2013-2014 NCAA Football Bowl-A-Rama: The End of the BCS

I don't think it will ever go to 16 teams. I think you can do four or eight teams without doing lasting damage to the bowls, but if you go to 16 teams over at least four weeks, nobody will care about the bowls and I don't think they want to get rid of the bowl system.

I think it will eventually go to eight, but I think we'll have a minimum of five years with the 4-team playoff. It wouldn't surprise me if it lasted the length of the contract before they expand it.

 

Really? How relevant are the bowls now? Why in the world should people care about the bowls now?

There are currently 35 bowls, featuring 70 teams (I know, math is hard). How can the bowls possibly be more devalued? I doubt very seriously anyone would miss 16 of those teams.

People always say a playoff would kill the bowls, but that makes no sense. If championship relevance was all that mattered, 90 percent of the bowls would already be dead. Believe me, if the networks, the bowl committees and the city chambers of commerce see a way to make a few bucks by holding a game, they'll hold a game, regardless of relevance. They're already proving that.

 

I think the bowls still have a place. It's still looked at as a benchmark of success (a winning season, for the most part) and a reward for smaller conference champions that will never sniff a major bowl. As a casual fan, it's cool to have wall to wall football for two weeks. As someone who has to crank out a daily sports section, it's nice to have something to carry you through an otherwise D-E-A-D time of year.
I agree that 35 bowls is way too many. They could cut it to 20 or so and I doubt anyone would miss them. I think their influence and importance will wane as the playoffs inevitably expand. There is still a place for them, though, and there will continue to be a place for them.

 

You can keep the bowls for the teams that aren't involved in the playoffs.

Take Minnesota, for example. I got $10,000 that says the Gophers will never, ever, ever be involved in any sort of football playoff in my lifetime. They're doing cartwheels over going 8-4 and going to the Texas Bowl, as well they should. Having a playoff on the side doesn't effect them or their fans one iota. Lots of teams in that boat that can fill 20 or more bowl games outside of a playoff format.

 

Does it seem like we've reached a point where we actually take delight in reminding each other that most of these athletes aren't really students?

 

Yeah, but you have to keep that front, of course as long as a university is sponsoring a team. Otherwise, it becomes something like a rec league or a semi-pro league.

 

I believe that the playoff, especially when it's expanded, will actually benefit the bowls, as they will be more likely to abandon those dipshit conference slotting agreements and, like fight promoters, seek the best possible matchups.

 

So Mariotta is coming back. Bridgewater and JFF are "undecided." Yeah, they're as good as gone, but how great would it be if they came back next year?

 

Has Hundley announced yet?

 

Not that I've seen.

 

With the NFL rookie contract limits and slotting process, it behooves college quarterbacks to limit their numbers who come out for the draft each season, the better to insure those who do are picked near the top of the first round. Not saying these guys are colluding, just noting its in their interests to do so.

 

That's true of any position - the more elite guys there are at one position, the more likely that some will fall. But how far compared to if you come out is the question. Losing one year of earning potential isn't a cheap alternative.