College Football Discussion and News | BCS Football http://www.bcsfootball.net Sat, 19 May 2012 03:40:10 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Analysis: With Big 12-SEC Game Comes Uncertain Ripple Effect http://www.bcsfootball.net/bcs-football/analysis-with-big-12-sec-game-comes-uncertain-ripple-effect/ http://www.bcsfootball.net/bcs-football/analysis-with-big-12-sec-game-comes-uncertain-ripple-effect/#comments Sat, 19 May 2012 03:40:10 +0000 bcs football admin http://www.bcsfootball.net/bcs-football/analysis-with-big-12-sec-game-comes-uncertain-ripple-effect/

Less than a year ago, when conference realignment began to shift significantly, few could have imagined that Texas A&M’s decision to bolt the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference would eventually lead to Virginia Commonwealth’s move to the Atlantic 10.

There is a lesson that this mind-bending year of realignment taught everyone: paradigms shift and conferences are often gutted because of unintended consequences.

The potential for a chain reaction was raised again Friday when news emerged that the Big 12 and SEC would create their own “championship game” in football — think of a non-Pasadena version of the Rose Bowl. The ramifications will be significant, but the biggest question will be whether it will create another ripple of conference realignment.

The creation of such a valuable property will further the perception that the top football conferences — the Pac-12, the SEC, the Big Ten and the Big 12 — have further distanced themselves from everyone else. And by everyone else, that means the Atlantic Coast Conference, which is known as the fifth-best conference because of its 2-13 record in Bowl Championship Series games.

The Big 12 and SEC champions are scheduled to meet each year on Jan 1, beginning in 2015, in a game that is expected to be bid out to areas like Dallas, New Orleans and Atlanta. The two conferences will maximize profits from this game, even though the actual value of it is impossible to calculate until the parameters of college football’s new playoff system are determined.

This union will probably create tiers of college football. The four-team playoff that has been discussed would make up the first tier. The next tier would be this game, known as the Champions Bowl, and the Rose Bowl. While neither game would have the cachet of the national semifinal and national title games, they could be put in favorable time slots on New Year’s Day and considered the best leftovers.

There would also be a third tier of games, which could include the Orange, Fiesta and Sugar Bowls and perhaps some assortment of the Cotton, Capital One and Chick-fil-A Bowls.

The decision by the Big 12 and the SEC is widely viewed as a leverage move because the Rose Bowl — which theoretically pits the Pac-12 and Big Ten champions — has become a contentious part of the playoff process.

But Jim Delany, the Big Ten commissioner, said he did not see this merger as a strategic counter to the Big Ten or the Rose Bowl. “I don’t see it that way at all,” he said. “If it’s anything, it’s a complement to what’s been built at the Rose Bowl.”

One consultant familiar with the college sports landscape said: “It’s really taking the cue ball and knocking it into the rack. People are going to get quoted, but they don’t have answers because they have not designed the playoff system yet.”

The knee-jerk reaction on Twitter and among other college officials was that this could mean that Florida State winds up in the Big 12, as the chairman of the university’s board of trustees spoke openly about last week. Could that happen? It’s more likely today than it was last week.

The Big 12, which has 10 teams, will eventually want to grow back to 12. Florida State would pine to keep its football relevance. (The twist, of course, is that the A.C.C.’s national irrelevance can basically be traced to the struggles of Florida State and Miami, which could be the top targets to be poached.) Don’t expect any major moves until a playoff plan is settled.

“I wouldn’t draw up any hard and fast conclusions until you see how the dust settles,” Delany said, adding: “The unfortunate thing is that there were five leagues that are seen as separate. Maybe this does, in some ways, raise other issues because there’s an odd number of conferences.”

There are those unintended consequences again.

What about Notre Dame?

The Irish appear more isolated in football independence after every reverberation, real or projected, of conference realignment. The Big East, where Notre Dame houses its non-football programs, appears vulnerable if the A.C.C. loses more teams.

