CLEMSON FOOTBALL

TigerNet Talk: Bowl Season Blues

TigerNet Talk: Bowl Season Blues


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No, this isn't a column meant to blast Clemson for landing in the Chick-fil-a Bowl. To be honest, the poor system that the BCS and its executive committee have created actually put Clemson in one of about four truly interesting bowl games. Clemson matching up with LSU has more of a BCS feel than most of the actual BCS games. Bowl games are suffering and the BCS is at the root of the issue.

I would also like to point out that better televisions and bowl tie-ins have also put a serious hurting on college football's postseason. Who wants to drop major cash to go see their team play in Nashville when you can watch from the comfort of home? Add to that, the repeated bowl trips that tie-ins have created and you get a resounding thud from fans. Honestly, how many times can a fan base be excited about another trip to Atlanta, Dallas, or Shreveport?

In fact with only one game meaning anything in the national title picture and you have mess for bowls, teams, and fans. The BCS has stripped fan bases across the country from a potential jump to the title after the bowls are said and done.

You could argue that things have gotten worse since the new BCS system began matching up #1 and #2 in an exclusive "BCS Championship" game. Thank you BCS, we now officially have zero original bowl games that mean anything. At least the first incarnation of the BCS pitted #1 vs. #2 in one of the major four bowls- Orange, Rose, Sugar, or Fiesta each year.

Don't get me wrong, the first BCS format was bad, but at least an original bowl game still meant something. Which bowl games mean anything now? Are you really excited about New Year's Day this year?

Remember what it felt like before the BCS? If you don't, it was like Christmas all over again. Games galore! Games that could change the fate of fans across the country. A team not ranked #1 or #2 in the final regular season poll still had something to play for, just ask the 1983 Miami Hurricanes.

That's right youngsters, in the pre-BCS days we actually had more than two teams in the mix on New Year's. Did we have split titles? Sometimes. Did we care? Not really. It was a chance for multiple teams to take the field one last time for a shot at the championship.

If #1 Michigan happened to lose to #4 Southern Cal in the Rose Bowl you can bet the atmosphere was electric later that day at the Orange Bowl as #2 Nebraska took on #3 Miami. Would the voters jump Southern Cal to the title? Would the winner in Miami bring home the crown? If you think it sounds exciting, you're right!

Thank goodness the doors to a playoff are opening soon. I'm not satisfied seeing once proud bowls feature games no one is really interested in. Some of the issues are the match ups, but mostly it's because there isn't much on the line. Northern Illinois and Florida State aren't going to pull in the ratings- but what if Cinderella had a chance to stay at the ball? Do you think more people would tune in? I'm betting they would.

Once the four team playoff begins the BCS bowls will start being relevant again. Then if the playoff expands to eight teams the Orange, Rose, Sugar, and Fiesta will become the quarterfinals, making them all relevant for the first time in a long time.

If everyone still needs a trophy, we can keep the remaining bowls around for the teams who don't make the playoff. Face it, the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl is meaningless in the national title picture- a playoff won't change that fact.

Look at it like this, a playoff with eight teams will deliver something this bowl season won't- seven meaningful games with a "win or go home" feel. How does that stack up to what we are about to witness?

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