- sc0tty
- Jan 8, 2005
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too kewell for school..
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Football 101 Post info here for stupid newbies like me to read and learn
Required Readings:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Football_League
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_football
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nfl_lore
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signif...ries_in_the_NFL
http://smartfootball.com/
Books for nerds
McKracken posted:
There are a few books I've got queued up but haven't had time to read yet. Maybe we can add a recommended reading list to the OP at some point.
I've never come across a book that gives a good general overview of football from a strategy/scheme standpoint while covering coaching points like technique, alignments, assignments etc.
There are tons of coaching books and manuals, some are great, some are garbage, so it's hard to give specific reccomendations. I know Gus Malzahn has a book out about no huddle offenses, and while he's clearly a competent and expert source of information there's no garauntee it's presented in a clear and concise manner.
Most coaching books are meant to cover a very specific area of offense/defense that the writer is familiar with, so I'd suggest looking for an area you want to learn more about and finding some books and google reviews. There might be sites like CoachHuey that have knowledgeable people commenting on the usefulness of the book.
Strange Matter posted:
I enjoyed Jaworski's "The Games that Changed the Game," though some of the games he chooses seem kinda wonky. It is very rewarding to read about how Buddy Ryan's Bears dismantled the Cowboys though.
Also, The Blindside is good. Even if you aren't in the mood for an inspirational sports story, it's a fantastic study of some of the more subtle changes in the game over the past 30 years. The chapter about the ideological war between Bill Walsh and Bill Parcells is thrilling.
I'm currently listening to an audiobook of Mark Kriegel's biography of Joe Namath, which has a lot of cool historical stuff about the AFL and the merger.
Ozu posted:
1. I asked the same questions a few weeks back and came back with recommendations for "Football Scouting Methods" by Steve Belichick (Bill's father) and "Finding the Winning Edge" by Brian Billick and Bill Walsh, which is out of print. Just started on the Belichick one and it's pretty fantastic so far.
2. yukijersey.com or toonjersey.com. They're both the same outfit under different names.
jeffersonlives posted:
Yeah, this is what I wrote the last time it came up:
Someone really needs to write an entry-level strategy book that doesn't suck. Hell, maybe Kirwin did, I still haven't read it.
The Education of a Coach by David Halberstam gets into a lot of strategy and such in between fellating Bill Belichick. It's a great book.
Useful Threads
The rules thread
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3431516
Football Injuries Thread
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3441579
Awesome detailed breakdown of things
jeffersonlives posted:
OFFENSIVE FOOTBALL
Let's start with some basics. There have to be at least seven players lined up on the line of scrimmage at all times in American football. If there are less than seven players, it is an illegal formation and will be penalized. Of these, the two players at each end are eligible receivers, and the five interior players are ineligible receivers/offensive linemen. All players lined up behind the line of scrimmage are also eligible receivers.
I FORMATION
This is probably the most used formation in football. As you can see, there are five offensive linemen - two tackles, two guards, and a center - lined up on the line. On the left side, a wide receiver is also lined up on the line (a WR lined up on the line is also known as an X). On the right side, a TE (also known as a Y) is lined up on the line. Both of those players are eligible receivers. A second WR is lined up on the right side (a WR lined up behind the line is also known as a Z). A fullback and a halfback (a term used interchangeably with tailback or running back) are lined up behind the quarterback.
This formation is fairly neutral and will be used as both a passing and a running set. An I formation is typically run with 2 WR and 1 TE or 2 TE and 1 WR, but other variations exist. Many teams also use an offset I, where the fullback lines up even with the guard instead of the quarterback. Another variant is the pro set, where the fullback and halfback line up at even depths instead of halfback behind fullback.
The most basic running play out of this formation is lead:
That's a basic lead play from Notre Dame's playbook in the late 90s. The offensive line blocks the guys in front of them, attempting to clear the space around where the guard lines up. The fullback goes in the hole first and blocks the nearest second-level defender, typically the middle linebacker. The tailback gets the ball and runs through the hole, and if everyone has done their job gains some yards.
Other basic running plays out of this formation:
Trap - this describes a group of plays where one or more defensive linemen are not blocked or blocked into the backfield because the runner is intending to run towards the space where the defensive lineman was before he left.
