With a title like College Gameday, you would think this program was all about college football. Sorry to disappoint you, but it’s not! After all, how, in a span of two hours can you talk about every single college game being played on a given Saturday afternoon?
Well, you can’t, you just can’t. So, wouldn’t the next best thing be to talk about the Top 25 teams in Division 1A? Probably, but while that seems a more likely scenario, that sad truth is that College Gameday doesn’t even come close to mentioning all teams in the Top 25 on a given Saturday! It’s more like America’s most irrelevant reality show.
In reality, College Gameday is a device ESPN employs to entice the viewer into watching the programming on its various channels (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN Classic, and ABC).
The show usually begins with a discussion of pertinent storylines of the week, and heads into some critique on the number 1 or number 2 teams, or a story on a top five match-up. Beyond that, the show devolves into a conference by conference breakdown of alleged top 25 action.
The first conference up for discussion is typically the SEC, mainly for the effect of influencing the viewer that the SEC is indeed the number 1 conference in college football and that pound-for-pound, the SEC is beyond par of the other BCS conferences. Watch closely as Kirk Herbstreit mugs the camera, ever the pretty-boy trying to kiss up to all the SEC fans watching this self-fulfilling prophecy. Herbie knows if you say something you believe to be true enough times, it really becomes the truth. What’s real subliminal here is that all SEC schools get a mention during this time, not just the ones in the top 25, again furthering the belief that the SEC is indeed the best.
The diatribes over the games are usually superficial and the crew always gets in a mention of the old ball coach or some SEC candidate for the Heisman or Outland trophies.
Next up is the ACC, where the discussion centers on Miami, Florida State, and Virginia Tech. The boys at ESPN have to discuss these teams, as ESPN these three programs on the college football map. Think about it, before ESPN, who ever heard of the Hurricanes, Seminoles, or Hokies? What the heck is a Hokie anyway? Some mention may or may not be made about the remaining teams in the conference, especially when it’s near season’s end and they start talking about the ACC-Coastal division or the ACC-whatever division.
About now, its time for some kind of feel good story about a player or team (USF football players getting Mohawk haircuts), or talk about some 1AA action like Yale-Harvard or something. Just to lighten things up after all this serious discussion about the SEC and ACC.
From there, the guys talk up the Big East and Big 10, where it’s all about Ohio State and Michigan. In the Big East, USF, Cincinnati, UCONN, and Rutgers seemed to be the big stories this year, with Louisville dropping off the map faster than you can say Brian Brohm! About this time, Herbstreit starts looking constipated as he tries to remain impartial when talking about the Buckeyes and Wolverines. Wisconsin and Penn State may also get a mention, but the talk usually attempts to further their perpetual myth that the Big 10 is down this year.
After a commercial, the boys head off to the Big XII to talk up Oklahoma, Texas, and Nebraska. K-State may get a mention (now that they’re not so good, they hardly ever do), but this year Kansas and Missouri got some air time, if only to talk about the Jayhawk’s weak schedule, Mizzou’s inability to beat OU, as well as Gary Pinkel’s supposed position on the hot-seat, Mangino’s weight problem, or the lack of stature of Chase Daniel and the KU quarterback.
Another feel good story follows something like the story of Indiana’s late coach Terry Hoeppner’s wife’s efforts to encourage the Hoosiers team this year, or Oregon State’s Mike Cavanaugh’s wife who received a kidney from a fellow assistant coach. The PAC 10 is up next, where the story is all about USC, maybe UCLA, and if they’re playing good, Oregon, California, and Arizona State. None of the other schools get mentioned, not even when the talk centers on becoming bowl eligible. The PAC 10 segment is typically the shortest of all, and always seems as if they’ve been shortchanged, again proving that East Coast media bias is alive and well.
By now, time is running short, so non-BCS schools in the Top 25 such as Boise State, BYU, or Hawai’i get nary a mention. There’s maybe a short blurb on CUSA, the MAC, MWC, and possibly the WAC, but you might miss it if you blink your eyes. Instead it’s on to Desmond Howard’s comedic piece, where he comes across as if doing things that guys do on the Man Show or MTV’s Jackas.s. It makes you feel really bad for Desmond, as he’s a Heisman trophy winner who could be used more effectively rather than just for comic relief.
