It’s in the books. Finito. Done. The 2010 college football season is no more.
It was an interesting season, for sure. The Oregon Ducks made a run at the National Title. There were, at one point, two non-BCS conference teams in the Top 5. And for once, the BCS Championship game featured the two best teams in the country.
But, now that the season is over, the argument “there are too many Bowls” is cropping up again. And it shouldn’t go overlooked.
Despite the solid College Football season, here are a lok at all of the Bowls and how they faired….
The Worthless Bowls
| Bowl Game | Team | Pts | Pts | Team | Total | Diff |
| New Mexico Bowl | BYU | 52 | 24 | UTEP | 76 | 28 |
| Humanitarian Bowl | Northern Illinois | 40 | 17 | Fresno State | 57 | 23 |
| New Orleans Bowl | Troy | 48 | 21 | Ohio | 69 | 27 |
| Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl | Louisville | 31 | 28 | Southern Mississippi | 59 | 3 |
| Little Caesars Pizza Bowl | Florida International | 34 | 32 | Toledo | 66 | 2 |
| GoDaddy.com Bowl | Miami (Ohio) | 35 | 21 | Middle Tennessee | 56 | 14 |
| Fight Hunger Bowl | Nevada | 20 | 13 | Boston College | 33 | 7 |
Regardless of the date, these Bowls mean nothing to fans. And it turns out these Bowls were worthless on two scales. They are between meaningless opponents in meaningless games and half the games weren’t even close. Sure, FIU sneaking a win out against Toledo was exciting but it was 24-7 at one point in the third.
And where is the defense? The average total points scored was 59.
Some may argue that the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl shouldn’t be on this list. Wrong. That match-up would have been interesting two years ago, but not in 2010.
Final grade: Git rid of ’em!
The Not-Quite-As-Worthless Bowls
| Bowl Game | Team | Pts | Pts | Team | Total | Diff |
| MAACO Bowl | Boise State | 26 | 3 | Utah | 29 | 23 |
| Poinsettia Bowl | San Diego State | 35 | 14 | Navy | 49 | 21 |
| Hawaii Bowl | Tulsa | 62 | 35 | Hawaii | 97 | 27 |
| Independence Bowl | Air Force | 14 | 7 | Georgia Tech | 21 | 7 |
| Champs Sports Bowl | North Carolina State | 23 | 7 | West Virginia | 30 | 16 |
| Military Bowl | Maryland | 51 | 20 | East Carolina | 71 | 31 |
| Texas Bowl | Illinois | 38 | 14 | Baylor | 52 | 24 |
| Alamo Bowl | Oklahoma State | 36 | 10 | Arizona | 46 | 26 |
| Music City Bowl | North Carolina | 30 | 27 | Tennessee | 57 | 3 |
| Meineke Bowl | South Florida | 31 | 26 | Clemson | 57 | 5 |
| BBVA Compass Bowl | Pittsburgh | 27 | 10 | Kentucky | 37 | 17 |
The only difference between these Bowls and the “Worthless Bowls” is fandome. These teams actually have fans that matter.
But it’s still a total swing and miss. The committees responsible for inviting the teams did’t think these match-ups through. The winning team won, on average, by 18 points. 18! That’s two touchdowns, a 2pt conversion and a field goal.
Only three of the 11 games were a one-score games. And really, the South Florida-Clemson shouldn’t count. USF was winning 31-13 with 1:53 to go in the game and Clemson picked up two gimmie TDs to pull within five.
The only good thing to come out of these games: At least the defense (sort of) showed up to play in these games. The average combined score was 49 points.
Final Grade: Figure out the match-ups…
Actual Bowls
| Bowl Game | Team | Pts | Pts | Team | Total | Diff |
| Armed Forces Bowl | Army | 16 | 14 | SMU | 30 | 2 |
| Pinstripe Bowl | Syracuse | 36 | 34 | Kansas State | 70 | 2 |
| Holiday Bowl | Washington | 19 | 7 | Nebraska | 26 | 12 |
| Sun Bowl | Notre Dame | 33 | 17 | Miami | 50 | 16 |
| Liberty Bowl | UCF | 10 | 6 | Georgia | 16 | 4 |
| Chick-fil-A Bowl | Florida State | 26 | 17 | South Carolina | 43 | 9 |
| TicketCity Bowl | Texas Tech | 45 | 38 | Northwestern | 83 | 7 |
| Capital One Bowl | Alabama | 49 | 7 | Michigan State | 56 | 42 |
| Outback Bowl | Florida | 37 | 24 | Penn State | 61 | 13 |
| Insight Bowl | Iowa | 27 | 24 | Missouri | 51 | 3 |
These guys got it right! A handful of games that ended up coming down to the wire. Teams that people want to watch. Match-ups that are intriguing. And the final scores (save the Alabama-Michigan State spanking) were close – the winning team only won by, on average, 6.8 points.
