Conference-only schedule is college football's best hope for 2020

[WVUALLEN]

Conference-only schedule is college football's best hope for 2020

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nca...ge-football-season/13kdnstm8ejnl1kd7tb6xiwmew

The 2020 FBS college football season is supposed to start Aug. 29, but that's looking less likely with each passing day.

On Wednesday, the Ivy League canceled fall sports and Ohio State announced that it was pausing offseason football workouts. The number of COVID-19 cases in the United States continues to increase, and those numbers are high in several key college football states.

Best-case scenario
At this point, a conference-only season remains the best-case scenario for college football in 2020. The Ivy League decision could be either a precursor or an outlier, but the FBS athletic directors, conference commissioners and school administrators have tough decisions to make in the coming weeks that will impact the next several years of intercollegiate athletics.

The problem is those decisions hinge on a pandemic that has not slowed down since the NCAA men's basketball tournament was canceled.

The nature of where COVID-19 stands over the next few months will determine more than anything where college football goes from here.

 

[WVUALLEN]

Can a Playoff still happen?
What if conference championship games aren't possible? How would college football legitimize the College Football Playoff?

The last season in which there were no college football playoff games was 1991, and Miami and Washington spilt the national championship. That is another hurdle with the possibility that there would be no nonconference games in 2020.

The four-team playoff has left out the Group of 5 every season, and the Pac-12 has been left out four of the six seasons under the current format. That might lead to a push for an eight-team playoff this year, but the fact that the semifinals and CFP championship game have already been selected means that is unlikely. The CFP could still select four teams, even in a conference-only season.

 

[TownesVanZandt]

Conference +1 is more likely

Mainly because most of the teams in the ACC, SEC and Big 12 have rivarlies or prior games scheduled

But because Florida State has Florida.

It could open the door for the Backyard Brawl this year

 

[WVUALLEN]

Conference +1 is more likely

Mainly because most of the teams in the ACC, SEC and Big 12 have rivarlies or prior games scheduled

But because Florida State has Florida.

It could open the door for the Backyard Brawl this year

Keep dreaming Lucy,

You do realize WVU is closer to the east coast than the mid west. WVU doesn't have rivalries in Big 12. Who do you think will become infected quicker than any Big 12 team? You have no right to even mention Backyard Brawl. You're a dumbass Texas fan. (according to yourself)

 

[TownesVanZandt]

What does that have to do with anything I said?

The three conferences who haven't announced are trying to work something out.

You could see conference +1.
Meaning that you play the regularly scheduled game. Because WVU plays Florida State they will need an opponent.


Keep your ear to the ground in the next few weeks about WVU possibly playing an ACC school first game of the season or last.

Mainly because then you have control. You can still suspend the season if you play OOC in the beginning or even at the end.


Majority of schools may not want to play G5 and FCS opponents because their are too poor to test.
P5 schools have been testing at least once a week or some even more since the beginning of June.

 

[WVUALLEN]

TVZ living in candy land.

 

[TownesVanZandt]

Pay attention....

Have to know where to go for the info...

The info coming out of Texas is much better than anything Nationally in regards to the Big 12.

Pay attention to what is coming out of Alabama for the SEC.

If they were going to announce they would have already.
Why the wait?

Two reasons.
To get everything straightened out plus to make sure there isn't a huge surge in cases.

If what they are seeing right now is bad enough.
Wouldn't you think they would have already made a decision

 

[Butler-eer]

I am paying attention but not to you.
Conference only is supposed to be for the safety of the players. That in itself is BULLSHEAT.
B1G did this for attention only. Tell me how tOSU playing Rutgers is more safe than playing any of the MAC teams. All they want to do is guarantee a spot in the championship.

 

[3xWVUenginEER]

I am paying attention but not to you.
Conference only is supposed to be for the safety of the players. That in itself is BULLSHEAT.
B1G did this for attention only. Tell me how tOSU playing Rutgers is more safe than playing any of the MAC teams. All they want to do is guarantee a spot in the championship.

so very true.

My opinion as to why the seasons haven’t been totally cancelled yet. The schools are still
1: holding out hope for a vaccine to hopefully be the magic bullet for this
2: trying to get donations. They refund ticket costs, but not the donations ticket holders pay in order to buy the tickets


In the next 2-4 weeks at most I think the “Cancel the season” call will be made. I don’t think the virus danger is that bad right now for healthy people at large. It’s the lawsuit threat that leads to this being done.

