More seriously, I’m bummed about the end of Miami-UC. I have no idea who started it and don’t care. What I do know is that the greedheads have finally achieved their goal of cleaving college football into permanent haves and have nots. And Miami — one of the most storied programs in college football in its own way — got caught on the wrong side.
I hope you enjoy the season. I’ve gone from being in that early generation of part-time bloggers to having a hard time caring about any of it.
Minnesota is coming out of this with a shit-ton more money than Washington State, but I have a sneaking suspicion that in twenty years, I may think Washington State accidentally won the dang thing.
You’d be surprised how quickly these things just seem normal.
Not that I can readily think of an example of a former in state rivalry that fell off a cliff in the late 90’s and is now really only relevant to people over the age of 50.
I’ve got three colleges to root for. One is a historic football school getting screwed by conference realignment and money. Another is a basketball school that will inevitably get screwed by conference realignment and money (GO DEVILS). And the third plays non-scholarship football — which is starting to look like the most sensible form of the sport.
In terms of aesthetics, as a meteorologist may I recommend the North Dakota State - Colorado game this Thursday? The front range should be *gorgeous* and constantly changing as the sun sets.
Cincinnati is playing at CU in late October. Maybe a good time for Scott to make a trip to Boulder? We also have cool architecture here if you need a loose work justification for the trip.
No, NO! Unless you want "Hi guys, well I took the opportunity to see the Cincinnati game at Colorado in late October because I heard there was some cool architecture in town, but unfortunately I was stuck in that one early-season blizzard that happens every year, so I apologize for the newsletter being a few days late. ANYWAYS, while I was there I was exposed to some local cuisine. Have you heard of a "rocky mountain oyster?" well, here is my take on this delicacy..."
I had no idea on the Wisconsin Jump Around tradition and it might be up there with VT's Enter Sandman now on my list of cool stuff I need to experience in person.
The game, man I still love it, even as <i>the sport</i> seems to want to move away from me more and more towards that NFL-lite that you and I both despise.
But I can tell you that I am definitely looking forward to catching a couple of games at beautiful McBride Field(https://athletics.kenyon.edu/images/2015/6/9/McBride.jpg), sitting in bleachers <s>smaller</s> more intimate than many stadia I played in as a high schooler..
That first CFB game I reference—I saw Iowa play at Ohio State, and my dad and I sat in the old south end zone stands, which I recall being just an oversized version of high school bleachers. I remember them swaying quite unnervingly when OSU scored
"The whole POINT of expanding was to make sure no one deserving got left out."
Unfortunately, I think that's what people who idealistically supported expansion saw as the point. The *real* point from the perspective of the people in charge was to make sure more Big Ten and SEC teams could get in. The "five conference champions" thing basically guarantees nine slots between the P2 conferences.
only issue there was when there was an undefeated team left out.
12 team playoff means (meant? should have meant?) if you go undefeated in D1, you're in.
but yes, it's going to end up with a B1G bracket on the left side and an SEC bracket on the right side with 4 play-in games with teams from outside those two conferences.
I stand by my half-serious, but no-that's-actually-a-good-idea proposal from seven years ago: announce the playoff format when you announce the teams. Sometimes it's a 2-team playoff, sometimes it's a 6-team playoff. Determine who's worthy, then build a bracket to support it.
This would cause such chaos, but it's absolutely the right way to do it. Some years you have two undefeateds and some meh, some years youve got 7 1-loss teams all neck and neck.
Thank you for acknowledging and promoting marching bands. They are often overlooked and taken for granted as being just another part of the college football experience.
There's nothing more authentically American and *football* to me than the sound of a marching band. I love it. On certain fall Fridays I can hear a nearby high school from my backyard and it's perfect.
I started following you as part of the CFB-obsessed (?) crowd, but am casual observer at best. You neglected to mention that the best football games are reserved for midweek viewing (shoutout to the Fun Belt and MACtion loyalists) and also opening with anOSU and Prime is a good way to get your CFB readers to tune right the heck out :)
I wish I could love college football. I’ll watch every Cincinnati game, sometimes twice, but I can’t love a sport that is so imbalanced that only a handful of teams can win a championship.
At least it’s starting to move in the right direction, but NIL is determined to keep it WWE rather than A true sport.
Really looking forward to seeing how this season unfolds! Lots of teams in new (or back in old and familiar) places, a much more expansive path to the playoffs, and in my team's case, no more Pac-12 officials!!
During the off season I started dating a girl who has never watched a football game before and my friends have been genuinely concerned about if she is ready for what the next four months look like around our football obsessed friend group.
I just think all of you are sleeping on the coveted UConn/UMass matchup in November. A battle between two of the most apathetic football fanbases both waiting for the hockey season to start.
It’s been deeply weird having my alma mater steer into the UnRiVaLeD branding when the CFB landscape is richer because of rivalries.
