Bowl mafia gasping last few breaths

[SOWEGA Jacket]

Bowl group carps on campus sites for bigger CFP

Executives who oversee the 43 postseason bowl games want any College Football Playoff matchups in an expanded model to stay at bowl sites rather than be held on campuses.

www.espn.com

Shocking. Yeah, let’s have Bama play Michigan in Yankee stadium. Or Texas A&M against Oregon in Montgomery. This article is music to my ears because it tells me they see the writing on the wall and they know they can’t stop it so the propaganda starts now. I know it may be 20-30 years from now but the day will come when GT hosts a playoff game in Bobby Dodd.

 

[MidtownJacket]

I know it may be 20-30 years from now but the day will come when GT hosts a playoff game in Bobby Dodd.

 

[RamblinRed]

The only way Bobby Dodd ever hosts a playoff game is if GT makes an expanded playoff where they agree to hold 1st round games on campus. The odds of that happening in the next 20 years (ie GT making the CFP) is quite low.

 

[georgytech]

The bowls have been very good for college football over the years. I actually prefer the way it was from say the forties thru the seventies.
Not really a fan of the college football playoffs for many reasons.
Also think conferences should be small enough where all the teams play each other & based on close geographical ties.
Just my personal opinion based on the fact I really don't like where college football is headed

 

[YoungSting]

I for one love watching all the bowl games. Will I admit that 60-70% are meaningless? Absolutely. But getting to watch random matchups that you rarely get to see for about 2 months straight? Sign me up

 

[TromboneJacket]

Bowl Games are great! I don’t care if both teams are absolutely terrible. I’m not going to turn down a chance to watch more football. At this point I’m not a big fan of the playoffs, or rather the attitude that every team not in the playoffs is irrelevant. I think Bobby Dodd would be a great bowl game venue so long as it’s still during winter break. Heck, it might be a great opportunity for the students who don’t get to go home for Christmas (and might get more of the international students into college football).

 

[cthenrys]

Bowl Games are great! I don’t care if both teams are absolutely terrible. I’m not going to turn down a chance to watch more football. At this point I’m not a big fan of the playoffs, or rather the attitude that every team not in the playoffs is irrelevant. I think Bobby Dodd would be a great bowl game venue so long as it’s still during winter break. Heck, it might be a great opportunity for the students who don’t get to go home for Christmas (and might get more of the international students into college football).

Here here... I remember days of setting up multiple TV's on New Years, because there were a ton of games and the overlapped.

The BCS sucked, the playoff sucks... But, in fairness, the bowl people may have sucked more so there is some positive to them getting knocked down or out of existence.

IIWII

 

[takethepoints]

The FCS seems to have handled this quite effectively. There's no reason that the FBS can't, even with an expanded playoff. No reason to stuff off bowl cities, imho.

 

[SOWEGA Jacket]

These are all valid opinions and I understand all of them as I’ve held those opinions at different points in my life. But the longing for the old days is just an illusion at this point. I turned against the bowls in 1990 as a 20 year old GT student when my school got screwed out of a shot at Colorado in the Orange because the corrupt bowl execs chose ND and the Rocket months prior. Years of bribes, rounds of golf, free tickets, etc. paid off for ND as they were given that game in Primetime while we played in Orlando.

Money will expand the playoffs and it’s the kind of money that can overcome the past bribes of the bowl system. They never thought this day would come because for 100 years they called the shots. I may not like the current crew calling the shots (ESPN), but the enemy of my enemy is my friend. The bowl executives know this which is why they are cranking up the propaganda and/or begging because they know their product of worthless bowls in marginal cities is a losing argument. The attendance numbers have proven this out. The bowls for the first time ever are in the same position they put the schools in for 100 years and that is having to beg for crumbs. I love it. They know expansion is coming and that TV will demand the early rounds to be played on campus in front of full crowds instead of Shreveport in front of friends and family if the bowl committee.

I remember being stunned when I heard the BCS was formed and broke the stranglehold of the bowl execs in 1998. Then the 4 team playoff started in 2014. Now, a mere 8 years later expansion talk is full on again to 8 or 12. I give it another 6-7 years for the money to again push for expansion. So, I expect by 2032 or so that we’ll have at minimum a 24 team playoff with the top 8 getting a bye and the bottom 16 playing a 1st round on campus. There will still be plenty of mediocre teams to play in craptastic bowls from Dec.10 to New Years for those of you who yearn to watch Duke play Fresno St in the Gasparilla Bowl on a Wednesday night on the deuce.

 

[cthenrys]

These are all valid opinions and I understand all of them as I’ve held those opinions at different points in my life. But the longing for the old days is just an illusion at this point. I turned against the bowls in 1990 as a 20 year old GT student when my school got screwed out of a shot at Colorado in the Orange because the corrupt bowl execs chose ND and the Rocket months prior. Years of bribes, rounds of golf, free tickets, etc. paid off for ND as they were given that game in Primetime while we played in Orlando.

Money will expand the playoffs and it’s the kind of money that can overcome the past bribes of the bowl system. They never thought this day would come because for 100 years they called the shots. I may not like the current crew calling the shots (ESPN), but the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Extremely well put. Felt the same way in 1990.

