Should Carolina/Clemson be the first game of the season?
This thought may not sit well with many people, but it may be worth taking a good look. In time, the move actually may act as a pioneer among rivalries.
I bring this up as a strategic move for both programs. Given the way teams move up and down the polls in the BCS era, if a team is going to lose, it is far better to lose early. Having said this, one never knows how a rivalry game is going to end up. If we play the "Big Game" early, it will only help both programs (obviously the loser), to get that loss out of the way. I recognize that for this strategy to even matter, one or both team's records have to be worth a flip. I'm just setting up a good situation for both teams, if one or both had outstanding records.
If "buildup" is the dilemma, I can't imagine anymore anticipation than 8 months of no college football, only to be "kicked off" by Clemson/Carolina.
Think about it. Here we sit with deflated Clemson fans (from last week's loss) and disappointed USC fans (it started w/loss to Vandy), half heartedly cruising to Williams-Brice to play this game. What I'm getting at is, there isn't much hype this year for this rivalry game, and there is a reason for this. Conversely, if this game were the first one of the year, it would be HUGE every year by default.
At the very least this idea warrants some discussion and at most I think a "first week" Carolina/Clemson game would be followed by other rivalry games.
How about a 3 year pilot run?
2 comments:
Why would it be moved to the first of the year when we just moved it to the Saturday after Thanksgiving? Besides, we play rival Jawga early already. BTW - I'm tired to losing to Klimpsun. You're a fellow upstater as well, I'm sure you've also had enough. Wait 'til next year, right?
t3,
Well, I was thinking more along the lines of "strategery," rather than rivalry.
If USC is going to lose to Clemson 80% of the time anyway, USC may as well get it out of the way early. I'm saying this with a bitter taste, having lost since I typed this Post.
I guess, at 6 and 6 we really don't need to be talking about timing of wins and losses. We just need to have more W's!
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