The NCAA is falling apart

Not really, but if Dan Wolken think it won't, it is only a matter of time before it does.

Schultz saying what I’ve said for a long time - leaving NCAA is an empty threat. Scare tactic that is completely impractical.
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) August 7, 2014

This is in response to the NCAA passing the autonomy proposal. I am probably closer to John Infante, who thinks it is only a matter of time before the NCAA dies, than Wolken. Why? Infante put it best:

Much will be said in the near future of how Division I was preserved, how the “big tent” is still intact, how this will provide stability and a foundation for the long-term. But if the people in Division I will not agree to keep up the pursuit of the ideal or even prop up that facade that all Division I athletes have a similar experience, the whole point of being one division is gone. 

I think it is actually the organization will become obsolete to the members, not the other away around.
TD

 

 

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Homework: The NCAA is creating another Council

Bloggers...Change is coming. [Insert GoT image] @BernieDawg @TylerDawgden http://t.co/rdvlo8ie1L
— dawgontap (@dawgontap) April 24, 2014

Fine. I have a simple reaction to that:

Nothing has ever been accomplished by creating another bureaucratic committee.
- Ron Swanson (probably)

However, I will say this is the first step in what I think will become some sort of Super Division I or FBS or whatever the hell it is we are supposed to call it for the next five years. And it has been coming. I've long held the position that the NCAA is only useful as an organization as long as it is useful to the members of that organization. That is how member services organizations work.

Now, the NCAA is trying it's damnedest to keep those members with the biggest pies happy, because without those members, the NCAA is not very relevant. Or solvent. Outside of the parents, purists, and individual school fans, anyone really care who the NAIA champions are in any sport?

Which gets me to basketball. Part of what has kept the NCAA going, and what may actually save it, has been conference realignment and how those changes work with basketball. Now, with the Big East/AAC spin offs, a major impediment has been resolved. Without looking at contracts and whatnot, it isn't hard to see those Gang of Five conferences deciding to put on their own basketball tournament, or build an organization to host it for them (for a more thorough treatment, see the BCS). Actually, building an organization to host it for them makes the most sense, as they could conceivably invite Big East or AAC or whatever conference teams they want. Then it'd be back on the schools to decide what tourney they want in, like it was 60 years ago.

Any doubt the WWL would love bankroll a tourney that would feature 32 teams from the ACC, Pac-12, B1.5G, Big 12 and SEC, plus select other teams? Do you think CBS/Turner would shell out billions for a 64 team tourney that is crown jeweled by Wichita State and St. Marys?

Again, I'll grant the devil in the details are bound in contracts and membership agreements, neither of which I have the time or inclination to find and analyse. However, if you think this is about student athletes or nimbleness, I've got some nice property to talk to you about. The NCAA has until the next negotiation period for that basketball tourney contract, say 8 or so years, to figure it out.

Because if they don't, those Gang of Five conferences are likely to take their collective balls and go play elsewhere.

TD
See also:
- Knight Commission recommends Playoff money go to NCAA
- Go home NCAA, you're drunk

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Louisville to join ACC

Good basketball move, I guess. Hell, they fit the ACC more than Tulane does in the Big East.

Louisville to ACC is done, per sources. Story posting in minutes.
— Pat Forde (@YahooForde) November 28, 2012

So, who's next for ACC? East Carolina? The Bolles School?

TD

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Notre Dame to the ACC

Notre Dame will join ACC as full member w/exception of football. ND will play 5 football games annually vs. ACC, sources told @espn
— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) September 12, 2012

While the Irish haven't been as recently relevant nationally in football as they suppose themselves to be, they still have a very dedicated and devoted fan base. And their own TV deal. Plus, as a basketball member, they do add something.

With five ACC games, you have to think their annual games against some of the B1G teams are in jeopardy, right? They already play Boston College, so adding four other teams means some of Notre Dame's annual games have to be in play. No way they give up the Southern Cal game.

Also, how much does Jack Swarbrick hate Jim Delany to go to the ACC over the B1G?

