Louisville, Florida State and the Money of College Football

Question

First off....I had zero betting or rooting interest in either team last night - I have tried to stick to the NFL this year and occasionally tail some of you in college. Also, I am one who laughs at folks who think Vegas fixes football games - as they do not. My question right here revolves around money and college football and last night's game brought it to the forefront. I am not saying this did, or did not, happen, but am curious as to others real thoughts on this.

Bobby Petrino (the slime ball that he is) is given a second chance by Louisville when nobody thought he would ever get one - so his character seems to be suspect
Florida State in the playoffs nets the ACC around $30 million, a championship well over $50 million (so Louisville around $3M to $4M)
Back to back national champions from the ACC provides Louisville a recruiting edge over SEC teams such as Kentucky, Tennessee and Vanderbilt
Taking the "champions" to the wire also helps in recruitment

With that being said, and with Louisville's play calling in the second half very suspect, the conversation last night with my friends really revolved around this theory: Did Petrino get a call at halftime from the AD kindly reminding him of what was at stake if Louisville won the game?

Again, not saying it did or did not happen - Florida State could very well have made incredible adjustments and the game could have just been a reminder that Jimbo Fisher is the better coach and Florida State the better team.

As someone who went to Ohio University - I have seen MAC teams relish in destroying unbeaten MAC teams, thus killing a huge payday for the MAC - so this alone flies in the face of the theory.

I hopefully am not hedging which way I lean on this one.....and I am laying out an argument someone else started so might have missed some things. But wow, this was a fun conversation last night....so wanted to see if we could get one going on Covers....

tommy997 · Answer

First off....I had zero betting or rooting interest in either team last night - I have tried to stick to the NFL this year and occasionally tail some of you in college. Also, I am one who laughs at folks who think Vegas fixes football games - as they do not. My question right here revolves around money and college football and last night's game brought it to the forefront. I am not saying this did, or did not, happen, but am curious as to others real thoughts on this.

Bobby Petrino (the slime ball that he is) is given a second chance by Louisville when nobody thought he would ever get one - so his character seems to be suspect
Florida State in the playoffs nets the ACC around $30 million, a championship well over $50 million (so Louisville around $3M to $4M)
Back to back national champions from the ACC provides Louisville a recruiting edge over SEC teams such as Kentucky, Tennessee and Vanderbilt
Taking the "champions" to the wire also helps in recruitment

With that being said, and with Louisville's play calling in the second half very suspect, the conversation last night with my friends really revolved around this theory: Did Petrino get a call at halftime from the AD kindly reminding him of what was at stake if Louisville won the game?

Again, not saying it did or did not happen - Florida State could very well have made incredible adjustments and the game could have just been a reminder that Jimbo Fisher is the better coach and Florida State the better team.

As someone who went to Ohio University - I have seen MAC teams relish in destroying unbeaten MAC teams, thus killing a huge payday for the MAC - so this alone flies in the face of the theory.

I hopefully am not hedging which way I lean on this one.....and I am laying out an argument someone else started so might have missed some things. But wow, this was a fun conversation last night....so wanted to see if we could get one going on Covers....

buckeyes54 · Answer

Notre Dame looked very good 1st half then FSU came out 2nd half looked very good to pull off the win, with that theory ND must of gotten the call then. My opinion FSU I believe has covered 3 games, playing like crap 1st halves, I just think this is who they are this year,  a pretty good team, just not a dominant team like last year.

tommy997 · Answer

Notre Dame is not a football member of the ACC - Notre Dame potentially lost a lot of money with that loss.Florida State may very well be a second half team this year.....

98ITR · Answer

Total agree..Only thing is Petrino was irate when that dude lost a fumble after the interception. That could have been the nail in the coffin if they would have scored a TD there going up 21.. I know FSU went on and scored 35 points after that but different circumstance changes everything..If you would have looked at the game a little further it was FSU run defense in the second half or LVille poor running game that is the big difference. LVille were getting chunks of rushing yards at a time in the first half and in the second half virtually zip.. This gave Winston so many more possessions to come back.

GoCards914 · Answer

Thought it was weird that Gerrod Holliman&#x27;s INT/fumble 1st play of 2nd half was not reviewed. His knee was down on his juke move he made about 2 seconds before he fumbled.

Rogue · Answer

Yeah, you see this almost every year when some conference's hopeful team is in a tussle first half...I've had a similar thought before. Even L'Ville might benefit more by getting a share of the kitty if FSU gets to the playoff. It's not much of a stretch to think they could let off the gas a few plays.

Also, I think first year coaches have a sort of perverse incentive to lose...but look good doing it. Too much first year success can be more of a problem than a boon.

Louisville, Florida State and the Money of College Football

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