MadEagle
All American
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RE: Keep Divisions?
Keep the Divisions!
I love seeing the best G5 teams in the East taken on the best G5 teams in the Southeast on Championship Saturdays.
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11-28-2022 10:33 AM |
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THUNDERStruck73
Complete Jackass
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RE: Keep Divisions?
I don't want the extra away game every other year.
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11-28-2022 10:59 AM |
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Troy_Fan_15
Sun Belt Apologist
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RE: Keep Divisions?
I vote to keep divisions. Some years the East will have the 2 best teams and sometimes the West. Kind of adds to the fuel that every game matters in the Sun Belt if you want your chance to win this conference.
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11-28-2022 11:04 AM |
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banker
Hall of Famer
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RE: Keep Divisions?
(11-28-2022 06:13 AM)balanced_view Wrote: (11-28-2022 01:58 AM)banker Wrote: You have to consider that the two best records come from the same side because the competitive balance isnt the same in each division this year. Not saying that Troy and USA aren’t the two best teams this year, but can’t definitely say they are because they faced a different set of opponents. Massey Composite has the East ranked a good bit higher than the west.
If you did away with divisions you end up with even more schedule disparities. It’s bad enough that the two cross divisional games create SOS differences. You certainly wouldn’t want a situation where the two teams in the championship game played what turns out to be the two weakest conference schedules.
There are really only two completely fair models, a smaller conference where everyone play’s everyone, or two divisions where you play everyone in your division and no crossover games or crossover games don’t count in the divisional standings. For example, say Troy played JMU instead of Marshall and lost. They would be 6-2 with a 6-0 record in the west. USA would be 7-1, 5-1 in the west and have a head to head loss to Troy. To me Troy is the west champ, but just had a tough draw. Instead USA would be in the championship game.
Over time I guess that stuff balances out, but in this conference, that doesn’t have a lot of easy outs, the cross division draws are going to be pretty impactful.
Come on now, your reaching based on preseason hype. Using all kinda metrics except head to head, which is 7-7 even split. Don't seem like either division is stronger than the other. A perfectly balanced conference. You make some guesses all slanted for the eastern division. Just call it as it played out.
That’s what you took out of what I posted? Okay.
As far as comparing East vs west, again, if you actually read what I said in the last post, you would understand that doesn’t mean anything without understanding each matchup. It’s like saying “the East is better because App beat Troy and they finished middle of the pack in our division”. Coastal and JMU were 4-0 against the west but only 8-4 against the East. Marshall was 0-2 against the west, but 5-1 against the East. All that proves absolutely nothing.
With that said, all the computer rankings have the East ahead of the west. The west is top heavy and bottom heavy, the East is much more balanced.
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11-28-2022 11:12 AM |
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Was SoMs Eagle
Heisman
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RE: Keep Divisions?
(11-28-2022 02:24 AM)HarborPointe Wrote: Why even start this conversation again?
There's a lot of stupid in college football these days, but we shouldn't feel obligated to include ourselves in it. When it comes down to it, I'd rather have what we have and miss the AQ bid than wreck what works all year in an effort to rig the odds in our favor for one bowl game. Especially when it realistically only matters once in a blue moon. Even if we had USA vs. Troy in the CG this year, it wouldn't matter because neither would jump the Tulane/UCF winner because reasons. Even if you get the teams with the 2 best records in the CG every year, there's always the chance that the lower-ranked team wins and blows the deal anyway. It's not worth it.
It wasn’t ‘one of us’ that started this conversation.
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11-28-2022 11:14 AM |
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Crayton
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RE: Keep Divisions?
(11-27-2022 11:54 PM)WARDAWG93 Wrote: (11-27-2022 11:25 PM)Eagle Talon Wrote: I think the SEC is shooting themselves in the foot by doing away with them. I bet they go back to them before too long.
I understand what Sankey is trying to do. If he goes with regional divisions there is going to be a serious imbalance of power regarding scheduling. Bit of a nightmare situation. This way they can, at least to some degree, keep the schedules "fair". However, I do agree that there will be much clamoring to create divisions and in a few years they will capitulate.
Honestly feel the SEC should go to 4 divisions, to enhance regional rivalries... but still stage the CCG based on best 2 overall. One big division would be horrible for the SBC and I suspect will negatively impact the experience for lower-SEC teams like Mississippi State and South Carolina who will never be able to win a division/make the CCG.
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11-28-2022 01:40 PM |
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JMad03
Heisman
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RE: Keep Divisions?
Keith Gill loves the divisions.
I love the divisions. I know the East is a juggernaut, but it's one I am glad to be a part of. Every game in the division was exciting as a fan. As for the west, I don't expect it to be "easier". I don't think there's any school in the conference that is "tanking". Even Texas State just fired their coach, so they obviously want a higher standard.
As others have said, don't break what isn't broken. There have been articles praising the Sun Belt for what it's doing. So we should get rid of it?! No way.
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11-28-2022 02:01 PM |
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HarborPointe
North American Champion
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RE: Keep Divisions?
(11-28-2022 09:32 AM)JCGSU Wrote: (11-28-2022 09:27 AM)rileylives Wrote: The divisions are literally perfect in every way, geographic fit, even color match fit.
They are also perfectly balanced and competitive.
Why is this even a question, honestly?
Things change. Sometimes the two best teams are also in the same division. If we are trying to make the CFP in 2026 having the actual two best teams play gives you the better chance. If you have a 12-0 East/West Champ and second is 11-1 that likely means both are ranked and is a another huge win vs possibley playing the 8-4 West/East champ. The ranked win would add a data point for the CFP playoff comittee not the 8-4 win. If we get screwed by that expect it change immediatley.
Had CCU and UL been in the same division in 2020 one of them would have played a possible a 4-7 USA West Champ for the title.
Basing major decisions upon 2 “if”s, a “possibly,” and a “had [it] been” is wading pretty deep into CUSA territory.
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11-28-2022 02:29 PM |
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Dukes94
All American
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RE: Keep Divisions?
This conference has a wide geographic spread. The divisions do two things: 1) promote regional rivals, which is supposedly what Gill is all about; and 2) reduce travel costs. JMU has the biggest athletics budget in the conference (I think) but we sure as hell don’t have extra cash to fly the team out west every week. Maybe the Big 10 schools do.
I’m in the keep camp.
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11-28-2022 03:17 PM |
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