Houston was a desperation add. Can we kick them out for one of the Pac leftovers now? Maybe they’ll buy a tarp too
Realignment Megathread (All The Moves)
- Thread starter ISUcyclones11
- Start date
I still have a hard time believing there werent better options than Houston at the time. Memphis, Tulane, Boise, CSU, even Tulsa seem to be a better option than Houston, among others.
There is absolutely no fan support for Houston, no one in that state cares at all about them. Memphis has as good or better sports and better fan support.
But we have them now so I guess we have to embrace it.
Houston is all about potential. They have good basketball in the 4th largest city in the US. If the administration wants to build UH into a sports powerhouse, the potential is there. Can't happen overnight, but given time the ingredients are there for success.
Of the 4 you listed, Tulane could be a good option. Memphis maybe, the other 2... no thank you.
Cause you’re going to end up with years that schedule disparity will decide CCG participants. If you avoid 2 of tOSU, Mich, and PSU this year, you could walk into the Big10 championship game even with the most inept offense in history.
I think of most of the lists I have seen about realignment value, Houston is near or at the bottom of all of them.
Sure they have "potential", but how long do we have to wait for that to come to fruition? I think there are better options out there that are already further ahead in their value, than waiting for the potential of Houston.
Of the list I mentioned, I dont like most of them either but still think they are as good or better than Houston, who I have never liked as an add.
Yeah but that's exactly what the B1G is moving away from next year with no divisions and with playing everyone at least 2 times every 5 years. Iowa won't be catching only 1 of those conference powers a year, ever.
There was no reason to add four at that time, two would have sufficed (BYU and UC) until it was determined PAC poaching wasn’t doable at all.
They 100% will because that’s the way math works but the advantage now is that at least 3 of the Pac teams added are very high quality as well
Yeah I was including USC, Oregon, and Washington as conference powers as of next year. We'll never catch just one of tOSU, Mich, PSU, USC, Oregon, Wash.
1/3 of your conference schedule is protected rivals against cream puffs. So you’re going to play the power teams less than the rest of the conference as they have one protected rival they play every year.
Personally I wanted Colorado State. But that was before we got Colorado. It would be fun to have the Rocky Mountain Showdown. CSU hasn't been good recently, but they used to be under Sonny Lubick. Their campus and university culture are exactly like KSU, ISU, oSu and TT. CSU's new stadium is pretty nice and they average more fans a game than Houston. We didn't need more Texas teams. Houston is as much an SEC/A&M town than UH by far. UH would have to have Oklahoma levels of consistent success to lockdown that city.
i suscribe to the theory that houston will eventually be good at football again.
houston is a hot bed for football talent and right now they don't get those 4/5 star guys because they are all going over to the sec schools or other texas schools.
whether its holgerson or whatever it may be, i think if you give them some time at the big 12 level and give them easy access to the playoff, they will eventually start to get these 4/5 star guys.
i also could be dead wrong about my theory.
houston is a hot bed for football talent and right now they don't get those 4/5 star guys because they are all going over to the sec schools or other texas schools.
whether its holgerson or whatever it may be, i think if you give them some time at the big 12 level and give them easy access to the playoff, they will eventually start to get these 4/5 star guys.
i also could be dead wrong about my theory.
Yeah, they might eventually become better at FB but they still won't draw worth a damn for both in game attendance and TV viewers. Classic urban commuter school characteristics made worse by being in a NFL city.
Barely. If we consider tOSU, Michigan, PSU, USC, Oregon, and Washington as the power teams, and if you look at the conference schedules of most of the non-power teams over the next 5 seasons, it's pretty close.
Games vs. Power Teams 2024-2028
Iowa: 13
Minny: 13
Nebby: 14
Purdue: 14
Illinois: 14
Wisco: 15
NW: 15
Rutgers: 15
Indiana: 15
Maryland: 15
Over the next 5 seasons and 45 conference games, Iowa has the same number of games vs. power teams as Minney; 1 fewer than Nebby, Purdue, and Illinois; and 2 fewer than Wisco, NW, Rutgers, Indiana, and Maryland.
So you're right, Iowa plays them less, but 1-2 fewer times over 5 seasons isn't all that dramatic. UCLA (18) and Michigan St. (17) obviously have more because they both have a power team as a protected rival, playing them every year.
And calling Wisconsin a "cream puff" is a bit of a stretch.
Tulane once chose to leave the SEC in a different time. Had they stayed it out I think it’s more likely they had their years as a great program than they’d have been a permanent last team. Too much talent around them.
I want KU/KSU/OSU if we have 3 protected. Those OSU games have been fun the last several years. They want us to be their rival and I want old Big 8 teams to be our rival.
And their protected rival is an elite team generally.
Iowa pulled off a sweet thing hanging onto Neb/minn as 20% of their schedule.
It’ll get harder than b10 west years but not as tough as most teams.
I added up ISU and Iowa’s sos recently over a decade and the typical Iowa sos has been 38 and the typical ISU SOS is 11. That includes bowl opponents and CCGs or Iowa’s would be way lower.
Is it? I get they are a powerhouse in the Big10 West, but they are a bottom half power 5 team at best. they’ve also looked better than they actually are because of their schedule.
Tulane won the SEC in 1949, but left in 1967 ( i think). Tulane saw the direction college football was headed, and made the decision not to hurt its academic prestiage by lowering the academic standards for its student athletes which was required to compete with big public schools.
Tulane made the right decision for the University and its students.
