Food chain: Dream Out-of-Conference Football Matchups
The rules
The team cannot already be on the schedule in the foreseeable future. Sorry, USC. Conversely, the Eagles cannot have played them in the past 8 years as an out-of-conference game. Peace out, Penn State. See what I did there? Our former Big East opponents are IN play. I'm just goading Jeff to lobby for the University of Connecticut here ...
The arrangement will be for a home-and-home series to be played at some point over the next 10 years. And no shenanigans like the stuff Notre Dame is trying to pull getting Big East teams to play in Gillette Stadium, Giants Stadium or other neutral site. The home game will be on the Heights.
We consider these eight teams and then rank them from 5-1.
Tennessee
Starting off in the SEC, I'm not going with some of the more obvious choices in UGA, Florida or SC. Every year BC plays in those markets in the ACC. So I'm pushing the Volunteers. Tennessee always has a great football team and a rich history. Neyland Stadium seats 102,037. I've seen the stadium which is quite impressive - just a massive wall of people. And I'm sure the Vols would show us Eagles the proper way to tailgate.
Oregon
I really like what Mike Bellotti has done with the Oregon program over the last 13 years. Even though Autzen Stadium only seats 54,000, it is known to be one of the loudest and most intimidating atmospheres in all of college football. Added bonus: when the Eagles go into Autzen and win, I get ultimate bragging rights over my friend Omar. UCLA or Cal are trendy picks with all the alumni in LA and the Bay Area, but Oregon opens up a new market in the Pac 10 for the Eagles to get some exposure.
The Eagles in Autzen? ... Gene, pick up that phone!Louisiana State (LSU)
One of the best programs of the last decade. Who wouldn't love a road trip to the other Death Valley? Death Valley always ranks in the Top 10 stadiums in the country, and was named the scariest place to play by ESPN. This also gets BC some exposure in Louisiana, a market they typically don't get to visit.
Hawaii
BC could schedule Hawaii every year just to beat up on them and eliminate them from BCS contention. And what's better than a Hawaii vacation in September?
Texas
Hook Em Horns! Our only Big XII representative, it was a tough decision between UT and the Sooners. But what is there to do in Oklahoma besides play football? A majority of blue-chip college and NFL draft picks come from the state, so the exposure will be great for the program and recruiting. Texas has a rich history and is guaranteed to be in the Top 25 annually.
Vanderbilt
This matchup would get an SEC team on our schedule that we would expect to beat more often than not. Also, Vanderbilt and BC are on the same level academically which always adds to an athletic matchup. Downside (or upside?) - Vanderbilt hasn't had a winning record since 1982. Ouch.
Wisconsin
BC and Wisconsin have been two of the top 10 two-sport programs in the country over the past 10 years. Throw in our ice hockey programs, and we might even be 1-2. Plus, Camp Randall is a fun place to play and the party atmosphere in Madison would be great. Bonus: Play in December as two cold weather schools duke it out in the same state as the famed Frozen Tundra of Lambeau.
Florida
How can we have a dream opponents list and not include the Gators. Perfect fall road trip for BCers to head to the warmth and see some beautiful women. Not to mention checking out one of the best college atmospheres in the country - The Swamp. Also, the birthplace of Gatorade, so its easy to stay hydrated in the Florida sun.
Brian's Food Chain
5. LSU - here's to hoping our success in one Death Valley spills over into the other Death Valley
4. Texas - a win against the premiere team in the Big XII would go a long way to righting the ship that is the national perception of ACC football
3. Oregon - their flashy Nike uniforms won't get the Ducks past the Eagles
2. Tennessee - Neyland Stadium. SEC football.
1. Wisconsin - we haven't played a Big Ten school since 2004 and this would be one of the better matchups the conference could offer up
Jeff: I guess flashy is one word to describe Oregon's uniforms, but you won't see any Pac 10 teams on my list.
Jeff's Food Chain
5. Vanderbilt - winnable SEC matchup
4. Hawaii - I just can't even fathom BC losing to them
3. Wisconsin - already have recent history in hockey. Also, I've been to Madison and would love to go back for a game.
2. Florida - how could you not want to go to The Swamp? Bonus: the game will get tons of national attention
1. LSU - bring on the defending national champs!
I'm going to throw in Georgia for honorable mention because I've always wanted to go to Sanford Stadium.
Brian: Hawaii will be terrible for the next ten years. June Jones and the AD jumped ship. And Colt Brennan isn't walking through that door. Still, worth considering because ... it IS Hawaii ... in September.
Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
18 comments:
Hawaii???? Is that a joke? I rather play San Diego State University.
I agree with Tennessee, but where is Michigan? or Bama? or OSU?
BC could prevent us from having to watch an OSU national championship blow out each year. We would be doing the country a huge service.
Your Ohio State reasons are my Hawaii reasons. Hawaii never would've been in a BCS game if they had played some tougher opponents last year. And I have more faith that BC will beat Hawaii every year than Ohio State. Also, we already play Notre Dame which is same geographic location as Ohio State and Michigan roughly.
