"Follow the money." Deepthroat
This is a personal online journal to explore the money end of college football. The X's and O' are pretty well covered elsewhere but other forum see the money as the side show while the football game might be the side show.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Cheer and Win
Traditions... rituals are key to any brand. The trick is to establish the tradition. The NFL has had the Pro Bowl for ever and while the NFL brand is wildly popular the Pro Bowl has never take off. For 2010 the game was cleverly slotted in the pre-Super Bowl dead time and the ratings improved dramatically whether this will build the Pro Bowl as a real brand. Sometimes, however, a brand does not having the strength to stand on its own.
Florida International University is still in the process of building a football brand, a football tradition. Think of why you went to a you football game as a freshman. It was the thing to do. The group in the dorm was going and going along was the thing to do. Now imagine that there was no group carrying you along getting you in the habit; no tradition.
International Bowl Tickets (South Florida vs Northern Illinois) Saturday, January 2, 2010 at 1:00 PM at Rogers Centre in Toronto, ON 11 ticket listings Lower Sideline 113 20 2 $55.00 each
Insight Bowl Tickets (Minnesota vs Iowa State) Thursday, December 31, 2009 at 3:30 PM at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, AZ 138 ticket listings Upper Sideline 244 30 Up to 7 $23.00 each
Independence Bowl Tickets (Texas AM vs Georgia) Monday, December 28, 2009 at 4:00 PM at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, LA 87 ticket listings 105 I 2 $40.00 each
Humanitarian Bowl Tickets (Idaho vs Bowling Green) Wednesday, December 30, 2009 at 2:30 PM at Bronco Stadium in Boise, ID 11 ticket listings Lower Corner 28 S 2 $49.00 each
Holiday Bowl Tickets (Arizona vs Nebraska) Wednesday, December 30, 2009 at 5:00 PM at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, CA 252 ticket listings End Zone View 26 7 2 $85.00 each
GMAC Bowl Tickets (Central Michigan vs Troy) Wednesday, January 6, 2010 at 7:00 PM at Ladd Peebles Stadium in Mobile, AL No tickets listed
Gator Bowl Tickets (West Virginia vs Florida State) Friday, January 1, 2010 at 1:00 PM at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium in Jacksonville, FL 492 ticket listings Upper Level 415 CC Up to 13 $63.00 each
Emerald Bowl Tickets (USC vs Boston College) Saturday, December 26, 2009 at 5:00 PM at AT&T Park in San Francisco, CA 262 ticket listingsView Level End Zone 305 7 Up to 17 $24.00 each
EagleBank Bowl Tickets (Temple vs UCLA) Tuesday, December 29, 2009 at 4:30 PM at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC 4 ticket listings 513 10 Up to 4 $65.00 each
Cotton Bowl Tickets (Oklahoma State vs Ole Miss) Saturday, January 2, 2010 at 1:00 PM at Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX 679 ticket listings Upper Reserved 452 22 Up to 7 $95.00 each
Chick-Fil-A Bowl Tickets (Tennessee vs Virginia Tech) Thursday, December 31, 2009 at 7:30 PM at Georgia Dome in Atlanta, GA 753 ticket listings Upper Prime 320 20 2 $58.00 each
Champs Sports Bowl Tickets (Miami vs Wisconsin) Tuesday, December 29, 2009 at 8:00 PM at Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando, FL 120 ticket listings Upper Level Corner 338 T Up to 6 $25.00 each
Capital One Bowl Tickets (Penn State vs LSU) Friday, January 1, 2010 at 1:00 PM at Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando, FL 673 ticket listings Upper Level Corner 303 W 23rd Row Up to 5 $34.92 each
Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Tickets (Air Force vs Houston) Thursday, December 31, 2009 at 11:00 AM at Amon G Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, TX 14 ticket listings SC 12 Up to 3 $25.00 each
Alamo Bowl Tickets (Texas Tech vs Michigan State) Saturday, January 2, 2010 at 8:00 PM at Alamodome in San Antonio, TX 290 ticket listings Upper Level End Zone 345 15 2 $26.49 each
How sold are the fans? The truest measure of demand for tickets is in the discount placed on the, "Can miss" game. The person buying a set of season tickets will make their money on the rivalry game and will feel the need just to move (dump) the cupcake game. Below are teams with a comparison bet ween the an FCS game and a conference or OOC BCS team within a week or two of each other.
