BCS Bowl Games

[StrykerFSU]

The other bowls will slowly die off and cease to exist in a 8 or 4 team playoff.

That would be a tragedy. It's just not the Holiday season without the Emerald Bowl...

I did go to the Copper Bowl one year while I was at the Arizona Holiday Camp. BYU vs. OU I believe it was. The BYU fans were very polite, that's all I remember.

[OAKS]

The other bowls will slowly die off and cease to exist in a 8 or 4 team playoff.

I'm just curious why you think they would? With the amount of money everyone is making off them, who would let them die off? The fans will still be there.

Technically there already is a playoff... Just a 2 team one though.

[Danny Hogan]

i went to the tangerine bowl a couple years back. NCSt vs Kansas

[Sonny]

The other bowls will slowly die off and cease to exist in a 8 or 4 team playoff.

I'm just curious why you think they would? With the amount of money everyone is making off them, who would let them die off? The fans will still be there.

Technically there already is a playoff... Just a 2 team one though.

I don't think communities/fans wouldn't support the non-playoff bowl games.

[Gvlax]

i love the motorcity bowl.

Oh yeah? Like what has Grand Valley ever done in football?

Let's beat those Fighting Sioux!!

GV Football is just too good. Number one of the crappy schools (D2) comedians always tell us.

[BYULAX31]

Why not keep the bowl games, but just make them part of the playoffs? The semi finals could be the Orange bowl, and the Cotton bowl, the championship could be the Rose Bowl, or whatever. That way you keep the bowls, but you make them mean something. I would be much more inclined to watch the Orange Bowl if it were the semi-final game of the playoffs.

Just an idea.

[Sonny]

Why not keep the bowl games, but just make them part of the playoffs? The semi finals could be the Orange bowl, and the Cotton bowl, the championship could be the Rose Bowl, or whatever. That way you keep the bowls, but you make them mean something. I would be much more inclined to watch the Orange Bowl if it were the semi-final game of the playoffs.

Do you think the various bowl committees around the country are going to raise millions of dollars to stage a game that would be relegated to an early round playoff game?

[Campbell]

Why not keep the bowl games, but just make them part of the playoffs? The semi finals could be the Orange bowl, and the Cotton bowl, the championship could be the Rose Bowl, or whatever. That way you keep the bowls, but you make them mean something. I would be much more inclined to watch the Orange Bowl if it were the semi-final game of the playoffs.

Do you think the various bowl committees around the country are going to raise millions of dollars to stage a game that would be relegated to an early round playoff game?

But in a sense they are already early round playoff games on the scale of importance, but with even less meaning. The only people interested in watching some of the smaller bowls are the fans of the teams that are playing in them. The downside is that bowls would lose there autonomy and uniqueness since you would have a team like Ohio State in three different bowl games and they probably wouldn't care that they won the Cotton Bowl. Personally, I would like to see some of the non BCS bowls go back to being conference champion bowls. Like have the Cotton Bowl be the Big 12 Championship. It would be a lot earlier than normal, but it would bring some luster and tradition back to the bowl games.

[Sonny]

The only people interested in watching some of the smaller bowls are the fans of the teams that are playing in them.

There are several figures that dispute your statement:
Tickets sold
TV Ratings
# of overall bowl games
Money Raised for Charity

Not to mention the thousands of players & coaches that have benefitted from the bowl system over the last 80+ years.

[Campbell]

The only people interested in watching some of the smaller bowls are the fans of the teams that are playing in them.

There are several figures that dispute your statement:
Tickets sold
TV Ratings
# of overall bowl games
Money Raised for Charity

Not to mention the thousands of players & coaches that have benefitted from the bowl system over the last 80+ years.

I guess my point was that there are basically three reasons to watch a bowl game:

1. Your favorite team is playing
2. Chance to watch some good college football
3. Bowl tradition

changing the format of the bowl by making it a semifinal game isnt going to have much of an effect on reasons 1 and 2, only 3. I certainly love the bowl games and would hate to see the tradition suffer. But relegating a smaller bowl to being a semifinal game seems like it would only benefit the smaller bowl. Imagine Ohio State and Notre Dame playing a second round game at the Gator bowl, that would be huge for the Gator bowl. And there is no reason the venues in a playoff system couldn't rotate from year to year. I don't really know the answer to it other than that I feel like a playoff system would be more fair. However, I love the bowl games and I feel that the BCS has diminished the importance of some of the bowls.

[Beta]

Why are you upset that they are going to a high-dollar bowl?