 

[Butler-eer]

1. It's all about the money.
2. It's about our (fans) desire to be entertained.

 

[3xWVUenginEER]

I agree and the entertainment will change. My planned entertainment for this fall is changing.

it will be comprised of nature & outdoor based activities.

The bass tracker, ugly sticks, and Mitchel reels in combination with crank baits, top water, and some Carolina and Texas Rigs will get some use. Also the tree stands and Matthews Bow will definitely be used more. I believe The outdoor back to nature will see a resurgence this fall.

 

[tOSUGrad90]

I am paying attention but not to you.
Conference only is supposed to be for the safety of the players. That in itself is BULLSHEAT.
B1G did this for attention only. Tell me how tOSU playing Rutgers is more safe than playing any of the MAC teams. All they want to do is guarantee a spot in the championship.

Idiotic post. Beating MAC schools or Rutgers won't land any school in the CFP. The OOC schedule was canceled to allow for more time, control, and flexibility in scheduling. Unlike the SEC schools, which schedule OOC cupcakes to play on a Saturday in November, almost all of the B1G's OOC games are played in September, so it makes more sense to cancel them. It has nothing to do with the CFP, and you can't make a rational argument that it does.

 

[WVUALLEN]

I agree and the entertainment will change. My planned entertainment for this fall is changing.

it will be comprised of nature & outdoor based activities.

The bass tracker, ugly sticks, and Mitchel reels in combination with crank baits, top water, and some Carolina and Texas Rigs will get some use. Also the tree stands and Matthews Bow will definitely be used more. I believe The outdoor back to nature will see a resurgence this fall.

Amen brother amen.

 

[3xWVUenginEER]

Amen brother amen.

I’m looking fwd to it. Fishing in colder water and actually using trail cams for a specific large buck.

 

[Butler-eer]

Idiotic post. Beating MAC schools or Rutgers won't land any school in the CFP. The OOC schedule was canceled to allow for more time, control, and flexibility in scheduling. Unlike the SEC schools, which schedule OOC cupcakes to play on a Saturday in November, almost all of the B1G's OOC games are played in September, so it makes more sense to cancel them. It has nothing to do with the CFP, and you can't make a rational argument that it does.

Hmmmm.... Welp ..... The SEC with their cupcake schedule has never been left out of the CFP and has had 2 teams in it. B1G has been left out recently with it's non-cupcake schedule.
Time to control and flexibility playing 10 games instead of 12 may keep a team in the game if a number of players test positive. But how is playing Ruggers, Merryland, Illinois, all in the hot spots for COVID, keeping kids safe vs playing OOC games from areas less infected? Keeping kids SAFE was the #1 reason to go to a conference only schedule.
And if beating Ruggers doesn't help getting you into the CFP then why in the hell did the B1G add them to the conference.
Go back to Flavortown and your Strauss cover up.

 

[tOSUGrad90]

Hmmmm.... Welp ..... The SEC with their cupcake schedule has never been left out of the CFP and has had 2 teams in it. B1G has been left out recently with it's non-cupcake schedule.
Time to control and flexibility playing 10 games instead of 12 may keep a team in the game if a number of players test positive. But how is playing Ruggers, Merryland, Illinois, all in the hot spots for COVID, keeping kids safe vs playing OOC games from areas less infected? Keeping kids SAFE was the #1 reason to go to a conference only schedule.
And if beating Ruggers doesn't help getting you into the CFP then why in the hell did the B1G add them to the conference.
Go back to Flavortown and your Strauss cover up.

How many of these do you see circling your house right now? You're totally clueless. Rutgers was added to the B1G because it plays in the NYC Market, and the B1G, which owns almost half of the Big Ten Network, receives cash for every single customer that pays money to a cable or satellite company that broadcasts the B1G Network. It is absolutely delusional to think that adding Rutgers to the B1G was about the CFP. Another incredible delusion of yours is your implication that that I posted that the SEC plays a cupcake schedule. The FACT is that most SEC teams play cupcakes on a Saturday in November. Look it up. Most B1G schools, like most Big 12 schools, play their OOC cupcakes in September. The B1G is considering whether to move later scheduled conference games to the now available September dates, but this will depend on the virus numbers. Canceling the OOC games in September gives the B1G the flexibility to use the now open dates to reschedule later scheduled conference games, or even replace an OOC game with another conference opponent or two. The PAC 12 has followed suit, but in your delusional world, it probably did so to make sure that Washington made the CFP, right? Stick to what you know, and stop embarrassing yourself by spewing black-helicopter conspiracy theories.