Forida State
Jacklonsville State at Florida State Football Tickets Saturday, September 12, 2009 Sideline 28 83 Up to 4 $31.00 each
South Florida at Florida State Football Tickets Saturday, September 26, 2009 Sideline 28 83Up to 4 $157.00 each
USF is 5 times more popular?
Penn State
Eastern Illinois at Penn State Football Tickets Saturday, October 10, 2009 Lower Level End Zone NG 39 2 $90.00 each
Minnesota at Penn State Football Tickets Saturday, October 17, 2009 ower Level End Zone NG 39 2 $185.00 each
A bargain trip to the center of PA for the weekend of October 10th.
Kansas
Northern Colorado Saturday, September 5, 2009 Family Zone GA G/A Up to 4 $19.50 each
Duke Saturday, September 19, 2009 Family Zone GA G/A Up to 8 $19.50 each
And if this were basketball? It is football and there is no demand for Blue Devils in the heartland.
Wisconsin
Northern Illinois Saturday, September 5, 2009 Lower Deck End Zone Y 3 53 Up to 4 $52.00 each
Fresno State Saturday, September 12, 2009 Lower Deck End Zone Y 3 53 Up to 4 $59.00 each
Wofford Saturday, September 19, 2009 Lower Deck End Zone Y 3 53Up to 4$45.00 each
Michigan State Saturday, September 26, 2009 Lower Deck Corner A 49 Up to 8 $93.00 each Lower Deck End Zone Y 3 54 Up to 6 $149.00 each
The Badgers are home the first four weekends of the season
Florida
Vanderbilt at Football Tickets Saturday, November 7, 2009 Upper Corner 47 TBD Up to 5 $129.00 each
Florida International Saturday, November 21, 2009 Upper Corner 47 TBD Up to 4 $95.00 each
When did you make the move to the “big people table” at holiday meals? At what point did you graduate. For most it was a mere matter of age. There were those awkward years where you were seated in the kitchen with the six year old cousin that is no longer cute and then the first year sitting with the adults where you were all but invisible. Once you made the move there was no going back.
The Mountain West wants a seat at the BCS table as they have fielding very competitive teams that have already won three BCS games—more wins than the ACC (2004-2009) despite not having the coveted automatic bid. In the 2008-09 final poll the MWC had 3 teams in the final top 25 as compared to 2 for the Big East and 3 for the Atlantic Coast Conference. If the MWC were applying for an opening they would definitely be the top candidate.
The Mountain West resume as impressive as it is lack one critical element...television numbers. Given that the BCS is a television driven event the ability to demonstrate that your conference can deliver the eyeballs is of paramount importance. Currently, this key piece is missing. Looking at the 2008 numbers from ESPN you'll see that the MWC fails to deliver impressive numbers.
The road to the BCS may go through the Magic Kingdom of college football. With ESPN having the BCS broadcast rights, the folks in Bristol have unprecedented influence over the agenda. In short given the overwhelming influence ESPN has over the college football storyline, Craig Thompsonthe, MWC commissioner first needs to get the conference a place on already crowded regular season broadcast schedule.
How can the MWC prove that the conference can deliver the all important television rating and the dollars to justify the BCS payout, if the games are hidden on the mtn. , CBS College Sports, and Versus? While it may sound harsh but your on the field performance will get you an invite to the BCS when warranted, a permanent berth requires that you prove the financial angle is covered. Can the addition of one of the non-BCS conferences grow the pot of money? Until the answer is yes the current situation cannot change.
