David Kravetz

TEN REALITIES OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL FANS

I love college football. I also love college football fans.  I have learned that all fan bases are different in some ways, but similar in many others.  In my 40 plus years of working in, or around, college athletics, hare are some universal truths I have come to learn about college football fans.

1.  EVERYONE THINKS THEY CAN COACH.  Coaching is a unique profession.  For some reason, everyone thinks they can do it and they think that it is easy.  Pay attention and listen to the comments in the stands around you at a game.  Coaching is not easy and most fans have no clue what is involved with coaching and recruiting.

2.  MOST FAN BASES ARE INSISTENT THAT THEIR MARCHING BAND IS THE BEST IN THE COUNTRY.   It isn’t.

3.  MOST FAN BASES ARE INSISTENT THAT THEIR FIGHT SONG IS THE BEST IN THE COUNTRY.   Just because it is the fight song of your favorite team does not mean it is the best.  Most fans can’t be objective.   I can.  For example, I am not a Michigan fan, but Hail to the Victors is the best fight song in the country.  Other than Conquest of USC, which really isn’t a fight song, nothing else is even close.

4.   MOST COLLEGE FAN BASES THINK THEIR CONFERENCE HAS THE WORST OFFICIATING IN THE COUNTRY.  Ask around.   No fan base likes the officials in their conference.  When I was broadcasting the Marshall games, our fans were convinced that the Southern Conference officials were out to get us.   (There were times that I agreed).

5.  MOST COLLEGE FAN BASES THINK THEIR TICKET OFFICE IS THE WORST IN THE COUNTRY.

6.  MOST COLLEGE FAN BASES THINK THEIR OWN SPORTS INFORMATION OFFICE AND MEDIA RELATION OFFICE IS THE WORST IN THE COUNTRY.    The ticket office, the sports information office, the athletic marketing office and even the Athletic Directors office have become the “blame centers” in college athletics. Sadly, it has become the nature of the business.

7.   MOST COLLEGE FAN BASES THINK THEIR SCHOOL HAS THE BEST TAILGATING SCENE IN AMERCA.   Unless your school is Ole Miss, you’re wrong.

8.  MOST COLLEGE FAN BASES THINK THE NETWORK STUDIO ANALYSTS ARE OUT TO GET THEM. Just because a studio analyst picks your team to lose does not mean he WANTS them to lose. They are asked to make a pick on games and they aren’t basing the pick on who they would like to see win.

9.  MOST COLLEGE FOOTBALL FAN BASES THINK THEIR RADIO PLAY BY PLAY ANNOUNCER IS THE BEST IN THE COUNTRY.   Truth be told,  most fans don’t hear many other broadcasters and they can’t objectively compare.  Fans like “their” announcer because he tells them what they want to hear. When the fans are excited, he’s excited.  When the fans are sad, he’s sad.  In the days when radio broadcasts seemed more important, Mountaineer fans used to love Jack Fleming. Kentucky fans loved Cawood Ledford, North Carolina fans loved Woody Durham, Tennesse fans loved Jon Ward and so on.  They could do no wrong in the eyes and ears of their fan bases.

10.  IFYOU ARE A COLLEGE FOOTBALL FAN AND YOU DISAGREE WITH MANY OF THE TOP NINE OBSERVANCES, YOU ARE HELPING TO PROVE MY POINT.

***You can e-mail Frank Giardina at: [email protected].

Hurricane shocks Midland in final seconds

By Trace Johnson

A late touchdown helped propel the Hurricane Redskins to a thrilling and emotional 34-31 victory on Sept. 9 over the Cabell Midland Knights to break a five-game losing streak to the Knights.

Redskins quarterback Dylan Plumley’s 3-yard touchdown run with just 9 seconds remaining in the game gave Hurricane (3-0) a lead it would not relinquish.

Midland (1-2) jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead after an Ivan Vaughn 7-yard touchdown run with 9:44 remaining in the first quarter.

The Knights added to their lead in the second quarter when Korah Booker found the end zone from 7 yards out to extend Midland’s lead to 14-0 with 8:47 remaining in the second quarter.  But from that point on, the Redskins got things rolling.

Hurricane’s offense responded with a James McDougale 7-yard touchdown run to cut Midland’s lead down to 14-7 with 7:07 remaining in the second quarter.

On the Knights’ ensuing possession, Hurricane’s Charlie Womack recovered a fumble to give the Redskins’ offense the ball at its own 37-yard line.  Hurricane responded with a 1-yard touchdown run by Peyton Lunsford that tied the game at 14 with 1:37 remaining in the second quarter.

