What Mega-Conferences? Scheduling Cupcakes is Alive and Well
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With weeks of furious debate over the creation of college football mega-conferences, comparing everyone's athletic pedigree and stating who's a big deal and who's not, the bottom line is everybody still has to prove themselves on Saturday.
They need to strap it on and lace it up, don't they?
However, a look at the non-conference schedules in place for the coming season indicate not everyone's willing to do this week in and week out. We're here to report that the scheduling of cream puffs — and the University of Washington is far from exempt from this nefarious practice — is alive and well, from coast to coast.
Consider how UCLA is preparing for its eventual big move to the Big Ten: The Bruins next month will host, in this order, Bowling Green, Alabama State and South Alabama. Guess Alabama A&M was busy in September.
The Westwood athletic department, as transparent as its been in recent months over its actions for the long-term betterment of UCLA football, might suggest it thought it was scheduling the University of Alabama a couple of times. You know, home and away.
No, we don't want to see the TV market shares after all of these stirring Bruin mismatches have been played out. Nor do we want to see what that UCLA athletic department is charging its football loyalists to come see this college football carnage in person.
The Huskies, of course, will open with a pair of patsies in Kent State and Portland State before turning ultra courageous and taking on the much more fearsome Michigan State, with all of these encounters coming at home.
Yes, we know Jimmy Lake forever has put a bit of mystery into these supposed beatdowns going forward, but remember, he's still looking for work since giving Montana a Saturday to remember forever.
Here's hoping that Kalen DeBoer gets a say in future scheduling in Montlake. He might want to play Fresno State, San Diego State or Boise State, or all three, and we'd be more than fine with that. But we say no to Idaho State, Weber State and Dixie State.
Even gilded Alabama no doubt will thrill its ravenous fans no end by making them sit through and pay for spring-scrimmage-like outings against Utah State, Louisiana-Monroe and Austin Peay, all played at home, before the Crimson Tide and Nick Saban show some real courage and head to Texas.
Even the once fearless and ever noble Notre Dame has given into a pair of meaningless encounters this season by hosting Marshall and UNLV before taking on a host of formidable outsiders, among them the Golden State trifecta of California, Stanford and USC.
New TV contract deals and major college football restructuring can't come soon enough if it means ridding the sport of these hopeless games that have no competitive value whatsoever and certainly present no honest ticket value to the home school fans.
For those who say the smaller schools deserve the athletic department paydays for their trouble and misery, we say let them hold a few more car washes, spaghetti fund-raisers and autograph signings.
College football says it wants to be so important these days and make princely sums of money. Well, it needs to act like it from a competitive stance.
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