If Congress wants to get involved and regulate college football they might want to start with assuring equal television exposure. Yes, a return era to the equal time. Organize the Fall sports schedule towards make sure that we get to see Wyoming, Troy, and FIU in prime time. While we are nationalizing the banks, maybe we can nationalize cable TV. And start by moving the masters of Bristol to the shores of the Potomac.
The alternative for those not at the BCS table is to grow (up) and earn your place at the table.
There are 344 teams in D1 basketball with 65 + 32 going to post season tournaments or 28% far below the percentage of teams going to college bowl games. The 65 “best” included first round losers: Mount St. Mary at an RPI of #159, #147 Texas Arlington, #108 Winthrop, #98 Georgia, and #90 Portland St. While #94 San Diego and #66 Siena did win in the first round, their roll as mere March filler came in the second round. Source--http://www.kenpom.com/rpi.php
The Big East put seven teams, about 11% of the 65, into the March Folly despite the fact that these teams had already, “decided it on the court”. Worse only one Big East made it to the group of eight with Louisville losing North Carolina. For all the hype the NCCA basketall tournament is a bloated income ditribution vehicle with numerous meaningless games.
If this is the correct way to do things what would a college football playoff look like? Some might say an eight team playoff, others 16, using the same 65 out of 344 of 18.9% we need at least 23 teams or 24 just too even things up. Automatic bids: the six BCS conferences, MAC, WAC, MWC, Sun Belt, C-USA.
The challenge for those that want this is the fill in the brackets in a reasonable manner. You’ll need three play in games and then some gymnastics to avoid repeating games that have already been played.
The answer that will be arrived at will be the equivalent of using epicycle to epicycles to explain planetary retrograde motion in an Earth center solar system. Or paraphrasing Dennis Miller in his brief time on Monday Night Football, “That tournament is more complicated that the House of Plantagenet.” The BCS may not be perfect but the basketball model isn’t either.
South Carolina State at Clemson 1:00 PM at Clemson Memorial Stadium in Clemson, SC Upper Sideline D V $2.99 each If you have money to burn much better tickets are $8
Buffalo at Missouri Football Tickets 1:00 PM at Faurot Field (Memorial Stadium) in Columbia, MO End Zone 8 38 $48.00 each Hot ticket to see the Bulls come to town.
Miami (Ohio) at Cincinnati Football Tickets Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati, OH Bearcat Lair End Zone 131 11 $20.00 each Firm price for Bearcat tickets. Price may be helped by the flood of Miami fans.
Ball State at Indiana Football Tickets Memorial Stadium (Indiana) in Bloomington, IN Upper Sideline 111 36 $34.45 each It's the $.45 that makes the deal. Not bad seats.
Marshall at Southern Mississippi Football Tickets USM MM Roberts Stadium the Rock in Hattiesburg, MS Lower Sideline H 32 $38.00 each Only seats (up to 7)listed.
Wyoming at BYU Football Tickets LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, UT 144 30 $38.00 each And how long a drive is it from Wyoming?
LSU at Auburn Football Jordan Hare Stadium in Auburn, AL Upper Deck Sideline 114 31 $115.00 each Not for those that get nosebleeds. Total score over under is?
San Jose State at Stanford Football Tickets Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, CA Lower Goal 130 I $8.00 each General admission tickets $4. Bad times in Silicon Valley?
Murray State at Western Kentucky Football Tickets Houchens Industries-LT Smith Stadium in Bowling Green, KY 108 C $32.00 each Not sure where section 108 is but given the small size of the stadium you should be able to find your place. Future renovations canbeseen here.
On the eve of the kickoff of the college football season here is a review of the top ten teams (as of early July and an update on ticket prices). This is an update of a post from July 7, 2008. The new prices are in bold.
So how much will it cost to buy a ticket to see a top 10 team? While there are many issues that influence the secondary market for tickets and these price are the "asked for" this gives a view of the level of fan support/interest.
