A Jersey Guy: Bowl season bah humbug

We are now officially in "bowl season'' three weeks of post season football with 42 games, plus a national championship encounter.

What fun? 

We beg to disagree-strongly.

We're fine with the New Year's Six bowl games

. We were Ok with a four team playoff system, but next year's expansion to 12 teams would have prevented this year's flap about undefeated Atlantic Coast Champion Florida State being squeezed out of the Final Four.

Having covered bowl games for the past 42 years, I have watched the system evolve from 13 bowl games and no designated on the field way to decide a national champion to a system which has exploded and imploded.

It doesn't need to be fixed, it needs to be euthanized 

Like lots of things today, college football now rewards participation not achievement.

Going to a bowl game should be a reward for a season well done. 

In our quirky way of evaluation, we think that means winning more games than you lose, which would (in a 12 game regular season) mean seven wins.

The definition of mediocre is: of only moderate quality, not very good.

Still, we understand reality that college football can't stop the creation of bowls, but it could have maintained the old rule which stated that you had to have a winning season to qualify for post season.

Sounded fair.

Then it was loosened to not have a losing season (6-6).

But that wasn't good enough, too many bowls, too few teams with 6 wins.

This season the Sun Belt Conference is sending 12 teams to bowl games.

This season produced the Quick Lane Bowl with 6-6 Bowling Green vs  5-7  Minnesota.

Appropriately enough the game will be played in downtown Detroit on Dec. 26th.

Merry, Christmas,..er. Happy Holiday. Reward for a season well done, indeed.

What has been added to the equation is the transfer portal which has created free agency in college football and decisions by players with NFL type skills NOT to take a chance on play in bowl games which mean very little.

The college football bowl season has more the feeling of spring football games, with new players, including coaches getting acquainted with each other.

Notre Dame is facing Oregon State in the Sun Bowl on Dec 29th,  both who had 9 win seasons The problem is that Oregon State will be playing without their coach and quarterback both of who have moved to Michigan State, while Notre Dame will be without several players who have entered the transfer portal.

Can you say consumer fraud?

We did a quick check and put a standard of 7 wins for each team as a requirement for a bowl game.

If you throw out the New Year's Six bowls, the list of bowls this season would shrink from 36 to 17, which would be acceptable. 

A reasonable number of bowl games for the post season, a nice reward for a season.

We hate to disagree with our TMG pal Herb Gould, but too much is too much, including college football.

How about rewarding achievement rather than participation and strive for some thing beyond mediocrity.

And as for the good time all those people at bowls reportedly have? 

How about earning those good times?

Bah humbug.