This year's completely uninspiring college football season came to a merciful end this past Monday when the LSU Tigers completely humiliated the overmatched Ohio State Buckeyes. The game was unwatchable by halftime which is only appropriate because most of America had forgotten that the college football season was still ongoing by the time they got around to playing the "title" game. I hate to pull an "in my day" but in my day bowl season was actually entertaining. Even though the old system wasn't perfect, on New Year's day, you were assured of seeing all of the best teams in action. But now, New Year's day is reserved for fewer games composed of the second-tier teams and fifth-tier Illinois while all the "big" games are strung out as "events" unto their own. The old system would have given us the much preferable USC vs. Ohio State. Kansas vs. Virgina Tech could be entertaining as one of many games that you flip back and forth from but it ranks as a distant second to a rerun of Ugly Betty when it is the only football on TV. No playoff system successfully crowns the "best" team so we shouldn't concern ourselves with that for college football. Instead let's go back to the time when we had a day of 9-12 bowl games and a really great day of football. One game can be a blow out because one of the many other options will surely be heading to an exciting conclusion. I used to also walk both ways uphill in the snow.
About the only moment of the College Football title game with any suspense was the naming of Pontiac Game Changing Play of the Year Presented by Toyota. In the end, they went with 15 lateral play by Trinity to win their game against Millsaps. As you will see below, it would have been more meaningful if the other team hadn't quit trying at the end. By the time Trinity makes the final run for the goal line, there are many Millsaps players just standing around watching. Apparently they realized they were playing in a game that doesn't matter and no one cares about so if those fools were so determined to win, they can have it. It wasn't worth getting winded over.
Just to finish off this rant, I am also annoyed by the the talking heads insistence that the only worthwhile football takes place in the big conferences and that of the big conferences, the Big East is the weak sister. If you look at the final standings of bowl season as an indicator of conference strength you will see the truth. Not surprisingly the SEC is indeed the class of the nation but number two is the Mountain West Conference and that conference's one loss was a close game in which they lost their starting quarterback against a major conference opponent. Sure Hawaii was destroyed but Boise State and Utah have previously shown that the small conferences belong in the big bowls. I would rather have seen a tough BYU team take on Missouri than a mediocre Arkansas. At the least, the Mountain West teams should get all the bowl games that normally go to the ACC. They were just an embarrassment this year.
Final College Football Bowl Standings
About the only moment of the College Football title game with any suspense was the naming of Pontiac Game Changing Play of the Year Presented by Toyota. In the end, they went with 15 lateral play by Trinity to win their game against Millsaps. As you will see below, it would have been more meaningful if the other team hadn't quit trying at the end. By the time Trinity makes the final run for the goal line, there are many Millsaps players just standing around watching. Apparently they realized they were playing in a game that doesn't matter and no one cares about so if those fools were so determined to win, they can have it. It wasn't worth getting winded over.
Just to finish off this rant, I am also annoyed by the the talking heads insistence that the only worthwhile football takes place in the big conferences and that of the big conferences, the Big East is the weak sister. If you look at the final standings of bowl season as an indicator of conference strength you will see the truth. Not surprisingly the SEC is indeed the class of the nation but number two is the Mountain West Conference and that conference's one loss was a close game in which they lost their starting quarterback against a major conference opponent. Sure Hawaii was destroyed but Boise State and Utah have previously shown that the small conferences belong in the big bowls. I would rather have seen a tough BYU team take on Missouri than a mediocre Arkansas. At the least, the Mountain West teams should get all the bowl games that normally go to the ACC. They were just an embarrassment this year.
Final College Football Bowl Standings
| Conference | W | L | GB |
| SEC | 7 | 2 | - |
| MWC | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| Big 12 | 5 | 3 | 1.5 |
| Pac-10 | 4 | 2 | 1.5 |
| Big East | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| S. Belt | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Ind. | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Big Ten | 3 | 5 | 3.5 |
| C-USA | 2 | 4 | 3.5 |
| WAC | 1 | 3 | 3.5 |
| MAC | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| ACC | 2 | 6 | 4.5 |
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