Depends upon which team defeated Notre Dame. The playoff spots are determined by the national poll rankings. Part of being highly ranked depends upon quality of opponents.
Yes, my point is that teams are willing to travel great distances in order to play some games.
Sorry, but I still do not understand your point regarding travel budgets. For example: It does not matter if Washington State’s travel budget exceeds that of Notre Dame as ND is already playing a coast-to-coast schedule.
Nope, not really. You can form a narrative either way in terms of easy vs. difficult opposition and close game, but lose vs. blowout loss.
Under Urban Meyer, Ohio State had three straight years with blowout losses and Ohio State did just fine.
ND will be in the CFP argument for a 4-team playoff with one loss or will definitely be in a 12-team playoff with one loss.
ND’s budget can withstand coast-to-coast travel, because they have more money than most universities, period. Teams like Washington State don’t. I can’t explain it any better than that.
Thank you for finally making your point regarding travel expenses. But, you are incorrect in that isolated schools like Wash State in Pullman are accustomed to expensive travel in the vast Pac 12 territory. (I had no idea what you were trying to communicate.)
First, I’ve made my point clear several times.
Second, now you’re asking WSU to travel the country in some nationwide league. So my point is clear, concise and correct (the three C’s). WSU’s budget is not anywhere near the budget of ND.
Lastly, I have to move on, since our conversation here has come to end.
Unfortunately, I was not able to understand the point that you were trying to make. Now that you have stated it clearly, I understand. Thank you for clarifying.
Most likely, WSU will not be a part of an expanded Big Ten conference as it is not an AAU member & WSU does not offer a significant media market.
WSU had & has significant travel expenses as a member of the Pac 12 conference. WSU is in an isolated location and the Pac 12 conference covers more territory than any other Power 5 conference.
Finally, WSU was your example, not mine. Now that I understand , I think that a school such as the University of Indiana would support your point. Sorry, that I didn’t catch on earlier.
Wouldn’t a coast to coast conference have pods of 4-6 teams where you play those teams every year in football and twice in basketball? Then your next pod in geographic terms would get overscheduled and then occasional trips to the far flung geographies. Championship games for each sport would be at neutral locations that can rotate like KC and Dallas have for the Big 12 in hoops or bids by cities for less endowed conferences like AAC (Ft Worth, Memphis, etc.).
A pod or division with 6 teams would be grouped geographically to ease the travel burden.
A football team would play all 5 of the other teams in its pod or division each year.
If the Pac 12 & Big Ten merge, then the championship game might be played in the Rose Bowl, but alternate locations seems like a great idea.
P.S. As conferences expand to 16 teams or more, I think that the required number of in-conference games should be higher each season. 10 regular season games should be in-conference. Currently, the required number of in-conference games is less.
An increase in required games against opponents within the same conference may be bad news for an independent Notre Dame as fewer teams would be willing to risk a loss against such a tough non-conference opponent. In order to remain relevant in national polls, an independent Notre Dame needs to be able to schedule games against the top teams in the Big Ten & in the SEC. National ranking will determine whether or not Notre Dame qualifies for the expanded CFP playoffs.
Interesting article about former Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany and his Nashville, Tennessee consulting practice:
The first few paragraphs are exposed & informative. The remainder of the article is behind a paywall.
Article reveals that Jim Delany, a paid consultant to the Big Ten, has had recent meetings with the commissioners of both the Pac 12 conference and the ACC conference.
The new ACC commissioner, Jim Philips, was the AD at Northwestern University when Jim Delany was the Big Ten commissioner. Many thought that Jim Phillips of Northwestern was the best candidate to replace Jim Delany as Big Ten commissioner.
The current Big Ten commissioner, Kevin Warren, earned his law degree at Notre Dame.
si.com/college/bostoncollege/football/acc-pac-12-big-ten-alliance-conference-realignment
Saves Boston College, destroys Big 12.
Probably pushes Notre Dame closer to joining ACC as a full member. The war is between Fox & Disney ESPN more than among the Power conferences.
Short, well written, informative article:
Several good points raised in this well-written article. Most notably is that Fox has no TV/media contract with the SEC.
Unfortunately, the link doesn’t work.