TD

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Update: It is a real thing:

Notre Dame to the ACC. News Release at 10 AM. Stay Tuned. #NDACC
— The ACC (@theACC) September 12, 2012

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Thoughts on Conference Expansion

To me, the most fascinating thing about conference expansion is the ripple impact of every move. It's extremely unlikely that Team A can move to Conference X without a corresponding move by Conference Y. So what does the end game look like?

Many pundits have speculated for over a year that we'll end up with four 16-team Super Conferences. That's probably true, but it looks like we'll see an incremental approach to that destination as only Larry Scott in the Pac-12 has put forth a real 16-team plan.

So...what happens when Texas A&M accepts the invitation to become the 13th member of the SEC? Here's my thoughts on the ripple impact...

What if Team 14 is Virginia Tech?
If the Hokies are the 14th team in the SEC, who will the ACC pursue to fill that spot? The best geographic/TV fits which generate the most revenue are Pitt, Syracuse and West Virginia. In fact, if I were the ACC, I would try and replace Virginia Tech with all three schools and jump to 14 teams.

The problem...taking three teams from the Big East virtually eliminates that league's existence. Without a scheduling partner in the form of the Big East, and with the ACC (at 14 teams), Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac 12 all at 9 conference games each, how does Notre Dame still fill out a schedule? Doesn't that finally give Jim Delany the Notre Dame pitch he's always wanted? Then Big Ten will need a 14th team. The Big Ten would go looking for a 14th team before the ACC could lock down Pitt, WVU and Syracuse.

What if Team 14 is Louisville or Missouri?
Then Mike Slive needs to be terminated immediately. Plus , if Louisville is the 14th team, that could be enough to destabilize the Big East enough for Jim Delany to make a move on Rutgers and get Notre Dame in the process. In other words, adding Louisville could end up strengthening the Big Ten. If it's Missouri...who knows.

What if it's really 16 teams with Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and someone else?
Look at how difficult it is to get one team to jump. It creates contractual problems, TV partner conflicts and most importantly political problems for the members. I just don't think a 16-team league can happen all at once. It'll take a few seasons to get there.

What about Oklahoma?
The Sooners are in a tough spot. They can't leave Oklahoma State behind for political reasons, and they need to play Texas every year for recruiting purposes. Texas will end up being forced to play Texas A&M by their state legislatures. There's no way Texas is going to play a nine game conference schedule plus Texas A&M and Oklahoma out of conference every year. OU isn't in a good position for leaving Texas' side now that the Aggies are gone.

So who do you think Team 14 will be? What unseen consequence of adding TAMU could be out there?

PWD

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Bowl Projections for UGA

As of tonight, Chris Low, Mark Schlabach and Bruce Feldman all think we're going to the Chick-Fil-A Bowl likely vs. Virginia Tech. Sportsline thinks we're still heading to Birmingham, but I just can't see that happening. Mark Bradley is waffling, but leaning towards Nashville.

The ESPN folks who think we're coming to Atlanta are basing that on the idea that Ole Miss and Tennessee are going to some combination of the Outback and the Cotton Bowls. That is likely the best case for UGA from a bowl prestige standpoint.

Here are some of the complicating factors that could make our destination murky until the final hour:

• Cotton Bowl + SWC Relationships: It's not unreasonable for the Cotton Bowl to pass on Ole Miss making a return visit. They are allowed to slip down a notch and pick up a team like Arkansas. The Hawgs went to Dallas after the 2007 and 2001 seasons, and the bowl committee likes having the Hawgs. An Arkansas vs. Oklahoma State match-up would sell a ton of tickets. If they take the Razorbacks, the Outback would take Ole Miss. At that point, the Chick-Fil-A has to choose between UGA, SC and UT. Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee would be a very compelling game, and that could slip us to the Music City or lower.
  
  
• Outback Bowl + UK Relationships: The founder of Outback Steakhouse is a UK Alum, and he was instrumental in developing the Outback Bowl into what it is today. He was also the key factor in bringing the 1998 Wildcat team to Tampa despite their 7-4 record, despite coming off a 59-21 blowout loss to Tennessee and despite UGA having a better record at 8-3 and a head to head win. A much easier case could be made for bringing UK in 2009 back to Tampa. They've gone the longest between visits to Tampa compared to UGA, UT and SC, and they would be fairly excited about the trip. If UK goes here and Ole Miss is in the Cotton Bowl, we're back to the Chick-Fil-A bowl choosing between UGA and UT. This could also send us to the Music City or lower. I see this as a remote possibility.
  

