Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which wants you to prepare yourself. I mean, find a seat.

Last week, without prompting, you all started suggesting possible alignment formats for a split Big 12 … and robbed me of a perfect Monday morning post. But, whatever. As per usual, you all did the heavy lifting. I spun it around in my head on the way to a wedding and maybe during the wedding, and I couldn’t come up with a very equitable design.

Turns out there are a lot of dynamics, like geography, OU v. Texas, linking the Oklahoma and Texas schools and competitiveness as a consistent concern, to name just a few. I am, as you know, into soccer. I love the concept or relegation, how the final standings and in-season competitions send teams to the Champions and Europa league. I fumbled with that a bunch but couldn’t find a way to insert futbol into football. Like, what do you do to Nos. 9 and 10? It doesn’t work.

So, who knows what happens next? It’s weird, but last week I was joking with someone about the Big 12 and its decisions, and we wondered how the league would split. “The only ending that would fit,” I said, “is to have North and West divisions.” Because jokes. But … that’s actually not a bad idea.

(Best idea: Horses and Bayonets. That was savage. No one has ever been shook like Mitt was there.)

Leave it to the comments, though.

SheikYbuti said:

They should mix the divisions up every year by order of finish the previous season:
1 2
4 3
5 6
8 7
9 10

Now we’re talking. Now we can have some fun. Let’s get weird. New season format: Two non-conference games that are essentially warmups and then nine conference games. After those 11 games, a 1 v. 4 / 2 v. 3 tournament crowns a league champion while a 5 v. 8 / 6 v. 7 tournament is valuable for next season’s divisions … and revenue. Nos. 9 and 10 are left out, but they’ll play a game against one another … but just one game, and that’s their penalty for being at the bottom of the league. They’re getting a 12-game regular season. The others get 13, and you could split monetization for those other six games. And if we ever see non-conference invitationals, like a Big 12-ACC Challenge, have the standings determine the matchups against the corresponding team in the other league.

Are there problems? I guess, but the big one is reality. Realistically, it’s not happening because people are not and will not be obtuse, and this order-of-finish angle is at 135 degrees.

Or is it?

Splitting up Big 12 Conference football into divisions based on seeding might be picking up a key vote.

Iowa State University president Steven Leath stopped short of an all-out endorsement, but he certainly didn’t say anything negative about the concept conference officials discussed at their spring meeting last week.

“The idea of re-seeding every year is intriguing,” Leath said during a break at Thursday’s Iowa Board of Regents meeting at Iowa State. “It differentiates us as a league. It keeps the league really vibrant, exciting and fresh.

“I think if we do that, other leagues will say “Wow, that’s a really neat idea.”

Had me up to the last line, S.

Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, cope with the same b-s.

Brad Lewis said:

2001 3-8 team was pretty painful to watch. Still stings losing to the fierce Temple Owls, at home.

 

Odd. Another F word usually precedes “… Temple Owls, at home” when others recall that.

The 25314 said:

Not to take anything away from the disaster of 2001, but at least it was a new coach and a completely foreign system. 2013 actually had potential to be a decent team, as evidenced by it beating OK St. and playing right with Texas and Oklahoma, that still managed to lose to Kansas and blow a 17 point 4th quarter home lead to Iowa State.

The Kansas game was the only Big 12 game Charlie Weiss ever won. Kansas’s victory broke a 27 game Big 12 losing streak. Kansas is 1-19 in the league since that win, the win coming against 2-10 (0-9) Iowa State in 2014.

The 2001 team lost Rasheed Marshall early, and Brad Lewis was, no offense, a square peg. But that team actually played respectable against ranked Maryland and Syracuse and even Notre Dame. That 2013 team? Holgorsen’s third squad, and though it did beat Oklahoma State (when it found a QB) it was not competitive against Maryland, Baylor and Kansas State, and the Kansas and Iowa State losses are all-timers.

