Our friends at Rivals are running their annual Big Six Cupcake Bloodletting, taking college football's premier conferences to task for their increasing floppiness in scheduling non-conference games. It's a lengthy and entertaining read, from which we've coupled our favorite talking points to throw out at parties this summer:
• ACC teams play the most I-AA teams for the second consecutive season. We wonder who will lose to their creampuff opponent this year?
• Big 12 teams play the fewest I-AA teams, but Texas Tech plays no Big Six schools, and hasn't for six years now. We now know what Tommy Tuberville saw to gain by moving to Lubbock.
• Michigan and Ohio State don't play any I-AA teams, meaning they will have to resort to other means to find new reasons to hate each other. We're sure they'll think of something.
• PAC-10 BRAGGING RIGHTS ALERT: USC plays Big Six schools for every single game in 2011. Washington State plays none. Given their raw talent differential, this sounds about fair to us.
• School with the most Big Six non-conference opponents: Rice. Oh, that's just mean-spirited.
• Very nearly every league is scheduling more patsy games than were seen on the slate five years ago. This is bad for the viewer, because we like watching competitive football games during the brief window of time they are afforded us, but good for teams, since when you're hoisting the crystal football very few of the chattering class will point out that you got your hands on it by beating up on the Citadel. We call this gambit, "The Florida Gators." (The name could use some work.)