1 Ohio State v. Ohio Corner 30 $114.00 each Sideline 17 D $100.00 each
v. Michigan End Zone 34 B $439.00 each Corner 30 C $421.00 Other corner endzone.
Season Ticket $1699 No season tickets available
2 Southern Cal v. Washington Upper End Zone $53.00 each Upper End Zone 16 $60.00 Exact location TBD
v. Ohio State Upper End Zone $298.00 each Upper Corner 12 $313.00 Sunny California, bring your sunscreen.
Season Ticket: $799 $850
3 Florida v. Hawaii Sunshine End Zone 324 $86.00 each Upper Corner 51 $30.00 SPF 40 or better for this opening game.
v. LSU Upper Corner 47 $251.00 each Upper End Zone 55 $200.00 Sunshine not included in this endzone.
Season Ticket: $1225 No season tickets available
4t Georgia v. Central Michigan Upper Level Sideline 611 $86.00 each Upper Level End Zone 320 $69.00
Not in the endzone but you may suffer a nose bleed.
v. Alabama Upper Level Sideline 601 $208.00 each Upper Level Sideline 602 $200.00 At the other goal line from sec. 611
Season Ticket: $990.00 $1,398.00
4t Oklahoma v. UT Chattanooga Lower Level End Zone 15 $48.00 each Upper Level Sideline 226 $36.00 Is the rodeo in town?
v. Nebraska Lower Level End Zone 15 $124.00 each Upper Level Sideline 226 $133.99 If the Huskers get on a roll this could go higher.
Season Ticket: $500 No Change
6 Missouri v. Southeast Missouri Corner 5 $42.00 each Sideline CC $27.50 But this is rivalry game?
v. Colorado Corner 5 $101.00 each Sideline BB $101.00 each End Zone 8 $77.50 Your choice of cheap seats
Season Ticket: None Listed No Change
7 Clemson v. The Citadel Upper Sideline T $35.00 each Upper Sideline Q $8.00
v. South Carolina State Upper Sideline T $35.00 each Upper Sideline I $18.00 Cupcakes are cheap.
South Carolina Upper Sideline T $225.00 each Upper Sideline B $189.00 Probably the same seats as above and now is the time to cash in.
Season Ticket: $669 No season tickets available
8 West Virginia v. Cincinnati Lower Level Green Zone $71.00 each Upper Level Gold Zone 203 $75.00 each Another ticket that may go up in value.
v. Auburn Upper Level Orange Zone $148.00 Lower Level Green Zone $188.95 Upper deck, corner.
Season Ticket: $760 No season tickets available
9 Louisiana State
v. Troy (2nd appearance) South 420 $50.00 each West Upper 619 $43.00 v. North Texas South 420 $50.00 each East Upper 639 $40.00 South Belt teams do not sell tickets.
.v Georgia West Upper 611 $255.00 each East Upper 637 $230.00 Thought the price would be higher.
Note: Appalachian State at LSU Football $74. Is this an opening day premium or respect? Now $57.00
Season Ticket: $600 No season tickets available
10 Texas v. Florida Atlantic Upper Level Sideline 102 $57.00 each Upper End Zone 114 $19.00 Again South Belt teams do not sell tickets.
v. Oklahoma Lower Level End Zone 31 $284.00 each Upper Endzone Texas $259.99 Far and away the most expensive ticket for the Longhorns.
Season Ticket: $599 No season tickets available
**Prices from StubHub.com 7/8/08 Updated 8/26/08
Conclusion: In most cases waiting will bring more supply and lower prices.
So how much will it cost to buy a ticket to see a top 10 team? While their are many issues that influence the secondary market for tickets and these price are the "asked for" this gives a view of the level of fan support/interest.
1 Ohio State v. Ohio Corner 30 $114.00 each Corner endzone.
v. Michigan End Zone 34 B $439.00 each Other corner endzone.