Midland kicker Matthew Molina ended the half with a 35-yard field goal to give the Knights a 17-14 lead at halftime.

Mid-way through the third quarter, McDougale found the end zone again for the Redskins.  But this time, an 89-yard touchdown run to give Hurricane its first lead of the game at 21-17 with 6:20 remaining in the third quarter.

On Midland’s next possession, Hurricane’s Isaiah Thomas recovered a fumble deep in Redskin territory to give the offense the ball at its own 5-yard line.  And two plays later, McDougale outraced the defense for a 95-yard touchdown run to extend Hurricane’s lead to 28-17 with 3:55 remaining in the third quarter.

Midland responded immediately and Vaughn found the end zone from 20 yards out to cut Hurricane’s lead down to 28-24 with 2:35 remaining in the third quarter.  Mid-way through the fourth quarter, the Knights took the lead back when Vaughn again found the end zone, this time from 11 yards, to give Midland a 31-28 lead with 7:16 remaining in the fourth quarter.

After a couple changes of possession, Hurricane’s offense had the ball at its own 44-yard line with 1:47 remaining in the game.  And after a long drive, Plumley found the end zone from 3 yards out to give the Redskins a 34-31 lead with just 9 seconds remaining in the game.

From CBS Sports.com

As if anyone can make sense of college football just one week into the 2016 season and upsets abound, CBS’ Jerry Palm @jppalmCBS takes a shot.

Find his projections for every bowl including Marshall vs. Ohio in the Bahamas Bowl and WVU vs. NAvy in the Armed Forces Bowl at Dallas.

See the complete list of projections HERE

Story from Sports Illustrated.

SI reports that The Big XII has narrowed it’s list of expansion candidates to twelve.   Included in that list are Cincinnati, Houston and UConn.

Noticeably among those eliminated from consideration were East Carolina, Boise State, and San Diego State.

Watch video report HERE…

By Trace Johnson

The Hurricane Redskins pulled away from the Parkersburg Big Reds 31-18 Friday night behind a big fourth quarter that put the game away.
Up 17-10 in the fourth quarter, the Redskins (2-0) came up with some huge plays on offense and defense that created separation with the Big Reds (1-1).
Hurricane’s defense forced a quick stop on Parkersburg’s opening drive of the game and the offense took advantage. Redskins quarterback Dylan Plumley found the end zone from 1 yard out to give Hurricane a 7-0 lead with 7:23 remaining in the first quarter.
The Big Reds responded with a 32-yard field goal by Christian Axman to cut Hurricane’s lead to 7-3 with 3:08 remaining in the first quarter.
After Hurricane’s Lucas Cooper partially blocked a Parkersburg punt, the Redskins’ offense capitalized with a 22-yard field goal by Cole Bumgarner to extend the lead to 10-3 with 9:58 remaining in the second quarter.
Soon after, Hurricane’s Charlie Womack recovered a fumble to give the Redskins the ball at the Parkersburg 47-yard line. On the following play, Plumley connected with Ben McAllister from 47 yards out to extend Hurricane’s lead to 17-3 with 7:24 remaining in the second quarter.
That score held and the Redskins took a 17-3 lead into the locker rooms at halftime. The third quarter saw that score maintain itself and the theme of defense ruled the day out of halftime.
Parkersburg’s Karson Snyder recovered a Redskins fumble towards the end of the third quarter to give the Big Reds’ offense the ball at the Hurricane 34-yard line. And less than one minute into the fourth quarter, Parkersburg capitalized on the turnover as Ethan Airhart connected with Brenton Strange for a 15-yard touchdown pass to cut Hurricane’s lead down to 17-10 with 11:09 remaining in the fourth quarter.
After a defensive stop, Parkersburg’s offense had the ball back again. And after a long drive, the Big Reds had it in the red zone. But on fourth down, Tyler Womack and the Redskins’ defense came up with a huge stand to give the offense the ball back.
Hurricane responded quickly after when Plumley found the end zone from 43 yards out to extend the Redskins’ lead to 24-10 with 5:34 remaining in the fourth quarter. On the ensuing kickoff, Hurricane recovered a fumble to give the offense the ball in excellent field position at the Parkersburg 30-yard line.
And on the following play, Plumley found Dakota Williams in the end zone for the 30-yard touchdown strike to extend Hurricane’s lead to 31-10 with 5:09 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Big Reds scored a late touchdown and 2-point conversion to set the final score at 31-18 in favor of the Redskins. Plumley finished by connecting on nine of 16 pass attempts for 143 yards and two touchdowns as well as 60 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
McAllister led Hurricane in receiving with five receptions for 83 yards and one touchdown. Airhat finished completing 17 of 23 pass attempts for 123 yards and one touchdown for the Big Reds.
This was the Redskins’ first win over Parkersburg all-time. Hurricane returns to action Sept. 9 at home against Cabell Midland. Parkersburg returns to action Sept. 9 at home against Capital.

