2020 College Football Discussion and Pick 'Em Thread

[NewYorkExpress]

Assuming there is a season, I'm game to play.

Let me know when week one is up.

[NewYorkExpress]

Really, really excited about this season! It's a whole new era in Starkville.

Given Mississippi State has to go on the road to both Alabama and LSU...I see some problems with winning the SEC West in their future.

[NewYorkExpress]

I'm not ready to get my hopes up. Clemson just had 23 players test positive for COVID. I can't imagine this isn't going to end with the season being cancelled, or effectively cancelled when enough schools and conferences pull the plug. I am going to be devastated if there is no football this year. But I am beginning to prepare myself for that to be the case.

I think that is the most likely scenario too, but I suspect it's a scenario we won't see truly take place until the NCAA steps in.

There will be enough conferences/schools willing to play otherwise that the NCAA kind of has to step in and say "this is a bad idea".

[NewYorkExpress]

https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/29349067/patriot-league-restricts-travel-short-season

The Patriot League announced Monday new guidelines for the return of sports in the fall, including restrictions on air travel.

In its statement, the seven-member FCS league said: Student-athletes will return to campus at the same time as the student body; the conference schedule will begin at the end of September and finish before Thanksgiving; and no Patriot League teams will fly to games, and with rare exceptions, regular-season overnight travel will be prohibited.

Several Patriot League teams have games against FBS competition that would most likely have to be rescheduled or canceled. That includes Colgate at Western Michigan on Sept. 4, Fordham at Hawaii on Sept. 12, and Georgetown at San Diego on Nov. 21.

I'm assuming none of the above three games would have made it into the pick'em anyways (though Fordham at Hawaii or Colgate at Western Michigan could have been interesting), but all of those games are almost certain to be canceled this season.

[NewYorkExpress]

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/29383844/ex-iowa-rb-akrum-wadley-says-playing-hawkeyes-was-living-nightmare

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/29273365/former-iowa-players-speak-program-culture

Ongoing story involving accusations by multiple African-American athletes against coaches at the University of Iowa, including Head Coach Kirk Ferentz.

Given the nature of the allegations, and the timing, which coincides with the Black Lives Matter movement...is there a possibility that Ferentz is fired?

If Ferentz is fired, who would be the most likely person to replace him as Head Coach at Iowa, especially with the season so close?

[NewYorkExpress]

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/29385354/ivy-league-pondering-conference-only-spring-football-season

The Ivy League is considering two possibilities for an altered football season due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, including forgoing the entire fall in favor of a seven-game, conference-only spring season that would begin in April and conclude in mid-May, according to a sourced report from TMG Sports.

According to the report, the Ivy League is also considering opening the 2020 season in late September with a seven-game schedule against only conference opponents. The Ivy League normally plays a 10-game schedule that tentatively begins this season on Sept. 19.

I think it's becoming steadily obvious that there won't be Football this year.

[NewYorkExpress]

College sports are unique in how weak the NCAA is in comparison to the conferences. I don't think the NCAA has the authority to step in and order that sports not be played. We could very well see a football season that consists of a few conferences playing in conference games in the fall, a few skipping everything, and a few playing in the spring. It'll be an absolute chaotic nightmare, just as College Football is supposed to be.

I'm in for the pick 'em game, assuming that there are games to pick.

I can easily see quite a few state governments mandating that games not be played (the only exceptions to that rule would be private institutions, and they'll cancel their games once they have no one to play anyways.)

[NewYorkExpress]

https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/29430262/ivy-league-rules-playing-all-sports-fall-due-coronavirus-pandemic

The Ivy League announced Wednesday that it has ruled out playing all sports this fall, becoming the first Division I conference to say it will not hold sports this upcoming semester because of the coronavirus pandemic.

No decision has been made about winter or spring Ivy sports or whether fall sports could be played in the spring of 2021.

"The campus policies make it impractical for competition to occur, at least through the end of the fall semester," executive director Robin Harris told ESPN. "That's why today we're announcing. Eight campuses have announced their policies for the fall over the past two weeks. When we realized and the presidents realized based on these campus policies that we couldn't have competition, we wanted to make sure the student-athletes were aware of the outcome.

[NewYorkExpress]

https://twitter.com/Kevin_Lytle/status/1290766084212174848

The only appropriate penalties here is the NCAA Death Penalty, and maximum show cause penalties for all Colorado State coaches.

This is literally endangering student athletes lives.

[NewYorkExpress]

UConn cancels:

https://twitter.com/Brett_McMurphy/status/1290988680937709575

If the rest of the FBS doesn't follow UConn's lead, then Congress needs to step in.

