OSU and FSU performances may just be enough to end the current bowl system. The fans deserve better competition> Players opting out either for the portal or NFL undermines teams' ability to play competitively, The bowl system may eventually just involve 12 teams. in the playoffs
End of the Bowl Tradition
- Thread starter docrugby1
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Nah. The recent bowls will all be part of the 12 team playoff. The earlier bowls will continue to thrive as filler for ESPN during the holiday season. Players will be less likely to opt out when they have a chance to win a championship. Take a look at the portal entries for teams in the final four…amongst the lowest for schools like UM, UW and Texas.
At the rate its going, there may be players giving up their third year of eligibility and sitting out to wait till their eligible for the draft. Heck, they might start sitting out after their Freshman year if they have a great year.
I feel like our team just proved that guys will care about the rest of the bowls depending on where their programs are.
Sure if you're at a regular CFP participating team, then a lesser bowl might seem beneath you, but for the rest of the players?
Our players played as if the Vegas bowl mattered to them each individually and together as a team. That won't change.
Sure if you're at a regular CFP participating team, then a lesser bowl might seem beneath you, but for the rest of the players?
Our players played as if the Vegas bowl mattered to them each individually and together as a team. That won't change.
When you recruit and develop highly motivated, responsible, ethical players like Northwestern has, you're going to get a motivated participant in a bowl game. Teams with a strong culture will play for each other with fewer defections.
If they would move the 30 day transfer portal to start on January 4th instead of December 4th it could make a big difference in number of players opting out of bowl games.
That would be a logical solution. Problem with that is the timing for players to enroll in the Winter semester that typically starts in early January at most schools.
I really don't find that to be a very valid reason for not moving the transfer period to January. If a player loses the Winter semester it's not the end of the world for him. It's a small price to pay for what that player perceives to be a much bigger value to him. And it might make some of them think a little more about where they owe their loyatly for the school that was generous and thoughtful enough to give him his start in college football.
Just remember that even Utah had a number not playing. But the real problem is shown with the lack of competitiveness of dOSU and FSU where big name bowl games put crap on the field. Heck, FSU had almost half of their starters sitting out for the draft and the result was about the biggest blowout in history. With the likelyhood that it will be even more guys sitting out in the future, who wants to watch that? Killing the goose
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"Winter" semester is really "Spring" semester at most places - January to May (don't forget - NU is weird with the quarter system). Moving the Portal date is helpful to the sport of college football but more or less implausible on the academic side.
As NIL deals evolve, I think it will be important for the funders to stipulate bowl participation as part of the deal. I'd love to know how the people who paid Marvin Harrison's bills this season enjoyed watching him hang out on the sideline.
Going forward, I think the playoff teams will see less attrition and opt-outs. Then there will be 4-6 teams that were on the bubble and get excluded - we'll see attrition there as well (just like FSU this season).
For the next tier down, which will very often include Northwestern, I think the bowl system will generally continue to operate status quo, but probably with adjustments on how programs are slotted. There will be cynics who say the bowls don't matter...but I'll always be more interested in the Las Vegas Bowl when NU is playing over Michigan/Alabama.
As NIL deals evolve, I think it will be important for the funders to stipulate bowl participation as part of the deal. I'd love to know how the people who paid Marvin Harrison's bills this season enjoyed watching him hang out on the sideline.
Going forward, I think the playoff teams will see less attrition and opt-outs. Then there will be 4-6 teams that were on the bubble and get excluded - we'll see attrition there as well (just like FSU this season).
For the next tier down, which will very often include Northwestern, I think the bowl system will generally continue to operate status quo, but probably with adjustments on how programs are slotted. There will be cynics who say the bowls don't matter...but I'll always be more interested in the Las Vegas Bowl when NU is playing over Michigan/Alabama.
So does this mean that all of the players who basically quit their teams at the end of November and opted out of post season games have now applied and been accepted to other schools in time to start classes the first week of January. Essentially meaning that all of this happens during just four weeks in the month of December. I don't think that is the case at all, but I could be wrong.
It is pretty hard to give up the semester of classes, Can't really take them at current school and starting too late to take them at new school. That and transfers need to get those spring practices with new team and weight programs. So understand why it is way it is, Only problem is how soon window closes that hurts programs on quarter system
This “classes” thing is really starting to get in the way of the football.
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This happened a few years ago with Bosa at Ohio State. Frankly, it was the right move for him personally.
I certainly wouldn’t have blamed a player like Caleb Williams if he chose to do that this past season.
Move the dates all you want, it won’t materially impact the number of opt outs.
That’s exactly what it means. I would expect Priebe to be attending classes at Michigan in January. Most guys want to get to their new schools as soon as possible so they can participate in Spring Ball. Some, such as the Ivy grad transfers, will stay on through May, complete their degree requirements and then officially transfer come June/July. Those commitments will have already been announced much earlier in the year.
In the future, the games most likely to have opt-outs — highly-ranked programs who missed the tournament — won’t get these prime tv slots.
In a world focused on the playoff, anything less is a failure. So, yeah, I guess it is the death of the bowl system.
At the majority of bowl programs — those that have played between December 15 and December 27ish — the bowl game is still the ‘last hurrah’ for those players to celebrate their last game, and to win a “championship”, with their teammates.
