College Football's New Year's Resolutions for 2013

Author:
Steven Lassan
Dec 31, 2012 6:05 AM EST

In this story:

The end of every year is always a good time for reflection and examining what improvements could be made for the following 12 months. And that’s the case with college football, especially as the sport gets ready to close the books on a crazy 2012 season and move on to 2013 with another interesting race for the national title ready to unfold. There are still plenty of big events coming to college football in the next few days, including the anticipated Notre Dame-Alabama BCS championship game on Jan. 7. With the 2012 season nearly over, it’s time to start thinking about how college football could be better in 2013. With that in mind, here are six resolutions for fans to consider for next season:

Six College Football New Year's Resolutions for 2013

A quiet year for realignment
Nebraska to the Big Ten. Texas A&M to the SEC. Pittsburgh and Syracuse to the ACC. Maryland and Rutgers to the Big Ten. Will the realignment carousel ever stop? Unfortunately for college football fans, realignment will probably continue into 2013, 2014 and 2015. With the uncertainty surrounding the Big East, along with rumors about the Big Ten wanting to poach a few more teams from the ACC, it’s likely there will be a few more programs changing addresses in 2013. However, all fans should hope for less realignment and more news devoted to the on-field product in 2013. Speaking of realignment and affecting games…

Resuming defunct rivalries
Although conference realignment will create new rivalries, some historical matchups like Texas-Texas A&M, Pittsburgh-West Virginia and Kansas-Missouri should be played every year. Although schools don’t want to overload their non-conference schedules, there’s really no excuse for Texas to be unwilling to schedule Texas A&M because it changed conferences. Programs that won't schedule a rivalry game are only hurting their fans and pocketbook, especially as they will likely fill the void on the schedule with an easy non-conference win. Let’s hope 2013 brings some changes at those schools, which gets the defunct rivalries back on the schedule for 2014 and beyond.

An increased emphasis on non-conference scheduling
With a four-team playoff coming in 2014, some schools are ramping up their future non-conference schedules to become more attractive for the selection committee. Can some of that scheduling happen for 2013? It’s understandable why most of the SEC was playing FCS or non-BCS opponents the week before playing their rival. However, it’s also embarrassing for a conference to have no marquee matchup for an entire week. LSU-TCU, Georgia-Clemson, Virginia Tech-Alabama and Notre Dame-Oklahoma are some of the more enticing non-conference matchups for 2013, but college football needs more marquee non-conference games - and less of Alabama-Western Carolina, Auburn-Alabama A&M and Oklahoma State-Savannah State.

A defensive player to get more consideration for the Heisman
Considering college football has become a very offense-heavy sport, it’s no surprise quarterbacks and running backs get the most attention in Heisman races. While high-scoring games and spread offenses are the talk of college football, let’s see defensive players get more attention for the Heisman. Notre Dame’s Manti Te’o finished second to Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel in 2012, and South Carolina’s Jadeveon Clowney has already been tabbed one of the frontrunners for 2013. Although defensive players may not have the highlight reel plays or big stats like quarterbacks, their impact is just as crucial to the outcome of any game or success of their team.

Less complaining about the BCS
Frankly, the constant whining and complaining about the BCS is nauseating. And it’s even worse when fans complain about where their team ranks on Oct. 10. With the playoff coming in 2014, college football fans (at least most of them) got what they wanted. Instead of spending the next year complaining about the system and rankings until it matters in late November, let’s try to enjoy the on-field action more in the 2013 season, while engaging in more healthy debates like the Heisman, non-conference scheduling for the future and how to fix off-the-field scandals. And please, no debates about expanding the playoff to eight teams.

No more off-the-field scandals
For the past couple of years, it seems college football has had one ongoing scandal after another. Whether it is Miami, North Carolina, Oregon or Penn State, the off-the-field news is getting ridiculous. How about a year where there are no NCAA investigations or letters of inquiry sent to schools? Miami and Oregon could be hearing from the NCAA this spring, but college football fans should hope no new scandals will break in 2013.