Sun Belt Commish: 'Money' Games Hurt Programs

[mscarn]

Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson, a man after my own heart:

"Sun Belt Conference commissioner Karl Benson wants the league's football programs to work on shedding their "addiction" to big-money, nonconference matchups with heavily favored Power 5 programs. More games with "peer conferences" would improve the chances of a Sun Belt team going unbeaten and getting a bid to one of six New Year's Day bowl games, the commissioner said at the conference's media day Monday.

And...

Other teams, such as Louisiana-Lafayette, have only one Power 5 team scheduled. The Ragin' Cajuns, who are among the top contenders to win the Sun Belt, will get almost $1 million for playing Kentucky, but the rest of their nonconference games are against Akron, Louisiana Tech and FCS squad Northwestern State. "We have teams that have scheduled strategically," Benson said. "If the stars are aligned, they could be a 12-0 team."

http://espn.go.com/college-football/sto ... ce-schools" target="_blank

He's basically recommending doing the opposite of what we're doing. To sum up his advice:

-Play 1 of these games, not 3 or 4
-Play the one against a team you've got a decent chance to beat
-The reward for not getting beat up out of conference is worth infinitely more than the short term infusion of cash or notoriety that beating a high profile Power 5 team would garner

Has Mr. Benson been reading AZZ.com?

[Class of 61]

IIRC, Benson was a former commish. Of the MAC., " back in the day". So itd be interesting if he had these same philosophies then.

[jpfalcon09]

Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson, a man after my own heart:

"Sun Belt Conference commissioner Karl Benson wants the league's football programs to work on shedding their "addiction" to big-money, nonconference matchups with heavily favored Power 5 programs. More games with "peer conferences" would improve the chances of a Sun Belt team going unbeaten and getting a bid to one of six New Year's Day bowl games, the commissioner said at the conference's media day Monday.

And...

Other teams, such as Louisiana-Lafayette, have only one Power 5 team scheduled. The Ragin' Cajuns, who are among the top contenders to win the Sun Belt, will get almost $1 million for playing Kentucky, but the rest of their nonconference games are against Akron, Louisiana Tech and FCS squad Northwestern State. "We have teams that have scheduled strategically," Benson said. "If the stars are aligned, they could be a 12-0 team."

http://espn.go.com/college-football/sto ... ce-schools" target="_blank

He's basically recommending doing the opposite of what we're doing. To sum up his advice:

-Play 1 of these games, not 3 or 4
-Play the one against a team you've got a decent chance to beat
-The reward for not getting beat up out of conference is worth infinitely more than the short term infusion of cash or notoriety that beating a high profile Power 5 team would garner

Has Mr. Benson been reading AZZ.com?

What Benson fails to realize is a 12-0 Sun Belt team would have no shot at making the access bowl playing the likes of those schools out-of-conference. I understand what he's getting at but it's simply not realistic in today's college football landscape.

[Flipper]

At our level...does going unbeaten mean anything? If a SunBelt or a MAC school goes 12-0 by playing one "beatable" P5 school and a bunch of nobodies...what good would that do? You certainly can't make any claims to being a true "D1 football program" because you played away from that conceptually. Following Benson's path is simply acknowledging that you deserve the lack of consideration you get from the NCAA and the P5 conferences because you're accepting the notion that you're not one of them.

I happen to believe that we aren't at that level...but...if the goal is to make the case that you can hang with the big boys, you have to play the big boys. Playing three"money" games is an anomaly...the Tenn. opportunity fell in our laps....that horse has been beaten silly and I see no point in discussing it further. I have no problem with playing a couple of those P5 teams a year though. It helps the budget and recruiting...particularly if you can get a home game one a two-for-one.

Benson's approach is right..if you want to make the claim that you're king of the tiniest of mountains.....

[Falcon137]

If Marshall had gone 13-0 last year, they would not have made the access bowl. I think the committee made that very clear. There's no exact science to scheduling.

[jpfalcon09]

At our level...does going unbeaten mean anything? If a SunBelt or a MAC school goes 12-0 by playing one "beatable" P5 school and a bunch of nobodies...what good would that do? You certainly can't make any claims to being a true "D1 football program" because you played away from that conceptually. Following Benson's path is simply acknowledging that you deserve the lack of consideration you get from the NCAA and the P5 conferences because you're accepting the notion that you're not one of them.

