OGL Weekly Roundup (Playoffs?!)

Not a ton to report on this week from the ‘Burg.  It’s exam week and other than the Women’s Lax team, who Rob still refuses to recognize due to lack of a men’s program, heading to the CAA Tourney this weekend as a solid favorite, there’s not much else jumping out right now.

Don’t forget to sign up for the Nova/DC Duke Club Coach’s Caravan next Thursday, May 3 at The Boulevard Woodgrill in Arlington, VA.  That’s where you find gems like this one from last year:

We’re also holding out hope for at least some Uundrafted Free Agent signee news for a couple of last year’s football Dukes by the end of  and the the weekend, but it seems unlikely there will be anything to report from the actual selections.

But one thing that did catch our attention in the midst of all the trickle-down of conference realignment and the CAA sky is falling talk the last few weeks is the news that the FBS is finally headed for a playoff.  Here’s a solid breakdown of the possibilities for 2014 and beyond from CBS Sports’ Brett McMurphy.

The two obvious questions from a JMU standpoint are:

1) Under the “non-restricted” conference champs, or “straight top four ranked teams” plans the possibility certainly exists for a non-BCS conference team to someday make the playoffs.  It remains a true long-shot possibility unless you’re from South Bend, but at least a couple of these Boise/TCU/Utah teams of the past decade would’ve had a shot.  Does this possibly increase the incentive for investing in non-BCS FBS football for other schools?

2) If you’re Syracuse, Texas A&M, Missouri or West Virginia, are you kicking yourself for bolting too early now that the grass is not necessarily greener?  All left their traditional homes for reasons beyond championships (mainly conferences with larger tv deals), but all of them turned their backs on years of rivalry with proximate neighbors that made sense.  And ALL of them would’ve had infinitely better opportunities to turn in a 13-0, top-four, conference championship type seasons that would’ve put them in the mix in the new system than they currently do today.  For example, soon-to-be-Dukes-victim WVU is likely to begin this season in the top five nationally, but if you’re a Moutaineers fan, would you rather try to maintain that position by running through the Big East or the Big 12?  Or will TAMU even be in contention in the SEC after decades of relevance in the Big 12?  Just something to think about in the event JMU ever does move up and then we all start debating the relative merits of a perceived “power” conference in the event that “BCS conference” doesn’t mean what it once did.