 

[TownesVanZandt]

https://www.bannersociety.com/2020/7/13/21322635/sec-football-covid-scheduling-changes-2020

The Big 12 / ACC Alliance: Sources at multiple schools have confirmed a desire among ADs and the league to preserve as much of the non-conference schedule as possible. Multiple outlets have reported the ACC is considering cancelling its non-conference games, effectively wiping out most of the SEC East’s rivalry week slate (Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, Florida vs. Florida State, Kentucky vs. Louisville, South Carolina vs. Clemson). The SEC is trying to maintain those games with the ACC while also crafting an agreement with the Big 12, in hopes of giving every SEC program one non-conference game.

Right now, there are four SEC/Big 12 games scheduled for 2020: Vanderbilt at Kansas State, Texas at LSU, Tennessee at Oklahoma and Ole Miss vs. Baylor in Houston (It’s likely that game would be moved to either campus instead of NRG Stadium).

Preserving these existing contests would guarantee a Power 5 opponent for eight programs; if successful, the league would then try to find match-ups for the remaining six teams. Auburn is scheduled to play North Carolina in Atlanta on September 12 — it’s possible that game could move to either campus — and Mississippi State and Arkansas currently have trips to NC State and Notre Dame, respectively, that same weekend. If the league were to count Missouri’s October 10 game at BYU as Power 5, the scheduling gap would be reduced to two schools: Texas A&M and Alabama.

Keep in mind that any decision the SEC and/or the SEC in concert with other leagues might come to in the short term is in no way a guarantee of any actual football being played. In conversations with these programs, the reality of COVID-19 was acknowledged multiple times: Any decision or statement made now can – and likely will – change before Sept. 5.




This leaves Texas A&M and Alabama in the SEC

Most likely Texas Tech and TCU

This is where West Virginia playing one of the schools in the ACC comes in.

Syracuse
VA Tech
Pittsburgh

 

[WVUALLEN]

Come on share. Don't hog all the weed TVZ.

 

[TownesVanZandt]

I have been saying this since Thursday...

Now it is being reported to a wider audience.
Even the SEC commissioner said yesterday that they stand together with the Big 12.


Regarding rescheduled games

Hawaii just announced one this morning. They will be playing Robert Morris in the spot of one of their PAC 12 opponents

Hawaii one of the schools who asked for more than 1 FCS wins to be counted as wins.

 

[TownesVanZandt]

With TCU’s season-opener game against Cal canceled, the school’s athletic director is now pursuing a replacement opponent for Sept. 5 Week 1 slot or possibly even the prior week, Week Zero.

Alabama, BYU, Liberty and Texas A&M are all possibilities, and given the exceptional nature of the year don’t rule out any of these unlikely candidates as potential TCU opponents for a season that proceeds with extreme caution.

TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati said he’s trying to find a game and, “Everyone who has had or will have a game canceled in the immediate future is [possible] at this point.”

There are holes to fill, and one-year contracts to be constructed in a matter of days with the understanding that all of the work could be flushed minutes after the game is set.

With the Big 12 and SEC as the remaining holdouts among the Power 5 conferences to not cancel its 2020 fall non-conference schedules amid concerns related to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Donati’s fellow administrators are also scrambling to find potential opponents on the chance they will actually be able to play this season.

TCU was scheduled to open its season on Sept. 5 against California at Berkeley. That game was canceled when the Pac-12 announced on July 10 that it would only play in-conference games — assuming that any games will be played at all

https://www.star-telegram.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/mac-engel/article244187697.html

 

[TownesVanZandt]

Even though Jerry Falwell Jr deserves to have his calls unanswered.

Football is more important and I am sure WVU is speaking with Liberty as well to replace their Maryland game for right now

 

[Rootmaster]

TVZ...how many cut and paste posts to yourself do you have to make? What a doofus.

 

[TownesVanZandt]

Been too busy to worry about this.

I did see Urban Meyer saying they will have football but maybe not all conferences in the Fall
Meyer who works at FOX and still in the Ohio State athletic department.

Roll the dice and see what happens.

 

[Rootmaster]

Been too busy to worry about this.

I did see Urban Meyer saying they will have football but maybe not all conferences in the Fall
Meyer who works at FOX and still in the Ohio State athletic department.

Roll the dice and see what happens.

Too busy surfing Google for your next 20 paragraph gibberish post I would guess.

 

[WVUALLEN]

By Chuck Carlton
7:26 PM on Jul 14, 2020 CDT

Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby says ‘it’s too early’ to make call on fall sports season
Bowlsby said the Big 12 hasn't had official discussions with the SEC or ACC about filling open games in teams' schedules yet.

https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/t...too-early-to-make-call-on-fall-sports-season/

The Big 12 will continue to assess COVID-19 developments before making a call on the fall sports season, Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said.