“We don’t think it has significant near-term consequences for Notre Dame,” the Irish athletic director, Jack Swarbrick, said of the Big 12-SEC game. He added that he would continue to monitor the landscape. Don’t expect anything to happen with the Irish until after a playoff plan is completed.

What about the playoff?

There are still mind-numbing issues to navigate: How? When? Where? Who? Computer polls? Humans? Conference champions? A basic system should be determined by July 4, but the details will take much longer to iron out.

One notion that became more viable that had long been disregarded is an actual Plus One — the often misused term for a one-game playoff after the bowls are played. If all the power in football is consolidated in the Big Ten, the SEC, the Big 12 and the Pac-12 — especially if teams flee the A.C.C. — could the Rose Bowl and Champions Bowl serve as de facto national semifinals and the top-ranked teams play a title game?

It wouldn’t be a playoff, technically. And it would alienate fans, who want simplicity after years of frustration and confusion. But there is an argument that will be heard in the next few weeks that the four league title games would be (essentially) quarterfinals, the Rose and Champions Bowl semifinals and the Plus One game a title game in most years.

]]> http://www.bcsfootball.net/bcs-football/analysis-with-big-12-sec-game-comes-uncertain-ripple-effect/feed/ 0 Mailbag: Best Big Ten-Pac-12 matchups http://www.bcsfootball.net/pac-12/mailbag-best-big-ten-pac-12-matchups/ http://www.bcsfootball.net/pac-12/mailbag-best-big-ten-pac-12-matchups/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 23:40:18 +0000 bcs football admin http://www.bcsfootball.net/pac-12/mailbag-best-big-ten-pac-12-matchups/ Happy Friday.

This is where you follow me on Twitter.

To the notes.

Dave from Birmingham writes: Not sure I get you. Why would you not want the four best teams to play in a playoff? That’s what a playoff is about. I know there’s a subjective part to this but that’s inevitable. Is everyone that afraid of a consensus favoring the SEC because the SEC is the best conference?

Ted Miller: In a word, yes. And no matter how you frame it, that so-called consensus remains subjective. And I know this from experience.

In 1996, I worked at the Mobile Register and I was arguing with Mike Griffith, who then covered Alabama for the Register and voted in the AP poll. Now, everybody argues with Mike, but I thought he was being particularly obtuse this particular afternoon because he was touting Arizona State. I was blathering that Arizona State would have four losses if it played in the SEC.

Yes, I once was one of them. Why? Because that was the way I was raised. Football in the south, as writer Rick Bragg once ostentatiously pandered, is like a “knife fight in a ditch”! That’s a bunch of silliness, but such sentiments nonetheless are inculcated into fans and they seep into the media coverage — in the Southeast as well as other parts of the country where fetishizing the peculiarity of the South is embraced. So I understand the roots of the “just because” reaction of so many SEC fans. And I experienced its power as a sportswriter.

When I moved out to Seattle to cover Washington, I still had a “just because” feeling about West Coast vs. Southeast football. When Miami came to Husky Stadium in 2000, I thought the Hurricanes would blast the Huskies. Ergo, my initial transformative moment was watching Washington physically manhandle the Hurricanes. Don’t be fooled by the final score: The Huskies owned Miami that day.

My point: Regional biases are strong and they cloud thinking, even when they feel rational. That’s why there needs to be a safeguard in our new four-team playoff system for some degree of objectivity, which prioritizing conference champions provides.

I know any questions about SEC super-awesomeness make SEC folks angry. I know: Six crystal footballs. No one is doubting the SEC‘s ability to dominate the BCS system. And I have no doubt that dominance of a subjective system — a beauty contest, really — has helped push the SEC closer to something that can be judged as a more objective superiority (read: self-fulfilling prophecy).

But if we’re going to have a national college football playoff, we need to create a selection process that doesn’t leave open the possibility of a tag always going to a runner from a certain conference, just because.

Edward from Atlanta writes: Do you think USC coach Lane Kiffin and his staff are better at recruiting than Pete Carroll and his staff? I look at the fact that Lane Kiffin is only working with 15 scholarships and he is still bringing in top recruits after everything that has taking placed. Just imagine if he did had all his scholarships he would probably have a top 3 or top 5 recruiting class every year.

