2008-09 College Bowls/Postseason thread

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by MJ4H

So is this wacky Tulsa - Ball State bowl game not even on tv?

It is on ESPN.

[MJ4H]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

It is on ESPN.

I fail.

[Eaglesfan27]

My bad for missing the tone of your post. Anyway, I'm enjoying the game so far.

[MJ4H]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

My bad for missing the tone of your post. Anyway, I'm enjoying the game so far.

You didn't. I was asking legitimately because I went through my guide 3 times and missed it on ESPN all 3 times.

[RainMaker]

Not sure if this was posted elsewhere, but kind of interesting.

The Associated Press: Utah AG: BCS may violate antitrust laws

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

Hang 60? He barely hung the points he needed to beat them. One blown coverage away from getting a loss hung on him.

Given that Vic is an Oklahoma fan, I think you can take his post with a heaping pile of salt...

[kingfc22]

I didn't see this posted anywhere, but did anyone see USC's Rey Mauluaga "dance" behind Erin Andrews?

YouTube - Rey Maualuga Erin Andrews 2009 Rose Bowl

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by kingfc22

Sorry, I can't show that Oklahoma is better than Utah.
Sorry, I can't show that Florida is better than Utah.
Sorry, I can't show that USC is better than Utah.

I think it's broken...

Nice

SI

[Dr. Sak]

Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford and running back Knowshon Moreno will announce their intention to enter the NFL draft today, according to ESPN.

[Young Drachma]

Michael Wilbon - Michael Wilbon: An Old Habit Was Sadly Kicked on New Year's Day - washingtonpost.com

[JonInMiddleGA]

Wilbon's column makes him sound downright stupid. He doesn't watch the game because it doesn't matter ... but he spent his life watching them because they somehow mattered?

How in the blue fuck could a matchup of teams outside the title picture now matter less to him than a matchup of teams outside the title picture before the BCS?

That someone paid him to write that is downright insulting to people who are unemployed.

What the article did at least do was highlight the one thing I find really screwed up with the current arrangement, the huge spread of the traditional Jan 1 games over too many days. But that could very well have happened without the BCS, it's nothing more than a bit a collusion by the networks to try to help ratings.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

How in the blue fuck could a matchup of teams outside the title picture now matter less to him than a matchup of teams outside the title picture before the BCS?

I seem to remember a few times where the top 2 or 3 teams all lost their bowl games, and the #4 or #5 team going into the bowls ended up getting named as the AP/UPI/whatever national champion.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Wilbon's column makes him sound downright stupid. He doesn't watch the game because it doesn't matter ... but he spent his life watching them because they somehow mattered?

How in the blue fuck could a matchup of teams outside the title picture now matter less to him than a matchup of teams outside the title picture before the BCS?

That someone paid him to write that is downright insulting to people who are unemployed.

What the article did at least do was highlight the one thing I find really screwed up with the current arrangement, the huge spread of the traditional Jan 1 games over too many days. But that could very well have happened without the BCS, it's nothing more than a bit a collusion by the networks to try to help ratings.

Yeah, to me he had the right reaction but for the wrong reasons.

I'm an avid opponent to a playoff system (with the possible exception of a +1) and I find I liked things better before the BCS system. To me, the great thing about New Year's Day bowl games was that it was a full day of New Year's Day bowl games between a bunch of high-level teams, and inevitably a few of them were in contention for being ranked #1 in the final polls.

I'm sure part of it was the fact that there weren't as many games televised in those days, so often this was the first, best opportunity for me to see certain teams play outside of the Pac-10. But it also just had a real electric atmosphere - this was the grand finale of the bowl season and the college football season with all the biggest bowls (Rose, Cotton, Sugar, Orange, Fiesta) played in 1 day.

This whole spreading the games out over multiple days might make sense from a TV ad revenue perspective (though I'd be curious how the ratings compare to the old days), but it sucks in my opinion from a fan perspective.

[Young Drachma]

I miss the good ol' days of just 3 broadcast channels, no cable and rotary phones.

Oh and when baseball just had no divisions, too. Man, those were the days.

Take me back...

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

This whole spreading the games out over multiple days might make sense from a TV ad revenue perspective (though I'd be curious how the ratings compare to the old days), but it sucks in my opinion from a fan perspective.

Without the old ratings at my fingertips, I'd think they have to be higher now than they would have been, simply because the audience was divided. Plus, it's difficult at best to compare those older numbers in a vacuum anyway since you'd be looking at it with what DarkCloud mentioned: a universe with only three or four viewing options instead of a couple of hundred plus the internet.

No matter what the number was then, it's virtually guaranteed to be lower now because there are simply so many more options to pull viewers, especially casual ones, away from the games.

