There's only one more week until college football kicks off! Lots to catch up on. Starting with, perhaps the earliest yet, spin of the coaching carousel.
Northwestern canned legendary player and HC Pat Fitzpatrick after several players came forward with allegations of hazing, of a sexual nature, including dry humping and "The Car Wash".
You can look up what it means but it took me back to the story of chasing rabbits in the old El Torino and of course the next day...
Northwestern canned legendary player and HC Pat Fitzpatrick after several players came forward with allegations of hazing, of a sexual nature, including dry humping and "The Car Wash".
You can look up what it means but it took me back to the story of chasing rabbits in the old El Torino and of course the next day...
Too soon? Pat will no longer be working at the car wash. He was suspended, then fired two weeks later under the "should have known" standard. My guess, he knew.
This kind of stuff dates back to when he played and long before. Then others piled on with racial allegations and his reputation, built over years, was gone in an instant.
With the season quickly approaching the Cats turned to their DC David Braun to be interim HC. He was named DC at Northwestern in January of this year after a pretty good stint at powerhouse North Dakota State as DC. The Bison won two FCS championships while he was there and was FCS DC of the year in 2021. Maybe they didn't run the car wash during spring practice or maybe he wasn't at Northwestern long enough to get caught in the "should have known" abyss.
The controversary hasn't died down. After the first fall camp practice session, OC Mike Bajakian and other assistant coaches were spotted in T-shirts with “Cats Against The World” on it. Fine, lets rally the team but they also had Pat Fitzgerald’s No. 51. Yeah, not good. It just rehashes the scandal and divides the team. Braun, when asked about it said "It certainly isn’t my business to censor anyone’s free speech.”. Yikes, take control of your staff David.
Braun has already lost control - enjoy your one year stint Northwestern fell off a cliff last year going 1-11. The program is a train wreck in the making. It will be just like when Bruce and I were there, sometime in the fourth quarter, after we were down at least 3 scores a cheer will go up "That's all right, that's OK you will work for us some day" Braun will be the interim for a year and a new permanent HC will be put in place.
And just when you thought there would be a lull until the first football is kicked off, two weeks later, the Big Ten announces that Oregon and Washington would be joining the league. Like pulling out a just the right Jenga piece. when USC and UCLA left, the Pac 12 came crumbling down. The Big Ten then scooped up Oregon and Washington from the BOGO aisle.
When UCLA and USC joined they got to be full members straight away. Not so for Oregon and Washington, they have to go on probation similar to when Nebraska, Maryland and Rutgers (really Big Ten...Rutgers??) joined. They had to go on probation for 6 years.
And just when you thought there would be a lull until the first football is kicked off, two weeks later, the Big Ten announces that Oregon and Washington would be joining the league. Like pulling out a just the right Jenga piece. when USC and UCLA left, the Pac 12 came crumbling down. The Big Ten then scooped up Oregon and Washington from the BOGO aisle.
When UCLA and USC joined they got to be full members straight away. Not so for Oregon and Washington, they have to go on probation similar to when Nebraska, Maryland and Rutgers (really Big Ten...Rutgers??) joined. They had to go on probation for 6 years.
Say goodbye to the Apple Cup During that time, the league paid each school what it would have made in its previous conference. Nebraska received about $12 million less than other Big Ten members. It was worse for Maryland and Rutgers. They got so far behind that both schools borrowed from the league's TitleMax payday department against future Big Ten payments. Maryland borrowed nearly $120.5 million by the time it became a full member in 2020, while Rutgers $48 million. Oregon and Washington will get a slightly better treatment. They will half rations that escalate until a new TV deal is signed in 2030.
So now what? With Colorado bolting to the Big 12 along with Utah, Arizona and Arizona State the once proud Pac 12 is a shell of itself. At best they will take what's left, merge with the Mountain West and become a MWC+ conference.
The next ripe target is the ACC. They are a distant third in revenues and the Big Boy programs, like FSU, are wanting a bigger slice of a dwindling pie. It won't be long before they bolt for the SEC or Big Ten. The rest of the ACC will look to bring their BBall cred to the Big Ten (North Carolina and maybe Duke) or be left trying to assemble with the left overs from other leagues. In the end we are going from a Power Five to a Superpower 2, a leftovers conference and the whatever is left of the Group of Five leagues. Rivalries are being lost (Washington vs Washington State) while others are being resurrected (Texas vs Texas A&M) But they are secondary. Just follow the money.
So now what? With Colorado bolting to the Big 12 along with Utah, Arizona and Arizona State the once proud Pac 12 is a shell of itself. At best they will take what's left, merge with the Mountain West and become a MWC+ conference.