I happen to believe that we aren't at that level...but...if the goal is to make the case that you can hang with the big boys, you have to play the big boys. Playing three"money" games is an anomaly...the Tenn. opportunity fell in our laps....that horse has been beaten silly and I see no point in discussing it further. I have no problem with playing a couple of those P5 teams a year though. It helps the budget and recruiting...particularly if you can get a home game one a two-for-one.

Benson's approach is right..if you want to make the claim that you're king of the tiniest of mountains.....

Agreed. Benson's attitude only serves to drive a bigger gap between the P5 and G5 and IMO that's the wrong attitude to take. As far as scheduling P5 teams, it only makes sense to play a larger school to see how you stack up as a team before conference play starts. I'm sure we'll all have a better grasp of how good this year's football team is going to be after the Tennessee and Maryland games than if they played Alcorn State and Troy.

[threestooges]

At our level...does going unbeaten mean anything? If a SunBelt or a MAC school goes 12-0 by playing one "beatable" P5 school and a bunch of nobodies...what good would that do? You certainly can't make any claims to being a true "D1 football program" because you played away from that conceptually. Following Benson's path is simply acknowledging that you deserve the lack of consideration you get from the NCAA and the P5 conferences because you're accepting the notion that you're not one of them.

I happen to believe that we aren't at that level...but...if the goal is to make the case that you can hang with the big boys, you have to play the big boys. Playing three"money" games is an anomaly...the Tenn. opportunity fell in our laps....that horse has been beaten silly and I see no point in discussing it further. I have no problem with playing a couple of those P5 teams a year though. It helps the budget and recruiting...particularly if you can get a home game one a two-for-one.

Benson's approach is right..if you want to make the claim that you're king of the tiniest of mountains.....

Agreed. Benson's attitude only serves to drive a bigger gap between the P5 and G5 and IMO that's the wrong attitude to take. As far as scheduling P5 teams, it only makes sense to play a larger school to see how you stack up as a team before conference play starts. I'm sure we'll all have a better grasp of how good this year's football team is going to be after the Tennessee and Maryland games than if they played Alcorn State and Troy.

Additionally, isn't it more fun to play schools like Tennessee and Maryland than Alcorn State and Troy? I will answer my own question. Yes.

[kdog27]

^ yes

[Schadenfreude]

Additionally, isn't it more fun to play schools like Tennessee and Maryland than Alcorn State and Troy? I will answer my own question. Yes.

Yes. It is.

Moderation in scheduling is one thing. But only scheduling one P5 game per year would be lame. Just because we have a game set up with a Maryland or an Indiana doesn't mean we shouldn't also find room for a Purdue on our schedule during the same season. These are all winnable games for us.

On the other hand, should we be be playing an Ohio State and a Florida back to back, or something like that? No. That shouldn't be our philosophy, and I don't think it is.

[mscarn]

At our level...does going unbeaten mean anything? If a SunBelt or a MAC school goes 12-0 by playing one "beatable" P5 school and a bunch of nobodies...what good would that do? You certainly can't make any claims to being a true "D1 football program" because you played away from that conceptually. Following Benson's path is simply acknowledging that you deserve the lack of consideration you get from the NCAA and the P5 conferences because you're accepting the notion that you're not one of them.

I happen to believe that we aren't at that level...but...if the goal is to make the case that you can hang with the big boys, you have to play the big boys. Playing three"money" games is an anomaly...the Tenn. opportunity fell in our laps....that horse has been beaten silly and I see no point in discussing it further. I have no problem with playing a couple of those P5 teams a year though. It helps the budget and recruiting...particularly if you can get a home game one a two-for-one.

Benson's approach is right..if you want to make the claim that you're king of the tiniest of mountains.....

Agreed. Benson's attitude only serves to drive a bigger gap between the P5 and G5 and IMO that's the wrong attitude to take.

Unfortunately the very real gap you speak of doesn't appear to be closing anytime soon. They've pushed those unwilling to spend tens of millions (or even hundreds of millions) out into the fringes. Instead of stubbornly attempting to beat them at their own game, let's play by the very same rules they created, band together as peer schools and refuse to be the punching bags they've structurally designed us to be by exploiting the tiny loophole they left us in the form of the lone Group of 5 bowl slot. The best way to secure that bid is by going undefeated. A milder schedule, unexciting as it might appear on the surface, is the best pathway to get there.

