Bowl games are losing proposition for Go5

[HawkeyeCoug]

Outside the one team a year that goes to a good bowl, the Go5 (including BYU) are iced out of pretty much any decent bowl.  The Po5 match up against each other, and have our best, most marketable teams playing their last place teams.  That further depresses the market for our best teams.  It would be much more interesting to see Boise vs. ASU during the year than after everyone is talking about how bad ASU is.  It really kills interest in the bowl game itself when the coach is fired and the team is 6-6.  

 

A much better option is having the best Gof5 teams playing each other in bowl games, as that will likely result in bowls with ranked teams.  But, that is hard to do since everyone wants their champion to be in the conference's "featured" bowl.  Meanwhile, all the revenue from the bowl pretty much flows to the host city and bowl committee, while the actual game gets lost in the host of other meaningless bowl games with nothing to stand out or be different.

 

The key to a successful post-season is to do something different than the Po5.  Trying to do what they do at a lower level simply doesn't work.  Propping up the lower-level bowl system plays into their hands with recruiting, as they can boast of much better bowl possibilities as well.

 

I think the obvious solution is to start a 16 team Go5 playoff.  Matches up the best Gof5 teams in battles between ranked teams, adds excitement to the post-season, helps with recruiting, and is financially rewarding.  Many posters get angry when I suggest such a thing.  So I would like to invite them to suggest something different than a bowl situation that is stacked against the Gof5.  How are you going to make the post-season fiscally rewarding and exciting?  If you can't come up with anything better than the status quo, a Gof5 playoff is the best option.

 

Go Cougs!!!!!!!

[SpartaRick]

I'd love a 16 team playoff but it does not seem to be in the cards-- at least not in the short term.  However, as to our complaint that our nos. 1 or 2 teams play the nos. 7 or 8 teams from the power conferences-- we can fix that.  Our good teams have to start "crushing" their "also rans" to such a degree that the TV corporations will start looking for more competitive games.  When that starts happening, our best teams will play their "very good" teams.

[CV147]

I can see why it would be both good and bad.

 

On one hand, a tournament like that would theoretically have a legitimate champion, and could, I emphasize could, rival big bowl games for ratings.

 

On the other hand, it would be the group of five "giving up" on trying to stick it to the power five through busting into the four-team playoff. The BCS era, for whatever it's worth, at least gave the non-AQ teams an argument why there should be more access.

[FresnoFanatic]

I'd like to see MW and AAC both go to 16 teams and petition for our respective CCG winners to play each other a week after CCG weekend for an autobid to a 7th Access Bowl to be played the same weekend as the 4 team big5 playoff NCG.

We'd (MW/AAC) split the revenue equally between us except for the team who goes would get at least $3Million.

CUSA/Mac/Belt would still have the Access Bowl #6 but our Access Bowl #7 would play the higher ranked big5 atlarge.

CBS and espn would have to agree to open up the MW and AAC contracts to increase our tv revenue to make up for the pie splitting of 16 teams in each conference....and BYU/byutv would still get their same deal with espn.

The MW/AAC interconference play-in game would have at least 32 fan bases watching it.

We could basically split the currently proposed $86M with the CUSA/Mac/belt-gang-of-3 to fund this 7th Access Bowl.

I say BYU, UTEP, UTSA and ? to the MW....with army, southern miss, odu and Charlotte to AAC. (odu and Charlotte are big DMAs).

[Headbutt]

I'd love a 16 team playoff but it does not seem to be in the cards-- at least not in the short term.  However, as to our complaint that our nos. 1 or 2 teams play the nos. 7 or 8 teams from the power conferences-- we can fix that.  Our good teams have to start "crushing" their "also rans" to such a degree that the TV corporations will start looking for more competitive games.  When that starts happening, our best teams will play their "very good" teams.

This!  

 

From a program standpoint, many coaches see it as some extra practice and a reward.  The "little 5" need to treat it like a championship game and show up with a blowout in mind.  Conference meetings should reflect this approach.

[FresnoStateBulldogFan]

The situation is phucked up... they just need to go ahead and break away. That's what is being attempted and that will ultimately happen except for a possible BCS birth for one lucky team.

[FresnoFanatic]

The situation is phucked up... they just need to go ahead and break away. That's what is being attempted and that will ultimately happen except for a possible BCS birth for one lucky team.

The more the big5 keep shutting us out, now even in the lower tier bowls, the more I'll start rooting for the mw and our fellow non-big5 conference teams to beat big5 teams.

I may just have to start paying more attention to the Toledos and utsa's of the world, hoping we take down their Roman Empire just as the various barbarians did back in the day.

[ClevelandBrown]

It makes me sick what is going on.

The power conferences are simply sealing the cracks in the glass ceiling that we used to have.

Yes, G5 teams need to start winning OOC games and crushing inferior competition like BSU has done the past decade. Sadly, it's not going to happen. BSU is an anomaly considering the distribution of wealth in CFB, and that distribution gap is only widening.

[ClevelandBrown]

Sadly, it's not going to happen.

Outside of 1 or 2 teams a year, that is.

[FresnoFanatic]

Outside of 1 or 2 teams a year, that is.

Yep. Boise and Appy friggin State.

....but I jest with the "friggin" aimed at Appy....which is what I don't get about what B5 & TV execs thinking.....seems to me big5 vs big5 all the time will get boring as hell!

I mean would Wake Forest vs Iowa St really get better tv ratings than say SDSU vs Iowa St?

Only Iowa St fans would watch the first scenario, but the 2nd scenario would have Iowa St fans, suds fans, and the 11 other MW member's fans watching, I'm sure.

