I see that "Bowl Mania"...

[tanstaafl2]

Is a topic of hot discussion so far. I guess it is because the results so far I kinda like the bowl matchups, more than a little bit ugly.

So far managed to tie Kusch for the lead in record with an unimpressive 13-9 although as usual my points distribution keeps me well off the lead thanks to the solid work from Central Michigan (They're in a bowl game? Really? With Florida Atlantic? In Detroit in December? Yuk! Did anybody actually go to the game? Or even watch at home?), OSU and last night the sorry Bees. With Iowa well on its way to deflating the Cocks that will allow Kusch to slide ahead of me on total points as well although neither of us can quite gain the total points lead.

If I can finish the day 5-0 then I may be able to grab the lead however briefly it may be.

[tanstaafl2]

Still appears to be a hot topic I see.

So much for 5-0 yesterday after the furball coughed up by the Clemson Kitties, who are fairly good at coughing up furballs even when they are the better team, at least on paper. A pretty ugly game all around.

Of course there were a lot of those yesterday. Enough ugly from the "other" USC to start the day to cover both teams as Iowa ripped them yet another new one. Then the Bullpuppies tried to cough up a furball of their own but the Spartans wouldn't let them.

Then "THE" USC promptly ripped the Penn State Kitties a new one in the first half before coasting to the win in a fairly boring second half.

The Turkeys and Bearkitties then finished up the day in a befitting style with yet another mutually ugly game as Cincy came out strong only to finish looking like a country hick on his first visit to Times Square.

With none of the other remaining matchups looking very promising until the National Championship one can only hope that the Gators and Sooners can put on a decent show to salvage the dismal bowl season.

Of course until there is a true playoff it will likely always be a fairly dismal bowl season.

[SportsFan68]

. . .

Of course until there is a true playoff it will likely always be a fairly dismal bowl season.

This is the sort of input that will create change, if there is to be any change.

As long as the bowl system creates interest, enrollment, and revenue for the schools, it will continue.

[kusch]

Without doing all the detail work, if I picked all the winners remaining I can win it. Big games are Kentucky/East Carolina and Buffalo/Conneticut.

[tanstaafl2]

. . .

Of course until there is a true playoff it will likely always be a fairly dismal bowl season.

This is the sort of input that will create change, if there is to be any change.

As long as the bowl system creates interest, enrollment, and revenue for the schools, it will continue.

Based on attendance in the stands at most of the games yesterday it appeared there was at best limited interest in most of the games. The Rose Bowl was perhaps the only exception.

I had them on in the background mostly to see how I did with my bowl game guesses but I promise I didn't listen to any of the ads if that will help create a true playoff!

Would love to see Texas, USC, Oklahoma and Florida in a true playoff this year. Even better would be one more week around Christmas with an 8 team playoff to decide the title.

Other than the "national championship" game, which is watered down by not being the result of the aforementioned playoff anyway, the only game I have any real interest in this season is the Bama-Utah game. I have no vested interest in either team but I am curious to see if Bama is for real and whether the Utes can back up their claim to a piece of the mythical national title as an undefeated team. Bama should theoretically beat them handily but may not be adequately motivated. Or they may be in that awkward position Georgia was in last year as a good team that had higher expectations for the end of the season but must now wipe the field with their opponent or be viewed as not being as good as they claim to be. And I expect Utah to be a stronger opponent than the overmatched Warriors were last year.

[tanstaafl2]

Without doing all the detail work, if I picked all the winners remaining I can win it. Big games are Kentucky/East Carolina and Buffalo/Conneticut.

Yes, that is my take as well. I could beat you by a few points if I win out, not that that is likely. But the current top 2 would still edge me out in points even though my last 7 picks are a little different from Skoop. I have the same final 7 as the current leader so I no longer have any chance to win.

[Ritterskoop]

We were saying at work the past few nights that there are too many bowls, and they need to be pruned. But then, one of the prunees might be the one we host, which brings $20 million in business to Charlotte every year, so we backed off some.

