2011-'12 Bowl Schedule: Thoughts?

Why are there such ridiculous bowl games like the Compass bowl and Godaddy.com Bowl on January 7th and 8th, respectively? That's absurd. I know there are always those ridiculous random bowl games in between the BCS and the National Championship, but really? REALLY?

I like how Michigan matches up with VTech, so I actually give the edge to Michigan.

I think OSU with the extra practice is actually better than Florida, so I'm going for Big Ten again.

Iowa-Oklahoma probably won't be pretty and I'm pretty sure this isn't going to be good for the Big Ten.

After that, I think Nebraska and MSU can stick with their opponents and have a decent chance of winning.  Neither will be favored but I think they can put up good fights and have a chance.  The thing about Nebraska is that they are pretty one dimensional and South Carolina has a great D-line, so that's a little scary.  Georgia will probably favored, they are probably a better team than VTech actually, but I think if State gets their D backfield in order and runs an offense like they did against Wisc they could make it a good game.  I'll give two more loses for the Big Ten, but I wouldn't be surprised to go 1-1 out of these two.

Purdue against Western should be entertaining.  Western seemed to peak at the wrong time and Purdue got better over the year, I would say that's about a push.

aTm is way more talented than Northwestern.  But they lost their coach and have figured out amazing ways to lose a lot of games.  I still think they win, but you never know with them.  UCLA and Illinois should be a bit boring.  Both teams lose their coaches, could get sloppy.  I say push.

IMO, Penn State's defense rolls on Houston, but their lack of offense keeps it close.  Penn State is better suited against the run, which isn't a nice match up, but I think they probably have their best run game on offense too.  I say another push.

Wisc-Oregon will be a shoot-out and I say push their as well.

So overall, I think the Big Ten takes 4-5 games this year.  Not a bad turn out, but things could go either way.  Lots of interesting match ups.

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This may be the wqorst bowl season in a long time.

And why the hell does Ohio get a "New Years Day" bowl game when the F'ing 6-6?

The NCAA is a complete sham and Ohio will get three years probation and that's it.  The cheating will escalate b/c the NCAA is spineless.

What an utterly abysmal schedule. So many horrible games. And so many teams were screwed I don't even know where to begin. But let me try....How in the hell does the Eighth ranked team in the country fall to the....what the hell is even this bowl? The maaacko? the Mako bowl? What is this, Final Fantasy?

Sheesh. I just feel crummy about the whole thing. Yes we deserve it and all that, but the way things worked out, it just doesn't feel right. 

WTF is a Beef O'Brady?

sounds like a powersuit a Nurse might wear one day in the future at the expense of patient empathy. That is all. 

This is a weak schedule this year - I only see 7 games of interest.  Btw, how does Ohio/FLA play on 1/2 and Arkansas State/Northern Illinois on 1/8?  These games should be played this wednesday!

This must have been used to determine whether or not Sparty got into a BCS bowl!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soyOxjT7lts

But then I realized they're playing #6 Arkansas in the Cotton, which really isn't a bad deal at all. Honestly it's a pretty daggone good lineup - everybody in the top 20 is playing a ranked opponent except for Boise and Baylor. Those teams are all playing each other except for Houston, who's playing #22 Penn State.

The least intriguing matchup is the SEC West Title Part Deaux, endorsed by the BCS. I'm probably not going to watch that, but I'm damn excited for every other game after NYD (excepting shit like the Compass Bowl).

And no I don't feel for Sparty - if you had been close against ND or Nebraska you'd have an argument, and probably have finished eligible for a BCS game. As it is, you'll get to make your point against the SEC Runner Up. Sparty, you should be amped.

Well...we were 7-2 against bowl teams this year. Not too shabby.

whoops, missed Purdue 8-2

The Fiesta Bowl will be entertaining.

I think this matchup is actually an interesting one. Both teams are 6-6 and in down years, however, osu is probably the better team.

NCAA/BCS suits must have a fucking backbone and let the Bowls have their name unsullied by the advertisers. At least the Rose Bowl bigs have a spine.

Rose Bowl presented by is much better than FranklinsBeefO'MaacoSlayer.com Bowl. What a joke.

That sucks donkey.

Oklahoma State got royally hosed, both by the blind refs in the Iowa State game (no way was that FG good), and the BCS.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Gundy and Cowboys score 63 points against Stanford, they're so pissed off.

I am sick of our conference getting so little respect by the media. I know we have had some down years, but I think we are competetive with the other big conferences. I hope we sweep all our sec games.

So who wants to take the over/under for Toledo vs air force. That line is going to be near 120.

and went 8-2 against them.  This has been an amazing season.

Once again, the bowl selections show me that its all about the $$$ and a group of elitists doing their best to maintain the status quo. 

