After going through the BCS conferences in the previous blog I will now discuss the Non-BCS conferences as well as my custom bowl affiliations and permanent divisional cross-over rivalries.
The first conference on the list is Conference USA, which, because of its very broad name and the inability to rename conferences, made for a perfect place to dump teams without regard for geography.
In real life, the conference is set up in the usual 2 divisional conference model, complete with a championship game. In my world though, this original conference has been completely picked apart and very little if anything is the same. So, I’ll only show my version...nah,...screw it,...I’ll show them both just to contrast just how different the two are:
Conference USA as it is now:
East Division:
East Carolina
Marshall
Memphis
Southern Miss
UAB
UCF
West Division:
Houston
Rice
Southern Methodist
Tulane
Tulsa
UTEP
My C-USA:
Arkansas State
Mid Tenn State
Western Kentucky
ECU (East Carolina)
Memphis
Not all conferences went through so much turnover. Case in point, the MAC.
Mid-American Conference as it is now:
East Division:
Akron
Bowling Green
Buffalo
Kent State
Massachusetts
Miami (OH)
Ohio
West Division:
Ball State
Central Michigan
Eastern Michigan
Northern Illinois
Toledo
Western Michigan
The only change here was moving new 1-A UMass to the Big (L)East. Other than that, all things remained the same. In another neat example of my conference moving predicting the future, last year I moved Temple to the Big East. This year, Temple will be in the Big East in real life.
On to another conference that was complete picked apart, but I’d have to say my favorite Non-BCS conference in my set up.
My Sun Belt Conference:
UAB - (University of Alabama Birmingham)
UL Lafayette - (University of Louisiana Lafayette)
Louisiana Tech
Tulane - (Also in Louisiana)
UL Monroe - (University of Louisiana Monroe)
Southern Miss
Troy - (Alabama)
Seeing as I wasn’t allowed to change conference names, I liked that there were enough small teams from Louisiana and elsewhere in the southeastern US to make up a conference called “The Sun Belt”.
Now, it’s time for the last real conference:
My Western Athletic Conference:
Nevada
San Diego State
Fresno State
UNLV
Hawai'i
San Jose State
Another good name/geographical fit with the WAC, refugees and castoffs after all the moving dust settled.
Last group of teams, if you can call it that, the Independents. So called, because they are not in any conference. Not really even going to list them here. Just the other service academies and Notre Dame. Only real change from real life is that I moved newly independent BYU to the MWC. As I said in my previous blog, I would have like to have Air Force in with Independents, but I just couldn’t get it to work....yet...
Occasionally, when these larger conference championship having conferences form it is necessary to separate teams that previously had a long standing rivalry. The solution to this in many cases is a yearly permanent crossover game. For example, Illinois and Northwestern were separated by the divisions of the new Big Ten. To keep the rivalry going on a yearly basis (both teams are in Illinois), they play a yearly cross divisional game. The rest of the cross divisional games are rotated so that all teams in the other division eventually play.
This permanent cross divisional rivalry would have been great when the Big 12 formed, keeping the Nebraska/Oklahoma game going on a yearly basis...but I’m sure Texas nixed that.
I didn’t set up permanent cross divisional rivalries for every conference. Pretty much only did it for conferences that already did so.
Here are mine:
Big Ten Permanent Division Crossovers:
Nebraska vs Penn State
Nebraska/Penn State have a history together in non-conference match ups. This is also the real life crossover game, so I just kept it intact.
Iowa vs Michigan State
Because I moved both Michigan teams to the other division, this is a unique match up to my game. I liked the way it sounded. Two typically middle of the road Big Ten teams, seems fair.
Minnesota vs Michigan
This is actually a trophy game in real life. In real life, this is a divisional game. So in my setup, I thought it necessary to keep the battle for the jug intact.
Wisconsin vs Ohio State
Another unique match-up in my setting. The main reason I went with these two teams is they are normally on par with each other, so it was mostly a fairness thing.
