It was a fun college football season. In my final SwampSwami Top 25 ranking of this year’s college football teams, I awarded my #1 ranking to the only team out of the 130 upper division teams to finish with an undefeated record – The University of Central Florida. The Knights were snubbed by the BCS snobs from the championship round, but they will get their fat paycheck and a chance of redemption in the Peach Bowl against the 9-3 Auburn Tigers.
And so we now begin the long slog called the college bowl season. All…39…bowls. As we have covered in previous posts, I believe that there are far too many bowl games. Wasn’t the primary reason for college football bowl games to reward teams for having a winning season and to give their fans a chance to play another quality opponent?
In many cases, the teams attending a bowl game this season will lose money (in some cases, lots of money) by simply attending it. One of my alma maters (Louisiana Tech University) will play in the inaugural Frisco Bowl just north of Dallas. The payout for the 6-6 Bulldogs? A measly $100,000 to play a football game in a soccer stadium. Then again, the NFL’s Chargers do that every other week, don’t they?
So, in the spirit of the season, I hereby decree that, to be eligible for a bowl beginning in 2018, your team must have a true “winning” season. That means your team must win at least 7 or more games during the season. If this new rule would have been effective this season, the number of bowl games would have been trimmed to 31.
While that may not sound like a lot, it would insure the sponsoring bowl that BOTH of its football participants were concluding successful seasons. In too many of the current bowl games, a 6-6 team with a regional following (such as Louisiana Tech) or a team with a national fan base (hello, Florida State!) are being sent to pair-off with a team with a winning record but a smaller fan base to insure more tickets being sold.
But, what do we do with the oversupply of current bowls?
1. Ask for volunteers to fold. That would eliminate the next painful step.
2. Remaining bowls should be ranked by attendance (actual number of fans in the stands, that is). Tickets sold often go unused at many bowl games. If the local community doesn’t support the game, it looks bad on television, too. Let the fans be the ultimate arbiter! If your city wants a bowl game, SHOW UP!
3. Final option – you could see if these lower bowls (the “Tidy Bowls”) would be willing to rotate locations every other year. In that manner, the Independence Bowl would host one year and, let’s say, the Foster Farms Bowl (whatever that is) would take the next year. Until, of course, one of the host communities decides to bid adieu.
I say, “Heck with the Santa Claus called ESPN” and all of their advertising money. We need to take back our bowl games and Make Bowl Season Meaningful Again!
Below is this year’s final regular season SwampSwami Top 25 followed by the remaining bowl-eligible teams (sorted by the team’s number of losses and in alpha order) along with each team’s 2017 bowl game and the expected payout per team:
| # | Team | W | L | Bowl Game | Payout | |||
| 1 | UCF | 12 | 0 | Peach | $4,000,000 | |||
| 2 | Oklahoma | 12 | 1 | BCS – Rose | $6,000,000 | |||
| 3 | Clemson | 12 | 1 | BCS – Sugar | $6,000,000 | |||
| 4 | Georgia | 12 | 1 | BCS – Rose | $6,000,000 | |||
| 5 | Alabama | 12 | 1 | BCS – Sugar | $6,000,000 | |||
| 6 | Ohio State | 11 | 2 | Cotton | $4,000,000 | |||
| 7 | Wisconsin | 12 | 1 | Orange | $4,000,000 | |||
| 8 | USC | 11 | 2 | Cotton | $4,000,000 | |||
| 9 | Washington | 10 | 2 | Fiesta | $4,000,000 | |||
| 10 | Miami (Fla) | 10 | 2 | Orange | $4,000,000 | |||
| 11 | San Diego State | 10 | 2 | Armed Forces | $775,000 | |||
