K-State Q&A: Fallout from conference-only football and the Big 12’s next move
We’ve had a nice run of opening statements here at everyone’s favorite Kansas State mailbag, but I have decided to end that streak and jump right into your questions this week.
Luckily, the topics you have provided are better than anything I could think to write in these first few paragraphs. So let’s do this. It’s time for another K-State Q&A.
As much as it pains me to write the following the sentence ... The safest and smartest option is to cancel fall sports in the Big 12 and re-evaluate the situation in the spring of 2021.
Please don’t take that as me “rooting against the return of football,” which some on Twitter have accused sports journalists of doing throughout the coronavirus pandemic. I want to watch football this fall just as badly as you do. Probably more so, because it would mean I get to go back to actually writing about sports. I love college football and want it back as soon as possible. Nothing beats a Saturday filled with games.
I’m just not sure playing sports of any kind right now is a great idea. There is a large group of people that play ultimate Frisbee at the park nearest my house in Manhattan, and I cringe every time I see them sweating all over each other without wearing masks. We can’t decide if it’s safe to send our children to public school. I haven’t eaten out at a restaurant since March. But we think it’s safe to play football in front of fans?
Without a bubble environment like they have created for the NBA and MLS, it’s going to be hard to make it through an entire season without cancellations. That’s why some smaller conferences and the Ivy League, which has been right on everything so far, have made the difficult choice to cancel football this year. That really does seem like the smart move.
That being said, it would not be in my best interest as Commissioner Kellis to cancel football at this moment, while every other power-conference is forging ahead in some form.
So I would push for a conference-only schedule of nine regular-season games.
As much as I would like to throw out a more elaborate plan, I just don’t see any of them working now that every other major conference has switched to a schedule of league-only games.
Yes, I know the ACC is allowing its teams to play one non-conference game against a team of its choosing so long as the game is played in its home state and the opposing team agrees to adhere to the ACC coronavirus testing protocol. But that was meant more as a challenge to the SEC than anything. I will be surprised if any of those teams actually play non-conference games.
There is certainly some merit to trying for a plus-one model in the Big 12. It would be nice for teams to have warm-up games before they get into the conference round-robin. And they would ensure every team of playing 10 games, if no games are canceled.
I also personally think it would be cool for the Big 12 to annex BYU for the season and have every team play the Cougars the same way the ACC is handling Notre Dame.
But both of those plans come with drawbacks.
Playing a non-conference game opens up every team to unknowns against teams that are playing under their own safety protocols and will be traveling in from other areas. Buffalo at K-State, for example, seems a bit risky. What if one of those games leads to a coronavirus outbreak?
Adding BYU would be fun for a season, but Provo is a long way from the Big 12 and the last thing anyone wants to do right now is take a long plane ride to Utah and back. That doesn’t seem the like the safest thing to do right now.
A conference-only model would make things simple and as safe as possible. Yes, it will be weird for most teams to only play nine games. But the top two teams will both play 10 after they meet in the Big 12 championship. That would work and line up well with most other conferences.
If the Big 12 is hellbent on playing 10 regular season games, the best thing to do may be to have every team play an extra game on championship weekend in some type of standings playoff.
I doubt many athletic directors would have an appetite for that, but it’s an idea.
Playing 12 games seems like a fool’s errand. We aren’t even sure if smaller conferences are willing to play non-conference games yet. And even if every Big 12 team can find replacement opponents for the marquee games they lost we would be left with a very dull slate of non-conference matchups. Do we really need to see Oklahoma pummel Missouri State and then two directional schools? Is it essential for K-State to replace Vanderbilt with a Sun Belt team?
The only plan that doesn’t have any big drawbacks is the conference-only model. That is what the Big 12 should adopt.
Would college football benefit from a czar with the power to oversee every conference and unify their decisions during unusual times like we are currently experiencing?
Why yes, yes it would.
Will college football ever appoint someone to that position?
I have my doubts.
College football conferences can’t seem to agree on much of anything. The FBS is made up of five power conferences that have clear separation from their peers in the MAC and Sun Belt. And the power conferences are all constantly trying to outfox each other.
These past few weeks have reminded me a lot of when conference realignment was happening. The Big Ten and Pac-12 announced conference-only schedules without warning. Then the ACC beat the SEC to market with its schedule announcement. And the SEC made its decision without worry of how it might impact the ACC and Big 12.
Teams in every major conference were blindisded with lost games and, much like those old realignment days, the Big 12 is left trying to figure out what the heck to do.
A NCAA football president could streamline everything from non-conference schedules to COVID-19 testing protocols.
That would have solved a lot of problems.
If the NCAA ever creates such a position, I am willing to accept the job after my time as Big 12 commissioner comes to an end.
The Big 12 (yet again) doesn’t look great compared to its peers after the way it has handled the past few weeks. Every other conference has come out and made a proactive decision, and yet the Big 12 won’t agree on a schedule format until Monday at the earliest when school presidents are expected to consider all the options.
