The season starts a week from today. Or at least that is what college football fans have been led to believe.
The reality is that Week 1 is full of laughable matchups involving Division I-A teams chalking up easy victories against I-AA opponents. How bad is Week 1? According to data provided by Marty Couvillon of cfbstats.com, 38 of the 74 games (51.4%) involve I-A teams playing a I-AA opponent. It's likely the highest number and percentage of such games in a week's schedule since the NCAA adopted the divisional setup in 1978.
We can't say that is absolutely true because Marty's data goes back only to 2004, but any long-time follower of the game knows that the scheduling of such games has skyrocketed in recent seasons.
The Wiz will refrain from another long-winded rant on this topic. Rather, let this serve as a reminder to the sorry state of college football in 2009.
It's not ranting to point out how many I-AA teams are on I-A schedules, and that in essence many of those games are simply competitive scrimmages.
It's true.
But at the same time, it's all fair and allowable to schedule those games, the I-AA teams involved have no complaint that I know of (or why else would they schedule those games), and as far as what those games mean in our appraisals of the I-A team involved, if we like we can dismiss the results of those games (competitive scrimmages) when we weigh the quality of those team's seasons... we no more must consider what Penn State does against Temple or Syracuse or even Indiana (unless they struggle against those teams, which is not what we're talking about is it), than by what they do against Eastern Illinois, when we weigh Penn State's season: it's what they do against Ohio State and Iowa and Michigan State and Michigan, when we measure how well or not PSU has played.
Anyway, it's not as bad or even unfair as people think, because if PSU (for example) gives us no good reason to think they're good by way of how they played against Ohio State etc., then what difference does it make what they did against Syracuse or even Eastern Illinois?
We measure the top by way of Prize Fights and Stakes Races, not by way of sparring sessions or workouts: the only real sin is found in teams that refuse to fight quality opponents, and yet still want to be ranked right up there with them... which doesn't really describe anyone who plays Ohio State and Iowa and Michigan State and Michigan (as PSU does), or anyone at all in the SEC (who must play Florida and Georgia and Tennessee and South Carolina, or else LSU and Alabama and Ole Miss and Auburn, and sometimes even a mix of both tracks, like LSU will this year, when they play Florida and Georgia from the East, in addition to the West's Alabama Auburn and Ole Miss).
Want to know what's really unfair and stupid and wrong?
That we're going to base the Championship contenders and title finalists on an opinion poll that begins NOW, when not a single game has been played!
What is that poll, taken NOW, based upon, other than prejudice and preconception and speculation?
It's based on NOTHING really, on NO games played and on NO performance at all... versus a poll taken later, well into the season, that at least has facts and results and performance behind it.
How is this unfair?
Because the teams being ranked NOW, based on NOTHING but prejudice and speculation, are being seeded in a way that will tilt and effect the final poll and the selection of the finalists to play in the Championship game... that's wrong and stupid and unfair!
Not only should the opinion poll taken to determine those two teams that shall play in the Championship game, not only should it be taken with the benefit of games played and based upon performance (which is to say the season should be under way when that poll is taken), but it should be taken only after all the games are played!
And you know what?
That is the poll that's used to determine #1 and #2, the poll on or about December 7... and so why are we seeding teams now, and slanting and tilting that final poll ahead of time, with our August prejudices and preconceptions and speculations based on NOTHING and NO games played at all?
Anyway, that's my rant, I don't care so much that Penn State will play Eastern Illinois, so much as I care that the imagined and speculated top teams from the SEC and the Big 12 are being seeded and given unfair place advantage and track to the Championship game, and all of that imagined crap is based on NOTHING, NO games played or any performance at all!
Posted by: Coach | August 28, 2009 at 11:17 AM
There are also 4 matchups of top 20 teams.
Posted by: Sean | August 28, 2009 at 01:16 PM
Props to UCS, UCLA, and Notre Dame for being the only 1-A schools to never schedule a 1-AA school.
Posted by: J | August 28, 2009 at 02:09 PM
USC
Posted by: J | August 28, 2009 at 02:10 PM