Official 2020 College Football Thread

[tarcone]

This may signal a sweeping change in the college football landscape. Good bye conferences. 64 P5 schools. Play each other with maybe a couple soft games before hand. Keep feeding the other 5 teams.

[JPhillips]

A college promotion/relegation system would be fun.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Yikes. From ESPN:

That's what has spooked the Big 10 schools. Massive liability issues now that they know the damage.

[sterlingice]

In what is a stunning upset...

SEC commissioner @GregSankey on @dpshow: "Our medical advisory group has said, ‘Yes, we can continue to go forward.’ Should that advice change, that would certainly be a stopping point."

— Josh Kendall (@JoshTheAthletic) August 11, 2020

SI

[bob]

Originally Posted by tarcone

This may signal a sweeping change in the college football landscape. Good bye conferences. 64 P5 schools. Play each other with maybe a couple soft games before hand. Keep feeding the other 5 teams.

I would honestly hate this. What makes college football entertaining to me is that it isn't the same everywhere. Some conferences play 9 games. Some play 8. Teams complain about conference headquarter favoritism. PAC 12 after dark. MAC-tion. Independents. Army - Navy. The occasional Georgia St over Tennessee.

Change to NFL Jr. and I'd watch far less.

[JPhillips]

Ryan Day talking about OSU changing conferences to play is absolutely insane.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Ryan Day: Ohio State will consider conference switch if needed

I know it's unlikely, but I would love to see Ohio State play in the SEC for a season.

Can we please stop pretending it isn't about the money at this point

[Ben E Lou]

Big 10 has confirmed that they're postponing to spring.

[bronconick]

Big Ten officially pulls the plug on 2020 football

[ISiddiqui]

Good. It would be interesting to see if we have a split season due to some conferences delaying and others not. I guess that may have been thought of when conferences decided to do conference only schedules - even though some of the non-conference games were closer than conference games.

[sterlingice]

BWAHAHAHAHA!

Two SEC sources just told me the same thing seconds apart: “We need the Big 12 to stay committed.”

— Steven N. Godfrey Jr. (@38Godfrey) August 11, 2020

So, basically, the college football season comes down to whether the smaller Big XII schools like TCU, KSU, and ISU want to keep their unequal partnership with UT/OU or stick it to them while risking the alternative where they might be left out in the cold of a conference shuffle.


SI

[bob]

Why does the SEC need the Big 12 to stick it out? Just optics?

[sterlingice]

I wonder if this goes back to liability. If more than half the major conferences are operating, they just have to go "see, we were as safe as 'everyone else'." But if they're the only game in town, the bar is higher? I dunno. Not a lawyer.

SI

[sterlingice]

Also, more chuckles

If you're ever in position where your future depends on the Big 12 staying committed just go ahead and chug as much jet fuel as you possibly can.
— Sam Mellinger (@mellinger) August 11, 2020

Would be even funnier if sources were from Texas A&M and Mizzou.

SI

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

I wonder if this goes back to liability. If more than half the major conferences are operating, they just have to go "see, we were as safe as 'everyone else'." But if they're the only game in town, the bar is higher? I dunno. Not a lawyer.

SI

A lawyer will probably argue that other conferences postponed as part of a claim that a conference that played was reckless and negligent.

[Ksyrup]

I'm having a hard time following the "college football's weak leadership led to a situation in which their only plan was hope" argument. CFB can't be played in a bubble. It was always going to be dependent on outside forces (governments and citizens) to make the conditions the best they could be, and that would decide whether they could play.

If the determination was "it's not safe," then we failed as a society. I'd rather someone argue they made a premature decision based on fear rather than they didn't have a better plan. The plan was that by July 1, the curve would have been on a steep downward trajectory. Instead, we flattened the curve for a few weeks and then got summer fever around Memorial Day.

[RainMaker]

None of this is about safety. Schools really don't care. It's about liability. Lawyers are making these decisions.

[Ksyrup]

Intent aside, the 2 are related. If it was safe to play, there wouldn't be a realistic potential for liability. Football players can have debilitating injuries and that hasn't stopped the sport before today.