All we do know at this point is:

1. Bama and UF are obviously BCS bound.

2. LSU is a near mortal lock for the Capital One Bowl

3. South Carolina isn't going to the Outback again.

4. Ole Miss isn't slipping past the Outback.

5. Tennessee won't slip past the Liberty or Music City (which pick simultaneously)

6. UK is going to have problems getting into the Liberty and PapaJohn's Bowls. Those games are the same date as UK vs. Louisville in basketball with near overlapping time slots. If UK were to end up in B'ham, it would be because no one else wanted them.

7. The Chick-Fil-A Bowl is unlikely to put together a rematch between UGA/GT or Clemson/SC.

The only bad scenarios to me are playing Northwestern in the Outback or Boston College in the Music City Bowl. Facing VT in the Chick-Fil-A, UNC or FSU in the Music City or Wisconsin in the Outback works for me.

Where do you think we end up?

PWD

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ACC Announces Bowl Partnerships for 2010-2013

They are adding the Sun Bowl and Independence Bowl to their mix (Source: ACC). The pecking order goes as follows:

1. FedEx Orange Bowl vs. BCS Team
2. Chick-Fil-A Bowl vs. SEC
3. Champ Sports Bowl vs. Big East or ND
4. Brut Sun Bowl (ACC Title Game Runner-Up or #4 Pick) vs. Pac 10
5. Meineke Car Care Bowl vs. Big East
6. Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl vs. SEC
7. Advocare 100 Independence Bowl vs. MWC
8. Eagle Bank Bowl vs. CUSA ('10), Navy ('11), Army ('12) and Big 12 ('13)
9. Emerald Bowl (conditional: if the Emerald doesn't have enough teams)

Moving the Boise and Emerald Bowls out in favor of the Sun and Independence is an upgrade for their fans.

PWD

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Tech High Holy Holiday Weekend

If you happen to be downtown this weekend, you'll be forgiven for wondering why Tech is holding classes a few blocks too far south. It's actually the holiest weekend on the nerd calendar.

[Photo courtesy of NoleDawg]

If you're eating lunch in Peachtree Center today and you see any Klingons wearing Tech gear, snap a photo and email it to us. We'll give you a photo credit in a post during Tech Hate Week in November.

[decaturdawg of the hotmail variety or dawgnoxious of the gmail variety]

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Hurrican Willie Updates

Willie Martinez is no Bill Young--and by that I mean it is unlikely Mark Richt would want to be his own DC, a la Randy Shannon. If CWM departs, someone has to replace him. Chip Towers warns Dawg fans to be careful what they wish for:

This is a man that is very well respected. He’s produced three All-America DBs at UGA and is about to have his 10th drafted into the NFL. He has played and coached the game at a very high level. A South Florida guy, he starred at Hollywood Hills High in Coral Gables and helped win a national championship as a defensive back at Miami in 1983. He has all those Florida connections and recruits that area hard — and well — for the Bulldogs. And for all the criticism of this past season, it truly was his only bad season. They were ranked in the top 20 in yardage and scoring his first three seasons. As it was they were 22nd and 54th, respectively, this season.

As of around noon, the Athens Banner-Herald reported there is no change in status. Miami still has not contacted UGA about talking to CWM, and messages for CWM were unreturned.

Who has two thumbs and does not rush...to return phone calls?

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Miami DC departs for Oklahoma State

According to the Miami Herald, Defensive coordinator Bill Young has left the University of Miami to join his alma mater, Oklahoma State. Miami head coach Randy Shannon did not tip his hand regarding potential replacements. The Herald quotes him as saying: "I will be looking for the best possible defensive coordinator to replace him. If that candidate is not out there, those responsibilities will fall to me."

Randy had better get a move on if he doesn't want to double up as his own defensive coordinator, because he still has not replaced offensive coordinator Patrick Nix.

