Thoughts on all of our opponents ...

[hammb]

Bottom line is if Ohio State can play a MAC school then BG sure as heck can play Morgan State. What's the difference? It's all relative.

The difference to me has always been that I still believe we are a level above 1AA schools. Yeah, we're closer in quality of competition to them than we are to OSU, but our designation still puts us on the level of OSU. I don't believe 1A teams should EVER play 1AA teams. It's 2 different levels of competition, based purely on scholarships awarded.

Furthermore, I have higher hopes for BG football than MAC titles. I want this team to put together 10+ win seasons, get into the rankings, and ideally find their way to a BCS bowl game. Obviously that's light years away from where we've been recently, but that is the ultimate goal. Given the overall weakness of the MAC adding a 1AA game will hinder this goal.

Basically, if BG is where I want them to be as a program a good portion of the MAC schedule will provide those easy wins for them. The OOC schedule should be used to get payday games, play superior competition, and also play some home/home series with other . Playing a 1AA team does nothing to further the goals of the program, IMO.

And quite frankly, I hate the notion of sitting through these games in the stands. They're boring. I either get insanely pissed off at watching a game that shouldn't be competitive or I'm bored out of my mind as we score 50 on some team that doesn't belong on the field with us. I honestly can't understand why any fan would ever enjoy these games.

[Flipper]

Given the APR issues we had the past couple of years and the number of redshirts we had, I think we were probably pretty close to a FCS level in terms of the number of scholarship players we dressed.

Playing an FCS school doesn't further the goal of the prgram? It depends upon what you think the goals are and how you define them. Do we gain any cache from playing SEMO or Morgan State? No...how much do we gain from playing Wyoming or Idaho ? Having a gae where you can let some guys heal up from the tougher portion of the OOC. It sure worked that way in 2003. I think setting up for a successful run in the conference ought tp be the goal of the program.

I think you just don't like watching the games and thagt's clouding your judgement...

[Falconfreak90]

Overall, we have a pretty tough schedule for 2011. I think we have a great shot to win 6-7 games. We should be vastly improved this year and, while we are probably still a year away from serious contention (as much as that pains me to say), I don't see any reason why we can't be competitive in every game.

72 days and counting...BEAT IDAHO.

[hammb]

I think you just don't like watching the games and thagt's clouding your judgement...

You may be right because I really cannot stand watching those games. They're just awful. This year's has really rubbed me the wrong way since it's the only REAL tailgating day we'll have.

[transfer2BGSU]

Bottom line is if Ohio State can play a MAC school then BG sure as heck can play Morgan State. What's the difference? It's all relative.

The difference to me has always been that I still believe we are a level above 1AA schools. Yeah, we're closer in quality of competition to them than we are to OSU, but our designation still puts us on the level of OSU. I don't believe 1A teams should EVER play 1AA teams. It's 2 different levels of competition, based purely on scholarships awarded.

Furthermore, I have higher hopes for BG football than MAC titles. I want this team to put together 10+ win seasons, get into the rankings, and ideally find their way to a BCS bowl game. Obviously that's light years away from where we've been recently, but that is the ultimate goal. Given the overall weakness of the MAC adding a 1AA game will hinder this goal.

Basically, if BG is where I want them to be as a program a good portion of the MAC schedule will provide those easy wins for them. The OOC schedule should be used to get payday games, play superior competition, and also play some home/home series with other . Playing a 1AA team does nothing to further the goals of the program, IMO.

And quite frankly, I hate the notion of sitting through these games in the stands. They're boring. I either get insanely pissed off at watching a game that shouldn't be competitive or I'm bored out of my mind as we score 50 on some team that doesn't belong on the field with us. I honestly can't understand why any fan would ever enjoy these games.

Fact of the matter is - hammb and I are right (We should never play an FCS opponent) and the rest of you are wrong (Why not since everyone else is doing it?)

[debtzoomba]

Nothing wrong with a "breather" on the schedule. If the Miami Fla Hurricanes can play Bethune Cookman this year then why can't we play Morgan State? Do you think the Hurricane season ticket holders like having Bethune Cookman as one of their home games? Or how about Youngstown State on Ohio State's home schedule like they were a couple of years ago?

[Drago]

I have no problem with playing a 1AA team every 2 or 3 years, but we shouldn't be wasting one home game on them every season. It comes down to the AD not being able to get enough 1A teams to come and play us at home. We can't draw fans as it is, and playing 1AA opponents every year only gaurantees a lack of ticket sales for at least one home game.

As for the rest of the schedule, I think we are looking at a 4-8 or 3-9 season. The only x factor for me is how bad the rest of the conference will be, that may get us closer to .500.

[hammb]

Nothing wrong with a "breather" on the schedule. If the Miami Fla Hurricanes can play Bethune Cookman this year then why can't we play Morgan State? Do you think the Hurricane season ticket holders like having Bethune Cookman as one of their home games? Or how about Youngstown State on Ohio State's home schedule like they were a couple of years ago?

My problem with this line of thinking is that you are making the assumption that I am OK with Miami(FL) or OSU playing these 1AA programs. I am most certainly not.

