Realignment Megathread (All The Moves)

FriendlySpartan

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We’re going to have to agree to disagree on that one. They’re going to get exposed just like Iowa once they stop playing a MAC level schedule. They’re not good.
Wisconsin was good for a long time and has been on a bad stretch. Maybe fickel is the guy to get them back, maybe he isn’t. However you can’t just universally say they are going to continue to be bad when they have had success in the recent past. Football is cyclical
 

Clonehomer

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Wisconsin was good for a long time and has been on a bad stretch. Maybe fickel is the guy to get them back, maybe he isn’t. However you can’t just universally say they are going to continue to be bad when they have had success in the recent past. Football is cyclical

Wisconsin = Nebraska. The game has evolved away from the systems that made them good.
 
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FriendlySpartan

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Wisconsin = Nebraska. The game has evolved away from the systems that made them good.
The still have the infrastructure, money, and more importantly have been good pretty recently. It’s odd that this board is so confident that teams like Houston and UCF will somehow be able to dramatically improve simply by joining the Big12 yet a team like Wisconsin is somehow doomed to mediocrity with all their advantages.
 

RagingCloner

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The still have the infrastructure, money, and more importantly have been good pretty recently. It’s odd that this board is so confident that teams like Houston and UCF will somehow be able to dramatically improve simply by joining the Big12 yet a team like Wisconsin is somehow doomed to mediocrity with all their advantages.
Nobody assumes UCF and Houston will dramatically improve. The argument is that the B12 provides them more opportunity/resources than their former respective conferences, so there is POTENTIAL improvement implied.
 
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FriendlySpartan

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Nobody assumes UCF and Houston will dramatically improve. The argument is that the B12 provides them more opportunity/resources than their former respective conferences, so there is POTENTIAL improvement implied.
Hahaha check the other threads, everyone is talking about Houston securing 4/5 stars in a couple years
 

Clonehomer

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The still have the infrastructure, money, and more importantly have been good pretty recently. It’s odd that this board is so confident that teams like Houston and UCF will somehow be able to dramatically improve simply by joining the Big12 yet a team like Wisconsin is somehow doomed to mediocrity with all their advantages.

So does Nebraska.

I really don’t think Houston or UCF will amount to much either if that makes you feel better. They both have recruiting advantages over a team like Wisconsin, but their fan support will keep them from doing much. I look at those teams like a Rutgers. Might step up and have a good year every so often, but it won’t be sustained.
 

FriendlySpartan

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So does Nebraska.

I really don’t think Houston or UCF will amount to much either if that makes you feel better. They both have recruiting advantages over a team like Wisconsin, but their fan support will keep them from doing much. I look at those teams like a Rutgers. Might step up and have a good year every so often, but it won’t be sustained.
Recruiting is national now. Wisconsin has the 25th beat class in 2024 which would rank them 2/3rd in the Big12.

But I do agree with your other points. There is also nothing saying Nebraska stays in the basement either even though we all want them too.
 

Cyclonsin

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Wisconsin was good for a long time and has been on a bad stretch. Maybe fickel is the guy to get them back, maybe he isn’t. However you can’t just universally say they are going to continue to be bad when they have had success in the recent past. Football is cyclical
This is where I stand on Bucky. They have the potential to be a very solid football school but are also at a crossroads that could send them down the Nebby path to irrelevance. That largely depends on Fickell's ability to reinvent and modernize the entire program from the ground up to make it more exciting and attract recruits from out of the region. The in-state talent has been trending in the wrong direction, and that's been their bread & butter historically.

But to emphatically say they couldn't be top 5 in the new Big XII is ridiculous. They have the infrastructure, fan support, brand, and money to compete with anyone in our conference if they can put it all together.
 

FriendlySpartan

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Agree, plenty of room for debate, but to call Wisconsin a "cream puff" is just silly.
Lately they have been pretty bad but they have the potential to snap back. Good first recruiting class coming in and fickel is a pretty good x’s and o’s cos h.
 

Gonzo

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Lately they have been pretty bad but they have the potential to snap back. Good first recruiting class coming in and fickel is a pretty good x’s and o’s cos h.
Last year they were pretty bad but they were 10-4 in 2019, 4-3 in 2020, and 9-4 in 2021. I fear Fickel is going to take them to the next level.
 

HFCS

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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.

Sure maybe, some who care about cte would argue 100% of society is objectively better if football entirely ceased to exist, you can take it that far, personally I’m kind of opposed to the concept of athletic scholarships which is a contradiction to my ISU fandom.

If Tulane had stayed the football program probably would’ve likely cycled through some good years as a modern SEC team. That’s what I’m saying.

I don’t think they are doomed to be horrible, they’re good now without being in a major conference. If northwestern was located in Louisiana I think they’d historically be significantly better at fb too.
 

isucy86

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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.
I would be surprised if Iowa has any advantage by deciding to go with 3 protected rivals.

There is no way OSU, UM, PSU, UW, UO, UCLA and USC are going to allow Iowa to have an easier path than them to the 12 team playoff.

Scheduling ain't tough in an 18 team conference with a 9 game schedule. Roughly 3 games from top 3rd, 3 games middle 3rd and 3 games bottom 3rd.
 

HFCS

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So does Nebraska.

I really don’t think Houston or UCF will amount to much either if that makes you feel better. They both have recruiting advantages over a team like Wisconsin, but their fan support will keep them from doing much. I look at those teams like a Rutgers. Might step up and have a good year every so often, but it won’t be sustained.

Maybe you were only talking about Houston but UCF has incredible fan support potential, maybe not the NIL kind like Miami but certainly more potential in terms of total fandom #s. Coworker’s son went to freshman orientation a few months back and she said it seemed like they were enrolling him to big 12 football fandom more than a college, it’s all anybody talked about.
 
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