[eyégor]

I don't expect any contraction of bowls anytime soon. There are 2 new bowls this year, the Eaglebank & the magicJack St. Petersburg. I think every team eligible with a .500 record made it to a bowl save maybe three. Maybe next year they can add yet another bowl so we can enjoy Bowling Green take on Arkansas State. The BCS bowls produce big money, and more than half the bowl division schools are in BCS conferences, so don't expect change. Now, if I can hold onto my slim "mania" lead...

[tanstaafl2]

We were saying at work the past few nights that there are too many bowls, and they need to be pruned. But then, one of the prunees might be the one we host, which brings $20 million in business to Charlotte every year, so we backed off some.

I don't have a problem with bowl games in general. I would just like to see a playoff, preferably of 8 teams, whether it be intertwined with current bowl games or separate from the other bowl games.

Just doesn't seem that hard to have 4 games around Christmas with the top 8 teams, then 2 games with the winners, perhaps rotated around the current BCS bowl games each year (the other bowls could still invite the four losers and/or their usual conference affiliates as they choose so long as they aren't still part of the playoff picture. Then you have the real national championship game the week after New Years just as we do now.

Just doesn't seem that hard. Will #9 still bitch and moan? Sure they will! But you get a better representation than you currently have.

I would certainly watch with enthusiasm if we had matchups like these over the weekend after Christmas and the winners playing on weekend after New Years:

1. Oklahoma
8. Penn State

4. Alabama
5. USC

3. Texas
6. Utah

2. Florida
7. Texas Tech

I'd watch that!

[takinover]

I want a 16 team tournament with champs from

ACC - VT
Big 12 - Oklahoma
Big 10 - Penn State
Big East - Cincinnati
SEC - Florida
PAC 10 - USC
Mountain West - Utah
WAC - Boise State
Mid American - Buffalo
Conference USA - East Carolina
Sun Belt - Troy

Make every conference meaningful. I would add a stipulation for teams without conferences (like Notre Dame) that states that the highest rated independent would get an auto-bid provided that they are ranked in the top 12. No independent would qualify this year. So five at large bids would be available to the highest rated non-conference winners.

This year it would be

Texas
Alabama
Texas Tech
Ohio State
TCU

Then just seed the teams based on their BCS rankings and let the fun begin

Here is a rough idea of the first round since I don't have the complete BCS rankings for all teams and I too lazy too look for it.

1. Oklahoma
16. Buffalo

8. Penn State
9. Boise State

5. USC
12. Cincinnati

4. Alabama
13. Virginia Tech

6. Utah
11. TCU

3. Texas
14. East Carolina

7. Texas Tech
10. Ohio State

2. Florida
15. Troy

I would re-seed after each round. For example let's say East Carolina upsets Texas in the first round, but everything else holds form. Then I would have Oklahoma as the 1 seed play East Carolina as the lowest seed in the next round and 2 Florida would play 8 Penn State and on and on. Designed to provide the best match-ups later in the tournament.

Of course there will be gripes and people will complain about the first round as the top 3 seeds would probably win by 100 points combined and the 6-11 matchup features a boring conference rematch. But at least there would be less mythology to the national champion.

[kusch]

Nice job Texas Tech.

Come on Kentucky!!!!

[Ritterskoop]

If Buffalo wins,
the top four players have picked Texas and Ball State,
eyegor wins no matter what

If Oklahoma wins, he beats me by 2 points
If Florida wins, it's a 13-point spread

tan and kusch can't win if it plays out this way

I did not look at what happens if UConn comes back, because I can't win in that scenario, and I have stuff to do this afternoon.

[eyégor]

If Connecticut wins, as appears likely, I believe it comes down to Oklahoma wins - kusch wins Florida wins - I win

[tanstaafl2]

Quite the ugly weekend! Now that Texas Tech and Bama have successfully embarrased themselves (and props to Ole Miss and Utah) and the sloppy Falcons finally managed to hack up the furball (or is it featherball?) that they have been threatening to do for the past several weeks by losing to an inferior team not much left to watch in the remaining football season other than the a passing interest in the so called national championship game. Of the teams left in the NFL I am not really all that interested in any of them.