Season Ticket $1699
2 Southern Cal v. Washington Upper End Zone $53.00 each Exact location TBD
v. Ohio State Upper End Zone $298.00 each Sunny California, bring your sunscreen.
Season Ticket: $799
3 Florida v. Hawaii Sunshine End Zone 324 $86.00 each SPF 40 or better for this opening game.
v. LSU Upper Corner 47 $251.00 each Sunshine not included in this endzone.
Season Ticket: $1225
4t Georgia v. Central Michigan Upper Level Sideline 611 $86.00 each Not in the endzone but you may suffer a nose bleed.
v. Alabama Upper Level Sideline 601 $208.00 each At the other goal line from sec. 611
Season Ticket: $990.00
4t Oklahoma v. UT Chattanooga Lower Level End Zone 15 $48.00 each Is the rodeo in town?
v. Nebraska Lower Level End Zone 15 $124.00 each If the Huskers get on a roll this could go higher.
Season Ticket: $500
6 Missouri v. Southeast Missouri Corner 5 $42.00 each But this is rivalry game?
v. Colorado Corner 5 $101.00 each Sideline BB $101.00 each Your choice of cheap seats
Season Ticket: None Listed
7 Clemson v. The Citadel Upper Sideline T $35.00 each v. South Carolina State Upper Sideline T $35.00 each Cupcakes are cheap.
South Carolina Upper Sideline T $225.00 each Probably the same seats as above and now is the time to cash in.
Season Ticket: $669
8 West Virginia v. Cincinnati Lower Level Green Zone $71.00 each Another ticket that may go up in value.
v. Auburn Upper Level Orange Zone $148.00 Upper deck, corner.
Season Ticket: $760
9 Louisiana State
v. Troy (2nd appearance) South 420 $50.00 each v. North Texas South 420 $50.00 each South Belt teams do not sell tickets.
.v Georgia West Upper 611 $255.00 each Thought the price would be higher.
Note: Appalachian State at LSU Football $74. Is this an opening day premium or respect?
Season Ticket: $600
10 Texas v. Florida Atlantic Upper Level Sideline 102 $57.00 each Again South Belt teams do not sell tickets.
v. Oklahoma Lower Level End Zone 31 $284.00 each Far and away the most expensive ticket for the Longhorns.
Season Ticket: $599
Question to think about with the secondary market for college football tickets: Does the big must see game depress the price of other games on the schedule?
"Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon, in the sense that it cannot occur without a more rapid increase in the quantity of money than in output." Milton Friedman
Inflation is easily defined as too much money chasing too few goods. In the world of big time college football the scares good is a combination of a home game and and the just as important a win. Given this and the reduction is the stigma of playing down a division the price for a D-1AA opponent has gone up dramatically over the past few years. Recent announcement by West Virginia University and Florida State are interesting in that the price they are paying is more than the going rate for a guaranteed win against a D1 school in recent memory.
If we assume that the college football world no longer looks at the D-1AA with disdain might we see a fall in the price in the D1 body bag game. As we learned in Econ 101, if you were not sleeping that is, that while increased demand will cause prices to rise initially as more supply is brought to market, attracted by the higher price and consumers make substitution prices will fall.
In the case of college football the prices will fall not back to previous levels but you will not see Auburn paying $900,000 for a visist form NMSU.
Consider these quote from Hawaii earns $4.4 million for Sugar 1. "The University of Hawaii will receive nearly $4.4 million for playing in the Sugar Bowl..." 2. "Georgia, which beat Hawaii, 41-10, will earn $17 million for the Southeastern Conference..."
So Hawaii get $4.4 million of what pie? Where did that number come from? Shouldn't this article explain the difference? Is it that the average reader does not really care or is the journalist too lazy to bother?
It is well known that Notre Dame gets $4.5 million from the BCS each year that they share with no one. Less controversial and less well known is the money given the the "non-BCS" conferences. After some digging and futile time at BCSfootball.org a 2006 article shed some light on the situation.
