Too Many Bowl Games and ESPN Calls the Shots

It seems forever when the college football ball season spelled real enjoyment. The death of bowl season came with the BCS (Bowl Championship Series) and big-money television.

I still remember the good times. You could watch a few bowl games leading up to New Year’s Day and then have a glutton of games on the holiday. You watched so many games on New Year’s Day that eyes were sore before the Orange Bowl night game came about. But you didn’t want to miss New Year’s Day coverage because it was basically the end of the college football season.

Now, there are too many games, two many weak teams and two many nights. Almost every game has its particular time slot with no competing television games except the Sun Bowl. For some reason, the Sun Bowl remains a refection of the good bowl season.

These BCS games are nice but far from fan-friendly. Do you really want to watch college football for a week after New Year’s Day? ESPN basically loses me after Jan. 1. I might watch the National Champion Game if the teams interest me, but too many games and two many nights result in too much of a good thing.

My suggestion: be selective what you watch and protect your eyes.

Be Careful What You Wish For

I was feeling pretty good about the prospects of the BCS National Championship Game and then Saturday came.

Usually I don’t cheer for the favorites unless I have a definite interest in the outcome. But Saturday was different. I was routing for No. 1 Kansas State and No. 2 Oregon because I am sick of watching the Southeastern Conference in the national championship game. Alabama had slipped to No. 4 in the BCS and the only way the Tide had a chance was if two of the top three teams lost.

And surprise, surprise, that’s what happened Saturday.

Baylor destroyed Kansas State and Oregon forgot to bring its high-powered offense in an overtime loss to Stanford.

Unfortunately, Alabama is now No. 2 in the BCS (behind Notre Dame) and headed for the national title game unless there is another upset. Even if Alabama would loss this week against Auburn and lose the SEC championship game, Georgia (another SEC team) is waiting to sneak up into that No. 2 BCS slot.

So here’s this Midwest guy cheering for Alabama and Georgia to loss. We need some variety in college football folks and another SEC team in the championship game defeats that plan.

Will Alabama lose again this season?

Thank-You Texas A&M

Texas A&M defeated mighty Alabama Saturday in Tuscaloosa and essentially ruined the Tide’s defense of their national title.

Oh sure, Alabama Coach Nick Saban was telling the football world after the game that the Tide still had a chance to play in the BCS title game with one loss. Maybe Saban does have a future in politics when his coaching gig is over.

But the best news about the Aggie upset is the Southeastern Conference’s stronghold on the BCS title game appears over. I think the league has furnished the BCS game with at least one representative in the last six title games.

Kansas State and Oregon are No. 1 and No. 2 in the BCS rankings now. Notre Dame, another undefeated team is No. 3. Alabama fell to No. 4 and needs at least two of the top three teams to lose.

Kansas State has the best opportunity to play in the championship game. The Wildcats play at Baylor and host Texas. That’s K-State’s remaining schedule because it plays no Big 12 Conference Championship game. Oregon plays two qualify opponents in Stanford and at Oregon State. The game against the Beavers should be particularly difficult. Independent Notre Dame should beat Wake Forest this Saturday and then have a battle at USC.

So yes, Nick, your team could still play for the championship, but the Tide needs lots of assistance.

The SEC has provided lots of vanilla and chocolate in the title games and its more than time to replace those flavors with some variety.

Thank you-Texas A&M.

Notre Dame-Oklahoma: A Huge College Football Game

The college football season is just past the mid-point and rarely does a non-conference game hold so much significance this late in the season. But that “rarely” happens Saturday night in Norman, Oklahoma when Notre Dame opposes the Sooners.

Notre Dame (7-0) holds the No. 5 ranking in the BCS (Bowl Championship Series), whereas Oklahoma (5-1) is No. 8.

Most people are viewing this as an extremely important game for Notre Dame, but an Oklahoma win would boost the Sooners in the BCS standings and put them back in the hunt for the national championship.

If the Irish can defeat Oklahoma, they have only one more challenging game on their schedule: a Nov. 24 date at Southern Cal (USC).

Many thought Oklahoma would be a national championship contender but then the Sooners had an early season hiccup at home against Kansas State. But Oklahoma has picked it up after that devastating loss and the Sooners should give a stern test to the Irish.

