Was college football better years ago?

[Nitt1300]

Let's define "years ago" as the days when there weren't so many bowl games that a 6 win season would get you into one.

I say yes. Success was making it into the top ten, playing and winning a major bowl game, and graduating your players. Fans didn't have unreasonable expectations that their team would be the one to win it all, and that anything short of that constituted failure (or maybe a personal affront)- justifying personal attacks on coaches and players.

 

[Obliviax]

Can you add an option for "its the same"?

schemes and details are different. other than that, I don't see an appreciable difference.

 

[Nitt1300]

Can you add an option for "its the same"?

schemes and details are different. other than that, I don't see an appreciable difference.

sorry- it appears that I can't

 

[Howie'81]

Let's define "years ago" as the days when there weren't so many bowl games that a 6 win season would get you into one.

I say yes. Success was making it into the top ten, playing and winning a major bowl game, and graduating your players. Fans didn't have unreasonable expectations that their team would be the one to win it all, and that anything short of that constituted failure (or maybe a personal affront)- justifying personal attacks on coaches and players.

I said no, because teams were not given a fair chance to play for a national championship. Though, the way it's done today is still not perfect, it's an improvement. I think when we get to 8 teams with P5 conf. champs automatically qualifying, we'll be where we need to be.

 

[Jakey_John]

I think everything is better except the barrage of stupid commercials. How much Pacific Life coverage, Coke Zero or Dr. Pepper can one buy?

 

[Nittanyfarmer]

Better today, but with an asterix. Players are stronger, faster and physically better than players from even the early 1980's. Used to be, you would see the SEC beer belly hanging out on linemen during bowl games, but now, linemen are in much better physical condition. Schemes are more complex now than they were years ago. Gone are the days when an Oklahoma could dominate teams with just using a wish-bone offense solely in a game.

 

[Howie'81]

I think everything is better except the barrage of stupid commercials. How much Pacific Life coverage, Coke Zero or Dr. Pepper can one buy?

One thing that's gotten worse, if it's even possible, is the amount of vapid commentary. I watched a bit of the playoff show last night and the commentary was so ridiculous that I found it unwatchable.

 

[Howie'81]

Oh, and for all you callow youngsters out there who ridicule your elders on this board, let it be known that I voted "better now." I'm sure you would have thought my vote would be the reverse.

 

[SheldonJoe2215]

I would have phrased the question as "Is college football more INTERESTING today?" - Are the athletes stronger, faster, involved in more complex schemes? Definitely. But the increased cost, high coaching salaries, commercialism, oversaturation, fan's impatience, and mega-conferences don't make the game more interesting to me.

 

[BobPSU92]

It was better simply because Joe was around.

 

[Howie'81]

It was better simply because Joe was around.

Well, you just don't care about kids, do you?

 

[JeffClear]

It’s way better now in several ways. More games on TV, used to have to listen to road games on the radio because few were televised. Now every PSU game is on tv and usually National tv.
Also there was a time not so long ago where a team could be in a power 5 conference, go undefeated and have no chance to win a national championship.
Players are better athletes, and there is more diversity in schemes now than in the past.

 

[PSU Dave]

Oh, and for all you callow youngsters out there who ridicule your elders on this board, let it be known that I voted "better now." I'm sure you would have thought my vote would be the reverse.

Let the old times roll. On the same note one thing's for sure....music was better back then.

 

[NJPSU]

It was better before the internet. It was better before twitter, ESPN, and the 24 hour news cycle. It was better before recruiting gurus and grown men hanging on every quote from a 17 year old.

They lined up played the game and you read 1 article about it the next day in the newspaper. Ah the good ole days.

 

[PSU Dave]

It’s way better now in several ways. More games on TV, used to have to listen to road games on the radio because few were televised. Now every PSU game is on tv and usually National tv.
Also there was a time not so long ago where a team could be in a power 5 conference, go undefeated and have no chance to win a national championship.
Players are better athletes, and there is more diversity in schemes now than in the past.

Ah, listening to games on the radio. A lost treasure. How exciting was it listening to Fran and George call the game. And those hot summer nights when the Phillies were on west coast and I'd tune in on KYW1060 to Harry and Richie. Magic.

