Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION The Anywhere Machine LegionWorld College Gameweek - 2011-2012

Thanks Rick.

If the SEC pulls the trigger and expands to 14, or makes the jump to Super Conference status by going to 16, it will immediately set off a chain reaction among the other conferences to make the jump as well.

The Big 10 and Pac 12 are poised to make the jump already so these two are the most likely to react quickly.

The Big 10 almost went further last year than just adding Nebraska. Missouri was very close to receiving a bid as well. The only thing that kept it from happening was that the team the Big 10 wanted to round out the conference to 14 was Notre Dame and they were not willing to join at that time.

This time however, the avalanche set off by the SEC will make it very obvious that its now or never and I think Notre Dame finally sees the writing on the wall. I see the Big 10 adding Rutgers to bring in the NYC media market (and Rutgers will jump at the offer!) Missouri finally gets the invite they've been begging for because they, like most of the other Big 10 schools are large mid western flagship universities. Missouri also brings in St. Louis and adds some exposure in Kansas City.

The Big 10 then solidifies the KC market by bringing in the other flagship school in the midwest...University of Kansas. And finishes things off with the big prize of Notre Dame. Here's what they end up looking like...

Not to be outdone, the Pac 12 quickly joins Super Conference status and becomes the Pac 16. It starts doing so by finishing what it started to do this past year...reaching agreement with Texas and Texas Tech bring it the exposure the Pac 16 craves in media rich Texas. It then adds upstart powerhouses Boise State and Nevada which finally puts an end to the Non Qualifying Conference argument by co-opting the remaining contenders. By doing so, it adds almost all the major players in the western half of the country and extends its dominance all the way to the edge of Big 10 and SEC country.

With the three big boys making their moves, the ACC is left with no choice but to expand as well. It has to replace UNC and match the SEC, Big 10 and Pac 16's move to Super Conference status if it wants to remain relevant.

That being the case, it moves to pick up the most valuable remains of the Big East to strengthen its presence in the northeast. While it would have preferred Rutgers for the NYC market, the Scarlet Knights are off the board so it takes Syracuse and U Conn to contend for a share of the lucrative NYC market. It then moves to add Pennsylvania by taking Pitt and adds West Virginia to bring the tradition rich rivalry of Pitt v WVU into the ACC. These additions are all very natural moves to fortify its northern half and will re-establish some former rivalries.

With its northern division fairly well developed, the ACC finally needs to deal with the loss of North Carolina. There are a number of options available which would make a great deal of sense. You could add, USF or UCF to bring in the large Tampa or Orlando markets. UCF in particular would be very appealing because of its rapidly improving football AND basketball teams (and the ACC is still a basketball conference at heart.) UCF is also the second largest school in the US at this point and continues to grow, it could soon become the largest of all and will have a huge pool of southern fans which will travel well to away games and Bowls.

Another option would be to go back into North Carolina to find a replacement for UNC. The natural target would be East Carolina out of Conference USA. Or move into other southern states by taking schools such as Memphis, Alabama Birmingham, or even Southern Miss.

But I think the ACC surprises everyone and makes the most creative and startling move of all by adding TCU as its 16th member. Like Boise, Nevada, and Utah, TCU has been on the outside looking in and has certainly become a top notch football program. (In fact, TCU had just accepted and invitation to join the Big East in 2012...a Big East Conference which the ACC, Big 10 and to a lesser extent, the SEC have completely gutted.) It also gives the ACC a vibrant presence in Texas, by far the most lucrative market and recruiting territory it currently does not have.

All these moves have far reaching and unintended effects. One of the six BCS automatic qualifying conferences (Big East) is completely gutted in football, with only one member remaining...USF.

Another (Big 12) has lost all its big hitters (Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, and Missouri) and its left with the schools perceived to be the also rans (Oklahoma State, Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas State)

Yet they each hold a very valuable card, if they are able move quickly. Both have free passes to the big bowl games as BCS member automatic qualifying conferences.

