Bowl situation.

[ssand]

I heard on Conference Call tonight that even more cities have applied to host bowl games. These proposed cities would bring the bowl games to 31! This is getting out of hand. Do you really think that there are 62 bowl eligible teams each year? Out of 117 D1 teams? The only thing that makes sense is a playoff. The qualifications of this playoff are and will be debated. But no more meaningless bowls!

[Benthelus]

I heard on Conference Call tonight that even more cities have applied to host bowl games. These proposed cities would bring the bowl games to 31! This is getting out of hand. Do you really think that there are 62 bowl eligible teams each year? Out of 117 D1 teams? The only thing that makes sense is a playoff. The qualifications of this playoff are and will be debated. But no more meaningless bowls!

The best way to crown a REAL champion is to use my 8-team playoff system.

As far as the bowls go... I don't care how many bowl games they have, as long as you must win at least 7 games to make it to one. No 6-5 team should ever be rewarded with a bowl game for only winning one more game than you lose.

[MSU Ed]

While a playoff seems like the answer, it will probably never happen. Too much money invovled in the bowl games. I think a good starting point is to cap the number of D1 teams. If you cap the number of teams to say 80, how many teams would have winning records, much less 6-5 or 6-6 records? I also think that limiting the number of teams would spread the talent level across the board. Same talent pool, less D1 schools. This would also take care of the situations where Tulane is the only undefeated D1 team in country, but has no chance to play for the National Championship.

[Eckwood43]

Yeah ssand, that is absolutely ridiculous. They have watered down the bowl system and it's all about the money. Nowadays the argument comes up all the time when you talk about a job a coach has done and someone mentions how many consecutive bowls he's been to. Well hell, who DOESN'T go to a bowl now if you have a .500 record? I remember the days where going to the Cotton Bowl was a HUGE deal.

But for this number of bowls to work........the NCAA will have to go to a 12-game schedule every year. Teams already are allowed to play a 12th game in years when a 14-week calendar exists but they are most likely going to make this an every year occurence to help schools meet budget. Look at last year's standings. In a 12-game schedule, only 62 teams qualified for a bowl. Without a 12th game, 31 bowls cannot work.

Plus, the non-BCS schools have even been thrown a bone with the addition of the fifth BCS game in 2006.

Right now, the 63 schools in the Big 12, Big Ten, Big East, ACC, Pac-10, SEC and Notre Dame control college football while the 54 teams in the WAC, MAC, Conference USA, Mountain West or the Sun Belt have never played in a BCS game and actually take home a miniscule percentage of revenue created by the NCAA (bowls, etc.). The six BCS conferences are guaranteed at least $17 million each from the BCS each year.

Under a five-plus-one bowl system, the winners of the four existing BCS bowls, plus the new undecided fifth bowl will be pared down to two through the BCS ratings. Those two would meet the next week in the BCS championship game that would be played in one of the five bowls.

There's always been advocates for a playoff system but I just don't see it happening because some reason the NCAA can't see that it works for I-AA. Even an extra game would be played over Christmas break. This fifth bowl game is there way of appeasing the non-BCS schools, who were the most active in discussions for a playoff.

[GillVol]

Hell why not add 20 more. To me they don`t mean a whole lot to me anymore. Yes I will probably watch most of them though since I really only watch college football. I gave up on the pro`s a long time ago.(All sports)
Being a person that will be the big 5...0 very soon I agree with eckwood when he stated that it used to mean something to go to a bowl game. But of coarse when I was growing up as a young lad there was only the weekly college football game on saturday. You didn`t have a game played on tv 4 or 5 games a week as we due now. Bottomline, It used to be an honor to make it to a bowl game and now every chump team that can muster up a 6-5 record has a chance to be rewarded for a mediocre season. How sad.

[Benthelus]

I agree with you, Gilly.

It was once an honor to have your team's game on television, too... but now anyone and everyone gets on every week.

Don't get me wrong... I love to watch most of the games. I'm simply stating that there's nothing special about your team being the one chosen these days.