[NewYorkExpress]

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/29621025/source-mac-cancels-fall-football-season-eyes-move-spring

The Mid-American Conference has postponed its entire fall sports season, becoming the first FBS conference to make the drastic decision because of ongoing concerns surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.

[NewYorkExpress]

https://twitter.com/KySportsRadio/status/1292595890776084481
Probably game over, shall I turn this into the 2021 thread?

I'm not convinced there will be a spring season either.

I'd bookmark this spot for next fall, as we should have a vaccine and enough of the population having taken it by then.

[NewYorkExpress]

We could see some Group of five schools moving into the Power five or down to Division II as a result.

[NewYorkExpress]

https://twitter.com/ryandaytime/status/1292896191924117504
hmm

Athletic Directors should consider firing coaches who insist on playing games now (or in the Spring. It probably won't be safe to play then either. The earliest I can see football coming back at any level is next fall)

[NewYorkExpress]

https://twitter.com/ryandaytime/status/1292896191924117504
hmm

Athletic Directors should consider firing coaches who insist on playing games now (or in the Spring. It probably won't be safe to play then either. The earliest I can see football coming back at any level is next fall)

Think about that though. Firing Ryan Day without cause (and this would absolutely be without cause) would mean paying a 3.5 million dollar buyout in a year that the athletics department will be losing a massive amount of revenue. In fact, I'd go so far as to say the revenue effects will be great enough that I doubt we'll see many (if any) non-cause firings for the next few years.

You could argue that encouraging the endangerment of student athletes health would be grounds for a for cause firing.

[NewYorkExpress]

https://twitter.com/ryandaytime/status/1292896191924117504
hmm

Athletic Directors should consider firing coaches who insist on playing games now (or in the Spring. It probably won't be safe to play then either. The earliest I can see football coming back at any level is next fall)

Think about that though. Firing Ryan Day without cause (and this would absolutely be without cause) would mean paying a 3.5 million dollar buyout in a year that the athletics department will be losing a massive amount of revenue. In fact, I'd go so far as to say the revenue effects will be great enough that I doubt we'll see many (if any) non-cause firings for the next few years.

You could argue that encouraging the endangerment of student athletes health would be grounds for a for cause firing.

And you could argue that you’re using excessive hyperbole due to slightly exaggerated COVID hysteria you’re experiencing.

And, as players like Trevor Lawrence have noted, a whole lot more precautions are being taken for these players than would be taken if there were no season.  Their risk of getting coronavirus would probably go up, not down, if they don't play because they probably won't be nearly as isolated if they aren't playing.

I'd argue that being on campus is more dangerous that being at home and attending class remotely.

But who am I kidding. These "student" athletes probably aren't attending class anyways for the most part, and the athletic departments are probably covering it up.

https://twitter.com/ryandaytime/status/1292896191924117504
hmm

Athletic Directors should consider firing coaches who insist on playing games now (or in the Spring. It probably won't be safe to play then either. The earliest I can see football coming back at any level is next fall)

Think about that though. Firing Ryan Day without cause (and this would absolutely be without cause) would mean paying a 3.5 million dollar buyout in a year that the athletics department will be losing a massive amount of revenue. In fact, I'd go so far as to say the revenue effects will be great enough that I doubt we'll see many (if any) non-cause firings for the next few years.

You could argue that encouraging the endangerment of student athletes health would be grounds for a for cause firing.

And you could argue that you’re using excessive hyperbole due to slightly exaggerated COVID hysteria you’re experiencing.

And, as players like Trevor Lawrence have noted, a whole lot more precautions are being taken for these players than would be taken if there were no season.  Their risk of getting coronavirus would probably go up, not down, if they don't play because they probably won't be nearly as isolated if they aren't playing.

Former Michigan All-American Defensive Tackle Chris Hutchinson is the father of All-Big Ten Defensive End Aiden Hutchinson he also holds an MD from the University of Michigan, he is supportive of football being played in the fall. Jim Harbaugh the head coach at the University of Michigan is supportive of College Football in the fall, Ryan Day the head coach of Ohio State University is supportive of football in the fall. James Franklin the head coach at Penn State is also supportive of the season. Harbaugh, Day, and Franklin are probably the most important coaches north of the Mason Dixon line and they lead the 3 most important schools in the Big Ten. ER this isn't really directed at you, sorry for the quote. It's mainly adding onto the conversation and the idiocy of NYE.

It really isn't stupid in my opinion, to wait for a vaccine before opening up things like sporting events. That's what the pros should have done, and that's certainly what colleges should have done.