The Mountain West, Conference USA and WAC would all love to get access to those automatic invitations. Conference USA and the Mountain West are the two best positioned of the three, but they will all look very different.

The remnants of the Big 12 and Mountain West would make for a logical fit as do the Big East & Conference USA. With a few tweaks here and there, both actually turn into a fairly decent 16 team Super Conferences, though not on the same level as some of the others.

In essence USF gets absorbed into Conference USA but the resulting entity keeps the Big East name and automatic qualifying status in the BCS. Two schools from the existing C-USA go to the Big 12/MWC merger (Rice & UTEP) The new Big East also brings Army, Navy, Florida International and Florida Atlantic into the fold to reach 16 in number and become a Super Conference. Army and Navy give the conference a presence in the NYC and Washington DC markets, while FIU & FAU add all of South Florida to Orlando and Tampa, allowing the conference to compete with the SEC and ACC for one of the most talent rich states in the country. Finally, the addition of Louisiana Tech (from the WAC) provides additional support in Louisiana and makes for a potential rivalry with Tulane and fits well geographically for the western division of the new conference.

Finally, the remnants of the Big 12 (Baylor, Oklahoma State, K State and Iowa State) merge with much of the Mountain West and remains of the WAC to form a decent counterpoint from Texas west to California for the Pac 16. The addition of Rice & UTEP helps strengthen the conference in Texas so they aren't completely overshadowed by the SEC, ACC, and Big East. BYU is the big catch of course, since it just decided to leave the MWC this year and go independent. But the realities of this tsunami convince the powers that be in Provo that they would be better off returning to the fold then attempting to survive on their own in this new college football world. San Jose State, New Mexico State and Utah State out of the WAC bring the potential for some natural rivalries to develop within the conference (New Mexico-New Mexico State, BYU-Utah State, & Fresno - San Jose State-San Diego State)

Finally, who are the big losers in all of this re-shuffling? The left overs in the WAC: Idaho, Wyoming, UT San Antonio (just made the jump to D-1 and is to join the WAC next year) UT San Marcos (same as San Antonio), and Hawaii.

The two Texas schools could probably join the Sun Belt Conference to replace FIU & FAU. As for the other three, who knows. They would likely best be served by getting schools such as Montana, Montana State, Southern Utah, Weber State, Idaho State, Eastern New Mexico, and Northern Arizona to make the jump to D-1 which most have been contemplating) and join them in the WAC. But they will forever be relegated to outsider status in the game the big money plays.


So there you have it...Vee's Vision/Prediction for the future of college football. What say you?

I don't actually know anything about football. Fortunately, that doesn't seem to hurt me in this game.

Vee, honestly, you put much more into it than I would. I read it all, and you've got some good thoughts. Me, I don't worry bout that so much as worry about basically one team.

Gotta get Gary to do an Icon for me, I might just change over from T-wolf to the Gamecock emblem. But it'll have to wait a while til things shake out.

Well, a lot of people are picking USC as a top five team from what I heard on ESPN. don't know if I buy that, but I'm a fan and I'm happy for good exposure. I just hope it isn't setting us up for a major fall.

Okay guys! Week 1 of the 2011 College Football season is less that a week away. While most games are cake walks intended more as scrimmages for the teams, some are interesting match ups right off the bat. Here are the 10 games that appear to be the most interesting for this first week of contests.

Please note that the first game is on Friday night, so you must get your choices in before the start of that game this Friday evening.

Good luck and lets play some football!