Counter - a group of plays where the offense takes a step or two in one directio to fake the defense into going that way, then reverses direction and moves the other way
Toss - an outside running play where the quarterback tosses the ball laterally to a running back, the RB then attempts to beat the interior defenders to the outside of the field, and then turns upfield
There's a lot of different types of these type of plays. The I formation and offshoots have been the core formation of football since about the late 50s, but have been recently overtaken by the spread offense.
SPREAD OFFENSE
A spread offense attempts to spread the offensive players around the field to create space for runners and receivers. This is mostly a passing formation, although certain teams such as West Virginia have been successful with a run-heavy spread offense. Most spread offenses are run out of the shotgun, where the quarterback stands around five yards behind the line of scrimmage and receives the ball thrown between the center's legs instead of passed. The spread offense typically eliminates the fullback position and operates with 3 to 5 wide receivers, taking backs and tight ends off the field.
A typical three wide receiver shotgun set. Because there is an extra receiver and the play can happen quicker because the QB is in a better position to throw quickly, the defense has to spread out more to cover the possibilities.
These are four fairly typical spread offense passing plays from the holy grail of playbooks for coaches, Urban Meyer's (from Utah). It would take awhile to explain everything going on here, but there are both short options and deep options on all plays. With a quarterback who can figure out who is open (called reading progressions) and athletic perimeter players (WR and RB), it is almost impossible to cover everyone, which is why this formation is so effective. The spread also tends to have a lot of routes working towards the middle of the field instead of the sidelines, which has led to some college quarterbacks putting up insane numbers without even acceptable arm strength. Because the defense has to defend the pass so vigorously, running plays can also be effective out of this formation.
The "wildcat" formation, which has become en vogue in both college and professional offense, is essentially just a spread option offense with only running plays and a fast guy playing quarterback. The wildcat sets increase the prevalence of option runs, which are runs where the quarterback has the option to keep the ball himself if he sees an open running lane, or pitch or hand the ball to a perimeter player.
That's four basic zone read plays, a typical spread option play where the quarterback or wildcat player can hand it to the running back or keep it and run depending on which way he reads the defense.
I was going to go over the passing tree here, but I found a basic explanation here instead.
That's a very very very basic introduction to offensive football philosophy and leaves out like 9 million important things, but it's a start.
WombBroom posted:
I am working on an edit for this post that will answer your questions, but it will take a bit of time to get them fully fleshed out, as I want to add in some reference spots for you. In the meantime, I will give you some cursory information that should whet your whistle while I go more in depth.
Let me first get out of the way:
The Cowboys are evil incarnate and if you become a Cowboy fan, you will rot in hell alongside Jamarcus Russel, and he won't give you any of his Skittles.
On to your questions!
While I'm not completely certain what you're asking, the main statistics that everyone cares about vary. this is because Offensive, Defensive, and Other statistics are all rated individually. For instance, no one cares if an Offensive player has any Sacks, and no one cares if a Defensive player has a high completion percentage. So, I will break it all down based upon position.
Offense
Quarterback
The Quarterback is often referred to as "The most important position," or some variation thereof, on a football team. That is because, in most situations, the Quarterback is the first player to have possession of the football on Offense. The Center, the guy who plays in the middle of the Offensive line, hikes the ball to the Quarterback and the play begins. The stats that matter most for a Quarterback is his Passer rating.
This rating is a mix of Completion Percentage, Passing Yardage, Touchdowns and Interceptions. In the NFL, a perfect passer rating is 158.3.
More info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passer_rating
Fullback
The Fullback position is largely gone from football these days. In the past, the Fullback was mainly a blocker for the Halfback (which we'll get to next). There is no statistical measurement of blocking as it is a very difficult thing to keep track of.
Halfback
The Halfback or Runningback is the primary player when running the ball (imagine that!). Usually, the Quarterback hands the ball to the Halfback who tries his best to weave his way through defenders and gain positive yardage. The primary stats most people care about for a Runningback are Attempts, Total Yards, Average Yards, Touchdowns and Fumbles. A Runningback who gets more than 1,000 yards in a season is considered above average.