[NewYorkExpress]

https://twitter.com/ryandaytime/status/1292896191924117504
hmm

Athletic Directors should consider firing coaches who insist on playing games now (or in the Spring. It probably won't be safe to play then either. The earliest I can see football coming back at any level is next fall)

Think about that though. Firing Ryan Day without cause (and this would absolutely be without cause) would mean paying a 3.5 million dollar buyout in a year that the athletics department will be losing a massive amount of revenue. In fact, I'd go so far as to say the revenue effects will be great enough that I doubt we'll see many (if any) non-cause firings for the next few years.

You could argue that encouraging the endangerment of student athletes health would be grounds for a for cause firing.

And you could argue that you’re using excessive hyperbole due to slightly exaggerated COVID hysteria you’re experiencing.

And, as players like Trevor Lawrence have noted, a whole lot more precautions are being taken for these players than would be taken if there were no season.  Their risk of getting coronavirus would probably go up, not down, if they don't play because they probably won't be nearly as isolated if they aren't playing.

I'd argue that being on campus is more dangerous that being at home and attending class remotely.

But who am I kidding. These "student" athletes probably aren't attending class anyways for the most part, and the athletic departments are probably covering it up.

https://twitter.com/ryandaytime/status/1292896191924117504
hmm

Athletic Directors should consider firing coaches who insist on playing games now (or in the Spring. It probably won't be safe to play then either. The earliest I can see football coming back at any level is next fall)

Think about that though. Firing Ryan Day without cause (and this would absolutely be without cause) would mean paying a 3.5 million dollar buyout in a year that the athletics department will be losing a massive amount of revenue. In fact, I'd go so far as to say the revenue effects will be great enough that I doubt we'll see many (if any) non-cause firings for the next few years.

You could argue that encouraging the endangerment of student athletes health would be grounds for a for cause firing.

And you could argue that you’re using excessive hyperbole due to slightly exaggerated COVID hysteria you’re experiencing.

And, as players like Trevor Lawrence have noted, a whole lot more precautions are being taken for these players than would be taken if there were no season.  Their risk of getting coronavirus would probably go up, not down, if they don't play because they probably won't be nearly as isolated if they aren't playing.

Former Michigan All-American Defensive Tackle Chris Hutchinson is the father of All-Big Ten Defensive End Aiden Hutchinson he also holds an MD from the University of Michigan, he is supportive of football being played in the fall. Jim Harbaugh the head coach at the University of Michigan is supportive of College Football in the fall, Ryan Day the head coach of Ohio State University is supportive of football in the fall. James Franklin the head coach at Penn State is also supportive of the season. Harbaugh, Day, and Franklin are probably the most important coaches north of the Mason Dixon line and they lead the 3 most important schools in the Big Ten. ER this isn't really directed at you, sorry for the quote. It's mainly adding onto the conversation and the idiocy of NYE.

It really isn't stupid in my opinion, to wait for a vaccine before opening up things like sporting events. That's what the pros should have done, and that's certainly what colleges should have done.

You might be waiting years for any semblance of normal sports, then.

Not realistic.

I'm reasonably confident we'll have a vaccine by the fall of 2021 at the earliest.

[NewYorkExpress]

IF the Big 12, SEC, and ACC actually do play (and that's a big if)

do we want to still do the pick em?

I'm game.

It's not just those three conferences. Several Group of Five Conferences still haven't announced their plans.

I'd be interested...but I think it's best to just save this space for Fall 2021.

[NewYorkExpress]

At this point, I don't see any possible way for the 2020 CFB season to proceed. Once colleges have in person classes, covid cases keep exploding. The students are obviously not following social distancing (or some are, but the ones partying are ruining it for the rest). Once CFB players get a break they have been partying, as has been evidenced by the recent OU football cases. Notre Dame, Michigan State (which already had cancelled its CFB season), and many others are beginning to go back online. Seems like the beginning of the end.

I think it's highly unlikely the SEC, ACC, or Big 12 cancel. Many people in Trump country see the football cancelations as a politically motivated attack on Trump and not a public safety issue, and the governors of those states aren't going to allow it.

The Big 12 might lose Kansas if Laura Kelly steps in. The ACC might lose their North Carolina Schools if Roy Cooper steps in.

The SEC isn't canceling barring something going horribly wrong though (it would probably take students and coaches actually dying of COVID, and even then, I'm not convinced that'll be enough).

[NewYorkExpress]

The Big Ten is now discussing potentially moving the football season up to start on Thanksgiving weekend or some other time in November. Along the lines that Harry was discussing earlier, Twitter is rife with speculation that the cancellation/new date are being done to hamper Trump's reelection campaign.

If this does happen what a mess it will be. The committee and the AP poll with be absolute messes. Plus, considering the Big Ten, it'll mean whole lot of snow games this year.

