11-22-2002, 03:16 PM
There once was a time when bowls meant something. Do they mean anything now? Sure, but do they hold the same weight they once did?
Back then there were 15 or 18 bowls. Now, there are twenty-eight, and conferences are struggling to fill their spots. This means that 56 teams get to go bowling. The NCAA has now legalized the use of 6-6 teams so the the BcS boys can fill their allotments, thus leaving the 8-4 and 7-5 "Mid-Majors" out of the race. It is getting to the point where any team with a winning record (non-bcs) gets to go, while the other middies have to win their conference or be runner-up in order to go...
Even if the Mid-Majors do go bowling, does it really mean more than a novelty game? The payouts for the bows pale in comparison to some of the others.
There needs to be a shakeup in the bowl alignments. Yes, I know that it will never happen because conferences are not "equal", but it sure sucks.
For the MACsters, it means that if you win your bowl, you might be "given" a token top 25 ranking by the voters...
In 1999, Marshall was shafted. They won the MACC, and beat a top 25 BYU team, but didn't climb higher than 10 for 3 weeks (being leapfrogged by some teams).
In 2000, Toledo got the big meat shalale in the corn hole. (10-1) #25 in the country, and staying home. Ridiculous...
What do you think???
<!--EDIT|THUNDERstruck73|Nov 22 2002, 08:26 PM-->
Back then there were 15 or 18 bowls. Now, there are twenty-eight, and conferences are struggling to fill their spots. This means that 56 teams get to go bowling. The NCAA has now legalized the use of 6-6 teams so the the BcS boys can fill their allotments, thus leaving the 8-4 and 7-5 "Mid-Majors" out of the race. It is getting to the point where any team with a winning record (non-bcs) gets to go, while the other middies have to win their conference or be runner-up in order to go...
Even if the Mid-Majors do go bowling, does it really mean more than a novelty game? The payouts for the bows pale in comparison to some of the others.
There needs to be a shakeup in the bowl alignments. Yes, I know that it will never happen because conferences are not "equal", but it sure sucks.
For the MACsters, it means that if you win your bowl, you might be "given" a token top 25 ranking by the voters...
In 1999, Marshall was shafted. They won the MACC, and beat a top 25 BYU team, but didn't climb higher than 10 for 3 weeks (being leapfrogged by some teams).
In 2000, Toledo got the big meat shalale in the corn hole. (10-1) #25 in the country, and staying home. Ridiculous...
What do you think???
<!--EDIT|THUNDERstruck73|Nov 22 2002, 08:26 PM-->