A Weird Bowl Season So Far

Well, we're at the halfway mark of the Bowl Season, and it has been an interesting ride. Some of the perennial favorite Conferences were not able to fill their quotas with “Bowl Eligible” teams, so we got to watch teams like N. Illinois play Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl. I wanted some sizzle and so far have been mostly disappointed.

The Pac-10 only has five teams bowl eligible, and the powerful Big 12 slotted seven of their squads. The opportunistic parity-plagued ACC was given 10 invites, which I am sure is a new bowl invite record. The SEC, meanwhile, was fortunate that Vanderbilt squeezed into the show because Auburn, Arkansas, and Tennessee floundered. Oh well!

So after 17 Bowl games, which may be meaningless to all but the most ardent fan and the schools invited, it is interesting to note some of the disparities from years past. So far we have not seen any 900-yard offensive displays. So far no flagrant officiating gaffes, and apart from some midfield antics in the FSU vs. Wisconsin game, we also have watched a few too many tame affairs.

A sparse crowd in St. Petersburg, and the new EagleBank Bowl was no instant classic either. We do, however, have two overtimes in the books, and the Big Ten and MAC conferences are winless in three tries each. My friend Jim W. must have called it right when he bet all of the Pac-10 teams, because so far they are a sparkling 3-0 with USC and Oregon State both having winnable games.

The Big East has yet to lose a Bowl match as well, and the head to head with Pitt and Oregon State will break that tie tomorrow. The ACC is 50-50 after six games in the books, pretty well what most pundits expected. All of this and the SEC hasn’t even played a bowl game yet!

Other useful tidbits to ponder—don’t ever bet against coach Schnellenberger, at any level, and TCU, along with Arizona, looks like the real deal for next year.

Then of course, within the next 48 hours this could all change, as there will be 10 games over the next two days. We're getting to the meat of the lineup now, and some of the big players will be stepping up to the plate, including two of the BCS matches.

The Orange Bowl and Rose Bowl games will have plenty of drama to keep your New Years day full. Will Cincinnati be able to continue their run as first time Big East Champs, or will the Hokies and the ACC finally get a BCS win? USC has not exactly impressed the faithful to date, but the Rose Bowl has a way of bringing out the best in the Trojans. The new gunslinger from USC versus the Nittany mauler.

Meanwhile, directly across the sidelines will be the Dean of Bowl success, Joe Paterno. Two or three years ago, it looked like Joe Pa and Penn State were finished! No one expected the spark to come out of this aging Icon, but there it is for all to see tomorrow, and this game should be a classic.

Now I think I'll just make myself comfortable on the couch and catch a few Bowls. The next four days are going to be awesome! Enjoy the games