Are there too Many Bowl Games?

[kburjr]

They are adding three more bowl games in 2020.

The thing is that the committees that form these bowls are usually tied in with the Visitors and Convention organizations in whichever town. They petition the NCAA to allow their teams to play in them. If they get televiion contracts, more money. ESPN will by some of them out because the loss of content is more expensive than the cost of ownership. It's economics, pure and simple.

 

[Robotech]

OK, boomer

LOL. I'm not that old. I'm only 40.

They are adding three more bowl games in 2020.

Oh great, because we truly need close to 90 teams in the postseason.

 

[ElTexan]

No. Why would extra games be bad? Ignore them if you don’t like them. Enjoy them for what they are if you don’t care either way.

 

[WizardHawk]

The problem is that what you may think is a bad one turns out to be one of the best, most exciting of the bowl season. @GhostRiderRushville and I have watched & done many a game thread in our old location for years & found some outstanding ones which people blew off, then came tearing in to ask what was going on. Being that we are hateful, we wouldn't tell them.

But we have seen some stomp down entertaining games among those everyone else labeled too shit to watch in their opinion. And been bored beyond words with some of the overhyped "big name" ones.

I'm sure you aren't alone. I don't get the same mileage out of the existing bowls, but it isn't boring/uninteresting games that I like the least about how many there are.

There are/were 39 bowl games this year. 39. It's entirely insane. And that doesn't count the national title game. Those are just the big 6 and the 33 others in FBS.

That's 78 teams going bowling. There are 130 teams in FBS. How do we end up with 13 more than half in bowl games when we require teams to be at or above .500? Because of the shit OOC slate this bloated system has given us.

It's not just the middle/lower tier P5's feasting on weak G5's, but those FCS games by all 10 conferences. It creates free wins above the .500 that would happen if everyone only played other FBS.

When you can go schedule 3 easy games and only need to win 3 of 9 to reach a bowl what does reaching .500 really mean? Talk about putting bad lipstick on a 3 legged pig... It means as fans we watch a FUCK TON of really really REALLY bad out of conference games. So my issue is as much about what it does to the regular season as the games themselves. We've watched this increasing number of bowl games reduce the OOC quality more and more as the years have worn on.

Remember when 'bowl eligible' meant just that? It didn't mean slam dunk you have one. It meant you were available to pick by the bowl committees. It was an honor to be selected. It was another reason teams would schedule at least as solid of a game for one OOC as they could because it was part of that resume to not be passed up by the bowl committees.

Now getting into a bowl is a joke. The 78th worst team in the country still has a seat at the table despite their fake resume.

 

[jjc2009]

You win 6 games you get a bowl game

BC is playing Cincinnati at a 3pm game on Thursday after New Years. I mean come on. Who do they expect will actually go to these bowl games besides the teams family?

So are there too many Bowl Games?

Yes. And it’s been that way for too long. There is no reason a .500 team should be awarded a bowl game. They lose and they have a losing record on the year.

It’s embarrassing. And with the playoff system now even historical bowl games are somewhat meaningless now that they’ll struggle to sell out.

 

[PEOPLESCHICKEN]

Is there too much college football? Nope

Hence, I want more bowl games

 

[Robotech]

Yes. And it’s been that way for too long. There is no reason a .500 team should be awarded a bowl game. They lose and they have a losing record on the year.

It’s embarrassing. And with the playoff system now even historical bowl games are somewhat meaningless now that they’ll struggle to sell out.

It's ridiculous, but with the genie out of the bottle, we're never going to get back to a reasonable number.

 

[mrwallace2ku]

The 78th worst team in the country still has a seat at the table despite their fake resume.

 

[Moab]

I'm sure you aren't alone. I don't get the same mileage out of the existing bowls, but it isn't boring/uninteresting games that I like the least about how many there are.

There are/were 39 bowl games this year. 39. It's entirely insane. And that doesn't count the national title game. Those are just the big 6 and the 33 others in FBS.

That's 78 teams going bowling. There are 130 teams in FBS. How do we end up with 13 more than half in bowl games when we require teams to be at or above .500? Because of the shit OOC slate this bloated system has given us.

It's not just the middle/lower tier P5's feasting on weak G5's, but those FCS games by all 10 conferences. It creates free wins above the .500 that would happen if everyone only played other FBS.

When you can go schedule 3 easy games and only need to win 3 of 9 to reach a bowl what does reaching .500 really mean? Talk about putting bad lipstick on a 3 legged pig... It means as fans we watch a FUCK TON of really really REALLY bad out of conference games. So my issue is as much about what it does to the regular season as the games themselves. We've watched this increasing number of bowl games reduce the OOC quality more and more as the years have worn on.

Remember when 'bowl eligible' meant just that? It didn't mean slam dunk you have one. It meant you were available to pick by the bowl committees. It was an honor to be selected. It was another reason teams would schedule at least as solid of a game for one OOC as they could because it was part of that resume to not be passed up by the bowl committees.