According to the AJC, Mark Richt's spokesman said Miami had not requested permission to speak with Willie Martinez.

Who has two thumbs and no comment?

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How Not to Handle Your Employees 101

Boston College's AD has completely lost his mind. According to ESPN, he has promised / threatened head coach Jeff Jagodzinski with termination if he interviews with the NY Jets. Jagodzinski appears to be moving forward with the interview.

The threat appears to be very real, and the Boston Herald say that it looks like Jagodzinski is likely out regardless of what happens next due to the over the top nature of the ultimatum. Coach Jags is 20-8 in two seasons with Boston College, and his team played in the ACC title game the past two years.

It's especially bizarre given that he was a long shot for landing the Jets job anyway. In other words, he has coached their program to its highest heights, and now may be terminated in a gigantic pissing contest gone awry.

As EagleinAtlanta points out, this could've been spun as a win for BC.

this should have been a good thing. If he gets the job, congrats, thanks for two great seasons. Gene could go find the next Jags. If he doesn't get the job, he and Gene have a big public show of him "staying at BC." You then show to the college football world and recruits that the BC coach is hot and has NFL connections.

All of this and the Jets aren't even a competitor of the Eagles. When your top employees interview at other gigs it's not like marital infidelity. You can manage through it with a positive outcome.

How this relates to UGA? The path to success continues to get easier for our rivals on North Avenue. Also, it's interesting to see how any program can be potentially mangled via bad personnel decisions.

PWD

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SEC and ACC Bowl Predictions

Bowl Predictions from Quinton and Westerdawg. Comments below. (sorry. meant to post this yesterday)

Bowls	Westerdawg's Picks	Quinton's Picks
National Title	Ohio State vs. Oklahoma	Southern Cal vs. Oklahoma
Rose	Southern Cal vs. Wisconsin	Arizona State vs. Ohio State
Fiesta	Missouri vs. BYU	Missouri vs. BYU
Sugar	Georgia vs. West Virginia	Georgia vs. Wisconsin
Orange	Clemson vs. Florida	Clemson vs. West Virginia
Capital One	Auburn vs. Illinois	Florida vs. Illinois
Outback	Alabama vs. Penn State	LSU vs. Penn State
Cotton	LSU vs. Texas	Auburn vs. Texas Tech
Chick-Fil-A	Tennessee vs. Virginia Tech	Tennessee vs. Virginia Tech
Music City	South Carolina vs. Miami	South Carolina vs. Virginia
Liberty	Ole Miss vs. Southern Miss	Ole Miss vs. Tulsa
Independence	Miss St. vs. Oklahoma St.	Miss St. vs. Texas A&M
PapaJohns.com	At-Large vs. Rutgers	Alabama vs. Cinncinnati
Other ACC Bowls
Gator	UNC vs. Nebraska	Wake Forest vs. Notre Dame
Champs	FSU vs. Michigan	UNC vs. Michigan
Meineke	Wake Forest vs. USF	Boston College vs. Pitt
Humanitarian	Maryland vs. Fresno State	Florida State vs. Boise State
Emerald	Boston College vs. Arizona	Maryland vs. California
Congressional	Georgia Tech vs. Navy	At-Large vs. Navy

Westerdawg Comments:

-- I have Ohio State in the national title game because the Big 10 is ridiculously weak. Plus, Southern Cal only returns 11 starters, their QB has been banged up, and he didn't exactly set the world on fire last year. That is a winnable game for the Buckeyes. When you have a one game schedule, anything is possible.

-- Oklahoma also has a comparatively easy path to the title game. Georgia will need a lot of breaks to get there.

-- Outback Bowl - That pick bowls down to thinking that Bama will beat Clemson, and beat one team from the Georgia, Auburn, LSU and Tennessee group. Given that Tennessee has been there the past two years, I think Bama could slide up the pecking order. Plus, Bama vs. PSU would sell every ticket they've got.

-- Liberty Bowl - I have no idea if Southern Miss is any good or not. That's just a wishful thinking pick to be honest.

-- Congressional Bowl - I'd be the biggest Navy fan alive. Believe that.