JAL said:

Worst team ever–I’ll go with Gene Corum’s first team in 1960–0-8-2 Tied Richmond 6-6 and Boston U 7-7. Shutout 6 times including 26-0 to George Washington in their final game. Only game they scored double digits was a 34-13 loss to Penn State. Lost to Pitt 42-0.

A popular pick. When I was writing the book, I actually took a deep dive on that team, if only for my own curiosity. The six shutouts was just amazing, and the team didn’t have anyone drafted in 1961 and 1962, when the draft was 20 rounds and 280 picks long. But two years later, WVU was 8-2 with four shutouts and wins against Virginia Tech, Pitt, Syracuse and G.W.

Sid Brockman said:

I’ll go a different way. The hardest thing for me is disappointment. Thus, the “worst team” for me was the 2010 team. One of the best defenses to ever play at WVU, combined with what should have been a potent offense, and they went 9-4. Lost to Syracuse and all their zone blitzes, UConn after all the fumbles and Russell Wilson in the bowl game after it looked like they figured things out.

I had such high hopes for that team, and to not win the conference title with the talent discrepancy they had was painful to watch.

Oh, did you see those zone blitzes? The UConn game was wholly unforgivable. And don’t forget, that team really should have lost to Marshall.

MontanaEer said:

I concur with most seasons, but best and, simultaneously, most disappointing: 2007. The Product’s choke job in 13-9 was worse than anything Dana or Oll Stew ever did, except maybe 2010.

Lots of hate for 2010.

tls62pa said:

Pettaway and Young have late HS graduations.

Correct. I don’t sense any concern for either player there.

CC Team said:

Like a good trout fisherman HCDH chose not to reveal his fishing hole.

Fly Fishing✅
Rainbow Trout✅
Had a blast this weekend with @FRCcrew @Holgorsendana pic.twitter.com/9xR7YXJsKA

— Logan Holgorsen3️⃣ (@LoganHolgorsenn) April 27, 2016

Apple. Tree. Needs just a little work, no?

Sid Brockman said:

Not a very exciting non-con overall. Obviously UVA is good; A&M should still be decent. But even if they get both Temple and Florida State, that makes only 4 RPI Top 100 teams (based on end-of-year ratings). 4 of the teams finished below 200, with 2 of those below 300. I guess the Big 12 is supposed to make up for it, barring any big turnarounds by non-con opponents.

Huggins, I think, was being sarcastic when he wondered aloud how he was going to win games. At least he didn’t say this schedule was “brutal,” or that he’s giving the fans what they want and playing big names at home. Truth is, Texas A&M is arranged by the leagues, and Virginia Tech, it seems, initiated the idea of pausing the series. Oh and scheduling is hard, too. I have to think, based on track record alone, Huggins tried to get a big name at home this season, which would balance playing Virginia at home next season. 

JAL said:

Looks typical of most of the big conference teams, a few good to very good teams and bunch of teams you should beat

Not sure I’d go with “typical,” but it’s certainly not rare. I want everyone to remember this the first time he grumbles about attendance. Remember, no Virginia Tech at home and no Marshall in Charleston. There was room to do something.

Mack said:

Village Pizza in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Easy.

#WVU125

Loopy Hoopy said:

I’m taking one with it draped over the Pitt Panther statue. Hot dog man on High Street would be a good one too.

‘Kraut, onion and mustard, too.

pknocker40 said:

Any non-Cabell County Tudor’s Biscuit World. The Mystery Hole would be neat to see.

Vintage West Virginia.

Rugger said:

being held by Hillary while chewing on a lump of coal.

I think that one’s unlikely.

Smeer said:

being held by Donald Trump at the GOP convention in Cleveland

Uuuuge.

Netbros said:

On top of the Bell Wall at Seneca Rocks.

Picturesque as well as doable.

SheikYbuti said:

On the 4-yard line at the Joan.

Them’s fighting words. 