Tight End
The Tight End was traditionally seen as a big guy who could block pass rushers and lay blocks down on running plays. However, the past 15 years or so have seen a large number of receiving tight ends pop up in the league, so the position has changed somewhat. All tight ends will be asked to catch the ball at some point, but some (Dallas Clark from Indianapolis and Kellen Winslow from Tampa Bay) are extremely good at it. However, their size and athletic ability makes the more suited to Tight End than receiver. The stats that matter most to a TE are the same as the ones that matter to a Receiver: Catches, Yards Per Catch, Yards After The Catch, Touchdowns and Fumbles.
Wide Receiver
Some one will inevtiably tell you that not all receivers are Wide Receivers, because some are Flankers and some are Slot guys, or several other terms that aren't important for this discussion. Just understand that there are several places Receivers can line up which dictates the routes they will run through the defense. The stats that matter are Catches, Yards Per Catch, Yards After the Catch, Touchdowns and Fumbles. There have been numerous attempts over the years at recording the Drops each receiver has, but this is not an official stat.
Offensive Line
I'm grouping the line together because it makes more sense for this particular discussion. They are the big guys who get little notice and less money (on average) than most other players, but IMVHO, are the most important guys on the Offensive side of the ball. The stats that matter are: Sacks Allowed. That's really all that matters. Officially, the NFL website only shows the Games Played and Games Started stats for Offensive Lineman. Linkage: http://www.nfl.com/players/jefffaine/situationalstats?id=FAI112720
Defense
Linebacker
These are the guys who stand behind the Defensive Line and either cover the short to intermediate receiver routes, or try to tackle the runner on running plays. There are several different Linebacker positions, and each one will have a preference to one of the stats, depending on their main responsibility (runn-stuffing versus coverage) but all of them care about these stats: Tackles (solo and assisted), Sacks, Forced Fumbles and Interceptions.
Defensive Backs
There are several positions that fit under the guise of Defensive Back. Cornerbacks, Nicklebacks, Dimebacks, Strong Safety, and Free Safety are all considered to be Defensive Backs. Like Linebackers, each different DB will be measured differently upon each stat because of different responsibilities, but the main stats are: Passes Defensed, Tackles, Forced Fumbles and Interceptions.
Defensive Line
These are the big boys up front whose two main jobs are to sack the Quarterback and Tackle the ball carrier before plays can develop. Again, each one will be measured with differeing weight on each stat, but the ones that matter most are: Sacks (solo and Assisted), Tackles for a Loss, and Tackles (solo and assisted).
I think I'm gonna need more than one post!
Edit: wow, I totally thought he was asking something different. Crap.
Gendo posted:
Sure. I'll give you a rough overview of a simple box score to start out with, then if you have more questions we can go from there.
This is a pretty typical NFL box score. Let's go over it piece by piece. First there's the scoring summaries and stat summaries:
Scoring Summary
The scoring summary is pretty self-explanatory. Scoring drives are listed in the order they occurred by quarter. The icon indicates which team scored. The time is at what time in that quarter the score happened. The next column is the scoring play and the result of either the extra point or two point conversion (if applicable) and the score after the drive is listed next to that.
The team stat comparison is a little more complicated.
Team Stats
1. First downs is the total number of first downs for each team, which is then broken down into the numbers of first downs each team earned as a result of passing, rushing or as the result of a penalty.
2. Third down efficiency is a measure of how many times each team converted a third down to a first down.
3. Fourth down efficiency is the same as above but for fourth downs.
4. Passing lists the total passing yards for each team.
5. Comp-Att is a measure of how many passes each team completed versus how many attempts, in this example the Vikings completed 28 passes out of 33 attempts.
6. Yards Per Pass is exactly what it says. The number of total passing yards divided by pass attempts.
7. Rushing is the number of rushing yards each team earned.
8. Rushing attempts is the number of rushing plays each team ran.
9. Yards per rush is the number of yards gained divided by rushing attempts.
10. Turnovers is the number of times each team turned the ball over to the other team either as the result of a lost fumble, interception or loss of downs.
11. The above is then broken down into fumbles lost and interceptions thrown.
12. Defensive / Special Teams TDs is a measure of how many times each team scored a defensive TD (on an interception or fumble return) or a special teams TD (blocked kick returned for a TD, punt or kickoff return for a TD, etc).
13. Possession is a measure of the time of possession for each team. Basically how long each team's offense held onto the ball.
