Here a Bowl. There a Bowl. Everywhere a Bowl, Bowl. The first of about a hundred bowl games start today. Actually, last count had it at 35 bowl games. The opening day of Bowl season kicks off with four. The New Mexico Bowl with Colorado St. and Washington St. The Las Vegas Bowl with Fresno St. and USC. That bowl probably attracts the most attention today. Quarterback Derek Carr leads the Bulldogs against a Trojans team that has really taken off since Lane Kiffin was kicked off of the plane. Fresno St.'s loss to San Jose St. at the end of the season cost them a BCS bowl and about $17,000,000. Then we have the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl with San Diego St. and Buffalo. When Buffalo stepped out of their comfort zone to play Ohio St. earlier this season, linebacker Khalil Mack might have been the best football player on the field that day. I'm watching the Tater Bowl just to see more of Mack. Late tonight, we have the New Orleans Bowl with Louisiana-Lafayette and Tulane. Two Lousiana schools in a Louisiana bowl game. Interesting.
It's fun that the majority of college football players get to enjoy the excitement of a bowl game. Even if it's the AdvoCare V100 Bowl, playing in these games is a thrill. It's big for the city that hosts the game. It's big for the players. It's a terrific way to cap a season for all involved. Winning a bowl game is like winning a little championship. The bigger the bowl, the bigger the championship.
The SEC led the way with ten teams in bowl games. That's really no surprise. A team from that conference has won the national title for so long that the BCS Championship feels like the SEC championship. Another can win it this year with Auburn playing Florida St in the big game. It's stunning that $22,000,000 will go to those two schools. Bowl games are big money. It's no wonder that those that run the bowls haven't been in a rush to a playoff system. The GoDaddy.com Bowl is played the day before the championship. Arkansas St. and Ball St. will each leave that game with $750,000. A nice little payday but quite a drop from the big boys.
The Pac-12 is sending a conference record nine teams to bowl games. Stanford, Oregon, UCLA, Arizona, Arizona St., Oregon St., Washington, Washington St., and USC get to take part in the fun. The interesting thing about that list is that Cal isn't on it. Cal is the only team from the Pac-10 days with no invite. 1-11 seasons will do that to a team. The Big-10 and Big-12 are frequently considered the best conferences outside of the SEC. The grip on that belief is getting pretty weak. I think that it's a little funny that the Big-10 has twelve teams and the Big-12 has ten teams. But, that's just me. The Pac-12 has jumped both of those conferences and is fast approaching the SEC. The recent coaching hires, from Stanford's David Shaw to Washington's hiring of Chris Petersen last week, have really strengthened the conference. Cal's Sonny Dykes and Colorado's Mike MacIntyre had rough rookie seasons in their new conference but they have shown in the past that they can win. The problem that both of those coaches have is that the nine Pac-12 teams in bowl games are showing no signs of fading. If anything, most are just hitting their stride. Cal, Colorado, and Utah (the uninvited) have to get better fast.
Here are some of the bowl games that most intrigue me:
Las Vegas Bowl: Fresno St. vs USC
Fight Hunger Bow: Washington vs BYU
Russell Athletic Bowl: Louisville vs Maimi
Holiday Bowl: Texas Tech vs Arizona St.
Sun Bowl: Virginia Tech vs UCLA
Chick-fil-A Bowl: Duke vs Texas A&M
Capital One Bowl: Wisconsin vs South Carolina
Rose Bowl: Michigan St. vs Stanford
Fiesta Bowl: UCF vs Baylor
Then, of course, there is the BCS Championship: Florida St. vs Auburn. It will be nice to see the end of the BCS as we have loathed it.
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