Next, Fowler runs down several big games where Corso and Herbstreit review their picks. Corso is not afraid to pick against his alma mater, but Herbie is more calculated in that respect. This year, he munches out of some picks because he is calling the game with Brent Musberger. The show ends with Corso pulling a mascot’s head out of trunk.
By looking at the personalities involved in this production, one gains an understanding of how truly irrelevant this program really is.
The host, Chris Fowler, is a graduate of the University of Colorado, a Big XII school. Fowler prides himself in his ability to appear as if he is impartial, but tosses such soft pitches, that he’s never succeed at slow-pitch! You would think, being from Colorado, he would do better in talking up western schools by squashing the east coast bias. Highly unlikely!
Lee Corso (Florida State University -ACC), is the #### Vitale of College Gameday. You either love him or you hate him. He’s there solely for the entertainment value. He’s all about craziness and excitability. Wouldn’t you be if you had to put on a stupid mascot’s head? As a former coach, he also brings a coach’s perspective to the show, but Corso had no coaching stints west of the Mississippi. Another east coast representative. One plus is that he is not afraid to pick against FSU. His catchphrase, “Not so fast my friend”, usually uttered to Kirk, though ubiquitous, is a whole lot cooler than Stuart Scott’s silly playground drivel “boo yah!” on SportsCenter.
Kirk Herbstreit, a graduate of The Ohio State University (Big 10) is the all-American pretty-boy talking head whose sole purpose is to bring female viewers to the table. An SEC brown-noser who is afraid to talk about his alma mater, he typically points out all the flaws with the Michigan program. Kirk has a true disdain for the PAC 10, WAC, MWC, and Colt Brennan.
The Gameday supporting cast typically delivers half-time and post-game reports and consists of:
Reece Davis, a University of Alabama (SEC), alum who once picked a fight with Hawai’i coach June Jones during the BCS selection special. Davis was trying to denigrate Colt Brennan by calling him a “system” quarterback, but Coach Jones turned the tables on him and Reece misunderstood everything that Jones said. Reece came out with egg on his face while also inflaming Mark May and Herbie. Graduating from the same school that Forrest Gump attended explains it all!
Mark May, who attended Pittsburgh of the Big East, gives an Oscar worthy performance as the angry black man. A former offensive lineman who played in the NFL, he has strong opinions on things and isn’t afraid to mix it up with the rest of the cast, especially with Lou Holtz. May is another one who doesn’t like non-BCS programs. His best comments, however, are reserved for those programs such as Southern Mississippi that either fire or force out successful head coaches because they believe they are better than they really are.
Lou Holtz is a former Notre Dame coach and graduate of Kent State University (MAC). Holtz has a lisp and comes across sounding like Sylvester the Cat. Most people can’t bear to listen to him, but his role is to also give a coach’s perspective and provide someone to be picked on because of Notre Dame. The farthest west team he’s coached was Arkansas, which is more southern than western. Holtz provides honest analysis, a silly pep talk, and a fascinating magic trick.
Desmond Howard, from Michigan of the Big 10, is the other African-American on the show. A former Heisman trophy winner, Howard isn’t as polished in delivery as Mark May, but come across as eager and honest. However, the role he’s been given makes him look like a court jester, kind of like Martin Lawrence in Black Knight.
Lastly, while we’re at it, why not mention a few other Gameday contributors:
Jesse Palmer, former University of Florida (SEC) quarterback who failed miserably in pro ball is the other resident pretty boy charged with luring in the female fans. Guys will like him because he’s a former player, but he’s really the equivalent of Lisa Guerrero. He adds no value whatsoever. Who gave this guy his credibility? He’s another non-BCS school hater.
Craig James from Southern Methodist University (SWC – now CUSA). He's famous for calling Jo Pa out on national TV. He’s now on the Penn State most wanted list. His brother Chris played baseball for the Cleveland Indians and is the more likeable one. The “Pony’s” delivery leads one to believe he’s a southern country bumpkin. He’s another guy with a lack of respect for western schools.
