Are you bowled over yet?
Forget about Oklahoma-Boise State for a moment. If every game was like that, we would welcome even more than the 32 that are now a part of the bloated schedule. And besides, both of those teams were bowl worthy.
However, some of us are old enough to remember when a bowl game was a reward for teams that had noteworthy seasons and earned the right to participate.
Now, as long as a team breaks even it’s bowl worthy. Unbelievable! Even the NCAA Division I basketball selection committee doesn’t issue invitations based on that criteria for March Madness. But that takes us to a playoff system that I have long been a proponent of, so let’s not go down that path.
Let’s face it. The only reason New Mexico “earned” a spot in a bowl game was because that contest was held on the Lobos’ home field. After all, when was the last time a team finished .500 and deserved to be in a bowl game?
Of course, the same argument could be made for the Independence Bowl participants. OK, it was a good matchup of mediocre opponents – Oklahoma State and Alabama. But two .500 teams participating in a “bowl” game? A stretch, to say the least.
So with NCAA Division I schools in business to make money so they can afford the multiyear, multimillion dollar contracts they pay their coaches from running to the NFL, is there an answer?
Yes, and it’s really so simple that it’s a wonder that nobody else seems to be taking this side. And to me, it seems to be the most logical and sensible compromise there is.
Because there is so much pomp and ceremony or tradition with the most lucrative BCS bowls – Rose, Orange, Sugar and Fiesta (whoops, I forgot all those sponsors with their names attached), why not keep them around January 1 like they presently are.
The remainder get moved to the first 15 days of December. That way, AutoZone, Brut, Chik-Fil-A and Meineke Car care still get there names affixed to bowls. Additionally, a lesser amount of teams get 30-day breaks from their regular-season finales and it even benefits the two-faced university presidents who voted against a playoff system under the guise that they said it would extend the season (as if adding a 12th regular-season game and bowls beyond Jan. 1 don’t already do that).
Will something equivalent to this ever happen? Nah! The bowl people would scream long and loud. After all, they’re the ones paying large sums of money to NCAA schools, who then share percentages with conference members, who then have more money to pay coaches 4, 5 times as much as the top professors earn, etc.
But teams from the Big Ten playing New Years Day and beyond should scream long and loud. After all, they’re the ones who go six weeks between games. How ridiculous is that?
It all boils down to this – when there are too many dollars, there is not enough sense.
Fantastic finish: How could anyone argue about the excitement factor of the Oklahoma-Boise State game. It was a strike for the little guys over the big guys. Plus, the Broncos and coach Chris Peterson were innovative in their play calling when the game was on the line.
But before we start anointing this as the best college football game ever, remember the 1980 Holiday Bowl when BYU scored three touchdowns in the last three minutes to come from behind for a 46-45 win over SMU led by Eric Dickerson and Craig James, who had a combined 335 yards rushing. The BYU quarterback was Jim McMahon.
And, remember the 1984 Boston College-Miami game when Doug Flutie threw the “Hail Mary” pass that Gerard Phelan caught to give the Eagles a 47-45 win.