Week 1
1) TCU #14 v Baylor (at Baylor) - Friday 9/2 8pm
2) Northwestern v Boston College (at BC)
3) Minnesota v Southern Cal (at Southern Cal)
4) UCLA v Houston (at Houston)
5) South Florida v Notre Dame #16 (at Notre Dame)
6) BYU v Ole Miss (at Ole Miss)
7) East Carolina v South Carolina #12 (in Charlotte, NC)
8) Boise State #5 v Georgia #19 (at Georgia)
9) Oregon #3 v LSU #4 (at LSU)
10)Miami v Maryland (at Maryland - Mon 9/5 8pm)

First week of the WAG Challenge. My wild a$$ guesses are:

Week 1
1) TCU
2) Northwestern
3) Minnesota
4) Houston
5) Notre Dame
6) Ole Miss
7) South Carolina
8) Boise State
9) LSU
10)Miami

Week 1
1) Baylor
2) Boston College
3) Southern Cal
4) Houston
5) Notre Dame
6) Ole Miss
7) South Carolina
8) Georgia
9) LSU
10)Maryland

Vee, the SC game is in Charlotte, at East Carolina. If that helps or changes anyone.


Week 1
1) TCU #14 v Baylor (at Baylor) - TCU
2) Northwestern v Boston College (at BC)- BC
3) Minnesota v Southern Cal (at Southern Cal)- Socal
4) UCLA v Houston (at Houston)- UCLA
5) South Florida v Notre Dame #16 (at Notre Dame) SF
6) BYU v Ole Miss (at Ole Miss)- Ole Miss
7) East Carolina v South Carolina #12 (At East Carolina) - SC
8) Boise State #5 v Georgia #19 (at Georgia)- Boise
9) Oregon #3 v LSU #4 (at LSU)- Oregon
10)Miami v Maryland (at Maryland - Mon 9/5 8pm)- Maryland

TCU

Boston College

USC

UCLA

ND - this will be a tough game (tougher than ND fans think)

BYU

East Carolina

Boise State

LSU

Maryland

And we're back! My favorite time of the year, favorite time for sports all year and one of LW's best thread traditions!

Wow, what a great job you're doing, Vee!

My picks:

1) TCU #14 v Baylor (at Baylor)

Can't pick against TCU here!

2) Northwestern v Boston College (at BC)

I had a hard time with this one over at ESPN. I think I have to go with homefield advantage and pick Boston College.

3) Minnesota v Southern Cal (at Southern Cal)

USC

4) UCLA v Houston (at Houston)

If Houston's going to think about busting into the BCS, now's the time to start. Poor Neuheisel.

5) South Florida v Notre Dame #16 (at Notre Dame)

Cobalt Kid has got to love this year. I think we're going to see a very different Notre Dame!

6) BYU v Ole Miss (at Ole Miss)

People have been talking about this one being a national showcase for the newly-independent BYU. Obviously, this yankee talking point is being shared by people who have never seen a Manning-less Ole Miss play, EVER. BYU.

7) East Carolina v South Carolina #12 (in Charlotte, NC)

I do love some ECU. However, SC is going to be great this year. I wouldn't even be surprised if Garcia breaks out this year. Watch out, opposing offenses! Lattimore is gonna KILL ya. I'm glad my beloved Tide dropped these guys off the schedule this year. South Carolina.

8) Boise State #5 v Georgia #19 (at Georgia)

At some point, Georgia just HAS to get better. They've been reeling ever since that Saturday Bama came to town and spanked 'em in 2008. Blackout, heh. What a glorious afternoon that was! Still, why not. Georgia.

9) Oregon #3 v LSU #4 (at LSU)

Can we say EXPOSED? Can Jarrett Lee throw interceptions? Yes to both. Oregon

10)Miami v Maryland (at Maryland - Mon 9/5 8pm)

Miami has to be looking for a statement to make. Can their depleted roster do it? Maryland has to see this one as a good jumpstart for their ACC season, and a gift from football heaven. But is Maryland any good at all? Middle-of-the-road ACC games are hard to pick. Still, I already went with Cobie and Rick, so I'll give it to Vee this week too. Miami.