Doug Flutie, another former Heisman trophy winner, attended Boston College (ACC). Flutie parlayed his 15 minutes of fame into a long career in the CFL and NFL. His role is to represent the little man (literally), the underdog, and the average Joe. He usually delivers good analysis, especially about offenses, but always ends up talking about the play with Phelan against Miami.
No wonder after watching Gameday one feels like they’ve watched an SEC recruiting film, let alone know that there’s college football or a BCS conference or two west of the Mississippi! All of these talking heads (except for the Pony) have spent their time talking east coast football. No surprise here that the PAC 10 gets no respect!
Recently, Ed Cunningham, who attended the University of Washington and Robert Smith, who played at "The" Ohio State have been in the studio during the pre, halftime, and post-game shows. Regular contributors to ESPN's College Football Live, Ed and Robert bring credible, balanced, thoughtful and unbiased perspective to the table. No editorializing here. In fact, College Football Live appears to be a better program than College Gameday! Let’s hope these two guys end up permanently replacing Herbie & Palmer.
Charles Barkley, who was known as the “Round Mound of Rebound” during his basketball career, announced the winners of his 2007 “Barkley” awards that honor coaching ineptitude in the National Football League.
Barkley, a diehard college football fan stated, “I don’t know why so many coaches at the college level think they can go pro! Too often, they fail to realize that in the pros, you’re dealing with men, not boys, and success doesn’t always translate.”
'Sir' Charles created the “Round Mound of Rebound” or “Barkley” awards in 1999 to recognize those successful college coaches who fail miserably in the NFL. These coaches, in a fit of ego inducement, take their success at the college level and attempt to make it in the NFL.
More often than not, these coaches fail. Barkley, sensing their despair over failing at the top, felt it only fitting to use his "Round Mound of Rebound" moniker as the name of the award since failure in the NFL has not impeded their ability to "rebound" in the college ranks, restore their self-esteem, and renew their winning ways.
A panel, consisting of one FoxSports blogger, chose this year’s winners. The awardees include the first two-time winner in the history of the Barkley’s, Dennis Erickson.
DENNIS ERICKSON
Coach Erickson is now a two time winner of the award, having previously won in 1999 while with the Oregon State Beavers to their first winning season in 28 years. A successful college coach with stints at Idaho, Wyoming, Washington State, and Miami, Erickson parlayed his two national championships into a job with the Seattle Seahawks in 1995. Erickson spent four seasons in the NFL amassing an impressive 31-33 record of mediocrity.
Like a drug addict, however, the need for a “fix” was too great for Erickson, who skipped town on the Beavers in 2003 to take on a rebuilding project with the San Francisco 49ers. But, his eyes were bigger than his stomach and Erickson only managed a 9-23 record over two seasons. Consequently, Erickson returned to his true love, the college game, first at Idaho for a season, and then with the Arizona State Sun Devils, barely missing a spot in a BCS bowl game.
NICK SABAN
Saban parlayed success at three schools (Toledo, Michigan State, LSU) into the top job with the Miami Dolphins. Becoming more successful at each stop along the way, Saban landed in Miami with great expectations. With Dolphins, however, he guided the team to two less than stellar seasons and no playoff appearances! Apparently, he came to the dismal realization that success at the college level does not always translate to a successful NFL career. This astounding piece of insight on his part resulted in Saban’s sudden, secretly announced return to the college ranks as the ninth heir to the great Bear Bryant at the University of Alabama. Roll Tide!
BOBBY PETRINO
Petrino after a successful stint leading the Louisville Cardinals into the Big East Conference, jumped at the chance to be an NFL head coach with the Atlanta Falcons. In his four years at Louisville, Petrino led the Cardinals to two one-loss seasons and one BCS bowl appearance. With his ego fulfilled, Petrino sought to improve his stance as a hot, up and coming coach, by guiding the Vickless Falcons in 2007. Sadly, he only lasted 13 games into the season before resigning with a shameless 3-10 record, in order to take the top job at the University of Arkansas! His excuse for leaving, “At Louisville, I had Brian Brohm. I was expecting to have Michael Vick as my starting QB with the Falcons, but Vick just couldn't stay out of jail!”