Notre Dame has obviously been a surprise this season after finishing 8-5 in 2011. Phil Steele ranks the Irish schedule the most difficult in the country. I don’t know about that, but the Irish better bring their A-game to Norman Saturday night.

Who wins Saturday night and why?

Thumbs Up for This College Football Trend

The college football season has entered the mid-point and it appears defending champion Alabama is the favorite.

But I applaud the Crimson Tide for another thing: playing Michigan in the opening game of the season.

Why do I bring up college football scheduling? Because the tide (no pun intended) is turning.

Alabama and Michigan are just two of many schools who will beef up schedules in the future. It’s all in response to the upcoming national championship playoff series. Teams will desire “named” opponents to further their postseason resume.

Yes, school will continue to play cupcakes but it won’t pad a team’s resume like in the past. Schools wanted to gain easy wins to remain high in the national rankings and BCS (Bowl Championship Series) standings. However, the BCS will die when the playoff system actually begins, so quality wins will mean more.

I imagine teams not in the national chase will continue to play a weaker non-conference schedule so that they can gain bowl eligibility—currently six wins.

But overall, the college football fan will win. There will actually be more interesting non-conference games. Alumni will actually pay for some interesting matchups instead of spending money on its team playing No Name State.

Texas and Ohio State recently announced a series. Look for more big-time college teams to join the scheduling party. This is one party I wish to watch.

Friday Night College Football

Normally, I am not a big fan of the Friday night ESPN college football game.

I always figured Friday night was for high school football. Plus, the Friday night college matchup is usually two teams desperate for national TV exposure.

Well, this week is different and I hope to tune into the action.

The game features early season media darling, University of Louisiana-Monroe (ULM), and Big 12 conference Baylor—a media darling last season because of Robert Griffin III (RG3).

ULM shocked the college football world in week No. 2 with an overtime win over then No. 8 ranked Arkansas. The Warhawks played overtime again last week but Auburn won on a field goal.

Baylor has entered the post-RG3-era with two straight victories. The Bears will be leery of an ULM team that battled two Southeastern Conference squads (SEC) toe-to-toe.

One interesting aspect of the game is the location. Baylor will come to Monroe to play the Warhawks. It’s rare for a Bowl Champion Series (BCS) team to go on the road to oppose a non-BCS school. It’s the biggest named opponent ULM has hosted since Minnesota several years ago.

Will the ULM fans fill the stadium (30,427) for the game? They should. This is a big game and their team is off to an interesting start. ULM fans have been criticized in the past for not showing up, but this week they have little excuse unless they are going to a high school game.

This game should be fun whether you’re in the stands or watching it on your television. Both teams can score points. The question is what defense will play winning football and limit the other team?

Tough Schedule

The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) football team puts together a competitive team almost every season as a Football Champion Series (FCS) school. The Panthers are often near the top of the Missouri Valley Conference standings—a strong league. Plus, UNI is a regular participant in the FCS playoffs.

But this season, the Panthers have a non-conference schedule that would make most FCS teams sweat profusely. UNI plays at Wisconsin in week one and then travels to Iowa in week three. That is two BCS (Bowl Championship Series) teams in one season. Many FCS teams play one BCS school every season, but playing two is hardly the norm.

UNI is playing two higher division schools for one reason—money. The Panthers need the paychecks to keep their athletic department afloat. UNI had depended upon state monies to fund it athletic program in the past, but state told UNI to wean itself from the funding.

Frankly, UNI is having trouble paying the bills. In recent years, the Panthers have dropped sports including baseball. Apparently, their only self-supporting program is men’s basketball.

UNI hopes to be competitive in these two games, but the main things are to collect the checks and stay relative healthy. Then even with a couple non-conference losses, the Panthers can use the tough start to build toughness for a conference title run and an appearance in playoffs.

College Football Fans Receive Their Wish

I can just hear some college football fans yelling down their streets “The playoffs are coming, the playoffs are coming.”

College football officials this week instituted a four-team playoff system to begin in 2014. Apparently, football officials heard enough from the fans and they also wanted to “cash” in to a new major income source. What’s the old saying, “If they say it isn’t about the money, it’s always about the money.”

Regardless, the fans won’t need to complain about the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) any longer. The system that used computers and rankings to help choose a national championship will become history.

But before people stand up and declare the system is finally whole, I say in the words of Lee Corso “Not so fast.” What about those teams that will still be on the fringes of the playoffs? If I’m the fifth or sixth best team, I remain disappointed. What about opening the playoffs to 1-8?

