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“Bowl Games-Not What They Used to Be”

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We’re headed to the National Championship Game, the renewal of the Alabama-Clemson games, to determine who is the best college team in the country.

But there’s something missing about this whole December into January post season schedule.

It seems going to the playoff format has destroyed the mystique of some of the bowl games.

There’s no doubt USC-Texas, Matt Leinart-Vince Young years ago was magic. Same thing the first time around Alabama played. Maybe too the matches with Clemson’s array of talents.

The Rose Bowl maybe the Gran-Daddy of them all, but not every year now.

Remember the glory years of the Orange Bowl, when it involved Oklahoma or Nebraska vs Miami or Florida State.

Same with the Cotton Bowl, when it might be Texas vs Big 12-teams.

Here at home, the Holiday Bowl gave us all those wild offensive displays, BYU, SMU- Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and more. Sure Northwestern put on a dazzling comeback win over Utah on New Year’s Eve, but the magic of what used to be, doesn’t seem to be there now.

Our memories flashback to OJ Simpson, Archie Griffin, and heroes of yesteryear in Pasadena among other places.

It’s a different time now. We have 41-bowl games in all, dragging little known teams from seldom followed conferences into a post season game, even if you are (6-6), or (5-7), or lost a bunch of games at the end of the year,and still got in.

The last two weeks have given us a (27-0) Ohio shutout of the Aztecs. And Oregon’s (7-6) win. We had a game that featured 9-interceptions. We had Army beat Houston (70-14). And now coaches get fired if they don’t win bowl games.

It goes on and on…and now you cannot bring it back The toothpaste is out of the tube. Now people are screeching we need an 8-team playoff, because four teams leaves people on the outside looking in.

Now the AP poll is no longer significant. Now crummy non-conference schedules, built to pad your record to (12-0) are important ways of doing business.

Sure we will wait to see what Ohio State is like post-Urban Meyer. We know what Nebraska is now after decades of dominant years. Oklahoma is special. Florida State-Florida-Miami-Penn State, no longer who they used to be.

Maybe Chip Kelly and Oregon rebuild the Pac 12. The Big 10 and Big 12 needs to be revitalized. Who knows if there will ever be rebirth of the ACC.

It seems as if everyone is chasing the SEC, or maybe chasing Alabama .

We used to look forward to this bowl season, the cross-conference matchups you never see. But now the post season brings us more disappointment than dazzling games

Don’t know what the answer is, but what we are seeing college football evolve into is not what we all enjoyed in the past.

Bowl games, not what we grew up watching and loving.

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