Ted Miller: No.

Kiffin and his staff are recruiting very well, but they can’t do much better than Pete Carroll and his staff did from 2002-2009. You say top-three to -five each year? Carroll landed the No. 1 class multiple times. Any rare rating outside the top five was deemed an off-year. Carroll’s recruiting run rates among the best run a program has produced — think Bobby Bowden in the glory years at Florida State.

It’s also worth noting that Carroll and Kiffin share two ace recruiters: Kiffin and Ed Orgeron.

Jeff from Tempe, Ariz., writes: Who do you think is going to be the starting quarterback for ASU to begin the season?

Ted Miller: That’s a tough one. When I watched practice, I thought Mike Bercovici was so much better as a passer that he should be the guy. But then you have to realize that new coach Todd Graham wants to run some spread option, and that requires the quarterback to be a running threat. Bercovici is no running threat, while 6-foot-5, 242-pound Michael Eubank is. And Eubank has potential as a passer, though at present he’s raw.

The easy answer is start Bercovici but use some packages with Eubank. But that’s sort of a fan answer. Most coaches don’t like playing two quarterbacks. They’ll tell you if you play two, it means you don’t have any. And QBs are not big fans of sharing the job.

I used to be a Bercovici lean, but now I’m leaning toward Eubank. Here’s why: This team is much better at running back than at receiver. Even with Bercovici’s live arm, this probably is going to be a run-first offense, and it makes things much more difficult for a defense if it must account for the QB as a runner. Eubank can become at least an adequate passer. Bercovici is unlikely to do the same as a runner.

Mark from Garden Grove, Calif., writes: If you could play matchmaker, which Big Ten/Pac-12 schools would you pair for the 2017 season — and why?

Ted Miller: OK, I’ll bite, basing things on where the college football world is today.

  • Oregon-Ohio State: Urban Meyer vs. Chip Kelly. ‘Nuff said.
  • Arizona-Michigan: The Rich Rodriguez Bowl.
  • Stanford-Wisconsin: Two really good schools that play smashmouth football.
  • Oregon State-Michigan State: All that green would have the Beavers feeling like they’re play Oregon.
  • USC-Penn State: Two old-school powers whose uniforms are among the most recognizable.
  • Nebraska-Arizona State: Any Sun Devils recall 1996?
  • Northwestern-California: Two elite academic universities.
  • Washington-Iowa: A rematch of the 1982, 1991 Rose Bowls, both won by the Huskies.
  • Colorado-Purdue: Two great mascots. (Colorado would have been a good one for Nebraska, too.)
  • Utah-Illinois: Utes vs. Fighting Illini.
  • Washington State-Minnesota: The Cold Bowl.
  • UCLA-Indiana: Two old-school basketball powers playing football.
Rapsai from Eugene, Ore., writes: Ted, with Oregon’s lack of depth at RB, do you see Josh Huff maybe sliding into the backfield to play some RB for the Ducks next season?

Ted Miller: A perfectly reasonable solution if there are injury issues in the backfield.

Does it make me a bad person that I don’t think the Ducks are going to hurting at running back? I just think with Chip Kelly’s emphasis on speed in recruiting that the Ducks will pretty much have an answer at RB, no matter how many guys get hurt. Recall that Kenjon Barner started out as a defensive back.

John from Los Angeles writes: I guess this falls into my “you know your old when you have a story for everything” file. In reading the post about Jonathan Ogden going into the HOF, I noticed your comment on his massive size. My buddies and I take a football road trip every year. We used to include the Baltimore Ravens in the trip because Will Demps (former Ravens safety) played at the high school where my buddy is the AD and he would get us tickets. Anyway, after a game against the Bengals at Cincinnati we are standing next to the Ravens team bus talking to Demps, Ogden and his people come up next to us – and he literally blocks out the sun!! You truly cannot appreciate how BIG the guy is until you stand right next to him. My buddy is wearing his USC cap (he is a big fan), so to amuse myself I keep whispering “Jack, show Ogden your hat.” My friend kept his back to Ogden the entire time.

