Introducing the Great Midwest Football Conference

If you thought I forgot about my plans about the Big Ten, I didn't I was still trying to get info and opinions about it. Anyhoo, this is my plan to radically reshape the Big Ten. I know it wouldn't happen and there is too much politics involved but it would fit into my playoff dream plan. Bear with me as I play the role of college supadude. What I say happens
My first role is to tell Notre Dame that they will join the Big Ten and the name of the conference will become the Great Midwest Conference (I'm borrowing liberally from the old basketball conference that my alma mater UC used to dominate in the mid 90's but I detest misnomered teams and conferences (How many teams are in the Atlantic 10 Why are the teams in Conference USA mainly southern and Gulf Coast states?) Anyway with the GMC now with 12 teams we will split the conference into two 6-team divisions. These divisions will be named Midwest and Heartland conferences (If you have better names, I'm all ears) the divisions will be as follows

Midwest
Indiana
Michigan
Michigan State
Ohio State
Penn State
Purdue

Heartland
Illinois
Iowa
Notre Dame
Northwestern
Minnesota
Wisconsin

You have 5 games in your division and you play 3 of the 6 in your other division on a rotating basis, so that every team plays the other at least twice in a four year cycle. Or use the SEC model with a 5-2-1 or 5-1-2 format (5 in your division every year, one/two permanent non-division every year and two/one rotating non-division foes) The winners of their respective division play each other in the GMC championship held at rotating sites. Some of these sites include:

Ford Field, Detroit
Metrodome, Minneapolis
Soldier Field, Chicago (And conference championships have too been played outdoors in cold weather)
Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis (The Colts new facility that will open in 2009)

Winner gets a BCS berth or a berth in my playoffs system, the loser may still gain entry in the playoffs as a selected wild card. Now if I could find 2 teams to put in the Pac-10 to get them to split into divisions…What a nice dream.
You ask what does Notre Dame benefit from all of this, they can still schedule USC, Navy and Air Force, but they'll have to really earn their chops and the Other 11 teams can sell playing against (and more likely beating) the Irish. The TV networks can fight over broadcasting the teams and the fledgling Big Ten Network has another feather in its cap. Trust and believe NBC would love to get out from under its contract with Notre Dame since they have slid so far so fast.

Speaking of College Football
Oh the BCS gets messier and messier. The disaster scenario looks like it could very well play itself out. Kansas and Mizzou play Saturday Night in the Big 12 North Division championship the winner goes to the Alamodome to face Oklahoma. There is a real possiblilty that the winner of this game could fall to the Sooners who would likely go to the Orange Bowl. West Virginia is still walking a tightrope having to still host a dangerous UConn squad and archrival Pitt. If they lose either of those games, they would still go to a BCS bowl possibly to the Orange Bowl as well to face the aforementioned Sooners.
LSU is far from out of the woods themselves. The traditional Day after Thanksgiving meeting with a very dangerous Arkansas team, then comes the SEC Championship where you can bet the Tigers would rather face Tennessee than Georgia. If Tennessee beat Kentucky they go to the SEC championship since they finish tied in the SEC but beat the Bulldogs head to head (35-14 on 10/6) Should LSU lose either of these two games they would go into the morass of one and two loss teams screaming that they should be in the BCS title game. One of which is Ohio State winners of the Big 10 (Great Midwest?) and possessor of a BCS invite, right now to the Rose Bowl, but that could very well change. The BCS sits back smug saying the chaos and disorder is great for the pub, but its gonna be a nightmare if they have a multitude of teams carping for a title shot. I for one hope it happens so the powers that be have to forumulate a playoff scenario, cause someones gonna get left out in the cold and they will make a whole lot of noise about it.

Stop Hating on the Pats
Since we're on the subject of making noise, lets kill all this whining and whatnot about the Pats wholesale destruction of teams and their supposed "running up the score." I got a tall flash for those teams that whine about it "Stop 'em!" On the for real, for real. I think that kicking field goals is more humiliating, the Pats are trying to keep the clock moving and gee the opposing offense isn't doing jack on their side and the Pats 2nd team scored the last offensive touchdown after a 10 play 75 yard 6 minute possession, you want the Pats to burn clock, they did it but you've got to move the ball to keep possession. The Pats had drives of 10,12,12 and 10 plays and this was after they went up 21-7. What do you want the Pats to do kneel down after going up 21 points? Puh-leese. Stop the opposing offense, score points of your own and quit your bellyachin'!

Tomorrow, I'll do my hot college game list, preview the Thanksgiving day NFL games and have the Phat Dap/Head Slap of the week. The rest of the NFL games will be previewed on Friday as usual. Until Next Post Fellow Sports Fans!