Leveling The Playing Field

Leveling The Playing Field

After a sluggish first half, the tigers of Auburn went on to 55-20 win over New Mexico State Saturday night. But this only came after being upset the previous two Saturday’s. Auburn was expected to start off 4-0, but instead have just gone to 2-2. So far, despite winning moderately impressively Saturday night, Auburn has had a disappointing season.

But this is not just another blog about Auburn’s early season woes. Auburn is not the only team who has had early season woes, and is not the only team to be upset. Nor is South Florida and Mississippi State, the teams who upset Auburn this year, the only teams to cause an upset. Notre Dame, perhaps the school with the richest tradition in college football, is 0-4. Michigan is just 2-2, one of their loses being to Division IAA school, Appalachian State. However just this weekend they defeated top-ten ranked Penn State. Nebraska, another school with great tradition, beat the once push-over Ball State by only one point. Kentucky beat Louisville who was at the time ranked in the top ten, and then beat Arkansas, a team with high pre-season hopes. The combined records of what was at one time perhaps the two worst teams in the SEC, Mississippi State and Kentucky, is 7-1- the only loss being a Mississippi State loss to number two ranked LSU.

So what does all of this tell us? Well, for one it tells us that college football is unpredictable. But beyond just this, it is also telling us that the playing field, if you will, is being leveled. South Florida is now ranked in the top 25 and is doing good. Ten years ago they were hardly heard of. Notre Dame, Michigan, Alabama, and Florida St. are no longer the only teams competing for national titles. The BSC system does not really recognize it and adjust to help the little schools, but in all reality, the South Florida’s, Rutgers’, and Boise State’s are in some respect, taking the place of the Notre Dame’s and the like. This is not to say that all of these teams are right now competing for national titles, or that the schools listed above them never will again. This simply shows that the playing field is being leveled- similar to how it is in college basketball.

The reason for this is probably the recruiting rules which level the playing field itself, as well as make it harder to cheat and get away with it. And beyond this, the South Florida’s and the like of college football are doing many things in their power to raise money, get a better name for themselves, and gain media attention. The combined record of Notre Dame, Michigan, Alabama, and Florida State is 7-8. Out of these teams, the team with the best record is Alabama- perhaps the team with the least expectations. South Florida, Rutgers, Boise State, and Central Florida combine for a record of 10-2.

Still, despite these numbers and despite the general purpose of this blog, let us not over-state these facts. Notre Dame, despite their poor record of 0-4, is still Notre Dame. The first set of teams mentioned do play tougher schedules, and do play in tougher conferences. We can give, and I believe that last year was a good example, the "smaller" teams too much credit, at least in part of the human voting. Two things are obvious. For one, the playing field of college football, is, to some reasonable degree being leveled. But the once power-house teams will not go down for good without a fight. Alabama will still carry on its name for a while anyway, and because of that, they are more easily criticized when they do not live up to the name that they won under the days of Bear Bryant.

So what do we need in all of this? We need a system that gives the little teams a chance to prove themselves. Even if they fail the test, as they may, we need a system that does give them that chance. Voters should not be left guessing if their record is as good as it is because of their week schedule, or because of their great improvement, or somewhere in the middle. I feel it is obvious that it comes from both. But, the question then becomes where you draw the line. This is one more reason for some sort of playoff. It does not have to be long, and it does not have to have as many teams as the college basketball playoffs, or anywhere near it. We need some system that gives more than two teams a chance.

If we can adjust, this "leveling" can be a good thing. It makes college football much more exiting. Teams with one or two or possibly one day soon even three loses might be able to win the national title. It will also be very hard to go undefeated- making it something special as it is in the NFL. The college football field is being leveled- no pun intended.

What Do You Think?

September 24, 2007

Ryan Hampton