The next ripe target is the ACC. They are a distant third in revenues and the Big Boy programs, like FSU, are wanting a bigger slice of a dwindling pie. It won't be long before they bolt for the SEC or Big Ten. The rest of the ACC will look to bring their BBall cred to the Big Ten (North Carolina and maybe Duke) or be left trying to assemble with the left overs from other leagues. In the end we are going from a Power Five to a Superpower 2, a leftovers conference and the whatever is left of the Group of Five leagues. Rivalries are being lost (Washington vs Washington State) while others are being resurrected (Texas vs Texas A&M) But they are secondary. Just follow the money.
A playoff game featuring Bama vs Kent State - I'd watch but not sure enough others would The playoffs will expand but dominated by the SuperPower 2 with a couple cookies for the rest of the teams just to add a little spice. I mean, do you really want a 16 team playoff with 12-14 teams from the SuperPower 2? Teams that may have already played each other once and maybe twice already?
The NCAA owns the rights to March Madness and may try to create something with, say 6 conference champions and invites for the remaining 10. MAC champion Kent State vs Alabama in round 1! Upsets could happen but, yeah I doubt it. It rarely happens today. Doubt it will happen a playoff scenario.
And there's too much money involved for the conferences to let the NCAA make the rules. The Playoffs are headed to seeing the same teams year after year. Not to say we aren't already there.
A more interesting scenario is the SuperPower 2 having something around 20-24 teams each and rather than geographic divisions, they go the relegation route. A Premier Ten and Championship Ten. The bottom two Premier teams go to the Champions division and the top two Champions get promoted to the Premier division. I could go for that although State would likely be one of those teams bouncing between the tow divisions. Stay tuned.
The NCAA owns the rights to March Madness and may try to create something with, say 6 conference champions and invites for the remaining 10. MAC champion Kent State vs Alabama in round 1! Upsets could happen but, yeah I doubt it. It rarely happens today. Doubt it will happen a playoff scenario.
And there's too much money involved for the conferences to let the NCAA make the rules. The Playoffs are headed to seeing the same teams year after year. Not to say we aren't already there.
A more interesting scenario is the SuperPower 2 having something around 20-24 teams each and rather than geographic divisions, they go the relegation route. A Premier Ten and Championship Ten. The bottom two Premier teams go to the Champions division and the top two Champions get promoted to the Premier division. I could go for that although State would likely be one of those teams bouncing between the tow divisions. Stay tuned.
Back to back icing the kicker TOs are out - excellent! So we've covered the latest in team moves and HC changes, one last thing to cover before the season starts - new rules.
1. Apparently there are too many plays in a game so starting this year when the offense gains a first down, the clock will no longer be stopped except with less than two minutes remaining in the 2nd and 4th quarters.
2. they got rid of my pet peeves. No longer will a team be able to call consecutive time outs during a dead ball. No trying to ice the icker then to really try to ice the kicker. Good change.
3. Another time saver - A period can be extended for an untimed down in the 2nd or 4th quarter only if a) a penalty is accepted for a live-ball foul, b) if there are offsetting fouls, or c) an inadvertent whistle. The 1st and 3rd quarters will not be extended in such a scenario.
4) A sign of the times - Drones are not allowed over the field or the team area when squad members are present within the playing enclosure.
5) Things must be getting heated - The field will be available to squad members for halftime warmup no later than three minutes prior to the second half kickoff. When any Squad Member enters the playing enclosure during the halftime intermission, a staff member from that team must be present on the field. When the field is available to players, the field will be divided into an "L-shaped" configuration with the thirty yard-lines forming the "L" in order to keep the teams separated. Can't wait to see the first violation of this one.
Get ready for another great season!
And don't forget - the 2023 GO Jumbo trip is Nov 11th at the Westgate SuperBook
1. Apparently there are too many plays in a game so starting this year when the offense gains a first down, the clock will no longer be stopped except with less than two minutes remaining in the 2nd and 4th quarters.
2. they got rid of my pet peeves. No longer will a team be able to call consecutive time outs during a dead ball. No trying to ice the icker then to really try to ice the kicker. Good change.
3. Another time saver - A period can be extended for an untimed down in the 2nd or 4th quarter only if a) a penalty is accepted for a live-ball foul, b) if there are offsetting fouls, or c) an inadvertent whistle. The 1st and 3rd quarters will not be extended in such a scenario.
4) A sign of the times - Drones are not allowed over the field or the team area when squad members are present within the playing enclosure.
5) Things must be getting heated - The field will be available to squad members for halftime warmup no later than three minutes prior to the second half kickoff. When any Squad Member enters the playing enclosure during the halftime intermission, a staff member from that team must be present on the field. When the field is available to players, the field will be divided into an "L-shaped" configuration with the thirty yard-lines forming the "L" in order to keep the teams separated. Can't wait to see the first violation of this one.
Get ready for another great season!
And don't forget - the 2023 GO Jumbo trip is Nov 11th at the Westgate SuperBook
