Jets' Garrett Wilson Says CFB Bowl Games 'Suck' amid Georgia's Rout of FSU

The Georgia Bulldogs took a 42-3 halftime lead over the depleted Florida State Seminoles in the Orange Bowl on Saturday.

Amid that massive blowout, New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson levied some criticism toward the state of college football bowl games:

Per Emily Dozier of Sporting News, at least 23 Seminoles players decided to not play in the Orange Bowl (nine opting out amid declaring for the NFL draft, 14 others who entered the transfer portal).

That group included first-round draft prospects in defensive end Jared Verse and wideouts Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson.

The Orange Bowl followed up a disastrous offensive performance in the Cotton Bowl from Ohio State, which lost 14-3 to Missouri on Friday. OSU quarterback Kyle McCord has already moved on to Syracuse via the transfer portal, while superstar wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. sat the game out presumably in advance of declaring for the NFL draft.

Elsewhere Saturday, Penn State's No. 3 scoring defense was missing numerous players, including potential first-round picks Chop Robinson and Kalen King. The defense was not the same, as it faltered en route to a 38-25 loss to Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl.

Florida State's performance was eye-opening, however. The team was shut out of the College Football Playoff despite going undefeated and winning the ACC. Ultimately, the CFP committee believed the team was not as deserving with starting quarterback Jordan Travis out for the season with a leg injury.

Getting left out in the cold led to a wave of players opting out of the Orange Bowl. So the FSU that the public saw on Saturday didn't resemble the team that rolled through its 2023 season.

It frankly made for a terrible game, as Georgia outclassed an FSU team that tried its best but couldn't match the Bulldogs' talent.

Wilson is ultimately right in that bowl season has lost some of its luster with a wave of players leaving early. That's happened for a while now (Wilson notably sat the Rose Bowl two years ago for Ohio State) but it has come to a head in 2023.

With the CFP expanding to 12 teams in 2024, though, it may not be as much of an issue with eight more teams truly having something to play for. In the interim, it's led to some ugly performances and watered-down bowls.