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Let's say that the New Troy State University Devils (college football team) was having a great season. Now, if that team were to make it to the big game, what would that game be called? And when would it be played? And who might they be playing against?

ML

/sets can of worms in front of ML and scampers/

Okay - maybe not really a can of worms but oy. Depending on who you talk to and where, can of worms [even Obama weighed in on it].

It so confuzzles me that I can't begin to tell you [though I'm sure some of our college sports enthusiasts could] but it's not as simple as 'March Madness' is for basketball.

Jenn? Anyone?

But most importantly... ML FIC?!?!?!

Resident expert in the house. I used to cover Division I football, so I like to think I know a little something.

In college football, schools are in conferences, and based on where they end up in the standings, they go to bowl games at the end of the season if they have done well. For example, the bowl game that my alma mater's conference plays in is called the Rose Bowl. The top finishing school in that conference (the Pac-10) will play against the top finishing school in the Big 10 conference, and so on, so forth, with other bowls. There are some lesser bowls, and a national championship game (for the top two schools in the national rankings) but that's getting a bit detailed.

Anyway, I have always treated the Metropolis/New Troy colleges as being in the Big East, which would have them playing with other big East Coast schools such as Rutgers, Syracuse and Pittsburgh. So, based on that theory, if New Troy State finished first in the Big East, they would play in the Sugar Bowl, which is always played in New Orleans, on Jan. 1. They would play a school from the SEC (South Eastern Conference) which would be someone like Alabama, Georgia, Florida or Louisiana State. The SEC is a traditional powerhouse, so they'd likely slaughter someone from the Big East.

A side note: State colleges are usually the smaller school in the state (called land-grant schools; they belong to the state), so if you want New Troy to be a bigger school, I'd have them be New Troy University, not New Troy State.

Very good, Jenn.
humming I'm a rambling wreck from Georgia Tech and I'm a heck of an engineer
Please, ML, don't try to deal with the BCS (Bowl Conference Series) that the US college football has descended into. We don't understand it, the sportswriters don't understand it and no one in football understands it.

Artemis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_Bowl_Game
Come to think of it, maybe the BCS is how I'm able to understand Aussie footy.

I hope this means a new ML story.

If they are ranked number 1 or 2 at the end of the season they would play in the BCS National Championship game. It would be in New Orleans, Miami, Pasadena or Phoenix. For 2011 it will be in January in Phoenix.

If they are not 1 or 2 nationally and they win their conference division they would go to a BCS bowl. If they are Big East they would go to New Orleans and play in the Sugar Bowl.

Hope this helps. It is confusing for college fans much less anyone else.

Kathy
www.chili-everyway.com

Thanks, everyone.

Okay, so would it then be accurate to say that by early December, New Troy University (notice that I removed 'State') might be really excited because the New Troy University Devils appear to be on their way to the Sugar Bowl to be played on January 1st in New Orleans?

Would they, by that point, have already secured their spot or would they still be playing games to try to secure their spot?

(Btw, it really is the best team New Troy University had in years - maybe the best team ever! - and I think they stand a good chance of winning. Go Devils! )

It means ML is writing. However, until a story is finished, it's always hard to say if I will suddenly get bored and quit writing. Sorry. Bad habit of mine.

ML

You're closing in on it, ML. But only the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Ca is played on Jan 1 and follows the famed Rose Parade. We do it to plug our beautiful 70 degree weather.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_Bowl_Game
The other Bowls follow. The Sugar Bowl will be Jan 4, 2011. Also under BCS, the Rose Bowl does not necessarily host PAC 10 vs. Big 10 (i.e. the Pacific Coast vs. NorthCentral (Michigan, Iowa, etc)
see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_Bowl
Good luck. Only the purists will nitpik this, so don't let it discourage you in your story.
To see what we mean, read this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BCS_National_Championship_Game If it doesn't make your head spin, nothing will. Who wins is also determined by votes from sportswriters a la American Idol with votes from the public.

Artemis

I said Jan. 1 because this year's was played on that day, between Florida and Cincinnati.

I am a purist, but I won't nitpick about the BCS thing ... It has turned into such a trainwreck as of late that I think the way we explained it works best for a story ... and in general. You hear that, NCAA?!??

Hey, the headlines in the news this week are all about the realignment of football conferences. The Big Ten might raid the Big Twelve, as might the Pac-10.

Where will all this end up? Certainly I'll be even more confused.

Right now, it is likely that the Pac-10 will become the Pac-16, with the original eight schools (Washington, Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, Cal, UCLA and USC) being the Pac-16 West, and Arizona and Arizona State being moved to the East along with newcomers Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Colorado, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech.

A lot of people from Pac-10 schools are pleased about this -- namely the prestige and money the schools will get for expanding -- but some of us are a little freaked out by the prospect of having such heavyweights as Oklahoma (who crushed us in our last Rose Bowl) and Texas in the conference.

In any outcome, the Big 12 is in trouble if all of these schools bolt. The Big 10 is a very solid conference with a huge TV contract. Nebraska is fleeing to the Big 10 (which started all of this ruckus) and they're also trying to get Notre Dame, which seems near-impossible. I can't imagine them giving up their special status as not being in a conference but still being a BCS school.

No problem. I'll fudge on the date a little bit.

Again, thanks everyone. Not sure I understood everything everyone was saying, but from the sounds of it, I'm not the only one.

ML

You are right it can be confusing even to us die hard college football fans. There is always a lot of talk & debate at work around the water cooler.

It probably is no different than me trying to figure out curling ;-)

Kathy
www.chili-everyway.com

I don't get it. What's so confusing about curling?

Oh, wait! I know! You're wondering, just like me, why they don't use their ice making skills to curl in the summer, too. I know. It really is disappointing, isn't it.

ML