Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Friday, March 29, 2024

Inside NCAA Football | Off-field lowlights overshadow on-field highlights

Feature-Image_Place-HolderPRESLAWN2

Remember when the beginning of the college football season was supposed to give us relief from the seemingly never-ending off-field problems of the off-season?

Well, the fourth weekend of games is quickly approaching, and that simply has not been the case. Many of the marquee matchups have been more notorious for their scandalous connections than their actual game-play. Oregon vs. LSU was known as the Willie Lyles Bowl after the suspect booster connected to both schools, while Ohio State vs. Miami was known as the Death Penalty Bowl, as both were more concerned with avoiding further NCAA sanctions than with winning football games.

Even a pair of top-five matchups over the past two weeks did little to bring excitement back to the sport. Then-No. 3 Oregon proved once again that it cannot compete with SEC schools, losing to No. 2 LSU in a dominant 40-27 performance by the Tigers. Then-No. 5 Florida State may have looked competitive against No. 1 Oklahoma — the game was even tied with just seven minutes to play — but the stats tell the true story. The Sooners ran for over 100 yards while holding the Seminoles to one yard per carry. The voters were not fooled either: Florida State has dropped out of the top 10 in both the coaches' poll and the AP poll.

Perhaps most disappointing is that the season seems to be following the same storyline that we have seen many times in recent years. It is basically already guaranteed that the SEC will earn a spot in the national-title game one way or another. And unless you happen to live in one of those states where fandom is a religion and every Saturday is a holiday — with veritable feasts for tailgates — you do not really care which team it is.

The other championship contender will either come out of the Big 12 or the Pac 12, like it does every year (sorry, Wisconsin), while a Mountain West Conference team — this year No. 4 Boise State — sits on the verge of greatness, unable to do anything but hope that someone above it stumbles. The Broncos even did the unthinkable this year, going into SEC territory and getting a win over Georgia, but in the long run that will likely matter little.

But Week 4 carries with it promise that we have not yet seen this season. Analysts actually began to get excited about picking apart No. 7 Oklahoma State against No. 8 Texas A&M and No. 3 Alabama clashing with No. 14 Arkansas, both basically BCS-title knockout games in their respective conferences. Perhaps even more exciting is the primetime game between No. 2 LSU and No. 16 West Virginia, which may be the Big East's last feeble chance ever to punch a ticket to the National Championship game.

(As an aside, has eating grass finally gotten to Les Miles' head? While the rest of his SEC rivals are picking on cardinal-direction-state university, he scheduled non-conference games with the top contender in both the Pac-12 and the Big East. Suffice it to say that if his team does make it to New Orleans, just 80 miles from campus, no one will be more prepared.)

Unfortunately for college football, just as things were starting to look better, conference realignment hit the proverbial fan.

While talks of the SEC, Big 10 and Pac 12 dismantling the Big 12 piece-by-piece have been going on for quite some time, the ACC actually made the move that set things in motion, swooping in and taking Pittsburgh and Syracuse (a founding member of the Big East). The move all but gave the Big East a death sentence while simultaneously granting the ACC complete control of the entire eastern seaboard. Rumors of them coming back soon to grab some combination of Connecticut, Rutgers and Georgetown to complete the first 16-team "super-conference" have already begun.

At least for the time being, it does not look like any of the other big three will be joining them. The Pac 12 announced on Tuesday night that it will not be expanding, while Oklahoma has submitted a list of demands, including the firing of Conference President Dan Beebe and a tone-down of Texas' TV network, if they are to stay a part of the Big 12. But despite these flimsy promises and statements, realignment with undoubtedly dominate the headlines of college football all season, no matter what happens on the field.

Why should we care who is playing in what division? Well, most pundits see the super-conferences shaping up at four 16-team leagues: the ACC on the east coast, the Big 10 around the Great Lakes, the SEC in the south and the Pac 12 on the west coast. These conferences will be able to monopolize TV deals and networks in their respective regions, giving them more control than even the NCAA.

There are rumors that the four will break away from the NCAA at this point, forming their own league that would be nothing short of semi-pro football. There would be no more Boise State Cinderella stories, no more college athletes trying to get by. Players could even be paid. Conference realignment could completely change the sport as we know it.

So as you sit down to enjoy Week 4, make sure you enjoy every minute of it. Who knows what off-the-field headline will dominate the press next week?