You always heard fans complain that Division I football was the only sport not crowning a true champion. But football is the only sport with the bowl system. If I’m some mid-range or low tier bowls, I become nervous. For example, is the college football system ready to declare their independence from the Independence Bowl? The Bowl system could go on a major diet in the near future. But then again, maybe I will be able to quit writing why 6-6 or 7-5 teams don’t deserve bowl games.

I’m happy that some fans were given their wish. But, before I grant this new arrangement success, I want to stand on the sidelines a little while longer and see what develops.

Reader Wants Me to Provide Some Love

Reader Paul (great first name by the way) read my blog post on Iowa State yesterday and wants me to extend some love to South Dakota State.

Really, Paul, what have the Jackrabbits done this year to deserve my love? They are no where in the top 25 rankings or even receiving votes. They lost to three average BCS schools (Minnesota Georgia and Nebraska). Granted the Jackrabbits did beat one BCS school (Washington) but that is another average team.

My research also tells me that South Dakota State is 17-6 overall and 9-2 in the Summit League good for second place. Being a mid-major with a good but not glowing overall record means only one thing. They Jackrabbits better win their conference tournament if they want to go to the NCAA tournament.

Paul, if the Jackrabbits accomplish that, get back to me. I will give them some love.

For now, I will give them credit for one thing—a cool nickname.

The Bowl Finish Line

We are almost to the end of the college football bowl season. There are only three games left—all this weekend.

As usual it has been a long grind. Of course you can thank the BCS (Bowl Championship Series). The powers-to-be insist each of those games be played separately from any other bowl game. Frankly, it just extends an already too lengthy bowl season.

I don’t pay much attention to bowl games after New Year’s Day. This year it was Jan. 2 because New Year’s Day was on a Sunday. I’m old fashion and want to get the college football season out of my system on New Year’s Day. What’s the holiday for anyway? College football wrapped up of course.

These BCS games, including the national championship game between LSU and Alabama, feels weird. Doesn’t the season seem unofficially over? It’s similar to buying a box of heart-shaped chocolates on Feb. 15 instead of Valentine’s Day.

Oh well, there is plenty of college basketball to keep me company. I’ll watch that while some of you tune into the GoDaddy.com Bowl.

No Thanks BCS

The BCS (Bowl Championship Series) is flawed. The BCS is flawed. How else can you explain LSU-Alabama for the national championship?

This game should never happen. Maybe the outcries will force a system change. Please, please no more conference members playing each other in the national championship game. Bowls try to escape matching up teams that have played in the regular season, why not use the same philosophy in the title game?

LSU and Alabama played a boring first game—all field goals. Why do you expect anything different in the sequel? Is anybody really going to watch this game other than the LSU and Alabama fans?

You should also feel sorry for LSU. Why should a team have to defeat an opponent twice in one season for the title?

The polls and computers say Alabama is the second best team. Well, the Tide isn’t even technically the best team in the SEC. That honor belongs to Georgia that lost to LSU in the SEC championship game.

College football is an entertainment business. I cannot imagine even advertisers embracing this national championship game.

Please, please and please, change the system otherwise will have more teams like Oklahoma State receive a lump of coal in its Christmas socking.

Alabama's Nick Sabin Sounds Like a Politician

I will give Alabama football coach Nick Sabin “E” for effort with his speech the other day promoting his team for the BCS National Championship.

He sounded like a good ‘ole politician with his words. Believe me folks here in Iowa can spot a politician and his/her speech a mile away. We have had our share of political talk in the last several months and it will heat up in a hurry as the Iowa caucus approaches.

Sabin apparently decided to walk the campaign trial by reminded college football voters that the two best teams should play for the national championship. It sounds like ‘ole Nick is feeling some heat about a possible LSU-Alabama rematch in the BCS Championship Game. The two schools played during the regular season in the ‘field goal’ bowl. All the points were made via field goals. Frankly, the game was really dull.

There appears some strong sentiment that folks don’t want this rematch to happen. As I stated in an earlier blog, I fall in that category. Sabin’s team didn’t make the SEC title game this weekend, so maybe he wanted to remind people that Alabama is the second best team in the country. Strange but accordingly to the SEC championship game, the Tide isn’t even the second best team in the league.