| 12 | Penn State | 10 | 2 | Fiesta | $4,000,000 | |||
| 13 | Toledo | 11 | 2 | Dollar General | $750,000 | |||
| 14 | Memphis | 10 | 2 | Liberty | $2,400,000 | |||
| 15 | South Florida | 10 | 2 | Birmingham | $1,025,000 | |||
| 16 | Troy | 10 | 2 | New Orleans | $475,000 | |||
| 17 | LSU | 9 | 3 | Citrus | $4,250,000 | |||
| 18 | Auburn | 10 | 3 | Peach | $4,000,000 | |||
| 19 | TCU | 10 | 3 | Alamo | $3,850,000 | |||
| 20 | Washington State | 9 | 3 | Holiday | $3,000,000 | |||
| 21 | Boise State | 10 | 3 | Las Vegas | $1,400,000 | |||
| 22 | Northwestern | 9 | 3 | Music City | $2,850,000 | |||
| 23 | Michigan State | 9 | 3 | Holiday | $3,000,000 | |||
| 24 | Notre Dame | 9 | 3 | Citrus | $4,250,000 | |||
| 25 | Oklahoma State | 9 | 3 | Camping World | $2,900,000 | |||
| Army | 8 | 3 | Armed Services | $775,000 | ||||
| Florida Atlantic | 10 | 3 | Boca Raton | $425,000 | ||||
| Virginia Tech | 9 | 3 | Camping World | $2,900,000 | ||||
| Appalachian State | 8 | 4 | Dollar General | $750,000 | ||||
| Arkansas State | 7 | 4 | Camelia | $125,000 | ||||
| Central Michigan | 8 | 4 | Famous Idaho Potato | $575,000 | ||||
| Florida International | 8 | 4 | Gasparilla | $500,000 | ||||
| Fresno State | 9 | 4 | Hawaii | $600,000 | ||||
| Houston | 7 | 4 | Hawaii | $600,000 | ||||
| Louisville | 8 | 4 | TaxSlayer | $1,550,000 | ||||
| Michigan | 8 | 4 | Outback | $3,150,000 | ||||
| Mississippi State | 8 | 4 | TaxSlayer | $1,550,000 | ||||
| NC State | 8 | 4 | Sun | $1,750,000 | ||||
| North Texas | 9 | 4 | New Orleans | $475,000 | ||||
| Northern Illinois | 8 | 4 | Quick Lane | $900,000 | ||||
| Ohio | 8 | 4 | Bahamas | $115,000 | ||||
| South Carolina | 8 | 4 | Outback | $3,150,000 | ||||
| Southern Miss | 8 | 4 | Independence | $750,000 | ||||
| Stanford | 9 | 4 | Alamo | $3,850,000 | ||||
| UAB | 8 | 4 | Bahamas | $115,000 | ||||
| Arizona | 7 | 5 | Foster Farms | $1,800,000 | ||||
| Arizona State | 7 | 5 | Sun | $1,750,000 | ||||
| Boston College | 7 | 5 | Pinstripe | $2,100,000 | ||||
| Colorado State | 7 | 5 | New Mexico | $525,000 | ||||
| Iowa | 7 | 5 | Pinstripe | $2,100,000 | ||||
| Iowa State | 7 | 5 | Liberty | $2,400,000 | ||||
| Kansas State | 7 | 5 | Cactus | $875,000 | ||||
| Kentucky | 7 | 5 | Music City | $2,850,000 | ||||
| Marshall | 7 | 5 | New Mexico | $525,000 | ||||
| Missouri | 7 | 5 | Texas | $3,100,000 | ||||
| Oregon | 7 | 5 | Las Vegas | $1,400,000 | ||||
| SMU | 7 | 5 | Frisco | $100,000 | ||||
| Texas A&M | 7 | 5 | Belk | $2,300,000 | ||||
| Wake Forest | 7 | 5 | Belk | $2,300,000 | ||||
| West Virginia | 7 | 5 | Heart of Dallas | $830,000 | ||||
| Wyoming | 7 | 5 | Famous Idaho Potato | $575,000 | ||||
| Akron | 7 | 6 | Boca Raton | $425,000 | ||||
| Georgia State | 6 | 5 | Cure | $400,000 | ||||
| Duke | 6 | 6 | Quick Lane | $900,000 | ||||
| Florida State | 6 | 6 | Independence | $750,000 | ||||
| Louisiana Tech | 6 | 6 | Frisco | $100,000 | ||||
| Middle Tennessee | 6 | 6 | Camelia | $125,000 | ||||
| Navy | 6 | 5 | Military | $1,030,000 | ||||
| New Mexico State | 6 | 6 | Arizona | $139,000 | ||||
| Purdue | 6 | 6 | Foster Farms | $1,800,000 | ||||
| Temple | 6 | 6 | Gasparilla | $500,000 | ||||
| Texas | 6 | 6 | Texas | $3,100,000 | ||||
| Texas Tech | 6 | 6 | Birmingham | $1,025,000 | ||||
| UCLA | 6 | 6 | Cactus | $875,000 | ||||
| Utah | 6 | 6 | Heart of Dallas | $830,000 | ||||
| Utah State | 6 | 6 | Arizona | $139,000 | ||||
| Virginia | 6 | 6 | Military | $1,030,000 | ||||
| Western Kentucky | 6 | 6 | Cure | $400,000 | ||||
| UT-San Antonio | 6 | 5 | not selected | |||||
| Buffalo | 6 | 6 | not selected | |||||
| Western Michigan | 6 | 6 | not selected | |||||
| Ole Miss | 6 | 6 | not eligible | |||||