Quinton Comments:

1. The Dawgs miss the national title game because of a loss during the LSU to Auburn gauntlet. USC wins all of their games this year based on the strength of their defense. The Trojan offense will be adequate, but the D will carry them. Oklahoma runs away with the Big 12. They'll be mildly challenged by Texas Tech and Mizzou in the championship game, but all their schedule is too favorable. Those two go to Miami.

2. Georgia survives the schedule with a single loss, wins the East, and heads to New Orleans for another anticlimactic bowl game against a disappointing opponent. Florida loses one they shouldn't this year because of their defense and it will keep them from Atlanta.

3. The SEC West will produce LSU as its champion, a solid Auburn team, and a slew of 6-6, 7-5 teams. Arkansas isn't among them and Petrino misses a bowl in his first year in Fayetteville.

4. I'll provisionally buy the Clemson hype, but this pick is mainly a default one. No ACC team, other than the Tigers, really jumps off the page. It's another season of mediocre teams in the ACC, but the title race should be fun to follow because of it.

Thoughts?

PWD and Quinton

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ACC Bowl Predictions

I'm a sucker. Let's get that out of the way. I know better than to pick Tommy Bowden to win anything of substance, but I can't help it. The Tigers avoid Miami and Virginia Tech on the schedule, and they own FSU lately. (Image: I prefer unhappy Tigers if given the choice.)

With FSU still rebuilding, the Clemson schedule shapes up in such a way that as long as they beat Wake Forest, they should win the ACC Atlantic Division with a 6-2 record or better. With that in mind, I'm predicting them as ACC Champs. I realize they have OL issues, but the entire ACC has issues. Unfortunately, I'm not alone. Here's how the experts pick the ACC.

Darkhorse ACC Team - UNC
I don't think the Tarheels can win the ACC or even their division; however, if they can make some real noise. After playing Virginia Tech and Miami in weeks 3 and 4, they UConn and Notre Dame at home to build back some confidence. If the Heels get to 8 wins, they could be a Gator Bowl selection.

ACC Bowl Predictions:

Orange - Clemson
Peach - Virginia Tech
Gator - UNC
Champ Sports - FSU
Meineke Car Care - Wake Forest
Music City Bowl - Miami
Emerald Bowl - Boston College
Congressional Bowl - Virginia
At-Large Bowl - Georgia Tech

I keep wavering on whether or not Georgia Tech has a Bowl eligible team. The Mississippi State and UNC games loom enormous on their schedule if they want to go bowling, and the more I learn about UNC...the more I like the Heels over the Jackets.

See Also:
-- Clemson Preview - CFN
-- Athlon's Clemson Preview

Agree or Disagree?

PWD

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Around the ACC: Media Days 1

The sixth most relevant BCS conference is having their media day extravaganza at Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro, GA. A quick look at the headlines of interest for the snooziest league in college football (note: You guys don't care about most ACC teams, so I'm ignoring many of them):

Overall:
-- ACC needs to bolster its resume - Charleston Post and Courier
-- ACC projected starting QBs - Charlotte Observer
-- 5 Burning Questions about the ACC - Barnhart

Georgia Tech:
--Tech OL to heavily leverage cut blocking - AJC
-- NCAA '09 video game confused by GT offense - AJC

Clemson:
-- Clemson: In theory a national title contender - SportingNews
-- Eager to live up to expectations - AJC
-- Attention and expectations for Harper - GoUpState
-- Harper no longer off the radar - AndersonMail
-- Tigers Convinced they are the best - UpStateToday
-- Bowden carrying "label" - Charlotte.com

Tobacco Road:
-- Davis may have Tar Heels turned around - AJC
-- Wake's CB talks a good game - Washington Post
-- UNC a trendy pick to knock VT off - Scout.com
-- Wolfpack duo sets the pace - Charlotte Observer
-- Cutcliffe Cuts Up with Area Coaches - Charlotte Observer

Miami / FSU:
-- Miami / FSU hope to return to power - Rivals.com
-- FSU QB talks about last year - AP
-- FSU's QB not in a daze - Orlando Sentinel
-- FSU hopes rest on youth movement - Jacksonville Times
-- Bowden: "On our way back" - Bradenton.com
-- Canes will use two QBs - Jacksonville.com

UVA/VT:
-- Cavs retool offensive line - Charlottesville Daily Progress

That's it for now.

