Here we go again...the bowl system is a mess

[PawkHawk1]

It is soooooo simple, makes tooooo much sense for these idiots to get it right though. Everything else can stay the same. You get all the conference champions in, you add an extra week of college football with 4 premium games. Then everything else stays the same.

I think the real problem is the NCAA wants to limit access. I think they fear that they can't control who gets in then. They want to say that 2 years ago that "conference championships matter" to let OSU in over Baylor/TCU, and then turn around 2 years later and say "best 4 teams" and "conference championships don't matter" to let OSU in over others. It is a sham, they want the control, and the lapdogs just eat it up every last year.

The problem is timing. There are finals /term paper due dates going on in early December . And people in general need time to schedule bowl travel. The closer you get to Christmas, the lower your chances of dropping a pile of cash on a random trip.
My best solution to that problem is to eliminate one of the stupid preseason games versus Toledo or any team like that. But then we lose that extra home game revenue.
It's all about money.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

DIII has a 32 team playoff for 239 teams. DII has a 28 team playoff (top team in each bracket gets a bye) for 167 teams. FCS has a 24 team playoff (top 2 teams in each bracket get a bye) for 122 teams. NAIA has a 16 team playoff for 85 teams. Since there are 120 teams in FBS, perhaps we should have more teams in the playoffs?

Yes 8.

Every P5 conference champion gets an invite with 3 at large bids left for whoever floats to the top of a certain specific matrix. This would allow the Boise St or Western Michigan's of the world to have a chance and give a powerful P5 team to have an opportunity. Would't add too many games and nobody could really beeeotch about being left out.

It's not Rocket Science people.

 

[ICHawk24]

Bowl games are more football. Why are you bitching about more football? Whiner.

 

[Seth53]

I don't. You must be quite young. Back in the day it used to be an honor to go to a bowl game. Top teams got selected. Now it's just a continuation of the season so that certain groups, cities, etc. can earn the extra $$.

Now it's just diluted and makes the regular season even more less important.

This. Well stated.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Bowl games are more football. Why are you bitching about more football? Winner.

Fixed it for ya.

 

[Seth53]

If you're truly that hard-core of a college football fan where you can stomach watching 5-7 and 6-6 teams play in front of 10K people in a no-name bowl in the middle of a Thursday afternoon, then good on ya. The water-down-bowl format is tailor-made for you.

For the rest of us 98%, I propose quality >>> quantity in the bowl games.

 

[ssckelley]

If you're truly that hard-core of a college football fan where you can stomach watching 5-7 and 6-6 teams play in front of 10K people in a no-name bowl in the middle of a Thursday afternoon, then good on ya. The water-down-bowl format is tailor-made for you.

For the rest of us 98%, I propose quality >>> quantity in the bowl games.

Somebody must be watching them or they wouldn't be televised.

I'll agree that they have to many bowls but if there isn't anything else on worth watching I'll tune into a game. I don't find much difference between watching 2 teams playing each other with 6 losses than those that only have 5 losses, neither season is very significant. If you just want quality then you're wanting to go back to the 80s when they only had 15 or 16 bowl games.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Somebody must be watching them or they wouldn't be televised.

I'll agree that they have to many bowls but if there isn't anything else on worth watching I'll tune into a game. I don't find much difference between watching 2 teams playing each other with 6 losses than those that only have 5 losses, neither season is very significant. If you just want quality then you're wanting to go back to the 80s when they only had 15 or 16 bowl games.

I'd rather watch my two boys playing Madden 17 against each other slugging it out, and I'm not kidding.

 

[ssckelley]

I'd rather watch my two boys playing Madden 17 against each other slugging it out, and I'm not kidding.

I'm fine with that, it's not like I'm looking for these bowl games either. The only ones I'll watch for sure are the playoff games and the one Iowa is in.

 

[HawksMN]

If you're truly that hard-core of a college football fan where you can stomach watching 5-7 and 6-6 teams play in front of 10K people in a no-name bowl in the middle of a Thursday afternoon, then good on ya. The water-down-bowl format is tailor-made for you.

For the rest of us 98%, I propose quality >>> quantity in the bowl games.

Like MN's bowl game last year? What a steaming pile

 

[DDThompson]

If you're truly that hard-core of a college football fan where you can stomach watching 5-7 and 6-6 teams play in front of 10K people in a no-name bowl in the middle of a Thursday afternoon, then good on ya. The water-down-bowl format is tailor-made for you.

For the rest of us 98%, I propose quality >>> quantity in the bowl games.

A good number of these lesser bowls are designed for non-power 5's and "basketball" power 5's to get their cake while not putting up a stink for the CFP.

The better teams are still facing better opponents in better bowls.

Theses lesser bowls don't mean anything to me so I don't watch them. But I understand why they are there.