Now to move onto the individual offensive stats:
Passing Stats
1. C/ATT is shorthand for the Completions/Attempts we discussed above. So in this example Favre threw the ball 25 times and completed 22 passes. That is 22 were caught.
2. YDS are the number of yards passing he had.
3. AVG is shorthand for yards per pass. So passing yards divided by passing attempts.
4. TD represents passing touchdowns.
5. INT represents interceptions thrown.
6. Rating stands for QB rating, a statistic that attempts to combine all QB passing statistics into one easy to digest number. If you're curious it's ((((Comp/Att) * 100) -30) / 20 + (((TDs/Att) * 100) / 5) + ((9.5 - ((Int/Att) * 100)) / 4) + (((Yards/Att) - 3) / 4)) / .06. Yes really.
Rushing Stats
1. CAR stands for carries, the number of rushing attempts for each player.
2. YDS are the number of yards gained for each player on rushing attempts.
3. AVG are the average number of yards gained, so yards / carries.
4. TD represents rushing TDs for each player.
5. LG is the longest rush for each player.
Receiving Stats
1. REC is the number of receptions for each player. So in this game Shiancoe has the most receptions with 8.
2. YDS are the number of receiving yards.
3. AVG are the average number of yards per catch, so yards / receptions.
4. LG, as above, represent the longest reception for each player.
5. TGTS are the number of times each player was targeted with a pass.
FUMBLES
This is kind of an in-between category as both offensive and defensive players get lumped here. You are listed here if you lose or recover a fumble. In this example we only see Heath Farwell who recovered a Seattle fumble for the Vikings but obviously these three categories are FUM (Fumbles), LOST (Fumbles Lost) and REC (Fumbles Recovered).
Now for Defensive Statistics.
Defensive statistics are split into two categories here. Tackels and Misc.
1. TOT is total tackles.
2. SOLO is solo tackles, tackles made without assistance from another player.
3. SACKS are total sacks, the number of times an eligible passer was tackled behind the line of scrimmage.
4. TFL is tackles for a loss, the number of times a ball carrier was tackled behind the line of scrimmage.
5. PD is passes defensed, the number of times a defender tipped, deflected or otherwise interfered with a pass in the air intended for an offensive player.
6. QB Hits are the number of times the defensive player hit the QB but it did not result in a sack.
7. TD represents defensive touchdowns.
Now let's finish with special teams.
Kick Returns
1. NO is the number of kick returns.
2. YDS is the number of yards gained on those kick returns.
3. AVG is the average number of yards per kick return (yards / no).
4. TD is the number of kick return touchdowns.
Punt Returns
Same as above but for punts.
Kicking
1. FG The fraction lists the number of successful kicks over the number of attempts. (So if you made 2 but attempted 3 it would be 2/3).
2. The PCT is the percentage of kicks made.
3. LONG is the longest kick made.
4. XP (see Vikings example) is the same as the FG but for extra points, the number of successful extra points over attempted extra points.
5. PTS is the total number of points gained by kicks (FGs * 3 + XPs).
tk posted:
I'm going to expand on this. Not all of this directly pertains directly to football, but it comes up a lot and can be useful to know.
First, there is the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), which is pretty much what it sounds like. They make the rules and poo poo for "amateur" college sports, and throw the hammer down on USC when they do bad things.
There are three divisions: DI, DII, and DIII. There are qualifications for each divisions based on number of sports fielded, athletic scholarships granted, and a bunch of other stuff. To make it easy, DI is the big boys. In the late 70s, DI was further split into DI-A and DI-AA based on the status of the football program (number of scholarship players, attendance numbers, etc.) Again, DI-A is the big boys.
A couple years ago, DI-A and DI-AA were renamed Football Subdivision (FBS) and Football Championship subdivision (FCS), respectively. FBS has bowl games at the end of the season, FCS as a playoff.
Outside of NCAA classification, the conferences in FBS are further differentiated into BCS auto-bid (ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-10, SEC) and non-auto-bid (C-USA, MAC, MWC, Sun Belt, WAC) conferences. This pretty much splits teams into the haves and have-nots of the college football world.
adaz posted:
This will probably cause Notre Dame fans to froth at the mouths (so a win-win) but Bob Davie wrote an excellent series of columns for ESPN.com years ago on various formations, schemes, blocking, basic football, etc breaking them down and how they work. It's insider only content but I'll post an example. With mod approval I can post more.
http://search.espn.go.com/bob-davie-football-101/
nnnAdam posted:
Cool Photos!:
- http://www.daylife.com/ - This site is pretty good. Easy to search and good layout to view multiple photos per page. Whether it's pregame, mid-play , practices or the Dan Marino Celebrity Classic Golf Tournament, Daylife usually has a wide selection. The only downside is the quality of some of the photos is grainy and less than perfect.