PWD

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Fun Anti-ACC Baseball Stat of the Day

This season Georgia is 9-3 9-4 vs. the ACC. The ACC brought 5 teams to the NCAA Tournament, and Georgia has already beaten and/or eliminated 3 of them. We still have a chance to knock out and/or beat the other 2 as well.

On the season

vs. FSU: 1-1 (all games in Tally)
vs. Clemson: 2-0 (home and away)
vs. Georgia Tech: 3-2 (home, away, neutral games and Regional)
vs. NC State: 2-0 2-1 (Super Regional)
vs. Miami: 1-0

So we've got that going for us.

PWD

*I forgot Game 2 of the NCSU series.

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Tech Admits Mistake. Attempts to Rejoin SEC

The Yellow Jackets announced their non-conference foes through the 2022 season. Tech apparently longs for a return to their Southeastern Conference roots as the Jackets have scheduled 16 games against current and prior members of the SEC in addition to the yearly tear jerker against Georgia.

They have two game deals booked with Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi, Mississippi State, South Carolina and Vanderbilt. They also have a four game deal with former SEC member Tulane. The Green Wave left the SEC in 1966 while the Jackets ran scared in 1964. (source: Football Data Warehouse). Given that they've also booked games with Elon and Wofford, the old school SEC fan in me was hoping to see the Jackets book Sewanee.

"The new schedule is really an old schedule. It's a trip down memory lane for our fans. It's a journey back to a time when Tech was relevant within our own state," said Tech Athletic Director Dan Radakovich. "With these games, we can reminisce about life before indoor plumbing, face masks and games scheduled at the Georgia Dome that up stage our own program and force us to play on Thursdays. This schedule is an homage to Bobby Dodd, tossing fish at Catholics and pretending to be manly."

The Tech schedule is below. I didn't bother listing the Div I-AA or ACC games. Otherwise....

Year	Home	Away
2008	Miss State	UGA
2009	UGA	Miss State, Vandy
2010	Ole Miss, MTSU	UGA
2011	UGA	Ole Miss, MTSU
2012	???, MTSU	UGA
2013	UGA, Vandy	Alabama
2014	Alabama	UGA, Tulane
2015	UGA, Tulane	Syracuse
2016	Syracuse	UGA
2017	UGA, Auburn
2018	Tulane	UGA, Auburn
2019	UGA	Tulane
2020	???	UGA
2021	UGA	South Carolina
2022	South Carolina	UGA

Personally, I think it's a bit unfair of Tech to schedule games that far out. All of those SEC teams are booking these match-ups, and they are expecting to play an ACC team. By 2020, the Jackets will likely be a MAC or CUSA team at best with the way recruiting is going.

Note: They still owe Louisville a series that has to be squeezed in there somewhere.

PWD

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ACC Championship Game moving to Tampa and Charlotte

The Jacksonville Experiment is over for the ACC. On Wednesday, the league announced that it would be leaving Jax in favor of a rotating Championship game played in Tampa (2008 and 2009) and Charlotte (2010 and 2011).

Jacksonville lost the game as "announced attendance" declined from 72,749 to 62,850 to 53,212 over three years there. "Estimates of the actual crowds in 2006 and '07 were at least several thousand below the announced figures." (Source: Charlotte Observer)

Of course, the image above does the best job of giving you some idea of what the crowd was REALLY like in Jacksonville this season. It also gives you better insight into why Boston College gets shunned for bowls every year. (ht - Walt Geiger)

Fanblogs.com suggests the ACC move its game to campuses. It's really hard to argue this idea given that tiny Bobby Dodd Stadium could've played host to the 2006 title game, and the fans in attendance would've still had room to spread out and get comfortable.

I think the game leaving Jacksonville frees up that city to make a push for the SEC Title game. If UGA increases the frequency of our attendance at the Georgia Dome, other members of the conference may push for the game to start a rotating location similar to what the Big 12 does.