Actually, I am still pulling for Oklahoma State to be that No. 2 team. The Cowboys need to beat Oklahoma this week to become part of the discussion.

But I don’t blame Sabin for his speech. That’s what politicians do. Sabin is only playing the part. We’ll have to wait for the election results.

This Pains Me

The Alabama-Auburn game, known as the Iron Bowl, usually doesn’t garner much of my attention. But this year, I have a little more interest because of a negative reason.

Alabama sits at No. 2 in the BCS. If the Tide wins today, they will capture a national champion game spot. It’s their last regular season game. Then if LSU beats Georgia in next week’s SEC title game, we will have an all-SEC national championship game. This I do not want.

But this requires me to cheer for Auburn and coach Gene Chizik. Ever since Chizik left Iowa State in a controversial move, it has been hard to cheer for the guy. I guess human nature and hurt feelings have something to do with it. This might be a good day to bury the feelings and turn the page.

Auburn, the defending national championship, is ranked No. 24 and is today’s host. The Tigers aren’t chopped liver but not as potent as last season’s squad. Hopefully, the rivalry and the opportunity to play spoiler will inspire Auburn.

If Auburn cannot provide the upset, I might have to rearrange my sock drawer the night of the national championship game.

The BCS is a Mess

I am crying out to a non-SEC (Southeastern Conference) team today. Please, please, somebody move into the No. 2 BCS spot before the national champion game.

The SEC now has a stronghold on the BCS standings with LSU, Alabama and Arkansas in the top three spots. Do we really want a LSU-Alabama rematch? I say no, no and no. I mean how many field goal games can we take?

Upset weekend caused the major shakeup in the standings. Oklahoma State, Oregon, Clemson and Oklahoma all lost games. The Cowboys fell two spots in the BCS rankings to No. 4.

The SEC has owned the national championship in recent years. On this late November day, the conference is sitting in good shape. The SEC has been sticking out their chest boasting and that needs to stop. We need more upsets in the remaining games. The SEC needs some competition in the championship game.

Remember when it seemed like the New York Yankees were going to the World Series every year? Well, the SEC is going to the football World Series every year. The trouble is this year the league doesn’t want to invite anyone else to the party.

We need a choice in the title game. Please, please, somebody help us.

Stanford's Andrew Luck Runs Out of Luck

I was cheering for Stanford Saturday night against Oregon. The Stanford boys are easy to embrace: Andrew Luck, true student-athletes and an outstanding academic institution.

But, you knew heading into the game, the Cardinal faced a difficult test. Stanford had recently survived against Southern Cal in a wild overtime game and frankly it looked vulnerable. Plus, Oregon is a fast and athletic team.

All these factors made it feel that Stanford’s undefeated season would come to an end. The hutch was correct. Match, set, Oregon 53-30.

The game was never close unless you count 0-0. Stanford quarterback Luck is indeed a great talent. But the poor guy needs help. Too many mistakes, took many dropped passes and out-of-sync overall play doomed the Cardinal.

Stanford’s national championship hopes are basically gone. It has fallen to ninth place in the BCS. It’s difficult to leapfrog a number of teams this time of year. The Cardinal need a football miracle and I don’t think it will happen.

But regardless, Stanford will remain an interesting team to watch. Luck is the reason Stanford has won nine games so far this season. With some other luck, they could have been 10-0.

Talking LSU and Alabama

nationIf you are a college football fan, you know folks have been looking forward to the LSU-Alabama contest for a few weeks.

LSU is No. 1 in the BCS standings while Alabama comes in at No. 2. The Tide has the home field advantage.

I look at this as an elimination game for the national championship. The loser would have to hope some other undefeated teams lose in the remaining weeks in order for a one-loss grouping. Then maybe the computers would look favorably on a one-loss SEC team.

Some believe a one-loss SEC team should be a national championship contender against undefeated teams. I don’t believe that way. A loss is a loss whether it comes in the SEC, ACC, Big Ten or Big 12.

Anyway, the stakes are high in this one. The winner should be the favorite for the national championship. Both schools have played that role in recent years and seceded in it.

Do you think the loser should get another shot at the national championship?

Oklahoma State Cowboys in a Good Spot

Sometimes near the top of mountain is almost as good as being on top.