Illinois vs Indiana
Went with this because it was a good border battle match-up. Not only between the two teams involved, but because it is pretty much my border between divisions.
Purdue vs Northwestern
I would like to say this was an awesome fit that I had tons of reasons for, but it pretty much is just a “what was left over” match-up. That and I didn’t mind giving my Boilermakers a cupcake for their permanent crossover.
Big 12 Permanent Division Crossovers:
Kansas vs Houston
I don’t have a lot of awesome reasons for this one, but I nonetheless really liked the idea of this match-up. Don’t really have a reason for that other than it just “felt right”.
KSU vs TCU
Didn’t realize it until now but this is a purple team battle. As with the other Big 12 crossovers, I tried to go with team playing style and traditional level of success.
Oklahoma vs Texas
The Red River Rivalry, even though I nerfed the Longhorns into total suckitude, I still felt the need to the preserve this rivalry. In last year’s game, I played Oklahoma every year as Nebraska which meant a loss every year for the Sooners Haven’t started doing that in this year’s game, but in case I do, this will (sort of) balance out a scheduled loss against me with a scheduled win against the hapless (thanks to me) Longhorns.
This match-up was also the main reason I went with permanent crossovers in my Big 12, because even when the Big 12 had 12 teams they didn’t do permanent crossovers.
Oklahoma State vs Texas Tech
They are traditionally pass heavy spread teams. This is another “felt right” match-up.
Mizzoo vs Texas A&M
A match-up of this year’s newest SEC teams. I liked this match-up, too. Actually, come to think of it, I was pleased top to bottom with the Big 12 crossovers, makes me wish I could play cpu vs cpu in online mode.
Iowa State vs Baylor
This match up is based mostly on traditional strength, or in these teams’ cases, lack thereof. In recent years, ISU has been on the upswing and Baylor had its first heisman trophy winner last year. For the most part, in real life they’ve been the basement dwellers of their respective conferences. I find it somewhat fitting that in real life they’re both improving although I’d expect Baylor to take a dive this year now that RG3** has graduated.
SEC Permanent Division CrossOvers:
As far as I know, I left these crossovers as-is. The lone exception being Georgia Tech replacing South Carolina in the Arkansas/South Carolina crossover.
What to do when all is said done? The conferences have played their games and it’s time to ship the teams off to BCS bowls.
Orange Bowl
Growing up watching Nebraska lose to one team or another from Florida every year, it seems fitting to tie my new conference with an entire division full of Florida teams to this bowl and I did just that. Same deal with the Big 12 I tied them to this bowl in remembrance of when the Big Eight champion automatically went to the Orange Bowl. I can still remember seeing the Oranges landing on the field from the stands during waning moments of a last game of the season victory over Oklahoma.
Rose Bowl
Kept the Pac 12/Big Ten thing going. Never going to happen though as my Nebraska team and perhaps eventually the other team I’m playing as (Washington State) will normally be undefeated and headed to the National Championship game instead. Even if one or the other of my teams loses the odds that BOTH teams I’m playing as lose in a single season is ridiculously slim. All that being said, no reason to keep the match up going on paper.
Sugar Bowl
In the coming years the SEC and Big 12 winners will meet in a new bowl called the Champions Bowl. For the same reasons as the above Rose Bowl, only in real life, I don’t see this happening very often. For now, as far as I can recall, the SEC is currently tied to the Sugar. That and the fact that it’s played in Atlanta makes for a good fit.
The Big East and MWC’s both have automatic bids in my set up as well, but not tied to any specific bowl, leaving a one bowl at large spot to pacify the Non-BCS conferences.
Thank you to everyone for reading my little manifesto. I realize it may not mean much to most, and nothing at all to some, but it is something that is very enjoyable to me and I felt the need to share.Thank you for letting me do so.
Lots of people have hobbies, mine just happens to be living in my own little football world. Where I have the conferences set up in a way that makes my game uniquely my own.
Thanks again for reading.
*= Makes sense doesn’t it?
**= In making that link I learned he was born in Japan....never would have guessed that...
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