 

[theboat]

I don't. You must be quite young. Back in the day it used to be an honor to go to a bowl game. Top teams got selected. Now it's just a continuation of the season so that certain groups, cities, etc. can earn the extra $$.

Now it's just diluted and makes the regular season even more less important.

Back in my day ya used to get a Hershey for a nickel



I think a 20 year old and an 80 year old should be able to agree that if you don't like something you don't do it. Bitching about to others then doesn't make much sense either.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Back in my day ya used to get a Hershey for a nickel



I think a 20 year old and an 80 year old should be able to agree that if you don't like something you don't do it. Bitching about to others then doesn't make much sense either.

Is that what you guys called it back then!

 

[MelroseHawkins]

A good number of these lesser bowls are designed for non-power 5's and "basketball" power 5's to get their cake while not putting up a stink for the CFP.

The better teams are still facing better opponents in better bowls.

Theses lesser bowls don't mean anything to me so I don't watch them. But I understand why they are there.

Great point. I guess some lesser teams could financially benefit from some of the games. But, I also think some teams lose money in the end going to some of them as well.

 

[Seth53]

Can't we somehow play all of these exhibition bowl games BEFORE the two playoff games? Is it really that hard?

Thanks Mick, you and the Stones were great. Next, I'd like to introduce ABBA.

 

[IlpYGwoeBk]

If you're truly that hard-core of a college football fan where you can stomach watching 5-7 and 6-6 teams play in front of 10K people in a no-name bowl in the middle of a Thursday afternoon, then good on ya. The water-down-bowl format is tailor-made for you.

For the rest of us 98%, I propose quality >>> quantity in the bowl games.

I don't watch any of those games (this year I've just watched the playoff games and will watch Iowa tomorrow), but you're really off base here. All kinds of people watch those games, they get better ratings than anything else ESPN could put on. So if you give more teams and fans the chance to play/watch football and the tv networks support it, why not do it? I don't like the games, but it doesn't hurt me, so I don't much care.

 

[Seth53]

I don't watch any of those games (this year I've just watched the playoff games and will watch Iowa tomorrow), but you're really off base here. All kinds of people watch those games, they get better ratings than anything else ESPN could put on. So if you give more teams and fans the chance to play/watch football and the tv networks support it, why not do it? I don't like the games, but it doesn't hurt me, so I don't much care.

The bowls strong-arm the universities into buying 10k tickets to support their game for starters. Teams do not make money, and in fact, a majority of them lose money just for the 'honor' of playing in a make-up bowl. The Chambers of Commerce suck the money out of the teams' states for another. The lower tier bowls demean the accomplishment of the 'good' teams making a bowl game for another and IMO water down the entire sport.

I'm all for the upper and middle tier bowls in this scenario. These are decent games with decent teams. But the fact sub -.500 teams and 6-6 teams make a "bowl" is a joke...and there are a lot of them. As others on here have stated, it used to mean something to make a bowl, a real accomplishment for a season's worth of work. But these days, it's a travesty *not* to go to a bowl, any bowl. And that speaks volumes to me of the erosion of the post season.

Quality >>>>quantity

 

[Seth53]

When you see the NIT and CBI and whatever else is out there for post season BB, what does it make you feel? It feels cheap to me. Nobody really cares unless it's your team playing in those watered-down post season tourneys. And even then, it's sort of a joke. I correlate that to the 40(!) bowl games now littering the landscape.

And for gosh sakes, play all the bowl games *before* the playoff games.

For sure, I'm a purist. And I don't apologize for it....off base or not.

 

[blubberhawk]

This. Well stated.

There are usually some teams in the NCAA basketball tournament each year with losing records. We often times have teams that finished 7th or 8th place in their league in the NCAA tourney. Now that is the real joke. Making the NCAA basketball tourney is not what it used to be either. Shall we go back to the 32 team format? No one is forced to watch any of the lesser bowls I would rather watch ANY football game than the other drivel on television these days.

 

[Seth53]

There are usually some teams in the NCAA basketball tournament each year with losing records. We often times have teams that finished 7th or 8th place in their league in the NCAA tourney. Now that is the real joke. Making the NCAA basketball tourney is not what it used to be either. Shall we go back to the 32 team format? No one is forced to watch any of the lesser bowls I would rather watch ANY football game than the other drivel on television these days.

This can be directly contributed to the automatic tie-in to 'conf champs'....i.e. the tourney champs. Sure, play the conf tourneys, lots of fun....I've been to Indy twice to see the B1G tourney. But the auto tie-in takes slots away from those other teams who entire body of seasonal work gets bumped. The FB playoff committee didn't automatically take PSU this year....they should embrace the same philosophy regarding the BB NCAA invitees.