It’s also extremely fun having a school to our east and one to our west that hate us with the white hot passion of a thousand suns that we don’t recognize as rivals. The school to the west in particular gets very angry, this makes me giggle. It’s a postmodern rivalry!
My personal favorite thing about this is the Penn State fans that think Ohio State is their rival without realizing that buckeye-senpai is never going to notice them.
Somehow, I knew I’d summon OPG (…it wasn’t a stretch)
I think most rational PSU fans (they exist, I swear) know we’re- at best- a distant second behind Michigan for tOSU’s hate (and probably fourth for Michigan behind MSU and ND). They’re likely always going to be our most important games, but they’re not ~rivalries~. There’s not a good B1G rival (UMD and Rutgers have been trying?), and the reasons behind not having an OOC annual rivalry have been argued to death.
On the plus side, we’ll probably be in the same conference soon enough as everything borgs together?
WE HATE YOU AND EVERYTHING YOU STAND FOR!
More seriously, I’m bummed about the end of Miami-UC. I have no idea who started it and don’t care. What I do know is that the greedheads have finally achieved their goal of cleaving college football into permanent haves and have nots. And Miami — one of the most storied programs in college football in its own way — got caught on the wrong side.
I hope you enjoy the season. I’ve gone from being in that early generation of part-time bloggers to having a hard time caring about any of it.
Minnesota is coming out of this with a shit-ton more money than Washington State, but I have a sneaking suspicion that in twenty years, I may think Washington State accidentally won the dang thing.
Even as the programs have drifted apart, it’s not going to be a college football season without playing each other
You’d be surprised how quickly these things just seem normal.
Not that I can readily think of an example of a former in state rivalry that fell off a cliff in the late 90’s and is now really only relevant to people over the age of 50.
I’ve got three colleges to root for. One is a historic football school getting screwed by conference realignment and money. Another is a basketball school that will inevitably get screwed by conference realignment and money (GO DEVILS). And the third plays non-scholarship football — which is starting to look like the most sensible form of the sport.
Man your last sentence hits all the way home, DG. Greed has killed love. 1000%
In terms of aesthetics, as a meteorologist may I recommend the North Dakota State - Colorado game this Thursday? The front range should be *gorgeous* and constantly changing as the sun sets.
The aesthetics of Colorado learning the “don’t schedule NDSU” lesson are also appealing
Deion is fucking around and I’m really looking forward to him finding out, personally.
Cincinnati is playing at CU in late October. Maybe a good time for Scott to make a trip to Boulder? We also have cool architecture here if you need a loose work justification for the trip.
No, NO! Unless you want "Hi guys, well I took the opportunity to see the Cincinnati game at Colorado in late October because I heard there was some cool architecture in town, but unfortunately I was stuck in that one early-season blizzard that happens every year, so I apologize for the newsletter being a few days late. ANYWAYS, while I was there I was exposed to some local cuisine. Have you heard of a "rocky mountain oyster?" well, here is my take on this delicacy..."
These are the kind of excellent suggestions you can't get in any other newsletter.
"Jump Around" in the Camp Randall press box is as close as I ever want to get to an earthquake.
Dang. I got all sorts of nostalgic reading this.
I had no idea on the Wisconsin Jump Around tradition and it might be up there with VT's Enter Sandman now on my list of cool stuff I need to experience in person.
Excellent preview!
The game, man I still love it, even as <i>the sport</i> seems to want to move away from me more and more towards that NFL-lite that you and I both despise.
But I can tell you that I am definitely looking forward to catching a couple of games at beautiful McBride Field(https://athletics.kenyon.edu/images/2015/6/9/McBride.jpg), sitting in bleachers <s>smaller</s> more intimate than many stadia I played in as a high schooler..
[Terrance Mann "baseball, ray" voice] football, BSP
That the Wisconsin student section was never invited to RFK Stadium to do be on the bouncy stands during a DC United game is a crime against humanity.
But likely a boon for public safety. I’ve been in the upper deck at RFK when it felt like it might collapse.
That first CFB game I reference—I saw Iowa play at Ohio State, and my dad and I sat in the old south end zone stands, which I recall being just an oversized version of high school bleachers. I remember them swaying quite unnervingly when OSU scored
Oh absolutely.
I'm already pissed about how convoluted the 12 team playoff rules are.
Just take the top 12 teams!
Let the rankings sort them out!
It's fine! The whole POINT of expanding was to make sure no one deserving got left out.
And now they want to secure conference champion slots and byes, a fifth conference gets in, but there may not even be five conferences in two years.
They're trying so hard to ruin something that doesn't need fiddling with!
"The whole POINT of expanding was to make sure no one deserving got left out."
Unfortunately, I think that's what people who idealistically supported expansion saw as the point. The *real* point from the perspective of the people in charge was to make sure more Big Ten and SEC teams could get in. The "five conference champions" thing basically guarantees nine slots between the P2 conferences.