Oklahoma State is that football team. The Cowboys sit No. 3 in the BCS (Bowl Championship Series). LSU and Alabama are No. 1 and No. 2 respectively but play each other this week. So with a victory over Kansas State Saturday, you figure the Cowboys will move into the No. 2 slot. And No. 2 at the end of the season puts a team in the national championship game.

The Cowboys have a favorable schedule the rest of the season with the exception of playing Oklahoma the last game. The Sooners will play the role of a spoiler after their shocking loss to Texas Tech on Oct. 22. Oklahoma might just take out all its frustrations on Oklahoma State.

But if the Cowboys remain undefeated throughout the season, they will benefit from no Big 12 Conference championship game. These league championship games are great for the conference money chest, but traps for teams hoping for a national championship slot.

So right now, Oklahoma State’s view near the mountain top looks good. But in this wacky world of college football, one quick misstep lands you quickly down that mountain.

The Tale of Three Coaches

Butler’s Brad Stevens, Virginia Commonwealth’s Shaka Smart and Wichita State’s Gregg Marshall were this year’s so called hot coaches.

All three had major success in the recently completed season. Steven’s took the Bulldogs to their second straight championship game. Smart led the Rams to the Final Four. Marshall helped the Shockers to the NIT championship. Yet, all three decided to remain at their mid-major schools.

I find that somewhat hard to believe.

Conventional wisdom says a coach should use postseason success as a springboard to more pay and a BCS job. But just maybe these guys didn’t want to go to the bright lights and start over. Generally, the reason the job is open in the first place is because of lack of success from the previous coach. And why leave a successful program for the unknown?

Just maybe these guys have learned from the bad experiences of other mid-major coaches.

We have two examples here in the state of Iowa.

Keno Davis led Drake to the NCAA tournament in his first season as coach. He cashed in on that success and moved on to Providence. The trouble was Davis lost his job at the end of this season after only three years.

Greg McDermott was laboring at Iowa State after leading Northern Iowa to three straight NCAA tournaments. The talk was Iowa State would give him one more year. But this had a happy ending for McDermott. Before Iowa State could pull the plug, Creighton offered McDermott a 10-year deal.

So maybe Stevens, Smart and Marshall subscribe to the theory that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.

What College Coaches Will Never Say

College football coaches have survived another National Signing Day. They have given it their best and can take off their sales hat for at least a few days. Coaches can also downsized the cups of strong coffee and actually hop in their own beds. They can kiss their wives and hug their children.

But yesterday as the coaches were reeling in their prizes like fish, they were doing other selling. Coaches were selling the media and consequently the fan base.

You had your usual big winning schools on signing day. These are the schools that end up in the top five or 10 in the BCS (Bowl Championship) almost every season. Lately, if you are a SEC school, you are almost guaranteed one of those spots. These coach’s speeches are easy. It’s like a winning politician on election night.

But what about the other coaches that doesn’t make the top 25 in the recruiting polls? What’s their spin? Obviously, it’s much more difficult than the top schools.

You will never hear one of these coaches say his school had a bad returning class. You will never hear them say, “We tried to recruit Johnny Red and we are terribly disappointed that he went to x-school. We blew it.”

These coaches always talk about landing the unheralded player that will fit their system. They proudly declare although they didn’t get the big cookie, they like the crumbs.

Folks, it’s all about marketing. But I imagine these coaches would love to tried places with the fat cats on signing day. They would enjoy having that marketing challenge.

TCU is BCS Buster

Congratulations to the TCU Horned Frogs. It is the biggest sports story of the young New Year.

TCU came into the Rose Bowl against Wisconsin under pressure. As a non-BCS participant, the Horned Frogs were representing the smaller programs throughout the country. They were invited to the Rose Bowl party only because TCU forced its way through the door. And I say good for them.

Then the game started.

TCU was ready. The Horned Frogs took the Badgers punches and punched back. They had a plan and they had emotion. Those two things in football often spell success. Last Saturday, success was spelled TCU.

Ponder the fallout from this game. Wisconsin disappoints approximately 50,000 Badger fans in attendance. The flight back to Madison was probably somber. The BCS gurus are probably evaluating the formula regarding non-BCS schools.

But then again, think about the celebration in Fort Worth, Texas, home of TCU. The Horned Frogs came, saw and conquered. They were on a mission and the Horned Frogs completed the job.

I wonder how many hits the TCU website has taken since the victory. Sometimes exposure is all about marketing and to use a baseball term, TCU hit a home run on all fronts.