That 0 next to the record gets us (or anyone) immediately in the discussion. Marshall did appear to be on the outs last year based on the polling, but they went to the other end of the extreme and played zero Power 5 teams. Nevertheless, they were still in the national conversation until the very end and may very well have made it if they didn't lose their last game.

They're going to make the argument against any Group of 5 team anyway regardless of OOC schedule because of in-conference schedule. We earn nothing in their eyes by beating Tennessee or anyone else because they'll always claim it's an anomaly. Instead of worrying about mounting a case to counter the inevitable nose-in-the-air sneering and scorn, let's welcome it, turn the key they've given us and let ourselves into their party.

[Falcon137]

At our level...does going unbeaten mean anything? If a SunBelt or a MAC school goes 12-0 by playing one "beatable" P5 school and a bunch of nobodies...what good would that do? You certainly can't make any claims to being a true "D1 football program" because you played away from that conceptually. Following Benson's path is simply acknowledging that you deserve the lack of consideration you get from the NCAA and the P5 conferences because you're accepting the notion that you're not one of them.

I happen to believe that we aren't at that level...but...if the goal is to make the case that you can hang with the big boys, you have to play the big boys. Playing three"money" games is an anomaly...the Tenn. opportunity fell in our laps....that horse has been beaten silly and I see no point in discussing it further. I have no problem with playing a couple of those P5 teams a year though. It helps the budget and recruiting...particularly if you can get a home game one a two-for-one.

Benson's approach is right..if you want to make the claim that you're king of the tiniest of mountains.....

Agreed. Benson's attitude only serves to drive a bigger gap between the P5 and G5 and IMO that's the wrong attitude to take. As far as scheduling P5 teams, it only makes sense to play a larger school to see how you stack up as a team before conference play starts. I'm sure we'll all have a better grasp of how good this year's football team is going to be after the Tennessee and Maryland games than if they played Alcorn State and Troy.

Additionally, isn't it more fun to play schools like Tennessee and Maryland than Alcorn State and Troy? I will answer my own question. Yes.

The build up is more fun. The actual games rarely are. I enjoyed watching the Troy game in 2009 much more so than the Wisconsin game last year. The Marshall game in 2010 was much more fun than the Michigan game that same year. I think playing good, Group of 5 schools is just as fun. But, I'm probably in the minority opinion.

[Falconfreak90]

At our level...does going unbeaten mean anything? If a SunBelt or a MAC school goes 12-0 by playing one "beatable" P5 school and a bunch of nobodies...what good would that do? You certainly can't make any claims to being a true "D1 football program" because you played away from that conceptually. Following Benson's path is simply acknowledging that you deserve the lack of consideration you get from the NCAA and the P5 conferences because you're accepting the notion that you're not one of them.

I happen to believe that we aren't at that level...but...if the goal is to make the case that you can hang with the big boys, you have to play the big boys. Playing three"money" games is an anomaly...the Tenn. opportunity fell in our laps....that horse has been beaten silly and I see no point in discussing it further. I have no problem with playing a couple of those P5 teams a year though. It helps the budget and recruiting...particularly if you can get a home game one a two-for-one.

Benson's approach is right..if you want to make the claim that you're king of the tiniest of mountains.....

Agreed. Benson's attitude only serves to drive a bigger gap between the P5 and G5 and IMO that's the wrong attitude to take.

Unfortunately the very real gap you speak of doesn't appear to be closing anytime soon. They've pushed those unwilling to spend tens of millions (or even hundreds of millions) out into the fringes. Instead of stubbornly attempting to beat them at their own game, let's play by the very same rules they created, band together as peer schools and refuse to be the punching bags they've structurally designed us to be by exploiting the tiny loophole they left us in the form of the lone Group of 5 bowl slot. The best way to secure that bid is by going undefeated. A milder schedule, unexciting as it might appear on the surface, is the best pathway to get there.

That 0 next to the record gets us (or anyone) immediately in the discussion. Marshall did appear to be on the outs last year based on the polling, but they went to the other end of the extreme and played zero Power 5 teams. Nevertheless, they were still in the national conversation until the very end and may very well have made it if they didn't lose their last game.