Then again pitchers and catchers report in 42 days...

A 16 game playoff in college would be great although perhaps as you point out the higher seeds would have probable blowouts (despite some of the failures we have seen so far in this bowl season). Would probably have to play that first round at the higher seeds home field as is the case in the lower divisions which might add to the blowout as well. But given as tough as it is to get any playoff it would probably be really tough to get that fourth round. I have never put much stock in the conference champs so I would prefer to see the best teams even if half of them came out of the same conference. 8 would be a good start. Certainly better than what we have.

[eyégor]

If Connecticut wins, as appears likely, I believe it comes down to Oklahoma wins - kusch wins, Florida wins - I win

Of course I believed wrong. Kusch finds himself in the unenviable position of rooting against the team he picked for tonight. If Tulsa doesn't win tonight, it is over. If it does, then we go head to head in the final game.

[minimetoo26]

I went to check the final standings yesterday to see where Va Tech ended up, and there were still two more games to play! So now the Super Bowl has crept into February and March Madness seeps into April and the bowl games don't end on New Year's Day like they should.

Enough, I say!

(Baseball could run into December and I'd be okay with that......... )

[littlebeast13]

I went to check the final standings yesterday to see where Va Tech ended up, and there were still two more games to play! So now the Super Bowl has crept into February and March Madness seeps into April and the bowl games don't end on New Year's Day like they should.

Enough, I say!

(Baseball could run into December and I'd be okay with that......... )

I am one of the few baseball fans who would have no problem with that.....

I have endured games in April and May that are colder than some December days.....

lb13

[minimetoo26]

I went to check the final standings yesterday to see where Va Tech ended up, and there were still two more games to play! So now the Super Bowl has crept into February and March Madness seeps into April and the bowl games don't end on New Year's Day like they should.

Enough, I say!

(Baseball could run into December and I'd be okay with that......... )

I am one of the few baseball fans who would have no problem with that.....

I have endured games in April and May that are colder than some December days.....

lb13

No kidding! I only saw one game at Yankee Stadium, and I had to get hot chocolate and move to a place that sheltered my ears from the wind and the guy behind me shouting "Tanana, you're a banana!" repeatedly. I'm guessing alcohol was involved because it made sense to him...

Top row of Shea (I'm talking BEHIND Bob Uecker--seriously, very last row) during a spring wind was also no picnic. They gave out promotional hand towels that day and we wrapped our heads like babushkas to keep our ears from falling off.

[littlebeast13]

I went to check the final standings yesterday to see where Va Tech ended up, and there were still two more games to play! So now the Super Bowl has crept into February and March Madness seeps into April and the bowl games don't end on New Year's Day like they should.

Enough, I say!

(Baseball could run into December and I'd be okay with that......... )

I am one of the few baseball fans who would have no problem with that.....

I have endured games in April and May that are colder than some December days.....

lb13

No kidding! I only saw one game at Yankee Stadium, and I had to get hot chocolate and move to a place that sheltered my ears from the wind and the guy behind me shouting "Tanana, you're a banana!" repeatedly. I'm guessing alcohol was involved because it made sense to him...

Top row of Shea (I'm talking BEHIND Bob Uecker--seriously, very last row) during a spring wind was also no picnic. They gave out promotional hand towels that day and we wrapped our heads like babushkas to keep our ears from falling off.

I have mentioned this about 10 times or so, but the only game I ever saw at Wrigley Field was by far the coldest I ever attended. Wind chills in the 20's and a cold mist the whole game....

And this was on May 12, 2006......

lb13

[andrewjackson]

After a disastrous start where I was 8-14 and in next to last place I have worked my way up into a tie for 8th. If Ball State loses and Oklahoma wins I think I finish in 5th. I'll have to be happy with that.

[SportsFan68]

I've decided to root for a 4 + 1 system -- where you take all the bowl winners and pick the best two performances. The winner of that game is the national champion. I don't want to cut out any bowl games except the one that are played at Boise State where they had 50 people in the stands.

Kidding! I'm sure there were at least 1,000.