Concern that ESPN sports shows will not give fair amount of coverage to football conferences with which ESPN does not have a contract / major rights contract. Again, this is a war between Fox & Disney ESPN more than it is among the football conferences. Raises the issue as to how much control Disney ESPN has over the SEC.
If the Big Ten, the Pac 12, and the ACC work in tandem against the SEC & Disney ESPN, look for Fox Sorts to expand greatly into direct competition with ESPN sports shows such as ESPN Sports Center.
Although it will take a few years to see the effect of Texas joining the SEC, it may be the downfall of ESPN’s dominance in sports broadcasting & sports news.
The final comment of the article is accurate…If Schiano ever returns Rutgers to the top 20, the NJ/NY area will engage at significantly high levels. Ratings would skyrocket.
If the Big Ten & Pac 12 work out an agreement, Fox will dominate the three largest US TV markets of NYC, Los Angeles, and Chicago. The Big Ten will still be seeking a member school based in Texas both for the lucrative TV markets of Houston & Dallas / Ft. Worth as well as the fertile recruiting territory in Texas.
ESPN & the SEC will dominate the Southeastern US, but Fox & the Big Ten alliance will have schools in Georgia & Florida (Georgia Tech & Miami) and in Virginia and North Carolina.
South Carolina has no major media market, but Clemson has a wide following in college football so long as the current coach remains.
Recruiting territory (the best football players) and ties to the largest media markets lead to major money for college football conferences.
What do you think happens to the Big 12 and AAC? Big 12 invite four of the AAC members to get $15M each after 2025?
Although possible, in a cease and desist letter, the Big 12 commissioner has accused the SEC & ESPN of colluding with the AAC (American Athletic Conference) to destroy the Big 12 conference after the announced departure of Texas and Oklahoma by a plan to lure away three to five teams from the remaining 8 teams in the Big 12 in order to help Oklahoma & Texas escape the $70 million to $80 million exit fees per team.
Nevertheless, speculating is fun even if unreasonable.The four teams might be Cincinnati, SMU, University of Houston, and University of Central Florida (UCF).
The AAC conference member schools are:Univ. of Cincinnati,East Carolina, University of Houston, Memphis, Navy, SMU, USF (South Florida), Temple, Tulane, Tulsa & UCF (Central Florida).
If the Big 12 adds Houston & SMU, Cincinnati, & UCF, then I think that the per team payout would be higher than $14 million. The media markets of Dallas/Ft. Worth, Houston, Orlando, & Cincinnati should make a positive impact on the TV / media rights value of the Big 12.
Recent payouts for UCF in the AAC were $5.3 million in 2020 and $7.4 million in 2019. Clearly, AAC member schools should welcome an offer to join the Big 12. If the initial reporting was correct, then the AAC has a 12 year contract through 2032 with ESPN which should pay each team about $7 million per year.
P.S. BYU & Boise State are other solid football programs available to the Big 12 conference.
Short, well written article which supports my views:
An even bigger question, what was the Notre Dame AD (athletic director) thinking when heading the committee to expand the college football playoffs to 12 teams without placing a limit on the number of teams from any one conference ?
This provision gives birth to super conferences of 16 to 32 or more member schools. This provision makes it more difficult for an independent school like Notre Dame to qualify for the college football playoffs as the remaining conferences–beyond the SEC–are not going to idly watch Disney ESPN & the SEC take control of D-I college football.
Remember, the NCAA has been neutered by the US Supreme Court and NIL is here now.
Companion article also published today:
Important words to remember from the Big 12: Collusion. Conspire.
“Collusion” and “conspire” suggest antitrust violations which could potentially cause an investigation by the US Dept. of Justice Antitrust Division.
FWIW It will be fun to watch what happens if the proposed expanded college football playoffs limit each conference to just two or three teams.Would Texas & Oklahoma renege on their entry into the SEC ?
Limiting each conference to just 2 or 3 teams in an expanded playoff system would harm any super conference–such as the SEC–and benefit the remaining Power 5 conferences plus other conferences.
New article: Best way to thwart a hostile takeover of college football by the SEC, unless Notre Dame decides to join the Big Ten or ACC soon:
This is an interesting article which appears to have been hastily written & bypassed by editors. Worth reading, but don’t let the off-the-cuff remarks confuse you as they are not stated well. (Probably had an urgent deadline to produce an article.)