It’s time to end the Tidy Bowls – 7 wins or NO BOWL!

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