See Also
-- ACC leaves Jax - Jacksonville.com

PWD

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Reuben Houston commemorates 'The Streak'

Many thanks to Reuben for creating this fine commemorative license plate.

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SEC / ACC Bowl Predictions

Sadly...Evil Richt was back on his meds Saturday (image: Hipple)

The AJC has their predictions up as does Sportsline.com. My Readers Digest version of the predictions for Georgia are these:

- Beat GT / UT beats UK / LSU beats UT: Sugar Bowl
- Beat GT / UT beats UK / UT beats LSU: Orange or Fiesta*
- Beat GT / UK beats UT/ UGA beats LSU: Sugar Bowl
- Beat GT / UK beats UT / LSU beats UGA / UF beats FSU: Outback
- Beat GT / UK beats UT / LSU beats UGA / FSU beats UF: Citrus
- Lose to GT: Outback, Peach, Cotton, who the hell knows.

* If LSU loses to UT, a 10-2 UGA would only be guaranteed an at-large BCS slot if we're ranked #4 or higher in the final BCS poll. With LSU coming off an SECC loss and possibly dealing with a coaching search, UGA would probably be a favorite for the Orange or Fiesta over LSU. But it won't be a lock unless we're Top 4.


Bowl Predictions:
National Title: LSU vs. WVU
Rose: Ohio State vs. Oregon
Fiesta: Oklahoma vs. USC
Orange: Boston College vs. Kansas
Sugar: Georgia vs. Virginia Tech* (assumes Hawaii loses one)

Capital One: Florida vs. Illinois
Outback: Tennessee vs. Wisconsin
Cotton: Auburn vs. Missouri

Chick-Fil-A: UK vs. Virginia
Gator: Clemson vs. USF

Champ Sports: FSU vs. Penn State
Music City: Arkansas vs. Georgia Tech
Liberty: Mississippi State vs. UCF
Meineke Car Care: Wake vs. Rutgers

Independence: Alabama vs. Texas A&M
Emerald: Maryland vs. Oregon State
Boise Lonely Trucker: Last bowl eligible ACC team vs. Boise State
Texas Bowl: South Carolina vs. New Mexico
Holiday: Texas vs. Arizona State

Agree? Disagree?

See Also:
-- UGA's national title game scenarios - Ching
-- Be careful what you wish for - Blutarsky

PWD

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Bowl Projections: SEC and ACC

Will Moreno lead the Dawgs to the CapOne Bowl? (image: hipple)
Here are my projections...

National Title: USC vs. OU
LSU has to play the Gators twice, and the Big XII is really down this year. It looks like the Sooners have the easiest path and the Trojans have one of the better teams. If there are three undefeated teams, I think WVU is screwed.

Rose: Cal vs. Wisconsin
Orange: Boston College vs. Florida
Fiesta: West Virginia vs. Texas
Sugar: LSU vs. Ohio State

Citrus: UGA vs. Penn State
Outback: Kentucky vs. Michigan*
Cotton: Alabama vs. Nebraska

Peach: Arkansas vs. Clemson
Gator: USF vs. Virginia Tech**

Music City: Virginia vs. Tennessee
Liberty: South Carolina vs. Southern Miss
Independence: Auburn vs. Texas A*M

Champ Sports: Iowa vs. Miami
Meineke (Tire): Rutgers vs. FSU
Emerald: GT vs. UCLA
Boise: Maryland vs. Hawaii

See Also:
-- ESPN Bowl Projections
-- Sportsline Bowl Projections

*Note: Chris Sullivan is the founder and chairman of Outback Steaks. While no longer Outback's CEO, he's still a long time power broker in the Tampa area on both the business, economic development and sports scene. He's also a UK grad. If the Wildcats make it to 8-4, I expect them to make Outback Bowl. It would be their first trip to the game since the '98 season.

**The Gator has a deal with the Big 12 and Big East which allows them to select a Big 12 member instead of a Big East member twice every four years. The catch: If the Big 12 has one member in the BCS, the Gator can make the first non-BCS pick to play an ACC team. However, if two Big 12 teams are in the BCS, the Gator wouldn't get to pick a Big 12 member until after the Cotton *and* Holiday Bowls have selected a team.

PWD

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