- http://www.life.com/ - Better than Daylife simply because of how extensive their collection is and the high quality of the work. You can easily find pictures of players dating back to college and you can view 60 thumbnails per page which is nice. You can't directly copy the pictures though so you'll have to Print Screen and then go from there. Seriously, Life.com is incredible.
- http://sports.yahoo.com/ - They usually have lots of photos posted directly after games which in my experience are different than a lot of ones you see on other sites. Sometimes the viewer gets messed up though and it can be a hassle to find/navigate things.
WombBroom posted:
This is an extremely complicated question to answer, but I will do my very best for you.
There are two major defensive formations used in the NFL. These are the 4-3 and the 3-4. The first number refers to the number of Defensive Lineman and the second to the Linebackers.
Note: There are exceptions to every single rule I'm about to put forward, this is simply the basics of formation theory.
4-3
First, we will start with the 4 Defensive Lineman. On either side are Defensive Ends, and in the middle are 2 Defensive Tackles.
Defensive Ends in this formation should be about 280 pounds, tall (6'3" or taller) with long arms and very quick off the line, usually referred to as having a "quick first step." This allows them to get around the Offensive Tackles on either end of the Offensive Line.
The good ones will also have different moves they employ, like the swim move, where they move their arms up over their heads to push the Offensive Lineman's hands out of the way. Another popular move is the spin move where they will spin in a circle to try and confuse the Offensive Lineman and get past them.
Defensive Tackles in this scheme should be around 6'4", about 290 pounds, and also be quick off the line. They will use the same moves as the Defensive Ends in most cases.
Linebackers should be taller than 6'2", weigh around 260 pounds, and have good or great speed. Linebackers will often be tasked with coverage short to intermediate routes, so having good hands for making interceptions is also important. The Middle Linebacker or MLB is considered to be the Quarterback of the Defense, calling out the Defensive plays and assigning coverage and blocking assignments.
The Weakside or Will Linebacker is usually most responsible for coverage, and should be the fastest Linebacker. More on this in a minute.
The Strongside or Sam Linebacker is usually most responsible for making tackles on ballcarriers. They are usually a little larger than the other two.
3-4
In this formation, The Defensive Ends should act similarly to the Defensive Ends in a 4-3. They are trying to swallow blockers and get after the passer.
In the middle is the Nosetackle or NT. This guy's primary responsibility is to hold one or two lineman in place and not allow them to open holes for a ball carrier or block anyone trying to sack the Quarterback.
The Linebackers are usually larger than the backers in the 4-3. They are the primary pass rushers, attempting to get to the Quarterback on passing plays. They should also be good at "wrap-up" tackling, literally wrapping their arms around players and pulling them to the ground. Strength is a very important consideration.
Now, there are two basic coverage schemes which can also have a big factor on the physical characteristics of the players. These are Man Coverage and Zone Coverage.
Man Coverage
In Man, the Defensive Backs cover the wide receivers man-on-man, following them in their routes and trying to discourage the Quarterback from throwing to the receivers. If a pass is thrown, they must either knock the ball down, tackle the wide receiver, or make an interception. In this scheme, tall, fast DBs are needed.
The Linebackers pick up any Tightends, Runningbacks or Receivers running in the middle of the field.
Zone Coverage
The most popular Zone Coverage scheme in the past 15 or so years is the Tampa 2 or Cover 2 scheme. The two safeties stay deep, covering the down the field routes. the Cornerbacks are tasked with covering the short or intermediate routes, depending on the playcall. The Linebackers cover the middle of the field. Derrick Brooks helped define what the Weakside Linebacker does in the Tampa 2. Here's his wiki page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derrick_Brooks
The idea of Zone Coverage is a Defensive player stands in one spot and covers their "zone". Theoretically, this will help bait the quarterback into throwing passes he thinks he can make, but the fast DBs will make a play on the ball. Also, since the Quarterback must take more time to make a decision, the Defensive Line has more time to fight through blocks and get a sack or disrupt the Quarterback.