[bob]

Pac-12 officially out of the fall 2020 football business

[molson]

I'm not THAT kind of lawyer, so I don't quite understand - how could anyone ever prove where they got COVID unless they were quarantined outside of the activity in question?

I guess this will all be sorted out in the months and years to come. But causation is often a stumbling block for plaintiffs. For example, there was all of the old pro wrestlers who sued the WWE over their concussion symptoms, but all had worked with other wrestling companies, so none could tie their symptoms to WWE negligence. With COVID, causation seems even more tenuous. You don't have to have been in another risky situation, you just had to maybe go to the supermarket or live in society to be infected, like some huge number of the population - millions upon millions. Maybe 30% of the population or more.

[GrantDawg]

I still can't see how this plays out. With two major conferences not playing at least till spring, this is just basically an exhibition season if the SEC and the ACC plays in the fall.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by molson

I'm not THAT kind of lawyer, so I don't quite understand - how could anyone ever prove where they got COVID unless they were quarantined outside of the activity in question?

I guess this will all be sorted out in the months and years to come. But causation is often a stumbling block for plaintiffs. For example, there was all of the old pro wrestlers who sued the WWE over their concussion symptoms, but all had worked with other wrestling companies, so none could tie their symptoms to WWE negligence. With COVID, causation seems even more tenuous. You don't have to have been in another risky situation, you just had to maybe go to the supermarket or live in society to be infected, like some huge number of the population - millions upon millions. Maybe 30% of the population or more.

I'm guessing they would argue that the one activity that is advised against by the medical community is what likely caused the transmission. Maybe the schools win but lawyers are clearly worried enough to talk schools into shutting down a billion dollar industry.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

I still can't see how this plays out. With two major conferences not playing at least till spring, this is just basically an exhibition season if the SEC and the ACC plays in the fall.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Fear of alienating a fan base where probably 60% or more believe this is overblown or a hoax has them backed into a corner where they can at least claim they tried.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Atocep

Fear of alienating a fan base where probably 60% or more believe this is overblown or a hoax has them backed into a corner where they can at least claim they tried.

I would day the Venn diagram for anti maskers and die hard SEC football fans is pretty close to a perfect circle.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I would day the Venn diagram for anti maskers and die hard SEC football fans is pretty close to a perfect circle.

Not just the SEC. The ACC and Big 12 have their fair share of Covid truthers as well. Nebraska, obviously, should have stayed in the Big 12.

WVU fans are making it tough to be a WVU fan during this. I'm sure a lot of people are feeling the same if they're reading any of the college boards.

[Ben E Lou]

There exist neither enough faces nor palms on this planet to adequately respond to this...



Lou Holtz tells Fox News that college football needs to play amid coronavirus pandemic this fall: "Let's move on with our life! When they stormed Normandy, they knew there were going to be casualties -- there were going to be risks." pic.twitter.com/zZZ5qrFRFb

— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) August 11, 2020

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Atocep

Not just the SEC. The ACC and Big 12 have their fair share of Covid truthers as well. Nebraska, obviously, should have stayed in the Big 12.

WVU fans are making it tough to be a WVU fan during this. I'm sure a lot of people are feeling the same if they're reading any of the college boards.

Actually, it would also be funny if the Big XII cancels the entire year because the votes of Nebraska, Missouri, and Texas A&M are in other conferences.

SI

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

There exist neither enough faces nor palms on this planet to adequately respond to this...



Lou Holtz tells Fox News that college football needs to play amid coronavirus pandemic this fall: "Let's move on with our life! When they stormed Normandy, they knew there were going to be casualties -- there were going to be risks." pic.twitter.com/zZZ5qrFRFb

— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) August 11, 2020

Defeating Hitler and playing college football - same thing really.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Atocep

Fear of alienating a fan base where probably 60% or more believe this is overblown or a hoax has them backed into a corner where they can at least claim they tried.

Irony is those people are the ones that made it so we don't get college football.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

BWAHAHAHAHA!