 

[PSU Dave]

It was better before the internet. It was better before twitter, ESPN, and the 24 hour news cycle. It was better before recruiting gurus and grown men hanging on every quote from a 17 year old.

They lined up played the game and you read 1 article about it the next day in the newspaper. Ah the good ole days.

Like 1,000,000 times

To sum it up, it was better before greed took over.

 

[JWB389]

I think the media and coaches (polls/BCS) had an easier time picking the 2 best teams than the committee does picking the 4 best teams.

 

[PS4814]

I picked that I'm too young to remember as I only really started paying attention in the mid 90's and we've got a healthy population of the board that enjoyed the game for decades prior.

In my short span I've invested more time in the sport one of the biggest improvements is instant replay. Yes I know right now it's used waaay too often and it feels like I celebrate every other TD twice, but with the ineptness of some of the crews out there I'd say the positives outweigh the negatives.

 

[JeffClear]

Ah, listening to games on the radio. A lost treasure. How exciting was it listening to Fran and George call the game. And those hot summer nights when the Phillies were on west coast and I'd tune in on KYW1060 to Harry and Richie. Magic.

I do like listening to Pirate games on the radio, but I have to stream it on the MLB app because no local stations carry the games.
And Steve and Jack do a great job on the radio for Penn State now.

 

[PSU_Nut]

It was better before the internet. It was better before twitter, ESPN, and the 24 hour news cycle. It was better before recruiting gurus and grown men hanging on every quote from a 17 year old.

They lined up played the game and you read 1 article about it the next day in the newspaper. Ah the good ole days.

It still can be like that. No one is forcing you to read twitter, watch espn, recruiting article or the 24 hr news cycle. You can control how much you read and see.

 

[Mister Magoo]

I think the media and coaches (polls/BCS) had an easier time picking the 2 best teams than the committee does picking the 4 best teams.

You mean like when they sent an 11-1 OU team over an 11-1 Texas team even though Texas
beat them on a neutral field by 10 points??

 

[Mister Magoo]

It’s way better now in several ways. More games on TV, used to have to listen to road games on the radio because few were televised. Now every PSU game is on tv and usually National tv.
Also there was a time not so long ago where a team could be in a power 5 conference, go undefeated and have no chance to win a national championship.
Players are better athletes, and there is more diversity in schemes now than in the past.

You can watch the freakin games now. How can you say it was better to not see them?

Oh, you got to read guys like Bill Conlin and the pukes from the Patriot.....UGH!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[lein]

Ah, listening to games on the radio. A lost treasure. How exciting was it listening to Fran and George call the game. And those hot summer nights when the Phillies were on west coast and I'd tune in on KYW1060 to Harry and Richie. Magic.

Or those cold Scottish nights when I would tune in a barely receivable AFRTS on AM just to catch the scores during the game they were broadcasting.

The alternative was to wait until Wednesday to get the scores from Stars and Stripes (we always got that 2 days late).

 

[BobPSU92]

Well, you just don't care about kids, do you?

He did.

 

[PSU Dave]

It still can be like that. No one is forcing you to read twitter, watch espn, recruiting article or the 24 hr news cycle. You can control how much you read and see.

You're missing the point. All that garbage NJPSU alludes to DOES indirectly impact the game today.

 

[PSU Dave]

You can watch the freakin games now. How can you say it was better to not see them?

Oh, you got to read guys like Bill Conlin and the pukes from the Patriot.....UGH!!!!!!!!!!!

Because Announcers back then had the ability to bring the game to life even though you couldn't see it. Makes you appreciate the artistry they displayed when compared to the garbage announcers of today.

 

[royboy]

Better overall now --
positive -- more TV access for your favorite teams, playoff system which is much better than previous, variety of team offensive styles, and still have the involvement and identification fans have with their teams.
negative -- too many talking heads and topics, games go long due to commercials and extended officiating replays

 

[Mister Magoo]

Because Announcers back then had the ability to bring the game to life even though you couldn't see it. Makes you appreciate the artistry they displayed when compared to the garbage announcers of today.

