How Bad is Bad?

#26
#26
I'm aware of the school's nature, historically. My sister goes there, so my family follows them as almost a let's say secondary team. I meant more in the immediate, though, not the longer run.

I'm not sure if the point of this thread is who would win/do well in this conference in the next 2-3 years or how would such a conference shake out decades from now.

Yeah, True, I'm first to confess that there's little to no academic rigor to this thread. I left Purdue out, because they used to be pretty good at one time recently, but included Indiana in spite of the fact that they were pretty good at one time. So you're right to question the point of it.

The point is really just this: However you cut off the lowest tranche of the Power 5, is the resulting new conference better than an average Group of 5 conference? And what does that say about the Power 5 vs Group of 5, and the whole question of scheduling and creampuffs and the "rigors" of conference play?

I got the idea for this thread while thinking about the B10/PAC/B12 chest-thumping, "We play 9 league games instead of 8, so our schedules are harder than the SEC and ACC, harrumph harrumph!"

But that's not necessarily so, is it?
 
#27
#27
I cant laugh at this but the Vols would be in that group during the Dooley years

Not...cool. Brings back ugly memories best left alone.

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#28
#28
Yeah, True, I'm first to confess that there's little to no academic rigor to this thread. I left Purdue out, because they used to be pretty good at one time recently, but included Indiana in spite of the fact that they were pretty good at one time. So you're right to question the point of it.

The point is really just this: However you cut off the lowest tranche of the Power 5, is the resulting new conference better than an average Group of 5 conference? And what does that say about the Power 5 vs Group of 5, and the whole question of scheduling and creampuffs and the "rigors" of conference play?

I got the idea for this thread while thinking about the B10/PAC/B12 chest-thumping, "We play 9 league games instead of 8, so our schedules are harder than the SEC and ACC, harrumph harrumph!"

But that's not necessarily so, is it?


IU, which I also attended for doctoral study in Anthropology, clearly deserves membership in the lowliest of the low. If you take all-time records into consideration, Purdue is merely mediocre (ranking 64th), but IU ranks 102nd in winning pct. (.41930), just behind Northwestern and just above New Mexico State. I-A Winning Percentage 1869-2015
 
#29
#29
Interesting thread, to make it even more interesting . . . Let's view this like the Soccer leagues do it in the UK. The leagues are shaped by the top two finishers each season - the top two teams move up a league, like going from AA to AAA in baseball, while the bottom two teams drop a league, going from AAA to AA.

So, the Power 5 conferences would drop their bottom two teams from that season into the Lil' 10 - only 5 Power Conferences so only 10 teams - and play the first season within the Lil' 10. The best, say SEC, team would return to regular SEC play the next season while only dropping the worst into the Lil' 10 - same with the PAC12 and Big10 etc.

Now let the bullets fly . . . . :popcorn:
 
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#30
#30
I'd say Kentucky would rule that conference. At least for a few years. After playing SEC schedules forever, that would be a cakewalk for them. I'd say Vandy too....and they would probably do ok, but they struggle against their OOC schedule most years too.
 
#31
#31
How stratified are the Power 5 ... the Group of 5 ... and the FCS, really?

This question will never be answered. Partly because it's impossible to measure, realistically speaking. Can't have every team play ever other team in college football 2 or 3 times, to allow truth to overcome quirks and "sort it out on the field." Partly because crap keeps changing. Team might be the 40th-best in the country one week, and the 65th-best a couple of weeks later with one or two key injuries.

So, just as a think piece, imagine that the Power 5 conferences dumped their cellar-dwellers...and that all those dumped teams formed their own league.

This is still Power 5 football, just reorganized.

Here's how the new conference looks:

Vandy
Kentucky
Boston College
Wake Forest
Virginia
Kansas
Iowa State
Rutgers
Illinois
Maryland
Indiana
Minnesota
Colorado
Oregon State

So who is the new Big Fish in this new Little Pond? What teams come out on top?

And does that tell us anything about the SEC versus the B12 versus the PAC? Or about the Power 5 versus the Group of 5? Could Conference USA beat up on this new conference regularly?



Interesting in theory, but not in practice.

And since they have not yet legalized marijuana in the great state of Tennessee, coming up with answers to theoretical questions such as these is not going to get a hit on my radar. If that changes, ask me again about 4 hours after the sales open.
 
#32
#32
Virginia and Maryland should be the cream of that crop. There is talent in the DC area. It just doesn't go to the local schools and there isn't enough for everyone.

JMO
 
#38
#38
BREAKING NEWS...

Bob Stoops and the Oklahoma Sooners will be joining the little 14 conference. He is having a press conference this afternoon. Talking points at the press conference are said to be: The SEC is overrated, relevancy and toughness of the little 14 conference, fair shot at the playoff for the little 14, playing no OOC games against weak opponents and the ongoing SEC media bias.
 
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#40
#40
For hardcore, short-term ineptitude in the SEC, Alabama deserves serious consideration. Consider their record for 1954-1957: 8-29-4. 17 consecutive losses (from 11/13/54-10/20/56), 19 consecutive games without a victory (10/30/54-10/20/56). Included within that streak of infamy were back-to-back losses to the Commodes (21-6 and 32-7) and Tennessee (20-0 and 24-0). During that 19-game span, Alabama was shut out NINE times. For all of the great teams that Alabama has fielded over the years, let us raise our glasses to the perfect record of the 1955 Crimson Tide, a squad that went 0-10-0 and scored only 48 points all year. A job well done. Alabama Historical Scores


For fellow Tennessee fans, as you can see, it actually can get worse than the Dooley era.

Makes it even more impressive that Tenn and OSU are the only two schools to never lose 8 games in a season. Not even Dooley could mess that up.
 
#42
#42
I'd be a season ticket holder to watch the basketball. Would be a pretty gosh darn good league.
 
#43
#43
BREAKING NEWS...

Bob Stoops and the Oklahoma Sooners will be joining the little 14 conference. He is having a press conference this afternoon. Talking points at the press conference are said to be: The SEC is overrated, relevancy and toughness of the little 14 conference, fair shot at the playoff for the little 14, playing no OOC games against weak opponents and the ongoing SEC media bias.

Ha! That begs this question: Other than Oklahoma, what other "blue blood" program would be beating a quick path to Lil 14 membership? Urban Meyer, with or without Ohio State tagging along, seems likely. Anyone else? :)

I'd be a season ticket holder to watch the basketball. Would be a pretty gosh darn good league.

Yeah, it definitely would be. Kentucky, Indiana, and Kansas alone would guarantee the Lil 14's basketball chops. :good!:
 
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