Friday, December 02, 2016

Rutgers returns to the schedule

BC agreed to a home and home series with Rutgers. Of course with the nature of college football, the series won't take place until 2026 and 2027. I know BC has to lock in games now and works hard to find the right type of Power 5 teams to play, but to me this is just being overly cautious. Scheduling Rutgers for a series three years from now would be smart scheduling. Scheduling Rutgers ten years from now -- over any and all possible College Football power -- is a missed opportunity.

As I've pointed out in many of these future scheduling discussions, it is highly likely that neither Addazio or Rutgers coach Chris Ash will be leading their respective teams in 2026. It is highly likely that Jim Harbaugh won't be coaching Michigan in 2026 and I doubt that 65 year-old Nick Saban will be coaching Alabama in 2026. Why not swing for the fences and schedule a really big name program? We don't know if we will catch them on a downswing. We don't know where BC will be. There is risk, but what's the worse thing that could happen? Two losses. But the upside, aside from two wins, is the positive perception that scheduling a power brings. You can sell it to recruits. You can sell it to fans. It is a sign that the current leaders of the program have faith in its future.

It is not like Addazio or Bates are going to be around to play this potential juggernaut. You would think they would want to leverage the positive short-term aspects of scheduling a power. I hope they see the big picture.

Other than scheduling a potential loss for the program, the only reason I can see BC avoiding super powers ten years from now would be the buyout clause. Perhaps Bates doesn't want to straddle the program with a seven figure buyout if BC's future coach doesn't want to play an Oklahoma or Texas.

I don't know. Maybe the whole landscape of college football will be so different in 2026 that playing Rutgers will not matter. Or maybe it will prove to be prudent. I just wish BC would take the occasional risk. We have nothing to lose.

14 comments:

nceaglefan said...

No need to applaud him for this, he is clearly trying to line up his next gig! I am glad he finally realizes he should be a high school football coach! We have known it all along.

STL_eagle said...

I would take Rutgers over Wagner and Buffalo but do agree that BC would do well to schedule at least one signature OOC game each year. I know people are excited that ND is back on the schedule four times starting next year through 2025 and they do have some other Power 5 conference teams such as Purdue, Mizzou, Ohio State and Stanford on the future docket.

Geezer eagle said...

Now those are respectable teams. ND is our natural rival and should be played on Thanksgiving weekend. I want to beat them so bad I can taste it.

TheFive said...

This makes life easy for the new AD this spring. He will have a very easy way to show (i) that he's not a first class idiot; (ii) he's different than the last guy; and (iii) he has beyond a minimal understanding of the school's alumni and fan base -- just cancel this laughable series.

Boston College football should never for any reason choose to play Rutgers. When we had to in conference play, we didn't like it. Why volunteer? And make no mistake, this game is not a replacement for Wagner or Buffalo, it's a replacement for ND/USC/Ohio St, etc. If you schedule Rutgers as your premiere OOC game you may as well not have a football program.

Knucklehead said...

Correct. Boston College should not acknowledge the existence of Rutgers.

mod34b said...

NJ is s great state and one of the top 5 feeder states for BC students

RU v BC game could be fun (who knows what level of play either team will provide)

Frankly, RU game will be lot more interesting than playing Wake, Duke, GT etc

Bravesbill said...

Temple is a conference champ.....got good after Daz left.

mod34b said...

Temple's coach Matt Rhule's dream job is penn state

But James Franklin of PSU seems to have slammed that door shut for the forseeeable future.

Maybe Rhule could be lured to BC? (he loved tom Coughlin and coached under him )

Bravesbill said...

He definitely turned around the mess that Daz left. Only took him 3 years too.

Geezer eagle said...

Back to back Temple coaches at BC? Highly unlikely.

CT said...

Playing Rutgers is interesting?

Not now. Not in 10 years. Give me a break. It's Rutgers! Small minds.

mod34b said...

If you live in ATL or nearby you might find a game against GT interesting. You may know quite a few GAt alum. But if you don't live in the area, Who cares a whit about a GT game. I know Zero people who graduated from GT

I'd rather go to a game against RU, SU or PSU. I know thousands of grads from these schools.

RU presently has got a lot of upside. 10 years in B10 is gonna change RU for the better.

Shabby1011 said...

New AD needs to get Penn St on schedule..long time history, Eastern power, recruiting synergies, big name. Makes too much sense so Bates won't do it but hope new AD has aggressive vision.

CT said...

Ok sure.