[andrewjackson]

I've decided to root for a 4 + 1 system -- where you take all the bowl winners and pick the best two performances. The winner of that game is the national champion. I don't want to cut out any bowl games except the one that are played at Boise State where they had 50 people in the stands.

Kidding! I'm sure there were at least 1,000.

I don't like the +1 system. I hear the ESPN announcers talking about it a lot but I don't get it.

How would that resolve things this year? No matter how you slice and dice the bowl alignments you can wind up with several teams with a good claim to the championship game. Let's say we go with the somewhat traditional alignments for the big bowls:

Rose Bowl: USC v. Penn State
Orange Bowl: Va Tech v. Cincinnati
Sugar Bowl: Florida v. Texas
Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma v. Utah

Which winners go to the championship game? You really want to let the voters decide between the USC, Florida/Texas, and Oklahoma/Utah winners?

How exactly is that better?

[SportsFan68]

I've decided to root for a 4 + 1 system -- where you take all the bowl winners and pick the best two performances. The winner of that game is the national champion. I don't want to cut out any bowl games except the one that are played at Boise State where they had 50 people in the stands.

Kidding! I'm sure there were at least 1,000.

I don't like the +1 system. I hear the ESPN announcers talking about it a lot but I don't get it.

How would that resolve things this year? No matter how you slice and dice the bowl alignments you can wind up with several teams with a good claim to the championship game. Let's say we go with the somewhat traditional alignments for the big bowls:

Rose Bowl: USC v. Penn State
Orange Bowl: Va Tech v. Cincinnati
Sugar Bowl: Florida v. Texas
Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma v. Utah

Which winners go to the championship game? You really want to let the voters decide between the USC, Florida/Texas, and Oklahoma/Utah winners?

How exactly is that better?

It's a playoff, which fans are insisting they want. The two best bowl winners play a one-game showdown.

I recognize that "best" is a sticking point in this discussion. Unless I get to pick the two teams.

[silvercamaro]

I see one problem with almost every possible playoff scenario.

The more games that teams play, the greater the possibility that players will face injuries. If key players for one team or another are hurt and can cannot play in the last "big" game, the outcome doesn't really have much to do with whichever team was the best during the regular season. Furthermore, outstanding players who will enter the pro draft will be less and less eager to play in the last games, and some might drop out of school to protect themselves (and prospects for their future. This already has happened to so-called Senior Bowls.) Injuries combined with non-playing standouts could mean that the playoff national championship would be determined by teams comprised of players less competent than opponents beaten earlier in the season.

[andrewjackson]

I've decided to root for a 4 + 1 system -- where you take all the bowl winners and pick the best two performances. The winner of that game is the national champion. I don't want to cut out any bowl games except the one that are played at Boise State where they had 50 people in the stands.

Kidding! I'm sure there were at least 1,000.

I don't like the +1 system. I hear the ESPN announcers talking about it a lot but I don't get it.

How would that resolve things this year? No matter how you slice and dice the bowl alignments you can wind up with several teams with a good claim to the championship game. Let's say we go with the somewhat traditional alignments for the big bowls:

Rose Bowl: USC v. Penn State
Orange Bowl: Va Tech v. Cincinnati
Sugar Bowl: Florida v. Texas
Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma v. Utah

Which winners go to the championship game? You really want to let the voters decide between the USC, Florida/Texas, and Oklahoma/Utah winners?

How exactly is that better?

It's a playoff, which fans are insisting they want. The two best bowl winners play a one-game showdown.

I recognize that "best" is a sticking point in this discussion. Unless I get to pick the two teams.

It's not a playoff. A playoff is where teams play each other with the winners advancing. The +1 does not do that for all the winners. It is pretty much the same as the current BCS system matching #1 v. #2 but delayed until after New Year's Day. Teams do have to go through one more game before they get there but winning that "one more game" might not be enough if the voters don't like you. You also have teams disadvantaged by being put into weaker bowls because they are perceived to be less of a TV or attendance draw.

I don't trust the polls or the bowl selection committees. A true playoff system would mean that if you win, you advance. Nobody's "opinion" matters.

A +1 is, to me, no better than the BCS.