The Ducks have some holes to fill on their 2012 schedule. Currently at goducks.com, there are just nine games, and an open date on September 3rd. Another source called fbsschedules.com has them with Arkansas State on September 3rd, followed by Fresno State, Montana State and then the PAC-? schedule to be determined.
Reader Adam “Indiana” Kendall offers an intriguing solution on his Facebook page:
I think LSU and Oregon should play a return match at Century Link Field (the home stadium of the Seattle Seahawks) next September 3rd. It would be a “home” game for the Ducks, with LSU giving up a home date with North Texas.
Kendall notes the officials at Seahawk Stadium “were willing to give UW and WAZZU each $1.5 million a year to play the Apple Cup at the stadium.” He speculates with a television deal the game could be lucrative for both schools. “ESPN gave oregon $1.5 million for playing LSU in dallas, and LSU got like $3.5 million. ESPN would pay about the same for a matchup at CenturyLink field in seattle, only oregon gets like $3 million and LSU gets $2 million.”
LSU would have to give up a home vs North Texas to do this, which means all the money they make from home games.. well if you combine first and zone with ESPN, LSU would get like $4-$5 million dollars for playing this game, so the same money they get for a home game
also for LSU, i checked their non-conference slate for next year, all 4 are at home, with UW in week 2 and then 3 cupcakes.. i’m sure they don’t mind giving up one of those three cupcakes to play oregon again as long as they get lots of money to do so..
The financial details could certainly be worked out, and Kendall’s proposal points to something crucial about the landscape of college football. Under the BCS, the most prudent way for big-time schools to schedule is to avoid risk and exposure. Oregon dropped 10-11 slots in the polls after losing on the road to LSU, now ranked #2 in the country. You lose on the road to the #2 team and fall out of the top Ten? A home win over San Jose State instead, and the Ducks would still be among the darlings of the sport, untested and unscathed. That’s the formula most schools follow. Ohio State routinely has four home games in September, and many teams pencil in four cupcakes every year. The BCS rewards cowardice.
One of the possible benefits of all the recent rumblings over conference expansion is that it may create a true playoff in college football. With the SEC and PAC expanding to 16 teams, the Big Ten would likely follow, along with the Big East/ACC as well as the remnant of the Big 12/Mountain West/WAC. A shakeout is certain; the specifics are anybody’s guess. But with five conference champions each playing a conference title game, and three at-large teams, it readily lends itself to a playoff structure.
In that grand vision, the top teams would no longer have to schedule cupcakes to make the tournament. They could schedule competitive games instead, test their strength against the best with meaningful intersectional games (or at least one or two of them) in the season’s early weeks.
Chip Kelly has said he wants to play the best, anywhere, anytime. Kendall’s proposal makes sense. It would make money, create interest, and give the Ducks an opportunity to test their progress toward competing with the best teams and conferences. The 2012 offensive and defensive lines will be improved, and maybe they’ll make a stronger showing.
But they could always go the safe route, and drub Arkansas State in the friendly confines of Autzen Stadium.
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