So, basically, the college football season comes down to whether the smaller Big XII schools like TCU, KSU, and ISU want to keep their unequal partnership with UT/OU or stick it to them while risking the alternative where they might be left out in the cold of a conference shuffle.


SI

It's concerning that this is all going to come down to whether the Big 12 can defend the spread.

— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) August 11, 2020

[SirFozzie]

Lost in the Pac whatever announcement.

No basketball either. (at least until Jan 1)

Are we going to lose another basketball season too?

[spleen1015]

What makes the Big 12 so important in all of this?

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by spleen1015

What makes the Big 12 so important in all of this?

Optics?

If the Big 12 play then the majority of the Power Five will be playing football.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by spleen1015

What makes the Big 12 so important in all of this?

I think the argument is that they're the fulcrum for legitimacy - SEC & ACC want to play (/are in areas people want them to play), B1G & PAC aren't. And if the demographics of the fan base matter I think the Big 12 will try to make it work. Notre Dame already is an interesting outlier - I don't think Ohio State's President would let them anyways, but I also wonder if that's why they are officially only postponing until the spring instead of cancelling the season - with a full cancellation now a specific school (like Ohio State who are title contenders every year) would have more leverage if they wanted to play.

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

I still can't see how this plays out. With two major conferences not playing at least till spring, this is just basically an exhibition season if the SEC and the ACC plays in the fall.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Nah, if SEC/B12/ACC play that's the realer of the 2 seasons. Would B10/P12 really play glorified exhibitions in the spring unless vaccines are out & the risks are over? How does that even work with NFL draft prospects?

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

There exist neither enough faces nor palms on this planet to adequately respond to this...



Lou Holtz tells Fox News that college football needs to play amid coronavirus pandemic this fall: "Let's move on with our life! When they stormed Normandy, they knew there were going to be casualties -- there were going to be risks." pic.twitter.com/zZZ5qrFRFb

— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) August 11, 2020

Despite the time stamp on that tweet Lou said that a couple weeks ago. I just love that Lou Holth is still out there - he's like 90, let him live!

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Actually, it would also be funny if the Big XII cancels the entire year because the votes of Nebraska, Missouri, and Texas A&M are in other conferences.

SI

More politics in this: the Pac-12 and Big 10 are more likely landing spots for the non-OU/UT teams so will this vote not only affects this year but potentially these schools many years into the future.

SI

[bob]

Dumb question re: Title IX. If Big 12 / ACC / SEC are willing to spend all this money to test players and structure things so football can happen, do they have to do the same for women's sports?

[sterlingice]

Big XII claims it's going forward with football. But I'm guessing this is just them kicking the can down the road to see if things blow up even more with schools opening

SI

[miami_fan]

So what conference is Nebraska moving to? They have to move after what Scott Frost said, no?

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by bob

Dumb question re: Title IX. If Big 12 / ACC / SEC are willing to spend all this money to test players and structure things so football can happen, do they have to do the same for women's sports?

I hope so, seeing as though my daughter is one of them.

We have a Zoom call this evening with the players/coaches/administration to discuss Covid protocols. School starts next Monday.

[NobodyHere]

So if the Big 10 (or however many they have) goes to spring football, how does it affect the NFL draft?

I imagine players wouldn't be going to the national combine at the very least. Would spring players have an advantage over players who played in the fall? I think there's a recency argument to be made that games will be a lot fresher in a scouts mind and thus stand out more.

I'm just thinking out loud here.

[JPhillips]

Or all the top-round talent leaves early and the Nebraskas and Indianas suddenly look like conference champions.

[Edward64]

Reading the Razorback forum, majority are for football. No surprise.

Assuming tests are done on the teams every day/other day/week etc. and results are available within the hour, everyone has a plastic face shield (and prob some other modified rules), is the risk more to the players or is it more to the crowds? I'm thinking its more crowds and the answer then is obvious.

I'm somewhat ambivalent about this and lean towards letting them play with the precautions and individual opt-out.

