By JIMMIE TRAMEL Sports Writer on Aug 31, 2012, at 12:51 PM Updated on 8/31 at 3:24 PM
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The Big 12 football season begins Saturday.
If you want to see “real” games, you’ll have to wait until league play begins.
The Big 12’s non-conference schedule is so weak that it, if it was your neighbor’s wireless Internet, the signal wouldn’t be strong enough for you to get a connection.
It’s weaker than the alibis of athletes who get caught using PEDs.
It’s weaker than the “reality” in most reality-based television series.
Of course you shouldn’t things say like that without backing it up, so I’m going to throw out some numbers regarding Big 12 non-conference football schedules:
Number of non-conference games against schools from the FCS (formerly known as I-AA) level: 10.
Number of non-conference games against schools in BCS leagues, plus Notre Dame: Seven. (The seven “big league” opponents combined to go 37-50 last season).
Number of non-conference games against schools from BCS leagues who were picked to finish in the top half of their conferences or divisions: Zero.
Let me repeat that last number: Zero. (But in fairness it should be pointed out that Notre Dame, an Oklahoma opponent, is not in a conference and therefore can't be picked high in a preseason league poll.)
Number of non-conference games against FBS schools from non-BCS leagues: 13.
Number of non-conference games against FBS schools from non-BCS leagues who were picked in the top two of their conferences or divisions: Two (Tulsa, Northern Illinois).
Number of non-conference games against schools from non-BCS leagues who were picked to win their conference or division: Zero.
Some of the above couldn’t be helped. Who knew several years ago, when some of these games were being scheduled, that Arizona would be coming off a 4-8 season or that Maryland and Mississippi would be coming off 2-10 seasons?
But the new normal seems to be that coaches in the power conferences, Big 12 included, think their strength of schedule is troublesome enough without playing anyone who can pose a threat in September. And I get that.
But that’s absolutely going to be the wrong play once humans start choosing playoff participants.
Strength of schedule will be a consideration and, if I was on the playoff committee, I would ask this question when evaluating potential playoff participants: Did they at least try to play somebody during the non-conference season?
And if a playoff hopeful chose the path of least resistance, I would be inclined to give the playoff spot to a somewhat equal team that didn’t take the easy way out. My guess is this happens with a degree of frequency when the NCAA Basketball Committee selects and seeds the tournament field every March. Remember how some Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim got miffed a few years back when Doug Gottlieb accused some Big East schools of playing “fraudulent” schedules? Agree or disagree, credit Gottlieb for being willing to say it when he thinks the emperor is wearing no clothes.
College football coaches may learn the hard way that if you want to play for the highest stakes in January, then you better start staking a case in September. Otherwise, enjoy the football version of the NIT.
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