<span style="font-size: 50px;">ROOOOOOOOLLLL TIDE! ROLL!</span>

Baylor
Boston College
Southern Cal
Houston
Notre Dame
Ole Miss
South Carolina
Boise State
Oregon
Maryland

Week 1
1) TCU #14 v Baylor (at Baylor) - Friday 9/2 8pm ~ This is probably the upset alert of the week. TCU needs to be sure they don't look past Baylor because the Bears have an outstanding team and are playing at home (not that it's THAT far from TCU's campus either ) Should be a fun game to watch. Vee's pick ~ TCU in a nail biter.

2) Northwestern v Boston College (at BC) ~ Two under the radar teams face off in the first game of the season. Both are better than perceived. Home field advantage makes the difference here IMO. Vee's pick ~ BC

3) Minnesota v Southern Cal (at Southern Cal) ~ The Gophers aren't BAD, they're just not good enough to handle USC at home. Vee's pick ~ USC

4) UCLA v Houston (at Houston) ~ Neuhisel begins his last year as Head Coach at UCLA, in my opinion of course. The only real question, I feel, is whether or not he makes it to the end of the season or gets replaced during. Vee's pick ~ Houston causes the rumor mill to really heat up by handing Lane a stinging loss.

5) South Florida v Notre Dame #16 (at Notre Dame) ~ Gosh I really hate picking ND games because I know they're Cobie's team, but I keep putting them in each week because I know they're Cobie's team! Notre Dame needs to watch out for the Bulls, they have what it takes to beat the Irish fair and square. This is another game that should be a must watch and likely a nail biter. Vee's pick ~ Notre Dame (I think ND survives...but just barely. Were it not being played in South Bend I would take USF without hesitation.)

6) BYU v Ole Miss (at Ole Miss) ~ There's no question that Ole Miss is a much improved team the past few years but I'm not sure they can handle the BYU Cougars. Vee's pick ~ BYU

7) East Carolina v South Carolina #12 (in Charlotte, NC) ~ The Pirates are another under the radar team and the Gamecocks better be careful. If they're looking past ECU to their game against Georgia, they could get embarrassed. But the Old Ball Coach should be good enough to keep them focused. Vee's pick ~ The real USC

8) Boise State #5 v Georgia #19 (at Georgia) ~ I've been a fan of Boise for years, before they became the well known BCS gate crashers they are today. Kellen Moore is Heisman quality and starts his final year at the helm with this game. Vee's pick ~ Boise.

9) Oregon #3 v LSU #4 (at LSU) ~ Oregon lost their starting QB last week but got better for it in my opinion. Although this should be a wild game, I think the Ducks have enough to pull this off. Vee's pick ~ Oregon

10)Miami v Maryland (at Maryland - Mon 9/5 8pm) Most believe Miami will lose to the Terrapins because of the loss of 8 starters who will be serving one or more game suspensions. Most don't realize that Stephen Morris (the Canes' number 2 QB last year) beat Maryland last year in his first game, as a true freshman. Maryland comes into this game with two players suspended as well (for violations of team rules) and an untested new QB. Miami plays its best when it has an "Us against the world" mentality, which they most definitely do after hearing the vitriol spouted by so many talking heads. Our O line is one of the best and will protect Morris while our Running Back tandem of James & Miller slash through the Maryland defense on the ground and Morris makes the occasional deep pass to Byrd, Streeter, Dorsett, or Hurns. On defense keep your eyes on true freshmen like Chickillo, Pierre, and Perryman. The Canes are mad, and that's not good for Maryland. Vee's pick ~ Miami

Wow. Vee knows more about one team than I know about the entire College Football teams combined.

But you'll probably still do better than me in this game!

BTW, glad to see the new players this year. Welcome aboard and hope you have some fun.

I plan on having fun...even if I come in dead last. Thing is, random guessing will still get me some good picks.

I tried using a coin as a experiment for one round last year Dev - and it only did 30%. You might have a smarter coin, though.

I will try to do my picks today, but it is gonna be one busy day. I will do my first pick:

TCU

I will do the rest today if I can, and tomorrow if I can't. TCU/Baylor is the only Friday game, yes?