Schedule Options for Next Season

[JeffHCross]

Okay, as most of you know schedules are all messed up this year (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?6231-Schedules-with-Custom-Conferences). In short, our custom conferences make the game default to some automatic schedule it has, and for whatever reason that schedule hasn't rotated in four years. Our schedules in 2016 is the same we had in 2013, though Home/Away change. I do think it's possible that Oneback's attempts to make the schedule work in our favor (by changing when conference games are scheduled to start) might be a factor, but my own testing has shown that even if you don't screw with the settings at all in the offseason, not much seems to change. Even if Oneback managed to get the system to listen to the "conference games starting ..." setting (which it won't), my testing suggests that the schedules still won't rotate, at least not with our teams.

So, as far as I'm concerned, with have five options for next season, including just sticking with what we have now.


6-school conferences - The first two options put us in the smallest available conference options, 4-8 teams. My testing has shown that conferences with 4-8 teams have a different "default" schedule than the schedules with more teams. EA's blog (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2257-NCAA-Football-12-Blog-Custom-Conferences) says that 4-8 team conferences will have a 7-game conference schedule and FCS teams make up the difference. That's true. However, those FCS teams are scheduled as OOC games -- so we're free to change them as we wish. So we'd effectively have a 5-game conference schedule, plus seven OOC games to schedule as we wish. Also, my testing has shows that the 6-team conference listens to the "start conference games in Week ____" setting, so we could wait for conference games until Week 4 or whatever. On the downside, it looks like these schedules won't rotate either, but at least it would give us something different. And it's possible that changing the week our conference schedule starts would change it up enough for it to seem different?

8-school conferences - Basically the same as 6-team conferences, but obviously with two more conference teams, controlled by the CPU. So, presumably, two users would get a CPU rivalry game, whereas everyone else is left to OOC it.

Current schedule (10-schools) - What we've got now. No matter what we do, it's probably going to stay the same for the foreseeable future.

12-school conferences - Adding two more CPU teams would put us into divisions. We could put everyone into the same division in order to guarantee everyone plays each other. Games from the other division would be random. And there'd be an inevitable User/CPU CCG. It does appear that 12-team schedules rotate, though they may not change what weeks you have conference games, just the opponent.

Go Independent - This is my favorite option, personally, though it would be a lot of work (that I'd volunteer to do). If we threw all twelve users into the Independents, then we would be free to set whatever schedule we want. Someone would probably need to be in charge of ensuring the schedule rotates and changes it up now and then, and the commish would have a ton of work to do balancing the schedule at the start of the year. And there's no guarantee there isn't some bug that I haven't found yet.

On the upside, I did some quick testing tonight and it appears that we could customize the BCS tie-ins to allow more than just 2 independents. Basically, the system would treat us all as at-large, and any at-large spots available would be free for us to take. In my sim, five of the user teams ended up in BCS bowls. On the downside, the rest of the bowls suck. Like I said, we're considered at-large teams with no tie-ins. So if you miss a BCS bowl, your bowl is probably going to blow, because you'll only get spots that other teams can't fill. In fact, it's possible that teams might miss bowls (I didn't check).

[JeffHCross]

If I set the poll right, you should be allowed to make up to 2 choices.

[Oneback]

I think there is another option that has been mentioned lately as well - all 12 user teams in one conference. I believe prior to starting NCAA 13, this was the way things were leaning however we backed off of it due to Papa's internet issues at the time. I'm open to re-opening that discussion as well.

[JeffHCross]

I'd be completely against that. I have no interest in nine user games a year. Even without Papa's schedule, that still puts a major burden on being able to match up each other's schedules many times over the course of a season.

Papa's wireless didn't come up at all (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?386-Powerhouse-OD-General-Discussion-Thread&p=145850&viewfull=1#post145850) during the vote.

[texacotea]

I too am completly against the 12 team division. I like the pace of this league and I believe it will slow us down alot if we have more user games. I went with Independent because I could schedule some guys from the other cong and not have to worry about adding extra user games. Its getting hectic around the house with me coaching basketball and my oldest in a play now.

I do say that we have a set # of user games that we have to play.

[Oneback]

I'm open for what everyone wants, figured I'd throw out the option for everyone to ponder.

[gschwendt]

I'm up for whatever but agree that a 12 team conference is a bit much. I would be interested in trying out the independent route so that I could play some guys from the sec.

[psuexv]

I guess I'm failing to see the issue with the current set up. We have a 10 team conference so we get to play 9 conference games and 3 out of conference. So we always play every team in conference. The schedules switch home and away.

I also checked and schedules seem to rotate as this year on Week 5 I played OB, last year OK, the year before that MSU.

Is the only problem the conference games starting week 1?

[Oneback]

The problem isn't that bad in the Big 12, although we only rotate between two static schedules and I can't do anything about NY_Kia's schedule where every other year he plays 4 straight UvU games starting week 1. In the SEC the schedule doesn't change at all and Jeff if stuck with a schedule where every year he plays a UvU game starting week 1 for 4 or 5 games.