The University of Arkansas has high expectations for Petrino. More like wishful thinking on their part! Razorback fans are seeking to improve upon their 0.620 historic winning percentage, which equates to an average 7-4 season record (a middle-of-the-road team in the SEC). Aren't they all? Former coach Houston Nutt only managed to eek out a 0.610 winning percentage, which cost him his job. Coach Petrino's task is a tough one, and should be well aware that meeting the overzealous expectations of clueless Razorback fans is a daunting task itself. Hopefully, some day soon, these fans will realize that the Hogs are not the cream of the SEC!
Who will be the next winner of the "Round Mound of Rebound" award? Submit your nominees and find out!
You may recall one of Dan Akroyd’s characters from Saturday Night Live back in the 1970’s, Fred Garvin: Male Prostitute.
To honor college football’s finest male prostitutes, we have the Male Prostitute Hall-of-Shame.
To qualify for selection to the Male Prostitute Hall-of-Shame, college coaches must display the following characteristics over their careers:
Short stops (2-3 years) at a school
Accept coaching positions that either moves them from Division 1AA or a lesser Division 1A program to successively bigger Division 1A programs, culminating in a job at a BCS school or as a coach of an NFL team.
Each stop along the way significantly improves their financial compensation package.
They utter statements such as, “I’m here to stay” or denying rumors in the media by repeatedly denying the rumors adamantly stating "I'm not going to be the XXXX coach.”
Taking their next job after their current teams makes it to a bowl game, but before the bowl game is actually played.
Be involved in controversy (recruiting violations, discipline problems, secret newsletters, NCAA probation, etc).
Succeeded at the collegiate level but failed in the NFL.
These coaches are the antithesis of coaches such as Bobby Bowden (31 years) and Joe Paterno (42 years) who are known for longevity as their schools. Though some fans may feel that these two coaches may have overstayed their welcome, these are two gentlemen who put their college football programs on the map and became synonymous with their schools.
Wouldn’t you rather be known as “Coach Z" who built the program at the "U of X”? Or would you rather be the coach at a major program where you will probably never live up to the legend of some coach who was there before you?
So, without further adieu, here is the Class of 2007 in reverse order:
5. Urban Meyer – Coach Meyer barely qualifies for the Hall, but since 5 sounded like a good number, he’s included here to complete the set. Makes one wonder if he could have built the Utes into a MWC powerhouse.
Football Teams - Bowling Green (2 years), Utah (2 years), Florida (3 years)
4. Dennis Franchione – Coach Fran is eminently qualified for the Hall. Just ask any Alabama fan. Plus, with that newsletter of his, he’s no stranger to controversy.
Football Teams - Southwest Texas State (1AA) (2 years), New Mexico (6 years), TCU (3 years), Alabama (2 years), Texas A&M (5 years)
3. Steve Spurrier – The “Old Ball Coach” was a touch choice, as we’ll never really know if it was money or boredom that led to his departure from Florida.
Football Teams -Tampa Bay Bandits (USFL) (3 years), Duke (3 years), Florida (12 years), Washington Redskins (NFL) (2 years), South Carolina (3 years)
2. Nick Saban – Though his stays at schools have gotten longer (5 years at MSU and LSU), Coach Saban took the money and ran for the NFL. Failing at that, he high-tailed it back to the college ranks to restore some of the luster to the anemic Crimson Tide program. This is one coach who is no stranger to controversy!
Football Teams - Toledo (1 year), Michigan State (5 years), LSU (5 years), Miami Dolphins (NFL) (2 years), Alabama (1 year)
1. Dennis Erickson – The King of the Male Prostitutes. Erickson readily admitted (during his tenure at OSU) to prostituting himself in his earlier days. However, when the opportunity arose, he left OSU and returned to the NFL. He really had to see if he was a better pro coach then his earlier stop in Seattle demonstrated. Failing for a second time in the NFL, he took a year off before returning to the University of Idaho, only to leave after one year when Arizona State showered him with $$$$.
