Why Most Bowl Games Stink...

[Cleets]

Here's a real winner of a Bowl:
The Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl - it's a nice idea and I'm all for fighting hunger, but this game should not be played and here's why...

Just in case anybody doubted the utter absurdity of the bowl system, I give you UCLA vs. Illinois
UCLA is under.500 and hasn't won an important game in almost two months but they get a BOWL because everybody gets a bowl (and USC wasn't bowl eligible)
The Bruins give up on average over 250 yards passing a game but that wouldn't be so bad if they also didn't give up on average 190 on the ground.
That's a Bowl quality defense..?

And their competition in this snoozer is Illinois
Illinois comes in riding a red-hot six-game losing streak and has what one ranking system identifies as one, count 'em one quality conference win...
Against - wait for it... wait....one quality conference win against football powerhouse Indiana

Indiana - yeah just let that soak in... Your one quality conference win is against Indiana

Just for good measure, and to insure a scintillating story line both schools head coaches have been fired.
The only way to make this bowl worse - or maybe better: A halftime human sacrifice.

[BisonFan02]

Which bowl game is Chatty in? :D

[Keeper]

Prediction is heavy rains during the game, a real mudbath, final score 0-0,
lousy attendance, bowl decertified in 2012, problem solved. xthumbsupx

[MR. CHICKEN]

Prediction is heavy rains during the game, a real mudbath, final score 0-0,
lousy attendance, bowl decertified in 2012, problem solved. xthumbsupx

NOT SOLVED.....HUNGER STILL RAMPANT......APPLAUD DUH EFFORT.......SOMETHIN' DIS SEVERE......DESERVES......WAY BETTERAH TEAMS...TA GET BEHIND IT!

[Bison Fan in NW MN]

Here's a real winner of a Bowl:
The Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl - it's a nice idea and I'm all for fighting hunger, but this game should not be played and here's why...

Just in case anybody doubted the utter absurdity of the bowl system, I give you UCLA vs. Illinois
UCLA is under.500 and hasn't won an important game in almost two months but they get a BOWL because everybody gets a bowl (and USC wasn't bowl eligible)
The Bruins give up on average over 250 yards passing a game but that wouldn't be so bad if they also didn't give up on average 190 on the ground.
That's a Bowl quality defense..?

And their competition in this snoozer is Illinois
Illinois comes in riding a red-hot six-game losing streak and has what one ranking system identifies as one, count 'em one quality conference win...
Against - wait for it... wait....one quality conference win against football powerhouse Indiana

Indiana - yeah just let that soak in... Your one quality conference win is against Indiana

Just for good measure, and to insure a scintillating story line both schools head coaches have been fired.
The only way to make this bowl worse - or maybe better: A halftime human sacrifice.


Western Kentucky at 7-5 with one of the best RBs in the nation would have been a better pick than both of these dogs....

[TheRevSFA]

Which bowl game is Chatty in? :D

Chatty doesn't have to play in a bowl. They just get the BCS championship.

[NoDak 4 Ever]

Western Kentucky at 7-5 with one of the best RBs in the nation would have been a better pick than both of these dogs....

Boy, I'll bet they're glad they went FBS, eh?

[Bison Fan in NW MN]

Boy, I'll bet they're glad they went FBS, eh?


Their first few years were tough but they are better than both UCLA and Illinois. Plus, Indiana State took WKU to the woodshed this year...something like 40 something to 14....

WKU's RB is really good...

[dgtw]

NOT SOLVED.....HUNGER STILL RAMPANT......APPLAUD DUH EFFORT.......SOMETHIN' DIS SEVERE......DESERVES......WAY BETTERAH TEAMS...TA GET BEHIND IT!

Would you favor feeding fried chicken to the hungry at the game?

[TheRevSFA]

NOT SOLVED.....HUNGER STILL RAMPANT......APPLAUD DUH EFFORT.......SOMETHIN' DIS SEVERE......DESERVES......WAY BETTERAH TEAMS...TA GET BEHIND IT!

Go ahead and get yourself breaded up. You can solve hunger for a family of four.

[MR. CHICKEN]

Would you favor feeding fried chicken to the hungry at the game?

AH'D...PUSH....TA EAT MO' BEEF.....AN' SOME O' DUH ROAD-KILL.....FROM OURAH 20 TEAM DANCE...(WILDCATS/BLACK BEARS/SEAWOLVES/BOBCATS)..........BRAWK!

[DFW HOYA]

Simple (draconian) solution: if a bowl game is not played in a stadium named for that bowl, move it back or end it.

[Twentysix]

Here's a real winner of a Bowl:
The Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl - it's a nice idea and I'm all for fighting hunger, but this game should not be played and here's why...