Smaller, faster DBs are the bread and butter of Zone Coverage. Ronde Barber is a good indication of the physical type needed: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=1260
I should add there are also Cover 1, Cover 3 and Cover 4 schemes which can effect things.
Please understand that this is the most basic breakdown I could do and there are numerous hybrids, exceptions and other things that must be taken into consideration from team to team, year to year, and even play to play. I hope it helps to answer your question.
No Safe Word posted:
Just be ready for crushing depression when the Texans go 1-5 in their division again.
While I'm at it, might as well write up a quick post on one thing I do understand.
The NFL Scheduling Formula
Now that the NFL has a neat and tidy 32 teams split into 2 conferences with 4 divisions of 4 teams each, scheduling is done by a nice, balanced, predictable formula.
Wikipedia has a pretty good write up on it but I'll go over most of it here so we have more info in the thread.
Each team plays 16 games in the regular season, and they break down like this:
- 6 divisional games against their 3 divisional opponents, one home and one away each = 3 home games, 3 away games
- 4 intra-conference games against the teams from a pre-determined division (other than their own) in the same conference, and which division this is rotates every year (eg, AFC South rotates from the AFC West (2010) to the AFC North (2011) to the AFC East (2012) and then back again to the AFC West in 2013), these are split home and away between the four opponents = 2 home games, 2 away games
- 4 inter-conference games against the teams from a pre-determined division in the other conference, and this also rotates ever year but takes four years to cycle through because you don't have to worry about your own division (eg, AFC South plays NFC East (2010), NFC South (2011), NFC North (2012), NFC West (2013), and back to the NFC East in 2014), these are split home and away between the four opponents = 2 home games, 2 away games
- 2 intra-conference games against teams finishing the same place in their division - so if you finished 1st in your division, you would play all three of the other division winners but since one of those is already accounted for in the second bullet point, that only leaves two other opponents. These are also split home and away = 1 home game, 1 away game
All that together adds up to 8 home games, and 8 away games. How they determine who is home and who is away is a little trickier, though they tend to basically alternate home/away based on the last time you played those opponents but there is a bit of leeway taken in order to reduce East-to-West Coast (and vice-versa) travel to make sure teams aren't getting worn out from travel during the season.
korranus posted:
A look at the bowl system and conferences of the Football Bowl Subdivision:
The Football Subdivision is controlled by the almighty Bowl Championship Series, basically a cartel made of the presidents of the schools in the six major conferences, the BCS corporate steering committee, and executives of the ESPN television network. The BCS determines access to the five top postseason bowls -
    
Rose Bowl - Pasadena, CA. It's the first bowl, played in the afternoon on January 1. Traditionally the winner of the Pac-10 Conference vs the winner of the Big 10 Conference. Will take the winner of a non-BCS conference if the Big 10 or Pac-10 team makes the BCS National Championship.
Fiesta Bowl - Glendale/Phoenix, AZ. Usually played on the evening of January 1 but has moved down the calendar to get a prime time network spot. A newer bowl grown out of the WAC's lack of bowl tie-in but quickly gained prominence. Usually takes the winner of the Big 12 Conference and another selection among available teams (called an at-large), but now seems to take the winner of a non-BCS conference, or two non-BCS conference schools like it did last year.
Sugar Bowl - New Orleans, LA. The second bowl, usually played on January 1 but as late as the 4th. Usually takes the winner of the Southeast Conference and an at-large.
Orange Bowl - Miami Gardens/Miami, FL. First played in 1935. Takes the winner of the Atlantic Coast Conference vs an at-large.
BCS National Championship - Rotates among the sites of the BCS bowls. Matches the two top-ranked teams in the BCS poll for a de-facto college football championship game, like a college version of the Super Bowl.
These are the FBS conferences:
- Major Conferences, AKA Auto-Qualifying ("AQ") Conferences, AKA BCS Conferences
The top six conferences control most of the money, and dominate the standings, polls, and prestige of FBS.
Atlantic Coast Conference: A mixture of fairly high-end academic schools along the eastern seaboard. Has potent football programs but is generally more famous for basketball.