But I’m going to stick up for Bowlsby a little here.
What’s the harm in waiting? Most thought the Big Ten and Pac-12 jumped the gun with their conference-only announcements. What’s the rush? That’s what everyone said. Chris Klieman said yesterday that he would like to wait and learn from what happens to the NFL as it begins training camp before deciding how to handle the upcoming season.
Seems like a fair request. The Big 12 can’t wait that long. But it’s fair.
The Big 12 didn’t really lose anything by waiting. Sure, it could have been the one to say the Big 12/SEC games were canceled instead of vice-versa, but that’s about it. At least now, if there is an appetite for playing non-conference games they can explore ways to make that work.
The only big failure I have seen from the Big 12 is that teams like Kansas, Oklahoma and TCU began preseason camp on Friday and none of us know when the season is going to begin. The conference absolutely should have settled on a scheduling format before allowing its teams to begin practice.
Bowlsby could certainly be Office Spaced for that blunder.
At least he had the good sense to cancel Virtual Media Day on Monday before a decision was reached. That would have been a disaster.
Season odds: 5 to 1.
Fans in the stands: 5 to 1.
Spring season: 10 to 1.
No football until fall 2021: 15 to 1.
Renting BYU as a Big 12 member: 25 to 1.
The Big 12 isn’t currently hosting a media event of any kind, and that really is too bad.
I miss the big Media Day down in Texas for several reasons.
It’s a great opportunity to meet up with other media and podcasters (like Boscoe’s Boys!) from across the conference. It’s the best place to pick up media guides. And the social event at the end of Day 1 is always entertaining.
But I will miss it most, because that is the one event all year where I feel like I can truly get to know college football players at a personal level and talk about their lives.
Games aren’t happening yet, so everyone is laid back and eager to talk. I can ask Wyatt Hubert about his favorite fishing spots or how he taught himself to play guitar, and he is happy to do so.
I typically walk away from Big 12 Media Days with golden information that allows me to write in-depth stories about players like Skylar Thompson and Alex Barnes before the season arrives. This year, not so much.
Much of the event is actually pretty boring. By the time the third coach press conference begins, I’m scrolling through Twitter looking for something else to keep me entertained. But I do miss talking to the players.
I also miss the chance to eat at Torchy’s Tacos and Whataburger.
The Big 12 should really change its slogan from “One True Champion” to “Lots of Indecision.”
For the record, I am conflicted about the existence of high school video game teams. Part of me is all for it. Another part of me worries that my kids will end up on one of those teams when it would be much healthier for them to play a real, life sport.
But I digress ...
Texas = Mario. The classic character is still king of the Nintendo brand, even though there are better games out there.
Oklahoma = Donkey Kong. The Sooners have been pretty good at throwing barrels at other Big 12 football teams lately.
Oklahoma State = Luigi. His games are actually really fun (try Luigis’ Mansion 3!) but he will always live in his brother’s shadow.
Baylor = Wario. Some would argue he’s evil, but he can be a formidable opponent on Smash Brothers.
West Virginia = Kirby. The Mountaineers have always floated around and done their own thing away from their other conference peers.
Texas Tech = Samus. It takes a special kind of suit to battle aliens. Not much different from building a winning program in Lubbock.
TCU = Toad. He had the most strength of any character in Super Mario Bros. 2. And he kind of looks like Gary Patterson.
Iowa State = Bowser. He looks big and bad but never can seem to beat a pair of plumbers.
Kansas State = Link. Resourceful explorer capable of saving Zelda with a sword and three hearts.
Kansas = Yoshi. Can jump high and has excellent basketball shooting form on his egg launch, but Mario and Luigi own him on the football field.
It is wild to think about how much KU football and K-State football have changed since Bill Snyder came out of retirement in 2009.
While the legendary coach was away, Mark Mangino went 3-0 against Ron Prince and it seemed like momentum in the Sunflower Showdown was ready to swing toward the Jayhawks for a long time. They were the ones building new facilities and coming off big seasons.
Then Snyder “calmed the waters” and Lew Perkins dropped a nuclear bomb on KU football by pushing out Mangino.
Since then, KU has played musical chairs with its coaches and built a home in the Big 12 cellar. The football that has been played in Lawrence during the last decade rivals some that were played in Manhattan before the arrival of Snyder.
K-State has won 11 straight over KU and, as you noted above, the Wildcats have made massive improvements to their football stadium while the Jayhawks are still playing in a relic that offers a nice view of campus but little else.
It won’t be hard for KU fans to practice social distancing at football games this season. It will be an issue for K-State fans. Perhaps that is a better metaphor.
It’s hard to remember there was a time that KU wasn’t miserable at football.
We need to get Greg Ostertag (famous 00 player from KU) and Jacob Pullen (famous 0 player from K-State) together and have them start a campaign.
Mike McGuirl (current 00 on K-State’s roster) can tag along, too, if he wants.
The more 0 numbers on jersey, the better.
This story was originally published July 31, 2020 at 11:53 AM.