Golden Nugz 2.26.09

by PJS on Feb 26, 2009 3:00 AM CST in Golden Nuggets

This should be obvious: Postseason college basketball > postseason college football.

Why? For starters, basketball teams are awarded for their achievement on the court. Their success on the court determines if or where they play postseason basketball. In football, a team's achievements are only part of the process. Corporate control of the football postseason creates a situation where the bottom-line can sometimes win out over merit. Which team will sell more tickets, or be a better television draw is too much of the conversation when it comes to determining the college football postseason.

And so it's no surprise that the Big Ten has made a decision to play right into this model. From the Wisconsin State Journal's Badger Beat.

The Big Ten Conference is tweaking the tiebreaking procedure in football for determining the league's automatic representative to the Bowl Championship Series, Wisconsin Badgers athletic director Barry Alvarez told the Athletic Board on Friday.

The first tie-breaker has not changed and will remain head-to-head. But the conference has eliminated the next tie-breaker, that the team that played more games against Football Championship Subdivision teams (formerly Division I-AA) is eliminated.

The conference also eliminated the tie-breaker that the most recent team earning the BCS berth will be eliminated. That was a product of bygone days and was implemented when the conference sent only one team to a bowl game (Rose).

Finally, the conference added a final tiebreaker that the highest-ranked team in the BCS standings will get the automatic berth, which is what the Big 12 used to break its three-team tie last fall -- much to the chagrin of Texas fans.

(emphasis mine)

The highlighted portion is the part I have a problem with. And since I cheer for the Gophers, there's some homerism behind my objection. Afterall, the Gophers would benefit from that tie-breaker more than any other team in the conference.

But I don't think that tie-breaker was eliminated because it was "a product of bygone days." It was a tie-breaker that favored equity. What this does is favor teams like Michigan, Ohio State and Wisconsin who have a national reputation, garner more media coverage, enjoy a larger following and can put more butts into BCS stadium seats. Your traditional conference powers will inevitably be given more credence by poll voters, making it more difficult for less heralded teams like Minnesota to crack into the BCS.

Anyway, maybe that's way off base. Even so, the Gophers have lost a tie-breaker that might eventually come into play that would have favored us.

1978. That would be the last time the Gophers won at Illinois according to the record books. The Gophers have a chance tonight of course to win on the road against a nationally ranked team. Strangely, I like our chances. The boys should be confident after holding illinois to under 40 the last time out.
Gophers hockey fans might be interested in an update on former goaltender Kellen Briggs.
Interesting question from fellow Minnesota blogger Buck Bravo. Do Big Ten bloggers parallel recruiting class rankings?
We've mentioned Travis Busch's hobby of creating odd videos for public consumption previously. His WhatElseMedia.com production now has a long feature article dedicated to it in the Pioneer Press. Apparently Tubby Smith OK'd the show and makes Director of Basketball Operations Joel Esposito monitor its content. Somehow I think Esposito's time could be spent more productively.
As referenced in the comments section in yesterday's Nugz, there is a raging thread at Gopher Puck Live about whether Don Lucia needs to be let go. Here is the link to that if you want to join the conversation. Those who want Lucia out remind me a bit of Kentucky's basketball fans.

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My thoughts

(1) This change in the tiebreakers for post-season berths is ridiculous. This adversely impacts Minnesota and Indiana and Purdue and Northwestern and NOONE else. Looking back to the past 10 years or so, all the “power” Big Ten schools have been in the Rose – UM, tOSU, PSU, Illinois, Wisconsin. Okay, Iowa has had a break since they played the Orange Bowl against USC. But, this rule has been removed so that the schools like Minnesota and Indiana have no advantage to play in Pasadena. It’s downright sickening to be honest, because if next year, for example, Michigan and Minnesota both go 12-0, Michigan will go to the Rose Bowl because Rich Rodriguez has more friends in the coaching and media world than Tim Brewster. And, of course, that’s how we want the post-season to be determined. How is this different from the horse-trading that happens in Washington when bills are being formulated?

Sickening. PJS’s point is exactly right – postseason basketball is far superior to football’s postseason exhibition games and one mythical title game. Someone from Utah needs to bring a lawsuit against the BCS for its monopolistic behavior. That cartel violates the Sherman Act.

(2) The “Fire Lucia” discussion is worthy only for the pictures that are being posted on the other site – the man cliff-diving, and the suggestions for replacements (Mason, Woog, Childress).

This discussion reminds me, yes, of Kentucky fans begging for Tubby to leave. I don’t recall many other situations where a coach, who has won 2 titles within the past 6 years, is seriously being debated as a candidate to be fired. This is college hockey, for crying out loud. Important here, yes, but we’ve got the best coach in the sport. Let him recruit the talent and re-establish the program. It’s amazing that being just about .500 is a “fireable” offense. I understand this is Minnesota, but we did go 24 years between titles before Lucia brought 2 here. People need to relax. He’s earned the chance to work this out.

by JG2112 on Feb 26, 2009 7:54 AM CST reply actions

how about Dungy?

could he replace Lucia? Not sure if you knew this but he’s a U of MN grad.

what you say here can, and will, be used against you

by GopherNation on Feb 26, 2009 10:29 AM CST up reply actions

Agree with everything said here

Postseason basketball is unquestionably better than football. The problem is the NCAA—they could easily just make a decree that they will sanction a playoff as they do with the every other level of college football. I realize there are some contractual obligations, but they could at least plan for a playoff in 2015 or whenever those contractual agreements end. Right now, the NCAA has nothing to do with the bowl process.

Texas got completely hosed by that stupid rule in the Big 12. I think it is ridiculous that the popularity contests that are the polls get so much weight in the BCS formula. I would much rather see the computers get more weight because computers are objective and account for the entire body of work rather than just recency. The thing that absolutely drives me bonkers is that teams are moved up or down in the rankings based solely on whether they win or lose the previous week. So what if the #15 team loses on the road to the #5 team? Since #15 lost on the road to a better team, why should they be moved down—they were supposed to lose that game. Unless the game was a blowout, the #15 team should stay the same or even move up if they played tough—because maybe they “look” more like a #10 team if they only lose by a FG. Either way, it is a sham because it is all based on look and feel rather than measurable metrics like the computer rankings.

You guys are absolutely right that the Gophers would be at a disadvantage due to the popularity contest. Not only does Michigan have the “pedigree” which automatically gives them an edge, even though everything should be based on the current year, but the Gophers would have to depend on more teams to lose to move up in the stupid human polls. Furthermore, why does the Big 10 and Big 12 let outsiders determine their champion? The tiebreakers should be determined by the conferences and not the media and coaches who never see these teams play.

JG—you are The Daily Gopher legal counsel—what ever happened with the motions filed by the Utah AG in January?

by rencito on Feb 26, 2009 10:27 AM CST reply actions