Southeast Conference: Generally considered the best football conference. Comprised of extremely large state schools (and private Vanderbilt) in the Deep South. Their stadiums are large, their fans are crazy, their programs are rich and deep and powerful, and their fans on SA can be found in BYOB.
Big Ten Conference: Eleven (soon twelve) schools in the northern states. The Big Ten was the first athletic conference and all ten are extremely strong academic schools. The US's two largest stadiums belong to the Big Ten - Michigan Stadium and Penn State University's Beaver Stadium. Both seat somewhere over 110,000.
Big East Conference: The Big East is a 16 school conference for basketball and eight for football in the eastern and northern states. It is the smallest of the six BCS conferences and it is regularly mentioned in conference realignment doomsday scenarios.
Big 12 Conference: The Big 12 is located in the Midwest and Texas. It stands at 12 schools currently, but is losing two members over the next two years. The conference is operationally controlled by two titanic programs - the University of Texas at Austin and University of Oklahoma.
Pacific 10 Conference: Located along the Pacific Seaboard and Arizona, but is expanding to include the Universities of Utah and Colorado. Generally strong academic schools, left-leaning, but resistant to change. Has not really embraced the BCS. This conference was dominated by the University of Southern California for years, but with sanctions and other teams stepping up this looks to be coming to an end.
- Mid-Major Conferences, AKA Non-Autoqualifying (Non-AQ), AKA Non-BCS Conferences
The next five conferences put together make less money than a single BCS conference. Mostly these schools have small-time football program, or new programs, or are in some cases keep football teams to satisfy Title IX requirements. However, these conferences do hold serious teams who hold their weight against the big boys with no trouble.
Mountain West Conference: The Mountain West is considered the top non-BCS conference. Its programs split off from the Western Athletic Conference about ten years ago to build their own base. They have done an extremely good job doing so, and three teams have developed into regulars in the Top 25. In fact, you can find Texas Christian University and newcomer Boise State University regularly in the Top Ten. The MWC (with Boise State) has three BCS bowl appearances to its credit with two wins. It is currently on track to become a BCS Conference for the 2013 season.
Western Athletic Conference: The WAC was created in the 60s for schools in the Western and Rocky Mountain States with growing populations and programs. Its power peaked in the 80s with champions in football and basketball, but their influence has waned as time wears on. The WAC has been almost totally dominated by Boise State University in the last decade (seven championships in ten years), but it is moving to the Mountain West in 2011. The remaining members are 0-1 in BCS bowls.
Conference USA: Conference USA is spread out regionally from eastern North Carolina to west Texas. CUSA used to be the best non-BCS conferences, but the Big East stole most of its power in 2005 when the ACC raided the Big East for members. The remaining members have had little luck establishing themselves nationwide but once in a while a CUSA team climbs the polls.
Mid American Conference: Established among the smaller schools in the Northern states and shares footprint with the Big Ten. These schools play in the shadow of their Big Ten neighbors and thus have problems generating interest; however they are much too good to drop down to the Championship Subdivision. The MAC's schools have sent some good quarterbacks to the pros, most notably Ben Roethlisberger from Miami University (the one in Ohio).
Sun Belt Conference: The Sun Belt is the newest football conference, formed in the last decade. Its teams are mostly new programs to Division I looking to get in on the money. It's generally considered the weakest of the FBS conferences. Because of the newness of the programs, or lack of finances involved, the conference's teams are known best for renting themselves out to get beat down by BCS conference schools (mostly the SEC).
Independents: Additionally, three schools play without being in a conference - the United States Military Academy (plays as Army), the United States Naval Academy (plays as Navy), and Notre Dame University. These three schools do not have the benefit of eight conference games, though all have regularly scheduled games they play every year - such as the Army-Navy game. Notre Dame enjoys a special status generally equal to that of a BCS conference school and has a unique television deal with the NBC television network to broadcast its games nationwide.
Choosing a team
Any suggestions on choosing a team for those that are new to the sport. Obviously its easy if you actually live in the US, but for us dirty foreigners we have free reign to choose whatever team won last year we like.
For myself, I recently visited the old Cowboys stadium so that seems like a logical place to start for me.
sc0tty fucked around with this message at 15:26 on Nov 2, 2011
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Jul 6, 2010 01:13
