Oversigning Update: To The Cheaters Belong The Bowls!
by joefromboalsburg on Jan 8, 2012 11:28 AM CST
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Oversigning is a clear-cut competitive advantage that drastically tips the playing field in favor of the, for lack of a better word, Cheater. (I realize that there are glaring loopholes in this rule, so cheating is not the legally correct word.)
The results of oversigning on competitive balance are clearly shown by analyzing the results of this year’s bowl games. Teams offering more scholarships than their opponents went 15-4 in this year’s bowls. Almost all of these bowl winners are oversigning cheaters.
The website oversigning.com compiles data on most major teams in the country, listing the number of scholarships granted per year since 2002. The table below lists the number of scholarships granted during the last five years for this year’s bowl opponents, instead of the score. The results show, without doubt, that oversigning tilts the field in favor of the team offering the most scholarships.
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Winner
|
Loser
|
Diff
|
||
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Miss State
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137
|
W Forest
|
94
|
43
|
|
Auburn
|
144
|
Virginia
|
108
|
36
|
|
OK State
|
133
|
Stanford
|
99
|
34
|
|
Tx A&M
|
116
|
NW
|
91
|
25
|
|
Florida
|
120
|
Ohio St
|
98
|
22
|
|
W Va
|
121
|
Clemson
|
103
|
18
|
|
Fl State
|
127
|
Notre D
|
110
|
17
|
|
Illinois
|
120
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UCLA
|
106
|
14
|
|
OKLA
|
122
|
Iowa
|
109
|
13
|
|
S Carolina
|
130
|
Nebraska
|
118
|
12
|
|
Cincy
|
113
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Vandy
|
102
|
11
|
|
Oregon
|
121
|
Wisconsin
|
112
|
9
|
|
Baylor
|
132
|
Wash
|
125
|
7
|
|
Texas
|
111
|
Cal
|
108
|
3
|
|
Mich St
|
116
|
Georgia
|
114
|
2
|
|
Missouri
|
124
|
North Car
|
126
|
-2
|
|
Arkansas
|
135
|
K State
|
139
|
-4
|
|
Michigan
|
112
|
Va Tech
|
122
|
-10
|
|
Rutgers
|
116
|
Iowa St
|
134
|
-18
|
This table includes only those games where both teams data are available on oversigning.com. If strict adherence to the NCAA 85/25 rule was adhered to, the maximum number of schollys would be 85 plus 25 over five years, or 110.
The SEC, which clearly leads the country in oversigning, boasts of producing the BCS Champion for the last six years. Looking at this data, it can be argued that any SEC team that loses a non-conference game or a bowl game should fire their coach! I have highlighted teams with more than 115 scholarships granted during the last five years, which is ‘cheating’ by one per year. Of the nineteen bowl winners on this list, only Texas and Michigan fall into the Non-Cheater category.
In my opinion, this situation should be changed, so that all teams are compelled to play by the same rules.
Unless otherwise expressly indicated by BHGP editors, this FanPost is strictly the viewpoint of the author and is not endorsed by BHGP in any way.
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Comments
So what you're telling me
is that Texas A&M and Mizzou are ready to fit in the SEC.
"'Contrariwise,' continued Tweedledee, 'If it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic." - Lewis Caroll, Alice Through the Looking Glass
If only we'd played Stanford, we'd have been pretty much gauranteed a victory!
Also, LOL at Iowa State. How can you not cruise with such a clear competitive advantage.
Why in the world isn’t the NCAA doing something about this? It’s exactly the sort of thing they’d get righteous about and overreact to.
by The Final Gun on Jan 8, 2012 12:07 PM CST reply actions 1 recs
I'm also a little shocked that both the NCAA and media aren't paying more attention to this
The guys at oversigning.com are doing yeoman’s work.
I spent half my life's earnings on wine, women & song. The other half I wasted.
by therealCatnuts on Jan 8, 2012 12:42 PM CST up reply actions
They are slightly
the new rules allowing multi-year scholarships are supposed to help in that teams will be less able to cut guys, but the rules (if I understand them correctly) give schools the opportunity to offer multi-year schollies, so schools will only offer this to the highest of the blue chip players and continue to just give 1 year plans to other guys.