(also, I liked the four-team playoff, yeah sometimes a fifth team was mad but that's why you shouldn't finish fifth)
only issue there was when there was an undefeated team left out.
12 team playoff means (meant? should have meant?) if you go undefeated in D1, you're in.
but yes, it's going to end up with a B1G bracket on the left side and an SEC bracket on the right side with 4 play-in games with teams from outside those two conferences.
I stand by my half-serious, but no-that's-actually-a-good-idea proposal from seven years ago: announce the playoff format when you announce the teams. Sometimes it's a 2-team playoff, sometimes it's a 6-team playoff. Determine who's worthy, then build a bracket to support it.
https://www.everydayshouldbesaturday.com/2017/12/4/16733710/galaxy-brain-playoff-proposals
This would cause such chaos, but it's absolutely the right way to do it. Some years you have two undefeateds and some meh, some years youve got 7 1-loss teams all neck and neck.
ok that's genius.
also, i'm just getting this out now so i can prepare myself for a 9-3 miami missing the playoffs.
Go Canes.
Thank you for acknowledging and promoting marching bands. They are often overlooked and taken for granted as being just another part of the college football experience.
There's nothing more authentically American and *football* to me than the sound of a marching band. I love it. On certain fall Fridays I can hear a nearby high school from my backyard and it's perfect.
I started following you as part of the CFB-obsessed (?) crowd, but am casual observer at best. You neglected to mention that the best football games are reserved for midweek viewing (shoutout to the Fun Belt and MACtion loyalists) and also opening with anOSU and Prime is a good way to get your CFB readers to tune right the heck out :)
the bait-and-switch with those two was an intentional strategy
I wish I could love college football. I’ll watch every Cincinnati game, sometimes twice, but I can’t love a sport that is so imbalanced that only a handful of teams can win a championship.
At least it’s starting to move in the right direction, but NIL is determined to keep it WWE rather than A true sport.
[astronaut holding gun meme] always has been
"A star will make their presence known in Boulder, Colorado."
https://media.tenor.com/CLIGVFdovEUAAAAM/hats-off.gif
Really looking forward to seeing how this season unfolds! Lots of teams in new (or back in old and familiar) places, a much more expansive path to the playoffs, and in my team's case, no more Pac-12 officials!!
Happy college football my friend!
Currently trying to not get overhyped, but where is the fun in that? Go Canes!!
During the off season I started dating a girl who has never watched a football game before and my friends have been genuinely concerned about if she is ready for what the next four months look like around our football obsessed friend group.
only five more days until i’m in the happiest place on earth
ah man I was hoping I'd see you at the Bearcats game
I just think all of you are sleeping on the coveted UConn/UMass matchup in November. A battle between two of the most apathetic football fanbases both waiting for the hockey season to start.
I’ve been to this game in both venues and this is accurate, but also it’s a good time! Shoutout to UConn fans for jingling their keys on 3rd down.
I have not been to a matchup quite that depressing, but I have been to two games at Rentschler Field.
Look, I’m not a member of the sickos committee for no reason.
On a similar note: I’m starting a graduate program, which means I have a new football team to care about…….
It’s Temple.
It’s been deeply weird having my alma mater steer into the UnRiVaLeD branding when the CFB landscape is richer because of rivalries.
It’s also extremely fun having a school to our east and one to our west that hate us with the white hot passion of a thousand suns that we don’t recognize as rivals. The school to the west in particular gets very angry, this makes me giggle. It’s a postmodern rivalry!
You’re a Penn state fan, aren’t you?
My personal favorite thing about this is the Penn State fans that think Ohio State is their rival without realizing that buckeye-senpai is never going to notice them.
obviously, Penn State's archrival is Michigan State, have you seen the trophy
Ewww, no thank you.
Can we send both them and Maryland off with each other to some other conference? I hear the ACC is nice this time of year.
Somehow, I knew I’d summon OPG (…it wasn’t a stretch)
I think most rational PSU fans (they exist, I swear) know we’re- at best- a distant second behind Michigan for tOSU’s hate (and probably fourth for Michigan behind MSU and ND). They’re likely always going to be our most important games, but they’re not ~rivalries~. There’s not a good B1G rival (UMD and Rutgers have been trying?), and the reasons behind not having an OOC annual rivalry have been argued to death.
On the plus side, we’ll probably be in the same conference soon enough as everything borgs together?
(It’s probably a good idea to not steer into rivalries, because any and all trash talk invariably goes to the same place, and that’s not worth it)
I do find it very funny living in Louisville where you absolutely HAVE to pick a side, and the sides are red and blue. It's very simple that way.
(I am agnostic in the local rivalry, but my kids have both decided they're UK fans, which I will accept if it keeps them from being UofL fans.)
CONFLiCT
I almost loaned your daughter a bengals shirt but now I wish I had put her in a UofL shirt