Well, they did it. All the bowl games have been announced. Some, I love. Some, I hate. And some are just downright ridiculous. Remember when it meant something to get into a bowl game? Now it just means you had a team this year.
Now, for the ones I hate. BYU vs. Oregon. I'm a University of Utah fan, so anytime BYU has a decent year, I hate it. Oklahoma vs. Boise State. I think Boise State is just good enough to give OU a hard time. They shouldn't. I think Big 12 football is way better than the WAC, but just because of that reason, I think OU might struggle.
Now, let's go over some of the dumber bowl games. The New Orleans Bowl: Troy vs. Rice. Who cares? I'm a football junkie, but can't think of one single reason to turn this one on.
Papajohns.com Bowl (I'm not kidding): South Florida vs. East Carolina. Isn't East Carolina the school they used in the movie THE PROGRAM? That was a great movie when I was 19, by the way.
International Bowl: Cincinnati vs. Western Michigan. How many flippin' D-1 programs does the state of Michigan have?
Motor City Bowl: Central Michigan vs. Middle Tennessee. Why isn't it Middle Michigan?
GMAC Bowl: Southern Miss vs. Ohio: Good ol' Frank Solich is in a bowl game in January! Too bad it's just a filler the night before the title game.
Here's the ones I'm real interested in:
Ohio State vs. Florida (for obvious reasons, even though it should be Michigan).
Texas Bowl: Kansas State vs. Rutgers. K State didn't have the greatest year, but it was respectable, especially with a freshmen QB. I just want to see how Rutgers plays against Big 12 football. If K State bearts them handily, that should shut up all people who thought that Rutgers deserved to even talk about BCS bowls.
Armed Forces Bowl: Utah vs. Tulsa. I'm a Utah fan because my father-in-law went there. He got me into watching them play almost 10 years ago. I think they will handle Tulsa OK. If you haven't heard his name, look up Eric Weddle. The guy is a throw back. He plays Corner on D. He lines up everywhere on offense. He's scored from the running back position, he's caught touchdown passes, he's thrown touchdown passes. He's even scored a few touchdown from interception run backs on defense. He the bast player in the country that you've never heard about. If he doesn't go in the first round next year, something's wrong in the football world.
Sun Bowl: Missouri vs. Oregon State. I think this is a great game for MU. Oregon State just beat Hawaii Saturday night. They held them to 28 point, which was well below their season average. OSU is ranked in the top 25 too. If Missouri can pull this one off, I think it gives them a great foundation for next year since they bring most of their team back.
I think Nebraska has their hands full with Auburn in the Cotton Bowl. I think Auburn's defense is a lot better than Oklahoma's and they beat Big Red this weekend. War Eagle.
Let the games begin!!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
8 comments:
I agree, there are too many bowls. At least there aren't enough bowls for KU though, so maybe it's not as bad as we think.
At any rate, the criteria for number of available bowl games SHOULD be pretty simple. The only rule should be this: If you can't come up with a name for your bowl other than the sponsor, then get rid of it.
For instance:
Papajohns.com Bowl - unacceptable
Papajohns.com Freedom Bowl - acceptable
Just come up with SOMETHING. For instance, the Capital One Bowl used to be the Citrus Bowl. At least call it the Capital One Citrus Bowl. I'm not asking for much here. Good lord. I realize it's all about making money, but can we please be just a little less obvious?
I'm waiting for the "We're just in it to make a buck Bowl". It would be Ottawa University vs. Baker University. It would be played at the Lee's Summit West High School field. Which reminds me....Josh and I were a part of the Wheat Bowl in BFE Kansas. We got a 20 dollar watch with the Wheat Bowl insignia on the face. If there are Bowls for NAIA....you know there are too many!
Bowl games are just stupid anymore. Look at the date of the Title Game - January 8th!!! It's only December 4th, for the love of Pete!!! They say that a playoff would make the season too long. What??? Numbers 1 and 2 have a solid 5 weeks of practice. The pros only get 2 weeks to prepare for the Super Bowl. Unbelievable.
My favorite is the Rutgers snub. They were 6th in the nation but a few weeks ago, but they lost one and now they're religated to the Texas Bowl vs. K-State. Whoops!
It's because they are the Scarlet Knights or something gay like that. Maybe if they were the Black Knights....... Well, no, that hasn't helped Army.
Yeah, I know, I like how there are 2 games the night before the national championship game that are just idiocy. The GMAC Bowl and the International Bowl. What a joke! I remember when New Year's Day decided who was the national champion. I'm telling you, I can't wait to watch the I Can't Believe it's Not Butter Spray Fabio Bowl.
How about the This Is Our Country John "Don't Call Me Cougar" Mellencamp Chevy Silverado Bowl?
Here's my playoff solution. Take the top 8 and throw them into a playoff. Pretty simple, and it can be done in less time it takes for all the bowl games to be played. What would be so difficult about this? I don't think anyone below 8th can have a real claim at the national title anyway.
That would give us Ohio State, Florida, Michigan, LSU, USC, Louisville, Wisconsin and Boise State. Perfect. Sorry Auburn, Oklahoma and Notre Dame...you're out. You want to be in the playoff? Don't lose.
Anyway, the bowl system is such a great way to make money, that most university presidents don't want to give up all the cash the bowls produce, even the lower tier bowls. Big deal. An 8 team playoff gives you 7 games played. Rose, Fiesta, Sugar, Orange, Cotton, Gator and Capital One. Have each of those bowls host a playoff game every year. Let all the other rinky dink bowls play their meaningless games. They're just as meaningless with a playoff in place as they are without a playoff. You can't tell me that this wouldn't make more money than the current system.
And seriously, the Wheat Bowl? Good gravy.
That's right, the Wheat Bowl! It was played in the middle of a open field with a couple of sets of bleachers on each side of the field. I think the winds were blowing about 40 MPH that day. Refs had to call time out for tumbleweed.
Post a Comment