NCAA CFB - Postseason Random Thoughts: Notre Dame vs Alabama

[FirstTimer]

lol I know that guy in the polo, bottom right, filming the celebration.

You mean the bottom left?

[zack54attack]

They give students free tickets to home games and people still don't go.

lol.

Girl I used to smash lived in a dorm that you could see into the stadium. Watched some games from there

[zack54attack]

You mean the bottom left?

Yeah, bottom left. my fault lol

[FirstTimer]

lol.

Girl I used to smash lived in a dorm that you could see into the stadium. Watched some games from there

Stephenson Tower?

[NAHSTE]

[zack54attack]

Stephenson Tower?

Think so.

Most of the time I was drunk the night before. You know, the usual: frat partys, 7-Eleven filled with thugs, Huskies, then back to the dorms.

[Senser81]

Louisiana Tech is going to be left out of a bowl with a 9-3 record. I realize it is sort of their fault, but it's still bullshit.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefoot...-going-bowling

La. Tech's AD is lying. Tech didn't want to play LA-Monroe...simple as that. LA Tech had no automatic tie-in. They had an at-large bowl bid, they rejected it, and they got burned. I didn't know the college football world revolved around 9-3 WAC schools.

[Senser81]

I love how these ESPN analysts are trashing NIU but fail to trash the Big East and Big Ten for having lower ranked AQ teams.... the real failure here is the BCS. They just need to do away with automatic bids.

They ironic part to me was the extent in which Herbstreit went to badmouth NIU....had Herbstreit's alma mater not cheated and been put on probation, NIU doesn't end up in the Orange Bowl.

I usually like ESPN's college football stuff, but I thought this was way over the line.

[TheImmortalGoud]

Coaches ballots.

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/coaches-poll12

[Jayrock]

Make a CFB podcast starting next season you faggots.

[Rylo]

Bcs is joke.

[TheImmortalGoud]

https://twitter.com/D1scourse/status/278204859763814400

Patrick Stevens @D1scourse
There are 124 major-college football programs. The 62nd-longest tenured head coach for now is Florida's Will Muschamp (hired Dec. 11, 2010)

[TheImmortalGoud]

College Football Attendance Lowest Since 2003

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/eye-on-college-football/21351211/

If you're a college football fan who spends gameday mornings on Twitter, it may have seemed all of the FBS was disappointed with attendance, as picture after picture after picture showed empty stands at Kentucky, Miami, Maryland, Auburn, etc.

As it turns out, that impression wasn't wrong; figures compiled by al.com and published Monday showed that the average per-game attendance at an FBS college football game dropped to 45,247 fans, the lowest since 2003.

Five of the six BCS conferences reported attendance decreases, and per al.com reporter Jon Solomon, the only exception -- the Pac-12 -- was an exception only because Cal left its temporary limited-capacity stadium setup in 2011 for its newly renovated Memorial Stadium.

Even the mighty SEC wasn't invulnerable -- though it once again led the nation in average attendance at 75,444 fans, its lowest number since 2007. The ACC averaged its fewest fans since 2000. The Big Ten averaged 70,387 fans, its lowest mark since 2008.

And now, Jim Delany and Co. have added Rutgers and Maryland to the Big Ten mix and the Terps saw one of the biggest decreases in attendance in the FBS. The Terps' attendance in Year 2 of the Randy Edsall era plunged 15 percent, a drop exceeded only by Joker Phillips' hapless Wildcats.

No one expects the Big Ten's attendance issues to be repaired by playing games against a Maryland program that has no current football cachet and zero history against any team in the league not named Penn State. It also seems unlikely that after the novelty wears off, Maryland fans will be any more inclined to come watch games against Purdue or Michigan State than they were Boston College or Duke (or, for that matter, incoming ACC members Pitt and Syracuse).

But Maryland president Wallace Loh explained upon Maryland's arrival into the Big Ten why that wasn't an issue.

"(The Big Ten) is going national because of a phenomenon," he said. "Attendance among college-aged students is dropping. The reason is because this generation is completely wired, and they are getting their education and entertainment on tablets and mobile devices. Everyone thinks you make your money in seats. You make it on eyeballs on a screen."

That doesn't mean attendance is irrelevant just yet -- Phillips was fired, as was fellow double-digit attendance-drop victim Jon Embree at Colorado. (No doubt Maryland's struggles at the gate aren't doing Edsall any favors, either.) Former SEC commissioner and BCS creator Roy Kramer's fears that college football might shrink its stadiums by half to meet nonexistent demand seems years away. A trend toward stronger nonconference scheduling with the arrival of the 2014 playoff and the replacement of paycheck scrimmages with a ninth conference game in leagues like the SEC or the Big Ten could help stem the tide, too.