Redskins pull away from Generals
By Trace Johnson for RSN Sports
A strong second half helped the Hurricane Redskins pull away from the Winfield Generals 28-15 Friday night in front of a packed Generals Stadium in the season opener for both teams.
Hurricane (1-0) led it 14-8 at halftime, but a couple of big plays in the second half helped the Redskins finally pull away from the Generals (0-1) in a sluggish game from start to finish.
The first quarter came to a close scoreless, but the first play from scrimmage in the second quarter got Hurricane on the board first when Lucas Cooper returned a fumble 12 yards for a touchdown to give the Redskins a 7-0 lead with 11:48 remaining in the second quarter.
The Generals responded immediately and after a 60-yard completion from Andrew Huff to Nick Vance, Winfield had a first-and-goal from the Hurricane 1-yard line. Three plays later, Huff found the end zone and after the ensuing 2-point conversion attempt was ran in by Zack Bratton, Winfield had its first lead of the game at 8-7 with 9:55 remaining in the second quarter.
Following a Generals fumble, the Redskins took full advantage. Dylan Plumley connected with Austin Kerns for a 24-yard touchdown strike to give Hurricane the lead back at 14-8 with 4:34 remaining until halftime.
That score held and Hurricane took a 14-8 lead into halftime. The Redskins came out of halftime in a huge way when Plumley found the end zone from 68 yards out on a designed quarterback run to extend Hurricane’s lead to 21-8 with 9:32 remaining in the third quarter.
The Generals responded quickly and Huff found the end zone again from 1 yard out to cut Hurricane’s lead to 21-15 with 6:55 remaining in the third quarter. Late in the third quarter, the Redskins’ defense came up huge as Mason Giacomo intercepted Huff and gave Hurricane’s offense the ball at the Winfield 9-yard line.
Soon after, Nick Williams found the end zone from 7 yards out to extend Hurricane’s lead to 28-15 with 24.1 seconds remaining in the third quarter. The Generals were unable to get any closer than that in the fourth quarter and the Redskins held on for the 28-15 win.
In his first game at quarterback for Hurricane, Plumley finished by completing 10 of 18 pass attempts for 102 yards and one touchdown with one interception as well as that electrifying 68-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter. Huff completed 10 of 30 pass attempts for 155 yards with one interception and two rushing touchdowns.
Kerns led the Redskins in receiving with four receptions for 46 yards and one touchdown and Chris Farha led the Generals with five receptions for 47 yards. First game sluggishness led to three turnovers for Winfield and one turnover for Hurricane along with other early season mistakes.
The Redskins return to action Sept. 2 at home at against Parkersburg. The Generals return to action Sept. 2 at Scott.

School                                     Total Athletic Revenue Avg

1.   Oregon                                 $196 million

2.  Texas                                     $108.6 million

3.  Michigan                             $157.9 million

4.  Alabama                             $153.2 million

5.   Ohio State                         $145.2 million

6.   LSU                                      $133.7 million

7.   Oklahoma                         $128 million

8.   Wisconsin                        $127.9  million

9.   Florida                               $124.6 million

10.  Texas A&M                      $119.5 million

11.  Oklahoma State             $117.8 million

12.  Penn State                      $117.6 million

13.  Auburn                             $113.7 million

14.  Tennessee                       $107.5 million

15.  Minnesota                       $106.2 million

16.  Iowa                                    $106 million

17.  Florida State                    $104.8 million

18.  Michigan State               $104.7 million

19.  Georgia                                $103.5 million

20.  Washington                      $100.3 million

21.  Arizona                                $99.9 million

22.  South Carolina                 $98.6 million

23.  Kansas                                  $97.7 million

24.  Arkansas                             $96.8 million

25.   Kentucky                            $96.7 million

For comparison notes, the latest revenue numbers for WVU in 2014-15 were $77.6 million.   Marshall was $27.4 million.

Of note to RSN Sports:

No California schools on the list.

Notre Dame not listed.

Seven BIG 10 schools on list

Ten SEC schools on the list

Four Big XII schools made the list

Florida State is only ACC school listed

Source:  The DailyIQ via Yahoo Sports

All About The Benjamin’s -The Top 25 College Football Teams By Revenue!