[Balldog]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

This whole spreading the games out over multiple days might make sense from a TV ad revenue perspective (though I'd be curious how the ratings compare to the old days), but it sucks in my opinion from a fan perspective.

The only thing I like about it is you can pretty much watch every game without missing another one but it draws on to long.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Without the old ratings at my fingertips, I'd think they have to be higher now than they would have been, simply because the audience was divided. Plus, it's difficult at best to compare those older numbers in a vacuum anyway since you'd be looking at it with what DarkCloud mentioned: a universe with only three or four viewing options instead of a couple of hundred plus the internet.

No matter what the number was then, it's virtually guaranteed to be lower now because there are simply so many more options to pull viewers, especially casual ones, away from the games.

Good points, but also consider that when all the games were on New Year's Day, it was easier for more casual fans to devote the whole day to watching bowl games. How many of those casual fans now spend all that time on New Year's Day plus parts of additional nights watching the current setup?

[cartman]

I remember back when I was in 5th or 6th grade that New Year's Day fell on a Sunday. So as not to conflict with NFL playoffs, the bowl games were moved to Monday the 2nd. That was also the day we were supposed to go back to school after Christmas break. I told my parents that we weren't supposed to go back until the 3rd, so I sat on my butt and watched bowl games all day. I got in big trouble, but it was worth it.

[Dr. Sak]

I think it was the 1987 fiesta bowl where the first bowl game was played after jan 1st.

[Buccaneer]

Evena s far back as I go, I don't remember the Sugar Bowl being on the 1st. I remembered it being on New Year's Eve. I knew it had to be but I don't recall. I knew about the Cotton-Rose-Orange because I would watch them consecutively.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

Evena s far back as I go, I don't remember the Sugar Bowl being on the 1st. I remembered it being on New Year's Eve. I knew it had to be but I don't recall. I knew about the Cotton-Rose-Orange because I would watch them consecutively.

I'm pretty sure it was on New Year's Day, part of the original "big four" bowl games. I doubt the SEC would've stood for their bowl not being on the same footing as the others...

[Galaxy]

The fun part about the old New Year's Eve/Day game is that each game meant something (something I would prefer than today's system if we don't have a playoff or something). The Cotton Bowl would have the winner of the Southwestern Conference, the traditional Big 10/Pac 10 Rose Bowl, Big 8 champ to the Fiesta Bowl, SEC to the Sugar, ect.

[MylesKnight]

January 1 always was a very cool day growing up, I agree.

Interesting that the Big 8 Champion was hooked up with the Orange Bowl back then (80's-early 90's), the farthest possible destination of one of the big time bowl games for the conference. The Fiesta Bowl actually didn't have any sort of tie-in's back then (what a cool concept).

I remember the Conference Champion tie-in's as such;

Sugar - SEC
Orange - Big 8
Rose - Big Ten/Pac 10
Cotton - SWC
Florida Citrus Bowl - ACC
Holiday - WAC
California (Raisin?) - MAC/Big West

There was no Big East, and there were a whole bunch of quality Independents.

[dawgfan]

The Fiesta Bowl made quite the climb up the prestige ladder. They started off as the destination for the WAC champs way back, and then was unaffiliated after the Arizona schools left the WAC to bring the Pac-8 up to the Pac-10. They continued pumping money into it, moved it to New Year's Day and caught a big break in '86 when then independents Penn State and Miami (FL) were #1 and #2 and agreed to face each other in the Fiesta Bowl.

Rick Neuheisel's dad was one of the major players behind the scenes for the Fiesta Bowl.

[Galaxy]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

The Fiesta Bowl made quite the climb up the prestige ladder. They started off as the destination for the WAC champs way back, and then was unaffiliated after the Arizona schools left the WAC to bring the Pac-8 up to the Pac-10. They continued pumping money into it, moved it to New Year's Day and caught a big break in '86 when then independents Penn State and Miami (FL) were #1 and #2 and agreed to face each other in the Fiesta Bowl.

Rick Neuheisel's dad was one of the major players behind the scenes for the Fiesta Bowl.

Strange to think of Penn State and Miami (FL) as independents.

[Dr. Sak]

ESPN.com - E-Ticket: The Night College Football Went To Hell

Also the 87 Fiesta Bowl was the first to title sponsorship and has the highest ratings share of any college football game in history 24.9 share: 25.1% of households tuned in to watch the Fiesta Bowl, or over 70 million viewers.

[Dr. Sak]

Beanie Wells going pro.

Ohio State Buckeyes' Beanie Wells to forgo senior season for NFL - ESPN

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by Galaxy

Strange to think of Penn State and Miami (FL) as independents.

The college football world has changed a lot in the last 20 years.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Galaxy

Strange to think of Penn State and Miami (FL) as independents.

Not to me.

It's really just the opposite even after a long time otherwise, I still have to mentally adjust that sometimes.

