Bowl Season Obviously Doesn't Mean More to Most SEC Teams
It may mean more in the SEC, but apparently not in all bowl games.
There will be no huffing and puffing about the dominance of the league from top to bottom about a sterling bowl record this year.
You may want to notice there the "top" teams aren't included in that statement above. Alabama and Georgia are heavily favored to win their playoff games Friday and set up another all-SEC title game.
But the best record the SEC will have below that is 5-5. Surprisingly, they have South Carolina to thank for that.
If you had money on the Gamecocks against North Carolina, well, congrats.
South Carolina obviously cared more about having a bucket of mayo dumped on Shane Beamer's head than the Tar Heels did watching Mack Brown suffer the same fate.
Seriously, that was the main topic of conversation during the game.
South Carolina coach Shane Beamer after having a bucket of mayo dumped on him.
Bob Donnan/USA TODAY Sports
Missouri's Gus Malzahn starter kit coach was beaten by Army. Yes, a service academy team beat an SEC team.
Speaking of Malzahn, his Central Florida team drilled Florida. Houston beat Auburn in a meaningless bowl game that looked like two mules fighting over a turnip.
Go back and look at that. The league where it means more was 0-3 against Group of 5 schools.
If you don't think bowl games matter to some of these teams, well, you haven't been paying attention.
It didn't improve a whole lot when Power 5 teams were the opponent.
Mississippi State were without half of their starters and were blown out by Texas Tech. Tennessee played one of the more exciting bowl games but managed to lose in overtime to Purdue, 48-45.
A 6-6 South Carolina team actually played the best of any SEC team to this point. At least they acted like they cared.
For Arkansas fans, that is probably the reason to be worried against a Penn State team that is missing several stars who are going to be taken in the NFL cattle auction this spring.
You can blame a chunk of this mess on players choosing to not play in a bowl game if they think they are going to the NFL. That's a grown man's decision and they have to do what's best for them.
No complaints there. It is what it is.
They don't want to risk any injury in a game that means absolutely nothing. Again, that's not for Alabama and Georgia because they are playing for a championship.
The real culprit for all this is the collision of greed and a lack of vision by the powers that be in college football wrapped in the cover of a reward for a good season.
Maybe that was true a few decades ago when the games didn't matter and a champion was decided before the teams even arrived at the bowl site.
Don't talk about safety of players, either.
It's about the conferences getting a chance to bring in additional dollars (the teams usually lose money on a bowl game after expenses). Most of the payout money from the bowl goes into the league coffers.
You would think somebody would figure out give every team an extra month of just practices and it would actually accomplish what most coaches want, avoid risk to the players and actually make it something to play for.
At Arkansas, some of us are old enough to remember when Frank Broyles begged out of a third straight Sugar Bowl with a 9-2 record in 1970.
The only losses that year for a group of seniors that went 28-5 over three seasons were to Texas (maybe the three best teams they ever fielded, Stanford and Jim Plunkett plus Ole Miss and Archie Manning.
If that group didn't reserve a reward, nobody ever has. They didn't get it. A lot of folks didn't want it.
Whatever happens in the Outback Bowl on Saturday really doesn't mean much. Except for pride. Sam Pittman has shown an ability to use that to motivate his team.
Everybody else did, too. After four years of sitting home in the postseason, the Hogs would have played anywhere but they lobbied hard to go to Tampa.
They got it.
But don't look for the bowl season to change in college football, regardless of how much sense it might make.
In the end, that choice wouldn't make cents.
• Want to join in on the discussion? Click here to become a member of the allHOGS message board community today!
