12th Game Dilemma
Coach Alvarez was initially a proponent of adding a 9th BT regular season football game now that the NCAA has given a thumbs up for a 12 game season with the difficulty of finding non-conference opponents and the ransoms they tend to charge for "appearance fees." The idea was scrapped when it was suggested that the formatting change would cost the league one bowl berth each season. In a sport where each game counts and bowl revenue determines the long-term stability of any program, even athletic dept., I tend to agree with this financial capitulation as much as I'd love to have a shot at Purdue or NW this season.
The idea to establish a pre-season interconference challenge similar to the BT-ACC basketball pairings is also intriguing, although I think it exposes the bottom half of the league to similar bowl-less seasons as a result of a non-conference loss paired with a losing conference season. Additionally, the bowl schedule as it now exists fosters such pairings in a less organized manner.
Given Bucky's recent postseason matchups against Georgia, Auburn, and Arkansas, I could see a BT-SEC contest generating huge interest in early Sept. A more likely and workable scenario may be to formalize our annual pairings with MAC teams. Although Northern Illinois, Toledo, Bowling Green and Company have won a few from their regional big brothers and put a scare onto all comers, such a challenge may have to award the MAC double the points for a win to keep the contest close.
posted by Shawn Healy @ 12:55 PM
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