”I believe it’s too early to be making those decisions,” Bowlsby said following a Tuesday meeting of conference athletic directors. “Frankly, we haven’t been advised to do that by our scientists and medical advisors. We’ve been advised to move forward slowly and constantly re-evaluate and that’s what we’ll keep doing until we’ve told it’s inadvisable.”

Bowlsby’s comments put the Big 12 on the same page with public comments by the SEC and ACC.

The Big Ten followed by the Pac-12 announced last week that they would be playing a conference-only football schedule. Although COVID-19 testing numbers have spiked recently and pessimism has grown about a fall football season, Bowlsby said any decision is likely too “circumstantial and situational.” The ADs were briefed on COVID-19 testing and monitoring protocol Tuesday by Dr. Kyle Goerl, the Kansas State team physician.

Said Bowlsby: “We’re going to have to be patient and continue to read the tea leaves and see what the next two or three or four weeks bring us. If things get worse, that will inform one set of decisions. If things get better, that will inform another set of decisions.”

The Associated Press reported Tuesday afternoon that the first COVID-19 vaccine to undergo testing in the United States performed as expected and is headed to final stage testing. “Certainly we watch very closely those developments and any good news is more than welcome,” Bowlsby said. “On the other hand, we’re advised that it takes a while to work the bugs out of vaccine development. I don’t want to get the cart before the horse.”

The Big 12 board of directors will consider a variety of COVID-19 related recommendations from the athletic directors next Monday in a regularly-scheduled meeting. Among them: no travel by Big 12 spirit squads and pep bands for football. “Everything we’re doing right now is geared towards getting as far down the path as we can to playing football,” Bowlsby said.

Bowlsby said the Big 12 hasn’t formally had any discussions with the SEC or ACC about filing the holes left on the scheduled by the Big Ten/Pac-12 conference-only move.

”I think our schools individually will be out talking to people about filling out their schedule for 12 games,” Bowlsby said. “If they lost a game, they’ll look around and try to pick one up. If it’s a road game, they may not.”

There is a huge financial component to the decisions facing conferences with football the prime economic driver for FBS athletic departments.

Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard underscored what’s at stake for the college football season financially in an open letter to fans Monday.

With a fall sports season, Iowa State would be looking at a $40 million loss in athletic revenue for a department with an $86 million budget. “I feel it is imperative and timely to clarify the reasons why we are doing everything in our power to try and safely play college sports this fall,” Pollard said. “Some people have incorrectly framed the issue as safety versus revenue generation. The simple fact is that reality lies somewhere in the middle.”

Still, Bowlsby said medical guidance and health concerns will take priority.

“If they came back to us tomorrow and said this isn’t working, we don’t have any chance to make it work, we’re going to listen to them and there won’t be any argument,” Bowlsby said.

 

[WVUALLEN]

Big 12 Commissioner: Too early to make a call on fall sports
Posted by Curtis Crabtree on July 15, 2020, 2:11 AM EDT

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.c...oner-too-early-to-make-a-call-on-fall-sports/

Bob Bowlsby, the Commissioner of the Big 12 Conference, said Tuesday that the league is not yet ready to make any decisions regarding their fall sports calendar in regards to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

”I believe it’s too early to be making those decisions,” Bowlsby said, via Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News. “Frankly, we haven’t been advised to do that by our scientists and medical advisors. We’ve been advised to move forward slowly and constantly re-evaluate and that’s what we’ll keep doing until we’ve told it’s inadvisable.”

Bowlsby’s comments came after a meeting of the conference’s athletic directors on Tuesday.

Last week, the Big Ten Conference and the Pac-12 Conference both decided against playing non-conference games as a part of their football schedules this fall. Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott also announced he had been diagnosed as having a positive case of COVID-19 himself. With Bowlsby’s comments, the Big 12 appears to be more in line with the SEC and ACC in how they’re currently approaching fall seasons. That stance essentially boils down to waiting until the end of the month and seeing what the landscape looks like at that point in time.

“We’re going to have to be patient and continue to read the tea leaves and see what the next two or three or four weeks bring us. If things get worse, that will inform one set of decisions. If things get better, that will inform another set of decisions,” Bowlsby said.

Meanwhile, the NFL is nearly the scheduled openings of training camps across the league without agreements in place about how they will proceed between the league and players’ association. They are scheduled to talk again on Wednesday.