[psusnoop]

I went with Independents and the 6 team conference as my choices.

The Independents if we all work together could be interesting though I'd hope that someone wouldn't miss out on a bowl game that is for sure.

The 6 team conferences assures you wouldn't miss out most likely on a bowl game while still giving a good amount of flexibility as well.

[JeffHCross]

Pretty much my thoughts Snoop. I've been thinking about an all Independent OD for a while, but I'm worried about potential problems that I haven't noticed.

The six team conferences is my favorite of the conference options.

[Papa LoneStar]

I voted for a single 12 team conference....but since we are currently tied between independent and 6 team conferences....I vote for 6 team conferences so I could schedule more user games vs the other guys....my dream would be to schedule Oneback, G, and NYKia so I could increase my chances of getting some youtube love....lol

[JeffHCross]

Dawg, Eric, and KIA, what say you?

[psuexv]

Dawg, Eric, and KIA, what say you?

Leave as is thought that was implied in my post :)

[nykia31]

Is there a way to go 12 team conference, and just split the divisions? half in one, half in the other?

[JeffHCross]

Leave as is thought that was implied in my post :)It was implied that you didn't know what was wrong with the current schedule :P

Is there a way to go 12 team conference, and just split the divisions? half in one, half in the other?Assuming you mean half the users in one, half in the other -- we could do it, and it was suggested above (by Oneback), but didn't have much support. If you mean three users in one division and three in the other, we could do that too, but then people may have uneven amounts of users on their schedule and that is usually thought to be unfair.

[ryby6969]

Personally, I could care less what we do if we do not go to one 12 team conference. The only thing that will really change is the schedule. I will still play the same users just in a different order. One thing I will say is I think it would be fun to at least do the 1 conference idea in the last season.

[psusnoop]

Maybe with the thought of playing the same users we could redraw the conferences just for fun :dunno: just spit balling here

[gschwendt]

Maybe with the thought of playing the same users we could redraw the conferences just for fun :dunno: just spit balling hereGoing Independent fixes that and it's actually leading the vote now anyway.

[psusnoop]

Going Independent fixes that and it's actually leading the vote now anyway.

That is true hahaha

[Oneback]

I'm good with going the Independant route, it just makes for a scheduling nightmare, but there are plenty of tools to help with that.

[psuexv]

What happens to the conference prestige pitch when we go to Independents?

[Oneback]

It changes based on conference affiliation, however it also dynamically changes throughout the season based upon team ranking.

[gschwendt]

It changes based on conference affiliation, however it also dynamically changes throughout the season based upon team ranking.
Are you saying that each of us would have our own conference pitch rating? I honestly don't know the answer to that question.

[Oneback]

Are you saying that each of us would have our own conference pitch rating? I honestly don't know the answer to that question.

No, the conference prestiege rating is determined by how well all teams in the conference perform: http://www.operationsports.com/forums/ncaa-football/556737-five-reasons-excited-ncaa-13-5-dynamic-conference-prestige.html

[gschwendt]

No, the conference prestiege rating is determined by how well all teams in the conference perform: http://www.operationsports.com/forums/ncaa-football/556737-five-reasons-excited-ncaa-13-5-dynamic-conference-prestige.htmlRight, but is Independent considered a conference or does each stand on their own?

[psuexv]

Right, but is Independent considered a conference or does each stand on their own?

Yes, this would be my question and why I was confused by the conference affiliation. Technically we wouldn't be affiliated with a conference, correct?

[Oneback]

Right, but is Independent considered a conference or does each stand on their own?

I have a feeling EA treats Independent as a conference.

[psuexv]

I have a feeling EA treats Independent as a conference.

I think Jeff is going to test this tonight

[Escobar]

I thought they stated in the previews before the game released that Conference Prestige didn't really work for the independents. Watch the video about the new recruiting pitches and Haumiller specifically states that Notre Dame will automatically get an A for prestige so the ND fans didn't have to worry about them being independent. An easy way to test this is to start up a dynasty and look at Army and Navy's CP compared to Notre Dame's.

[JeffHCross]

I think Jeff is going to test this tonightTesting it now.

[JeffHCross]

For Conference Prestige: In short ... it's all on you, and we'll probably all be A+.

It looks like what the game does is compare your individual school's ranking to the average ranking of the other conferences. If you're equal or above a given conference, you get their grade, moving down until you match that criteria. But I didn't figure that out until near the end of the season, so you won't see conference rankings until the end.


