Instant lack of credibility

jesusgawdmakeitstopnowaynohowholycraptheycan’tbeserious.

ACC coaches are in favor of having the coaches’ poll be a part of the criteria used by the selection committee to determine the four teams in the College Football Playoff.

I can’t think of any single step the BCS poobahs could take that would more effectively undermine the new playoffs than to let the Coaches Poll back in the door.  And, yes, I say that recognizing that a few changes are being proposed.

Duke coach David Cutcliffe, serving as league coaches’ chair, told ESPN.com on Wednesday during the league’s spring meetings that his group also is in favor of having every single coach have a vote in the poll and complete transparency in the voting. They also favor doing away with a preseason poll and releasing their first poll at some point during the season — much in the way the BCS standings are released.

Whoop-dee-do.  The conflicts of interest and bias will still be there.  And giving every single coach a vote means there will be that many more coaches handing off the job to somebody else to complete.

It’s a bad idea.  I just hope it’s a nonstarter, too.

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Jim Delany’s new theory

Ever wonder why schools leave conferences?  Jim knows.

Question: Geography, or contiguous states within the conference footprint, has been a must-have with any Big Ten expansion. Why is that so important?

Delany: “You look at those on the outside (of conferences), and things don’t always hold together. Schools on the perimeter haven’t held together. Arkansas was on the perimeter in the Southwest Conference and eventually left for the SEC. Nebraska was on the perimeter in the Big 12 (from the stronghold of state of Texas), Maryland was on the perimeter in the ACC (from the Carolinas). It’s not a coincidence that these things happened…”

Now that is a load of hooey.  Delany, who went to school at North Carolina, knows damned well that Maryland was a founding member of the ACC.  The Terps didn’t wake up one day, say “hey, anybody notice we’re a long way from Tobacco Road?” and decided to up and leave.  Maryland’s decision to jump came as the result of Delany offering a financial lifeline to a school that had epically mismanaged its athletic affairs and was desperate for the cashola.  Nor does Maryland seemed concerned about being further out on the Big Ten’s perimeter than it was from North Carolina.

Or if you’d prefer an example closer to home, Arkansas swapped being on the perimeter of the SWC to being on the perimeter of the SEC.  Heard any news from Fayetteville about the school changing conference affiliations in the last twenty years?  Of course not.  I know it’s a long way from here to the perimeter, but from where I sit, those Hogs don’t look crazy.

Schools are jumping ship for one reason these days, and one reason only – and it’s the same reason that drives pretty much everything in college athletics right now.  Perimeters are fine and dandy as long as the pay is good.

When in doubt, follow the money.

CBSSports.com dribbles out an interesting bit of information today.

The Southeastern Conference and CBS have reworked their long-term contract in light of the SEC’s new 24-hour channel and the additions of Texas A&M and Missouri, according to sources.

The terms of the deal are expected to remain intact ($55 million per year until 2023-24), with CBS lifting the exclusive 3:30 p.m. broadcast window so the SEC can air football games on its ESPN-operated channel on Saturdays.  [Emphasis added.]

Since the conference won’t “comment on financials”, it’s pretty easy to guess where Fowler’s sources came from.  And as they’re on the other side of the negotiating table, I think we can take them at face value.

What this means is that Slive got some help to make his network deal with ESPN an easier sell, but he didn’t get any more money.  So at least with regard to the CBS deal, the twelve existing members at the time that arrangement was struck are now taking home less money than they were because the pie is now split into more pieces.  I doubt that’s what the schools expected when they agreed to expand.  I sure would love to hear how Slive is spinning that to the presidents.

Will CBS pay a price for not playing ball here?  Maybe, but that’s a long way down the road.  In the meantime, the network has a ten-year contract locked in with a conference that’s going to be promoting the hell out of its product.  And who knows what the landscape is going to look like when the contract comes up for rebidding anyway?

In the meantime, if the SEC wants more TV money, I’d guess both CBS and ESPN have already told Slive what everybody knows:  a ninth conference game sure would boost inventory.

Best caption of the month

Some editor at Al.com deserves a raise for this one.

The Cocktail Party shoe is on the other foot now.

I don’t care how jaded or critical a Dawg fan you are – bitch about the South Carolina losses, moan about coming up short in two straight SECCGs, complain about not winning the big games lately – if you can’t count this as real progress, Jack, you dead to me.

Muschamp spoke to the Gator Club of Jacksonville before a packed room at the Jacksonville Fair and Expo Center, which is about a nine-iron shot from EverBank Field, where Muschamp’s Gators made a mess of things last season — and the season before — against the Bulldogs.

The result is the Bulldogs have a rare (at least in recent decades) two-game winning streak in the series against their former starting strong safety (Muschamp).

But that Georgia winning streak is going to end soon, Muschamp vowed Tuesday night.

“Well, it’s not going to be a long winning streak, I can assure you,” Muschamp said before his speech.

Sure thing, Boom.  Define “long” for us.

These days, it’s Gator fans who have Georgia on their minds.  And you-know-what is still a big deal after six years.

Muschamp was asked if the Georgia game would be an extra emphasis in the offseason, like it was following the Gators’ crushing loss to Georgia in 2007, when the Bulldogs stormed the end zone after scoring their first touchdown. UF used that bitter defeat as motivation throughout the offseason.

Where’s Corch when you need him?

No predictions here about this season other than to say that if the Dawgs pull off a third win in a row, don’t try to tell me there won’t be some major sphincter tightening in Gainesville afterwards.  At that point Muschamp will be working on a personal seven game losing streak in Jax.  That seems respectably long to me.

Musical palate cleanser: get ‘yer mind off wintertime.

I haven’t had one of these in a while, but when I heard the news that FSU is disinclined to give Matthew Thomas the release he wants, this tune immediately jumped into my head.

That’s my favorite Byrds’ Dylan cover.  Great lyrics, but it’s the sublime harmonies that really make the song for me.

And here’s a bonus version, from “Playboy After Dark”.  It’s a few months after Sweetheart of the Rodeo was released, and the band had reconfigured when Hillman and Parsons left to start The Flying Burrito Brothers.  Make sure you check out Clarence White’s work on the gee-tar.  Man was pure genius.

Gotta love those earnest hipsters trying to figure out the best dance moves to proto-country rock.