And no, before anyone asks, I am not old enough to remember Georgia Tech being a member of the SEC.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sak

ESPN.com - E-Ticket: The Night College Football Went To Hell

Also the 87 Fiesta Bowl was the first to title sponsorship and has the highest ratings share of any college football game in history 24.9 share: 25.1% of households tuned in to watch the Fiesta Bowl, or over 70 million viewers.

Awesome article! Thanks for linking to it.

[st.cronin]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Not to me.

It's really just the opposite even after a long time otherwise, I still have to mentally adjust that sometimes.

Ditto.

[Warhammer]

I know exactly what Wilbon is talking about and that column is me to a tee. The games don't matter anymore. Unless you have a dog in the fight, most bowl games don't mean anything anymore. Do I care who is going to be #3? No. Back in the day, you would watch all the games. What if #2 absolutely drilled the #3 team in the land, and the #1 team had to comeback against the #6 team? Would #2 be impressive enough to get the title?

The fact of the matter was that we understood what teams needed to do to win the title. Win games, and win them convincingly. Now we have the BCS so that #1 plays #2, and no matter what happens, #3 has no chance to get to #1. When we had two undefeated teams at the end of the year, one had no shot to win it all because they had not played in the big game. This year, when several teams have only one loss, what chance do any besides Oklahoma and Florida to win the whole thing? None.

So tonight, instead of watching a game I have no interest in, I will be watching Good Eats on Food Network.

[kingfc22]

Florida 34
OU 24

[Noop]

This will be one of the few times I ever root for the Sooners because I hate the Gators that much.

However I am expecting Florida to win this one without much effort.

[Young Drachma]

anti-climatic game and all, but that said...it's kinda cool to see the last two Heisman winners face off against each other.

Save for that, the game just doesn't really have much punch. I dunno if it's because it's because the season seems to go on forever, the long break between the big games after the regular season or something else.

But...save for all of the hoopla with the BCS trying to validate itself and people bashing it, it's a decent matchup as far as matchups go.

[MJ4H]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

anti-climatic game

?

[Galaxy]

Originally Posted by Warhammer

I know exactly what Wilbon is talking about and that column is me to a tee. The games don't matter anymore. Unless you have a dog in the fight, most bowl games don't mean anything anymore. Do I care who is going to be #3? No. Back in the day, you would watch all the games. What if #2 absolutely drilled the #3 team in the land, and the #1 team had to comeback against the #6 team? Would #2 be impressive enough to get the title?

The fact of the matter was that we understood what teams needed to do to win the title. Win games, and win them convincingly. Now we have the BCS so that #1 plays #2, and no matter what happens, #3 has no chance to get to #1. When we had two undefeated teams at the end of the year, one had no shot to win it all because they had not played in the big game. This year, when several teams have only one loss, what chance do any besides Oklahoma and Florida to win the whole thing? None.

So tonight, instead of watching a game I have no interest in, I will be watching Good Eats on Food Network.

That's a good point. I could care less about Oklahoma and Florida.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by MJ4H

?

All of this buildup to a game that just isn't that exciting unless you're a fan of one of these teams or their conferences.

The BCS/playoff fatigue, coupled with the fact that these games are on random days now, make it hard to get excited about this. I mean, I guess if you like hype it's exciting..but otherwise? Meh.

[Karlifornia]

I'm calling an Oklahoma win.

[Noop]

OU got cheated the ball was already snapped, nice to see Ron Cherry still mucking up calls.

[Eaglesfan27]

That was a nice hit. Looking forward to a hard hitting game.

[Galaxy]

Isn't that a penalty on that hit? Look like the Florida back led with his helmet.

[MylesKnight]

Originally Posted by Karlifornia

I'm calling an Oklahoma win.

Is this kind of like when a network calls an election with 1% of precincts reporting in what is supposed to be a close race.

[MJ4H]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

All of this buildup to a game that just isn't that exciting unless you're a fan of one of these teams or their conferences.

The BCS/playoff fatigue, coupled with the fact that these games are on random days now, make it hard to get excited about this. I mean, I guess if you like hype it's exciting..but otherwise? Meh.

I like good competitive high stakes football games. Hype has nothing to do with it. This will be an awesome game.

[MylesKnight]

That pick was in the air for a looooonnnnnngggg time.

[Noop]

Originally Posted by MylesKnight

That pick was in the air for a looooonnnnnngggg time.

That slow release will get eaten in the NFL.

[kingfc22]

Originally Posted by Noop

That slow release will get eaten in the NFL.

More like the lack of arm strength

[MylesKnight]

That was a massive hold right in front of Bradford.

[sterlingice]

I guess that hold explains why Bradford had enough time to sit back and make a sandwich.

SI

[Eaglesfan27]

I don't like either team or either conference, but I'm still excited to watch this game.