You could even put sjsu in place of SDSU in scenario 2.

[FresnoFanatic]

Here's an idea. And it doesn't replace Access Bowl #6 or the G5's (minute) access to the 4 team FBS NCG playoff....

8 team tourney that could (or not) use lower tier bowls for its semis/finals....

4 - G5 CCG winners that don't go to Access Bowl #6

1 - highest ranked Indy (nd included should they accept due to not getting a better bowl offer)

1 - highest ranked FCS team (would not participate in the FCS playoff and would be determine by a BCS-like ranking system for the FCS).

2 - Next 2 at larges selected after the AccessBowl#6 at large.

[thedude15]

chill out, it is really not much different. 

 

1. in the past the only way to make a good bowl was to go 12/13-0 and make the BCS. In the future the only way to make a good bowl is to be the best team of the little 5.

 

2. Our best team (or 2nd best if some makes an access bowl) will be sent to play some 7-5 or 6-6 Pac-12 team. Kinda the same deal in the past 

 

3. All the other bowl games completely suck (same as the past).

[thedude15]

and playoff wise I think the best case for the little 5 would be 16 teams.

 

NO they would not give use 5 auto bids BUT maybe they would give us 2 auto bids (ie two highest ranked conference champs). Worse case we would get 1 auto bid. 

 

With only 8 teams the little 5 have ZERO shot at an auto bid. 

[FresnoFanatic]

chill out, it is really not much different.

3. All the other bowl games completely suck (same as the past).

But they will "suck" more now as the NMBowl might now be MW vs LaTech.....no offense, cuz I grew to love LaTech, but seriously.

And what will be the end result for the LV Bowl?......MW vs lesser PAC or #3/4 AAC?....might as well hope your team goes to the Potato Bowl vs NIU or Bowling Green or Toledo.

[SparkysDad]

The gap is getting wider and wider.  The P5 know what they are doing.  First, they create an insurmountable financial gap, then they start working on the perceptions by creating false separations whether they exist competitively or not.  Guess what?  When the P5 only play themselves, it makes the G of 5 look a lot like FCS teams.  

 

I know many are talking about a G of 5 playoff or bowl game match ups, but IMO that would only keep this separation momentum going and continue to turn the perception of the casual fan that the haves and the have nots are two entirely different levels of football, like FBS and FCS, which is EXACTLY what the P5 want!  

 

Again JMO but if the Power 5 were to publicly call for a separation into different divisions or break away publicly, it would be discussed by fans, analysts, etc. and the greedy truth would come out.  If they do it "stealth mode" (like it appears they are) it happens naturally and at some point, the fans perception will be that it is a competitive reality, when many of us know that there is not as much competitive difference between the P5 and the G of 5 as the P5 would want everyone to believe.

 

ps.  I don't see any reasonable options for bowl games that would be better than what we're being forced into.

[pokerider]

But they will "suck" more now as the NMBowl might now be MW vs LaTech.....no offense, cuz I grew to love LaTech, but seriously.

And what will be the end result for the LV Bowl?......MW vs lesser PAC or #3/4 AAC?....might as well hope your team goes to the Potato Bowl vs NIU or Bowling Green or Toledo.

the NM bowl had a MAC team 2 yrs ago, had UTEP from CUSA, and has had WAC teams - Fresno and SJSt & Nevada.

Only once has a Pac team played which was last year.  Having a CUSA team in the NM bowl is really about the same type of team thats been in it for most of the time.

[FresnoStateBulldogFan]

The gap is getting wider and wider.  The P5 know what they are doing.  First, they create an insurmountable financial gap, then they start working on the perceptions by creating false separations whether they exist competitively or not.  Guess what?  When the P5 only play themselves, it makes the G of 5 look a lot like FCS teams.  

 

I know many are talking about a G of 5 playoff or bowl game match ups, but IMO that would only keep this separation momentum going and continue to turn the perception of the casual fan that the haves and the have nots are two entirely different levels of football, like FBS and FCS, which is EXACTLY what the P5 want!  

 

Again JMO but if the Power 5 were to publicly call for a separation into different divisions or break away publicly, it would be discussed by fans, analysts, etc. and the greedy truth would come out.  If they do it "stealth mode" (like it appears they are) it happens naturally and at some point, the fans perception will be that it is a competitive reality, when many of us know that there is not as much competitive difference between the P5 and the G of 5 as the P5 would want everyone to believe.

 

ps.  I don't see any reasonable options for bowl games that would be better than what we're being forced into.

NObody is being fooled... what needs to happen is one or most of the G5 teams need to sue the hell out of the P5.

[FresnoFanatic]

NObody is being fooled... what needs to happen is one or most of the G5 teams need to sue the hell out of the P5.

Does Orin Hatch even know Logan exists?....is he still in the Senate?

Maybe Connecticut's Senators will do something?

[CaffeinatedCoog]

As it appears that the MW will be offered a bottom level Pac-12 bowl qualified team in the Las Vegas Bowl, and it looks like the top bowl the AAC can land will probably have a similar opponent (probably ACC #7 in the Military), it might make a lot more sense for the MW#1/2 vs the AAC #1/2 to meet.  The two leagues could then send their second highest available team to play P-5 6-6 teams.  The geographic details would have to be worked out--either a central location or rotating east/west locations--either way, I think this may be the only way for the two conferences to salvage a degree of dignity and self respect.   

[mugtang]

Does Orin Hatch even know Logan exists?....is he still in the Senate?

Maybe Connecticut's Senators will do something?

As painful as this is for me to say we do have the senate majority leader representing 2 MW schools.