They're going to make the argument against any Group of 5 team anyway regardless of OOC schedule because of in-conference schedule. We earn nothing in their eyes by beating Tennessee or anyone else because they'll always claim it's an anomaly. Instead of worrying about mounting a case to counter the inevitable nose-in-the-air sneering and scorn, let's welcome it, turn the key they've given us and let ourselves into their party.

I like the way you presented this, mscarn. My dad has been harping for years for the MAC and other non power 5 leagues to start their own division and run a playoff. He says we can still play the power 5 (hate that name) but instead of trying to crash their party, have our own. I see his point but I want to be at the top level. Boise State, Utah, TCU have all made it to that level. Granted there is no competition in Idaho and only Utah State and BYU in Utah but still.

IF BG were to run the table this year, we would have to be in the converation. Our Non Conf Sked is one of the tougher ones anywhere. SEC, 2 BiG whatever and the defending AAC Champs, Memphis. Throw in tough MAC games with WMU, tsun, Ohio U and Ball State? That is a pretty tough sked. Buffalo, Akron and UMass won't be easy and even Kent State has 17 starters back this year. Our total sked ranking is not far behind Columbus A & M, according to Phil Steele. Now, the chances of us running the table and winning game 13 in the MAC title game are about 2%.

I love playing the power 5 schools. IF we want to be taken seriously on the national scene, we must not only compete but beat some of them.

43 days til we knock off the Vols...Rocky Top indeed.

[Flipper]

At our level...does going unbeaten mean anything? If a SunBelt or a MAC school goes 12-0 by playing one "beatable" P5 school and a bunch of nobodies...what good would that do? You certainly can't make any claims to being a true "D1 football program" because you played away from that conceptually. Following Benson's path is simply acknowledging that you deserve the lack of consideration you get from the NCAA and the P5 conferences because you're accepting the notion that you're not one of them.

I happen to believe that we aren't at that level...but...if the goal is to make the case that you can hang with the big boys, you have to play the big boys. Playing three"money" games is an anomaly...the Tenn. opportunity fell in our laps....that horse has been beaten silly and I see no point in discussing it further. I have no problem with playing a couple of those P5 teams a year though. It helps the budget and recruiting...particularly if you can get a home game one a two-for-one.

Benson's approach is right..if you want to make the claim that you're king of the tiniest of mountains.....

Agreed. Benson's attitude only serves to drive a bigger gap between the P5 and G5 and IMO that's the wrong attitude to take.

Unfortunately the very real gap you speak of doesn't appear to be closing anytime soon. They've pushed those unwilling to spend tens of millions (or even hundreds of millions) out into the fringes. Instead of stubbornly attempting to beat them at their own game, let's play by the very same rules they created, band together as peer schools and refuse to be the punching bags they've structurally designed us to be by exploiting the tiny loophole they left us in the form of the lone Group of 5 bowl slot. The best way to secure that bid is by going undefeated. A milder schedule, unexciting as it might appear on the surface, is the best pathway to get there.

That 0 next to the record gets us (or anyone) immediately in the discussion. Marshall did appear to be on the outs last year based on the polling, but they went to the other end of the extreme and played zero Power 5 teams. Nevertheless, they were still in the national conversation until the very end and may very well have made it if they didn't lose their last game.

They're going to make the argument against any Group of 5 team anyway regardless of OOC schedule because of in-conference schedule. We earn nothing in their eyes by beating Tennessee or anyone else because they'll always claim it's an anomaly. Instead of worrying about mounting a case to counter the inevitable nose-in-the-air sneering and scorn, let's welcome it, turn the key they've given us and let ourselves into their party.

If we earn nothing by beating Tenn because of our conference schedule sucks...how is beating up on a weak OOC scheule going to help us? Going unbeaten against nobodies may make you a topic of discussion on talk radio and the internet, but it isn't going to earn you a slot in the "Big" games. "We beat every nobody...aren't we great?" isn't going to cut it . The only way we're going to get there is beat a couple of P5 OOC teams while running the table against MAC teams that also beat a P5 school. A 2003 type of conference....which shows you how rare that is. It happened 12 years ago.

In reality...the bottom line is this. We don't dictate how we get into their party...they do. Your only hope is to build a case that is so strong you can't be denied. 13-0 against crapola isn't a strong case.