“Bowl Season-A Great Season”

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America loves college football. King college football on Saturday

Color, pagentry, history, Heisman Trophy races, cheerleaders, spread formations and the chase to be in the 4-team playoffs.

You love what’s coming on New Year’s Eve, when Alabama faces Washington, and Ohio State meets Clemson in the playoffs.

Great intersectional bowl matchups, highlited by USC-vs-Penn State in the Rose Bowl.

Sure there may be too many bowl games. And yes, there can be, and is, griping about (6-6) teams, or the (5-7) schools that have to fill bowl games.

But the bowl trip is such a reward for players hard work. For many, it’s the final game they will ever play in their careers.

It never gets old, even if you are Alabama, and you go bowling every year.

But look at the bowl season from a different angle.

The Poinsettia Bowl tonight brings in Wyoming and Brigham Young. We have seen BYU’s model of excellence for decades here. It’s all part of the heritage of the great coach Lavell Edwards, and what he built the Cougars program into.

But realize where Wyoming was for years recently, the bottom of the conference. See the state pride in Memorial Stadium in Laramie, where Cowboys football is the only thing to cheer about, their only big time program, in the entire state.

The Holiday Bowl history is so special, dating back to the early years of BYU, SMU, Michigan, Ohio State and some of the great scoring affairs fans got to see every December. This year it’s Washington State’s time to light up a scoreboard vs Minnesota.

They’re celebrating in Bowling Green, Kentucky today, because Western Kentucky won a bowl game, beat the bigger oppponent Memphis State (51-31). Not bad for a Hilltopper team that used to be Division 1-AA football.

Next up will be a game in the exotic sounding place, the Bahamas Bowl. Think of Eastern Michigan, one of the woeful programs, with just 1-bowl appearance since the 1960s. They play Old Dominion, who a decade ago didn’t even have football.

When somebody like the Aztecs, from the Group of 5, beats somebody from a Power 5-conference, it’s a signature win. Don’t tell them the Las Vegas Bowl didn’t have meaning, when they got done with the Houston Cougars.

Sure, the powers of the SEC, Big 10, ACC, Big 12, and Pac 12, will have a bunch of teams in the post-season.

But tor the little guy, whose never been there, or for a program that has been down forever, these post-season games become a party to provide a lifetime memory.

They can’t all be Ohio State or an Oklahoma, but to be (13-0) Western Michigan, leaving the snow and cold in Kalamazoo, getting the first chance forever to play on New Year’s Day, an opportunity of a lifetime.

The Bowl season gives us matchups we never get to see. Cross country names facing each other, and a few David’s vs Goliaths also.

College football is king lots of places. Shortly we crown a champion. But between now and that title game, we get to see lots of great athletes, wild offenses, and high scoring games.

Bowl season, a great season.

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