Rugger said:

Fort Pitt Tunnel would be nice.

Is it open?

Mack said:

The “Welcome to Myrtle Beach” sign should have a West Virginia state flag on it.

At least a tattoo.

Hersh said:

Speaking of BW3 in Myrtle Beach, the GM of the store in NMB was an old acquaintance. He was a Pitt grad and Western PA native. Well, the guy who owned that franchise that included the NMB, Wilmington and Greenville(NC) locations was a WVU grad. When you first walked into the NMB restaurant, the first flag you would see hanging from the rafters was WVU’s. There was other memorabilia as well. Pitt? The GM told me he was relegated to hanging a “Pitt Panther Parking Only” sign in an obscure, dark place beside the beer cooler where nobody could see it. I always thought that was hilarious.

BW3: Always good for spicy garlic and anecdotes!

JAL said:

Philippi Covered Bridge

I have to think that’s already happened.

MontanaEer said:

Over the northbound entrance to East River Mountain Tunnel on I-77.

That one might be dangerous, no? At least at the Fort Pitt Tunnel, there’s likely no traffic, because it’s closed or under construction that causes parking lot traffic.

philip said:

if only there were a tudor’s in myrtle beach. #franchiseidea #biscuitmillionaire

I thought that was Biscuitville territory, but I did some looking and that is not correct. In fact, there’s a disturbing lack of biscuit places in South Carolina.

Mr M said:

Loosely related: any mention of the baseball team’s helping with the tornado victims a few years ago while they were in Oklahoma City for this year’s tournament? I had the impression back then we’d picked up some local fans, and wondered if this is still the case.

Time passes, I suppose. I don’t think anyone has forgotten, but maybe it’s not remembered as strongly or as fondly as it was in a more recent window of time. WVU happened to go 2-0 against Oklahoma in the tournament by a score of 17-1 with a mercy rule outcome that eliminated the Sooners. That probably muted some cheers.

Bobby Heenan said:

At what point do you just say forget about a $2.8 million conference TV deal and start shopping individual games around? Pay per view or web-based (reliable) streaming at some cost per game has to generate similar revenue to this, at least for more “name” schools in the conference like Marshall. I may be way off here, but I’d figure a Marshall vs. Louisville weekday night game rights could go for a big chunk of that whole season contract.

Like Mike says, this is bad. Real bad for C-USA now, but the waves are going to start crashing into all conferences when their TV contracts come up. Someone somewhere is going to figure out a business model with streaming/app or pay-per-view type of accessibility and produce their own games take out the middle man to help retain revenue. It’s a big undertaking, but I’m still in the camp that a no-frills but reliable streaming service for games is what needs to happen. If ESPN isn’t going to pay you for your games then you’re going to produce them yourself, sell off add space, and put it out on the market in another way. We’re probably 10 years from this, but more and more people are getting quit comfy with a roku/apple TV, etc…it’s coming.

Interesting possibilities there, and I just don’t believe streaming and authentication services aren’t the future. Ten years is way too far off, in my opinion. I think it’s coming fast. That could certainly help the C-USA. It could shop its inventory on a single-item basis. Suppose the league was free of a television deal. Marshall has a home game against Louisville. Western Kentucky has a home game against Vanderbilt. North Texas has a home game against SMU. UTEP has a home game against Army. UTSA has a home game against Arizona State. I’d assume the home team/conference has the television rights, so they could negotiate a time and a place for every game. And in every contest, I’d argue the road team has a larger or no-less-large fan base that would watch the game. The league could shop those games to networks in an a la carte fashion, and that’s important for mid-week games and early-season contests. People want to watch games and networks want content. Are we talking huge dollars? No. But we’re talking dollars, and ESPN2 is already airing UTSA v. Arizona State and CBS Sports Network is handling Marshall v. Louisville, so it’s not impossible. The problem there is we’re talking about five games. There are 14 games playing 12 games.