Ted Miller: I remember covering the 1996 Citrus Bowl between Ohio State and Tennessee — which was cool because both were ranked No. 4 entering the game — and walking up to the Ohio State bus. I saw No. 75 horsing around around this itty-bitty guy with a bald head who was No. 27.

The itty bitty guy was 6-foot-3, 240-pound, Heisman Trophy-winning running back Eddie George, and No. 75 was 6-foot-7, 325-pound Orlando Pace, who at that moment was the biggest dude I’d ever seen.

And Ogden — at 6-foot-9, 345 — darn near dwarfs Pace.

Only guy who ever impressed me as more spectacularly large was Shaquille O’Neal.

]]> http://www.bcsfootball.net/pac-12/mailbag-best-big-ten-pac-12-matchups/feed/ 0 Video: Top 20 Roundtable — Georgia http://www.bcsfootball.net/sec/video-top-20-roundtable-georgia/ http://www.bcsfootball.net/sec/video-top-20-roundtable-georgia/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 22:40:26 +0000 bcs football admin http://www.bcsfootball.net/sec/video-top-20-roundtable-georgia/ Chris Low
Chris Low

Low joined ESPN.com in 2007 after 10 years with The (Nashville) Tennessean covering the University of Tennessee and SEC. The Rock Hill, S.C., native lives with his wife in Knoxville and has three sons.

Questions and comments to Low, Aschoff �

Edward Aschoff

Edward Aschoff

Aschoff joined ESPN.com in 2011 after spending four years covering the University of Florida for The Gainesville Sun. He grew up in Oxford, Miss., before attending UF, graduating with a B.S. in journalism.

]]> http://www.bcsfootball.net/sec/video-top-20-roundtable-georgia/feed/ 0 Rebels lose Nickolas Brassell to grades http://www.bcsfootball.net/sec/rebels-lose-nickolas-brassell-to-grades/ http://www.bcsfootball.net/sec/rebels-lose-nickolas-brassell-to-grades/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 22:01:04 +0000 bcs football admin http://www.bcsfootball.net/sec/rebels-lose-nickolas-brassell-to-grades/ Nickolas Brassell was in a deep enough hole academically when Hugh Freeze took the Ole Miss job back in December that Freeze never counted on having Brassell on the field next season.

Sure, Freeze was always hopeful and did all he could to help Brassell, one of the most dynamic freshmen in the SEC last season, but the offcial word came down Friday. Ole Miss announced that Brassell was academically ineligible and would transfer.

Brassell, who became the first Ole Miss player since 1988 to start on both offense and defense, missed all but a few practices this spring to try and get his academics in order. Ultimately, he didn’t pass the required 18 credit hours over the last two semesters.

It’s always tough to lose a player of his ability. Again, though, Freeze knew it was going to be a long shot for Brassell to be eligible.

The plan was to use him at cornerback and then play him situationally at receiver. The good news for the Rebels is that both Wesley Pendleton and Dehendret Collins had big springs, and there’s also some depth at cornerback. Senquez Golson will be back from baseball in the fall after starting four games as true freshman at cornerback last season. Also, heralded signee Trae Elston will be on campus this summer.

The Rebels are still looking for more playmakers on offense, and Brassell would have certainly helped there. He also returned a punt 84 yards for a touchdown last season.

]]> http://www.bcsfootball.net/sec/rebels-lose-nickolas-brassell-to-grades/feed/ 0 ACC in the top 25 http://www.bcsfootball.net/acc/acc-in-the-top-25/ http://www.bcsfootball.net/acc/acc-in-the-top-25/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 22:00:35 +0000 bcs football admin http://www.bcsfootball.net/acc/acc-in-the-top-25/ My colleague Mark Schlabach has released his post-spring top 25, and the ACC has fared well:

7. Florida State
16. Clemson
23. Virginia Tech
25. Georgia Tech

I’ve got the first three in the same order in my post-spring conference power ranking, but I’ve apparently got more faith in NC State than Schlabach (and probably a lot of other people). Call it instinct. Call it a gut feeling. Call it Mike Glennon‘s ability to throw the ball, but I think the Wolfpack have the potential for a special season this year — more so than Georgia Tech.

