College Football Bowl Season 2018-19

The reason the ACC and SEC are hesitant to extend to nine is because they have a quarter of their memberships playing interconference rivalry games with each other each year instead of a creampuff. FSU-UF, Clemson-SC, UGa-GT, UK-UL.

 

Plus the ACC has its semi-marriage agreement with ND.

 

So you play nine league games, make that rivalry game your marquee OOC matchup, and play two games against FCS/MAC/Sun Belt opponents. No big deal. Pac-12 has done it for years.

 

Who in the SEC plays four OOC creampuffs? Arkansas this year, but I don't think even the most rabid SEC fan is using Arkansas in any argument. Otherwise it looks to me more like three creampuffs and one pretty good school. SEC teams played Clemson (twice), Notre Dame, Washington, West Virginia, Miami, Purdue, Georgia Tech, Texas Tech, Kansas State, FSU, and Louisville (twice), going 9-4. Granted, some of the latter teams weren't as good as they were probably expected to be when the games were scheduled, but I don't see a lot of creampuffs on that list. I think the argument for the SEC has more to do with success against other P5 conferences and its best teams' success in the BCS and CFBP games.

 

My bad the 2-10 Louisville, Sun Belt Arkansas State, University of Louisiana and the Citadel is an OOC Schedule of champions

 

Except other conferences make it work, including the Pac-12 which has Stanford and USC who always play Notre Dame as one of their 3 OOC games.

 

No doubt they could make it work. That’s not the point. For Clemson and FSU, it’s “why should I give up a home gate when I also already play a P5 rival, and Notre Dame or another P5 every year?”

 

How many no-shows do Clemson and FSU have when they play a cream puff? Nationally it seems it is harder to get fans out for those games.

College football is seeing declines in attendance. I believe that economic pressures will lead to conferences scheduling extra conference games.

 

When they’re successful, very few. But I suspect long term you are right. It’s already worthwhile for many programs to trade a home gate for one of the neutral site classics. A loss for season ticket attractiveness, but guaranteed cash.

 

Hell, FSU is playing Boise State in Jacksonville to open the season in 2019.

 

Army just dropped 70 on Houston. The Cadets are good, not just service-academy good.

 

Man, I was pissed when San Diego State lost to Army by seven in last year's bowl. In retrospect, I guess I shouldn't have been. Aztecs got off easy.