Random CFB Thoughts and Notes

 Welcome Back!

I haven't posted anything since February, but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy. I have spent quite a bit of time preparing for the coming 2023 season, reviewing last season (and previous seasons), and making what I hope will be positive changes both my preseason Power Rankings and to how I figure my in-season Power Rankings. I've done a lot of prep work for my team and conference previews, which will begin on Monday, July 17 (mark your calendars!), and will run right up through the 1st week of games!

To whet your appetite, and to get you through the next 2 and a half months, here are a baker's dozen of some random thoughts and notes I've collected over the last few months. Some of these items you may have heard, but perhaps have forgotten about. Enjoy!

1) The narrative in the SEC will be all about replacing some outstanding QBs- Bryce Young, Anthony Richardson, Will Levis, and, of course, Stetson Bennett- but there are some really good ones returning, as well as some QB battles still to be won. I think the conference will be fine in the QB department.

2) The narrative in the Big Ten is about a 3-team race between Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State. This may very well turn out to be true, but I'm curious how the Big Ten will choose who will play in the championship game if they each go 1-1 against the others, and all are otherwise undefeated. This leads me to wonder if the Big Ten and SEC (and possibly others, if they grow large enough) would ever decide to expand their Championship Game into a 4-team Championship Tournament. With 16 or more teams in the conference, it would be possible for multiple teams to finish with 8-1 or better records. Would they decide to have 4 vs 1 and 3 vs 2 games one weekend, with the winners facing off the following weekend? Would they make it flexible enough where if one team was 9-0, 2 teams were 8-1, and the 4th place team was 6-3, that they would just give the 1st place team a bye, and then the #1 would play the winner of 2 vs 3? Seems like a fairer way than a coin flip to decide the participants, and also fairer than the one getting left out having an easier path to the CFB playoff because they didn't lose. I wonder...

3) It looks like the WAC-ASUN football only conference (known as the United Athletic conference, or UAC) will probably not be able to move up to FBS status, and instead will stay at the FCS level, at least for the foreseeable future.

4) James Madison lost their appeal to shorten their 2-year transition to FBS, and so will be ineligible to either win the Sun Belt Conference or to qualify for a bowl. Most teams use their 1st transition year to play a mostly FCS schedule and a few FBS teams (3-5), and then play a full FBS schedule their 2nd year, but JMU chose to dive into a full FBS schedule in their 1st year, and were very successful in doing so.The only way the Dukes can qualify for a bowl is if enough teams do not qualify (minimum 6 wins with no more than one of those vs an FCS opponent), then they would be picked above 5-7 teams (assuming they met all other criteria to qualify for a bowl).

5) Eastern Michigan's current 3-year stretch is their 3rd best ever (by winning percentage), as is their current 6-year stretch.

6) Iowa has amended OC Brian Ferentz's (HC Kirk Ferentz's son) contract to state that the team must average 25 ppg for him to retain his job in 2024, but that includes scoring by the offense, defense, and special teams, and I suspect if the Hawkeyes win the conference, he'll probably keep his job regardless of the scoring average.

7) Jacksonville State and Sam Houston are playing their 1st year in the FBS this year, and thus will not be eligible to win Conference USA or qualify for a bowl for this season, or in 2024. Kennesaw State joins CUSA next year, and so will be ineligible in 2024 and 2025.

8) I'm curious to see whether Virginia or Virginia Tech will have the better 2nd season under their respective head coaches, as both suffered through disappointing 1st seasons. UVA, of course, had their season cut short due to the tragedy near the end of their season.

9) Oklahoma has won 14 of the last 27 conference titles, but is coming off its 1st losing season since 1998.

10) Oregon has maintained a level of consistency rarely seen: a .701 winning percentage over the last 10 years, a .703 percentage over the last 6, and a .706 percentage over the last 3!

11) San Jose State hasn't been to back-to-back bowl games since 1986-1987, and UTEP hasn't had back-to-back winning seasons since 2004-2005! Wake Forest, meanwhile, had consecutive ACC winning records for the 1st time since 2006-2007, and has been to 7 straight bowls, a program record.

12) TCU’s 13 wins ties 2010 (13-0) as their most ever, and their 2 losses were the fewest for a 1st year HC since Francis Schmidt went 9-0-1 in his debut season in 1929 (Bill Driver also went undefeated in his debut season of 1920, but lost the Fort Worth Classic to finish 9-1).

13) HC Craig Bohl is the only Wyoming coach in history to have multiple bowl wins- he has 3.

I hope you enjoyed these thoughts and notes. Follow me on Twitter (@pbanderson) to get updates on when I post each blog. Mark your calendar for July 17, and bookmark this page!

Until next time, may you and your loved ones be blessed!