FSU was particularly prone to opt-outs because, seriously, they did everything they were supposed to do and were left out. “F*ck everyone, imma get mine.”
In a world focused on the playoff, anything less is a failure. So, yeah, I guess it is the death of the bowl system.
At the majority of bowl programs — those that have played between December 15 and December 27ish — the bowl game is still the ‘last hurrah’ for those players to celebrate their last game, and to win a “championship”, with their teammates.
FSU was particularly prone to opt-outs because, seriously, they did everything they were supposed to do and were left out. “F*ck everyone, imma get mine.”
Perhaps I am missing something but why not just move the portal date to a much later date after spring semester is well under way? The player is transferring for the next season. Even though the coaches want them available for spring practices, too bad. Aligns with NU's circumstance. Might even give us an advantage where two semester schools only have players show up for summer whereas NU might be able to get a player into the last semester and attend spring practices.
Bowl games are live product and that is very important to TV. They will still be around although it will be interesting to see how schedules may conflict between non-playoff bowl games and playoff bowl games. My guess is playoff bowl games will be played on Friday and Saturday and everything else on other days.
Agree. I care about 3 bowls. NU, Toledo (hometown and wife Alma mater) and Michigan - ROLL TIDE.
I watch a few others for fun but they are for those teams' players/fans, and bettors.
My only explanation is that the portal is finally about the players, who actually create value, and not fat cats that don't deserve it. So the system is trying to maximize flexibility and leverage for the value creators. January is the best time for the players. Inconvenient for fans, but we'll adjust
you can bet dollars to doughnuts that everyone in the voting room already knew that tv ratings would be better with Alabama (who barely beat Auburn and barely beat Georgia) in and the revenge narrative of an angry bee buzzing group of Seminoles trying to prove they had been jilted ...so good for the Seminoles to say FU.....maybe tv wins anyway as I ill watch Michigan.Alabama hoping it is the first college game where both teams lose.... and badly.....
100%. Regardless of gripes about quality (opt outs/injuries/etc.), the TV ratings are there and that means the money will be there. These bowl games outdraw most shows on TV that aren't the NFL (including other professional sports like the NBA).
As long as these bowls can keep guaranteeing $5-10 million payouts, they will exist for non-playoff teams.
I think that it is far too upside down to simply look at this as an issue of the players creating value.
There is a system in existence that provides the opportunity for the players to participate. That system is where the value starts, not with the players. Without it the players would have nothing.
So to grant them exceptional privileges that enhance their personal outcomes to the detriment of the overall system makes no sense.
Yeah, but most fans want the same team to play the 13th game that played the previous 12. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case in many instances.
and so you think moving to 12 team playoffs fix thing. after reading this article in the NYT...maybe we should just go to bidding for the playoff spots....https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/31/us/college-athletes-nil-sugar-rose-bowl.html?unlocked_article_code=1.KE0.YQXt.PLaa1J1f_AVn&smid=url-share
Lol, yeah Networks aren’t bidding for the rights to televise Ancient Chinese Philosophy.
It is a bit of a conundrum of conflict between what the fans/advertisers want to see, and what the players in their brief windows of opportunity think is the biggest payoff for them.
The way it stands, looking at future bowl games you can set a team's record to the side and start by studying which starters and how many will deign to participate, and setting your expectations from there.
Maybe they can start a rookie bowl series for the most successful teams with the biggest number of starters opting out?
The way it stands, looking at future bowl games you can set a team's record to the side and start by studying which starters and how many will deign to participate, and setting your expectations from there.
Maybe they can start a rookie bowl series for the most successful teams with the biggest number of starters opting out?
So just to get complete clarity on this matter it seems to me that there are two different scenarios.
1. A player has already transferred to a different school prior to the bowl game, so in that case he obviously wouldn't be able to play for his previous team. He is no longer a student at that school.
2. A player is still technically a student at the school, but has announced his intention to go pro or possibly transfer to another school by entering the portal. And a result he declines to play for his current team due to the possibility of incurring an injury.
Does that pretty much cover the issues?
1. A player has already transferred to a different school prior to the bowl game, so in that case he obviously wouldn't be able to play for his previous team. He is no longer a student at that school.
2. A player is still technically a student at the school, but has announced his intention to go pro or possibly transfer to another school by entering the portal. And a result he declines to play for his current team due to the possibility of incurring an injury.
Does that pretty much cover the issues?
"In quantum mechanics, Schrödinger's cat is a thought experiment, sometimes described as a paradox, of quantum superposition. In the thought experiment, a hypothetical cat may be considered simultaneously both alive and dead, while it is unobserved in a closed box" (from unimpeachable source Wikipedia.
Player 2 is simultaneously here and gone.
Yep, agree. OSU was down to their 3rd QB (a true freshman with no experience) and played without their starting QB - McCord and probably the best player in CF - Marvin Harrison. They've also had a TON of transfers already with more to come
And FSU ...... well, it seemed like everybody opted. These Bowl games - outside of the Playoffs are useless and I expect many of them to disappear in the next couple of years.
We can always hope.... but the network accountants and the university accountants will let you know.