After 16 games does the AFC need a playoff? With last weekend's meaningless wildcard games we move to the second round of the much loved playoffs because as we know it the champion is best decides on the field. Yet in the case of the AFC there is no need for a post season as New England has vanquished every foe n defeating what is likely the second best team in the NFL in the the Colts. In fact why play the Super Bowl at all as it is clear the New England is the best team in the NFL and at best the current process can only serve to delay this conclusion or crown a pretender the the thrown.
Those that advocate the playoff in college football point to this past season with no regular season dominate team as proof of the need for adding a tournament single elimination contest to the regular season. The recent proposal by Georgia's Michael Adams might not be seems so smart if the Dawgs go undefeated through an SEC schedule only to lose in the first round to a no. 8 Hawaii (or alike). Then the screams would be to consider the difficulty to surviving a brutal SEC regular season and that the winner of the playoff was illegitimate.
New Orleans Bowl Tickets (Memphis vs Florida Atlantic) Friday, December 21, 2007 at 7:00 PM at Superdome in New Orleans, LA Club Sideline 334 14 2 $50.00 each Very few tickets being sold. The upper deck most likely will not be opened and the lack of seats is may be a sign of the lack of interest.
Music City Bowl Tickets (Kentucky vs Florida State) Monday, December 31, 2007 at 3:00 PM at LP Field in Nashville, TN Upper Level 304 CC 2 $62.98 each Yeah, that Wal Mart pricing (ending in an 8) will make those tickets fly. Kentucky fans should fill the place. Nole fans may not want to sit out in the cold.
Motor City Bowl Tickets (Central Michigan vs Purdue) Wednesday, December 26, 2007 at 7:30 PM at Ford Field in Detroit, MI Lower Level End Zone 137 4 2 $39.99 each Again the supply of seats but even so there are 27 listings. Could this game be any worse than the Lions?
Meineke Car Care Bowl Tickets (Connecticut vs Wake Forest) Saturday, December 29, 2007 at 1:00 PM at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC Upper Level 513 31 Up to 2 $65.00 each Higher prices than expected. Husky fans are looking to escape the northeast for a few days in Carolina. Too bad that a basketball game between the two teams could not be added to the event.
Liberty Bowl Tickets (Central Florida vs Mississippi State) Saturday December 29, 2007 at 3:30 PM Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, TN End Zone 126 14 (SEC SIDE) Up to 10 $85.00 each The top sides for seats is $306. Both UCF and MSU fans are excited to be in the post-season and that is something the "too many bowls" critics do not seem to understand. Read about the 1964 Liberty Bowl that was played inside the Atlantic City convention Center.
For all those CAA -- Colonial Athletic Association fans Comcast will have your football needs covered with CN8, Comcast Sports Net and on demand tape replays. Those with Comcast can watch a college game on those nights ESPN does not have a game on. "We can negotiate almost anything," Big Ten Network President Mark Silverman said in a meeting with The Capital Times on Thursday. "The only thing we can't negotiate is (placement). This network will not be on a (digital) sports tier. Our goal is to bring our network to as many fans as possible."
How about price? Hey Charter offer BTN 25 cents per subscriber for the next ten years as the price for being on basic cable.
NFL Network Expanding Beyond Pro Football to College, Preps ”The NFL Network can be seen in 44 million of the 97 million U.S. households with cable, according to Nielsen Media Research. It is available on basic cable, the industry’s lowest- cost package, in 35 million of the 44 million households, according to a league spokesman.” Does this take into account Comcast’s recent move to put Channel NFL as part of the premium package? And does this new programming mean they will show fewer NFL Cheerleader profiles?
Interestingly, Notre Dame is ended their series with Boston College and beginning a long series with Syracuse which make you wonder if they Athletic Department can command such a payment after 2008.
So for the winner these are cupcake games then to the losing side these are "body bag" games. Given the financial needs can these teams afford not to play for the big payday.