I do believe the Yellow Jackets can win the Coastal Division this season, but I’m still not sold on Al Groh’s defense or on Tevin Washington as a difference-maker at quarterback. Washington is good — he has proven he can run the offense. But can he PASS the offense? Especially without two of the top receivers from a year ago? Georgia Tech still seems to be lacking the player who can dazzle us like Jonathan Dwyer and Joshua Nesbitt did in years’ past. And up front, there are questions on defense.

NC State, on the other hand, has a drop-back passer who is ready to show the rest of college football that he can hit his receivers just about anywhere on the field, and he’s got an experienced offensive line to work with. This program seems ready to turn the corner under coach Tom O’Brien, and if there is a fourth ACC team worthy of a preseason top 25 nod, NC State would get my vote.

]]> http://www.bcsfootball.net/acc/acc-in-the-top-25/feed/ 0 UCF Football Reaches Out to Local Children http://www.bcsfootball.net/conference-usa/ucf-football-reaches-out-to-local-children/ http://www.bcsfootball.net/conference-usa/ucf-football-reaches-out-to-local-children/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 22:00:08 +0000 bcs football admin http://www.bcsfootball.net/conference-usa/ucf-football-reaches-out-to-local-children/

May 18, 2012

Twitter LogoFacebook LogoUCF Athletics Social Media Directory

By Brian Ormiston
UCFAthletics.com

ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) – UCF football took time away from the summer semester and preparing for the 2012 season Friday when several Knights met with local children on the UCF campus as well as in the classroom.

Photo Gallery

Outside Bright House Networks Stadium, Lyle Dankenbring, Troy Davis, Kevin Garvy, Billy Giovanetti, Theo Goins, Jordan Rae and Phil Smith met with fifth graders from East Lake Elementary in IOA Plaza. The group toured the stadium, played catch, practiced their kicking skills, signed autographs, took pictures and held a Q&A session.

“One of the best parts about being a part of this UCF program is the community outreach that we do,” Dankenbring said. “It’s fun for us to come out here and have a good time with the kids, making sure they get to see the stadium and hang out with us for awhile. As a little kid I certainly would have loved to come out here and catch some passes.”

At Jackson Heights Middle School, Blake Bortles, Rob Calabrese, Kemal Ishmael and Latavius Murray ate lunch with students and talked to them about the importance of education, athletics and being a role model. The kids prepared questions for the players ahead of time as well.

For Bortles, it was a trip to his past as the sophomore quarterback attended Jackson Heights Middle School as a youngster. He eventually graduated from Oviedo High School before suiting up in Black and Gold.

]]> http://www.bcsfootball.net/conference-usa/ucf-football-reaches-out-to-local-children/feed/ 0 Rebels lose Brassell to grades http://www.bcsfootball.net/sec/rebels-lose-brassell-to-grades/ http://www.bcsfootball.net/sec/rebels-lose-brassell-to-grades/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 21:22:44 +0000 bcs football admin http://www.bcsfootball.net/sec/rebels-lose-brassell-to-grades/ Nickolas Brassell was in a deep enough hole academically when Hugh Freeze took the Ole Miss job back in December that Freeze never counted on having Brassell on the field next season.

Sure, Freeze was always hopeful and did all he could to help Brassell, one of the most dynamic freshmen in the SEC last season, but the offcial word came down Friday. Ole Miss announced that Brassell was academically ineligible and would transfer.

Brassell, who became the first Ole Miss player since 1988 to start on both offense and defense, missed all but a few practices this spring to try and get his academics in order. Ultimately, he didn’t pass the required 18 credit hours over the last two semesters.

It’s always tough to lose a player of his ability. Again, though, Freeze knew it was going to be a long shot for Brassell to be eligible.