And to be fair, I do feel bad for the rational MSU fan.  They go 11-1 last year, just to have two Big 10 teams grap BCS bowl bids ahead of them.  And then this year, they go 10-2 just to lose in the Big 10 Championship and play in a much smaller bowl.  If that Big 10 championship game starts next year they are more than likely playing in a BCS bowl.  And to top it off you have beaten your biggest rival 4 years in a row, just to see them grab that BCS bowl from their perspective.  Granted, I feel that Michigan deserves a BCS bowl, but i think it shows that regardless of how you perform on the field, external factors are going to play a role in this process that reward big names schools (Notre Dame) and screw over the less marketable teams (Boise State, MSU).   

They bitched about their bowl bid last year becuz it wasnt a BCS bowl. Then they got fucking lit up by Ala-fuckin-bama.

This bowl lineup stinks.  I'm happy for Michigan and I'm looking forward to the matchup with VA Tech, but the national championship game is shaky and some of the snubs by the BCS are epic.  Boise State falling all the way to Vegas to play Arizona State?  Oklahoma versus Iowa in the Insight?  TCU in the Poinsettia?  And jeez, what happened to the Holiday Bowl; that one used to be worth watching, but now its a pair of 7-5 teams?  Give credit to the Cotton Bowl guys, they got a better matchup than half the BCS.  But the bottom line is there's just way too many mediocre games.  If you want to see the case for a playoff, here it is: Temple-Wyoming, Ohio-Utah St, San Diego St-UL Lafayette, FIU-Marshall, Illinois-UCLA...

The best thing that can be said for this is a couple more years of this and the bowls just might manage to kill themselves.

the sexy pick right now - Denard is simply electric and everybody wants to see him play.  I would have loved to face Baylor......that would have been the best bowl game - period

One Sparty fan just tweeted me "If it isn't the Rose bowl or NCG, then who cares"  Um, apparently your boy Cousins cares.

I'm glad that the Little Caesar's Bowl was moved to Dec. 27.  Now you might actually see people come to Detroit the day before the game, which obviously wasn't going to happen when the game was on the 26th.  I hope they can eventually move the game another couple of days later.

I think that alot of game are matched up pretty good. I would have put Boise State in the Sugar Bowl with Michigan and moved Virginia Tech to the Chick-Fila-A against Auburn, but for the most part this is a pretty good Bowl lineup for December into January. All except for:

1. Iowa vs Oklahoma - Wow! Thats all I'm saying. Who really thinks that Bob Stoops isn't going to use this game to get into the top 5 before the 2012 season? 44-17 (Yes I even provided a prediction)

2. TCU vs. La Tech - WTF! Really!

4. Boise State vs. Arizona State. How many others out there think that Erickson's last game coaching the Sun Devils might end up pretty bad! Well I do, awful selection. #7 in the country who was beaten by #18 (TCU) cause they missed a field goal should be playing Michigan in the Sugar Bowl but gets the MAACO Las Vegas Bowl instead. Boise 41 ASU 20 (This may be worse).

5. And saving the best for last. The Media Representation of the Urban Renewal" (Ohio vs Florida). In honor of the new Ohio coach It should be renamed the "Whatever happens I wont lose" Bowl. Since Timmy Tebow is no longer a Gator I officially hate both of these teams.

I've always been a staunch defender of the bowl system.  I liked the tradition of the bowls and all that jazz,  but more importantly, I firmly believed that the nature of college football, which made every regular season game incredibly important, would be compromised by a playoff.

Now, I don't give a shit.  I don't give a shit about the bowls - look at that list of names alone, and tell me there's anything worth salvaging there, then look at the fucking matchups.  It's not that I desperately want some kind of playoff, though Brian's proposal certainly makes sense - I just don't give a shit.  From now on, I'm going to do my damndest to only care about the conference championship. 

They're only saying this because of their own situation, and not from any principled position, but I actually agree with Sparty here.  It's a broken fucking system that allows a team that finished behind another in its conference a more prestigious bowl bid.  Unless the bowl selection process is reformed so that it's actually tied directly to final rankings, the whole fucking thing should just be burnt to the ground. 

Really, I'm not even that excited about the Sugar Bowl.  Excuse me, the Allstate Sugar Bowl.  I'm excited about ten wins, I'm excited about winning as many Big Ten games this year as we've managed in the past three, I'm elated beyond belief that we finally beat Ohio.  But I just don't give a fuck about the postseason any more.  Thank God we got a conference championship game, because everything beyond the boundaries of the conference itself is a fucking bullshit circus. 

EDIT: One exception, connected to the conference championship, obvs.  The Rose Bowl, which - naming rights aside - is the only one that actually has a reasonable fucking selection process. 

to put some motivation in the VTU players.  He and his Buckeye buddies are really keeping to their script.  F' em.

There are also WAY, WAY, WAY too many Bowl games.

Wish the  Big Ten could get a couple of those mid-tier-SEC matchups against crappy Big East or crappy ACC teams.