My eyesight is better than a soliloquy from Chris Schenkel

 

[Howie'81]

He did.

I know. I was being facetious.

 

[RU31trap]

It's a tough question. I voted that college football is better today because of the exciting and more dynamic offenses. However, from a defensive perspective I believe that football was much more exciting in the 70's, 80's and 90's.

 

[PSU Dave]

My eyesight is better than a soliloquy from Chris Schenkel

My guess is you are too young to appreciate.

 

[john4psu]

I think it was better before ESPN and their agenda driven biases and Kirk Herbstreit's shilling for Ohio State. I never recall anyone saying that Keith Jackson was biased. He was professional.

I grew up in the golden era of college coaches and fell in love with college football, where coaches were known by just one word: Bear, Joe, Bo, Woody, Darryl, Ara, Bobby and other coaching giants like McKay, Switzer and Osborne, and they were synonymous with their school.

Today, if I'm not mistaken, only four active DI major college coaches have won a national championship: Saban, Meyer, Jimbo Fisher and Dabo Swinney.

Now you have the best players sitting out Bowl games fearing injury before their NFL careers and who can blame them. I certainly cannot but that doesn't help college football.

We didn't have those God-awful Maryland helmets or Oregon's lime neon green uniforms that change every week. No ugly throwback uniforms. Do you know why college football uniforms evolved away from those uniforms? Because they were ugly! Now you can't tell what uniforms are the standard. Even Ohio State and Notre Dame wear ugly uniforms frequently and not their standard classic uniform, all for $. Thank you Penn State, USC, and Alabama for having classic taste, and those helmets that look like Christmas tree ornament bulbs, don't get me started on that.

Hey kid, get off my lawn!

 

[Mister Magoo]

Seriously? Go look at some old game tape of offensive/defensive lineman in the 60-70-80s.
Then look at an offensive line from last week.
I would agree that players overall are larger, faster, stronger. I think that is obvious.
But the one thing that has changed dramatically (and there are a lot of reasons for this) is the "fitness" of interior linemen.

Dial up some Alabama games during the Bear's tenure (or Penn State games under JoePa in the 70s, or any other program for that matter)

They changed the rules to allow holding. That and genetics brought about the change to the big slogs.

 

[lein]

Viewing options is so much better now. In the 70s, before the CFA lawsuit, I think we got 2 games on Saturday total.. You might see a PSU game in that mix 3 or 4 games a year. The Sunday morning 1 hour highlight show was gold. And it was almost a full hour of highlights and without fluff pieces. Bonus was the TV Quarterbacks show on Sunday night with Joe and Fran.

In some ways the game was more interesting. Seemed more varied with major programs like Bama and Ok running the Wishbone. Others like USC and UNL I based offenses. BYU was so pass happy with Lavell Edwards.

 

[mrtailgate]

Then.

Nothing was better than getting to Beaver Stadium and going inside for a 1pm start with no TV and a quick game since there were no TV timeouts, replays, challenges, etc.

You could see the mountains and everything seemed closer to you.

I do have the advantage though of going into my basement and looking at my one wall which has the old Beaver Stadium wallpaper print you used to be able to buy. So, I'm reminded daily of what it used to be like.

 

[Mister Magoo]

My guess is you are too young to appreciate.

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I'm 56. And, the subject is college football. Good grief!

 

[PSU Dave]

I'm 56. And, the subject is college football. Good grief!

Once again you've missed the point.

 

[Mister Magoo]

Once again you've missed the point.

Hope you find that Delorean. I'm ok with this century.

 

[psuro]

Define what you mean by college football?

On the field? Players today are stronger and faster - can you imagine a 200 # lineman today? Even when I was at PSU in the 1980's, the offensive and defensive lines would get dwarfed and run over by today' s lines.

Different schemes?

Off the field? A 4 team play off vs......whatever the hell they did back then (not the least of which was crowning the champion before bowl games).

More TV games vs. one game per week?

 

[royboy]

Hope you find that Delorean. I'm ok with this century.

so you're not really an old grump