We all know that the 12th game is about getting schools and conferences more cash. The assumption was that most schools would basically use it to schedule more chumps for home games.

My hope was that with the shortage of guaranteed chumps and more schools demanding at least a 3-for-1 deal, that long-term the Big East schools would start playing more difficult non-con games. The reasoning being that as more teams struggle to find opponents, and face a backlash from fans and media for scheduling Div. 1-AA teams to fill the void (I can dream), that there would be an eventual move by teams to play tougher games. Basically a supply and demand issue.

What would be bad for the Big East football as it is presently configured with only 8 teams would be if the demand to fill the extra game was shrunk by BCS conferences adding another conference game. Essentially meaning teams would get an extra game every 2 years, but not increasing the demand for non-con opponents.

The Big 12 considered this but opted against it — for now. The PAC-10, however, has opted to use the 12th game to play in-conference.

A disturbing trend, and will also hurt the Big East in terms of conference strength of schedule.

The other thing to note is that the Coaches Poll will now only be the USA Today Coaches poll. ESPN is ripping itself away from this poll.

The cable sports network said it no longer wanted its name attached to the rankings unless all ballots were made public, not just the final ones. USA Today will continue running the poll, which helps determine who plays for the national championship.

It means nothing right now, but is merely reflective of the growing desire for transparency.