But the bottom line is that conference expansion -- whether in the Big Ten, ACC or elsewhere -- has meant that college football has responded to its long and now severe attendance decline by guaranteeing that teams play fewer games that matter to their fans (no more Kansas-Missouri or Texas-Texas A&M, no more annual Iowa-Wisconsin, Alabama-Florida twice a decade, etc.) rather than more. For any college football fan who believes that the reason Loh's "eyeballs on the screen" are on the screen in the first place is (in part) to drink in the sports' unimpeachable atmosphere and spectacle, this "solution" doesn't bring much comfort.

[TheImmortalGoud]

http://www.fbschedules.com/2012/12/2013-big-east-home-away-football-schedules/

The Big East has set the home and away football schedules for the 2013 season, conference commissioner Mike Aresco announced today.

The 2013 season will be the first for the conference with a two division format. Cincinnati, Connecticut, Louisville, Rutgers, UCF, and USF make up the East Division, while Boise State, Houston, Memphis, San Diego State, SMU, and Temple make up the West Division.

Winners of the East and West Division will meet in the inaugural Big East Football Championship Game. The game will be hosted by one of the teams, presumably by the one with the highest winning percentage in conference play.

“Our new home and away matchups for football in 2013 will create an exciting, competitive, and compelling season, culminating in our first-ever BIG EAST Championship Game,” said Aresco. “I know that our BIG EAST coaches, student-athletes, and fans have been looking forward both to the renewal of traditional rivalries and to great matchups with our newcomers. With games played in some of the nation’s most dynamic college football markets and biggest media centers, we are expecting a season of intense, high-caliber football played on a national stage.”

East Division – 2013 Matchups

Cincinnati

Home – Boise State, Connecticut, Louisville, UCF
Away – Memphis, Rutgers, San Diego State, USF

Connecticut

Home – Louisville, Rutgers, San Diego State, USF
Away – Cincinnati, SMU, Temple, UCF

Louisville

Home – Memphis, Rutgers, San Diego State, UCF
Away – Boise State, Cincinnati, Connecticut, USF

Rutgers

Home – Cincinnati, Houston, Temple, USF
Away – Boise State, Connecticut, Louisville, UCF

UCF

Home – Connecticut, Houston, Rutgers, USF
Away – Cincinnati, Louisville, SMU, Temple

USF

Home – Cincinnati, Louisville, Memphis, SMU
Away – Connecticut, Houston, Rutgers, UCF

West Division – 2013 Matchups

Boise State

Home – Houston, Louisville, Memphis, Rutgers
Away – Cincinnati, San Diego State, SMU, Temple

Houston

Home – Memphis, San Diego State, SMU, USF
Away – Boise State, Rutgers, Temple, UCF

Memphis

Home – Cincinnati, San Diego State, SMU, Temple
Away – Boise State, Houston, Louisville, USF

San Diego State

Home – Boise State, Cincinnati, SMU, Temple
Away – Connecticut, Houston, Louisville, Memphis

SMU

Home – Boise State, Connecticut, Temple, UCF
Away – Houston, Memphis, San Diego State, USF

Temple

Home – Boise State, Connecticut, Houston, UCF
Away – Memphis, Rutgers, San Diego State, SMU

[TheImmortalGoud]

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8748910/shippensburg-qb-zach-zulli-wins-harlon-hill-trophy

FLORENCE, Ala. -- Shippensburg quarterback Zach Zulli won the Harlon Hill Trophy as the top player in Division II after a record-setting junior season.

Zulli received the award on Friday night on the eve of the national championship game at the University of North Alabama. He set NCAA Division II records by accounting for 336 points and 56 touchdowns, and tied the national record with 54 touchdown passes.

"This is just ridiculous. I never would have expected this," said Zulli, who had never flown before the plane trip to Alabama. "Being here is incredible. Sharing this award with my teammates, it just feels incredible."

Zulli had 202 points in balloting by Division II sports information directors for a 64-point margin over Missouri Western State running back Michael Hill. Bloomsburg running back Franklyn Quiteh was third with 101 points.

Zulli, from Schwenksville, Pa., passed for 4,747 yards and led Shippensburg to an 11-2 record and the second round of the playoffs. He was the offensive player of the year in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East Division. Quiteh plays in the same league.

Zulli became the seventh underclassman to win in the award's 27-year history and the first since Danny Woodhead of Chadron State in 2006.

Woodhead claimed the Harlon Hill again as a senior, becoming the third multiple winner.

Zulli completed 62.8 percent of his attempts, was intercepted just 10 times and was responsible for an average of 26.5 points per game.

Zulli ranked fourth in Division II in passing yards per game (365.2), third in total offense (382.4) and fifth in passing efficiency with a rating of 165.3.

The toughest part about the trip was flying for the first time. "It was a little scary at first," Zulli said.

He opened by bringing Quiteh and Hill to the podium tell a story of a prank pulled on their host.

Zulli concluded by not just thanking his teammates but running down the roster on both offense and defense and even throwing in some nicknames.

"This team overall won this award," he said, "not just me."