The plan was to use him at cornerback and then play him situationally at receiver. The good news for the Rebels is that both Wesley Pendleton and Dehendret Collins had big springs, and there’s also some depth at cornerback. Senquez Golson will be back from baseball in the fall after starting four games as true freshman at cornerback last season. Also, heralded signee Trae Elston will be on campus this summer.

The Rebels are still looking for more playmakers on offense, and Brassell would have certainly helped there. He also returned a punt 84 yards for a touchdown last season.

]]> http://www.bcsfootball.net/sec/rebels-lose-brassell-to-grades/feed/ 0 Video: SEC-Big 12 bowl game http://www.bcsfootball.net/sec/video-sec-big-12-bowl-game/ http://www.bcsfootball.net/sec/video-sec-big-12-bowl-game/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 21:22:37 +0000 bcs football admin http://www.bcsfootball.net/sec/video-sec-big-12-bowl-game/ Chris Low
Chris Low

Low joined ESPN.com in 2007 after 10 years with The (Nashville) Tennessean covering the University of Tennessee and SEC. The Rock Hill, S.C., native lives with his wife in Knoxville and has three sons.

Questions and comments to Low, Aschoff �

Edward Aschoff

Edward Aschoff

Aschoff joined ESPN.com in 2011 after spending four years covering the University of Florida for The Gainesville Sun. He grew up in Oxford, Miss., before attending UF, graduating with a B.S. in journalism.

]]> http://www.bcsfootball.net/sec/video-sec-big-12-bowl-game/feed/ 0 Schlabach: Big 12-SEC bowl sends shockwaves http://www.bcsfootball.net/bcs-football/schlabach-big-12-sec-bowl-sends-shockwaves/ http://www.bcsfootball.net/bcs-football/schlabach-big-12-sec-bowl-sends-shockwaves/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 21:21:36 +0000 bcs football admin http://www.bcsfootball.net/bcs-football/schlabach-big-12-sec-bowl-sends-shockwaves/ Commentary

Originally Published: May 18, 2012

By Mark Schlabach | ESPN.com

SEC-Big 12 game

NEXT VIDEO video

It might not be the start of Armageddon in college football, but Friday’s announcement that the Big 12 and SEC are forming a partnership, which would pit their champions in a future New Year’s Day bowl game, has sent even more conference realignment ripples throughout the sport.

[+] EnlargeNick Saban

AP Photo/Dave MartinNick Saban and the Tide are just the latest success story from the SEC.

Some industry insiders suggested Friday that the Big 12 and SEC are only protecting themselves in case the sport is eventually reduced to four power conferences. Given the current state of the Big East, further contraction to four megaconferences seems more possible than ever before.

If the Big East can’t survive on life support, where will its teams go? And if the Big 12′s latest power move makes it even more appealing to a school such as Florida State, would the ACC survive without one of its most-high profile members?

“This could be Day 1 of Armageddon in terms of four-conference conglomeration,” a college football powerbroker told ESPN.com on Friday.

The Big 12 and SEC‘s version of the Rose Bowl won’t have a mid-afternoon kickoff in front of the picturesque San Gabriel Mountains in Pasadena, Calif. It won’t have more than 100 years of tradition and won’t be called the “Grandaddy of Them All.”

But the new Big 12-SEC bowl game might end up being a better football game. Since the BCS era began in 1998, Big 12 and SEC teams have combined to appear in 12 of the last 14 BCS national championship games and won 10 times. If you haven’t heard, the SEC has won six BCS national championships in a row.

Starting on New Year’s Day 2015, the champions of the Big 12 and SEC will meet in a New Year’s Day bowl game. Acting Big 12 commissioner Chuck Neinas said the leagues hope to play the game on New Year’s Day night, but the site of the game is still to be determined.

The game might be played at the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Ariz., or the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, which have been the traditional BCS hosts for the Big 12 and SEC, respectively. Or the new Big 12-SEC bowl game could be offered to the highest bidder — i.e. Atlanta or Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

“The two conferences may just build their own bowl,” Neinas said, in an interview published on big12sports.com on Friday. “I wouldn’t say that’s the primary idea, but the point is the two conferences are working together and will explore it thoroughly and come to an agreement as to what we feel is in the best interest of the two conferences moving forward. It’s a true partnership.”