Now getting into a bowl is a joke. The 78th worst team in the country still has a seat at the table despite their fake resume.

I believe there are 2 sides to this argument.

I watched a game today, Indiana vs Tennessee that was well attended and the fans from both sides seemed to love the ability to go to the Gator Bowl. Now, one of these teams actually has a history as a good football team and the other doesn't really have that history, but they have a large student body and alumni population. Neither of these programs have had much to celebrate in the recent past, but they went to Florida and celebrated like hell, and that's great for them, great for those kids and maybe a step in the right direction for both of those programs. Those kinds of games, in my opinion are awesome.

The other thing that bowl games do for programs like IU and Tenn is it gave both of these teams some national exposure that they wouldn't otherwise receive. There were no other bowl games being played, so this was their show. Maybe some kid that is a 3 star or just below decides that they like the passion from the fan base, or the passion of the kids on the sideline or in the game, maybe the red helmet or the orange checkerboard bib overalls the fans were wearing Maybe this kid is actually a late blooming, game dominating talent that goes to one of these programs and ends up dominating in 2 years and leads them to a national stage? Can that really be a bad thing?

It also allows these teams an extra month of practice with their players If you don't think and extra month of practice is helpful to 18 to 21 year old kids then you don't realize how little practice the 2nd, 3rd and scout players actually get. Those reps are probably the most important reps heading into next season...that's how a lot of the teams stay on top...and that's just how it is. You're a Washington fan, it's not like they went from 12-0 to 0-12, that slide happens cuz you you go from a bowl team to no bowl to 1-11 because you don't get to work with the kids that need the work and could help. That's reality for the teams in the middle. Yes, coaching staffs and talent help, but talent without direction is wasted.

 

[cwerph]

Every year someone asks every year the answer is no. stop complaining about more football

The more things change, the more they stay the same . . . From 2015


There are literally too many bowl games

 

[Erie Warrior]

I've become to enjoy the New Era Pinstripe bowl. It's unique being played in a baseball stadium, it usually has awful weather given it's in New York City at the end of December, and given it's on in the middle of the day a day or two after Christmas, it is a great bowl game to watch and relax. With that, I am sure within a year or two it'll change names from it's sponsor of New Era and will probably also change names from Pinstripe bowl to something else, making it in about 3-4 years from now a bowl game I quickly forget about and no longer take time to watch.

I also like the Pinstripe Bowl. They usually have decent match ups. Then, like you said, the day after Christmas.

The Hawaii Bowl is another one that I like to watch, even though I usually don't care about the teams. Its nice to have a game on, while chilling on Christmas Eve.

 

[redseat]

They are adding three more bowl games in 2020.

I don't know what I'm doing bowl
Boy your cheerleaders are hot bowl
I have no name bowl

 

[7Samurai13]

There are too many bowl games with bad teams in them.

 

[navamind]

There are too many bowl games with bad teams in them.

Agreed. I would do away with most bowls and make it a 7-win requirement to go to a bowl. Or even 8. Get rid of conference tie-ins (except for maybe the major bowls) and schedule bowl games based on advanced metrics.

 

[Kaplony]

The only change to the bowl system I would change would be limiting each conference to only two tie-ins, and require that they play different conferences in both. Then take the unaligned bowls and rank them via payout and have it like the old days where you had no idea who or where you would be playing.

 

[BigAppleBadger]

Yes.
Don’t give me that shit about “more football is always better”. And if you actually have the time to watch 40 bowls or whatever it is then you’re a loser that needs to re-evaluate your life anyway.

 

[WizardHawk]

Agreed. I would do away with most bowls and make it a 7-win requirement to go to a bowl. Or even 8. Get rid of conference tie-ins (except for maybe the major bowls) and schedule bowl games based on advanced metrics.

Knock it back to like 18 bowls and there's no need to require 7 wins. Keep it at 6 to be eligible for invites. Very few teams under 7 will find their way in. It would be rare.

Change the rules to allow all FBS schools to have a winter camp so every team gets those practice reps, not just bowl teams.

 

[bamagrad75]

Yes.
Don’t give me that shit about “more football is always better”. And if you actually have the time to watch 40 bowls or whatever it is then you’re a loser that needs to re-evaluate your life anyway.

Or you were successful enough to retire young and have plenty of time to watch them.

 

[BigAppleBadger]

Or you were successful enough to retire young and have plenty of time to watch them.

Travel. Learn new skills (instruments, languages, etc). Read. Fuck, even golf.

You really want to sit and watch 120 hours of TV over a few weeks?

 

[kburjr]

Travel. Learn new skills (instruments, languages, etc). Read. Fuck, even golf.

You really want to sit and watch 120 hours of TV over a few weeks?

If you ever went holding with me, you'd kick me off the course and tell me to ho home and watch football or something.

Instead, I'll hang out on the internet and tell people what to do.