[Ksyrup]

I've always had a slightly different take on this, in that the team group dynamic/on-field spread is certainly a concern, but it's only a real concern in conjunction with the return of all students to campus. Right now, most teams have been in a 45 day bubble. Some have had minor outbreaks and shut down to deal with it. But what happens when 20K+ students show up, parties are going on, etc.?

There doesn't need to be a single bit of spread within the team or between teams on the field for a bunch of players to get it, forcing quarantine - not to mention the potential for any complications that might occur (lung/heart, etc.).

It seems to me that is (or should be) the larger concern. Can you really contain football teams in something approximating a bubble, when they are surrounded by other 20 year olds, travelling out of state, staying in hotels, etc. You don't need spread just from football activities to force a shut down.

[HerRealName]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I've always had a slightly different take on this, in that the team group dynamic/on-field spread is certainly a concern, but it's only a real concern in conjunction with the return of all students to campus. Right now, most teams have been in a 45 day bubble. Some have had minor outbreaks and shut down to deal with it. But what happens when 20K+ students show up, parties are going on, etc.?

There doesn't need to be a single bit of spread within the team or between teams on the field for a bunch of players to get it, forcing quarantine - not to mention the potential for any complications that might occur (lung/heart, etc.).

It seems to me that is (or should be) the larger concern. Can you really contain football teams in something approximating a bubble, when they are surrounded by other 20 year olds, travelling out of state, staying in hotels, etc. You don't need spread just from football activities to force a shut down.

Do you have a good feel for what is going on with Florida State? I can't tell if there are players secretly coming down with Covid or if there is something else causing a few player complaints.

[JPhillips]

A lot of the people talking about reopening college think of the student body in terms that applied in the 80s. Colleges then were almost exclusively resident undergrads, but that's not true today. There are so many commuter and adult students that there's no way to isolate the student body. If you add in faculty and staff, you probably have 2/3 of the total campus population leaving every day.

Even if the resident students on campus didn't socialize outside of campus, there would still be a high risk of virus spread from everyone else.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by HerRealName

Do you have a good feel for what is going on with Florida State? I can't tell if there are players secretly coming down with Covid or if there is something else causing a few player complaints.

I have no clue. I don't really follow it much. The older I get, the more tenuous my "fandom" for any particular team has gotten. I still root for FSU, but I mainly just watch sports for the games, not the teams involved.

[tarcone]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

A lot of the people talking about reopening college think of the student body in terms that applied in the 80s. Colleges then were almost exclusively resident undergrads, but that's not true today. There are so many commuter and adult students that there's no way to isolate the student body. If you add in faculty and staff, you probably have 2/3 of the total campus population leaving every day.

Even if the resident students on campus didn't socialize outside of campus, there would still be a high risk of virus spread from everyone else.

In Missouri public institutions, students have to live on campus their first 2 years. Thinking about your 2/3rds number. But you are probably right about that.

Then again college towns are different. They are kind of in a bubble. Life really orbits the university. You may more than half the population related to the university in some form or fashion.

Where my younger daughter is going the population of the town is about 20k and then you have about 8k students enrolled. That county has had 5 positive tests (well, until the outbreak at the boys town, which is quarantined anyway). SO I wonder how big the outbreak will be at these places.

[Vegas Vic]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

A lot of the people talking about reopening college think of the student body in terms that applied in the 80s. Colleges then were almost exclusively resident undergrads, but that's not true today. There are so many commuter and adult students that there's no way to isolate the student body. If you add in faculty and staff, you probably have 2/3 of the total campus population leaving every day.

To your point, the University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando has a total enrollment of 68,000, with 83% living off-campus.

[spleen1015]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I have no clue. I don't really follow it much. The older I get, the more tenuous my "fandom" for any particular team has gotten. I still root for FSU, but I mainly just watch sports for the games, not the teams involved.

Crazy how that works. I've gotten the same way. I'm finding a lack any enthusiasm for a specific team and just want to be entertained.

[Ksyrup]

I've gotten to the point where I really don't enjoy games that involve a team I like because it ruins the pure experience of watching the game. The worst game I watch every college football weekend is an FSU game, win or lose.