Just in case anybody doubted the utter absurdity of the bowl system, I give you UCLA vs. Illinois
UCLA is under.500 and hasn't won an important game in almost two months but they get a BOWL because everybody gets a bowl (and USC wasn't bowl eligible)
The Bruins give up on average over 250 yards passing a game but that wouldn't be so bad if they also didn't give up on average 190 on the ground.
That's a Bowl quality defense..?

And their competition in this snoozer is Illinois
Illinois comes in riding a red-hot six-game losing streak and has what one ranking system identifies as one, count 'em one quality conference win...
Against - wait for it... wait....one quality conference win against football powerhouse Indiana

Indiana - yeah just let that soak in... Your one quality conference win is against Indiana

Just for good measure, and to insure a scintillating story line both schools head coaches have been fired.
The only way to make this bowl worse - or maybe better: A halftime human sacrifice.


I am hungry.

[Squealofthepig]

"Thank you for participating in FBS football! Here is your participation trophy."

Illinois is also the only school in FBS (and probably all football period) to start a season 6-0, then lose six straight to finish at 6-6.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Simple (draconian) solution: if a bowl game is not played in a stadium named for that bowl, move it back or end it.

Better yet - end all the games named after eating establishments. There's four off the docket right there! xlolx

[aztecjim]

My rules
1) Any bowl with the city/state in the title goes bye-bye
2) Any bowl named simply after its sponsor goes bye-bye
3) The 2nd, 3rd bowl in a metro area goes bye-bye UNLESS the lesser attended bowl gets at least 45,000 people actually in the stands
4) Any bowl in a baseball stadium goes bye-bye.

I think that leaves about a dozen games.

[NoDak 4 Ever]

Don't let Lakesbison see this. This is his dream scenario. NDSU playing in the Boywewishthiswasimportant.com Bowl! live in primetime on The Ocho!

[ursus arctos horribilis]

Don't let Lakesbison see this. This is his dream scenario. NDSU playing in the Boywewishthiswasimportant.com Bowl! live in primetime on The Ocho!

Few people strive for mediocrity as hard as lakes does. I hope he rises to that level someday.

[Jazzman1522]

Their first few years were tough but they are better than both UCLA and Illinois. Plus, Indiana State took WKU to the woodshed this year...something like 40 something to 14....

WKU's RB is really good...

I don't know about them actually being better than UCLA and Illinois. I mean, come on.

Under normal circumstances, I would say, "Man, they really got screwed, that's lame." But since it's Western, all I want to say is, "Haha! Suckers!"

Oh yeah, and my favorite: The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Look out Rose Bowl. That one's coming for you.

[Ginsbach]

I don't know about them actually being better than UCLA and Illinois. I mean, come on.

Under normal circumstances, I would say, "Man, they really got screwed, that's lame." But since it's Western, all I want to say is, "Haha! Suckers!"

Oh yeah, and my favorite: The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Look out Rose Bowl. That one's coming for you.

That's the best bowl of all! ;)

[Grizalltheway]

That's the best bowl of all! ;)

Right up there with the Simplot Games.xlolx

http://www.sulphuric-acid.com/Sulphuric-Acid-on-the-Web/Acid%20Plants/Simplot-Logo.png

[frozennorth]

If you don't want to watch it, then don't. I will be, most likely.

[Cleets]

If you don't want to watch it, then don't. I will be, most likely.

Watch what...
The human sacrifice at halftime of the Hunger Bowl..?
I wouldn't miss it for the world

[El Gato]

In all honesty, I really hate the bowls. Someone used a "participation" trophy analogy and that is pretty spot in. Teams are not selected for bowls based on their on field performance but rather are given invitations by the corporate sponsors based on which match ups the sponsors feel will bring in the most money for them. The only bowl with any real meaning is the National Championship game as the teams selected for that game or determined by their on the field performance.

But in all honesty, I saw a stat posted somewhere on bobcatfans that showed that even the mostly poorly viewed bowl game still had higher TV ratings than the FCS national title game.

[Squealofthepig]

Watch what...
The human sacrifice at halftime of the Hunger Bowl..?
I wouldn't miss it for the world

Om Namha Shivaye! *covers his heart*

[Grizzlies82]

In all honesty, I really hate the bowls. Someone used a "participation" trophy analogy and that is pretty spot in. Teams are not selected for bowls based on their on field performance but rather are given invitations by the corporate sponsors based on which match ups the sponsors feel will bring in the most money for them. The only bowl with any real meaning is the National Championship game as the teams selected for that game or determined by their on the field performance.

But in all honesty, I saw a stat posted somewhere on bobcatfans that showed that even the mostly poorly viewed bowl game still had higher TV ratings than the FCS national title game.

I don't think that's true. Don't have the numbers in hand and far too lazy to search for them but... I believe the FCS Championship games rank NEAR the bottom of what the bowl viewership is. None the less, the Tupperware / Dixie Cup Bowls get far more pre-game promotion than does the FCS playoffs & Championship game. ESPN just does not give these games much promotion to speak of.