The proposal, which will likely be finalized this summer, calls for the eight Sun Belt football schools to play at least 11 home football games in a two-year period. That would cut down on road games against top Division I-A teams that often pay as much as $600,000 a game.
This would not only mean the lose of $600,000 but the expense of paying another team and the lost opportunity to pull the big upset. The , "Playing only four home games is no way build your fan base," argument has merit and remind one of the paradox of the first time job seeker--employers want experienced workers but if you never get a job you will never be qualified.
Remembering our basics of Econ 101 if the supply of cupcakes declines while the demand stays the same then the price will rise so the total revenue may not decline as much as on might expect.
Parting shot--How much will it cost the elite team that gets beaten by a member of the Sun Belt Conference See: Taking A Win For Grant----ed from last August
The home of the top Gators has been criticized for having a thin OOC schedule but there is nothing thin about playing an SEC schedule. The the exception of Vandy playing Wake, was 2006 a fluke, Forest and Arkansas' attempt to get into the win the SunBelt conference each SEC school has a quality game against a credible team for a BCS conference. That said, any worthy BCS conference should have about 50% of the in conference games with two top 30 teams. Teams like Ole Miss is at the bottom of the SEC and would be at the bottom of any of the other BCS conferences. South Carolina and Arkansas might find themselves with slightly improved BCS chances if they played an ACC or Big 12 (North) schedule but not head and shoulders above the competition. Even the top Gator might find the prospects of playing a Big 10 schedule (including the weather) an arduous path.
Note these are the most interesting games, not necessarily the most important.
Game of the Week Saturday, September 1 Tennessee at California The Vol go to Berkley. Remember to tell the busdriver that only left are allowed on the way into town. The return game of the series and will be one of those early test games acting as a conference barometer come November.
Saturday, September 8 Virginia Tech at LSU The Hokies are the early favorite to win the ACC. A win in Baton Rouge will go along way to vindicate the VT and the conference.
Saturday, September 15 Louisville at Kentucky The Wildcats can give themselves instant credibility by pulling off the upset here in the battle of the Bluegrass State. More likely is that the Cards will continue the recent dominance in this series.
Saturday, September 22 Arkansas State at Tennessee Sadly Arkansas State is the best OOC teams playing against an SEC team this weekend--New Mexico State at Auburn, and Jacksonville State at Mississippi State are the other two on the slate. And how much for a cupcake?
Saturday, September 29 LSU at Tulane There is little doubt about the outcome of this game but a good instate rivalry is good for the soul.
Thursday, October 4 Kentucky at South Carolina The contest for who will finish with a better record than Vandy.
Saturday, October 6 Florida at LSU West meets East, this game might determine a BCS Championship game bid.
Saturday, October 13 South Carolina at North Carolina Mid-season test for the two conferences. Can a team in powder blue ever bea serious contender in college football?
Saturday, October 20 Auburn at LSU Dogfight for the SEC West title and Michael Vick is no where to be found.
Saturday, October 27 Florida vs. Georgia (in Jacksonville) The world largest family friendly poltically correct hide the beer party. "I'm shocked. Shock to find drinking at a football game"
Saturday, November 3 LSU at Alabama Nick, nicks. Can you say bad blood? How will Bama fans take a loss? Saturday, November 10 Florida at South Carolina
Saturday, November 17 Vanderbilt at Tennessee Don't laugh it has happened. Does the mascot for Vandy wear one of those great or merely carry around a 64.
Saturday, November 24 Florida State at Florida Alabama at Auburn Ole Miss at Mississippi State Clemson at South Carolina Too many to choose from. The battle of Mississippi may be the most underates games of the day for entertainment value. If FSU or Clemson have had a sucessful run through the ACC this is another chance to take stock of there postions in the BCS rankings.
Twelve years working for a food broker, a degree in marketing, and reading the Wall Street Journal are the feedstock for this blog. Currently I teach business education classes at a high school.