Football Teams - Idaho (1AA) (4 years), Wyoming (1 year), Washington State (2 years), Miami (6 years), Seattle Seahawks (NFL) (3 years), Oregon State (4 years), San Francisco 49ers (NFL) (2 years), Idaho (1 year), Arizona State (1 year)
NOTE: Only Division 1AA/1A and professional coaching jobs are listed.
The goals of every BCS conference team at the start of the season are two-fold. First, win your conference and second, make it to the national championship game. Once the season begins, a side goal is to lose early if you do lose, so as to setup a better ranking at the end of the season. Three of the six BCS conferences have a championship game and three do not, so the question is whether conference championship games are good or bad for the parties involved.
Conference championship games are in fact a dangerous thing, especially when one division winner is strong and the other is 8-3 or 7-4. The underdog always seems to have the advantage (just look at what happens in the Big 12 and SEC now & then) in that they have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Not a good place to be for a top 5 team to be when your opponent is hungry!
2005 - #22 Florida State (7-4) defeated #5 Virginia Tech (10-1) 27-22
The underdog winning one out of the two years the championship game was played.
NOTE: Records shown were the team’s record at the time of the championship game.
So what does this tell us? They tell us that there is no reward without risk in these particular conferences, as the “extra” game leaves open the possibility for a major impact to a team’s bowl placement. Win and you're in. Lose and you're most likely out.
And playing a team you’ve already beaten once that season doesn’t increase your odds of winning a second time, though the team you've beaten will be up for the game to settle the score!
Me, I'd rather play in a conference like the PAC 10 where every team plays each other, round-robin fashion, where the one with the best in-conference record crowned the champion. Since teams in twelve-team conferences don't play all the other teams in conference, there really isn't a good way to judge which team is the best. Just look at Kansas this year. Had they played Oklahoma or Texas, they might have been exposed early on as a pretender instead of a contender!
The truth of the matter is that it is better to come in second in your division with an early loss to your division's winner. By the end of the season, say your record is 10-1 or 11-1. That alone should have you ranked in the top 15 let alone even in the top 5.
Look at the Big 12 this year which prior to last week had 3 teams in the top 5. It's really too bad that Missouri and Kansas had to play each other in the last game of the season. Looking at it hypothetically, had those two teams played at the start of conference play, and say Missouri had won, they would have identical one-loss records going into the Big 12 championship game. Missouri, having won the head to head match-up, would play OU in the championship game, while Kansas stayed home. But, either OU or Mizzou would lose, so surely Kansas would move up in the rankings without having played a game and would be a preferable selection for a BCS game not having suffered a loss in the championship game.
The same scenario would work when the other division winner is 7-4. If that 7-4 team won the championship game, they get the automatic BCS bowl birth for the conference. However, the one-loss second place team in the division would most likely be ranked higher than the 10-1 or 9-2 division winner who lost the conference championship game. This year, Kansas in the Big 12 and Georgia in the SEC have the best shot at being the second team from their respective conferences to make a BCS game. Georgia may even be lucky enough to move up high enough to play in the national championship game if enough teams ahead of it lose this weekend.
Surprisingly, Oklahoma is the one exception to a conference championship game loser not making it to the BCS. Having lost the Big 12 championship game in 2003 to Kansas Sate, OU only fell to #2 in the final BCS rankings and still managed to play in the title game. Bottom line, it pays to be a traditional national power!
For those teams that finish second in the conference and don’t get to play in the conference championship, a BCS berth is most likely, and a national championship berth is a possibility, depending on where the team ends up in the final BCS standings. Of course, the best way to make it to the national championship is to be a BCS conference member that wins out while playing a strong-schedule.
In 1979, James Burke, a BBC reporter, created a television program, “CONNECTIONS” that examined the eight inventions that ushered in the technological age. These inventions were: the production line, telecommunications, the airplane, plastics, the computer, the atomic bomb, the guided missile, and television. Burke was able to explain how simple, sometimes unrelated events, ultimately led to significant technological breakthroughs that pervade our modern society.
