December is the most wonderful time of the year. The weather continues to get colder and colder, and Christmas comes to give us time with family and friends. It also brings us college football and all the bowl games. For football fans, it is a glorious time where every day brings a new game to watch. For those who do not watch, it is a time to flee in fear as you realize that football will be on every day until halfway thru January. Which brings me to my point, are too many football games occurring now?
Over the past few years, we have seen a slow incline in the number of bowl games being played. More sponsors appeared to have bowl games, and the NCAA responded allowing more bowl games to occur. With the increase in bowl games, quality has decreased. We now have 41 bowl games that have or will be played this year including the playoffs. Not only that, but we have games being played in the Bahamas, and we are beginning to debate if teams with a 5-7 record should go to a game. This has gotten out of hand! A time use to exist where bowl games were special and took good teams and pitted them against one another. We did not have to watch sloppy performances from teams who barely made the 6-6 record because they played weaker lower teams. Conferences should not be able to see three quarters of its teams playing bowl games!
I also believe it is time we began to give credit to teams outside of the Power 5 in the bowl games. Give their best teams a chance to play so of the middle teams in the Power 5 conferences. This year has shown that they can take on some of the best conferences. Teams like South Alabama and Central Michigan showed that the non-Power 5 teams should not be seen as easy wins. Oklahoma saw its chances at a playoff become extinguished because of Houston. It is time we realized that without two or three teams in the “Power 5” Conference they are not as powerful as we give them credit for.
Do not get me wrong, I do not wish to strip the NCAA down to only the playoffs. I want only to see that bowl games be held in better revere. Now it is not uncommon to see your team make a bowl game. We need to change that, make bowl season special again. I believe one way to help I to change what record gets a team into the bowl games. Make 7-5 records a requirement for teams. If you don’t win over .500 of your games, then you do not make a bowl game. This can allow for more competitive bowl games to watch. I also think that it should work out that teams do not have to play in their own state or stadium. For example, Hawaii is playing in the Hawaii Bowl… Wow real original. Teams should have to travel, and it takes away any form of home field advantage that can exist. I this can help with viewership and help make the competition more interesting to watch.