Because they don't deserve it? I understand that they cannot have an in-conference schedule because no one else in their conference is ranked. But they can at least schedule decent OOC opponents. USC played ranked in conference foes (Oregon, Cal) and still scheduled Arkansas, just as Oregon scheduled Oklahoma. Boise State scheduled UGA last year and got stomped into the ground. Im just saying, it's not fair for them to get a high-dollar bowl when they didn't schedule anyone this year that is a yearly-good team. Why schedule anyone decent then if you get to go to a big bowl? Im afraid this trend will develop and no one will play anyone decent anymore.

[DanGenck]

Having a semi-final will lead to all of the same problems as now. Teams that are ranked 5 and 6 will say, "Why aren't we in it?" and then we'll make a 6 team play-off and 7 and 8 will complain, "Hey, we're from the SEC/Big 10/Big 12... it's tough in our conference and we only had 2 losses. We should be in too!" and it will keep going.

Play-off = Disaster.

For reference, log on to www.d3football.com and check the first round play-off scores. If you're anyone but the Top 5, you can end your season with a bowl victory, leaving the field as a champion, helping to spur your school's recruiting, and leaving with a positive taste in your mouth, or you can end the season with a 42-0 loss to USC in the first round. Tough call.

[Dan Wishengrad]

Having a semi-final will lead to all of the same problems as now. Teams that are ranked 5 and 6 will say, "Why aren't we in it?" and then we'll make a 6 team play-off and 7 and 8 will complain, "Hey, we're from the SEC/Big 10/Big 12... it's tough in our conference and we only had 2 losses. We should be in too!" and it will keep going.

Play-off = Disaster.

I respectfully disagree, Dan. We're not debating who is a good football team, but rather who deserves to play for the national title. If you have two losses you're not in contention in 2006. Perhaps in a future season if there aren't 8 teams that are undefeated or have only 1 loss, then a 2-loss team could be considered. But not in a typical year, and certainly not this season.

And I have to disagree with your "playoff = disaster" summation. You're certainly entitled to your opinion, but bear in mind that the NCAA holds a national championship tourney in every sport for men and women, excepting only Division 1A football. If you believe what you wrote then it stands to reason that you consider all these NCAA tourneys also to be disasters. Most of us, however, view them all as great spectator sport.

[dubbs11]

I hereby propose the 2008 NCAA Football National Championship tourney.

A 65 team field, with the play in-game between the 1AA Champ, and the 1AA runner up, the winner of that game will play the 2007 national champion.

We'll call it September, October, November, December, and January Madness! It's awesome baby!!!

Could the world handle that much Keith Jackson, or Lee Corso?

Oh yeah, and Notre Dame is not invited.

[DanGenck]

Having a semi-final will lead to all of the same problems as now. Teams that are ranked 5 and 6 will say, "Why aren't we in it?" and then we'll make a 6 team play-off and 7 and 8 will complain, "Hey, we're from the SEC/Big 10/Big 12... it's tough in our conference and we only had 2 losses. We should be in too!" and it will keep going.

Play-off = Disaster.

I respectfully disagree, Dan. We're not debating who is a good football team, but rather who deserves to play for the national title. If you have two losses you're not in contention in 2006. Perhaps in a future season if there aren't 8 teams that are undefeated or have only 1 loss, then a 2-loss team could be considered. But not in a typical year, and certainly not this season.

And I have to disagree with your "playoff = disaster" summation. You're certainly entitled to your opinion, but bear in mind that the NCAA holds a national championship tourney in every sport for men and women, excepting only Division 1A football. If you believe what you wrote then it stands to reason that you consider all these NCAA tourneys also to be disasters. Most of us, however, view them all as great spectator sport.

Dan, I guess my problem sits with the idea that we can change the system every year to cater to the situation. Up and deciding this year to have an expanded play-off for one loss teams will lead to problems. There are many one loss teams, not just Florida and Michigan, that will stake a claim to a shot at the title. What if there are 6 next year? What if there are 8? If the decision comes to not have a +1 system, then that decision sticks for good. We can't decide on a whim to change it.

Okay, you got me with the play-off = disaster. That comment was off the cuff. I think the play-offs in other sports are fantastic, and I do enjoy watching them.

My biggest concerns with a football play-off reside in the fact that I'm a football coach and I enjoy the current system of having each game be important, having conference play be important (sectional play at the high school level), and given the kids a chance in a post-season bowl game to finish as champions (the most kids finish their season with a championship experience in this way).

While a play-off would be fun to watch, no doubt about it, the experience would cater to fans and not to players, coaches, and schools. Until a play-off is in the best interest of players, coaches, and schools (8 game regular season would be needed), then my vote stays with the bowl system.