The real change needs to be that that you are only able to accept the number of recruits that you have spots for as of the end of the season (bowl game). If guys are getting cut for various reasons, those cuts can’t happen during the summer once you see that you have better recruits lined up.
"'Contrariwise,' continued Tweedledee, 'If it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic." - Lewis Caroll, Alice Through the Looking Glass
by chitownhawkeye on Jan 8, 2012 1:21 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
And in the (admittedly rare) instance that you have a rhabdo-like incident...
…or something similar where multiple players just give up on football?
Also, does this take into account post-bowl transfers or academic ineligibility/transfers? Would Iowa have been able to sign more guys to replace Coker, McCall, Derby, etc?
meh
Where was this data before the Bowl Pick-em?
15-4 sounds pretty tasty compared to my dismal results
I spent half my life's earnings on wine, women & song. The other half I wasted.
Woof. You and me both. It’s embarrassing.
by txhawkeye on Jan 8, 2012 5:58 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
That would be 3 of us
"'Contrariwise,' continued Tweedledee, 'If it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic." - Lewis Caroll, Alice Through the Looking Glass
by chitownhawkeye on Jan 8, 2012 6:48 PM CST up reply actions
I just checked mine.
Apparently, I’ve done pretty well, although confidence points haven’t been my friend. Missing on 7 games is pretty decent, I thought. Especially compared to my dumpster-fire of NCAA Tournament picks!
"No I'm not going to 'limber up'. You ever see a lion stretching before it takes down a gazelle?"
Allow schools to give multi-year scholarships
that only stop counting against a school’s 85 scholarship limit when the time associated with a scholarship expires.
Want to see schools give a crap about a player’s education, recruit guys who fit their system, actually have the capability to graduate, and care about players’ safety? Want players to know which schools actually believe more in his ability and are more committed to his success?
I won’t pretend it totally solves all of these problems, but it is a massive step in the right direction.
GO IOWA AWESOME
Auburn signed 144 players over the last five years?
That’s more than an entire extra class than they “should” have been able to sign.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
Close to 1.5 classes.
ISU is up an entire class also. What do the numbers for Bama and LSU look like?
by Norm Parker's Amputated Toes on Jan 9, 2012 3:47 PM CST up reply actions
Fat lot of good that extra class did ISU.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
They did beat Oklahoma State
And may have done well in their in-state rivalry game, though for some reason when I think about it I just see a bunch of flash cuts of something called Steele Jantz before it turns to black. Same for you, I’m guessing.
Poking around on the site, it looks like they oversign, but not quite as much as the worst offenders in the SEC.
Although they did finish 2nd and 3rd in the Oversigning Cup.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
Two games jump off that page to me.
MSU over Georgia – neither is egregiously high on the scholly numbers but does Georgia really lag that far behind the rest of the SEC in oversigning?
Arkansas over Kstate – Really Kstate?
ISU’s high number could probably be attributed to coaching turnover and them being ISU right?
Well
MSU over Georgia – neither is egregiously high on the scholly numbers but does Georgia really lag that far behind the rest of the SEC in oversigning?
More fodder for the “Richt is a good guy” argument, I suppose. I also didn’t think Florida had been a particularly egregious abuser of oversigning (a lot of their recent woes have come because of some reecnt, smaller classes that haven’t panned out well), but they did apparently grab 10 more guys than they should have.
Arkansas over Kstate – Really Kstate?
Not too surprising because KState has traditionally been a haven for JUCO guys under Snyder.
ISU’s high number could probably be attributed to coaching turnover and them being ISU right?
The five-year window would include a few years of Chizik recruiting and I’m sure he brought the full SEC oversigning plan with him. ISU has also tended to go after a lot of JUCO guys, which boosts your numbers here. It will be interesting to see how Rhoads recruits at ISU going forward.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
Yes to all of this
also, Dantonio is a douche who played in the SEC and was a longtime assistant under Jim Tressel
GO IOWA AWESOME
UPDATE: Bama over LSU
That brings the number to 16-4 in favor of schools who had more scholarships.
Bama 136, LSU 131.
This cannot possibly be an abberation. 80% is something I will take to Las Vegas next year.
Son of an Infidel.....Eater of Vegetables!
by joefromboalsburg on Jan 13, 2012 6:03 PM CST reply actions
Small sample size is small
They say you're a pitcher, you're sure not much of a dresser. We wear caps and sleeves on this level, son.
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