10-24-2007, 02:44 PM
http://cfn.scout.com/2/694051.html
Kirk Herbstreit takes a shot at MAC too... (interview was done right after Appy State stunned UM)
"CFN: How stunned were you by the Michigan loss to Appalachian State?
KH: I was blown away. On GameDay that morning, I delivered L.C. (Lee Corso) some cupcakes. We thought this was a joke. It’s I-AA, it’s an embarrassment to the fans and the schools to have these games set up, and then a few hours later you have this all-timer of an upset. I understand Appalachian State is good at the I-AA level, or whatever it is these days, but imagine losing to a MAC school if you’re a Michigan or a Ohio State, but losing to a I-AA school, it’s not just the humiliation you have to deal with, it affects the aura of the program which affects recruiting and affects the perception of the school. Right now, it’s trendy to jump on Michigan, and I think it’s trendy to call Lloyd Carr to be fired, but if they come out and play against Oregon like I think they will, and take out a week’s worth of embarrassment, then it could salvage the season. But if they come out and lose to Oregon, because they have so many seniors who came back to win a national title and be the BCS championship type team, then the season is officially over."
and this special little shot for my Flash friends...:
"CFN: What’s one thing you’d change about college football?
KH: (Long pause) One thing I’d like to do from scheduling standpoint, and this is no disrespect to Appalachian State, but I’d prefer to see Virginia Tech vs. LSU, Cal vs. Tennessee type of games. The thing that bothers me is the different agendas when it comes to schedules. You have the athletic directors who want to pay off the debt. You have the coaches who want the eight wins and a bowl game. And then you have the players and fans, and they want the big matchups, they want the big challenges. I would mandate that four of the six BCS conference would have to play at least two of their non-conference games against other BCS teams. Whatever you do with your other non-conference games is up to you.
CFN: But considering these guys have to hit the ground running from day one, and there isn’t a four-five game preseason like the NFL to tune up, wouldn’t the overall product be better if everyone played one cupcake first?
KH: Take Virginia Tech. They have the emotion of East Carolina to start, but they’ve been thinking about LSU all off-season and preparing since January. I think when you start out with a tough opponent, you focus better. When you get through those long two-adays, the big games help get you focused and going rather than starting off with an Appalachian State or Kent State. If you’re Tennessee and starting out against California, even though it was a loss, it gets everyone’s attention all summer. As far as execution, they only had something like three penalties …
Kirk Herbstreit takes a shot at MAC too... (interview was done right after Appy State stunned UM)
"CFN: How stunned were you by the Michigan loss to Appalachian State?
KH: I was blown away. On GameDay that morning, I delivered L.C. (Lee Corso) some cupcakes. We thought this was a joke. It’s I-AA, it’s an embarrassment to the fans and the schools to have these games set up, and then a few hours later you have this all-timer of an upset. I understand Appalachian State is good at the I-AA level, or whatever it is these days, but imagine losing to a MAC school if you’re a Michigan or a Ohio State, but losing to a I-AA school, it’s not just the humiliation you have to deal with, it affects the aura of the program which affects recruiting and affects the perception of the school. Right now, it’s trendy to jump on Michigan, and I think it’s trendy to call Lloyd Carr to be fired, but if they come out and play against Oregon like I think they will, and take out a week’s worth of embarrassment, then it could salvage the season. But if they come out and lose to Oregon, because they have so many seniors who came back to win a national title and be the BCS championship type team, then the season is officially over."
and this special little shot for my Flash friends...:
"CFN: What’s one thing you’d change about college football?
KH: (Long pause) One thing I’d like to do from scheduling standpoint, and this is no disrespect to Appalachian State, but I’d prefer to see Virginia Tech vs. LSU, Cal vs. Tennessee type of games. The thing that bothers me is the different agendas when it comes to schedules. You have the athletic directors who want to pay off the debt. You have the coaches who want the eight wins and a bowl game. And then you have the players and fans, and they want the big matchups, they want the big challenges. I would mandate that four of the six BCS conference would have to play at least two of their non-conference games against other BCS teams. Whatever you do with your other non-conference games is up to you.
CFN: But considering these guys have to hit the ground running from day one, and there isn’t a four-five game preseason like the NFL to tune up, wouldn’t the overall product be better if everyone played one cupcake first?
KH: Take Virginia Tech. They have the emotion of East Carolina to start, but they’ve been thinking about LSU all off-season and preparing since January. I think when you start out with a tough opponent, you focus better. When you get through those long two-adays, the big games help get you focused and going rather than starting off with an Appalachian State or Kent State. If you’re Tennessee and starting out against California, even though it was a loss, it gets everyone’s attention all summer. As far as execution, they only had something like three penalties …
) regularly include teams from the BCS conferences. Recently teams ranked in the 100's included Notre Dame, Syracuse and Duke (a regular
), and i specifically mention "conferences" because i refuse to acknowledge the "bcs" as an entity unto itself 
. Furthermore, if you want to only watch BIG games with teams stacked with the best football players in the world, watch the NFL!!!!!!!! I conclude my rant by stating the Herbie is not an independent journalist..... that is he works for a corporation. They operate under the notion that big teams loosing to small ones potentially hurts income as fewer viewers would tune in to watch the resulting devalued games. Fact is, these rare events make the early games, and the Bowls themselves, more exciting. ???With current trends, hasn't the Rose Bowl been reduced to a side show of a flower parade and the BCS???