Just curious, as I noticed they will finish their season 1 or 2 weeks before others.
Hawaii actually got 2 bye weeks....I can understand this, based on the logistics...but I don't know why Big ten teams do not take one.
2007-11-10 20:57:52 · 5 answers · asked by Robert C 6 in Sports ➔ Football (American)
The bye week for Big Ten teams evaporated last season, when the NCAA allowed teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly Division I-A, to play 12 regular-season games for added revenue.
The NCAA does not permit teams to begin the season before the first weekend in September. Teams from other Bowl Championship Series conferences do not finish their regular seasons until the last weekend in November or first weekend in December. But Big Ten teams traditionally finish the weekend before Thanksgiving, and most years, that leaves only 12 weekends for 12 games.
2007-11-10 21:11:33 · answer #1 · answered by crushedthumb 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is because the Big Ten attempts to get the season done by Thanksgiving, as opposed to the rest of the conferences who would be perfectly happy to play games right up until Christmas. I actually prefer the teams playing a game every week as in the past.
The reason that the BIG 10 filled in the bye week with lower echelon teams is due to schedules being created 8-10 years in advance. It is hard to get top teams to fill in gaps in less than a 2 year window. If you look at contracts, you will see most games have been established for >8 years.
If the SEC and BIG 12 didn't prostitute themselves for the big cash payout of a "Championship" game each year that doesn't happen until December, they would be playing every week too. I think the bye weeks suck in college, they suck in the NFL...
2007-11-11 01:09:17 · answer #2 · answered by crzdbukeye 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because they're dumb enough to want all of their games done before Thanksgiving. I'm sure Ohio State would have preferred to have had a game between November 18 and January 8 last year, so that they wouldn't have had to wait so long to get blown out by Florida.
2007-11-11 00:19:35 · answer #3 · answered by TheOnlyBeldin 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The only benefit would be to have a shorter layoff before the bowl season begins. Which would have helped last year for sure.
Probably just tradition, they have always played their last season game mid November.
2007-11-10 21:09:25 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
WOW! I did not notice that. Thanks for bringing it up. I remember last year, the SEC didn't have one. They have one now this year. I don't get it either. USC gets 2 and Hawaii gets 2. Maybe it has something to do with TV time. That's the best I can come up with.
2007-11-10 21:08:12 · answer #5 · answered by Cutting Edge 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