Mack said:

Brain, you do realize Louisville is in the ACC?

The problem is if you sold any Marshall football game for $25.00 to stream it . . . virtually no Marshall fans are paying that much to do so.

Another possible problem . . . I think many people are still just conditioned to paying for cable television and, thus, they don’t think about the expense. So, if the game is on cable, it is “free” to the subscriber. In a theoretical future where most people get rid of cable, and college football sells its games via on demand streaming. As a non-cable subscriber… I can tell you that cutting ESPN out of my life has had a subtle effect of my wants and needs as it relates to sports. I don’t watch ESPN at all any more and, thus, I don’t have anyone other than Mike Casazza via this blog hyping upcoming games to me at all. The point of this is. . . I think the demand for the games goes down if you’re talking about a world where all games are purchased via on demand “pay for what you watch” type services.

Quite sure he was talking about a, uhhh, high-profile game/opportunity containing a C-USA team. Anyhow, you’ve pinpointed the problem. People won’t pay for a game they’re used to getting for free … free in the sense described above in that if it’s on cable, people think it’s free. But I don’t see one-off games as the way this is heading. I think you’d subscribe to a service — Nexflix, Amazon, whoever — and pay the $X a month for access to, say, the Big 12 streaming package. I do believe these leagues want to step into streaming devices, and you’re much more likely to play a monthly fee for access to many games than a one-time fee for one game. Look at PPV buy rates for boxing, MMA and even WWE events now. This comes in a separate comment from Mack, but he’s not wrong: The WWE Network, perhaps remarkably, is a model to study.

Mack said:

I know they’ve been down in recent years, but what about Southern Miss as a Big 12 expansion school? I don’t hate it any more than the other teams that are being mentioned.

Worth at least three-quarters of a billion dollars, I say.

Bobby Heenan said:

@ Mack – haha, I think you’ve got it. Though I think a “Table for three” program with Dana, Spavital, and Leach could draw good money.

Regarding Southern Miss – I’m not sure what is going on down there. They’re fighting an uphill battle now that Ole Miss has seems to have figured out really good ways to cheat on recruiting without getting caught. Probably not related, but when Southern Miss was rolling Ole Miss was not.

Houston Nutt would like a word.

Mack said:

Brain, your Mississippi theory has always been my theory as to college football on the whole. There’s virtually never a time where Miami, Florida State, and Florida are all good. If one gets the players, then the others drop. Florida State won a national championship at a time when both Miami and Florida aren’t very good. I think this generally works across the entire country with geographic recruiting rivals.

Except Mississippi high school football is nowhere near as good or as expansive as Florida high school football.

The 25314 said:

The 1990’s disagree that FSU, Miami, and Florida are never good at the same time.

This is true, though, again, it’s not easy because the elite recruits will often pick one of those three at the expense of the two others.

Mack said:

Did a quick Wikipedia to compare Miami and U of Florida during the 90’s…

Miami was a national title contender (two losses or less each season) from 1985 – 1992. From 1993 through 1999 its records were 9-3, 10-2, 8-3, 9-3, 5-6, 9-3, 9-4.

With a little bit of overlap, Florida was essentially the opposite. It’s records from ’85 through 1992 were 9-1-1, 6-5, 6-6, 7-5, 7-5, 9-2, 10-2, 9-4. Then, from 1993-99 (when Miami took a step down), its records were 11-2, 10-2-1, 12-1, 12-1, 10-2, 10-2, 9-4.

It swung back the other way from 2000 – 2003, with Miami going 11-1, 12-0, 12-1, and 11-2 while Florida went 10-3, 10-2, 8-5, 8-5.

I’m not saying it’s 100% . . . but it’s a thing.

You knew there’d be a rebuttal, but it’s not without merit.

Rugger (fixed!) said:

Who has more kills, Chris Kyle or Zippy?

Enjoy the weekend!