Honestly, doing a season completely in the Winter would be worse for COVID.

Either commit to a Spring season, cancel entirely, or be prepared to start next week. A November/December/January season is literally the worst possible option.

[NewYorkExpress]

College football is on! Central Arkansas vs Austin Peay is on ESPN. Probably the only time most (if not all!) of these players will have a prime-time game. Especially nice for Austin Peay whose conference was cancelled and so only has three games scheduled, the other two being games in which they're a cupcake to be sacrificed.

And Austin Peay is currently winning 7-0 with less than five minutes to go in the first quarter.

[NewYorkExpress]

In terms of the pick em contest, proposing a September 12th start date (which is when the Big 12, ACC, and AAC conferences begin).

I also give two options for this, we can do a few games from that week (not a lot of hot ticket games, I think the most interesting one is SMU @ TCU? the rest are mostly FBS vs FCS except like Clemson-Wake Forest which....yeah)

or we can play all 22 Saturday games which would basically pad our scores but it wouldn't matter since we would all likely pick most of them right anyways.

I sent you a PM about it, but I'm in favor of picking all 22 games.

[NewYorkExpress]

Actually, now that I think about it, why can't our first game be September 7 (BYU @ Navy)?

[NewYorkExpress]

Actually, now that I think about it, why can't our first game be September 7 (BYU @ Navy)?

Why can't it be September 4 (South Alabama @ Southern Miss)?

First, there are two games scheduled on that date. Central Arkansas is scheduled to play UAB @ UAB.

Second, I certainly don't see a reason why the games on the 4th and 5th can't be included, it's just the schedule is a lot more sparing of decent matchups (The best we've got that week are Middle Tennessee @ Army, Arkansas State @ Memphis, SMU @ Texas State and BYU @ Navy. Only the last of those is particularly interesting to me, anyways.)

[NewYorkExpress]

Miami (I like UAB, and I think they've got a great shot to win Conference USA, but the Hurricanes are the better team. I wouldn't be surprised if they were a serious contender to make the ACC Championship Game.)

SMU (I think the Mustangs are a slightly better team than the Horned Frogs)

Syracuse (I have a habit of picking Syracuse against ranked opposition, and North Carolina is a far weaker team than Clemson has been the past few years. If this is the week Syracuse pulls off a big upset, this is it, not against Clemson or Notre Dame.)

Iowa State (The Rajun Cajun's have good talent, but the Cyclones are a superior team. Don't be surprised if they end up in the Big Twelve title game)

West Virginia (The Mountaineers aren't going to be particularly good this season, but they're still much better than the Colonels.)

Appalachian State (The Best team in the Sun Belt walks away with a season opening win)

Baylor (Baylor is the clearly superior team here)

South Florida (This could be somewhat close if South Florida has it's eyes on Notre Dame next week, but they aren't losing to an FCS team)

Louisiana-Monroe (I guess Army's the early favorite? This one seems like a real tossup to me, and might be the closest game on the schedule)

Notre Dame (Duke isn't that bad a team, and I could see an upset here, but this is more of a mismatch than Syracuse/North Carolina. If Notre Dame loses, it likely will be against Clemson.)

Kansas State (Kansas State is a stronger team, and Arkansas State will be coming off a difficult rivalry game the previous week.)

Texas State (It's a rivalry game, so anything can happen, but Texas State is the stronger team)

Campbell (I think one of the FCS teams will beat an FBS team this week, and Campbell beating Georgia State seems to be the most obvious pick)

Pittsburgh (The Panthers are probably one of the weaker teams in the ACC, but they are far stronger in almost every way to almost any FCS team)

Oklahoma (The Sooners are easily the best team in the Big Twelve. If they actually figure out how to play Defense, they might actually win a National Title.)

Clemson (I'll be surprised if this one is even close. At this moment, Clemson is the class of the ACC by a mile, and only season-ending injuries to Trevor Lawrence or Travis Etienne could really derail them.)

Oklahoma State (It's a rivalry game, so anything theoretically could happen, but Oklahoma State is a far superior team to Tulsa)

Tulane (another coin toss game in my opinion, and I'm not sure who wins. Going with my gut and taking the Green Wave)

Texas (The Longhorns are the superior team, by far-though I am surprised they are ranked as high up as they are)

Louisville (The Cardinals are a far superior team to Western Kentucky in my opinion)

Texas Tech (The Red Raiders are superior to an FCS opponent)

Coastal Carolina (Kansas has been horrible against pretty much all FBS opposition for over a decade now, and I see no reason why that trend won't continue in the season opener this year. With no FCS opponents on the schedule, Kansas could go winless.)