was rigged. West Virginia was only called for one or two penalties the entire game and I remember Pitt had a touchdown called back on a holding call that was non-existent. People were absolutely stunned that night and the following day at some of the calls on Pitt in that game.

 

[Adios]

Yes you can. You love this place

Rational stupidity is fine. Irrational stupidity is boring.

 

[Durks07]

Rational stupidity is fine. Irrational stupidity is boring.

Only on the Boneyard can the phrase "rational stupidity" make perfect sense.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Once again Waylon jumps the shark.

He implies that Wisconsin threw the B1G championship game for the benefit of the conference and later defied anyone to defend the notion that a Wisconsin win would have been better for the B1G, using that as (supposed) evidence for his winning an argument.

The reality is that each of Ohio St, TCU and Baylor had one loss when the committee chose the four for the playoff. Everything else he threw out about who had a better resume, which conference (B1G vs B-12) was stronger and whether or not the committee did OSU a favor by selecting them is at best open for debate (but an open debate is something our resident attention whore will never be part of).

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Once again Waylon jumps the shark.

He implies that Wisconsin threw the B1G championship game for the benefit of the conference and later defied anyone to defend the notion that a Wisconsin win would have been better for the B1G, using that as (supposed) evidence for his winning an argument.

The reality is that each of Ohio St, TCU and Baylor had one loss when the committee chose the four for the playoff. Everything else he threw out about who had a better resume, which conference (B1G vs B-12) was stronger and whether or not the committee did OSU a favor by selecting them is at best open for debate (but an open debate is something our resident attention whore will never be part of).

I actually said that a single game that didn't matter and in which both sides were motivated to have one team win should not be the deciding factor in a playoff bid. Other posters said that the 13th game was the deciding factor.

 

[sdhusky]

I actually said that a single game that didn't matter and in which both sides were motivated to have one team win should not be the deciding factor in a playoff bid. Other posters said that the 13th game was the deciding factor.

Both sides weren't motivated. WI wanted to go to the Rose Bowl. SO your logic is stupid. It's like saying games shouldn't count when spacemen from Mars are on the losing team.

 

[SubbaBub]

Can we ixnay on the igtenbay ashingbay?

For my money the B1G is the greatest collection of academic institutions ever and their sports prowess is unmatched.

Jim Delany is also a very handsome and charming man.

The next time I click on a thread titled, "Big Ten" in this forum, there better be either an announcement of our pending entry, or a tremendous amount of sucking up to the same.

 

[Irishfan]

Once, no 300 times, I've explained to Domers that for the last many years, when playing at Michigan, the refs were not Big Ten refs.

The complaint was never about the away games. It was using the Big Ten refs in the home games that used to drive people crazy. The issue with the away games was that the ACC refs or the Big 12 refs or even the Big East refs didn't like ND any better than the Big Ten refs. I would have preferred SEC refs or even MAC refs. Those conferences weren't pissed that ND didn't want to join them.

 

[businesslawyer]

The complaint was never about the away games. It was using the Big Ten refs in the home games that used to drive people crazy. The issue with the away games was that the ACC refs or the Big 12 refs or even the Big East refs didn't like ND any better than the Big Ten refs. I would have preferred SEC refs or even MAC refs. Those conferences weren't pissed that ND didn't want to join them.

I mean you have to LYAO on this. Notre Dame can agree when it signs on to the games as to what conference or conferences the refs will be supplied from. But obviously the Notre Dame administration knows nothing about football. They have a fan who is smarter than them that knows what conference's refs will be fair and which ones won't.

Do you hear yourself? Do you know how ridiculous you sound?

 

[uconnell]

Really Biz, a dangling participle.

 

[Irishfan]

I mean you have to LYAO on this. Notre Dame can agree when it signs on to the games as to what conference or conferences the refs will be supplied from. But obviously the Notre Dame administration knows nothing about football. They have a fan who is smarter than them that knows what conference's refs will be fair and which ones won't.

Do you hear yourself? Do you know how ridiculous you sound?

I'm just going by what Swarbrick told me about referees. Maybe he doesn't know what he's talking about.

 

[Dooley]

Can we ixnay on the igtenbay ashingbay?

For my money the B1G is the greatest collection of academic institutions ever and their sports prowess is unmatched.

Jim Delany is also a very handsome and charming man.

The next time I click on a thread titled, "Big Ten" in this forum, there better be either an announcement of our pending entry, or a tremendous amount of sucking up to the same.

Now ^ this is how you attempt to end a bunch of silly squabbles.

Speaking of s, I want UConn to get into the B1G so bad, mine hurts.

 

[Seaa Blue]

I'm just going by what Swarbrick told me about referees. Maybe he doesn't know what he's talking about.

Doesn't know Jack...