As I’ve watched the 2007 college football season unfold, I've thought of the show “CONNECTIONS”, and in that spirit, I’ve attempted to link 5 events (some significant, some insignificant) in the history of Division 1A college football events that has brought it to its present perilous BCS state.
No, I’m not going to be as thorough or as detailed as James Burke, but I'll present five events that have changed college football forever and brought about the parity that exists today.
NOTE: I define parity here to mean that “on any given Saturday, any team MAY win.” At least in the 2007 college football season so far.
1. NCAA Scholarship Limits – Yes, it's the obvious, but the NCAA mandate to limit Division 1A schools to no more than 85 scholarships meant that traditional powers like Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Texas, Michigan, Ohio State, Alabama, Penn State, and USC can no longer stock up on players just to keep them off of the other guy’s team. Now schools like Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Rutgers, Kansas, Northwestern, and Washington State have a chance to eat at the adult table, where a whole new venue to display themselves was gaining momentum:
2. ESPN – The “Little Network that could” created the ACC and Big East conferences in order to show more relevant programming when college basketball wasn’t in season. Think about it, before ESPN, who had ever heard of Florida State, Miami, Boston College, or Virginia Tech?
If it weren’t for ESPN, none of these schools would have gotten as much media coverage as they have over the past 25 or so years. Doug Flutie never would have been an NFL quarterback, let alone a lousy sidekick to the “Pony”, Craig James. Thanks to ESPN, the ACC and the Big East were able to leap over the old school leagues of the Big 10 and PAC 10 (which are stuck with the crappy regional ABC TV contract), to join the Big 12 and SEC with national TV exposure.
Prior to this season, hardly ever did you ever see Big 10 or PAC 10 conference games on ESPN (national TV) on a Saturday night. Instead, ESPN showcases games such as North Carolina State-Duke, Wake Forest-Maryland, or UCONN-Cincinnati! Does it sound like basketball anyone? When it comes to football, who gives a rip about these teams? Show me some real, college football!
It was this ubiquitous display of ACC and Big East football on ESPN that also led to the dilution of football as a team game. Say it ain’t so Joe Pa, but now college football is laden with NFL wannabees, individuals looking for attention, and “thug” football, Florida style.
But, I digress, as that is a topic in itself for another blog. So, during the time of explosion of college football on ESPN, a school from a backwoods state that produced a Rhodes Scholar president, set in force a chain reaction with repercussions that are still being felt to this day. That school is:
3. The University of Arkansas (no, not like “The Ohio State University”, the “the” is there to begin the sentence properly!) is the school that started it all! I don’t know how they were able to anticipate the demise of the SWC, but by jumping from the Southwest Conference to the Southeastern Conference, the Razorbacks started the first domino to fall in a sequence that has still not ended. Though the SWC ceased to exist, the Big 2 and the Little 6 (Big 8 for those of you who can’t spell) allowed only the best schools from Texas to join (sorry Baylor) to form the Big 12. Seeing this, the Big 10 just had to add one other school to the conference to now be called the “Big 10” (wow, what a concept, 11 schools in the Big 10)!
The upheaval caused by the Razorbacks also led to the creation of the mid-major Conference USA and Mountain West Conference, as well as the dilution of the talent in the Western Athletic & Big East conferences.
Lest we forget that Boston College, Miami, and Virginia Tech left the cozy confines of one basketball conference (Big East) to join another (ACC)? At the time it seemed on paper to make the ACC a better conference, but history has shown, in 2007 at least, that the Big East got the better end of the deal.
Speaking of the Big East, how in the world did Cincinnati, Louisville, and South Florida gain automatic entry to the BCS banquet! Think about it. Neither the ACC nor Big East has any traditional football powerhouse schools, yet they are considered BCS conferences! This too is a topic for another blog.