I would love to play UF - as a BC undergrad and UF grad school candidate., would be sick
My only reservation with UF is that we play FSU and maybe Miami every year.
Hawaii IS a joke ... they won't be a BCS factor possibly EVER again. Boise State or BYU, on the other hand ...
I want nothing to do with Ohio State. Let them continue to beat up on the other Ohio schools.
Good luck finding a spot in Ohio State's non-conference schedule between the MAC deathmarch and Youngstown State
As much as I like to trample on Ohio State's out of conference schedule of Youngstown State, Akron, and the Boys & Girls Club of downtown Cincinnati, to their credit, they have scheduled Texas in the past couple of years and have a date with USC this year.
OSU and Hawaii are not parallel by any means.... Hawaii will be back in the mid major basement in no time. BC's place in college football is not to ensure that the likes of Boise State and Hawaii stay out of BCS games. By that reasoning why not schedule Kansas?
My dream five:
1. Tennessee
2. Alabama
3. Texas
4. Cal/UCLA
5. OSU/Michigan
I would travel to all of these destinations in a heartbeat to see BC run train on these opponents.
Jeff (the secret old school Big East fan): why didn't you go with your real list of 1. UConn 2. Rutgers 3. WVU 4. Pitt 5. Temple
I would love to play UCLA in the Rose Bowl. LSU and Ole Miss would be great stops too.
BC had a home and home scheduled with Tenn, but Gene/TOB cancelled it when we moved to the ACC.
I DID attend a BC @ Temple game at Lincoln Financial Field when I was an undergrad.
Great stadium, terrible team.
I'm currently a BC student and have been a Volunteers fan for a while and would love to see a BC- Tennessee matchup. Bama wouldn't be bad either especially since there was a chance we would play them earlier this year (both programs had a hole in their schedule). I'd say the top 5 would be:
5. Alabama
4. UCLA/ Cal
3. Tennessee
2. West Virginia
1. Florida
@ john - West Virginia. Nice value pick!
Great thread:
Though I'd love a H/H with the elite (Michigan, Ohio St., Texas, LSU, Oklahoma, Georgia), I selected trying to downplay "because they are the best in conference x" as a justification.
Personally, I would love to see:
1.) Tennessee/Alabama: Essence of college football. Fan support is rabid. A tremendous atmosphere, particularly in stadium.
2.) Wisconsin: Love Madison.
3.) Oregon: Always competitive and play a "fun" brand of football.
4.) Ole Miss: Best. Tailgating. Ever. (and perhaps an easy W)
5.) Vanderbilt: Like the academic parallels (but Duke, ND, Vandy = an amusing schedule to say the least)
I've been to a few Vanderbilt games, and 1) they are not that great, and 2) I would hope to play above a Vandy level.
Obviously most of these schools have high rankings for tailgating and stadium atmosphere, coeds, football tradition, etc. (I'm not sure how Hawaii snuck on a list. Plane tickets out there are a fortune!)
That said I'll here are my choices, mostly determined by the fact that I grew up in Texas and had constant coverage/the ability to watch these teams live:
Honorable Mention: Nebraska - We'll have to see what Bo Pelini does with the program.
5) Auburn - Really could've gone with Alabama here. Both have great tradition.
4) Texas A&M - Home of the 12th Man. Unbelievable atmosphere, with a sense of tradition unlike any other.
2) Texas - Great program, great atmosphere, great coeds, great city.
3) LSU - see above sans the great city, but with New Orleans a 45 minute drive away.
1) Wisconsin - Very similar recent winning tradition would be the reason I place the badgers first. Great tailgating/stadium atmosphere.
How can you pick Vandy over TCU? I know the SEC is a little bit bigger than the MWC (maybe a lot bit bigger), but TCU is a much better program and is very similar to BC in being a smallish private school with strong academics. Plus, Fort Worth is awesome. Go Frogs!!!
I'm surprised people put UCLA or Cal on their top 5 considering we already have a home and home with USC.
I'm sticking by my Hawaii pick because this is a dream top 5 and I would dream of a vacation to Hawaii that includes a BC football game.
It's tough to leave any major SEC program off the list I think so if we went deeper than 5 I certainly would've included Bama and Tennessee.
Lastly, ATL, UCONN didn't make my top 5 for a future home and home series because we should be playing UCONN EVERY YEAR!
So my ultimate and somewhat realistic out of conference slate would be:
Notre Dame every year
a 1AA opponent
an SEC team or Penn State
UCONN every year in Foxboro
BC should never play UConn. Ever. I'm a BC alum living in Hartford and I can attest to the fact that UConn fans are insufferable. Especially the football fans. They're delusional. They're convinced they are entitled to be a top-tier football program because they have (had?) a top tier basketball program. I just can't bear the though of actually losing to them at some point and if we played them on a regular basis, it eventually would happen, as horrifying as that sounds.
I got on this late - How about Georgia, if we couldn't get Tennessee or Alabama.
Thinking outside the box: Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Air Force, etc would be fun the LAST game of the year, because the ski mountains might be up and running by then. That makes for a good sidebar on the trip, as a fan.
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