U of M thread (in the Lions Forum) :)

[Deuce]

the BCS is fucking more young men than Jerry Sandusky

[froot loops]

No chip here at all. It doesn't matter to me, it was Rose Bowl or bust. MIchigan always gets the higher bowl. They are just as much on the take as corrupt SEC teams. As long as they get their Sugar Bowl bid, they will not go for a playoff. Its all about these specific schools getting their money. As long as you get these sweetheart deals they are satisfied.

[*JD*]

We don't pay our QB's $250K, ala the $EC and don't seem to let the jailbirds play, ala moo U.

[froot loops]

Well you pay power forwards 600K.

[*JD*]

L to the Izzo made a lot better out of that deal than we did.

So, what does that have to do with football?

[froot loops]

You're missing the point. As long as Michigan is satifisfied with arrangements like this, they will never go for a playoff. As long as Alabama is getting preferential treatment in getting to a BCS championship game without winning their conference they will never go for a playoff. Think about it, the most important game they had was at home and they lost, so they are rewarded with getting to a championship game.

As long as Michigan fans rationalize this gift by talking about their tradition and drawing power, there will never be a playoff. There is no incentive to go to a playoff for colleges like that. And thats fine if you don't want a playoff, if you like the bowl systems and the BCS, thens its good. In essence you are on the take.

[Jamie H]

Here is my question. The BcS sucks. It has ALWAYS sucked. So why does everyone wait until the end of the season to bitch about it? It's a horribly flawed system that is guaranteed to fuck SOMEONE over every year, yet no one ever tries to fix it, other than by putting some useless band-aids on it from time to time.

The schools that are constantly boned by the BcS (I don't mean Boise, I mean the schools actually in BcS conferences) need to start making a crapload of noise about it during the offseason when something might actually be able to be done about it. Problem is, the BcS conferences love the arrangement because it gives them guaranteed millions. So these schools need to stand up to their conferences and push for something to change.

You're right. Michigan probably isn't pushing to change a system that guarantees them a marquee position anytime they finish in the top 14 of the standings. Michigan isn't on the take--they just have a shitload of fans who are willing to shell out $$$ to travel to a bowl game. Almost all of the Bowl games are picked specifically to make money. The strength of the team or who "deserves" it are only very minor variables.

So to sum up, the BcS system sucks. But I blame ALL the schools that enable it to continue. We see it screw up over and over again. At this point, why does anyone actually expect it to work or be fair?

[nhwbrooklyn]

People bitch about the BCS all year. It obviously gets louder when they see it in action.

It's funny how college football has the worst post season system and college basketball has the best tournament in all of sports.

[Jamie H]

College football may have the worst post season system in the history of organized sports. Your local adult rec kickball league has a better post season system.

[froot loops]

You're right. Michigan probably isn't pushing to change a system that guarantees them a marquee position anytime they finish in the top 14 of the standings. Michigan isn't on the take--they just have a shitload of fans who are willing to shell out $$$ to travel to a bowl game. Almost all of the Bowl games are picked specifically to make money. The strength of the team or who "deserves" it are only very minor variables.

No, no, Michigan is on the take. Michigan wouldn't travel any better to the Sugar Bowl than MSU. MSU travels well, they travel well all over the place in basketball and football. Michigan will keep silent with this type of arrangement. As long as you justify it, then you perpuate it.

If Michigan took a stand then you might get somehwere. But they don't, so the chance for a playoff isn't anymore real than it was 20 years ago.

They are actually very few teams that get affected by the BCS. Boise is one, there are a few others, but mainly the back benchers are content to collect their money. You think Indiana or Northwestern want to spilt a playoff pie with 300 teams rather than bowl money with 12? It will never get anywhere until "leaders" like Michigan actually lead. But they like this arrangement, if you like it, you should like Alabama/LSU boring rematch.

[Jamie H]

Michigan wouldn't travel any better to the Sugar Bowl than MSU.

I highly doubt that, but even if true, Michigan will generate a much higher TV rating for the game that MSU will. The bowl games are money-making popularity contests first and foremost. Anyone looking for them to be fair is kidding themselves.

You have identified the main problem though. The teams at the top want to keep the BcS because they get preferential treatment. The bottom-feeders in the BcS conferences want to keep it because they make more money from it. Which leaves the teams in the middle and the teams in non-BcS conferences getting screwed.

The truth is, none of the schools making money from the BcS really care how the national title is determined from an administration point of view. All they care about is the money that comes from the bowls, and if we have a playoff, what happens to all that bowl money? I think they only way you could get teams interested in a playoff is if you had a few rounds played as home games, allowing teams to rake in a bunch of extra cash. But that probably wouldn't match the bowl money that is generated.

[*JD*]

Having lived in other places outside of Michigan, I can say that from what I've seen, Michigan has a much, much larger national following than spartie.

That's why they'll book the bigger bowls over spartie, if all things on the field are close to even.

[Jamie H]

I lived on the west coast for 15 years. In that time I saw quite a bit of people wearing Michigan hats and other clothing around. I don't think I even once saw anyone wearing Michigan State anything. It's a sucky way to pick who gets to play in football games, but when you have a team with regional interest vs. a team with national interest, the national interest team is going to get picked.

[froot loops]

I don't care about who's wearing anything. They show up to games. And when Michigan has been in smaller bowls, they don't travel well, its beneath them. Again if you like that your team got picked, then that is an endorsment of the BCS. Don't worry about a playoff, its only when the ones that benefit stand up is when change happens. When you sit quietly and take the benefits, you are onb the take.

[Jamie H]

Ok,you must be right and the bowls must be wrong. They can't possibly know what makes them the most money. They must just pick Michigan over other teams because they are idiots who mistakenly think picking Michigan will be profitable for their bowl.

Trust me, the majority of the Michigan fans I know would gladly have the BcS scrapped for a playoff. But what power do fans have? The system isn't going to go away unless several big athletic departments band together to get rid of it. The NCAA could step in and end it, but they are too sackless to even stop teams like Auburn from buying players for 200K.