Official College Football Bowl Season thread

[cartman]

The bowl festivities kick off tomorrow with 5 bowl games:

Glidan New Mexico Bowl
New Mexico vs. UT-San Antonio

Las Vegas Bowl presented by Geico
Houston vs. San Diego State

Raycom Media Camellia Bowl
Appalachian State vs. Toledo

AutoNation Cure Bowl
UCF vs. Arkansas State

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Southern Mississippi vs. Louisiana-Lafayette

[MrBug708]

Saw that the Clemson-OSU game has PAC -12 refs

[cartman]

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features...ootball-bowls/

[tarcone]

Iowa/Florida- First one to 17 wins.

Could take a week

[EagleFan]

So they say "of course we have to show you the bands" then we get about 30 seconds of each band. Just enough for my daughter to start getting interested in watching the Grambling band and then get disappointed as they only show that clip (barely a clip).

[Suicane75]

The need to bolt down the cameras in NM, I'm getting dizzy here.

[EagleFan]

Really dumb penalty by the receiver. You know that you don't take your helmet off to celebrate, automatic penalty all day any day. Hope you are happy with yourself.

[EagleFan]

Where are some of these camera angles coming from in the Vegas Bowl? Satellite in orbit?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Not a bowl game, but the Division II Championship is on ESPN2. It's a total snow bowl at this point. Wind chills below zero. First one to score may win.

[sovereignstar v2]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Not a bowl game, but the Division II Championship is on ESPN2. It's a total snow bowl at this point. Wind chills below zero. First one to score may win.

Ah yes. Football how it is meant to be played. Thanks for the heads-up. Turn it on and the first play is a touchdown lol.

[EagleFan]

I always get a kick out of refs that have the need to do the "touched the turf" hand motion when saying a pass is incomplete. On a pass over the middle, that's pretty much the definition of an incomplete pass, the ball touched the ground before the receiver caught it...so thanks for clearing that up...

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar v2

Ah yes. Football how it is meant to be played. Thanks for the heads-up. Turn it on and the first play is a touchdown lol.

Amazed at how many players are going without sleeves. I don't care if there is a heater on the sideline........that's got to be brutal.

[tarcone]

Herman got out at the right time. Or the team quit because Herman left.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

[CU Tiger]

This app st toledo game is awesome

[Young Drachma]

North Dakota State falls at home to James Madison in the FCS semi-finals. First home loss for NDSU since 1991. Stopped short of their 6th straight FCS championship game appearance. Streak had to end sometime.

[CrescentMoonie]

You can have your bowl games, the finish to Youngstown St and Eastern Washington is one of the greatest in college football history.

[Young Drachma]

Catch of the Year!!

Youngstown State's Kevin Rader sends the Penguins to Frisco with an AMAZING snag! #FCSPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/JhH8A2QNsj

— FCS Football (@NCAA_FCS) December 18, 2016

[tarcone]

Holding anyone?

Karma, baby.

[Julio Riddols]

I guess that signals the end of Cooper Kupps career. Interested to see how his game translates to the NFL. I have a feeling he's gonna be really good, so I hope he doesn't end up in New England.. But I feel like they will be watching.

[Butter]

Bo Pelini sighting!

[Logan]

McCaffrey joins Fournette in sitting out the bowl game.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Logan

McCaffrey joins Fournette in sitting out the bowl game.

Popped into this thread for that very reason.

I can almost understand Fournette's decision. Injuries dimmed his star quite a bit this season, but McCaffrey?

Feels like a giant f.u. to his teammates, and calls his character into question for me a little bit. If he'll quit on Stanford then why would we expect different for his next employer?

[Young Drachma]

You're only as good as your options. If dudes in the 1930s/40s/50s were able to make the kind of money players get now from going pro, you think they'd have wasted their time under the pretense of playing meaningless games?

Like, just read the history on some of this stuff.

Also, if a coach were say willing to limit these guys reps, maybe they'd be more inclined to take the trip and hang out one last time with their teammates.

On the flip side, I just can't work up the moral outrage, even if you reserve the same feelings for highly paid coaches that quit on their teams every year...when this is essentially a winning lottery ticket these guys are working with.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Popped into this thread for that very reason.

I can almost understand Fournette's decision. Injuries dimmed his star quite a bit this season, but McCaffrey?

Feels like a giant f.u. to his teammates, and calls his character into question for me a little bit. If he'll quit on Stanford then why would we expect different for his next employer?