Then regardless of the # of TV viewers, I'd still never trade Montana's 2009 run thru the playoffs and eventual LOSS in the Championship (nor this year's run) for WINNING a Bowl game versus Toledo in Albuquerque. Would any of you? To me it is not even a close comparison.

[ursus arctos horribilis]

I don't think that's true. Don't have the numbers in hand and far too lazy to search for them but... I believe the FCS Championship games rank NEAR the bottom of what the bowl viewership is. None the less, the Tupperware / Dixie Cup Bowls get far more pre-game promotion than does the FCS playoffs & Championship game. ESPN just does not give these games much promotion to speak of.

Then regardless of the # of TV viewers, I'd still never trade Montana's 2009 run thru the playoffs and eventual LOSS in the Championship (nor this year's run) for WINNING a Bowl game versus Toledo in Albuquerque. Would any of you? To me it is not even a close comparison.

The second paragraph nails it. I don't care one bit that Pizza Hut has higher sales than a good Pizza Joint in your home town. I'll take the quality. That said the App/MT game in 2009 scored higher than quite a few of the bottom feeder bowls.

[ALPHAGRIZ1]

If people really cared about fighting hunger they wouldnt go to the bowl game.................they would be too busy fighting..............and eating Snickers.

[TheRevSFA]

What would be more entertaining than actually watching the teams in the fight hunger bowl, would be to have them a dinner for a family of 4 in the middle of AT&T Park, then have starving families fight to the death over it.

[HailSzczur]

Why most college bowl games are awesome (for the athletes): The loot
http://sportscracklepop.com/2011/12/07/2011-2012-college-bowl-game-gift-guide/

[Ginsbach]

Right up there with the Simplot Games.xlolx

http://www.sulphuric-acid.com/Sulphuric-Acid-on-the-Web/Acid%20Plants/Simplot-Logo.png

Hosted right in the forgotten "dome" of the FCS.

At least they got rid of the Astroturf. Now, if they could do something and not make the stadium an eyesore...

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

I'm actually pretty pumped up for the Temple-Wyoming game on Saturday. Wyoming was better than most people realize this year. This should be a great watch.

[DFW HOYA]

Oh yeah, and my favorite: The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Look out Rose Bowl. That one's coming for you.

Maybe someone will come up with the "Ray's Pizza Bowl", and then three more can call their bowl the same thing...

[The Brief]

I'm still waiting on the the epic Count Chocula Cereal Bowl...

[Hammerhead]

Fargo used to host the snow bowl, a Division II all star game. The original organizer couldn't devote enough time for the game after several years and it moved to Texas where it became known as the Cactus bowl.

[Jazzman1522]

The Lysol Toilet Bowl. Any takers?

[Grizzlies82]

The Lysol Toilet Bowl. Any takers?


You can guarantee there are several 6 - 6 teams which would jump right into it!

[bjtheflamesfan]

Here's a real winner of a Bowl:
The Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl - it's a nice idea and I'm all for fighting hunger, but this game should not be played and here's why...

Just in case anybody doubted the utter absurdity of the bowl system, I give you UCLA vs. Illinois
UCLA is under.500 and hasn't won an important game in almost two months but they get a BOWL because everybody gets a bowl (and USC wasn't bowl eligible)
The Bruins give up on average over 250 yards passing a game but that wouldn't be so bad if they also didn't give up on average 190 on the ground.
That's a Bowl quality defense..?

And their competition in this snoozer is Illinois
Illinois comes in riding a red-hot six-game losing streak and has what one ranking system identifies as one, count 'em one quality conference win...
Against - wait for it... wait....one quality conference win against football powerhouse Indiana

Indiana - yeah just let that soak in... Your one quality conference win is against Indiana

Just for good measure, and to insure a scintillating story line both schools head coaches have been fired.
The only way to make this bowl worse - or maybe better: A halftime human sacrifice.

It should be noted that the NCAA gave UCLA an exception because their 7th loss was in a conference championship game

[Cleets]

It should be noted that the NCAA gave UCLA an exception because their 7th loss was in a conference championship game

Wow...
just let that sink in... 7 losses SEVEN

[The Brief]

Wow...
just let that sink in... 7 losses SEVEN

Seriously, I wonder if they are proud of that.

[PAllen]

Why most college bowl games are awesome (for the athletes): The loot
http://sportscracklepop.com/2011/12/07/2011-2012-college-bowl-game-gift-guide/


MAACO Las Vegas Bowl
Arizona State vs Boise State
Gift suite, cap

Awesome: "I play on one of the top ten teams in the country, we're going to a bowl game, but because I'm not from a "power conference", all i get is a baseball cap."

[bjtheflamesfan]

WEll since the limit is $500 it hampers what some bowl committees can do for gifts for players and coaches without NCAA violations resulting...which is pretty sad to be frank...