Clemson Crossover Game

[WreckinGT]

I actually kind of favor dropping cross divisional rivals. It would be a fair system. We would play FSU more. We would play Louisville more. Etc. The only downside at all is less games against Clemson. While I like playing Clemson, I have never viewed it as some sacred unbreakable rivalry. What would be great is if we can go to a 9 game schedule and get rid of cross divisional rivalries. We would play everyone fairly often then and it would be an even playing field for everyone.

I can't see any of this happening though. Not because of our game against Clemson but because of the UNC/NC State game, and the FSU/Miami game.

 

[bke1984]

I am for keeping the cross over, but only count in division (Coastal) games toward the ACCCG.

It's kind of a mess, but if you don't count the crossover games you're going to have some team that is 11-1 held out of the conference championship to a team that finished like 8-4. That's not good for the conference...

Team A - 4--0 non-conference, 5-1 in division, 2-0 cross-over (11-1)
Team B - 2-2 non-conference, 6-0 in division, 0-2 cross-over (8-4)

Conference wins & losses should remain the top factor.

If they are going to go to division first, then it should be like this...this way at least you'd be able to use the crossovers to break ties.

1. Division record
2. Conference record
3. Some other combination (overall record, highest CFP ranking, etc.)

BTW, this will never happen. Conference record will always be the first factor.

 

[gtg936g]

It's kind of a mess, but if you don't count the crossover games you're going to have some team that is 11-1 held out of the conference championship to a team that finished like 8-4. That's not good for the conference...

Team A - 4--0 non-conference, 5-1 in division, 2-0 cross-over (11-1)
Team B - 2-2 non-conference, 6-0 in division, 0-2 cross-over (8-4)

Conference wins & losses should remain the top factor.

If they are going to go to division first, then it should be like this...this way at least you'd be able to use the crossovers to break ties.

1. Division record
2. Conference record
3. Some other combination (overall record, highest CFP ranking, etc.)

BTW, this will never happen. Conference record will always be the first factor.

Good points, but I would argue that there is no evidence to suggest the 8-4 team is not the best team in the division. The championship should be played (IMO) between the best Atlantic division team, and the best Coastal division team. If a team goes 6-0 on either side, I think they are the best on that side.

 

[AE 87]

It's kind of a mess, but if you don't count the crossover games you're going to have some team that is 11-1 held out of the conference championship to a team that finished like 8-4. That's not good for the conference...

Team A - 4--0 non-conference, 5-1 in division, 2-0 cross-over (11-1)
Team B - 2-2 non-conference, 6-0 in division, 0-2 cross-over (8-4)

Conference wins & losses should remain the top factor.

If they are going to go to division first, then it should be like this...this way at least you'd be able to use the crossovers to break ties.

1. Division record
2. Conference record
3. Some other combination (overall record, highest CFP ranking, etc.)

BTW, this will never happen. Conference record will always be the first factor.

So, let's see,
Team A - Duke, 4 nobodies out of conference with Wake and BC cross-over
Team B - GT, losing u[sic]ga & BYU out of conference and FSU & CU cross-over (3 losses in overtime)

Head to Head, GT 49, Duke 17

You say that you'd still want Duke to represent the coastal?

 

[bke1984]

So, let's see,
Team A - Duke, 4 nobodies out of conference with Wake and BC cross-over
Team B - GT, losing u[sic]ga & BYU out of conference and FSU & CU cross-over (3 losses in overtime)

Head to Head, GT 49, Duke 17

You say that you'd still want Duke to represent the coastal?

At 11-1, yep. They performed better on the field than we did. Heads up results should always be a tiebreaker, not the determining factor for who goes to a championship.

The problem with the whole thing is that the conferences are too damn big to solve this in an easy way. If they ever go to the point of not counting the crossover games then I think they should just open those two games to let the school schedule whoever the hell they want...everyone then plays 6 conference games and 6 non-conference (or additional conference) games

 

[GTOXAN2K11]

CPJ's record against Clemson should speak for itself 5-3 including twice in 2009. Game should stay.

 

[Whiskey_Clear]

Clemson and GT in the same division....problem solved. It would be pretty easy for the conference to put all of the new additions in one division and the older teams in the other. Immediate downside would be FSU and UM in the same division, which will prevent them from facing each other in the championship game...that the league office so wants to see.......and has happened...........exactly zero times thus far. Screw da U....switch UM and Clemson.

 

[BabyJacket1990]

I get why the coach would want this. But the AD? Selling tickets at Tech isn't easy...why remove the biggest game outside of Uga? VT and Miami don't generate the excitement and enthusiasm even. Bobby Dodd needs big games and the ensuing atmosphere...Wake, NCS, etc. aren't going to do that. FSU maybe, but that will be an occasional scenario.


edit to add: agree with Jason's post above as well.

40% of the crowd at BDS is Clemson fans when we play them.

 

[deeeznutz]

Clemson and GT in the same division....problem solved. It would be pretty easy for the conference to put all of the new additions in one division and the older teams in the other. Immediate downside would be FSU and UM in the same division, which will prevent them from facing each other in the championship game...that the league office so wants to see.......and has happened...........exactly zero times thus far. Screw da U....switch UM and Clemson.