The WAC increased to 16 teams, but that experiment was doomed to fail, with a cabal of teams departing to create the Mountain West Conference. That left the WAC to fix the leaking dike by adding the likes of Boise State, Louisiana Tech, Idaho, New Mexico State, and Utah State. With the exception of Boise State, these new additions did nothing to give the WAC any semblance of strength of schedule. For that, you can blame the leader of the cabal that formed the MWC:
4. Brigham Young University, the only non-BCS school to ever win a national championship. Any true college football fan knows that an undefeated BYU beat a 6-5 Michigan team in the 1984 Holiday Bowl, finishing the season 13-0. As BYU was not a “traditional” school from a “traditional” conference, this rankled those “big boy” "traditional" conferences so much (what sacrilege, isn’t Notre Dame God’s team after all!) that they had to put a stop to it!
Throw in BYU’s Ty Detmer (1990) and Andre Ware (Houston-1989), two deserving players from non-BCS schools winning the Heisman trophy, and the big boys had had enough. From 1991 forward, no player from a non-BCS conference has even come close to winning the Heisman trophy. Consequently, the six so called “traditional” conferences got together to and created this mess we call the BCS.
It’s bad enough that Florida State and Miami were allowed into the picture (yet another blog topic), but the "big boys" couldn’t allow any “inferior” western schools (BYU, Utah, Boise State) to have a piece of the pie. Can anyone spell lawsuit?
“A lawsuit you say?” The BCS bullies were finally intimidated enough to say, “Well, if you can finish in the top 12 or in the top 16 if you are ranked higher than a BCS conference champion, then we’ll throw you some scraps and allow you in as an at-large guest.” "So it shall be written, so it shall be done" sayeth the powerhouse conferences. Until Utah broke through in 2004, no non-BCS school ever played in one of the major "traditional" bowl games, nor let alone being considered for the national championship game. But, even before the non-BCS schools were allowed at the table, what were those BCS conference also-rans going to do?
Where will those lousy bottom feeding ACC & SEC schools get to play in December and January? After all, they’ve finished 6-5 or 7-4 and deserve to play somewhere to reward their mediocrity. Why, why don’t we have a bowl game explosion? Which brings us to:
5. The Dot com bubble. In the 1990’s nearly every high-flying, high-tech, or self-serving company with money was able to create their own bowl game, thereby allowing every mediocre ACC or SEC team to have a place to in December. This preponderance of bowls makes even the least deserving, barely over .500 teams feel entitled to a piece of the bowl action.
Now you hear #### bloggers saying stuff like, “Eleven out of twelve SEC teams are bowl eligible, but only five of ten PAC 10 teams are! Our conference is better than yours!” Give me a break! Let’s see the SEC play a tougher non-conference schedule, then we’ll see how many are bowl eligible at the end of the season.
So, in December, you can watch football nearly every night for two weeks straight, where you can see irrelevant games such as the “Chick-fil-A”, “Meinecke Car Care”, “PapaJohns.com”, or “Outback” bowls. While the rest of us watch the games that matter. Lest we forget, here are the winning conferences for ESPN’s last three seasons of the “Bowl Challenge Cup”:
2006 – Big East (5-0)
2005 – Big 12 & PAC 10 (5-3)
2004 – PAC 10 and CUSA (3-2)
Says, a lot, doesn't it? So, for all the problems of the BCS, strength of schedule, polls, conference standings, etc, it all boils down to five simple events where we can really lay the blame for bringing Division 1A college football to this present mess. We can only hope that one of these days, some future innocuous event will lead to the creation of a sensible Division 1A playoff system, that in addition, allows those mediocre ACC & SEC teams to play in those meaningless bowls every December.
I am an avowed "West Coast" college football fan who happens to live between Big 12 and Big 10 country and spends many a late Saturday night watching football from the "conference of champions".
While I am not an SEC-hater, I do believe SEC fans have a tendency to think too highly of their teams, without knowing much about football beyond the confines of dixieland.
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about college football. Sorry to disappoint you, but it’s not! After all, how, in a span of two hours can you talk about every single college game being played on a given Saturday afternoon? 
2005 - #22 Florida State (7-4) defeated #5 Virginia Tech (10-1) 27-22 
round-robin fashion, where the one with the best in-conference record crowned the champion. Since teams in twelve-team conferences don't play all the other teams in conference, there really isn't a good way to judge which team is the best. Just look at Kansas this year. Had they played Oklahoma or Texas, they might have been exposed early on as a pretender instead of a contender!
