Looks like Coach Weiss is making progress at KU. They took Texas Tech to double OT today before losing. Just what we needed. One more good team in the Big 12.

There's definitely progress being made, but a lot of work is left to be done. This week's ISU game is the only one I'll see in person this year, and I'm looking forward to it. There's been a lot more positive energy around football in the past few years, and I think the fanbase is realizing how important it is, even though we'll always favor basketball first.

Of course, the more strong teams you have, the more cannibalization can take place. If you have a clear champion and you don't have one or two other teams that otherwise run the table, does that indicate that your conference isn't that strong (because it doesn't have a lot of 1 or 2 loss teams) or does that mean that it's so strong that even very good teams are facing tough tests week-in-and-week-out? The round-robin particularly keeps you from being able to avoid that one team that plays a style that your team struggles with, or that just happens to match up well personnel-wise even if they're not as strong overall as other teams. In football, you also have the factor of whether you get a specific team at home or on the road that year.

(11-12-2012 10:32 AM)BewareThePhog Wrote:  There's definitely progress being made, but a lot of work is left to be done. This week's ISU game is the only one I'll see in person this year, and I'm looking forward to it. There's been a lot more positive energy around football in the past few years, and I think the fanbase is realizing how important it is, even though we'll always favor basketball first.

Of course, the more strong teams you have, the more cannibalization can take place. If you have a clear champion and you don't have one or two other teams that otherwise run the table, does that indicate that your conference isn't that strong (because it doesn't have a lot of 1 or 2 loss teams) or does that mean that it's so strong that even very good teams are facing tough tests week-in-and-week-out? The round-robin particularly keeps you from being able to avoid that one team that plays a style that your team struggles with, or that just happens to match up well personnel-wise even if they're not as strong overall as other teams. In football, you also have the factor of whether you get a specific team at home or on the road that year.

I see advantages to the round-robin format as well but I still would like to see the B12 go back to 12 teams. I think schools like TCU, Kansas, and several others need the protection of a larger conference in the event that one or more of the "big boys" takes off on us. Think Louisville in the eleven spot.

I prefer the round robin. Since WVU walked away from all our history to join the B12, we might as well try to initiate rivalries with all the B12 schools ASAP. The round robin is the best way to ensure that...

(11-12-2012 02:54 PM)bitcruncher Wrote:  I prefer the round robin. Since WVU walked away from all our history to join the B12, we might as well try to initiate rivalries with all the B12 schools ASAP. The round robin is the best way to ensure that...

I can see your point as far as WVU is concerned. TCU has over 80+ years of history with some of these schools from the old SWC so we are not as concerned with that aspect. I am thinking more about if Texas or OU decided to go west later on. We will still need a good core group to continue.

Bit, do you think your fanbase would be glad to get back into a conference with Louisville? To have another school in that part of the country, or maybe not?

In the minds of most Mountaineer fans, WVU's rivals were Pitt, Penn State, Syracuse, BC, Rutgers, Temple, VT, and Maryland. Miami was never a rival. They just happened to be a conference member for a while. But everyone knew Miami was only in it for Miami...

Louisville and Cincinnati were in kind of the same boat They were substitutes for VT and BC, and USF was Miami's replacement. They were good schools to play. But it wasn't the same, and as soon as a rivalry started to be defined, the Cards got Kragthorped...

While geography can be a significant component to creating rivalries, I think that ultimately competition is what really builds them. A good example is the former rivalry between Nebraska and K-State in football. For decades Nebraska's dominance precluded any genuine rivalry, but once Snyder got KSU to a point where the games meant something, the rivalry heated up. The border between the states didn't move one iota - it was the on-field competition that was the catalyst. Similarly, even though KU and UT have been in the Big 12 for a while, there's no football rivalry, but there's been some great hoops games that have created a good rivalry in basketball.

It's not a heated rivalry, but since we have a long history of playing TCU in football I'm happy to see them in the Big 12. I am sure that both TCU and WVU will develop rivalries in the years to come. Some can probably be anticipated - for example, WVU may have some rivalry brew with both KU and KSU in basketball due to the Huggins connection with KSU and the emphasis both KU and WVU put on hoops. A "new kids on the block" rivalry may also develop between TCU and WVU, despite their geographic separation. What should be fun is to see perhaps unexpected rivalries develop organically from the action on the field and/or court.

(11-13-2012 10:23 AM)BewareThePhog Wrote:  While geography can be a significant component to creating rivalries, I think that ultimately competition is what really builds them. A good example is the former rivalry between Nebraska and K-State in football. For decades Nebraska's dominance precluded any genuine rivalry, but once Snyder got KSU to a point where the games meant something, the rivalry heated up. The border between the states didn't move one iota - it was the on-field competition that was the catalyst. Similarly, even though KU and UT have been in the Big 12 for a while, there's no football rivalry, but there's been some great hoops games that have created a good rivalry in basketball.

It's not a heated rivalry, but since we have a long history of playing TCU in football I'm happy to see them in the Big 12. I am sure that both TCU and WVU will develop rivalries in the years to come. Some can probably be anticipated - for example, WVU may have some rivalry brew with both KU and KSU in basketball due to the Huggins connection with KSU and the emphasis both KU and WVU put on hoops. A "new kids on the block" rivalry may also develop between TCU and WVU, despite their geographic separation. What should be fun is to see perhaps unexpected rivalries develop organically from the action on the field and/or court.

I would love to see a basketball rivalry between TCU and KU. Don't hold your breath though cause we are fairly bad in that sport.