 

[HurricaneJacket]

Move the bowls to September and essentially make a opening weekend extravaganza for all teams playing random neutral site match ups based on the previous year's standings

 

[YoungSting]

Move the bowls to September and essentially make a opening weekend extravaganza for all teams playing random neutral site match ups based on the previous year's standings

I love that idea, but how would you determine who goes to the better bowls?

 

[BleedGoldNWhite21]

I love that idea, but how would you determine who goes to the better bowls?

I like this idea, too. We already sort of having something like that with all of these neutral site kickoff games. Maybe have it based on the previous year’s record? I don’t know.

 

[YoungSting]

I like this idea, too. We already sort of having something like that with all of these neutral site kickoff games. Maybe have it based on the previous year’s record? I don’t know.

That was definitely one of my initial thoughts. But then I remember Clemson is a good example of what happens with a new season.

I almost feel like a lottery system would be fun.

 

[YoungSting]

Butttt at the same time, what would we watch on those random days on November and December?*

*outside of tech basketball

 

[georgytech]

The bowls have been very good for college football over the years. I actually prefer the way it was from say the forties thru the seventies.
Not really a fan of the college football playoffs for many reasons.
Also think conferences should be small enough where all the teams play each other & based on close geographical ties.
Just my personal opinion based on the fact I really don't like where college football is

 

[JacketOff]

I promise you that if FBS college football ever expands to a 24 team playoff that GT getting hosed out of a playoff spot or a particular bowl game will be the least of your worries. Unless players start actually getting compensated you’ll start seeing players sit out playoff games in preparation for the draft. There’s no scenario where I see the playoff expanding to 8+ teams actually benefitting schools with no historical pull. And the further you expand the more political it will get, and the less legitimate it will be. There’s absolutely no reason to desire a playoff larger than 8 teams. It will just water down the product further than it already is.

 

[HurricaneJacket]

I love that idea, but how would you determine who goes to the better bowls?

Same way you do bowls now. Orange gets last years ACC #1 vs At TBD... Sugar is SEC #1 vs TBD, Rose is BIG #1 vs PAC #1. Cotton is B12 #1 vs TBD etc

 

[SOWEGA Jacket]

I promise you that if FBS college football ever expands to a 24 team playoff that GT getting hosed out of a playoff spot or a particular bowl game will be the least of your worries. Unless players start actually getting compensated you’ll start seeing players sit out playoff games in preparation for the draft. There’s no scenario where I see the playoff expanding to 8+ teams actually benefitting schools with no historical pull. And the further you expand the more political it will get, and the less legitimate it will be. There’s absolutely no reason to desire a playoff larger than 8 teams. It will just water down the product further than it already is.

I understand your view but you say college football is already watered down so I have a question. What sport isn’t watered down? College football, by far, plays the fewest number of games than any sport - NFL plays more, NBA and college basketball play more, MLB and college baseball plays more, tennis and golf play more. You must dislike all sports if you think college football is already watered down. The Braves have played over 170 games and the fans don’t mind and the money is pouring in. The same will happen to college football.

The truth is your view is not the majority view which is why the stadiums were full on opening day and they will be in a 4 team, 8 team, or 16 team playoff. And common sense tells us they will expand beyond 16. And what do players sitting out have to do with it? It’s about the name on front not back. Players are already sitting out and the beat goes on. And when they go to 20 plus basically every team with 2 or less losses will make it. Right now, it’s all politics because we have 4 slots with 5 P5 conferences, independents, and G5 conferences.

 

[JacketOff]

I understand your view but you say college football is already watered down so I have a question. What sport isn’t watered down? College football, by far, plays the fewest number of games than any sport - NFL plays more, NBA and college basketball play more, MLB and college baseball plays more, tennis and golf play more. You must dislike all sports if you think college football is already watered down. The Braves have played over 170 games and the fans don’t mind and the money is pouring in. The same will happen to college football.

The truth is your view is not the majority view which is why the stadiums were full on opening day and they will be in a 4 team, 8 team, or 16 team playoff. And common sense tells us they will expand beyond 16. And what do players sitting out have to do with it? It’s about the name on front not back. Players are already sitting out and the beat goes on. And when they go to 20 plus basically every team with 2 or less losses will make it. Right now, it’s all politics because we have 4 slots with 5 P5 conferences, independents, and G5 conferences.

Stadiums are already not full as it is. Ohio State didn’t sell out their game against Oregon, which could be a de facto playoff game by the time the year is over. LSU didn’t sell out against Florida. Notre Dame has ended their decades long sell out streak. Even Alabama struggles to sell out games. Increasing the number of teams in the playoff is not going to do anything to affect that.

And you can say it’s about the name on the front and players sitting out won’t affect people’s interests, but that doesn’t make it true. When you have stars like Christian McCaffrey, Kyle Pitts, Jamarr Chase, etc sitting out of playoff games, that’s going to turn fans off.

There’s literally no need for 20 teams to be in a playoff, and it will never happen for numerous reasons. If it does there will be some serious revisions to the current scheduling format