Sure, there was almost no defense in a few games, but at least the games were still interesting. Texas Tech-Northwestern in the TicketCity Bowl had a combined 83 points but came down to the end. Syracuse-Kansas State watched 70 points pile up on the scoreboard in the Pinstripe Bowl, but it was close, too.
Final Grade: Not bad, keep these one’s around.
Actually-Matter Bowls
| Bowl Game | Team | Pts | Pts | Team | Total | Diff |
| Gator Bowl | Mississippi State | 52 | 14 | Michigan | 66 | 38 |
| Rose Bowl | TCU | 21 | 19 | Wisconsin | 40 | 2 |
| Fiesta Bowl | Oklahoma | 48 | 20 | Connecticut | 68 | 28 |
| Orange Bowl | Stanford | 40 | 12 | Virginia Tech | 52 | 28 |
| Sugar Bowl | Ohio State | 31 | 26 | Arkansas | 57 | 5 |
| Cotton Bowl | LSU | 41 | 24 | Texas A&M | 65 | 17 |
| BCS National Championship | Auburn | 22 | 19 | Oregon | 41 | 3 |
The BCS actually didn’t mess everything thing up – finally. It gave games that matched with the national rankings and gave the world a final Top 25 that people don’t freak out about.
| 1 | Auburn (56) |
| 2 | TCU (3) |
| 3 | Oregon |
| 4 | Stanford |
| 5 | Ohio St |
| 6 | Oklahoma |
| 7 | Wisconsin |
| 8 | LSU |
| 9 | Boise St |
| 10 | Alabama |
Final Grade: Good. Now, don’t screw it up next year.
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Nick Lilja. Nick Lilja said: RT @T5SJ: College Bowl Rewind – http://tinyurl.com/6zasjlq […]
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Nick Lilja. Nick Lilja said: RT @T5SJ: College Bowl Rewind – http://tinyurl.com/6zasjlq […]
Nick,
The Actually-Matter Bowls only matter because of the name BCS was attached. The winning team won by an average of 17.2 points. That is two touchdowns, a field goal, and defensive pass interfence that puts the team on the <1 yard line.
And that is with the title game actually being a close game. Imagine if it was a blow out like it historically is.
The only reason their are so many bowls, is because they make money. Even the MAACO Bowl, pulls in some revenue to make it worth it. It also gives MAACO the marketing spotlight it wouldn't normally get. The football is secondary. All they got to do is not screw it up completly so they get bad publicity for the match-up selected. Whether the game is a blow out or not, it doesn't matter. As long as a fan sees MAACO in the name, or Champ Sports, or the pepsi commercial just once – the bowl was a success. Is that really the system the fans (and NCAA) want to decide the champs?
It may not be the system they want.. but it brings in the money they want. Don’t get me wrong, Im all for contraction (of bowls) and a playoff. But sadly, that ain’t gunna happen.
Nick,
The Actually-Matter Bowls only matter because of the name BCS was attached. The winning team won by an average of 17.2 points. That is two touchdowns, a field goal, and defensive pass interfence that puts the team on the <1 yard line.
And that is with the title game actually being a close game. Imagine if it was a blow out like it historically is.
The only reason their are so many bowls, is because they make money. Even the MAACO Bowl, pulls in some revenue to make it worth it. It also gives MAACO the marketing spotlight it wouldn't normally get. The football is secondary. All they got to do is not screw it up completly so they get bad publicity for the match-up selected. Whether the game is a blow out or not, it doesn't matter. As long as a fan sees MAACO in the name, or Champ Sports, or the pepsi commercial just once – the bowl was a success. Is that really the system the fans (and NCAA) want to decide the champs?
It may not be the system they want.. but it brings in the money they want. Don’t get me wrong, Im all for contraction (of bowls) and a playoff. But sadly, that ain’t gunna happen.
What did you think about Ohio St Players not getting suspended for the tattoo business….. all they had to do to play in the bowl game was committ to coming back next year despite the 5 game suspension they face. The three big name players, prior being one of them, had good games which no doubt helped win that bowl game. Yet, you know Newton would have been literally crucified if he found to be involved in his scandal. Also, the AJ Green deal too.
Spot on. I think it’s absurd that the Ohio State players get to play as long as they “promise” to come back next year. Bull. You know they are going to jump to the pro and say, “hey, I have a family to feed.”
And yeah, Cam Newton would have been hunted down and thrown out of the NCAA and banished by Roger Goodell in the NFL.
What did you think about Ohio St Players not getting suspended for the tattoo business….. all they had to do to play in the bowl game was committ to coming back next year despite the 5 game suspension they face. The three big name players, prior being one of them, had good games which no doubt helped win that bowl game. Yet, you know Newton would have been literally crucified if he found to be involved in his scandal. Also, the AJ Green deal too.
Spot on. I think it’s absurd that the Ohio State players get to play as long as they “promise” to come back next year. Bull. You know they are going to jump to the pro and say, “hey, I have a family to feed.”
And yeah, Cam Newton would have been hunted down and thrown out of the NCAA and banished by Roger Goodell in the NFL.