If it were up to me playing a single 1AA team would make you ineligible to participate in a BCS bowl game. There are plenty of 1A teams that those larger programs can schedule that would still be a "breather" for them.

As for BG, I don't like it, largely because I can't stand watching those games. I didn't complain so much in '03 largely because we were also playing 2 Big 10 teams that year (and 2 very good Big 10 teams...both were expected to compete for their conference title). This year that is not the case.

I haven't even renewed my season tickets yet...I need to do it today if I want to be assured of holding onto my seats, so I probably will. It's just very tough for me to get excited about this upcoming season with a home schedule that looks like s**t. The only Saturday night game is against a 1AA team. 2 weeknight games that actually make attending them a CHORE, they're NOT fun. The UT game is at NOON on a Saturday so no good tailgating unless we're gonna get up at the ass crack of dawn. I'm just real blah about this year's home sched...having a 1AA team on it doesn't help one bit.

Please...for the love of god can the Wyoming game be played at night? Save us Jeebus!

[Ydfalcon]

I don't see it as not being able to get FBS teams to play us at home. Playing an FCS team to me doesn't seem like a last resort because we couldn't get FBS opponents, but rather a game against a team that we are likely to beat, and still counts in our record towards a possible bowl game. I believe that is the way fans of bigger schools tend to look at it when they play mid-majors or even when they play FCS schools. It's an easier game to get hopefully get a win on your record before you jump into playing your conference schedule against teams that should be more or less equivalent to you. I refer again to my personal experiences with Tennessee fans, because I was in Knoxville last year the day of their first game of the year, which was against UT-Martin, an FCS school. Hanging out downtown after the game, none of the fans were talking about "oh, we shouldn't have played them." There was some feeling that yes, they won a game that they should have, but nobody was complaining about having a win on the record. And personally, that's how I'll feel about this game against Morgan State if we win it (and admittedly, the odds are in our favor.)

Yes, I'd love it if BG were playing so consistently well year in and year out that our OOC schedule provided the hard games while we dominated teams in the MAC every year. And I'm not saying we can't get to that place, but right now, and for the next few years (at least), that's not where we are. And even if we were, I wouldn't have much of a problem at all with our playing one game a year against a team that is a level down from us. Every win helps, and if you can schedule a game you're likely to win, then that's just one more win to help your record look good. At the end of the day, opposing fans may gripe, but it's your record that gets you higher rankings and into bowl games.

[Sub-Zero]

I love the mcho head games..."we should get a coach who cn build a tough team". You try getting pounded on by a BCS school multiple weeks before heading into your conference slate...tell me how you like it.

Once again I will point out that there's a reason no one does it that way...it's a bad idea.

Its people like you that place our program and conference at risk. You clearly dont get it. There is only so much time we have to maintain our status in this sport. Just look at what was done in rugby with the creation of the "Premier Division". The only thing the power brokers respect is winning against their own kind. Its a long journey of proving yourself, just ask the MWC. But it can be done with the right leadership and innovation. And by the way, having tough teams is a requirement.

[Flipper]

It's people like you that created drug resistant malaria...yeah, talking nonsense is fun

[transfer2BGSU]

. The only thing the power brokers respect is winning against their own kind.

No. The only thing the power conferences want is the $$$$$$$$$$$.

The Big 12 was pushing for legislation to allow them to play TWO FCS schools and have those games count towards the required six wins to be bowl eligible.

[Flipper]

transfer, that's it in a nutshell....$$$$$. The MAC and other non-AQ conferences can say we're FBS schools just like the big boys, but we're not. Michigan draws more for one home game than we do for a season most years...it's a completely different scale and scope. It's a party we aren't invited to and unless we can somehow catch lightning in a bottle like Boise State...which is really unlikely for a myriad of reasons...we are never going to be on that guest list. Ultimately, if the power conferences that control the wealth really want to delineate those differences even further, there isn't a damn thing we can do about it. I don't know why they would of course...the curent set up suits them fine and dandy...but if they really wanted to do they would.

Given that framework...why pretend? Why make the OOC schedule so difficut that it hampers our MAC hopes? Set up your schedule so you can go into one of your "money games" with some momentum....hope to pull the upset and then look to win the conference. That should...in most years...land you in the top 20-25...maybe even the top 15 if you make a lot of noise early. That's what we're playing for...not the delusion that we're on the same level as the schools that put the equivalent of our entire athletic department budget into football

[AyZiggy97]

+1 in favor of playing an FCS team.

That along with an AQ FBS team and two non-AQ FBS teams seems like a reasonable schedule. Many AQ conference teams play multiple non-AQ schools, so BG playing one from the FCS is just fine. There is a shifting gap inbetween all three classifications, it appears.

If BG is able to change the recent dynamic and become a consistent upper echelon non-AQ program, then maybe it would make more sense to only schedule FBS teams.

Now basketball, that is a different story......

[Drago]

If we are going to play a 1AA school every year, it should really be our first home game of the year (preferably opening weekend). That way people are excited about football starting up and there is still some mystery about the team. People will still show up and watch that. Having the game as the 3rd on the schedule is just asking for 3000 fans.