What's Wrong with the Bowl Games?

It’s the most wonderful time of the year: the college football bowl season! Over the next three-and-a-half weeks, 70 teams will partake in 35 bowl games across the country. It is one of the biggest and best traditions in American sports.

It also might be too much.

There are many things that are wrong with the bowl season in my mind, not even mentioning the word “playoffs” or “BCS.” Trust me, I absolutely LOVE seeing teams play in bowl games every year, but there are some flaws to the system. Maybe you agree, maybe you do not. But one thing is clear to me: some things need to change in the college football postseason BEYOND going to a four- or eight-team playoff format.

Too Many Games

35 games is just way too much. I know it’s about the money and that these bowl games provide great revenue for the schools. But think about it: OVER HALF of the FBS schools (70 of 120) participate in a bowl game each year. There is hardly any prestige in being “bowl eligible” any more.

Timing of the Games

Even more difficult to digest than having 35 games is when those games are being played. Every team in a bowl game has at least 20 days of rest between their regular season finale and their bowl matchup. Notre Dame has the longest drought of 44 days between their USC win and their appearance in the National Championship.

New Year’s Bowl “Pride”

A long drought between a team’s games is one thing. Even worse is when those droughts occur for mediocre teams.

It used to be a point of pride to play a New Year’s Day Bowl game.  When you think of New Year’s Day, you think of college football and traditional games like the Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, and Cotton Bowl. Now, on top of those games, we are gifted with watching the Heart of Dallas Bowl on New Year’s Day, as well as the BBVA Compass Bowl and GoDaddy.com Bowl on the two days before the National Championship. The BBVA Compass Bowl features 6-6 Pittsburgh (in their third straight Compass Bowl appearance) against 6-6 Mississippi. So much for being good to earn a bowl game after the New Year.

Preferential Treatment

Money plays a part in these bowl games, when they are played, and who plays in them.  Take a look at the six New Year’s Day bowls this year. Five of them (all but the Discover Orange Bowl) are contractually obligated to host a Big Ten team. That means that (especially this year with two of the top B1G teams being bowl ineligible) that a 6-6 B1G team in Purdue plays on New Year’s Day. Three of the games (Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl, Outback Bowl, Capital One Bowl) are contractually obligated to be SEC vs. B1G. Because of this, great teams like Clemson (AC C), Oregon State (Pac-12) and UCLA (Pac-12) are forced to play in less prestigious, lower-paying bowls.

Dollar Bills, Y’all!

The bowl games are all about the money instead of creating quality matchups. As a result, we get games that have double-digit spreads.  The biggest example we saw this year was in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl.  In this Big 12 vs. Big East contractually obligated game, the bowl had the opportunity to create a rematch of a 100 year-old rivalry of Pittsburgh vs. West Virginia. However, they thought they would sell more tickets by bringing in a home-town team, so they chose in-state Syracuse instead of the Panthers.

This is a common occurrence in bowl games as they try to sell tickets. They feel the best way to do this is to bring in a local team. What’s the point of going to a bowl game if you’re going less than 50 miles away? That’s not a bowl game, that’s boring. San Diego State plays this year at the Chargers’ stadium, Texas Tech plays at Houston’s stadium, and Central Michigan plays in nearby Detroit. Bowls create unfair advantages and poor matchups by inviting a hometown team, all in the name of money.

“Capital One Bowl Week”

 

ESPN loves talking about “Capital One Bowl Week” and about how many great games occur during that week. Did you notice that this bowl “week” actually runs from December 15 through January 1? Nice “week” there…

What’s in a Name?

 

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl, Belk Bowl, BBVA Compass Bowl, Meineke Car Care Bowl…what’s going on out there!? The best bowls are the ones with the simple name that has lasted forever: Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Gator Bowl…

Some of the sponsors are just comical…restaurants are one thing, but car care companies, underwear companies,  a famous potato, mortgage and credit unions, and a domain-name website? At least I’ll see Danica Patrick a lot in the otherwise uninteresting Kent State vs. Arkansas State game…

Enough is enough.  What’s next?

My suggestions:   

Honey Bunches of Oats Cereal Bowl 

Ragu Spaghetti Bowl

Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Bowl