It sure seems to be a short trip from bitterness to partnership these days. Not too long ago, the Big 12 was peeved the SEC raided its league for Missouri and Texas A&M, which are joining the SEC this coming season. Now the SEC is helping the Big 12 reestablish its power in college football.

[+] EnlargeJohn Swofford

AP File Photo/Susan WalshJohn Swofford has his work cut out for him to keep the ACC in the mix.

“It’s a time when postseason football is undergoing some changes,” Neinas said. “It’s an opportunity for two conferences, both of which are very proud of their football programs, to get together in a partnership and establish what should be an exciting and high-quality annual postseason game.”

What’s the ACC going to do? Is its champion going to play the Big East champion in the postseason? That matchup has really worked out well for the Orange Bowl. Maybe they’ll increase the stakes by giving the winner an at-large invitation to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

Where’s Notre Dame? Will this latest merger of power finally force the Fighting Irish to do something? Like maybe join a conference? ACC commissioner John Swofford’s first phone call Friday should have been to Notre Dame athletics director Jack Swarbrick. The ACC and Notre Dame might really need each other if they’re going to survive in the post-BCS era.

And what about the depleted Big East? It’s pretty clear the Big East is no longer sitting at the same table with the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC, after it lost Pittsburgh, Syracuse, TCU and West Virginia to other leagues. Now the Big East might not even be sitting in the same room as the other BCS conferences.

“Right now, you’d have to make an honest assessment and say since the BCS era has begun the two conferences which have produced the teams to play for the national championship more than any other are the Big 12 Conference and the SEC,” Neinas said. “The quality of play is well-established and as the postseason unfolds, what better way to conclude New Year’s Day than with a primetime game between the champions of these two conferences?”

Will this merger cause another round of conference expansion? It’s too early to tell. But the Big 12 probably never looked better to Florida State. And how long will the Big 12 sacrifice millions of dollars in lost revenue by having only 10 teams and not playing a conference championship game?

Odds are we’ll probably never see the champions of the Big 12 and SEC play each other in a New Year’s Day bowl game. The chances of seeing even one of them playing in the new bowl game are probably slim to none because the champions of those leagues will undoubtedly be participants in the aforementioned four-team playoff. If that happens, the No. 2 teams from those conferences would play in the new bowl game.

Two of college football’s strongest conferences just got even stronger. And the ACC, Big East and possibly Notre Dame lost much of their footing in the post-BCS landscape.

Mark Schlabach | email

College Football and Basketball

  • College football/basketball writer for ESPN.com
  • Author of seven books on college football
  • Formerly at the Washington Post and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

]]> http://www.bcsfootball.net/bcs-football/schlabach-big-12-sec-bowl-sends-shockwaves/feed/ 0 Big 12, SEC champs to play New Year’s bowl http://www.bcsfootball.net/bcs-football/big-12-sec-champs-to-play-new-years-bowl/ http://www.bcsfootball.net/bcs-football/big-12-sec-champs-to-play-new-years-bowl/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 21:21:21 +0000 bcs football admin http://www.bcsfootball.net/bcs-football/big-12-sec-champs-to-play-new-years-bowl/

Updated: May 18, 2012, 12:16 PM ET

ESPN.com news services

The champions of the Big 12 and SEC conferences will meet in a New Year’s Day bowl game annually beginning with the 2014 season, the conferences said Friday in a news release.

The five-year agreement calls for the champions of each conference to be in the matchup “unless one or both are selected to play in the new four-team model to determine the national championship,” the statement said.

“Should that occur, another deserving team from the conference(s) would be selected for the game,” the release said.

The style of the agreement will be similar to the one the Rose Bowl has with the Big Ten and Pac-12 conferences.

The site of this bowl game is still undetermined.

Information from SoonerNation’s Jake Trotter was used in this report.

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