Pre-Season My School Conference Prestige:
Alabama A+
Arkansas A+
Florida State A+
Georgia A+
LSU A+
Michigan A+
Notre Dame A+
Ohio State A
Oregon A+
Texas A
Texas A&M B
USC A+

Week 8 My School Conference Prestige:
Alabama A+
Arkansas A
Florida State A+
Georgia A+
LSU A+
Michigan A+
Notre Dame A+
Ohio State A
Oregon A+
Texas A+
Texas A&M C+
USC A+

Week 15 My School Conference Prestige:
#9 Alabama A+
#4 Arkansas A+
#10 Florida State A+
#13 Georgia A+
#44 LSU B-
#20 Michigan A+
#19 Notre Dame A+
#25 Ohio State A
#24 Oregon A+
#12 Texas A+
#15 Texas A&M A+
#1 USC A+

Big XII A+ Avg 24.0
Big Ten A 28.5
Big East B 43.2
Pac-12 B- 44.2

Offseason My School Conference Prestige:
#8 Alabama A+
#3 Arkansas A+
#9 Florida State A+
#10 Georgia A+
#32 LSU A
#18 Michigan A+
#16 Notre Dame A+
#34 Ohio State A-
#30 Oregon A
#19 Texas A+
#13 Texas A&M A+
#4 USC A+

Big XII A+ Avg 21.0
Big Ten A 32.3
ACC A- 37.0

[JeffHCross]

Schedules ... here's an idea of what kind of schedules we might be looking at the game rolling for us. This is based on a test Dynasty where I've set up all of our conference changes, simulated a season, and I took our 12 teams out of our conferences and threw us into the Independents. I moved Vandy back to the SEC. This is the default 2013 schedule before any customization on my part.

Arkansas:
vs Purdue
@ Rutgers
@ Alabama
vs Washington State
vs Texas A&M
vs UNLV
vs Auburn
@ North Carolina
@ Ole Miss
vs South Carolina
vs Mississippi State
@ LSU

Florida State:
vs FCS Southeast
@ West Virginia
vs Oklahoma State
vs Nevada
@ Washington
vs Alabama
vs Miami
vs Minnesota
@ North Carolina
vs Baylor
vs Maryland
@ Florida

Notre Dame:
vs Temple
@ Michigan
vs Michigan State
@ Purdue
@ Air Force
@ Arizona State
vs Utah State
vs UTEP
@ Stanford
vs Navy
vs Boston College
vs USC

Week 14:
Arkansas @ LSU
USC @ Notre Dame
Florida State @ Florida
Georgia @ Georgia Tech
Ohio State @ Michigan
Texas @ TCU
Oregon State @ Oregon
Alabama @ Auburn
Texas A&M @ Missouri

Other notables include:
No Week 1 games
No Week 15 games
No A&M / Texas (wat?)
Oregon gets Oregon State but no Washington

[JeffHCross]

Just took a season similar to the one I posted above (I accidentally left the Dynasty I posted above) and simulated to the Bowls ... let's see how it turns out.

BCS Bowl Tie-Ins are:
ACC Champ - Orange Bowl
Big Ten Champ - Rose Bowl
Big East Champ - Sugar Bowl
Pac-12 Champ - Fiesta Bowl
Four at-large slots



Rank
School
Record
Bowl


#2
Notre Dame
11-1
:BCS:


#3
Alabama
11-1
:Orange_Bowl:


#5
USC
10-2
:Fiesta_Bowl:


#7
LSU
10-2
:Armed_Forces_Bowl:


#9
Texas
9-3
:Fight_Hunger_Bowl:


#11
Oregon
9-3
:LittleCaesars_Bowl:


#13
Michigan
9-3
:Meineke_Texas_Bowl:


#20
Ohio State
9-3
:Insight_Bowl:


#24
Georgia
9-3
:Music_City_Bowl:


UNR
Florida State
8-4
:Holiday_Bowl:


UNR
Texas A&M
7-5
:Chick_fil_A_Bowl:


UNR
Arkansas
5-7
--



And let's simulate it again (same schedules), just to see how the results turn out:



Rank
School
Record
Bowl


#1
Alabama
12-0
:BCS:


#5
Ohio State
11-1
:Sugar_Bowl:


#7
Oregon
11-1
:Rose_Bowl:


#10
Texas
9-3
:Fight_Hunger_Bowl:


#11
Notre Dame
9-3
:LittleCaesars_Bowl:


#12
Florida State
9-3
:Meineke_Texas_Bowl:


#13
USC
9-3
:Insight_Bowl:


#14
LSU
9-3
:Music_City_Bowl:


UNR
Michigan
7-5
:Holiday_Bowl:


UNR
Georgia
7-5
:Alamo_Bowl:


UNR
Texas A&M
7-5
:Chick_fil_A_Bowl:


UNR
Arkansas
5-7
--



It looks like if we leave the Big XII and SEC with the remaining four teams each (which I agree is not ideal), then we benefit from their lack of bowl eligible teams and slide into their remaining bowl tie-ins. That's probably the best scenario to ensure that every user who is bowl eligible will get a slot (even if it's the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl).

[JeffHCross]

<snip>