His teammates have come out with their full support.

All it takes is one play. Jaylon Smith had insurance and got $900K in exchange for losing nearly $20MM in draft value.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by Young Drachma

On the flip side, I just can't work up the moral outrage, even if you reserve the same feelings for highly paid coaches that quit on their teams every year...when this is essentially a winning lottery ticket these guys are working with.

If I was holding a winning lottery ticket, I'd be really really careful about how I got to the office to claim the money.

[Butter]

I mean, if we want to go this far, why even bother playing college football at all? Just go the Maurice Clarett route... or the Jadaveon Clowney route in his final year, which was pretty much all "Operation Shutdown".

I think the restriction in jumping from high school to pro ball is ridiculous anyway, so let's just solve it.

[tarcone]

Its time for the NFL to start a real minor league system. I would have no problems with the criminals goinbg that route. Or the really good players.

D2 and 3 ball is just as entertaining as FBS.

Think of all the headaches that would go away.

[tarcone]

I have no problem with these guys skipping a meaningless exhibition game.
If a kid wants to skip, then fine.

[miked]

It's not like it's the Rose Bowl or anything, it's the meaningless Sun Bowl. I'd have my ass on the bench too if it meant risking $10-20M over winning a pointless game.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by tarcone

D2 and 3 ball is just as entertaining as FBS.

Um, right.

[molson]

Originally Posted by miked

It's not like it's the Rose Bowl or anything, it's the meaningless Sun Bowl. I'd have my ass on the bench too if it meant risking $10-20M over winning a pointless game.

That makes sense, but what was the "meaning" of any of Stanford's games this year, at least after they lost a few. Why play against Rice, or Cal, or anybody after October?

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by molson

That makes sense, but what was the "meaning" of any of Stanford's games this year, at least after they lost a few. Why play against Rice, or Cal, or anybody after October?

Because the outcomes of those games might actually lead to some kind of title result? Not a meaningless exhibition at the end of the season.

Non-playoff bowl games are essentially the Pro Bowl of college sports except non-all-star.

[CU Tiger]

1- This is the beginning of the end of the Bowls as we know them. I feel like no one but Jon and I will care...but the CFP and this combine to make the end of the bowls sooner than later.
2- Stanford paid for a personal injury policy on McCaffrey this season. That combined with his scholarship makes this feel like a major FU to his school to me.

[molson]

Originally Posted by Young Drachma

Because the outcomes of those games might actually lead to some kind of title result? Not a meaningless exhibition at the end of the season.

Stanford's last few games didn't have any title implications. Why exactly was their finale against Rice so much more meaningful than the bowl game? But really, what is the meaning of the games even before that? Is it worth risking $20 million to improve Stanford's slim hopes of a Pac-12 North title? It is kind of a fiction that any of this matters at all. If the goal is to make lots of money doing this, star players should pull the plug a lot earlier. Those star players are making money for the schools but at some point, they've maxed out their draft position and are just risking their future.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

2- Stanford paid for a personal injury policy on McCaffrey this season. That combined with his scholarship makes this feel like a major FU to his school to me.

If he gets hurt and never plays again, he gets $5MM. Being ruled injured enough to never play again is a pretty high bar.

Believe I saw his "loss of value" insurance was up to $3MM.

Again, Jaylon Smith lost out on about $19MM because of his injury. $900K in insurance plus his $5MMish contract against what he likely would have gotten as the #5 pick. And that's because someone took a shot on him in the second round. If he slips to the 4th instead, add another couple million lost.

If they don't want this to happen more frequently, they need to find a way to give them even better insurance. But I'm guessing the kind of premium that could result in a $20MM payout on loss of value would be a tad bit more expensive.

I don't know what Stanford had to lay out for his current insurance but I'm willing to wager McCaffrey's 2015 season (hell, maybe just his Rose Bowl performance alone) was enough for the school to earn +++EV on their investment when factoring in the value of his scholarship and the cost of insurance.

[tarcone]

Why is it okay for a coach, like Tom Herman, to leave before a bowl game, but not a player?

[digamma]

Honestly, I think this is a bit of an overreaction. There are what 250 kids who get drafted? And like 90% of those guys can probably go anywhere between the 2nd round and not drafted depending on performance between now and draft day. I think maybe a couple of kids a year take this route.

