Preserving the bowl system only preserves mediocrity

Sporting News, The, May 24, 1999 by Mark Blaudschun

What's going on here? Another bowl is being sanctioned by the NCAA-the Mobile Alabama Bowl on December 22. In case you've lost count, that makes 22 postseason games in Division I-A, which means 44 participants. By our calculations, that means a higher percentage of I-A football teams in postseason than I-A basketball teams (and 96 teams participate in postseason basketball).

We have nothing against the people who run the Mobile Alabama Bowl. They'll put on a fine show, matching the Conference USA and WAC teams they invite. But the whole system is out of whack.

Next year, there could be games in Houston, San Francisco and San Jose, and the possibility of a game in Toronto has even been mentioned. We already have games in Boise and Shreveport, to mention a couple of the not-so-beaten paths college football has taken to host its postseason bowl games. Excuse me. What are we missing here? Wasn't a bowl game meant to be a "reward" for a season "well done"?

Obviously, the definition of a season well done is changing. Because there is a distinct possibility that many of these new games will be filled by teams with a 6-5 record, at best.

Why not invite everyone to a game? Or make the criteria: If you can win three of your last six games, you can go to a bowl game. The reason: You're hot, on a roll. So why not keep it going?

Please. College football officials who oppose a playoff say one of the reasons they are against it is because the bowl system must be preserved.

Preserved? Are you kidding? Preserved so we can have a matchup between the Big East No. 5 team and the SEC No. 8? By adding more bowls, we're lowering the bar. Mediocrity is good. Parity is good. Let's turn college football into the NHL, where the regular season means nothing or is graded on a curve to the point more teams enter postseason than stay home.

It's a joke, folks. Mediocre teams playing mediocre teams. Games played on January 4. Games played in cold-weather venues in sleet, freezing rain, fog and drizzle.

Is this better than a playoff system, where every game will have some meaning and a true champion will be crowned? Of course not. But that does not matter. We must preserve the bowl system.

So bring it on. Let's have more games in more places. Let's bring back the Garden State Bowl and get stuck in the Jersey Swamp the week before Christmas. Let's put another game in Vegas and call it the Slot Machine Bowl. Let's make another rule: If November 1 rolls around and you have a chance to win five games, accept a bid. But let's attach a warning label to these games. Because fans certainly will get much less than they deserve.

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Coaches are canvassing the nation, scouting players participating in camps and spring sports. One who has turned heads, according to Bobby Burton of the National Recruiting Advisor, is Yohance Buchanan, a 6-1,210-pound defensive back from Douglass High in Atlanta. He's trying to graduate this spring so he can enroll at Florida State. At the least, he'll graduate at midterm next school year and enroll for FSU's spring practice in 2000. Coaches also have been wowed by Miami (Fla.) Central running back Willis McGahee, who reminds many of Edgerrin James. Wes Sims, a 6-5, 300-pound offensive lineman from Weatherford (Okla.) High, impressed at a recent camp by benching 185 pounds 34 times, leaping 32 inches and running a 5.0 40-yard dash.

Tom Dienhart

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