Part of the reason for having FSU and Miami on opposite sides of the conference is that every acc team gets to play in Florida at least every other year. It's huge for schools to be able to recruit athletes out of Florida, so I don't think that any proposal putting them in the same division would get traction with the rest of the coaches and ADs.

 

[slugboy]

Should drop VT or Miami instead--they don't bring enough fans

 

[bke1984]

Good points, but I would argue that there is no evidence to suggest the 8-4 team is not the best team in the division. The championship should be played (IMO) between the best Atlantic division team, and the best Coastal division team. If a team goes 6-0 on either side, I think they are the best on that side.

So, let's see,
Team A - Duke, 4 nobodies out of conference with Wake and BC cross-over
Team B - GT, losing u[sic]ga & BYU out of conference and FSU & CU cross-over (3 losses in overtime)

Head to Head, GT 49, Duke 17

You say that you'd still want Duke to represent the coastal?

How about this scenario...

Say we go 11-1 overall and beat everyone but Virginia Tech. 7-1 in conference (5-1 division) with crossover wins against FSU and Clemson. Duke goes 8-4 overall. Losses to Tulane/Army in the non-conference and Wake Forest/Boston College in crossover. So now they're 6-2 in conference play (6-0 division).

Who's the best team in the division?

Conference record should remain the determining factor, but dropping permanent cross-overs might be a way to level the playing field.

My vote would be 14 regular season games, then we can keep the permanent cross-over...but I'm just greedy

Or what if everyone stopped playing these FCS schools every year and just replaced that with a conference game. Go to nine conference games (three crossover) and three non-conference games where all three have to be played from the power-5 conferences...that might be my favorite

 

[bke1984]

Should drop VT or Miami instead--they don't bring enough fans

I actually wouldn't mind if we never played Miami again in football. While I hate Georgia with a passion, I don't think I've ever seen fans with less class than Miami's...and what makes it worse is they're proud of it. The 30-for-30 stuff they show on how their SA's behaved during the 80's and 90's is just sad. Most schools would be embarrassed by that sort of nonsense, but they're proud.

 

[gtg936g]

How about this scenario...

Say we go 11-1 overall and beat everyone but Virginia Tech. 7-1 in conference (5-1 division) with crossover wins against FSU and Clemson. Duke goes 8-4 overall. Losses to Tulane/Army in the non-conference and Wake Forest/Boston College in crossover. So now they're 6-2 in conference play (6-0 division).

Who's the best team in the division?

Conference record should remain the determining factor, but dropping permanent cross-overs might be a way to level the playing field.

My vote would be 14 regular season games, then we can keep the permanent cross-over...but I'm just greedy

Or what if everyone stopped playing these FCS schools every year and just replaced that with a conference game. Go to nine conference games (three crossover) and three non-conference games where all three have to be played from the power-5 conferences...that might be my favorite

Well, Duke is on our side so they cannot be 6-0 without beating us. So, if we beat everyone and lost to Duke, I would say they are the best team in the division. I know it gets messy when scenarios exist where we beat Duke, lose to VT, lose to Miami, and Duke only loses to us. I just think if you are truly the best team in the division, you will have the best record in the division. Again, this is just my opinion.

 

[biggtfan]

GT football will slowly decline if we drop Clemson and try to play a softer schedule

I could be wrong but your prediction seems to be lacking something, like facts. Why would you predict the most dire outcome when it is just as likely that the new schedule could elevate Tech to a higher degree of relevance?

The truth is that no one knows with any certainty. Keep your glass half full, and life will be more enjoyable.

 

[bke1984]

Well, Duke is on our side so they cannot be 6-0 without beating us. So, if we beat everyone and lost to Duke, I would say they are the best team in the division. I know it gets messy when scenarios exist where we beat Duke, lose to VT, lose to Miami, and Duke only loses to us. I just think if you are truly the best team in the division, you will have the best record in the division. Again, this is just my opinion.

Lol, yeah sorry. I had them as the win originally, but changed it to VT.

 

[InsideLB]

Count all crossovers except rivalry game. If it's really a rival game no conference incentive is needed.

There...fixed.

 

[JTS]

Our 10 year winning percentage against Clemson is higher than our winning percentage against all other opponents combined over the same period. Play Clemson every game....More wins....More ticket sales....Better Strength of Schedule.....[emoji6]

 

[dressedcheeseside]

I think the fair thing to do would be to do one of two things either drop the permanent crossover or don't count the crossover games in league standings. That way the latter would not have any affect on who makes the championship game. I would rather see the letter that way you're measuring yourself against your side of the conference and you get to keep permanent crossover. The latter is an idea that I heard CPJ state that he would like to see happen.

This^^^. Simple fix, really. Just count the divisional games in the divisional race, makes sense. If there's tie, go to head to head. If there's still a tie, go to AP ranking. Simple fix.

 

[Blumpkin Souffle]

Y'all do realize if Clemson is the best team in Atlantic we'll still play them in the ACCCG right?

There...fixed.

No...it's not.

 

[Buzzoff]

40% of the crowd at BDS is Clemson fans when we play them.

True. But at least they aren't as obnoxious as UGAG fans.