I'm more worried about the convoluted bowl contracts that pit teams in the same slot of bowls every year killing my interest in the bowls. How many times out of ten do I have to watch Florida against Iowa or Georgia against Wisconsin?

[Logan]

Of course it's an overreaction. That's what the internet is based on.

[tarcone]

Im not sure it is an overreaction. I think this reaction is what the NCAA and/or the P5 schools want.
This may signal the ned of the bowl season. 16 team playoff anyone? 32? 64?

And I agree with digamma. But, Iowa fans LOVE to go to Florida in January. No matter who they are playing. But I get tired of it being the 3rd or 4th or 5th best SEC team.

[molson]

If we're saying 1st-round prospects shouldn't play even in the Fiesta Bowl, where Smith was injured, than I think it is a significant trend. Star players are way more significant than the mass of players who enjoy the free trip to wrap up their college careers. If it becomes a routine thing for star players to skip those games, I think it's fair to wonder why it's so important to play in regular season games whose only real meaning is to qualify for those meaningless bowl games.

And I'd love to see it become a trend because I think the whole big-time college sports thing is kind of ridiculous in the first place.

[tarcone]

Looks like Iowa States entire roster is following CM and LFs lead and skipping Bowl season.

[Toddzilla]

Didn't he get hurt earlier in the season?

Regardless, when 100% of your teammates support you and your decision, then I got no problem with it.

[CU Tiger]

I think there is a lot of short sightedness here.

Let me spell it out more. ANd this isnt hypothetical, its real.
Lines are already out on this game.
Money has already been wagered.
McCaffery has no eligibility to lose.
He could get a nice $5MM payday by sitting on the couch.

Ok, ok...who really bets that much on Standford...
Hrmm check the books.

I mean close to home, Clemson has 5 players playing in their last game(s) here expected to be Top 3 round picks.
Think the odds makers would like to see Watson, Williams, Scott, Gallman and Watkins decide to not risk it...

It would be perfectly legal for them to sign with an agent right now, that agent to place that bet, and then advise them in good fiduciary discretion to sit out.

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by tarcone

Im not sure it is an overreaction. I think this reaction is what the NCAA and/or the P5 schools want.
This may signal the ned of the bowl season. 16 team playoff anyone? 32? 64?

And I agree with digamma. But, Iowa fans LOVE to go to Florida in January. No matter who they are playing. But I get tired of it being the 3rd or 4th or 5th best SEC team.

Florida will still be there even without football games, fwiw.

[tarcone]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

I think there is a lot of short sightedness here.

Let me spell it out more. ANd this isnt hypothetical, its real.
Lines are already out on this game.
Money has already been wagered.
McCaffery has no eligibility to lose.
He could get a nice $5MM payday by sitting on the couch.

Ok, ok...who really bets that much on Standford...
Hrmm check the books.

I mean close to home, Clemson has 5 players playing in their last game(s) here expected to be Top 3 round picks.
Think the odds makers would like to see Watson, Williams, Scott, Gallman and Watkins decide to not risk it...

It would be perfectly legal for them to sign with an agent right now, that agent to place that bet, and then advise them in good fiduciary discretion to sit out.

And then it comes out and the agent goes to jail. And the 5 players go to jail or get booted from the NFL.

This could happen with anything. Agent signs those 5 players. Then "Coach, I strained my hammy." , "Coach, I strained an oblique".

Sure it could happen. But it could happen under a lot of circumstance.

[tarcone]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Florida will still be there even without football games, fwiw.

True. But farmers need a reason to go. And what better then an Iowa bowl game?
Otherwise, things on the farm take precedent.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by tarcone

And then it comes out and the agent goes to jail. And the 5 players go to jail or get booted from the NFL.

This could happen with anything. Agent signs those 5 players. Then "Coach, I strained my hammy." , "Coach, I strained an oblique".

Sure it could happen. But it could happen under a lot of circumstance.

Uhmmm... it would not be illegal.
Every football player is "injured" prove the ankle didn't hurt.

There is no insider trading with sports gaming... its not throwing a game if you don't play

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Logan

His teammates have come out with their full support.

Then they've got character issues, same as him.

[tarcone]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

Uhmmm... it would not be illegal.
Every football player is "injured" prove the ankle didn't hurt.

There is no insider trading with sports gaming... its not throwing a game if you don't play

It would be if it came out they signed with an agent and the agent and players benefited financially by betting against their team. If we are going down that road. Let's go all the way.