 May 26 , 2016By Leigh Raines

http://www.thedailyiq.com/Galleries/all-about-the-benjamins-the-top-25-college-football-teams-by-revenue/25/

Tennessee and West Virginia will open the 2018 season at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The Charlotte Sports Foundation on Tuesday announced the first meeting between the schools. The game will be played Sept. 1, 2018.

The matchup is in addition to other neutral-site games scheduled for both teams. In 2016, Tennessee opens the season against Virginia Tech at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee. In 2017, West Virginia opens against Virginia Tech at FedEx Field in Washington, D.C.

Charlotte, meanwhile, also will host South Carolina and North Carolina to open the 2015 season.

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

RSN editor notes:

On the surface you would think the Charlotte location favors Tennessee fans.  However, consider the thousands of transplanted Mountaineers in the Carolinas and one might consider it neutral.

WVU, like most college teams, will continue to beef up it’s none conference schedule in order to gain points for any possible playoff committee recognition.  That said, WVU fans will want to root for Tennessee to improve the next couple of years and the same could be said of Tennessee fans regarding the Mountaineers.

Considering strength of schedule mentioned in the previous lines, the development of Big XII expansion could dilute the league’s schedule in the beginning, placing even more pressure on member teams to strengthen their out of conference opponents.

Although WVU and Tennessee have no recent history on the gridiron, cross state rival Marshall has tangled with the Volunteers on two occasions at Knoxville in recent years.   In 2003, Tennessee defeated Marshall 34-24 and in 2006 the Volunteers knocked off the Thundering Herd 33 – 7.   Tennessee was scheduled to visit Marshall later in a 2 for 1 deal but then Marshall A.D.  Bob Marcum sold the game back to the Volunteers in a time he believed Marshall was over scheduled in out of conference.

We have to believe that West Virginia native and country superstar Brad Paisley will find the WVU-Tennessee match up intriguing.  Paisley has notably worn a split WVU/Tennessee jersey for his video “Country Nation”.

New for fall…

RSN Sports Network has partnered with Bristol Broadcasting to share sports content.
Under the new agreement, RSNsports.com will carry Fox Sports Radio’s “Brandon Lowe Show” each weekday 5-6pm.
Fox Sports Radio 950AM will now carry RSN’s Tailgate Show with Carl Lee each Friday 6-7pm.

Discussion in ‘OUFans.com Sooner Message Board‘ started by SchmidtyNole, Sunday at 10:49 AM.

This may be a long post but I’ll go with it anyway. First off, at the current time FSU fans in general are very happy in the ACC and hope to be here for a long time now that we have the ACC Network upcoming and we have Notre Dame and other locked in with the Grant of Rights going through 2036.

The thing I wanted to discuss is how we got here. Back in May 2012 there was a lot of unrest in Nole Nation. The ACC was fifth in College Football in annual TV Revenue and FSU’s athletic department was running a deficit in spite of our overall success in athletics. We all wanted to go to the Big 12. There was definitely some flirting going on between FSU/Clemson and the Big 12 although I have no idea how serious it got. But had the Big 12 made a formal invite to FSU/Clemson back then there would definitely have been some serious talks going on. Now, there is zero chance that happens. It just shows you how quickly things can change.

So that leads me to the Big 12. Choosing to expand the way they are is the right move. But the Big 12 faces a conundrum on WHO to invite and HOW MANY to invite. In spite of what is said there are some good prospects out there. There just aren’t any out there that are currently in Power 5 conferences. I think Houston, BYU, and Cincinnati’s potential as athletic program. UCF has a lot of potential too even though they went 0-12 last season. They won the Fiesta Bowl as recently as 2013 and they would open up the Florida TV market as well as the Florida geographic area for recruiting.

But even with that, I think the Big 12 as a whole is in trouble. But I don’t think it hurts schools like Oklahoma and Texas although it would hurt the others. The reason I think the Big 12 is in trouble is because if the SEC, ACC, Big 10 or Pac 12 decided to expand again they would obviously come after Oklahoma and Texas and I don’t see how Oklahoma and Texas wouldn’t seriously consider leaving. I know for a fact that IF Notre Dame ever decides to join the ACC Full Time the ACC will need a 16th team and Oklahoma or Texas would get the first invite as the 16th ACC Team. And in that scenario a boatload of money would be made in the ACC. But as of right now I am aware that all of this is speculative.

Anyway, what are you guys’ thoughts on what I mentioned as well as what you think the future of the Big 12 is?

READ MORE FROM THIS FORUM THREAD HERE

Expansion possibilities